South Australia strengthens ties on water challenges with China
South Australia’s water industry has partnered with the Jiangsu province of China to tackle legacy water challenges and find new approaches to manage the Tahiu Basin.
South Australia’s Department for Environment and Water has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) and action plan to work together with the Jiangsu Department of Environment Protection on water management and environmental protection. The first area of focus will be to improve the health of China’s Taihu Basin.
The Tahiu Basin is a significant freshwater catchment in the southern Yangtze Delta. The basin covers an area of 36,895 square kilometres, has a population of 50 million people and is the location of 12 per cent of China’s Gross Domestic Product. However decades of rapid industrial development have had a range of negative impacts on its health.
South Australian Department for Environment and Water, Group Executive Director of Water, Ben Bruce, said South Australia’s water sector is playing a lead role in facilitating the sharing of knowledge to improve water management capacity worldwide.
“The state’s water and environmental expertise, training and research and associated legislation and policy are considered to be world leading,” Mr Bruce said.
“Under the MOU, we will be working with various partners in Jiangsu, such as the Hohai University, on a number of water initiatives, including ongoing capacity development on basin management, research and pilot projects on wastewater recycling for high value agricultural production and water network optimisation.
“These initiatives provide a comprehensive approach to addressing various water issues in the Taihu Basin, such a blue-green algae and water security.
“Through these partnerships and initiatives, new pathways for South Australian water experts and companies are being developed across China, providing an avenue to further grow this sector of the economy.”
The MOU was signed at the Jiangsu International Summit of New Technology for Ecology and Environment in Nanjing on 22 October 2018.
South Australia’s new MOU with the Jinagsu Department of Environment Protection is in addition to other leading partnerships developed worldwide over the last few years, including with the Shandong Environment Protection Department and the Rajasthan Centre of Excellence in Water Resources Management in India.
