Early this July, two water management experts from the Grand River Conservation Authority in Waterloo, Ontario Canada visited the Dalian Water Affairs Bureau to deliver a workshop on water quality monitoring and dam operations on the Biliu River watershed.

This workshop was the first activity resulting from a joint agreement signed by the Dalian Water Affairs Bureau, the Grand River Conservation Authority, the University of Waterloo and the Dalian University of Technology.

The agreement, was signed by Peter Krause, Chairman of the Grand River Conservation Authority, Dr. Bruce Mitchell, Associate Provost, University of Waterloo, Mr SONG Guanglu, General Director, Dalian Water Affairs Bureau and Dr GUO Donming, Vice President, Dalian University of Technology on April 20, 2006.

Further activities to be undertaken in 2006-2007 will include a technical mission by key technical people of the Dalian Water Affairs Bureau to the Grand River Conservation Authority to investigate Canadian experiences in water quality monitoring, multi-purpose dam operations, watershed planning and management and source area protection, as well as staff exchanges between the two agencies. These activities will be supported by ECOPLAN China.

Eco-Planning and Environmental Management in Coastal Communities of China, ECOPLAN China, is a CDN$3.9 million Tier 1 project funded by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). The project is based in the Faculty of Environmental Studies, University of Waterloo, and directed by Dr. David Wood. The Chinese partners are: Nanjing University, Dalian University of Technology and the Department of Land, Environment and Resources, Hainan Province. The project, which started in 2002 and will be completed in 2007, is designed to help China's coastal regions (including many economic development zones) establish sound human capital and institutional capacities to design, implement and monitor integrated environmental policies and programs. These regions are undergoing rapid urban growth, increased industrialization and significant socio-economic adjustments. At the same time, they also possess important environmental resources that are under increasing pressure, including water quality, coastal fisheries, and critical natural areas such as mangrove forests, estuarine flora and fauna.

"The agreement to join forces to protect the watershed is a direct contribution of ECOPLAN China," stated Dr. David Wood, Research Associate Professor and Project Director for ECOPLAN China. He added that, "Water supply and management is a critical issue for the City of Dalian and the Biliu watershed is the principal source of water supply for the city. This agreement provides a framework to continue the collaboration after ECOPLAN China finishes at the end of 2007." Dr. Wood also indicated that the Grand River Conservation Authority is a world leader in watershed management having been awarded the Theiss River prize for the best managed river system in 2002 and is well positioned to contribute to building the watershed management capacities of the Dalian Water Affairs Bureau".

The program also reflects the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party's stated commitment that environmental protection is a national priority.

(China Daily August 2, 2006)