Improving Joint Operation System of Reservoir Groups in the Yangtze River Basin: A Legal Discussion

As China’s largest river basin, the Yangtze River Basin has the most mega reservoir groups worldwide. To protect the entire basin, the Central Government developed a system of joint operations of key reservoir groups in the Yangtze River Basin. This paper examines this joint operation system from a legal perspective and discusses its implementation as well as the challenges in practice. The following issues impede the effective implementation of the joint operation system: a lacking legal basis for the system, limitations related to the organizations that participate in the joint operations, limitations on the scope and objects of the joint operation system, and a lacking systematic structure for operation. This paper offers suggestions to improve the system.