Watershed: A New Era of Water Governance in China represents a turning point, providing a practical set of recommendations to inform Government’s ongoing institutional reforms related to water management in the era of an ecological civilization.

In recent decades, many countries in sub-Saharan Africa have pursued national water permit systems, derived from the colonial era and reinforced by “global best practice.” These systems have proved logistically impossible to manage and have worsened inequality in water access.

This paper is part of an ongoing collaboration between the World Bank and the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization to raise awareness about the importance of water management in fragile systems and to propose strategic responses.