Effectiveness, management experience and optimization suggestions for the Water Pollution Prevention and Control Fund projects in China

Since the establishment of the Water Pollution Prevention and Control Fund in 2015, both central and local government entities have undertaken extensive efforts to strengthen and standardize the management of fund projects, which has led to a significant improvement in the efficiency of fund utilization. Currently, there is limited research on water pollution prevention and control fund projects, and there is a lack of pertinent experience and practice summaries. Based on the data of the environmental status bulletin and performance evaluation, the effectiveness of the projects in promoting water quality improvement and ecological restoration, establishing long-term mechanisms, and driving social input were analyzed. The management experience of the water pollution prevention and control fund projects was summarized, from the aspects of fund investment, project planning, fund allocation, fund use, and performance evaluation. Through investigation, typical practices in system construction, project planning, process supervision, and performance management in some provinces were extracted. At the same time, the existing problems in the management of water pollution prevention and control fund projects, such as the need to expand the scope of fund support, improve the systematic planning of the projects, strengthen the technical support, and optimize the performance management. To further elevate the standard of fund management and enhance the efficiency of fund utilization, it was suggested to reasonably expand the scope of fund support based on the key tasks of water ecological environmental protection in the new era and local practical needs, adhere to basin coordination and improve the systematic planning of projects, formulate comprehensive technical guidance documents to reinforce technical support, and enhance performance management systems to strengthen effective monitoring of project outcomes.