Analyzing the effects of institutional capacity on sustainable water governance

Sustainable management of water resources is becoming increasingly important in the face of challenges from urbanization, climate change, globalization, and other societal changes. Hong Kong, a water scarce city, is particularly in need of sustainable water management. In this paper, we focus on the key players in Hong Kong’s water management and assess their capacities to pick up signals, balance interests, implement policies, and learn and adapt from 1999 to 2018. We find that while the socio-economic and environmental contexts have changed, their capacities to pick up signals and balance interests have remained relatively flat, although they were responsive to public outcry especially over drinking water contamination. Their main attention has been focused on implementation and technical solutions, forgoing opportunities to collaborate with intermediaries in preparing for water stressed scenarios. Thus, we advocate for capacity building and bringing the public and communities into the governance structure for the pursuit of water sustainability in Hong Kong.