The notion of water sustainability underpins the key messages that we want to convey to the readers through the Water Resources Information Portal. In order to help spotlight the significance of achieving water sustainability goals in our city, we would need to refer to, briefly, two inter-connected conceptual-cum-policy frameworks that are perched, respectively, at the global and the national levels.

The essence of the global agenda on water sustainability has been crystallized in Sustainable Development Goal #6 (SDG #6). Asides from highlighting the centrality of ensuring access to clean water and sanitation for all, the multiple sub-goals of SDG #6 remind us that managing the world’s water resources in a sustainable manner will yield substantial cross-sectoral benefits. Conserving water at the city and the country scale, through policy measures and behavioural changes, could help protect global biodiversity as well as mitigate greenhouse gases emissions’ impact on the global climate system.

The country’s national agenda on water sustainability, on the other hand, has been articulated in the 14th Five-Year Plan for Water Security, promulgated in 2021 by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC). One of the NDRC Plan’s guiding principles accords a higher degree of preference to demand management measures (i.e., water conservation) than the conventional supply augmentation approach. The NDRC Plan also, for instance, prioritizes, for municipal water managers’ attention, the reduction of water losses emanating from the water supply networks under their charge. Moreover, in line with the spirit and the letter of the national goal of building an ecological civilization, the Plan accentuates the importance of incorporating the safeguarding of freshwater biodiversity into sustainable water resources management practices at the national, provincial and municipal scale.

Translating the aforementioned goals of the global and national agendas on water sustainability into impactful local actions is a challenging task. The difficulty stems from a relatively low degree of water literacy detected among the general public. Water literacy goes beyond people’s knowledge of water issues; it also entails their attitudes toward water conservation ethics and their ability to appreciate and enact meaningful changes in their own water usage behaviour. Early empirical evidence, however, suggests that the mastery of water literacy amongst our community’s diverse social groups is wanting. Against this backdrop, the Water Resources Information Portal has thus been created by the Centre for Water Technology and Policy to help nurture a water-literate community in our city.

Our efforts in assembling the Information Portal are guided by one fundamental belief: Embracing a river basin-oriented perspective is essential for us to comprehend the challenges in, and opportunities for, managing water resources sustainably in the 21st century. Through imparting individuals with essential water knowledge and encouraging them to consider water resources management matters from a river basin angle, we aim at broadening our community’s collective understanding and sharpening their vision for managing water resources in a sustainable manner. This approach, fully aligned with the global and national water sustainability agendas, aspires to foster an active participation of Hong Kong people from all walks of life in the global water stewardship project.