The 1963 drought in Hong Kong heralded seeking secure sources of water supply. Since then, the share of freshwater from the Dong River in Guangdong province has increased from about 20% to 73.8% of the total water supply in Hong Kong in 2022. Located in the Pearl River Delta and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area (GBA), one of China’s economic growth engines, Hong Kong shares water resources with the other cities in the GBA. Facing climate change and the associated increasing variability in precipitation and extreme weather events such as droughts and floods, it is necessary for Hong Kong to enhance its water sustainability and climate resilience.

This ground-breaking study initiated the policy and public discourses on water, a precious life sustaining resource that has been largely taken for granted in Hong Kong. Learning from water scarce cities/regions/countries such as California, Israel, Melbourne, and Singapore helps connect water with the broader societal context and frame water challenges along the following dimensions, social (basic human rights, public health, awareness, engagement, and empowerment), economic (user pays principle, cost-benefit, and equity), and environmental (quantity and quality, ecosystem, and climate change).

The Hong Kong public holds a high hope for the government, including the HKSAR Government, the central government, Guangdong provincial government and municipal government to ensure water security in the GBA. Societal actors are considered to play a slightly less but still important role, including commercial organizations, individuals and households, educational institutions, traditional media outlets, and social and digital media. While recognizing the importance of water conservation for ensuring domestic water supply, improving aquatic habitats for wildlife, and ensuring sustainable development in Hong Kong, using water saving devices or following water saving tips offered by the Water Supplies Department is not popular among the Hong Kong public. Thus, it is necessary to better engage and empower the Hong Kong public in water conservation and water stewardship.

Although there is no one-size-fits-all solution, the following practices are worth considering by the Hong Kong SAR Government: (1) long-term planning, (2) while maintaining the principles of water as a public and social good, to introduce tariff reforms that contribute to recognize the value of water as a natural asset and full cost recovery principles, (3) building necessary infrastructure, both physical and social for evidence-based and robust risk management and policy making, (4) engaging and empowering big water users and the public to promote water conservation, (5) adopting design principles such as water sensitive urban design and integrated water resource management, and (6) enhancing cross-sector and cross-agency collaborations.

This project also contributes to evidence-based environmental governance in the following aspects: rigorous scientific research design, solid data collection and analysis, active engagement of stakeholders through careful administration of public opinion survey and focus group meetings, and outward looking via the International Symposium on Water Sustainability and Climate Resilience. Hopefully, this project will lead to continued efforts in forming effective collective actions to advance water sustainability and climate resilience in Hong Kong and the GBA.