News
Resourse: IWHR
The World River Happiness Report 2021 (hereafter referred to as “Report”), compiled by IWHR research team, was launched on March 22, 2022, the World Water Day. And the results of the study on "Rivers of Happiness" were interpreted.
IWHR Vice President Dr. PENG Jing said that in order to thoroughly implement Xi Jinping's ecological civilization thought and fully implement the water control ideas in the new era of "water-saving priority, spatial balance, systematic governance, and two-hand efforts", the research team used the River Happiness Index (RHI), which is derived from “River of Happiness” it conceptualized -- a “River of Happiness” is a river that maintains its own health, supports the sustainable socio-economic development of the basin and the region, allows harmony between man and water, and brings a high sense of security, gain and satisfaction to the people in the watershed – to give each of the 15 rivers thorough evaluations. The RHI consists of five primary indicators, namely Security of Flood Control, Reliability of Water Resources, Livability of Water Environment, Health of Aquatic Ecosystem, and Prosperity of Water Culture.
In 2020, the research team first applied the RHI and the calculation methods in the evaluation of major rivers and lakes in China. Based on the research outcomes, the Happiness Report of Rivers and Lakes in China was released in 2021.
Basis of the study of rivers and lakes in China, the research team selected 15 major rivers around the world, and evaluated the happiness index from five dimensions of flood control security, providing reliable water resources, constituting livable water environment, boosting healthy aquatic ecosystem and agenerating prosperous water culture. This is the first time for the calculation and quantitative evaluation of the river happiness index in a global scale.
At the press conference, experts from the “River of Happiness” research team made a report to interpret the research results of various dimensions.
