Hong Kong’s water security: a governance perspective

Abstract

Traditional concerns regarding Hong Kong’s water security have centred on water quantity, quality and pricing. In contrast, this article embraces an integrative conceptualization of water security from a governance perspective. A technocratic and supply-oriented water system may overlook challenges stemming from scalar mismatches at the territorial, institutional and discursive levels, as well as at the science–policy interface. Resilience thinking could identify new areas of concern and provide contextually sensitive insights into Hong Kong’s water security, which will be subject to the restructuring of the water governance system, which concerns changing discourses, power relations and institutional mechanisms.