Biography
of
Dr. Chien-Hsin Lai,
Director-General of Water Resources Agency (WRA),
Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA).
Dr. Chien-Hsin Lai was appointed as the Director-General of WRA from November 2016. He is also the Board Director of the National Science and Technology Center for Disaster Reduction, Committee Member of the Panel of Experts of Belmont Forum, President of the Disaster Management Society of Taiwan, and President of the Chinese Water Resources Management Society.
He had also been serving as the Commissioner of the Disaster Prevention and Protection Expert Consultation Committee under Executive Yuan, Director of the Taiwan Water Corporation, President of the Taiwan Agricultural Engineers Society, President of the International Society of Paddy and Water Environment Engineering, Deputy Director-General of WRA, and Director of the Southern Region Water Resources Office of WRA.
Dr. Lai received his Master’s Degree and Ph.D. Degree in Soil and Water Conservation at the National Chung-Hsing University, Taiwan. In 2001, he was invited as a visiting scholar at the University of California-Berkeley on the topic of river ecological restoration.
Dr. Lai has extensive experience in the field of Water Resources Management. He dedicated his time and efforts to promote transparent administration and the cooperation between the public and private sectors. Under his leadership, his team received the National Environmental Education Award for the promotion of environmental education at the Tsengwen Reservoir. Other significant achievements include creating a win-win scenario for enterprises and farmer associations by linking them together to carry out smart agricultural irrigation, and championing the legislation of recycled water development and regulations, as well as the inclusion of “Runoff distribution, Outflow regulation” in the amendment to the Water Act.
Over the course of his career, Dr. Lai has been involved in many important government projects, including the constructions of levees, dikes and dams. In the aftermath of the Chi-Chi Earthquake, he directed the emergency measure plan in response to the landslide-dammed lake in Cao Ling. He also led the trans-watershed diversion project and sediment sluicing tunnel project at the Tsengwen Reservoir. Many projects under his leadership have received awards. For instance, the Improvement Project for Tsengwen Reservoir and the Headrace Channel Construction Project for Hushan Dam both received the Golden Quality Awards from the Public Construction Commission.
Recognizing Dr. Lai's dedication and achievement, he was awarded the Outstanding Senior Award of WRA in 2006, the Model Civil Servant Award of the Executive Yuan in 2007, and Public Construction Golden Quality Award - Third Level Professional Medal in 2018.
As Dr. Lai leads WRA continually injected with innovative thinking, made WRA to win the Presidential Innovation Award in 2022, the second government agency to win since its inception.