Managing for Sustainability: The Development of Environmental Flows Implementation in China
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
The manuscript is of interest because environmental flows are being implemented worlwide and China is severely impacted by water abstraction and pollution. However, I attach some recommendations for improving the MS.
Comments for author File: 
Comments.pdf
Author Response
Thanks for your review comments. Those comments are all valuable and very helpful for improving the manuscript. We have studied the comments carefully and have made correction which we hope meet with approval. Revised potations are marked with tracking in the word file. The main corrections and response are in the response to reviewers.
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 2 Report
Major comments:
I found this paper very confusing and difficult to get through despite its brevity. I think the you are trying to write a review of the history of environmental flow management in China and present a case study of how they have been implemented at the three gorges dam.
When refereeing to environmental flows it is more appropriate to refer to them in the plural than singular. Please fix this throughout your document.
You use the term scientific bases multiple times, when I think you mean scientific basis.
This paper needs to be rewritten for clarity and conciseness.
There are a mess of terms that are poorly defined and seemingly interchanged throughout. Adaptive management, sustainable water management, environmental flow, etc. Please clarify what these terms mean here and be consistent with their use throughout the document. Ex. What are authorities? Throughout; What are demanded objects? Line 59
You need to clarify if their paper is about the advancement of the science of environmental flows or their implementation. From what I read you are discussing the implementation and enforcement of environmental flows not how they are determined or measured. Better organization may also help clarify the points you are tryign to make with this article.
Please more clearly explain and reference the terms, policies, and events you reference. I imagine the water resources community in China are highly familiar with a lot of the thigns you mention, but I doubt a more global audience will be.
Tables were nicely formatted and informative.
Please see the attached PDF for more detailed comments.
Comments for author File: Comments.pdf
Author Response
Thanks for your review comments. Those comments are all valuable and very helpful for improving the manuscript. We have studied the comments carefully and have made correction which we hope meet with approval. Revised potations are marked with tracking in the word file. The main corrections and response are in the response to reviewers.
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Round 2
Reviewer 2 Report
This a nice improvement over the first version, and the authors design and goals for the study are much clearer. Overall I feel the authors have addressed the main criticisms, but there is still some minor editing that needs to be completed. I would also appreciate if the authors could add a paragraph to the conclusion addressing how this study helps to promote a more holistic approach to e-flows management in China. I think this would help tie everything together for the reader. More specific edits are attached.
Comments for author File: Comments.pdf
Author Response
The authors are very grateful about the reviewer’s suggestions and appreciation. Thank you very much for your hard work and your comments concerning our manuscript.
please see response file.
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
