The partnership and management system of prefecture-county-township-village is under the guidance of the Upstream competent department and cooperates with specialized research and technical institutions at different levels. It is a locally adapted innovative partnership that solves the integration between traditional and modern management, as well as international and national requirements.The World Cultural Heritage Management Administration of HHRT is responsible at prefectural level of the communication and coordination between international and national institutions. The Government of Yuanyang is the body in charge of heritage protection and management. A specialized unit, the World Heritage Management Committee of Yuanyang HHRT has been established to enforce the management plan and deal with daily affairs in the World Heritage site. Panzhihua Town and the Village Committee of Yakou are in charge of implementing conservation activities and coordinating with local stakeholders. From 2012-2018, the prefecture commissioned an investigation on the attributes and the water management system of Yakou village, in order to understand its underlying problems. The county sectors conducted the restoration of the water-wood management system based on the investigation's results.
- World Heritage nomination process.
- The establishment of the World Cultural Heritage Management Administration of Honghe Hani Rice Terraces, Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture, China, a centralized management system which coordinates government and stakeholders at different levels.
- World Heritage Management Committee that can integrate related sectors, taking over management duties.
- In parallel, establishing close partnership with research institutions supported the integration of an international insight and the local experience.
- Need of multi-sectoral cooperation and multi-party participation: Participation of local communities promotes the protection and transmission of Indigenous knowledge that relates to ecological environment conservation.
- To sustain and restore the water management system of HHRT, there is a need to involve culture and nature sectors, government and villagers as well as research institutions. Only-government-led projects would result in the loss of a sustainable driving force; the simple restoration of canals and woods would lead to aggravate conflicts of local social organizations.
- Need of a broader research: The recovery of water-wood management project is conducted only in several villages. The overall spatial distribution and conservation situation are still unclear, which needs a broader investigation and research in all 82 villages by taking one village as a basic unit.
- Need of a long-term monitoring and evaluation mechanism: Impacts of the water-wood restoration project need to be assessed in order to propose improvements.