Feng Mao BSc MRes MPhil

PhD Candidate

Feng’s research is on the EU Water Framework Directive, interactions of quality elements and river basin governance in China.

Biography

Feng Mao began his first degree at Zhejiang University in 2005. He was selected out of over 6000 students as a member of Chu-Kochen Honors College, which provides advanced natural sciences courses. In the third year, he selected biological sciences as his major. He finished the four-year undergraduate programme within three years and undertook two Masters Degrees in the UK afterwards – one was an MRes in Biodiversity and Conservation at the University of Leeds, and the other an MPhil in Politics at Cambridge. He intended to do research on environmental issues with both natural and social science understanding.

In 2010, he started his PhD research under the supervision of Professor Keith Richards. The theme of his research is “The Water Framework Directive. Interactions of Quality Elements and River basin Governance in China”.

Qualifications

PhD Candidate, Department of Geography, University of Cambridge, 2010 – present
MPhil, Department of Politics, University of Cambridge, 2009 – 2010
MRes, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Leeds, 2008 – 2009
BSc, Chu-Kochen Honors College and College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University, 2005 - 2009

Awards

Philip Lake Fund, Department of Geography, University of Cambridge, 2011
Tim & Wendy Whitmore Fund, University of Cambridge, 2011
Travel Grant, Wolfson College, University of Cambridge, 2011

Research

Feng’s research focuses on the Water Framework Directive, interactions of quality elements and river basin governance in China. The Chinese standard of water quality is a chemically based one, merely covering physicochemical aspects of water quality. Different from the Chinese standard, the Water Framework Directive 2000/60/E, which was published in 2000, is an integrated approach to protect and improve all types of water body in the EU. It covers comprehensive aspects of water quality, thus biological, physicochemical and hydromorphological elements of water bodies are all to be assessed. However, the interactions of quality elements have been overlooked by the WFD.

This interdisciplinary project has three aims: (1) to assess shortcomings in the methods of the Water Framework Directive (WFD), and to find ways to improve on them; (2) to introduce, test and evaluate the WFD style of river water quality assessment method in China; and (3) to consider how these methods could be incorporated in the Chinese institutional context to improve the quality of the water environment. Chishui River Basin is his main study area.

Teaching

Demonstrator for undergraduate students in the Department of Geography, 2010 - present

External activities

Fellow of the Cambridge Philosophical Society, 2010 - present
Vice President, Chinese Students and Scholars Association in Cambridge, 2010 – present
Producer, UK Chinese New Year Gala, 2010
Director, Broadcast and Television Station, Zhejiang University, 2007-2008
Freelance digital artist