Implementation and Discussion on the Integrated Water Resources Dispatching of Yellow River

November 6, 2012, the Implementation and Discussion Workshop of the Integrated Water Dispatching of Yellow River was held in Zhengzhou. The event was organized by the Yellow River Research Council, the Global Water Partnership Yellow River, the Global Water Partnership China, and jointly co-sponsoring with the Planning Projects Agency of the YRCC, Water Resource Management and Scheduling Bureau of the YRCC and Yellow River Engineering Consulting Co.. Additionally, the meeting was fully supported by the GWPO and the YRCC.
The participants of the workshop totaled 100 from over 40 organizations that could reflect a broad representation and participation, including state agencies, local governments, research institutions, water river organizations, universities, civil organizations and other provincial partnerships of the GWP China region.
The participants exchanged the achievements of the IWRM and also allocation of the Yellow River Basin. The deeper discussion was conducted about the issues of ecological scheduling, water and sediment regulation and emergency water especially implemented in recent years to carry out appropriate approaches for comprehensive scheduling, innovative development and optimization of management mechanisms. The main contents included the situation of water resources in the Yellow River Basin and countermeasures; practice and exploration of the integrated dispatching of the Yellow River Water Resources Management; the impact of the Diao River Road's ecological water on wetland ecosystem; the integrated operation and sediment regulation of the Yellow River Water Resources of the Yellow River; the analysis on water division from the Yellow River to Baiyangdian; the emergent water delivery from the Yellow River to Tianjin City and the optimal measures of irrigation water of the Yellow River. The meeting was formed by the presentations of 11 delegates and resulted with 5 reports and 17 papers.
Otherwise, the workshop was also resulted with the consensus from four perspectives:
First, the measure of maximizing the comprehensive efficiency of the Yellow River through the integrated water dispatching can solve the problem of water shortage, uneven distribution of water resource both in spatial and temporal manners as well as the conflict between water supply and demand.
Second, the integrated water dispatching is an effective practice of water sustainable development. Based upon the political decision made by the Central Government in 2011, the water sustainable development ranked the top priority in view that it was highly related to the harmonious development of society, economy and environment.
Third, the outcome of the integrated water dispatching of the Yellow River Basin was overwhelming convinced by remaining a constant stream of Yellow River for 13 years. In addition, the Yellow River has barely confronted the events of minimal stream for seven years; all the cross-sectional flows of its main inter-provincial streams are up to the basic standards; the dispatching method with more accuracy gradually also can improve the sediment transport and ecological water consumption to alleviate the drought of the middle and lower reaches of the winter wheat regions and upstream in spring and summer seasons; this approach can also maintain the water supply security and river ecology to curb the trend of ecological environment deterioration of the river basin, and finally can promote the economic and social development of the Yellow River Basin and related areas in sustainability. 
Fourth, since the integrated water dispatching of the Yellow River Basin is a pilot implementation without any references before, there is long way to achieve the final target of the IWRM.
The integrated dispatching of the Yellow River water resources should be based on the strictest water management system. The optimal approach must be implemented from the main streams to the tributaries; from the areas of the river basin to areas beyond the basin to strengthen the system construction and the weak link in infrastructures; and also to promote the "Yellow River" legislation.