Integrated River Basin Management in China 

Aquatic environment suffers under economic growth

The rapid growth of China's economy continues but at huge cost to the aquatic environment. China's water authorities have launched an extensive programme to revert the critical situation and the remit of the partnership with the EU is to develop and improve strategies for integrated management of the two river systems, inspired by the EU Water Framework Directive.

One in five has access to clean drinking water

Access to clean drinking water is under threat for millions of China's people whose water comes from China's two great rivers, the Yangtze and the Yellow River. But pollution and overexploitation of water resources mean that the water is not safe to drink in many places. Today, in China only one person in five has access to clean drinking water.

International cooperation on IRBM 

COWI is part of a consortium led by the Dutch company DHV, which is carrying out a five-year planning programme on river basin management. The programme is organised in three components:

1. National Component - Policy Dialogue and Exchange.
Support to a platform for dialogue on river basin and water resource management. This platform will result in the evolution of policy directives appropriate to the situations in the Yellow and Yangtze River basins. These policy directives will be linked to implementation of river basin management objectives and will be derived from research, studies and exchange concerning water-related environmental issues.

2. Yellow River - Demonstration of the IRBM approach with focus on environmental aspects and reduction of water pollution in the Yellow River project area.

3. Yangtze River Component - The success of this component will be demonstrated through reduction of the degradation of natural resources and the consequently improved socio-economic condition of the local population in the highly degraded environments of the upper reaches of the Yangtze River.