Support for sustainable development of the Yellow River Delta
| Period: | 06/1995-06/1997 |
|---|---|
| Location: | Shandong Province, PR of China |
| Client: | UNDP, Beijing Office |
assignment/short description
The Yellow River Delta (YRD) is situated in the northeastern part of China, where the Yellow River runs into the Bohai Gulf. The delta has been designated to become one of major grain producing areas of China, for which it needs a steady fresh water supply during the growing season. Other functions of the delta are; fish producing, salt making, production of oil and gas, and nature reserve; many of these activities require fresh water as well. These functions need to be carried out simultaneously, and in harmony. The river has become a seasonal river due to reservoir damming upstream, maintaining occasional flow. The river flow is heavily laden with fine-grained sediment which causes serious problems while using this very much needed fresh water resource. Hence a project was started up with the aid of UNDP, Beijing Office. A novelty was to introduce the concept of sustainability into local economic development. Within the relationship between China and The Netherlands, The Netherlands Ministery of Transport and Water Managmenet had developed the cooperation with the Shandong Province and Dong Ying Municipality (the capital of the YRD). A large group of experts both from the Chinese side as well as from the side of The Netherlands participated in this project. Various groups were formed such as a water management group, an economic group and a group studying the environment. The actual work was carried in Dong Ying by the local YRD Conservation and Development Research Center (YRD CDRC) with regular visits from Chinese, American and Dutch experts. Deltares (Delft Hydraulics) contributed to the physical river and delta water management aspects of the project as an input tot the Dutch team effort.
