Impacts of Water Shortage

Abstract

With an increasing population and rapid development of the economy and society of the Yellow River basin region, the Yellow River, the well known mother river of China, is at the edge of a survival crisis. The discrepancy between the supply and demand of water resources is a key issue. In 2000–2006, the mean annual discharge of the Yellow River entering into the delta was 13.2 billion m³, a reduction of 18.6 billion m³ compared with the 1980s, and 9 billion m³ less than in the 1990s. The water requirement from various sectors is increasing. At present, the Yellow River runoff accounts for 2 % of the total in China; however, it is feeding 12 % of the population and represents 15 % of cultivated land in China. Seventy percent of water resources in the basin have been used, which is far beyond the internationally accepted warning level (40 %). The sustainable supplying capacity of the Yellow River water resources is facing a severe challenge. The most fragile ecosystem of the Loess Plateau has not been fundamentally changed. Facing such a severe outlook, sustainable use and management of the Yellow River is a priority.