It produces about 40% of Chinese cereals (wheat, maize and sorghum). The great plain of northern China is one of the country’s largest agricultural regions. But it is also the foremost consumer of water in China. Ensuring water supplies for industry and the cities situated downstream.Īgriculture in China is a sector of major economic importance (15% of the country’s GDP and more than 300 million people earn their living from farming).Producing hydroelectricity with an installed capacity of 1,836 MW.Managing floods and controlling the sedimentation of the Yellow River.Completed in 2001, this mega-dam satisfies several objectives: Located in Henan, it’s one of the largest dam in China, after that of the Three Gorges. Hydropower production amounts to an average of 40 TWh per year. In 2000, there were over 10,000 reservoirs in operation, with total storage capacity of more than 60 billion m3 23 involve large dams. To achieve this, they adopted a development plan with the construction of 46 dams on my main course and a 800km long high quality standardized embankments /groynes system along the two banks of my lower course. As from the 1950s, the Chinese government decided to reinforce the safety of dwellings and prevent floods. In the past, I have breached the dikes that were built to contain my flow. My main uses Hydraulic safety and energy production Facing water scarcity is now the number one priority for the Yellow River Conservancy Commission (YRCC) which is responsible for my management. The overexploitation of groundwater inevitably led to land subsidence and represents a new threat, as the pollution of water. To overcome this chronic lack of water, China has decided to build a titanic project in order to transfer water from the south to the north.ĭespite this project, the situation could get worse in my watershed with the impacts of climate change on the availability of my resource and the growing demand of water. A Chinese living in the South has 3.352 m3 of water a year, when in the North, his compatriot must be satisfied with only 1.127 m3. Northern China has less than 15% of available water resources for 45% of the population. The country only has 7% of the planet’s freshwater resources, whereas its population represents 21% of the world’s population and its water resources are unequally distributed. The phenomenon of drought is also present during my long history and became more important with the increasingly larger withdrawals of water to irrigate farmland, and to supply urban areas and industry.Ĭhina lacks water. Ever since historians have kept registers, from around 602 BC, I have changed course 26 times and caused more than 1,000 major floods, causing the death of millions of people. I am one of the most dangerous rivers in the world. Agriculture began on the Loess plateau, as the earth there is very fertile due to the silt I carry. I was the cradle of the ancient Chinese civilisations of the Xia (2100-1600 BC) and Shang (1600-1046 BC) eras. Average discharge: 2,571m3/s but with considerable variations within the year, with a low discharge from March to June and 60% of annual rainfall from June to September.
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