Participants at the Fourth Yangtze River Forum April 18-19, 2011 in Nanjing discussed the development, management and protection of the Yangtze River. The theme of the Forum, “Yangtze River and regional development”, was jointly initiated by GWP China and organizations.

Building resilience through improved water management to better prepare for the impact of climate change is the best short-term strategy to combat the effects of climate change on water-related sectors of the national economy.

Dongting Lake is the second largest freshwater lake in China and its basin is home to nearly 12 million people. Due to overuse, silting, sedimentation and decreasing inflows from the Yangtze River during the dry season, the environment is deteriorating, water shortages are more frequent and wetlands are shrinking.

GWP China Hebei and Hebei Provincial Senior Scientists Association jointly organised a workshop, Low-carbon Economy and Rational Use of Water Resources, in Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province, in October.

Government leaders attached great importance to the recommendations of the 4th Wei River Forum, held in October 2010 and organised by GWP China-Shaanxi together with Shaanxi Principal Water Resources Department.

With China becoming one of the largest emitters of CO2 emissions, saving water and controlling pollution are key climate change adaptation strategies in the National 12th Five-year (2011-2015) Plan.

GWP China Yellow River, together with the Yellow River Research Institute, provided technical experts and speakers and organised the workshop, Efficient Use of Water Resources and Ecological Compensation, in September 2010 in Zhengzhou, Henan.

The challenges China is facing with the rapid growth of urban centres, and the corresponding demands on limited water and related resources, is immense. This is true on the Loess Plateau which covers an area of some 640,000 km² in the upper and middle of China's Yellow River. A workshop on “Efficient Use of Water Resources and Ecological Compensation” was co-organized by GWP China-Yellow River and the Yellow River Research Institute on 27-28 September 2010, in Zhengzhou, Henan Province.

In an effort to boost disaster control and prevention in the aftermath of the Sichuan earthquake on May 12, 2008, GWP China proposed and the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) funded the project, “Evaluation of Post-quake Rural Water Supply Facilities and Capacity Building.”

A high-level Roundtable on Climate Change and Water Security was held in Beijing on April 8 to address the critical issue of how to ensure water security in the face of climate change. Multiple stakeholder groups were represented by the 112 participants. The meeting was jointly organized by GWP China and the Swiss Development and Cooperation Agency.