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GWP’s VISION is a water secure world. Our MISSION is to advance governance and management of water resources for sustainable and equitable development.

OUR UNIQUE VALUE: GWP mobilises action on the global water crisis through a unique combination of social capital, shared values, credibility within the global water community, bottom-up orientation, and expertise. A network of networks, we ensure the ‘voices of water’ can inﬂuence local, national, regional, and global development priorities. We are committed to our role as a neutral convener and respected for our focus on inclusiveness and sustainability.

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GWP creates and communicates information about integrated water resources management which contributes to improved water governance and, ultimately, water security.

Together with our Partners, we provide knowledge resources and capacity building activities for solving water problems.

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Institutional Partners are the basis of GWP's multi-stakeholder partnership. A strong, diverse partnership can bring about the changes needed to achieve a water secure world. In this section, learn about the benefits of being a Partner and meet a few who already are. We invite like-minded organisations to join us!

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This is where you can find links to the websites of our Regional Water Partnerships (RWPs). RWPs are closest to the countries where we work. They share knowledge and learning across national boundaries and are expected to have an open, inclusive, and gender-sensitive policies for bringing together as wide a group of stakeholders as possible to solve water problems.

China

10/21/2010

Loess Plateau a Microcosm of China’s Urban Challenge

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.

Loess is the name for the silty sediment that has been deposited by wind storms on the plateau over the ages and it is a highly sensitive region with what has been called the "most highly erodible soil on earth".

The 100 participants exchanged views and had discussions on the issues of efficient use of water resources and ecological rehabilitation on the Yellow River Loess Plateau. The speakers also included representative from local level from Yima City who gave presentations about the important achievements they have made in recent years on water and soil conservation and ecological rehabilitation in these rapidly urbanising areas. After the presentations, a number of other participants joined the discussion with comments and recommendations put forward.

The participants also visited the water and soil conservation and water supply projects in Yima City and Jiyuan City and the 400MW Sanmenxia and 1,836 MW Xiaolangdi hydroelectric reservoirs on the Yellow River mainstream after the workshop. These projects provide significant benefits, not only in their hydropower generation capabilities, but for the flood protection provided in the lower reaches of the Yellow River. These projects are unique as they must cope with the highest sediment loads of major rivers worldwide in both annual sediment transport and mean sediment content.

In conjunction with the Workshop, the participants also took part in the activities related to the 60th Anniversary of the Yellow River Institute of Hydraulic Research (YRIHR) on Sept.26.

Page last edited: 10/21/2010