The GWP China Yellow River Water Partnership (GWP China-YRWP) has been working to do this since 2005 when, based on requests from the Chinese government, it successfully set up a platform for stakeholders to evaluate, discuss and agree on policies to restore the health of the Yellow River.
In October 2007, at the 3rd Yellow River Forum in Dongying City, Shandong Province, GWP China-YRWP organised a workshop on sustainable water resources management and delta ecosystem maintenance. Partly as a result, in early 2008, the annual urban development plan was revised by Dongying City to incorporate protection of estuary wetland ecosystems.
In May 2008, GWP China-YRWP organised a 112-stakeholder dialogue on the Loess Plateau (LP) watershed to discuss improvements in local water use. It was concluded that soil erosion management in the LP region had been a great success in terms of a new management model of ‘participatory small watershed management’ that reduced poverty.
The model involved effective communication and joint planning and implementation among farmers, communities and local governments in the watershed.
The meeting called on the government to increase emphasis on soil and water conservation; change the economic environment in the LP region as soon as possible; ratify the third phase of a World Bank loan for a LP project; and ratify a proposal of a sand retention project.