River Basin Management Reform A Necessary Step For Both China And The United States

The Yellow River in Northern China and the Colorado River in the Western United States offer a mutually illuminating comparison that has not yet been significantly researched. This paper adopts a combined methodology of comprehensive consultation of existing, related research and the author's own field research in China and the United States. This paper investigates the basin management of water shortages in the Yellow River Basin and the Colorado River Basin. Both basins face severe water shortages. The two states have instituted polar opposite basin management systems:The United States has adopted a fully participatory approach, whereas China has adopted an entirely government-controlled approach. While both approaches have potential strengths, each approach has been taken to such an extreme that substantial weaknesses have emerged. The author concludes that both river basins would benefit from a management system that provides more of a balance between stakeholder participation and central authority. The author recommends that California's Integrated Regional Water Management (IRWM) Program be used as a model to reform both basin management systems, as the IRWM Program fosters stakeholder collaboration but mandates that water projects adhere to stringent environmental consciousness standards, such as the avoidance of negative externalities. While not an easy transition for either management system, this reform would bring the environment and the economy into a more sustainable balance and ensure a sustainable water resources balance sheet for future generations in both states.