On invitation by the Ministry of Water Resources of China an EU study mission to the Yellow River basin took place from the 6th to the 16th of April, in the context of and supported by the EU China River Basin Management Programme (RBMP). The current report is based on the experts´ personal views collected during the mission, which brought together a group of 9 representatives from different European Union (EU) Member States (MS). The European experts had a unique opportunity to learn about China’s water management experience and noted ample opportunities for the development of further China-Europe collaboration on river basin management.
The mission team has appreciated cooperation priorities expressed by Chinese hosts while focusing on common challenges and future mutual benefit. Visions for future cooperation have been grouped into four specific areas of interest, namely those related to water quantity aspects; water quality aspects; soil and water conservation; and water governance. The last section highlights aspects that are transversally relevant to the other themes. It was emphasised that such thematic division has been made for analytical purposes and may contradict the concept of a river basin as a complex system in which water quantity; water quality; sediments; land-use and social institutions continuously interact to determine environmental status and provide socio-economic benefits. In each area of interest, the mission identified achievements, common challenges and future cooperation potential, in which joint research opportunities were included. In addition, views on sustaining cooperation in the long-term future, namely through the establishment of a “China Europe Water Platform”, were also explored.
