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14 Water Resource Allocation and Regulation in Yellow River Basin
The water resource regulation plan provides temporary water rights. However, in the
practice of water rights, the formulation and implementation of water resource regulation plans and use plans reflect more on administrative management, with several
administrative procedures and approvals to put water plans on the ground level by
level.
At the same time, the strong institution capacity of YRCC supports the water
resource allocation and regulation efforts. Due to severe water problems, YRCC is
the largest RBO in China, with about 30,000 staff members, which is 10 times more
than other RBOs, except for the Yangtze Water Resources Commission. Meanwhile,
the central government provides strong legislative support, with the issuance of the
Yellow River Water Resources Regulation Management Regulation by the State
Council. These factors, including strong legislation, a large management staff, and
powerful institutions, guarantee centralized management and unified regulation. This
is different from other river basins in China. Therefore, when designing a river basin
water resource allocation and regulation systems, the institutional capacity shall be
analyzed to develop a system capable of the institutional capacity.
Technical and managerial linkage with water abstraction permit management
in the river basin
There are difficulties to connect water resource regulations and water abstraction
permits in the Yellow River Basin. The water resource regulations are implemented at
the river basin level, but user-level water activities are conducted by water abstraction
permits in China. Therefore, some inconsistencies are exposed, as follows:
Inconsistency in management timing
According to Management Methods of Yellow River Water Resources Regulation,
YRCC accepts the provincial water-use proposal between Sept 20 and Oct 10. While
in permit management, water abstractor reports its next year water-use proposal
before 31st Dec. In theory, the provincial proposal shall be formulated based on the
water abstractor’s proposal. Therefore, it is inconsistent between two fundamental
water resource management systems in the river basin.
Cross-management between agencies
In the Yellow River Basin, four-level agencies are involved in permit management:
YRCC, provincial, prefectural, and county WADs. Many surface water abstractions,
particularly in trunk of the Yellow River, are approved and administrated by YRCC. If
according to the provisions of the permit management and the Yellow River regulation
management, in the process of water-use proposal, the proposal shall be reported to
YRCC if the permit is approved by YRCC (Article 42, Regulation on the Management
of Water Abstraction Permits and Water Resources Fee Collection), and then YRCC
should report the water-use proposal to the relevant provincial water department,
and the provincial department reports to YRCC (Article 17, Yellow River Water
Resources Regulation Management Regulation). Therefore, the cross-management
happens if these provisions are followed. In practice, however, to some extent, water
resource regulation has replaced abstraction management in the basin.
14 Water Resource Allocation and Regulation in Yellow River Basin
The water resource regulation plan provides temporary water rights. However, in the
practice of water rights, the formulation and implementation of water resource regulation plans and use plans reflect more on administrative management, with several
administrative procedures and approvals to put water plans on the ground level by
level.
At the same time, the strong institution capacity of YRCC supports the water
resource allocation and regulation efforts. Due to severe water problems, YRCC is
the largest RBO in China, with about 30,000 staff members, which is 10 times more
than other RBOs, except for the Yangtze Water Resources Commission. Meanwhile,
the central government provides strong legislative support, with the issuance of the
Yellow River Water Resources Regulation Management Regulation by the State
Council. These factors, including strong legislation, a large management staff, and
powerful institutions, guarantee centralized management and unified regulation. This
is different from other river basins in China. Therefore, when designing a river basin
water resource allocation and regulation systems, the institutional capacity shall be
analyzed to develop a system capable of the institutional capacity.
Technical and managerial linkage with water abstraction permit management
in the river basin
There are difficulties to connect water resource regulations and water abstraction
permits in the Yellow River Basin. The water resource regulations are implemented at
the river basin level, but user-level water activities are conducted by water abstraction
permits in China. Therefore, some inconsistencies are exposed, as follows:
Inconsistency in management timing
According to Management Methods of Yellow River Water Resources Regulation,
YRCC accepts the provincial water-use proposal between Sept 20 and Oct 10. While
in permit management, water abstractor reports its next year water-use proposal
before 31st Dec. In theory, the provincial proposal shall be formulated based on the
water abstractor’s proposal. Therefore, it is inconsistent between two fundamental
water resource management systems in the river basin.
Cross-management between agencies
In the Yellow River Basin, four-level agencies are involved in permit management:
YRCC, provincial, prefectural, and county WADs. Many surface water abstractions,
particularly in trunk of the Yellow River, are approved and administrated by YRCC. If
according to the provisions of the permit management and the Yellow River regulation
management, in the process of water-use proposal, the proposal shall be reported to
YRCC if the permit is approved by YRCC (Article 42, Regulation on the Management
of Water Abstraction Permits and Water Resources Fee Collection), and then YRCC
should report the water-use proposal to the relevant provincial water department,
and the provincial department reports to YRCC (Article 17, Yellow River Water
Resources Regulation Management Regulation). Therefore, the cross-management
happens if these provisions are followed. In practice, however, to some extent, water
resource regulation has replaced abstraction management in the basin.