362
17 Environmental Flow Definition and Management: A Case Study …
being diverted beyond river courses, the flow within river courses has gradually
decreased, and many eco-environmental problems that not only affect the stability
and subsistence of rivers’ ecological environments but also constrain sustainable
socio-economic development have emerged as a result.
With a view to achieving sustainable water resource development and restoring
the increasingly deteriorating ecological environment of water sources, significant
attention has been devoted to the issue of the flow within river courses. In China,
which suffers from severe shortages of water resources and the deterioration of water
environments, water requirements within river courses and environmental flow have
received increasing attention from governments and scholars, resulting in numerous
research studies.
17.2 Environmental Flow Research and Management
in China
China’s earliest research projects on instream environmental flow may date back to
the 1970s, when the issue of ecological water requirements for rivers was first recognized; such research focused on methods of determining minimum river flow. In
the 1980s, to address increasing levels of water pollution, the environmental department requested that measures intended to improve water quality in water resources
planning to be implemented.
Since the 1990s, to alleviate problems such as the mainstream dry-up and severe
water pollution of the Yellow River, MWR established that water resources allocation would include ecological and environmental water requirements. Meanwhile,
research progressed in refining environmental flow concepts and calculation methods.
From the beginning of the twenty-first century, with theories and concepts of environmental flows maturing rapidly, research turned to combining theories and practices,
and the direction and focus of studies also began to shift. Both water quantity and
quality requirements were studied in the assessment of environmental water requirements, and investigations were conducted into the life histories of aquatic species,
flow, and water allocation in terms of both environmental and socio-economic water
requirements. Assessments moved from including purely hydrological methods to
biological habitat methods as well, with environmental flow recommendations being
more closely linked to the requirements of aquatic species (Wang et al. 2009).
Alongside the continuing progress made with regard to environmental flow
theories and measuring methods, environmental flows have been incorporated into
management arrangements in several basins, with observed ecological benefits. In
the Yellow and Tarim Rivers, environmental water releases have achieved favorable
ecological results. Repeated releases have ensured that the downstream reaches of
the Yellow River have not dried up. Since September 2000, through the implementation of a water release program from Boisten Lake, the average groundwater level
17 Environmental Flow Definition and Management: A Case Study …
being diverted beyond river courses, the flow within river courses has gradually
decreased, and many eco-environmental problems that not only affect the stability
and subsistence of rivers’ ecological environments but also constrain sustainable
socio-economic development have emerged as a result.
With a view to achieving sustainable water resource development and restoring
the increasingly deteriorating ecological environment of water sources, significant
attention has been devoted to the issue of the flow within river courses. In China,
which suffers from severe shortages of water resources and the deterioration of water
environments, water requirements within river courses and environmental flow have
received increasing attention from governments and scholars, resulting in numerous
research studies.
17.2 Environmental Flow Research and Management
in China
China’s earliest research projects on instream environmental flow may date back to
the 1970s, when the issue of ecological water requirements for rivers was first recognized; such research focused on methods of determining minimum river flow. In
the 1980s, to address increasing levels of water pollution, the environmental department requested that measures intended to improve water quality in water resources
planning to be implemented.
Since the 1990s, to alleviate problems such as the mainstream dry-up and severe
water pollution of the Yellow River, MWR established that water resources allocation would include ecological and environmental water requirements. Meanwhile,
research progressed in refining environmental flow concepts and calculation methods.
From the beginning of the twenty-first century, with theories and concepts of environmental flows maturing rapidly, research turned to combining theories and practices,
and the direction and focus of studies also began to shift. Both water quantity and
quality requirements were studied in the assessment of environmental water requirements, and investigations were conducted into the life histories of aquatic species,
flow, and water allocation in terms of both environmental and socio-economic water
requirements. Assessments moved from including purely hydrological methods to
biological habitat methods as well, with environmental flow recommendations being
more closely linked to the requirements of aquatic species (Wang et al. 2009).
Alongside the continuing progress made with regard to environmental flow
theories and measuring methods, environmental flows have been incorporated into
management arrangements in several basins, with observed ecological benefits. In
the Yellow and Tarim Rivers, environmental water releases have achieved favorable
ecological results. Repeated releases have ensured that the downstream reaches of
the Yellow River have not dried up. Since September 2000, through the implementation of a water release program from Boisten Lake, the average groundwater level