Management Innovation for Integrated River Basin Management

Water scarcity and stress have attracted increasing attention, as water has become increasingly regarded as one of the most critical resources in the world’s sustainable development. In order to achieve a more sustainable water resource management at river basin level, this chapter takes Heihe River Basin (HRB) in Northwest China as a representative example to address the water scarcity situation and gives an outlook of strategies and innovations for river basin management. Since a good understanding of the water stress situation is a prerequisite to make proper water strategies, by applying the Water Poverty Index (WPI), the water stress situation in HRB and the driving factors are evaluated first. Results indicate that water stress has become more severe over time in the HRB. Then water resource management strategies and innovations from supply and demand side are discussed, especially for the effects of water conservancy project and water price reform in HRB. Furthermore, with comparable characters and similarities in the hydrological contexts, a comparative study between HRB and two other river basins Murray–Darling Basin (MDB) in Australia and the Colorado River Basin (CRB) in the USA was conducted. Comparisons in water allocation, water organizations, water acts, and scientific projects are analyzed. Finally, recommendations for integrated river basin management for the HRB have been proposed.