Equity Principles in Integrated Water Allocation in the Yellow River Basin, Part 2. Allocation Algorithm and Implementation

Given the fact that population, water scarcity and conflicts over water resources are increasing rapidly in the YRB, it is required that the national government and the provinces pave the way to a new era of integrated water allocation in the basin. The core of the water conflict in YRB lies in the issue of equity. Successful implementation of equity principles in the context of IWRM needs a proper philosophical basis and an appropriate interpretation into operational. criteria and guidelines. These subjects were addressed in Part I. Following the equity guidelines proposed, this paper describes the development of a transparent algorithm to allocate the water over the provinces. This algorithm has been implemented in a river basin simulation model which was used to analyse alternative equitable allocation schemes. The results of these schemes for the time horizon 2030 are compared with the current scheme (which is called the 1987 Scheme). Based on this comparison the preferences of both YRCC and the provinces are derived. From the results major cooperation contradictions among provinces can be identified. The potential conflicts can then be addressed by specific additional allocations to the provinces. The feedback resulting from the analyses provides a valuable contribution to consensus building and ultimately may result in the implementation of equitable allocation schemes for the YRB. At the end, it is concluded that the combination of an ethical approach, i.e. care for nature and equity, with scientific and technical approaches, indeed can provide effective solutions for integrated water allocations in the basin and can alleviate the water conflicts in the YRB.