The 1st International Yellow River Forum:12 Years of Co-operation in Water Resources Development of the Yellow River A Review of the Past and Suggestions for the Future

Abstract: Examples based on the experience of the author in more than 12 years of Chinese-Finnish S&T co-operation with special attention to the Yellow River shall be discussed. A general description is dealing with How co-operation was started andwhat were the key issues of successful co-operation". In the year 1987, when the authors activities in China started, extensive research on river-ice problems and the development of a dynamic river-ice model were under conduction in Finland and there was need for arctic engineering in China. Also for Finland it was important to extend the testing of the model in different environments. A second field of interest was the modern development of dam-safety in Finland, where in 1984 new dam safety legislation had stepped into force. Experience in China with fuse-plug dam research and large-scale dam-break tests were good starting points for co-operation in this sector. In the course of project conduction and the related large training, workshop and visiting program, the co-operation was widened to other water resources fields, as flood control, computer modeling, environmental engineering, hydropower and water tourism. All projects were conducted at participation of governmental water authorities, research institutes and private companies.

The Chinese-Finnish S&T co-operation was guided by both governments (1986 agreement) practically managed by the State Science and Technology Commission, PR China (now-a-days MOST) and the Finnish Ministry for Trade and Industry (MTI). Most of the Water projects conducted under the author's supervision were listed as highest priority S&T projects. Two of the projects fulfilled the expectations and follow-up projects were conducted on commercial bases. In general the authors activities covered the following projects:

Winter operation of the Jing-Mi water supply canal, Beijing (S&T and commercial project). Ice flood and flood control for the Yellow River (S&T) and the Project on Flood Hazard Reduction System for the Yellow River (commercial project). Research co-operation on dam-break dynamics. Contacts with the three variants of the South to North water transfer project, Flood control for Beijing, Tianjin and Tibet and Water and environment protection for the Huangshan Scenic-spot mountains. Peter Reiter has also acted as UNDP Water Resources advisor for the Tumen River Area Development Project in North-east Asia.

The co-operation ended in the year 2000 due to problems with aiding and acceptance of financing options of technically sound projects by financing authorities. The author expresses his hope that co-operation could be taken up again, for which ideas are presented. It is obvious that Technology is developing fast, especially in the information technology sector. This sector has gained of increasing importance in water resources and river basin management. It should be considered that continuous technology upgrading programs should secure future system functionality.

The author wants to thank his friends at the Yellow River Conservancy Commission for introducing him to the mighty Yellow River and its problems as well as guiding him through his process of learning about the Yellow River and Chinese culture. Special thanks belong to my good old friends YRCC Vice Commissioner Huang Ziqiang and former YRCC Chief Engineer Wu Zhiyao as well as to the dynamic YRCC Commissioner Li Guoying.