During a press conference on October 9, the Henan Provincial Government’s Information Office revealed impressive progress in water resource management as part of the “Ecological Protection and High-Quality Development in the Yellow River Basin” initiative. Currently, the average annual utilization rate of water resources in the province sits at approximately 25%.
With ecological protection and sustainable development of the Yellow River Basin recognized as a key national strategy, Henan has adopted a series of measures to preserve the river’s ecology. In 2022, the province introduced the “14th Five-Year Plan for Ecological and Environmental Protection and Ecological Economic Development,” which focuses on conserving and efficiently utilizing water resources from the Yellow River. By 2025, Henan aims to reduce the surface water utilization rate to under 79%, while municipalities facing water scarcity strive for a 30% utilization rate of recycled water.
By the end of 2023, officials reported during the conference that the annual average utilization rate of surface water resources in the Yellow River Basin and its supply areas remains around 25%. Additionally, water consumption per unit of GDP has decreased to 22.3 cubic meters, reflecting a significant 25.9% reduction since 2019. Moreover, the effective utilization coefficient for agricultural irrigation has risen to 0.627, marking an increase of 2.1% from three years prior, indicating that the province has exceeded its targets ahead of schedule.
Water conservation is at the heart of this initiative. Guo Wei, Deputy Director of Henan’s Water Resources Department, noted that 134 counties in the province have achieved water-saving standards, alongside the establishment of 86 water-saving universities. Dong Haili, Deputy Director of the Provincial Department of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, added that six of the 13 water-scarce cities along the Yellow River—Zhengzhou, Kaifeng, Jiyuan, Hebi, Xuchang, and Pingdingshan—have been recognized as national water-saving cities. Furthermore, the utilization rate of recycled water in these municipalities has exceeded 30%.
Henan has also embarked on substantial infrastructure projects, having constructed 10 provincial-level “Happiness Yellow River” initiatives and 62 municipal and county-level projects, covering nearly 1,000 kilometers. To enhance flood control and ecology, the province has reinforced 286 kilometers of levees and planted 2.4 million square meters of vegetation along its rivers and lakes.
