An Outline for Planning Development of River Basins: a Regional Approach

Abstract

River basin development programs are complex frameworks, in which every project is required to be formulated as a sub-system of the larger plan. Some of the major issues encountered when planning a river basin scheme on a regional basis are the utilization of surface flows and groundwater resources (including the maintenance of a desired level of water quality), the determination of alternative cropping patterns in irrigated agriculture, evaluation of tradeoffs between competing uses of water, and sequencing of investments in both space and time. The proposed outline will probably be useful when considering the various projects in the Yellow River basin, so that they may fit an overall plan. The methodology was adapted from previous work on river basin development performed for the World Bank in South Asia.