Water Resources Utilization and the Ecological Environment Protection in the Arid Inland Shiyang River Basin, Northwest China

摘要

Minqin Oasis, a fertile desert oasis lying at the arid lower reach of Shiyang River Basin in Northwest China for more than two thousand years, is now facing the challenge of disappearance due to the encroachment of surrounding deserts. This paper explores the essential relationships among human water utilization, falling groundwater table, soil salinization, vegetation degradation, and land desertification in the area. Based on an analysis of the interactions between human activity and the eco-environment, this paper puts forward recommendations for forestalling the eco-environmental deterioration in this area. These recommendations include mainly eco-environmental water allocation, setting up critical groundwater depth as an indicator for sustainability of eco-environment, and water demand management approaches.