Due to soil conservancy programs carried out in the past decades in northwest China's Loess Plateau, where the Yellow River zigzags through, an average of 300 million tons of silt have been prevented from washing down into the river each year.

Li Guoying, director of the Yellow River Water Conservancy Committee, revealed the achievement at the ongoing first international forum on the Yellow River, which opened Tuesday in Zhengzhou, capital of central China's Henan Province.

The forum is attended by over 300 government administrative workers and specialists in water conservancy from 32 countries and regions. During the four-day event, participants will discuss management of water resources, harnessing chaotic waterways, forecasting and monitoring technologies, water diversion and water rights.

A Sino-Dutch cooperation project on Yellow River will also be inaugurated at the forum, along with the presentation of 256 academic papers, said the organizers.

The rich water and hydraulic resources on the mighty river have been fully exploited, and it provides water to residents and enterprises in northwest and north China for irrigation and industrial production, said Li Guoying.

The Yellow River is one of the muddiest rivers in the world. It is known as "China's sorrow" for the serious damage caused by frequent floods on the river.

China's central government has focused on reigning in the chaotic river since the founding of New China in October 1949 and has achieved some success in silt control, flood control and disaster reduction, said Suo Lisheng, deputy minister of water resources.

Chinese scientific workers have built a complete flood control network at the lower reaches of the Yellow River where the river course of is forced to change frequently due to the many breaches in river walls created by floods over the centuries.

(Xinhua News Agency October 22, 2003)