(The Basis of Civilization – Water Science? – Proceedings of the UNESCO/IAHS/IWHA Symposium held in Rome, December 2003 – IAHS Publication 286, pp. 150–159).
The Yellow River basin (YRB), the cradle of Chinese civilization, has so frequently been subjected to disastrous floods that the basin is entitled “China's Sorrow”. Managing these floods was historically dominated by ethical approaches. These are now complemented, and sometimes replaced, by scientific approaches. This has prevented major flooding over the last 50 years, but the present situation is far from sustainable. In addition, drought and environmental issues have become prominent and urgent. The introduction of integrated water resources management (IWRM) is very promising, but this approach remains a scientific and technical-based approach, even if it is public participation-based and explicitly takes care of ecosystems. What seems to be lacking in the YRB is a strong ethical basis, sufficiently rooted in the society of the basin. The indigenous ethical approaches used for flood management can provide that basis, in particular Taoism. This should be re-enforced to give greater emphasis to nature in the basin and to harmonize human beings with nature.
Chinese indigenous philosophy, Ethical approach, Flood control, Integrated water resources management, Scientific approach, Yellow River basin; China
