Assessment on water use index in the Yellow River Region

The Yellow River Region is a remarkably region with serious of water shortage;meanwhile,the water in the Yellow River is the main water source for the Northwest China and the North China.Therefore,reasonable and efficient water use is quite important for the sustainable development in this region.Some general water use indices have been selected to analyze the water use from 1980 to 2000 in the Yellow River Region according to the National Integrated Water Resources Planning.The main conclusions include: 1)water use level and water use efficiency in the Yellow River Region have been much improved than before,but are still in a lower level;2)water use level and water use efficiency are quite different in the different sub-regions of the Yellow River Region;3)agricultural water use index is high in this region,the main reasons lie both on the special climatic conditions,and the underlying surface situation,and on the extensive cultivation in this region.