The history of water resources utilization of Heihe River Basin

The evolutionary process of water resources utilization in the Heihe River was related with the rise and fall of irrigation agriculture. We analyzed the data of population,exploitation and utilization of water- land resources,irrigation channels distribution and changes in water resources in the Heihe River Basin,which were collected from the local historical ethnographies and historical geography information. Based on the research result,the evolutional processes of water resources utilization could be divided into four periods in the whole time:( 1) The natural balance period before the Han Dynasty,when the water was used by ethnic minority;( 2) From the Western- Han Dynasty to the Yuan Dynasty,the irrigation agriculture was developing and the water resources were not the limited factor of economic development;( 3) With the growth of population and developing water conservancy,its antinomy between people and water was intensified during the Ming and Qing Dynasty;( 4) From the establishment of the People's Republic of China to 2000,the increasing of population quantity and the strengthening of water- land development were the main driving force of water shortage. Water allocation was a focus problem and it influenced the ecological system and led to the sharp conflicts of water dissension. By analyzing the causes of problems existed in the evolutionary process of water resources utilization in the Heihe River,some experiences and lessons provided an innovation ideas to build the scientific management system of water resource development by strengthening the management of watershed scale.