Since China instituted "water scheduling" for the Yellow River in 1998, birds are returning to the replenished wetlands in the estuary. This is good news.

As the wetland grows and the environment improves, more wild birds come to visit. In recent years, Yellow River Estuary has become home to about four million migratory birds. Many rare species are also found inhabiting on the favorable wetland. By inspection, there are 1,922 species of wild life with over 50 under first or second level of state protection. The types of rare species discovered at the zone have reached 459, twice of that before the start of water scheduling. -- CRIEnglish

Just as long ago as 2004, the BBC reported that the Yellow River was drying up before it reached the sea.

However, just because things are looking up for those downriver, things are not so good upriver. The Gansu Province, which borders the Qinghai Province that is home to the Yellow River's source waters, is experiencing drought and desertification. This area of the Yellow River is considered the "basin" of the river as it is home to wetlands and grasslands that act as a reservoir for the water. China Daily reported the worsening situation in September. The permafrost layer below the basin is melting and that means that water is not staying in the basin, but rather filtering through to deeper groundwater sources, inaccessible to the River, leading to more drought-like conditions. And this comes after the Yellow River's flow is already depleted.

Slowing of the river is also a factor. In the 1980s the river flow was calculated at around 3.85 billion tons annually, but in 2006 the figure was 1.38 billion tons. -- China Daily

But the Yellow River Conservancy Commission is working on the problem, with a twelve year plan that is estimated to cost over 600 million dollars US. And that is just for the Gannan area. The Maqu area is also getting money thrown at it to help the River. The YRCC sees the problem as stemming from over-population and over-grazing, and some proposed solutions involve moving nomadic herders from the area.

Focusing on this last issue, the government has started to force the Tibetans to give up herding and their nomadic way of life — and to settle in one place. Danma, 72, and his family are recent arrivals. He and his wife were both born in yurts. Neither one speaks Chinese — only Tibetan. The family received both a house and a stipend from the government in return for giving up herding. Frail and slightly deaf in both ears, Danma says he is sad about the move, but he understands the reasons. "It's very simple," he says. "The grasslands have changed. There is no grass, no water. So all we can do is sell our animals, which makes our hearts very heavy. It's all because the natural conditions have changed." -- NPR

Of course, there is more at work here than simple over-grazing. But the success at the delta of the Yellow River should be a shot in the arm for those now working on saving the second largest river in China, responsible for watering 12 percent of the population. And sadly, more river watchers may be closely following China's lead in river restoration.

From earlier this year, a new report was released concerning the Colorado River in the US.

In addition, the report ruled out the idea of a solution built around conservation or water-saving technologies. "Technological and conservation options for augmenting or extending water supplies — although useful and necessary — in the long run will not constitute a panacea for coping with the reality that water supplies in the Colorado River basin are limited, and that demand is inexorably rising," the experts wrote. Much of the region has seen severe drought since the late 1990s, with 2002 and 2004 being among the 10 driest years on record in the upper basin states of Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming. -- MSNBC

This next story is on Australia's Darling River.

Australia's longest river has lost half its natural water and it is predicted to dry up by a further 20 percent due to climate change by 2030. The 2,739 km (1,700 miles) Darling River, the lifeblood for some major farmlands, loses the equivalent of four Sydney Harbours worth of water, or a quarter of its flow each year, through evaporation, according to a new report. Large scale water infrastructure, such as dams and irrigation projects, built along the Darling River since the 1960s have also dramatically reduced water flows. The "State of the Darling" released on Wednesday paints a picture of a river under threat from global warming-induced drought, lower rainfalls and decades of poor water management. -- Reuters

And from Africa...

With the Nile now reduced to a trickle as it enters the Mediterranean, the three principal countries of the Nile River Basin--Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sudan--can each increase its take from the river only at the expense of the other two. With the combined population of these countries projected to climb from 167 million today to 264 million in 2025, all three are facing growing grain deficits as a result of water shortages. -- Great Lakes Directory

I think you see where I am going with these...

Further Reading:

• Water Worries
• The Looming Global Water Crisis
• Water Tables Falling and Rivers Running Dry
• Who Owns Water