The “Yellow River Protection Law of the People’s Republic of China” (hereinafter referred to as the “Yellow River Protection Law”) will come into force on April 1, 2023. It specifies that it will strengthen the protection and promotion of the Yellow River culture and the construction of the Yellow River cultural tourism belt.

The Yellow River Protection Law includes general principles, planning and control, ecological protection and restoration, water resources conservation and intensive use, water and sand control and flood safety, pollution prevention and control, promote high-quality development, the Yellow River cultural protection heritage promotion, protection and supervision, legal liability and by-laws 11 chapters, a total of 122 articles.

In response to the fragile ecological environment of the Yellow River Basin, the Law mainly provides for the strengthening of ecological protection and restoration and pollution prevention and control.

To address the shortage of water resources in the Yellow River Basin, the Law specifies that the State shall strengthen the measures of water conservation and efficiency in agriculture, water conservation and emission reduction in industry and water conservation and loss reduction in cities and towns in the Yellow River Basin, so as to effectively realize the economical and intensive use of water resources and promote the construction of a water-saving society; it also specifies that the use of water resources in the Yellow River Basin shall adhere to the priority of water conservation, co-ordination and balance, intensive use and careful calculation.

In response to the inadequate development of the Yellow River Basin, the Yellow River Protection Law stipulates that local people’s governments above the county level in the Yellow River Basin shall promote the high-quality development of the manufacturing industry and the transformation of resource-based industries, develop modern industries with special advantages and clean and low-carbon energy in accordance with local conditions, and promote the optimization and adjustment of the industrial structure, energy structure and transportation structure.

The Yellow River Protection Law also makes provisions for the inheritance and promotion of the Yellow River culture. It requires the preparation of the Yellow River culture protection heritage promotion plan, promote the construction of the Yellow River cultural system, the organization to carry out research on the Yellow River culture and the history of river management, promote the creative transformation and innovative development of the Yellow River culture.