Sponsored by the Australian Government Aid Program (AusAID) and co-sponsored by the Yellow River Conservancy Commission (YRCC), the Australian Trade Commission (AUSTRADE) and the International Centre of Excellence in Water Resources Management (ICE WaRM), the Australia Day Session at the 4th International Yellow River Forum (IYRF) was held on 21 Oct 2009 in Zhengzhou, Henan Province, China.
With the theme “Sino-Australia Water Partnerships”, the event aimed to facilitate the exchange of knowledge and experiences among Australian and Chinese agencies in the water resource management sector and to facilitate establishment and strengthening of partnerships between the two countries. H.E. Dr Geoff Raby, the Australian Ambassador to China, Mr. Michael Taylor AO, the Chair of Australia’s Murray Darling Basin Authority (MDBA), and Mr. Gao Bo, Director General, Department of International Cooperation, Science and Technology, Ministry of Water Resources (MWR) of the People’s Republic of China, presided over the Opening Ceremony that was attended by more than 40 Australian delegates and around 80 Chinese delegates representing MWR, MEP, YRCC, water resource research institutes, universities and administrative agencies.
The highlight of the Australia Day was the signing of an MOU between YRCC and MDBA. The Murray Darling and the Yellow River Basin share many attributes in common, including their size, importance of environmental assets and food production and their cultural significance. Both basins currently face many water resource management challenges including the impacts of droughts and floods, competing demands for available water and natural resources and the threat of climate change. The MOU will promote further collaborations between the two agencies in future.
The Australia Day covered three broad themes - “The Australian Development Cooperation Program in China’s Water Sector”, “Australia-China Trade & Investment” and, “The Role of Education & Training in Integrated Water Resources Management”.
Under the first theme the ACEDP Program Manager introduced the Australia China Environment Development Partnership (ACEDP) and gave a short overview of its current status and achievements. A subsequent presentation of the joint Chinese Australian management team for the “Trans-jurisdictional Water Pollution Management” project that was completed in mid 2009, was followed by the formal launch of the latest ACEDP initiative, the “Improving Water Use Efficiency Through Better Irrigation District Management & Water Rights Trading” Project (commonly referred to as the Large Irrigation Scheme or LIS project). A panel presentation of senior Chinese and Australian water managers concluded that first thematic session and attending VIPs and scientists explored the different approaches to basin planning, irrigation modernization, water metering, pricing & trading, impacts of climate change on the future state of large river basins and human capacity to manage the complexity of multi-state river basins.
The second theme on Australia-China Trade & Investment saw an introduction of the Wan Wu Eco-Country Program, designed by the Australian Trade Commission to promote two-way trade and investment in the environment sector. Two Australian enterprises, RUBICON Pty LTD and AQUA DIAGNOSTICS introduced their technologies that created considerable interest from Chinese experts.
Under the third theme, the CEO of the International Centre of Excellence in Water Resources Management and YRCC Graduates from Australia made speeches about the role of education and training for integrated water basin management, followed by panel discussions on importance and approaches of trans-boundary water resource management.
The Australia Day ended with a cocktail, sponsored by ASC Fine Wines that provided members and delegates with additional networking opportunities. It was also a celebration of the Australian China Alumni Association that saw a reunion of YRCC graduates from Australian universities and colleges.