The Han River watershed management initiative for the South-to-North Water Transfer project (Middle Route) of China

The South-to-North Water Transfer (SNWT) Project of China is the largest of its kind ever implemented. Of its three routes (i.e., East, Middle and West), the middle one will transfer 14 billion m3 of water annually from the Han River, a tributary of the Yangtze and the water supplying area, to Beijing by 2030. Thus water quality in the 95,000 km2 upper Han River basin is of great concern. A watershed management initiative has been implemented …