We were engage d under the EU - China River Basin Management Program to design and implement a pilot project supporting Integrated River Basin Management (IRBM) within the Yellow River Basin in order to promote sustainable utilization of the existing water resources. We combined international and national experience in the design of the pilot project. The project provided a model and references to further develop IRBM in the Yellow River Basin and other river basins around China by setting up ecological and sustainable water resource management models specific to the existing challenges.