And although no formal decision has yet been taken, a sense of realism is gradually dawning on policymakers that these projects might be unscientific and financially unviable. On Tuesday, China’s Water Resources Minister Wang Shucheng poured cold water on one of the more controversial proposals, calling it “unnecessary, not feasible and unscientific.”

The proposal, put forward by water conservation expert Guo Kai, would divert water from Tibet to the parched Yellow River as a solution to the drought-like situation in the economically backward Qinghai province in the northwest, and to further divert water to the north and northeastern regions. … Read the full story.