Concerns about pollution are widespread among the re-
spondents, and the adversity to live in proximity to industrial areas
is very high. Yet, a majority of respondents wants to live in prox-
imity of the Yellow River (or does not care), despite the fact that the
Yellow River is heavily polluted (Berry, 2012; Xu et al., 2004). This is
probably because many people suffer from drought and salinity and
are in need of water, but due to limited amounts because of water
quotas and dried up ground water aquifers, turn to the Yellow River
instead. Simultaneously many people report pluvial flooding. These
observations suggest that usable water is scarce in the Yellow River
Delta, and that the livelihoods of the rural population is at risk
because of inadequate water management. The results also show
that a majority of people are not aware of climate change and have a
generally low level of education, and farm water intensive crops
such as cotton, making these problems worse. However, it is
observed during the survey that the Yellow River Delta is under-
going significant changes, with constructions of new population
centers and revitalization of agricultural lands, with the goal to
improve rural livelihoods and reducing vulnerability to droughts,
pollution, salinization and other threats. It remains to be seen
whether these improvements and reorganization efforts reach
their goal.