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| TA Name | Jiangsu Yancheng Wetlands Protection Project | |||
| Country | China,People'sRep.of | |||
| TA Number | 7015 | |||
| Project Number | 40685- 01 | |||
| Fund Source/Amount[Approved] |
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| Thematic Classification |
Environmental Sustainability
Economic growth |
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| Description |
A. Background
The People's Republic of China (PRC) joined the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance especially a Waterfowl Habitat (Ramsar Convention) in 1992 and ratified the UN Convention on Biodiversity Conservation 1993. Considering the importance of wetlands, the Government issued the National Wetlands Conservation Action Planin 2001 and included it in its 21st Century Agenda. In 2004, the State Council approved the National Wetlands Protection Engineering Plan (2004-2030) to improve wetland conservation, restoration and management across the country. ADB is supporting the Government's efforts with the ongoing Sanjiang Plains Wetland Protection Project , and the planned projects on Integrated Ecosystem Management and Environmental Protection of Baiyangdian Lake Catchment nad Qingdao Water Resources Management. This is in support of "improving the environment," one of the four pillars of ADB's assistance and operations as stated in the Country Partnership Strategy. Jiangsu is among the provinces with the largets wetlands in the PRC. A significant portion of them is located in Yancheng municipality in the east of Jiangsu province facing the Yellow sea. they are mostly tidal wetlands thats tretch for 580 km along the coast, and cover about 30% of the municipality's area (453,000 ha). From a biodiversity perspective, the two most important araes are the Yancheng National Nature Reserve for Rare Birds and the Dafeng Milu National Nature Reserve. Both have been listed under the Ramsar Convention, and are prioritized in the Jiangsu and the Yancheng 11th Five-Year Plans for environmental and ecological protection. The Yancheng Nature Reserve is the country's largest coastal wetland reserve. the core area covers about 21,900 ha, and the buffer experimental zone 262,300 ha. About 3 million birds belonging to 200 species migrate through the site annually. The wetland is very rich in biodiversity. Twelve animal species are under the PRC's first ranked, and 67 under the second ranked protection, while 29 bird species are listed in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. The Nature Reserve is famous for the Red-crowned Cranes (Grus japonensis)--with about 1,000 cranes , or 60% of the world total wintering there every year. About 80,000 visitors came to the Nature Reserve in 2006. The Dafeng nature Reserve is a typical intertidal mudflat ecosystem south of the Yancheng Nature Reserve. It has three core areas totaling 7,000 ha, and the buffer and experimental zones comprise 71,000 ha. The Nature Reserve supports a wide variety of rare animal and plant species. Thirty of them are under the country's first and second ranked protection, and seven animals are listed in the IUCN Red List. Among them is the threatened Pere David's Deer or "Milu" (Elaphurus davidianus) for which the Nature Reserve was chiefly gazetted. Around 220,000 tourists visited the Nature Reserve in 2006. At the national level, the State Forestry Administration is responsible for coordinating wetlands management and implementing international conventions, while the State Environmental Protection Agency is in charge of managing natural reserves. At the provincial level, the Environmental Protection Departmentis responsible for the Yancheng Nature Reserve, while the Agriculture and Forestry Department is responsible for the Dafeng Nature Reserve. Only the core areas--yet not the buffer and experimental zones--of the nature reserves are substantially managed, with the land tenure of the core area belonging to the reserves. All activities (except reserach) are restricted in the core areas. the provincial government provides the funds and organizes the program for the nature reserves, while the Yancheng municipal government is responsible for personnel arrangements and the infrastructure. The wetlands of Yancheng municipality, including the buffer and experimental zones of the nature reserves, are threatened with increasing demand of land and economic development. Much of the natural habitat which originally consisted of intertidal mudflats, creeks, salt marshes and reed beds has been enclosed by sea dykes and converted to other uses. In the past reed plantations, farmland, salt opans and aquaculture ponds have replaced large areas of the original wetlands. More recently, the planting of trees and the conversion of farms from irrigated rice to cottonand other crops pose threats to the overall wetland cover and suitability for passage of migratory and wintering birds. Due to the limitations of land usemanagement and other factors, the wetlands continue to be developed for agricultural, urban and industrial uses. pollution from local sources and upstream areas are leading to a steady decline in water quality. There are also potentially far-reaching effects of declines in water flow and sediment from the rivers crossing the wetlands. The Jiangsu provincial government and the Yancheng municipla government are well aware of these problems, and the need to urgently address them. In recent years, with the acceleration of urbanization and industrialization, the issue of better condition of wetlands functions among the agencies at different government levels is increasingly being discussed. Also, the balancing of wetlands protection and biodiversity conservation with wetlands management and development is becoming one of the prime challenges to be addressed--not least because the development of eco-tourism may become an increasingly important sector for Jiangsu province and, Yancheng municipality. |
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| Objectives and Scope |
The impact of the TA is improved management of wetlands, natural resources, and environmental sustainability in the Yancheng Municipal Government (YMG). The outcome will be a sound project design for integrated conservation and development of the Yancheng coastal and upstream ecosystems and its watersheds (biodiversity, water, and forests). The TA will assist the Government in preparing a project based on the YMG's initial proposals to address the technical proposals to address the technical, financial, and insitutional barriers. The Project is expected to transform wetland conservation through the sustainable implementation of the ecotourism by integrating it with biodiversity conservation, sustainable resource management, improved ecotourism service, and strengthened environmental governance.
The TA outputs will include (i) sector situation analysis, and institutional and technical assessments, including a comprehensive assessment and action lans for sustaining the biodiversity of the coastal and upstream areas; (ii) development of an integrated plan for Yancheng wetland conservation, a multisector participatory plan, and a sustainable livelihood plan, based on which the project rationale and approach as well as a preliminary list of subprojects will be identified; and (iii) formulation of an investment project with detailed subproject analysis covering technical, environmental, economic, financial, and social perspectives. The TA wil be implemented in two phases using a participatory approach. During the first phase, the consultant team will (i) conduct assessments of the sector policy, institutions, strategies, and plan; (ii) appraise the project proposals from YMG; and (iii) confirm the project rationale, scope, and approach. During the second phase, in consultation with the stakeholders, the consultant team will prepare a comprehensive feasibility report. The report will cover in detail the project impact, outcome, outputs, and activities---including financial, economic, social, and environmental safeguards; relevant sector analyssi; role and institutional capacity of key participating agencies; procurement; implementation arrangements; and poverty status, gender, good governance, and private sector development. Throughout both phases, ADB's project performance management sysfem guidelines will be followed and this will ultimately be reflected in the project design and monitoring framework, which will be developed based on effective stakeholder participation and guided by the problem and objectives analysis. |
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| Geographical Location | Yancheng Municipality, Jiangsu Province | |||
Safeguard Categories
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| Environment | A | |||
| Resettlement | A/B | |||
| Indigenous People | C | |||
| Responsible ADB Officer |
Akmal Siddiq |
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| Responsible ADB Department |
East Asia Department |
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| Responsible ADB Division |
Agriculture, Environment, and Natural Resources Div, EARD |
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| Executing Agencies |
Yancheng Municipal Government Yu Guanghua, Deputy Director General, Yancheng Development Reform Commission No. 21, Century Main Road, Yancheng, Jiangsu, PRC w_zhaohua@sina.com |
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| Timetable | ||||
| Fact-finding | 21 Oct 2007 to 27 Oct 2007 | |||
| Approval | 12 Dec 2007 | |||
| Financing Plan / TA Utilization |  Top
TA Amount |
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| ADB | Others | Gov | Total | Approved Amount | Revised Amount |
| $650,000.00 | $0.00 | $150,000.00 | $800,000.00 | $650,000.00 | $0.00 |
| Total Commitment | Uncommited Balance | Total Disbursement | Undisbursed Balance |
| $559,800.00 | $90,200.00 | $212,070.00 | $437,930.00 |
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