Projects

Dr Victor Squires, editor of the Workshop proceedings, has compiled a comprehensive collection of papers (domestic and international) presented to the workshop. This collection of papers aims to help practitioners enhance their common understanding, knowledge and technical skill in the area of Integrated Ecosystem Management, with particular focus on the People's Republic of China.

The Progress report for all activity components under the Capacity Building to Combat Land Degradation Project is released. Please click here to receive the most updated progress under the project.

Thirty members of the donor community participated in a roundtable discussion on the PRC-GEF Partnership on Land Degradation. A progress report was circulated by ADB, with the announcement that two Partnership projects had been approved. These projects are (i) Gansu and Xinjiang Pastoral Development Project (World Bank/GEF), and (ii) Capacity Building to Combat Land Degradation Project (ADB/GEF). The Project Management Office also gave a presentation on the implementation progress under the Capacity Building to Combat Land Degradation Project.

Other donors also made presentations, updating the donor community about their activities in the fields of environmental protection and rural development.

Each project forms an integral part of the Partnership, and covers globally significant regions in Shaanxi, Ningxia, Gansu, and Shanxi. These three projects include some of the PRC's poorest and most vulnerable inhabitants. Each project seeks to apply for $10 million of GEF grants which will go towards the funding of additional globally significant activities and components, on top baseline activities and outcomes. To find out more, please click on the Demonstration Project link in the root directory.

The Project Management Office (PMO) of the Capacity Building to Combat Land Degradation Project has moved to a new location in Beijing. Please forward any subsequent correspondence only to the following details;

Address: Rm 303/308, Longshaoheng Building, No.18 of Block 5, Hepingli South Street, Dongcheng District, Beijing 100013
Tel: 010 84210778/81/82   84216688-1303/1308/1350(Ext.)
Fax: 010 84210791

Two IEM Awareness Seminars are conducted in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Participants from each of the six Provinces/Autonomous Regions involved in the TA Capacity Building to Combat Land Degradation Project were trained by Technical Assistance (TA) consultants and ADB staff on Integrated Ecosystem Management approaches and methodologies to address Land Degradation.

The Seminar participants conducted Field investigations with local rural stakeholders for the purpose of promoting a participatory approach to natural resource management. One of the seminars was based out of the AusAID project in the Alxa League, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Seminar participants at this workshop were able to share key project findings with their Australian counterparts, and benefit from the knowledge obtained from managing the remote project site.

In the GEF report "GEF Integrated Ecosystem Management Study", the Capacity Building to Combat LD project was ranked 3rd out of 38 Operational Program 12 Projects reviewed worldwide. It was also ranked first amongst ADB projects in the Operational Program 12 category. The Project was also in the top group of the best 6, which were cited in the GEF report as "good examples of what IEM projects should look like." To obtain a copy of this paper, please see Partnership Resources.

After an extensive and rigorous bidding process, the tender for the management of Legal Component 1 was finally awarded to the tender presented by the Environmental Law Institute at Wuhan University. Consequent contract negotiations are completed.

Three fact finding missions were conducted by ADB staff and consultants to prepare for three proposed loan/GEF grant projects. These projects are;(i) the Shaanxi Qinling Integrated Ecosystem Management Project, (ii) the Ningxia Yinchuan Integrated Ecosystem Management Project, and (iii) the Dryland Farming in Northern Region Project. Various sites were visited in the provinces of Shaanxi, Ningxia and Gansu. The mission met with Government officials including Vice-Governors, and discussed various strategies and initiatives to enhance the cooperation between the PRC Government and ADB.

The paper describes the current status of Integrated Ecosystem Management in an international context, (Australia, Canada, USA) and in the Dryland areas of the People's Republic of China (PRC). It suggests many recommendations for the effective implementation of such an approach to address land degradation problems in the PRC. This paper's recommendations could be integral to the strategic direction of the PRC Government, particularly in light of the upcoming 11th Five Year Plan (2006-2010). To obtain a copy of this paper, please see Partnership Resources.

The meeting

• establishes an understanding of institutional organisations responsibilities
• discusses operational strategies to enable workplan completion

• the Terms of Reference of the MEEG
• the project work plan and schedule of Component 5 - Monitoring and Evaluation

Mm. Hu Zhangcui, Director General of PMO, Deputy Director General of Department of Science and Technology, State Forestry Administration chaired the meeting. ADB consultants presented on the progress of the project, and introduced the main document, work plan and schedule for Component 1- Improving Policies, Law and Regulations for Land Degradation Control.

The LPEAG reviewed and approved;

1. the content of the main document
2. the proposed methodology of the 17 legal and institutional elements

The meeting also approved the appointment of Mr Yue Zhongming, Division Director of Legislative Work Committee of the National People's Congress, as the LPEAG's Team Leader and Professor Wang Canfa, Director of the Research Institute of Environmental Law, China University of Political Science & Law as the LPEAG's Deputy Team Leader.

The next meeting will be convened to discuss the document "Method To Determine The Capacity Of Laws And Regulations to Implement IEM" created by ADB consultants.

The meeting was chaired by Mm. Hu Zhangcui, Deputy Director General of Department of Science and Technology, State Forestry Administration and Director of the PMO. Over 20 people were present at the meeting including; Mr Rui Yuehua, deputy director general, Department of International Cooperation from the MOF and deputy director of the PCO; Mr Wang Bing, division director, Division 4 of the Department of International Cooperation from the MOF and deputy director of the PMO; Mm. Jiang Xiaofei, division director of the Department of Foreign Funds, NDRC and deputy director of the PMO; and Prof. Zhang Shougong, managing vice president of Chinese Academy of Forestry and deputy director of the PMO. Leaders from the other 11 partner agencies were also present.

Between October and November 2004, a joint Government-ADB mission composed of ADB staff, Technical Assistance Consultants and Project Management Office staff visited each of the six participating Provinces and Autonomous Regions to conduct examinations of the institutional and environmental factors affecting implementation under the Project. The mission visited various government officials from each of the six provinces/autonomous regions including Vice-Governors from Qinghai Province, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, Shaanxi Province, Inner Mongolia Autonmous Region, Ningxia Hui Autonmous Region and Gansu Province. Various field sites were also visited, with many local technical insights being incorporated into project implementation documentation.

After the successful conclusion of the International Workshop on Integrated Ecosystem Management, workshop participants attended a field-seminar in the Nankou and Changping District of Beijing. The project sites demonstrated examples of remedies for addressing duststorms in the Beijing and Tianjin area. International experts and management staff from the six provinces and regions broadly exchanged views on the practical applications of IEM concepts and discussed the method which the PRC should adopt to address its environmental problems.

On the 1^st and 2^nd of November 2004, an international workshop on Integrated Ecosystems Management (IEM) was held at the Zhong Yuan Hotel in Beijing. The workshop was organized for the project on "Capacity Building to Combat Land Degradation" under the PRC-GEF Partnership on Land Degradation in Dryland Ecosystems. The workshop was well attended with nearly 200 domestic and international participants coming from public, private, academic and international institutions.

The Keynote speech was delivered on behalf of Mm. Jiang Zehui, Vice Chair of the Committee of the Population, Resources and Environment, National Council of CPPCC, President of CAF and Chair of the Steering Committee. Other guests of the workshop include; Mr. Moctar Toure, leader of the Land and Water Resources team of the GEF, Mr. Katsuji Matsunami, Director of the Agriculture, Environment and Natural Resources Division, East and Central Asia Department of the ADB, and Mm. Sari Soderstrom, Coordinator of the Department of Natural Resources and Rural Development for the World Bank, Resident Mission in Beijing.

International experts such as; Professor Michael Stocking, Dean of Development Faculty at the University of East Anglia, Professor Fee Busby, from the College of Natural Resources at Utah State University, Professor Victor Squires from Adelaide University, Dr Des McGarry, Principal Soil Scientist from the Queensland Government department on Natural Resources and Mines, Mr Brant Kirychuk from CIDA, Dr Adrian Williams from AusAID, Ms Licona Munzur from FAO, Ms Joanna Smith from DFID, Mr Cao Wendao from World Bank, Dr Malcolm Douglas, and Dr Ian Hannam were invited to speak of their countries' successful models for delivering natural resource solutions under an IEM approach. Speakers elaborated on the role of Government, community organizations, the private secotor and other stakeholders in addressing land degradation under an IEM approach, and emphasised the need for institutional change to deliver effective solutions. Six project provinces and autonomous regions presented progress reports on the implementation of IEM to address land degradation within their provinces and autonomous regions.

Officials and experts from the Ministry of Commerce, Office of the Leading Group for Western Region Development of the State Council, Development Research Centre of the State Council, State Oceanic Administration, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Chinese Academy of Environmental Sciences, China Institute of Water Resource and Hydropower Research and Chinese Academy of Forestry also attended.

The PRC Mission of the ADB holds a round-table donor meeting in Beijing to report on the Progress of Capacity Building to Combat Land Degradation under the PRC-GEF Partnership on Combating Land Degradation in Dryland Ecosystems. The participants included representatives from:

1. various international organizations including the ADB, EU, WB, UNDP, FAO and Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA);
2. representatives and experts from the Danish, German and Dutch Embassies; and
3. officials from the Project Coordination Office and Project Management Office of PRC-GEF Partnership on Combating Land Degradation in Dryland Ecosystems.

The inception meeting of the PRC-GEF Partnership on Combating Land Degradation in Dryland Ecosystem is held in Beijing. The meeting was attended by approximately 150 participants including:

1. Senior Government Officials from the 11 project partners including; Legislative Affairs Commission of the National People's Congress, National Development and Reform Commission, The Ministry of Science and Technology, The Ministry of Finance, The Ministry of Water Resources, The Ministry of Agriculture, The Ministry of Land and Resources, The State Environmental Protection Administration, State Forestry Administration, State Council Legislation Office and Chinese Academy of Science;
2. the Governors of the six participating provinces and autonomous regions; Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Shaanxi Province , Gansu Province, Qinghai Province, Ningxia Hui Autonmous Region and Xinjiang Uyghur Autonmous Region;
3. other government officials including; Office of the Leading Group for Western Region Development of the State Council, China Meteorological Administration; and
4. representatives of international organizations; ADB, DFID, WB, UNDP.

The Capacity Building to Combat Land Degradation project is the first Project under the PRC-GEF Partnership, and includes a total grant and technical assistance package of $15 million. This Project will strengthen the enabling environment, and build implementation capacity, for future investment projects under the Partnership.

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