China, People's Republic of : Henan Hebi Qihe River Environmental Improvement and Ecological Conservation Project

Project Name

Henan Hebi Qihe River Environmental Improvement and Ecological Conservation Project

Project Number

47069-002

Country / Economy

• China, People's Republic of

Project Status

Active

Project Type / Modality of Assistance

• Loan

Source of Funding / Amount

Loan 3401-PRC: Henan Hebi Qihe River Environmental Improvement and Ecological Conservation Project

Source	Amount
Ordinary capital resources	US$ 150.00 million

Strategic Agendas

• Environmentally sustainable growth
• Inclusive economic growth

Drivers of Change

• Gender Equity and Mainstreaming
• Knowledge solutions
• Private sector development

Sector / Subsector

• Agriculture, natural resources and rural development / Rural flood protection - Water-based natural resources management

• Water and other urban infrastructure and services / Urban flood protection - Urban sewerage

Gender

Effective gender mainstreaming

Description

The Hebi city government (HCG) has been making various efforts on environmental improvement and ecological conservation in the Qihe River basin, including afforestation, WWTP construction and solid waste management. To address the issues described above, the HCG prepared various plans, including Master Plan for Hebi City Qihe River Ecological Areas for 20102020 and Hebi City Urban Flood and Waterlogging Control Plan for 20112020. The HCG requested the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to provide lending support to implement environmental improvement and ecological conservation in and around Qihe River by integrating key activities in the above-mentioned plans in a consistent manner and to support the city's effort in implementation of this pilot initiative on ecological civilization.

The project contributes to the PRC Government's goal of building a harmonious and prosperous society through environmentally sustainable growth and priorities of its upcoming Thirteenth Five-Year Plan. The decision of the Third Plenary Session of the 18th Central Committee of the Communist Party of the PRC which supports eco-civilization and establishment of a system to protect ecosystems. It also supports ADB's strategic priorities of the Midterm Review of Strategy 2020 and the Water Operational Plan, 20112020 to increase coverage and improved services for sanitation, and promote integrated water resources and river basin management.

The project design has incorporated lessons from other initiatives including previous ADB-financed projects and policy-oriented studies on IWRM, environmental and ecosystem improvement, wetland and lake management and restoration, and urbanrural integration in the PRC. Major lessons include the need for: (i) an integrated approach including structural and nonstructural measures, (ii) community participation and increased public awareness, (iii) coordinated management of urban-rural planning, (iv) leadership and governance in environmental management, and (v) management and data information systems for IWRM decision making.

Project Rationale and Linkage to Country/Regional Strategy

Rapid economic development in the PRC, has led to severe degradation of ecosystems and the decline of their fundamental services to human well-being. Deforestation and overgrazing in the watersheds, combined with point and non-point source pollution, have led to increased runoff, higher peak flows, downstream flooding, and poor water quality in many regions. This has resulted in loss of life and property and has required costly investments for large-scale water management infrastructure and reinforcement of river embankments.

The highest environmental agenda of the PRC at present is to attain ecological civilization', by increasing investments in restoration of ecosystems and environmental management. Located in the north of Henan Province, Hebi City has a total population of 1.6 million and encompasses 83 kilometers (km), 52% of the entire Qihe River. Originating from Shanxi Province, the Qihe River flows into the Weihe River and then Hai Rivers and finally into the Bohai Sea. The Qihe River basin in Hebi City has been selected as a national pilot project for achieving 'Water Ecological Civilization . Ecosystem degradation, poor flood management capacity, pollution, and weak inter-sectoral coordination are the key issues affecting the ecological integrity of the Qihe River basin that this project will address in an integrated manner.

Environmental conditions along the river have deteriorated due to intensive economic development and increasing human populations whilst vegetation, wetlands, and water quality along the Qihe River have declined due to urbanization, modification of the river hydrology, habitat loss and deforestation, livestock grazing, agriculture, over-extraction of water, and non-point source pollution. The pilot Qihe River National Wetland Park (NWP) in the upper reaches requires habitat restoration and improved facilities and management.

In the lower Qihe River, current flood management practices result in water logging and flooding in selected rural areas due to diversion of water for emergency storage of flows that exceed the dyke crests levels. In addition, due to poor conditions of the old embankments and dykes from erosion and washout, the vulnerability of these sections to potential dyke failure, catastrophic flooding and crop damage are high. The flood management capacity of selected tributaries and canals of the Qihe River in Qi County and Qibin District are also limited to less than 1-in-5 year flood, due to heavy siltation, congestion with solid waste, and degraded banks.

Surface water quality of the Qihe River mainstream and canals are highly polluted and exceeded Class III and Class V, respectively. Inadequate facilities for wastewater management have resulted in poor water quality as the three existing wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) that serve the project areas of Qibin District and Qi County cannot accommodate the increasing volumes of wastewater. The city sewage network currently covers 60% of the area in Qibin District and Qi County. As a result, untreated wastewater discharges directly to the lower Qihe River mainstream and tributaries. The lack of waste transfer stations has resulted in poor solid waste management.

Numerous agencies are involved in management of Qihe River, yet there has been relatively limited inter-sectoral coordination for integrated water resources management (IWRM), due to lack of mechanisms for information sharing and monitoring capacity. The project has already resulted in the strengthened institutional arrangements, through the establishment of a multi-sectoral project management office (PMO). Continued capacity building will be essential to supporting IWRM, including a management information system, and ecological monitoring program, to guide decision making among the agencies for flood management, conservation, and other attributes.

Impact

Ecosystem services in the Qihe River basin restored

Project Outcome

Description of Outcome

Integrated environmental management in the Qihe River basin in Hebi city demonstrated

Progress Toward Outcome

Based on Jul-Dec 2022 progress report, 438,000 total population in Hebi City benefitted from improved sewage system and received 34% public satisfaction with water management and environmental management in Hebi City.

Implementation Progress

Description of Project Outputs

Vegetation and wetlands in the Qihe River basin restored

Flood management capacity of the lower Qihe River improved

Wastewater and solid-waste management in the Qihe River basin enhanced

Institutional and technical support system and capacity for integrated management of the Qihe River basin strengthened

Status of Implementation Progress (Outputs, Activities, and Issues)

Based on Jul-Dec 2022 progress report, (i) for Output 1, (a) about 646.4 ha of degraded hills in the upper Qihe River watershed were reforested, (b) completed restoration of about 186.7 ha of wetland vegetation in the pilot Qihe River NWP, and (c) achieved about 730 restoration-related local jobs during construction (at least 292 for women) and 90 local jobs during operation (at least 36% for women) created; (ii) for Output 2, completed flood management capacity of a combined 30 km of canals in Qi county and Qibin district and about 11.5 km of riverside revegetation in Qi county and about 11.3 km in Qibin district. For canal rehabilitation, 1,650 local jobs created of which at least 53% are for women. For Output 3, completed are (a) expansion works of Qi County WWTP to 60,000 m3/day, (b) about 15 domestic solid-waste transfer stations in Qi County, and (c) Solid-waste management works and equipment in 33 rural villages. Output 4 achievements are 28 community environmental monitoring teams mobilized and functioning with clear job descriptions from 2017 to support domestic solid-waste management along the Qihe River and its tributaries and all staff of PMO and implementation agencies were trained on safeguard policy and gender mainstreaming of which 55% are women.

Geographical Location

Nation-wide

Safeguard Categories

Environment

B

Involuntary Resettlement

A

Indigenous Peoples

C

Summary of Environmental and Social Aspects

Environmental Aspects

Involuntary Resettlement

Indigenous Peoples

Stakeholder Communication, Participation, and Consultation

During Project Design

During Project Implementation

Business Opportunities

Consulting Services

All consulting services will be engaged in accordance with ADB's Guidelines on the Use of Consultants (2013, as amended from time to time).

Procurement

All ADB-financed procurement will be conducted following ADB's Procurement Guidelines (2015, as amended from time to time).

Contact

Responsible ADB Officer

Kobayashi, Yoshiaki

Responsible ADB Department

Sectors Group

Responsible ADB Division

Agriculture, Food, Nature, and Rural Development Sector Office (SG-AFNR)

Executing Agencies

Hebi City Government

Timetable

Concept Clearance

20 Oct 2014

Fact Finding

27 Jul 2015 to 04 Aug 2015

MRM

15 Oct 2015

Approval

29 Jun 2016

Last Review Mission

-

Last PDS Update

28 Sep 2023

Funding

Loan 3401-PRC