China, People's Republic of : Chongqing Longxi River Basin Integrated Flood and Environmental Risk Management Project

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 sanitation - Urban solid waste management

The rapid urban growth in the People's Republic of China (PRC) is creating pressures for cities to expand their services in rural areas. The PRC is now prioritizing the developments of lower-tier cities, in which the aim is to create conditions necessary to enhance the livelihoods, attract investments, and accommodate growing population. While doing so, PRC needs to take into account the flood and environmental risk, which has long been a major hurdle to the development. The Yangtze River basin that shares 42% of national Gross Domestic Product (GDP), accounts over $0.3 trillion direct economic damage due to recurring floods since 1980, which is 75% of the total flood damage in the PRC. Over the same period, there has been a 73% increase in river water pollution levels due to the discharge of sewage and industrial waste, which account 42% and 45% of national discharges respectively. Increasing pollution loads from both point and non-point pollution sources, and recurring floods exacerbated by climate change impose threats to sustainable water resources management in the PRC. The PRC has made inclusive and environmentally sustainable growth a top priority in its Thirteenth Five-Year Plan. The Yangtze River Economic Belt (YREB) initiative, being supported by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) is the most recent national initiative to follow a green path, with the strictest environmental protection and water resources management measures.

The Chongqing Municipality suffers from different types of floods annually and was hardest hit in 2007, 2010, 2013, 2014 and 2016. Longxi River watershed, a first class Yangtze River's sub-basin in CM, experienced fatal floods in 2016 resulting in $13 million direct economic damage. The areas along the Longxi River particularly Liangping District (LD), Dianjiang County (DC), and Changshou District (CD), which are part of five functional zones (targeted for urbanization) and represent the model Longxi River economic belt initiative (LREB - a sub-basin version of YREB) of the CM, were hardest hit. The flood formed several belts of floating rubbish in the area, which exacerbated flooding and water pollution. The water quality in Longxi River is lower than class III national standards resulting from both point and non-point pollution. The water quality in the Changshou Lake in Longxi River, has been deteriorated along with eutrophication due to untreated waste disposal. Sediment yield due to soil erosion has resulted in reduced river conveyance, exacerbated flooding, reservoir shrinkage, and water contamination by heavy-metals. The climate change impact will likely to change the floods in the area with return period of 50 year into 10 year towards 2050.

The Chongqing Municipal Government (CMG) has formulated the long-term Longxi River Ecological and Restoration Implementation Plan 2030, as well as five-year plan (20162020) aligned with the 13th five-year national plan (2016-2020) and is making efforts on FERM. The CMG is seeking supports from ADB to help address these challenges. The project aims at demonstrating integrated and nexus approach in project planning in the Longxi River basin for inextricably intertwined FERM by applying both structural and nonstructural measures and considering rural-urban integration, upstreamdownstream linkages, and mainstreaming FERM covering the areas in LD, DC and CD. The project will help CM formulate a comprehensive FERM plan in Longxi River, and contribute to the flood footprint accountability system in the YREB. The project is consistent with (i) Thirteenth Five-Year Plan of the PRC, 2016-2020; (ii) ADB's Country Partnership Strategy for the PRC, 2016-2020; (iii) ADB's strategy 2020 and the midterm review of the strategy; and (iv) ADB's Water Operational Plan, 2011-2020.

Environmental protection, rehabilitation, and management of the Yangtze River improved

Flood and environmental risk in the Longxi River watershed mitigated

1. Flood risk management infrastructure constructed

2. Wastewater management and pollution control infrastructure developed

3. Ecological conservation facilities improved

4. FERM capacity enhanced