Final Report - Asian Development Bank

TA 4721-PRC: Preparing the Shaanxi-Qinling Mountains Integrated Ecosystem Management Project
Final Report Appendix 5
156. Multi-disciplinary research continued at Wolong in 2002-2003 39 and predicted that human
impacts would cause loss of Panda habitats. Roads were found to control the locations of village
houses. Firewood collection was the main cause of forest degradation, with an average household
using 15 m³ per year. Recommendations were to reduce firewood collection by providing alternative
energy sources, and provide “viable means and incentives to encourage emigration” 40 .
157. A recent model helps managers predict the effects on Panda habitats of changes in
demographic and socioeconomic factors of villagers 41 . Recommendations for conserving Panda
habitat included provision of cheaper and more reliable electricity to reduce firewood collection,
provision of off-site educational opportunities to encourage emigration, delaying age of marriage, and
prolonging interbirth intervals to reduce birth rates. No change was recommended in the family
planning policy that currently permits more than one child per family among the cultural minorities.
4. Development Lending Initiatives
a. World Bank National Afforestation Project
158. In 1990-1997 the World Bank Group (WBG) began implementation of the $300 million
National Afforestation Project (NAP) in 14 provinces in China (Table 13). Although Shaanxi Province
was not included, NAP developed technologies and approaches that led to the next WBG forestry
project, which not only included Shaanxi Province, but also addressed nature conservation (see
below).
b. World Bank Forest Resource Development and Protection Project
159. The WBG-funded Forest Resource Development and Protection (FRDP) Project of 1994-
2001 was implemented in the 14 provinces of NAP and also included Shaanxi, Shanxi, and
Heilongjiang Provinces (Table 13). This $333 million project extended NAP technologies and included
an important new component to address forest biodiversity conservation that ultimately became the
associated Nature Reserves Management Project (NRMP) (see below).
c. World Bank Nature Reserves Management Project
160. NRMP supported conservation of nature reserves that are rich in biodiversity of global
significance. It supported new approaches to organization, planning, skills development, information
management, and the integration of local communities into conservation efforts.
161. NRMP was the first World Bank Group or GEF investment in biodiversity in China. It drew
on project experience from other countries under the GEF Pilot Phase and from NGOs in China. The
key lessons include: (a) the importance of a national strategic framework for biodiversity investments;
(b) the need to build in financial sustainability and long-term commitment from the government; (c) the
need to involve local people in design and implementation; and (d) the key role of macroeconomic and
sector policies in establishing an appropriate incentive framework for resource conservation. It also
draws on the implementation experience of the GEF PRIF in China over the past two years,
particularly the importance of twinning domestic and international technical assistance to ensure
effective transfer of new ideas and technologies. Similarly, the project draws on related lessons from
the 1991 Board paper on forestry, the 1991 Operations Evaluation Department report on forestry, and
the 1994 Board paper on forestry project implementation: (a) the importance of integrating the
management of protected and unprotected natural forest areas into regional forest management
plans; (b) the importance of developing restructuring programs for inefficient state forestry enterprises;
and (c) the need to expand the protected area system and improve management technologies for
forests with high biodiversity and environmental services values. Finally, the community participation
39 Linderman, M. A., A. Li, S. Bearer, G. He, Z. Ouyang and J. Liu. 2004. Modeling the spatio-temporal dynamics
and interactions of households, landscapes and giant panda habitat. Ecologial Modelling (detail not available).
40 Liu, J., Z. Ouyang, Z. Yang, W. Taylor, R. Groop, Y. Tan and H. Zhang. 1999. A framework for evaluating the
effects of human factors on wildlife habitat: The case of giant pandas. Conservation Biol. 13(6):1360-1370.
41 An, L., G. He, Z. Liang and J. Liu. 2006. Impacts of demographic and socioeconomic factors on spatiotemporal
dynamics of panda habitat. Biodiversity and Conservation 15:2343-2363.
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