Final Report - Asian Development Bank

44
TA 4721-PRC: Preparing the Shaanxi-Qinling Mountains Integrated Ecosystem Management Project
Final Report Appendix 5
173. The second outstanding issue related to linkage of habitats is the growing number of
highways and railways through the Qinling. While roads and rails themselves do not absolutely
preclude movements of wild animals, some of the associated infrastructure does. For example, chainlink
fences have been erected along highways adjacent to NRs to prevent access to the NR by
livestock and people. The fences are effective in their intended role but also cause the unintended
impact of preventing wildlife movement (especially mammals) across roads and railways. Thus the
fence is more damaging than the road itself in terms of habitat fragmentation and this is especially true
for mammals such as giant panda, other threatened carnivores such as leopard and clouded leopard,
and Golden Takin. Resolution of this issue might require a combination of: (i) modification of the
fences; (ii) construction of wildlife under-passes or over-passes; and (iii) stronger management of
those NR areas lying alongside rail and road corridors (recommendation 3).
174. Management of NRs is improving and investment in NRs is increasing (recommendation 4)
due to a number of PRC and international initiatives. With respect to administration, it is widely
acknowledged that the existing institutional arrangement is not optimum. 47,48 SEPA is responsible for
coordinating nature reserve issues but SFA manages most nature reserves. SFA is the wildlife
conservation authority while SEPA is the biodiversity authority. One proposal for change in nature
reserve administration calls for establishment of an “environmental protection commission”, possibly
on the model of the seven river basin commissions, to enhance coordination for planning and
administration of the nature reserve system 49 . A more ambitious proposal calls for centralized
management and coordination under the State Council, through establishment of a new “State
Administration for Nature Reserves”, and support for the new administration in the form of increased
authority, funding and a new National Nature Reserve Law 50 .
175. With respect to investment, PRC is spending more to establish NRs in the Qinling (and in
other regions of Shaanxi as well). Second, international development lending has greatly increased
investment in and improved the quality of management at some Qinling NRs, particularly those
involved in the World Bank-GEF FRDP project and the WWF Giant Panda projects. Although these
short-term projects (up to 5 years) are a bonus for underfunded reserves, they typically do little to
solve the long-term shortage of funding for reserve operations.
176. As documented by 22 Chinese Academy of Sciences professionals in 2002, the nature
reserve system in China remains under-funded 51 . Virtually all stakeholders in conservation in China
note that funding is seldom adequate, even in national-level reserves, for anything more than paying
salaries. China’s national nature reserves receive around one eighth of the world average budget
allocation per unit area ($113 vs. $893/km 2 ), and even less than the average allocation for reserves in
developing countries ($157/km 2 ). Provincial and local reserves receive even less ($57/km 2 ). In
general, nature reserves in China receive government funding adequate to meet about one third of
their spending requirements: The balance must be met by entrepreneurial efforts that are often
antagonistic to the conservation mandate of the reserves.
177. Under-funding causes an additional problem that is seldom discussed but very important,
which is its impact on public perception of nature conservation as a career. It should be no surprise
that students in conservation curricula are numerous and keen in countries where conservation
provides attractive career prospects. Aspiring conservation biologists in many countries eagerly
anticipate the opportunity to work in remote, challenging, outdoor environments because salaries,
benefits, and budgets for equipment and materials are adequate to support a high standard of living.
This is not true in China where low salaries, poor benefits and inadequate budgets discourage
47
Xie Yan et al. 2004. China’s Protected Areas. Tsinghua University Press, Beijing. 604p (in Chinese and
English).
48
Liu Jianguo, Ouyang Zhiyun, S. L. Pimm, P. H. Raven, Wang Xiaoke, Miao Hong and Han Nianyong. 2003.
Protecting China’s Biodiversity. Science 300(5673):1240-1241.
49
Xie Yan et al. 2004. China’s Protected Areas. Tsinghua University Press, Beijing. 604p (in Chinese and
English).
50
Liu Jianguo, Ouyang Zhiyun, S. L. Pimm, P. H. Raven, Wang Xiaoke, Miao Hong and Han Nianyong. 2003.
Protecting China’s Biodiversity. Science 300(5673):1240-1241.
51
Anon. 2002. Starving Nature Reserves. Science and Technology Daily, 27 June 2002 (in Chinese).
Reviewed in: Beijing Environment, Science and Technology Update. American Embassy In China.
Environment, Science and Technology Section. 18 October 2002.