Final Report - Asian Development Bank

on Land Degradation in Dryland Ecosystems, and the GEF/ADB-financed Capacity Building to
Combat Land Degradation Project.
68. Within the rural development and land use sectors the World Bank has successfully
implemented 14 projects, IFAD and ADB one each, Japan has also implemented one afforestation
project in Shaanxi. The total value of these projects exceeds $1 billion (see Appendix 2).
69. Lessons Learned. Resource degradation requires interventions that address a wide range
of the underlying causes. Sector approaches have proven to be ineffective and expensive in PRC,
often resulting in significant negative offsite impacts on local residents. Fragmented Institutional
arrangements continue to maintain inappropriate responses and perverse incentives for continued
land degradation.
70. Rural poverty reduction initiatives that do not link producers to the market chain and support
producers to exploit these linkages rarely enable beneficiaries to exit poverty. Success derives from
interventions that link the poor to economic growth opportunities, commercial value chains, and the
opportunity to compete for off-farm employment 15 .
71. The Project will adopt a commercial approach to the diversification of local economic
development in the Project Area by supporting three significant commercial enterprises to grow and
thereby provide job opportunities for local rural residents. The further linkage of these enterprises
through a sustainable financing mechanism that funds conservation programs in the CDA is unique in
China. The financing mechanism seeks to transfers funds from the commercial enterprises in the exsitu
zone to the CDA for the management and protection of Qinling Mountain Biodiversity. Funds will
also be used to assist develop more sustainable and benign livelihoods for the remaining rural
residents. The agreement to form a consolidated management of the Project area through the
amalgamation of three enterprises under one management structure provides the basis for
overcoming the institutional weaknesses in implementing successful multi-sector programs. However
to be successful competent management needs to be established and supported with staff that have
skills and motivation for implementing sustainable programs.
72. Lessons from similar ADB projects are: (i) provincial government should provide a project
management office with adequate financial and staff resources to ensure strong ownership; (ii) a
strong leading group is necessary to provide leadership and guidance; (iii) commercial projects should
be supported only if an entity exists to financially and managerially back the project that is also
committed to promoting rural development; (iv) commercial operations should adopt a flexible
approach and be sensitive to changes in market demand and prices; and (v) consultants are required
to support institutional building capacity of the stakeholders involved, including project management.
A. Impact and Outcome
III. THE PROPOSED PROJECT
73. The impact of the proposed Project will be to improve the wellbeing of rural communities in
the Project Area based on the sustainable conservation and use of Qinling Mountain resources. There
will be increased smallholder incomes and skills for livelihood diversification including the ability of the
rural poor to access higher paid employment. Income diversification will be supported through the
development of Small and Medium Enterprises (SME), the expansion of pro-poor tourism and
ecotourism opportunities, and the reallocation of land and adoption of appropriate forest based land
use activities. Biodiversity conservation will be enhanced through habitat protection and restoration
programs linked to conservation forestry, strengthened management and ex-situ species
management programs and extensive awareness and education programs.
74. The Project’s outcome is to introduce an integrated landscape management that provides
sustainable livelihoods for the population of the Project area as a demonstration for the wider Qinling
Mountains. The Project will address underlying causes and effects of both historical and
contemporary resource degradation. The main targets and indicators will be (i) demonstration of an
15
ADB. 2006. Special Evaluation Study on Pathways Out of Rural Poverty and the Effectiveness of Poverty
Targeting. Manila.
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