| Project Detail |
The knowledge and support technical assistance (TA) will provide institutional and strategic services for the freshwater ecosystem conservation and restoration of the Qinling National Park (QNP) located in the Yellow River basin and the Yangtze River Basin through the joint research in the ADB headquarters and PRC to (i) institutionally integrate the resilient freshwater ecosystem into the QNP, (ii) develop the technical guidelines for the resilient freshwater ecosystem conservation and restoration of QNP and (iii) promote the QNPs governance modernization and knowledge sharing to other DMCs.
Project Name Institutional and Strategic Research for Conservation and Restoration of Freshwater Ecosystem in Qinling National Park
Project Number 56052-001
Country / Economy China, Peoples Republic of
Project Status Approved
Project Type / Modality of Assistance Technical Assistance
Source of Funding / Amount
TA 10015-PRC: Institutional and Strategic Research for Conservation and Restoration of Freshwater Ecosystem in Qinling National Park
Technical Assistance Special Fund US$ 300,000.00
Strategic Agendas Environmentally sustainable growth
Inclusive economic growth
Drivers of Change Gender Equity and Mainstreaming
Governance and capacity development
Knowledge solutions
Partnerships
Private sector development
Sector / Subsector
Agriculture, natural resources and rural development / Water-based natural resources management
Gender Equity and Mainstreaming Effective gender mainstreaming
Description The knowledge and support technical assistance (TA) will provide institutional and strategic services for the freshwater ecosystem conservation and restoration of the Qinling National Park (QNP) located in the Yellow River basin and the Yangtze River Basin through the joint research in the ADB headquarters and PRC to (i) institutionally integrate the resilient freshwater ecosystem into the QNP, (ii) develop the technical guidelines for the resilient freshwater ecosystem conservation and restoration of QNP and (iii) promote the QNPs governance modernization and knowledge sharing to other DMCs.
Project Rationale and Linkage to Country/Regional Strategy
The National Park was newly established new institutional arrangements of PRC. The General Office of the CPC Central Committee and the General Office of the State Council issued the Overall Programme for the Establishment of a National Park System on 26 September 2019 and the Guiding Opinions on the Establishment of a System of Nature Reserves with National Parks as the Mainstay. On 11 March 2022, the Plan on Major Projects Construction of National Parks and Other Natural Protected Areas and the Protection of Wild Animals and Plants (2021-2035) was issued to (i) strengthen ecosystem conservation and restoration, including ecological corridor connections, withdrawal from mining rights, and demolition of hydropower stations and other projects that do not meet the requirements of national park control; (ii) carry out special species investigations, natural resource assets registration, carbon sink monitoring of major ecosystems, assessment of the effectiveness of conservation and management; and (iii) set up the institutional structure for community co-management, and eco-compensation mechanisms for economic structural transformation and livelihood improvement._As one of priorities, the National Park Administration approved Shaanxi Province to establish of the Qinling National Park by the end of 2022 in October 2021 and is included in the above plan from 2021-2035.
TThe Qinling Mountains is water sources, carbon sink and biodiversity hotspots. The QNP is the center and spire of Qingling Mountains, renowned as the terrestrial ecosystem and_"Central Water Tower." Qingling is the water resources area of the Wei River in the Yellow River basin, the Han River and the Jialing River in the Yangtze River basin and the central route of the South-to-North Water Diversion to Beijing. The Qinling forest area has annual culvert water of 800-1000m3 per hectare, and the yearly culvert of the QNP exceeds 1.5 billion cubic meters. The QNP covers a forest area of 1.51 million hectares with a forest coverage rate of 91.04%. According to estimates, the annual carbon sequestration of QNP is 1.98 million tons, and the annual oxygen release is 4.38 million tons. The total carbon storage of the QNP is more than 150 million tons. There are 3,839 species of seed plants, 22 species of national first and second-class protected plants, 717 species of vertebrates and 125 species of national first and second-class protected species. Giant pandas, crested ibises, golden snub-nosed monkeys, antelopes and lenok are representatives of biodiversity in the Qinling ecosystem.
However, Qinling ecosystems face the following challenges:_(i) the natural disasters are relatively serious, such as frequent rainstorms, river surges and falls, large fluctuations in runoff changes, annual soil erosion of 0.84 billion tons, shallow mountain area soil erosion modulus of more than 2500 tons / square kilometer
year, landslides, flash flood mudslides, flood disasters occur from time to time;_(ii) the freshwater ecosystem is of fragmentation and overlapping management, there exist conservation gaps, and the assessment of small hydropower station remediation and follow-up rehabilitation; (iii) the ecological restoration is arduous, and the policy system such as compensation for environmental damage, compensation for ecological conservation, and realization of the value of ecological products is not well developed and implemented; (iv) economic development is relatively lagging behind, the sewage and garbage treatment capacity is not high enough which heavily impacts the water sources, and the economic development and ecological conservation are not well coordinated; and (v) awareness of ecological conservation and restoration needs to be raised.
ADB lessons. The proposed TA is consistent with ADBs strategies Operational Priorities 3, Tackling Climate Change, Building Climate and Disaster Resilience, and Enhancing Environmental Sustainability._It will benefit the effectiveness and sustainability of the ADBs lending portfolio with GEF grant support on Shaanxi Qinling Biodiversity Conservation and Demonstration Project, which has supported the government policy making to improve ecosystem management the Qinling Mountains through promoting a national park system . During the last decade, ADB has played a leading role in supporting the PRC on protecting the environment and ecology through ADBs Yangtze River Economic Belt (YREB) Framework Program,_ and the Yellow River Ecological Corridors (YREC). The research results could be disseminated widely via the platform of Regional Knowledge Sharing Initiative_which was jointly initiated by ADB and Ministry of Finance of PRC for knowledge sharing with DMCs.
Impact
Ecosystem health in the Yellow River basin and the Yangtze River basin improved. |
