FINANCING PLAN (IN US$):

Project Executive Summary

Request for Medium-sized Project Approval

Under the GEF Trust Fund

GEFSEC Project ID: 3309

IA/ExA Project ID: TBD

Country: China

Project Title: Participatory Planning and

Implementation in the Management

of Shantou Intertidal Wetland

GEF IA/ExA: UNEP

Other project

executing

agency(ies): Zhongshan University

Duration: 3 years

GEF Focal Area: International Water

GEF Strategic

objectives: IW-1, SP-1

GEF Operational

Program: OP-8

Financing Plan ($)
	PPG	Project*
GEF Total	0	400,000
Co-financing	(provide details in Section b: Co-financing)
GEF IA/ExA	0	0
Government	0	200,000
Others	0	315,200
Co-financing Total	0	515,200
Total	0	915,200
Financing for Associated Activities If Any:

** For multi-focal projects, indicate agreed split

between focal area allocations

fOR jOINT PARTNERSHIP**
GEF Project/Component ($)
	(Share)	(Fee)
	(Share)	(Fee)
	(Share)	(Fee)

*** Projects that are jointly implemented

by more than one IA or ExA

Milestones	Dates
Pif Approval	(actual)
PPG Approval	(if applicable)
MSP Effectiveness	August 2007
MSP Start	October 2007
MSP Closing	September 2010
TE/PC Report*	February 2011

Contribution to Key Indicators Identified in the Focal Area Strategies:

The proposed project addresses the implementation of policy/legal/institutional reforms and stress-reducing measures as a contribution to the implementation of the inter-governmentally approved draft SAP for the South China Sea. These measures aim to achieve some stress reduction targets such as:

· an improved management of a total area of 3,186.87 ha of intertidal wetland habitat near an rapidly developing urban area including the development and implementation of an integrated cross-sectoral management plan and local regulations;

· a total of 1,237.71 ha wetland physically enclosed for strict protection;

· replantation of a total of about 400-500 ha wetland completed;

· the area of aquaculture with uncontrolled waste water reduced by 50 %; and

· at least 20 ha of silvo-aquaculture area newly established and maintained.

Approved on behalf of the UNEP. This proposal has been prepared in accordance with GEF policies and procedures and meets the standards of the GEF Project Review Criteria for a Medium-sized Project.

IA/ExA Coordinator

Shafqat Kakakhel

Deputy Executive Director

Officer-in-Charge

Division of GEF Coordination

Project Contact Person

Takehiro Nakamura

Date: May 17, 2007)

Tel: +254-20-762-3886

E-mail: Takehiro.Nakamura@unep.org

§ ACRONYMS

CBD Convention on Biodiversity

CBPAP China Biodiversity Protection Action Plan

CNWCAP China National Wetland Conservation Action Plan

GDP Gross Domestic Product

GEF Global Environment Facility

IUCN International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources

MSP Medium-Sized Project

PCU Project Coordination Unit

PIO Project Implementation Office

PMC Project Management Committee

PMU Project Management Unit

RSC Regional Scientific and Technical Committee

SAP Strategic Action Plan

SCS South China Sea

SEA Specialized Executing Agency

SEPA State Environment Protection Administration of China

TDA Transboundary Diagnostic Analysis

TOR Term of Reference

UNDP United Nations Development Programme

UNEP United Nations Environment Programme

UNFCCC United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

1. Project Summary

a) Project rationale, objectives, outcomes/outputs, and activities.

Background

This proposed medium-sized project is developed and proposed in accordance with the regional agreement made by the Intergovernmental Steering Committee of the United Nations Environment Programme/ Global Environment Facility (UNEP/GEF) project entitled “Reversing Environmental Degradation Trends in the South China Sea and Gulf of Thailand” (hereafter the SCS Project). The SCS project is consistent with the GEF OP-8 and was launched in 2001 and will be completed in 2007. The SCS project was developed based on the Transboundary Diagnostic Analysis (TDA) and the preparation of the draft Strategic Action Plan (SAP) for the SCS prepared between 1996 and 1998. The overall goals of the SCS project are “to create an environment at the regional level, in which collaboration and partnership in addressing environmental problems of the SCS, between all stakeholders, and at all levels is fostered and encouraged, and to enhance the capacity of the participating governments to integrate environmental consideration into national development planning.”

The SCS Project addresses, one of its project components, habitat degradation and loss, in particular mangrove, coral reef, seagrass, and wetland habitats. The wetland habitat in the coast of Shantou City, Guangdong Province, China was proposed by the Regional Scientific and Technical Committee and endorsed as one of the priority wetland sites which require immediate intervention during the 3^rd intergovernmental Steering Committee Meeting of the SCS Project convened in Manila, Feb. 2004. The decision was made based on the result of the prioritisation of 43 potential wetland demonstration sites nominated by seven countries participating to the SCS Project. The 43 potential wetland demonstration sites were ranked on the basis of criteria reflecting combined and weighted scores for environmental and socio-economic indicators reflecting the regional and global significance. Shantou intertidal wetland in Guangdong Province, China, ranked as one of the most important wetland sites overall.

As a demonstration project derived from the SCS Project, it will be implemented in close collaboration with other demonstration projects developed under the SCS Project; and lessons learnt from each project will be exchanged and disseminated nationally and regionally utilizing the SCS Project framework for information and experience exchange[1].

Site information

The proposed demonstration site, the Shantou intertidal wetland, is characterised as a relatively small intertaidal wetland habitat, with a total of 3,186.87 ha, with some mangrove forests, nearby a rapidly developing urban area.

The Shantou intertidal wetland is located in northeast coast in Shantou City, Guangdong Province, China. Its central geographical location is 23°20’N, 116 °42’E. The Shantou intertidal wetland is at the estuary area constituting a delta of three rivers, i.e. Hanjiang, Rongjiang and Lianjiang Rivers. It is the northern most site in all of the SCS project’s demonstration sites proposed. (See Annex 1: Site Map of Shantou Intertidal Wetland)

The Shantou intertidal wetland is located in the transitional area between tropical and subtropical zones. Its climate has mixed tropical and subtropical characteristics. In relation to the complex climate, temperate, subtropical and tropical biological resources can be found as well as the diverse types of habitats, such as estuaries, lagoons, intertidal mudflats, and non-peat swamps. The Shantou intertidal wetland is at the midway of migratory biota, such as migratory fishes, dolphins, and migratory waterfowls. Its environment is an indispensable component of the South China Sea.

Shantou intertidal wetland is located in one of the more developed areas of China with very high population density and its environmental quality is affected by the rapid economic development of Shantou City. Shantou City is an important Special Economic Zone in China with a total area[2] of 2,064.4 km². In 2003, it had a high population of 4,846,400 and the annual Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita was $1,550. This has imposed a tremendous pressure on the proposed wetland site. Due to the continuously increasing population density, human activities have become increasingly intensive. The current use of the Shantou intertidal wetland includes briny and limnetic aquaculture, reclamation for farmland and municipal estate, transition to the salt field, tourism park, and the natural wetland as the habitat of resident and migratory wildlife.

Current threats

The Shantou intertidal wetland is facing three major threats, which are:

l Conversion of wetland into aquaculture ponds and real estate land,

l Over-exploitation of biological resources, and

l Water pollution

The first and most important threat is the conversion of wetland into aquaculture ponds and real estate land. There still are increasing needs for aquaculture ponds which could provide high economic profits and land for housing due to rapid urbanization. Physical encroachment of wetland area by human beings, inadequately planned and controlled economic activity, is the most serious stress to be arrested or mitigated through the establishment of proper area management mechanism which enables the wise use of wetland resources.

The second threat is over-exploitation of biological resources, in the form of over-cutting of water grass[3], over-fishing, illegal hunting and egg-collecting. This type of stress needs to be arrested or mitigated through the establishment, implementation and enforcement of relevant laws, local regulations and community rules, as well as through the promotion of environmentally friendly economic activities.

The third threat is water pollution. Large quantity of wastewater from aquaculture and urban sewage is discharged into the coastal areas with limited or no treatment. Such inadequate treatment of waste water should be addressed through proper planning, installation of proper facilities, enforcement of relevant laws and regulations, as well as through the promotion of environmentally friendly aquaculture such as silvo-fishery.

Objective

The objective of this project is to demonstrate a set of stress reduction measures effective at the Shantou intertidal wetland ecosystem including:

l Establishment of institutional arrangements for cross-sectoral and participatory management (cross-sectoral management body and integrated management plan);

l Rehabilitation and physical enclosure of some hotspots;

l Promotion of environmentally friendly economic activities (silvo-fishery and eco-tourism); and

l Development and implementation of awareness raising and capacity building programmes.

Outcomes

The expected Project Outcomes are:

l Effective sustainable management of the Shantou intertidal wetland with a total area of 3,186.87 ha achieved through the development and implementation of an integrated cross-sectoral management plan; and the status of Shantou intertidal wetland upgraded from a municipal to national nature reserve;

l A total of 1,237.71 ha wetland rehabilitated and preserved through replantation and physical enclosure of the area;

l Environmentally friendly economic activities promoted, such as silvo-fishery and eco-tourism, through planning and pilot activities; and

l Public awareness on the importance of wetland conservation increased through the development and implementation of an education and public awareness programme.

Component 1: Enhanced management.

A group of activities will focus on the establishment of an institutional arrangement for improved cross-sectoral management, the development and adoption of an integrated management plan by the local government, and the development of local regulations and improved law enforcement.

Activity 1.1: Development of institutional arrangement for the cross-sectoral and participatory management

During the preparation of the project, a cross-sectoral management committee led by the Vice Mayor of Shantou City Government, has been established with memberships from various local government agencies and other major stakeholders, including Forestry Bureau, Environment Protection Bureau, Bureau of Planning and Land Resources, Bureau of Ocean and Fishery, the three district governments, and Zhongshan University. This management committee serves as a decision-making body for the project. To support the sound decision-making of the management committee, the project will establish a Scientific and Technical Committee to provide scientific and technical advice to the management committee. Membership of the Scientific and Technical Committee will include experts from Zhongshan University, South China Institute of Environmental Sciences, Guangxi Mangrove Research Center, South China Sea Institute of Marine Resources, and other relevant national and local institutes.

Activity 1.2: Development of an integrated management plan

A management plan for the Shantou intertidal wetland, including zoning and development planning, will be developed through this project. This management plan will be approved by the local government within the duration of this project, and will be implemented after the completion of the project under the scheme of the national nature reserve.

Activity 1.3: Development of local regulations and improved law enforcement

Based on the review of local legislation and regulations, a local regulation on the establishment and protection of the national nature reserve will be drafted. This regulation will be issued and enforced by the local government.

Activity 1.4: Establishment of a public participatory monitoring system

In order to stop illegal hunting and fishing, a hotline will be established to encourage local people to disclose the illegal activities to the Project Management Unit. The hotline will be linked with the local emergency line, and connected to the Project Managemtn Unit and the mobile phones of the patrollers. Such a hotline will be widely publicised through local media, propagandas, and posters.

Component 2: Conservation and Rehabilitation of Wetland Areas

Activity 2.1: Protection and restoration of wetland habitats--Suaiwan and Hexi

Activities will be undertaken in two sub demonstration sites, Hexi and Suaiwan, to restore and rehabilitate the wetland habitats for migratory waterfowls and other marine living resources. In Hexi, field surveys will be conducted to identify biological hotspots, and zone for the development of a management plan, which will be approved/adopted by the local government and stakeholders. The project plans to enclose about 1,237.71 ha of wetlands with boundary marks and fenses to prevent local people’s trespassing. A total area of about 400-500 ha will be rehabilitated by planting some original wetland plant species found in the Shantou wetland, such as reed (Phragmites communis), Shichito Matgrass (Cyperus malaccensis), Softstem Bulrush (Scirpus tabernaemontani) and Broom Sedge (Lepironia articulata).

Activity 2.2: Initiate activities to improve aquacultural water quality

Activities will be organised to clean up the Haojiang River, and improve the water quality of the river. These activities will include: cleaning up the gabbage in the river and along two kilometers’ river bank, setting up gabbage collectors, the development of a local norm, involving the local communities in promoting and implementing the local norm, including preventing littering and inappropriate gabbage dumping.

Activity 2.3: Environment Monitoring

Environment monitoring activities will be undertaken to monitor the environmental changes caused by the restoration and rehabilitation activities in the two sub demonstration sites. During the project, environmental monitoring will be conducted three times for the plants, waterfowls, and benthonic organisms. The results of the monitoring will serve as preliminary indicators for the environmental changes made by this project.

Component 3: Promotion of Environmentally Friendly Economic Activities

Activity 2.1: Protection and restoration of wetland habitats--Suaiwan and Hexi

The project proponent, Professor Chen Guizhu, led some activities in Shenzhen, Guangdong in combining mangrove planting with acquaculture, which has proved successful. Twenty ha of aquaculture ponds will be selected to plant 30,000 mangrove trees. Monitoring activities will be conducted to trace the change in productivity of fish, and the diseases of fish and shrimp in the planted areas. It is expected that mangrove trees will reduce the fish and shrimp diseases, and increase the fish productivity. By presenting pilot results, local people can be motivated to adopt this aquaculture mode.

Activity 3.2: Development of an ecotourism plan and pilot activities

The project also plans to develop an ecotourism plan covering Sanyuwei and Waisa. Community consultations and interviews will be conducted to identity current economic activities of local people in the two areas, and seek their opinions regarding ecotourism. An ecotourism plan will be developed, which will include the environmental carrying capacity analysis and cost benefit analysis of ecotourism in the two areas. Following the adoption of the plan by the local government, the project will launch pilot activities agreed in the plan. Twenty households will be selected to participate in a study tour to Shenzhen marine farm to learn from the ecotourist activities of the Marine Tour Company in Shenzhen. Five ecotourism model households will be selected and awarded by the local government, and their experience will be shared through a community-based experience exchange meeting.

Activity 3.3: Financial sustainability analysis and planning

A financial sustainability analysis and planning will be conducted for Shantou to ensure the financial sustainability of the conservation activities in Shantou. Economic valuation of Shantou wetland will be conducted, following the regional guidelines provided by the Regional Task Force on Economic Valuation of the UNEP/GEF South China Sea Project. A socio-economic analysis of the relationship between the local communities and wetland resources will be conducted to examine patterns of economic activities and dependence of local people on wetlands. The results of the economic valuation will serve not only as inputs to the updating of the Regional Strategic Action Programme, but also, along with the socio-economic analysis, as scientific data to encourage some government officials, who are concerned about economic development, to promote environmental protection.

Component 4: Education and public awareness

Activity 4.1: Develop training and education plan; Activity 4.2: Establishment of a Training, Education and Information Centre; Activity 4.3: Training and Capacity Building Program; Activity 4.4: Primary and Middle School Education Program; and Activity 4.5: Production of public awareness materials

A training, education and information centre will be established in Suaiwan. A training and capacity programme will be developed and training courses will be offered to government officials, researchers, young scientists, and project management staff. Student activities will be organised to increase awareness and participation of students, including excursions, tree replanting activities, courses and seminars, essay competition, and drawing/painting competition.

Activity 4.6: Public awareness rasing through student NGO activities

The proposed project will realise the outreach to university students and other stakeholders which cannot be easily accessed by the above activities 4.1 to 4.5. Public awareness raising through the activities of student environmental non-governmental organisation at Zhongshan University, Friend of the Earth, with about 500 members, is planed. The project will support their activities on annual publication, as well as their public awareness events on International Wetland Day and on Earth Day.

Activity 4.7: Establish & publicize local website for demonstration site; and Activity 4.8: National Wetland Conference

A website will be developed to publicise project activities, awareness raising materials, and relevant wetland information for the project. In order to disseminate Shantou experience in other wetland sites in China, a national wetland conference will be organised in Shantou with about 50 participants from around the country.

Component 5: Project Management and Coordination

Activities in this component include project coordination and administration tasks as well as tasks related to project monitoring and evaluation. Daily management and coordination of project activities will be executed by a Project Management Unit to be established in Shantou, with close consultation with the executing agency, Zhongshan University. As for the project monitoring and evaluation activities, a mid-term review and a terminal evaluation are planned. Detailed project management structure and responsibilities are further explained in Section E and Annex 10; while, a project monitoring and evaluation plan is further described in Section C.6 and Annex 7.

b) Key indicators, assumptions, and risks

· a total of 1,237.71 ha wetland physically enclosed for strict protection;

· replantation of a total of about 400-500 ha wetland completed;

· the area of aquaculture with uncontrolled waste water reduced by 50 %; and

· at least 20 ha of silvo-aquaculture area newly established and maintained.

Different types of risks possibly exist in the project, though they can be mitigated by well-planning of the activities and strategies. Major risks include: (1) The enforcement of new regulation may face many difficulties, as it may endanger the short-term benefits of various sectors and stakeholders. The related mitigating action is to raise pubic awareness, and strengthen the compliance with the regulations by local management institutions, environmental protection units and fishery management institutions. (2) Preventing destructive fishing activities on wetland will reduce the income of local residents on a short term. This may cause resistance of local fishermen to the project activities. The related mitigating action is to widely disseminate information on the significance of the demonstration site, and the long-term benefit of protection of the wetland to fishery production. In addition local government should increase employment prospects for residents to increase their income, by introducing them to alternative professions.

2. Country Ownership

a) Country Eligibility

China is eligible for GEF funding in the International Waters Focal Area in accordance with paragraph 9(b) of the Instrument for the Establishment of the Restructured Global Environment Facility.

b) Country Drivenness

In recent years, the government of China paid more attention to the importance of wetlands and their associated biodiversity, and has adopted national protection measures, including the ratification of the Ramsar Convention. Currently, China has twenty one wetland sites included in the Ramsar List of Wetlands of International Importance.

China developed and issued China Agenda 21 and the China Biodiversity Protection Action Plan (CBPAP) in 1994. The CBPAP states that China will “establish the economic demonstration models for biodiversity conservation and sustainable use” and “establish the demonstration sites of natural reserves”. In 2000, China issued one of the most important policy documents regarding wetland protection, China National Wetland Conservation Action Plan (CNWCAP). China national wetland survey was completed in 2002.

In the CNWCAP, the Shantou intertidal wetland is included in the several priority projects, for example:

· Project Eight: Research and demonstration of restoration and reconstruction of degraded wetland ecology,

· Project Seventeen: Construction of conservation demonstration sits at the tidal flat and estuary,

· Project Twenty-Six: Research and demonstration of artificial wetland’s effective eco-agricultural model in the South China, and

· Project Thirty-Eight: Biodiversity conservation and sustainable use of wetland. Shantou intertidal wetland is included in the items mentioned above[4].

The Shantou intertidal wetland is currently designated as a municipal nature reserve. The State Environment Protection Administration of China (SEPA) intends to upgrade this municipal nature reserve to the national level upon the completion of the proposed project. Both the central and local governments are committed to providing financial support to the proposed project. At present, the Ministry of Finance is committed to providing a financial support of US$180,000 to the Shantou intertidal wetland project, and the Shantou City Government is committed to providing the same amount of financial support to the conservation and improved management of Shantou intertidal wetland. If this wetland site could be upgraded to the national level, it will receive the regular funding for continuing conservation activities.

The local government has taken initiatives to conserve Shantou intertidal wetland. In March 2000, the Shantou intertidal wetland was established as a municipal nature reserve by the Shantou City Government. The Shantou City Government has undertaken various activities to realise the conservation of the intertidal wetland habitats and wise use of wetland resources; and it aims to upgrade the administrative status of the nature reserve from a municipal level to a higher one, which would provide the area with further opportunities and financial resources for its proper management. The proposed demonstration project is built on existing experiences and is in line with local government efforts.

3. Program and Policy Conformity

a) Programme Designation and Conformity

This project is consistent with the GEF OP-8 and Strategic Objective IW-1. OP-8 on waterbody-based operation states: “the GEF will play a catalytic role in assisting a group of countries to leverage co-financing....... for necessary elements of a comprehensive approach for sustainably managing the international waters environment. [para 8.2]” In addition this operational programme further states that: “Projects in this Operational program focus mainly on seriously threatened water-bodies and the most imminent transboundary threats to their ecosystems. [para 8.3]” The propject is also aligned to the Strategic Priority IW-1 of the GEF-III which describes: “Catalyze financial resource mobilization for implementation of reforms and stress reduction measures agreed through TDA-SAP or equivalent processes for particular transboundary systems” and also states: “GEF would facilitate efforts of collaborating nations to mobilize financial resources for implementing policy/legal/institutional reforms and stress reducing investments previously agreed with GEF assistance. [para 10]”

The OP-8 further describes its short-term objectives as to: “undertake a series of projects that utilize a spectrum of interventions for addressing different transboundary environmental concerns in different types of waterbodies” [para 8.5 (a)]; “derive lessons learned from experiences in using various types of institutional arrangements at the national and regional levels” [para 8.5 (b)]; and “initiate actions toward resolving transboundary environmental concerns for a variety of waterbody settings” [papa 8.5 (d)].

The proposed project meets these specifications of OP-8 and Strategic Objective IW-2/Strategic Programme 1 of the GEF-IV. It aims to demonstrate a set of interventions to establish and maintain integrated management of a regionally significant habitat within the South China Sea marine basin.

b) Project Design (including logframe and incremental reasonsing)

Background

The major components of the SCS project include: i) Habitat Degradation and Loss; ii) Over-exploitation of Fisheries in the Gulf of Thailand; and iii) Land-based Pollution. The first component of the SCS project “Habitat Degradation and Loss” is to address four habitats of priority, namely: i) mangrove, ii) coral reef, iii) sea-grass, and iv) wetlands[5]. The seven participating countries, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam, selected these as the regionally common priority focal areas, through a regional priority setting process of the TDA.

During the implementation of the SCS project, it became clear that in order for the project to achieve and ensure beneficial impacts and sustainable outcomes in reversing environmental degradation in the South China Sea, there is a need to establish a regional network of demonstration sites. The Project Steering Committee determined that the network needed to consist of at least 24 habitat demonstration sites, among which eleven sites would be funded through the SCS project, and seven through the GEF Medium-sized Project (MSP) mechanism, based on the pledge of the GEF representative at the First Scientific Conference to be ready to provide additional GEF resources through MSPs. Furthermore, each of the participating countries of the SCS project will nominate at least one self-funded demonstration site to be included in the regional network.

The selection of the demonstration sites was based on a prioritization analysis by which the environmental and socio-economic importance of a total of 136 sites, nominated by the governments of participating countries, was quantified and ranked. The SCS project selected 18 primary demonstration sites of mangrove, coral reef, sea-grass and wetland habitats with regional and global significance. Eleven of these 18 demonstration sites have already been funded through the SCS Project and seven others, including Shantou intertidal wetland, China, seek complementary GEF funding through MSPs.

Major features of the Shantou intertidal wetland which resulted in the high-rianking among others can be summarised as:

l Rich biodiversity including a number of endangered/threatened species;

l Regional and transboundary significance in terms of its important functions to maintain local and regional fishery resources, to support endangered species and migratory birds: and

l Strong commitment pledged by the local government and relevant stakeholders.

Site information

Proposed demonstration project site is an intertidal wetland ecosystem with some mangrove forests nearby a rapidly developing urban area, Shantou City, Guangdong Province, China. Shantou City is one of the five Special Economic Zones in China established in 1981. Shantou city is an area with high population density and fast economic development. The population density was 2,348 per km² in 2003 and the GDP per capita increased 5.6% during 2002 to 2003. It includes seven administrative units including Jinping, Longhu, Chenghai, Haojiang, Chaoyang, Chaonan Districts and Nan’ao County. Because of the high population density and rapid economic development, human activities are intensive in this area.

Geographical coordinate of the Shantou intertidal wetland is 23°20’N, 116 °42’E which is along the southern coast of China. The Shantou intertidal wetland is at the estuary area constituting a delta of three rivers, i.e. Hanjiang, Rongjiang and Lianjiang Rivers. It is the northern most site in all of the SCS project’s demonstration sites proposed. (See Annex 1: Site Map of Shantou Intertidal Wetland)

Biodiversity

The biodiversity of the Shantou intertildal wetland is quite rich and includes some endangered/threatened species. According to the preliminary survey[6], 179 species of birds, 213 species of fish, 198 species of benthic animals, 21 species of creepers, 14 species of amphibians and 233 species of higher plants have been recorded in the Shantou intertidal wetland (See Annex 2: Detail Component of Biodiversity, and Annex 12: Comparison of Biodiversity between Shantou and Other Wetland Sites in the Region). Among them, there are five threatened and endangered bird species, including Black-faced Spoonbill (Platalea minor), Spotted Greenshank (Tringa guttifer), Chinese Egret (Egretta eulophotes), Saunder's Gull (Larus saundersi), and Chinese Merganser (Mergus squamatus).

Black-faced Spoonbill is classified as endangered species in the Red List of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN), and its population is about 600 due to habitat deterioration and pollution. Spotted Greenshank has a very small population which is declining as a result of the development of coastal wetlands throughout its range, principally for industry and aquaculture. According to the Red Data Book of Birdlife International, its total population is between 250 and 999. Chinese Egret is classified as endangered species on the Asian Red Data Book by BirdLife International, and its population is between 2,000 and 3,400. The main causes of its population decrease are habitat deterioration and over exploitation by hunting for feather collecting. Saunder's Gull is classified as threatened species in the IUCN Red List and Chinese Red List of Birds, and its population is about 3,000. Chinese Merganser is classified as endangered species on the IUCN Red List, and its population is between 250 and 1,000[7]. They were all found in Shantou intertidal wetland.

Four endemic amphibian and reptile species are also found in Shantou intertidal flat: Flying Foam Nest Frog (Rhacophorus leucomystax), Reeve's Turtle (Chinemys reevesii), Beal’s Eyed Turtle (Clemmys bealei), and Asian Yellow Pond Turtle (Mauremys mutica).

Regional and transboundary significance

Funcions to maintain local and regional fishery resources. There are 56 fishery species living or spending part of their life in the Shantou coastal area. Most of them are of high economic value, such as Japanese Eel (Anguilla japonica), Fourfinger Threadfin (Eleutheronema tetradactylum), Blowfish (Fugu oblongus), Sea Bass (Lates calcarifer), and Red Sea Bream (Pagrus major). They are the main protein sources from the marine environment for the local communities and important resources for the fishermen’s livelihood, and the main piscatorial objects for Southeast Asian fishermen. The wise use of the oceanic and wetland biological resources in Shantou can contribute to the protection of transboundary fishery resources, shared by the bordering countries of the South China Sea

Functions to support endangered Dolphins. Indo-Pacific Humpbacked Dolphin (Sousa chinensis) and Indian Humpback Dolphin (Sousa plumbea) distributed in Shantou sea area are endangered species found in tropical and subtropical estuaries. Indo-Pacific Humpbacked Dolphin is found in North Australia, African coasts along the Indian Ocean, and the South-East Asian coast along the Pacific Ocean. The estuary area of Shantou intertidal wetland is one of the most important habitats to the cetaceans for their living and reproduction. It is believed that abundant wetland products from the Shintou intertidal area provide enough food resources to these dolphins.

Functions to support migratory birds. There are a large number of migratory waterfowls migrating from Siberian, Korean and Japanese wetlands to Shantou in late autumn and early winter. They stay for a while to to get replenishment. After a rich banquet, they continued to fly to the South-East Asian or Australian wetlands for wintering. Some waterfowls, such as the Black-faced Spoonbill (Platalea minor) and Dalmatian Pelican (Pelecanus crispus) will stay at the area of Shantou intertidal wetland area for wintering. The water fowls will be back to Shatou from the Southern Area. When they get enough energy in the Shantou intertidal wetland, they then fly to the Northern Area for summering and reproductive activities. There are 31 bird species under the China-Australia Migrant Bird Agreement, and 55 bird species under the China-Japan Migrant Bird Agreement, which are found in Shantou.

Strong commitment pledged by local government and relevant stakeholders

The Shantou City Government has an increasing awareness of environmental problems caused by rapid economic development and population growth. It therefore is committed to actively participating to the proposed project and to continuing the actions and activities beyond the life of the project. For example, through the Shantou City Costal Flat Mangrove Afforestation Engineering Programme and Implementation Project, Shantou City planted an area of 1,644.6 ha mangrove since 1998. Proposed project and its activities are in line with the policies and priorities of the local government. Local communities and the related stakeholders will also participate in the demonstration activities.

Present use

In the Shantou intertidal wetland, there were about 24 thousand ha coastal wetlands lost due to reclamation in the past 20 years. This is nearly equal to the half of the entire intertidal wetland existed in Shinto about two decades ago. More than 25% of the total area of wetland in Shantou, namely 12,974.52 ha has been used for aquaculture purpose[8]. From 2002 to 2003, the oceanic aquacultural output of Shantou City increased from 132 to 153 thousand ton with a growth rate of 15.91%[9]. Accompanied with rapid economic development process, reclamation of wetlands for farmland and municipal estate has been intensively conducted leading to the loss of wetlands. Mangrove is one of the important wetland resources distributed in Shantou City. In the 1950’s, there are hundreds ha of natural mangrove area distributed in Shantou. However, only 10.7 ha of natural mangrove area remains in Shantou primarily due to reclamation.

Part of wetland has been turned into the fields for the salt production. The salt fields are usually in the marshes with high salinity or on the coast of bays and lagoons in Shantou City. The area of salt fields in Shantou City is 595.99 ha. In recent years, because of the low output value of salt mining, many areas of the salt fields were abandoned. Some areas naturally returned to salt marshes, and others were turned into aquaculture ponds for the purpose of obtaining higher profit.

The Shantou intertidal wetland is an important tourism resource. Some wetlands have been used for tourism as a municipal park, such as Queshi Landscape Area near Suaiwan and Waisha River estuary wetland park. Shantou City is one of the most famous hometowns of overseas Chinese, with unique cultural and socio-economic characteristics. In 2001, Shantou received 2.24 million tourists.

Other wetlands are under-developed area functioning as the natural habitat of wildlife. There is a large area of mangrove forests and water grass in the demonstration site, which are the places for the perching, feeding, spawning, and hatching of plants, birds, fishes, shrimps and crabs. The water grass grown in the wetland is one of the most important resources for the local communities. Currently, there is 1,080 ha of water grass area in Shantou City[10]. The local communities cut most of them to make bed sheets and artifacts like baskets and hats every winter. The season for cutting/harvesting water grass coincides with the reproductive season of migratory birds in the Shantou wetland. These water grass cutting/harvesting activities partly affect habitat conditions, further influencing the reproduction of birds.

Threats

With rapid economic growth, growing population, urbanisation, and industrialisation, the Shantou wetland is currently under serious threat. The results of a causal-chain analysis (Annex 3) implemented during project preparation indicate the major immediate threats to Shantou wetlands include: conversion of wetlands, over exploitation of resources, and degradation of water quality.

1. Conversion of wetlands

The most important factors causing the decline in wetland area and degradation of the wetland functions is the increasing need for land for agricultural, industrial and commercial purposes, including fish and shrimp ponds, real estate, farmland, and salt fields. In the past twenty years, 24,000 ha of wetlands has been converted to other land uses, of which 12,974 ha has been transformed to fish and shrimp ponds. From 1997 to 2004, the area of aquaculture in Shantou City has increased by 1,348 ha. Figure 1 illustrates the area of aquaculture in Shantou City during the period.

Fig. 1. The area of aquaculture in Shantou City

Source: Shantou Statistics Bureau. 2004. The Statistics Annals of Shantou City. Shantou: Shantou University Press, pp. 301~302.

Conversion of large wetland area causes accelerated sedimention in neighboring wetland areas, and leads to the degradation and loss of wetlands habitats. For example, in Niutianyang, a riverbank area of Rongjiang River opposite to Hexi and Sanyuwei, there has been an increased sedimentation, causing changes and degradation of habitat for benthonic organisms. Accelerated sedimentation also causes the blockage of water transportation routes, resulting in increased dredging, threatening the survival of benthonic animals.

2. Over exploitation of resources

Local communities are dependent on wetland resources for livelihood for generations. Major resources that local people have been collecting from the wetland site include: water grass, fishes, birds, and bird eggs. Increased population, along with the development of fishing and hunting technology, contributes to the over exploitation of natural resources.

Over cutting/hervesting of water grass. Water grass has been cut by the local people to produce bed sheets, baskets, hats and other artifacts. According to the interview with the local people conducted prior to this project proposal, more than 100 local people cut the water grass from a total area of about 800 ha of wetland area in Hexi. About 500 ha of wetland area lost water grass, which provides habitat for the migratory birds. Furthermore, the water grass cutting season is in the winter, which coincides with the time for birds to lay eggs. The local people who cut the water grass also collect large number of bird eggs from the habitat. The cutting activity itself also greatly disturbs reproduction of birds.

Over fishing. Fishing activities have become more intensive in recent years due to the increased size of boats and development of fishing technologies. Blast fishing and electrical fishing further contribute to the worsening of over fishing problem. In the past three years, 385 cases of illegal fishing have been identified and prosecuted by the local authority. The quantity of the fishery from each of the case ranges from ten to fifty kilograms. Over-fishing has caused not only the destruction of the reproductivity of important fish species, resulting in the depletion of fishery resources, but also an ecological imbalance that threatens the survival of other species.

Illegal bird hunting and egg collecting. It is believed by the local people that wildlife and wild products as a food source can improve human beings’ energy and health. These wildlife and products have become luxious food for wealthy people. The high demand for wildlife and related products, along with the overall increase in average income of the people, has led to the dramatic increase in the market price of these products. Even more serious is the fact that during the migration season, waterfowls are suffering from illegal hunting by various means such as the use of blunderbusses, underground pits, and nets.

Banning of bird hunting and egg collecting from nature reserve reduces their supply to the open market but increases their supply to the underground market. The price of these wildlife tends to increase in the underground market, which further motivates local people to hunt birds and collect eggs illegally. The local authority recorded 6,153 birds which were illegally hunted in the past three years: 561 in 2002, 2,989 in 2003, and 2,604 in 2004. According to the project proponent’s interview with local people, in Hexi, about 70-80 local people collect bird eggs from the wetland area between November and December when birds migrate to this area for laying eggs. Each individual collects an average of four kilograms of bird eggs. A kilogram of bird eggs can be sold at three dollars on the local market.

3. Degradation of water quality due to discharge of pollutants

Pollution is one of the most serious threats to wetland. Pollution has not only worsened water quality but also degraded the wetland habitats and resulted in the decrease of biodiversity.

Following the rapid urbanization, the increased discharge of aquaculture wastewater, domestic wastewater and industrial wastewater has caused continuous degradation of water quality in Shantou coastal habitats. In 2004, there was an increase of lead, petroleum, and ammonia nitrogen, respectively by 50%, 3.8%, and 37% in Chaoyang District, in which Hexi and Sanyuwei wetland areas are located. The concentration of pollutant in Waisha River estuary from 1996 to 2004 is given as below (Fig. 2).

Figure 2. Concentration of heavy metal in the water of Waisha River estuary

Root causes

The root cause of the above-mentioned direct threats to wetlands is the lack of proper management and policy, specifically:

l Weak management of the area, i.e. lack of an institutional arrangement for cross sectoral and participatory management, lack of integrated management plan, and weak law enforcement. Since the wetlands are located in the boundary of land and water, its management is of relevance to various municipal government agencies, such as Forestry Bureau, Environment Protection Bureau, Bureau of Planning and Land Resourcess, Bureau of Ocean and Fishery, and Bureau of Transportation. The overlapping responsiblities and unclear definition of authorities create difficulties in coordinating actions among these agencies for developing and implementing management policies regarding sustainable wetland management. This results in limited capacity for sustainable management.

l Over reliance of local people on wetland natural resources. The local communities living around the wetland consider that the wetland natural resources are inexhaustible. They cut almost all of water grass, and catch all sizes of the fishes as much as they need by using nets with very small mesh. Every year, millions of migratory birds visit Shantou wetland. This gives the local people an illusion that the wetland fauna resources are abundant to be used to the extent their living requirements are met. Over-exploitation led to the degradation of wetland resources gradually, and resulted in the loss of biodiversity eventually.

l Lack of awareness among local people and government. Wetlands were considered as “wasteland” for a long time. The mentality of “men can conquer the nature” still lingers among the local people. An over emphasis on economic development as important performance criteria for local government officials leads to a tendency to sacrifice environment for short-term economic growth. There is a lack of awareness among both the local people and government officials regarding the economic and environmental value of wetlands.

Proposed Interventions

1. In order to address the root causes to the degradation of the Shantou intertidal wetland site, the following interventions are proposed:

l Improve the management of Shantou intertidal wetland through the establishment of institutional arrangements for cross-sectoral and participatory management, and the development and implementation of an integrated cross-sectoral management plan aiming at the restoration of habitats of migratory waterfowls and biological treatment of wastewater.

l Develop and implement a program for wetland rehabilitation and conservation.

l Promote environmentally friendly economic activities, to reduce over reliance of the local communities on wetland natural resources.

l Increase awareness among stakeholders on the importance of wetland resources through the development and implementation of an education and public awareness programmes.

Baseline scenario

Currently, there are a number of government agencies engaged in the use and management of Shantou wetland, including five major municipal government agencies, i.e. Forestry Bureau, Environment Protection Bureau, Bureau of Planning and Land Resources, Bureau of Ocean and Fishery, and Bureau of Transportation. At present, there is a lack of clear definition of responsibilities among the five agencies regarding wetland use and management.

In August 2001, the Shantou wetland was designated as a nature reserve at the municipal level, and a total area of 7,174 ha was desinated as the area to be managed by the Office of the Nature Reserve. In 2003, the total area for wetland management was increased to 20,091 ha. The Office of the Nature Reserve, reporting to Forestry Bureau of municipal government, was established to focus on the conservation and management of wetland area. Currently, the office is staffed with three scientific and technical officers, and three administrative staff. This Office has actively undertaken a series of activities to conserve wetland area since its establishment. $77,500 has been allocated for the daily business and operation of the Office of the Nature Reserve, and $50,000 has been invested in scientific research. Since 2003, the Office of Nature Reserve has undertaken a series of activities attempting to upgrade the nature reserve to the provincial level.

Despite the actions taken by the Office of the Nature Reserve, the wetland area continues sufferring from loss and serious degradation, resulting in the loss of the migratory bird habitat, and spawning and feeding grounds for fish and other marine migratory species. The Office lacks the necessary authority to coordinate between agencies, the capacity to manage the large area of wetland, and financial resources to support conservation activities. Because of the limitation of financial and human resources, the management office is relatively weak. Insufficient patrolling instruments, lack of full time employees, lack of financial support would lead to less effective management. Moreover, illegal activities, such as hunting of animals, cutting of wetland plants, reclamation for fish pond, would continue.

Without the establishment of a cross-sectoral high-level management mechanism, the relevant agencies will continue competing for resource use. Without a focused outreach and awareness effort to better engage local communities and raise the public awareness, local communities will continue the activities of the overuse of wetland resources. Without the introduction of sustainable aquaculture models to increase the productivity of existing ponds, local communities will continue converting wetlands areas into ponds. Tourism will do more harm to the wetland environment without proper eco-tourism planning. All these uncoordinated activities without environmental planning may eventually lead to the further degradation of wetland resources, and total wetland loss ultimately, if there is no reinforced effort.

Under the baseline scenario, the degradation trends of the Shinto intertidal wetland cannot be arrested and the environmental stress on the SCS transboundary waterbody would increase. Further degradation of the Shantou wetland habitat may result in globally and regionally significant incidents such as the decline in fishery resources shared with Southeast Asian countries, and the creation of severe burden to a large number of migratory birds currently stopping over in Shantou wetland during their migration between Australia and Northeast Asia. The loss of wetland habitat will cause the loss of biological diversity with global significance which is currently found in Shantou.

Alternative scenario

The proposed GEF intervention will reduce the environmental stress on the SCS transboundary water body through 1) demonstrating how cross-sector participation in the integrated management of regionally significant wetland habitats can prevent further wetland ecosystem degradation and loss; 2) catalysing political support and financial commitments for the conservation and sustainable management of the Shantou wetland; 3) capacity building for wetland management.

Through the GEF intervention, a cross-sectoral management scheme will be introduced, with the participation of all relevant government agencies and other stakeholders. An integrated management plan will be developed based on the project activities, and implemented by the local government based on the experience and lessons learnt through this project’s implementation. The project will demonstrate an eco-aquacultural model in reconciling the contradiction between economic development and wetland conservation.

The preparation of the GEF project proposal has already secured strong political support from the central government agencies, including SEPA, the State Forestry Administration, and the Ministry of Finance. The political support has been manifested by the financial commitment of co-financing to the project activities, and regular government budgets to support the Nature Reserve beyond the project life. The Shanou Municipal Government has also pledged strong financial and institutional supports to the proposed demonstration project activities.

From the perspective of administrative management and operation for the conservation activities, this MSP will strengthen management capacity of the local government and the Office of Nature Reserve, and establish communication channels among relevant agencies. With a proper number of employees, adequate equipments for patrolling, applicable local regulations, and strong political support, the management of the Shantou intertidal wetland could ensure the sustainability of the wetland ecosystem.

In summary, the proposed MSP will strengthen management and protection of Shantou wetland habitat through improved management, conservation activities, the introduction of sustainable aquacultural practices, and ecotourism, and increased public awareness and participation in environmental protection. This will generate global and regional environmental benefits by directry reducing the environmental stress on the transboundary water body of the South China Sea; while the lessons learnt will be shared and could be replicated, beyond the life of the project, at other intertidal wetlands facing similar challenges – this is considered as indirect, but important global and regional benefits form the proposed MSP.

Project Objective

The objective of the project is to restore and conserve the wetland habitat by establishing an integrated cross-sectoral management system, promoting environmentally friendly economic activities, and improving the public awareness and education on wetland conservation.

The overall outcome of this project will be a demonstration of how a cross-sector participation scheme in the integrated management of a regionally significant wetland habitat can prevent further wetland ecosystem degradation and rehabilitate important habitats for migratory water fowls. This will be achieved through four specific project outcomes, namely 1) Enhanced management; 2) conservation and rehabilitation of wetland areas; 3) promotion of environmentally friendly economic activities; and 4) education and public awareness raising. Relative project outcomes, outputs, activities and indicators are given in Annex 4 Project Logframe.

Activities and financial inputs needed to enable changes

Proposed project activities will be undertkaken in four sub demonstration sites, i.e. Hexi, Sanyuwei, Suaiwan, and Waisha. Table 1 briefly summarises the highlights of the activities of each sub demonstration site.

Table 1. Highlights of Sub Demonstration Sites

Sub Demonstration Sites	Area (Ha)	Highlights
Hexi	859.36	Habitat rehabilitation and conservation
Sanyuwei	1,182.41	Sylvo fishery
Suaiwan	378.35	Environment education base
Waisha	766.75	Pilot activities for eco-tourism
Total	3,186.87

Proposed project activities can be categorized into five components: 1) enhanced management, 2) conservation and rehabilitation of wetland areas, 3) promotion of environmentally friendly economic activities, 4) education and public awareness, and 5) project management and coordination. Annex 8 Table A 8.1 includes a detailed list of activities and subactivities, and the required financing for these activities and subactivities.

Component 1: Enhanced management.

Activity 1.1: Development of institutional arrangement for the cross-sectoral and participatory management

Activity 1.2: Development of an integrated management plan

Activity 1.3: Development of local regulations and improved law enforcement

Activity 1.4: Establishment of a public participatory monitoring system

Component 2: Conservation and Rehabilitation of Wetland Areas

Activity 2.1: Protection and restoration of wetland habitats--Suaiwan and Hexi

Activity 2.2: Initiate activities to improve aquacultural water quality

Activity 2.3: Environment Monitoring

Component 3: Promotion of Environmentally Friendly Economic Activities

Activity 2.1: Protection and restoration of wetland habitats--Suaiwan and Hexi

Activity 3.2: Development of an ecotourism plan and pilot activities

Activity 3.3: Financial sustainability analysis and planning

Component 4: Education and public awareness

Activity 4.6: Public awareness rasing through student NGO activities

Activity 4.7: Establish & publicize local website for demonstration site; and Activity 4.8: National Wetland Conference

Component 5: Project Management and Coordination

Risks and assumptions

c) Sustainability (including financial sustainability)

Four categories of project impacts will be sustained beyond the life of the project, including environmental change, institutional arrangement and management, public awareness and participation, and financial support for continuing conservation activities.

Environmental impact. More than 3,000 ha of wetland area will be restored and conserved through the project activities. The restored and rehabiliated area will be enclosed with boundary marks and fenses, which will be maintained by the administrative unit of the national nature reserve.

Through the pilot activities of developing silvo-fishery, the project will demonstrate to local aquaculture farmers with economic benefits in planting mangrove trees in the fish and shrimp ponds. Local farmers will have the motivation to maintain the mangrove trees, and replicate this model in other ponds. Mangroves areas have biological functions in cleaning up aquaculture wastewater.

The eco-tourism will bring economic benefits to the local communities if and when local people are employed. With the increase of incomes, reinforcement of wetland protection awareness, more detailed and effective laws or regulations, the local communities will undertake less illegal activities to damage the wetland.

Institutional arrangement and management. The cross-sectoral management structure will sustain beyond the project, and the Management Committee will serve as the decision-making body for the national nature reserve. The local nature reserve regulations will be adopted and implemented, hence ensuring the conservation of Shantou wetland areas. Capacity building activities will greatly improve the management capacity of local government officials and the staff of the Office of the Shantou City Nature Reserve, who will serve as the officers for the national nature reserve to be established.

The public awareness and education activities will increase the awareness of school children, local people, and local decision-makers concerning the importance of wetlands. More than four thousand students will participate in wetland excusion and replanting activities, and many more students will be involved in school activities in paper and painting/drawing competition. The impact on these school children will carry forward.

The establishment of the hotline system will be maintained and promoted with limited cost by the Office of Shantou Municipal Nature beyond the life of the project.

Financial sustainability. The SEPA supports the initiative to promote the Shantou intertidal wetland site to a national nature reserve upon the completion of the project. In China, a national nature reserve would receive US$975,000 for the establishment of the national nature reserve and US$125,000 per year for the regular management from the central government. The provincial and local governments will provide equal financial support for the regular management of the nature reserve. Therefore, the Shantou intertital wetland will receive $250,000 as annual regular budget. This will significantly exceed the GEF’s fund to the demonstration site activities ($400,000 in three years). This has shown strong government financial support to the project, and will ensure the financial sustainability through governmental regular budget, upon the completion of the project.

The financial sustainability will be further ensured by the development of ecotourism, following the implementation of the integrated management pland and the ecotourism plan. Through this the income will be generated which will help the long-term viability of the demonstration activities.

d) Replicability

As a demonstration project designed and implemented in accordance to the UNEP/GEF SCS Project guidelines, the proposed project largely shares its replicability scheme with that of the SCS Project. To ensure and maximize its replicability, the proposed project fully participates in the Framework for Regional Coordination, Dissemination of Experiences, and Personnel Exchange between Sites (See Annex 13). The framework provides opportunities for regional exchange of experiences, including exchange of personnel between sites, training courses and/workshops based on the demonstration sites, and publication and dissemination of technical reports and public awareness materials both in print and on the Internet.

Anticipated lessons learnt from the demonstration project include community participation in the protection of the marine and coastal environment in general. They include process of establishing and running a cross-sectoral management scheme, awareness raising and capacity building in terms of facilitating active participation to designing and implementation of the integrated management plan, the design and implementation of environmentally sustainable economic activities focusing on sustainable tourism and alternative income generation for low-income fishermen. All lessons learnt will be, of course, shared not only at regional level, but also at local and national levels.

Under the existing framework for Regional Cooperation, this project will work closely with other wetland sites of regional importance such as Malampaya in Philippines, Thale Noi in Thailand, and Xuan Thuy/Balat in Vietnam to enable exchange of information and experience under the SCS project. Furthermore, it is intended to exchange lessons learnt from Shantou with other SCS demonstration sites in different habitats in China such as the mangrove demonstration site in Fangchenggang and the seagrass demonstration site in Hepu and other important wetland sites in China such as Danzhou-Lingao intertidal wetland in Hainan Province, Wenchang lagoon wetland in Hainan Province, and Pearl River estuary wetland in Guangdong Province.

Lessons and experience will be shared at the local level through the the study tours of local people, and the organisation of a community-based experience exchange meeting, involving the promotion of ecotourism models. At the national level, a national wetland conference will be convened in Shantou with fifty leading experts, managers, and government officials to disseminate experience and lessons learnt in Shantou. Members of the Scientific and Technical Committee of the demonstration site are from around the country, which will have the obligation to promote Shantou wetland management experience in other wetland areas in China.

e) Stakeholder Involvement

Stakeholder identification

Stakeholder involvement in the proposed project is vital to ensure sustainable utilisation of coastal resources and conservation of coastal wetland. During the preparation of the project proposal, key stakeholders were not only identified, but also were intensively consulted regarding proposed project activities, responsibilities of various stakeholders, and their financial commitments. The identified stakeholders include: 1) Government agencies related to wetland management, including SEPA (national), Shantou City Government, Bureau of Planning and Land Resources, Forestry Bureau, Bureau of Ocean and Fishery, Environment Protection Bureau, and the district governments of the four sub demonstration sites, i.e. Longhu, Haojiang, and Chaoyang Districts (municipal); 2) Zhongshan University. As the executing agency, its responsibility is to provide scientific and technical guidance to the execution of the project, and ensure the operation and management of the project; 3) Office of the Shantou City Nature Reserve. The Shantou intertidal wetland demonstration site is within the Shantou Nature Reserve, which has been the responsibility of the Office to manage and protect the wetland. 4) Local communities of Hexi, Sanyuwei, Suaiwan, and Waisha. A total population of 367,388 resides in the four towns. A large number of local people derive direct or indirect economic benefits from the wetland area. They will use and manage the wetland and need to benefit from wetland.

According to the local context these stakeholders have different rights, benefits, duties, responsibilities. The interests of these various stakeholders may be in conflict, hence the coordination and communication between these stakeholders is highly critical for sustainable management of the wetland area. In order to achieve this project’s objective and outcomes, the project must endeavour to involve these stakeholders and bring together the stakeholders in the execution of the project, and the wetland management beyond the life of this project.

Stakeholder involvement during project preparation

Under the framework of the UNEP/GEF South China Sea Project, the Focal Point, the National Technical Focal Point and the Wetland Focal Point have undertaken various preparation activities involving the stakeholders in designing project activities, and preparing the project proposal. The National Working Group met four times to prepare and review the project proposal. Experts from Zhongshan University and officials from SEPA conducted four field studies in the Shantou wetland area during the project preparation.

The project proposal itself is the result of an intense effort to mobilize local stakeholders and enhance their active participation. A Management Committee has been formed with future responsibilities as a decision-making body for the project. The Management Committee has convened three meetings led by the Vice Mayor of Shantou City, to seek inputs from various government agencies and local district governments.

Information dissemination and consultation

The development and implementation of an integrated cross-sectoral management plan and a wetland conservation education and public awareness programme are specifically aimed at developing capacity and disseminating information to local communities and those that work closely with them to ensure maximum outreach of the project results. The direct involvement of stakeholders in the project is also a way to ensure widespread use and dissemination of the results.

Stakeholder participation during project execution

All the stakeholders identified above will be involved in carrying out the project. A detailed stakeholder participation plan for planned project activities are summarised in Annex 6

f) Monitoring and Evaluation

Execution performance

Monitoring of project execution efficiency will examine whether the management and supervision of project activities is efficient and seek to improve efficiencies when needed so as to improve overall effectiveness of project execution. It is a continuous process, collecting information on the execution of activities programmed in the annual work plans (See Annex 5: Framework Workplan and Timetable), advise on improvements in method and performance, and compare accomplishments with programmed tasks.

This activity will be the direct responsibility of the Project Management Unit (PMU), under the supervision of the Project Management Committee (PMC) and the Executing Agency. The SCS-PCU will be responsible, on behalf of the Implementing Agency (UNEP) in collaboration with the PMU, for tracking the indicators listed in Table 7.1 in Annex 7.

Outputs delivery

Monitoring of output delivery will assess the project’s success in producing each of the programmed outputs, both in quantity and quality. Internal assessment will be continuously provided by the PMU. The progress and achievement of outputs delivery will be monitored by the Executing Agency and reported to the Implementing Agency in regular basis through half-yearly progress reports and annual summary progress reports. See Annex 4 (Project Logframe) and Annex 5 (Framework Workplan and Timetable) for a detailed list of project activities and corresponding outputs.

Project impact

Achievement of anticipated project outcomes will be monitored through annual summary progress reports. A midterm review and a terminal evaluation will use the indicators shown in the Project Logframe (Annex 4). The measures associated with stress reduction will be monitored and assessed during the MSP using the following indicators:

A total of 1,237.71 ha wetland physically enclosed (within 6 months);
Replantation of a total of about 400-500 ha completed (within 9 months);
The area of aquaculture with uncontrolled waste water reduced by 50 % (within 36 months); and
At least 20 ha of silvo-aquaculture area newly established (within 20 months) and maintained.

At the onset of the MSP implementation, firm baseline will be established for the above indicators.

Aggregated effects of all demonstration sits under, and associated with, the SCS project on the environmental status of the South China Sea and the Gulf of Thailand will be a subject of long-term monitoring of the environmental status beyond the life of the SCS project. Sustainable mechanism for such long-term monitoring is being discussed under the SCS project.

Midterm review and terminal evaluation

A mid-term review on the execution performance, outputs delivery and project impact will be carried out by the Implementing Agency together with the Executing Agency. The mid-term review shall provide an opportunity to review the progress and achievements of the project up-to-date and to discuss and agree on a set of actions to be taken to ensure that the anticipated project impacts would be realised. A terminal evaluation of the project will be carried out by external consultants contracted by UNEP, which will use the indicators set in the Project Logframe (Annex 4).

4. Financing (for all tables, expand or narrow table lines as necessary)

Financing plan summary

The total project cost is projected as 915,200 US dollars (GEF: 400,000 USD; Cash co-financing: 400,000 USD; and In-kind co-financing: 115,200 USD).

Incremental cost assessment

As a demonstration project to enable sustainable management of the coastal and marine resources, aiming both at the conservation of regionally significant wetland habitats and at sustainable utilization of coastal and marine resources by local communities, the proposed project will create both global/regional and local benefits. The global/regional benefits are summarised as:

A model case of integrated management of wetland habitats is demonstrated, which can be replicated and translocated widely throughout the region; and
Integrity of regionally significant wetland habitats assured; and, as a consequence, environmental stress to the transboundary waterbody of the South China Sea mitigated.

The local benefits are summarized as:

Coastal and marine resources remain intact and available for local communities; and
Sustainable livelihoods directly and indirectly utilising wetland resources created and maintained.

The incremental costs to create above global/regional and local benefits will be shared by GEF and co-financing provided by the central and local governments of China. See Incremental Cost Matrix in Annex 9.

Cost Effectiveness

As explained earlier, the proposed project has been developed to be implemented as part of a total of 24 habitat demonstration projects under the umbrella of the SCS Project. The inclusion of seven demonstration sites through MSP funding will have a synergistic effect on all demonstration project activities under the umbrella of the SCS Project, and provide very good returns for a modest investment (US$ 2.8 million) when compared to the costs of seven independent projects, each with its own start up, development, and monitoring costs.

a) project costs

Project Components/Outcomes	Co-financing ($)	*GEF ($)*	Total ($)
1. Enhanced management	122,600	50,845	172,445
2. Conservation and rehabilitation of wetland areas	109,400	166,130	275,530
3. Promotion of environmentally friendly economic activities	62,250	98,250	160,500
4. Education and public awareness	135,150	73,775	208,925
5. Project management budget/cost*	85,800	11,000	96,800
Total project costs	515,200	400,000	915,200

* This item is an aggregate cost of project management; breakdown of this aggregate amount should

be presented in the table b) below.

b) Project management Budget/cost[11]

Component	Estimated staff weeks	GEF($)	Other sources ($)	Project total ($)
Locally recruited personnel*	149	11,000	85,800	96,800
Internationally recruited consultants*	0	0	0	0
Office facilities, equipment, vehicles and communications	N/A	0	0	0
Travel		0	0	0
Miscellaneous		0	0	0
Total		11,000	85,800	96,800

* Local and international consultants in this table are those who are hired for functions related to the management of project. For those consultants who are hired to do a special task, they would be referred to as consultants providing technical assistance. For these consultants, please provide details of their services in c) below:

c) Consultants working for technical assistance components:

Component	Estimated staff weeks	GEF($)	Other sources ($)	Project total ($)
Personnel	120	40,000	0	40,000
Local consultants	92	15,875	12,950	28,825
International consultants	0	0	0	0
Total	212	55,875	12,950	68,825

d) Co-financing Sources[12] (expand the table line items as necessary)

The proposed project is co-financed by the central and local governments of China. Letters of co-finance commitment are attached as Annex 14

Co-financing Sources
Name of co-financier (source)	Classification	Type	Amount ($)	Status*
Ministry of Finance of the People’s Republic of China (though SEPA)	National government	Cash	200,000	Confirmed
Guangdong Provincial Department of Finance and Shantou City Government	Local government	Cash	200,000	Confirmed
Shantou City Government and Zongshan University	Local government and academic institute	In Kind	115,200	Confirmed
Sub-total co-financing			515,200

* Reflect the status of discussion with co-financiers. If there are any letters with expressions of interest or

commitment, please attach them.

5. Institutional Coordination and Support

a) Core Commitments and Linkages

The proposed project is designed in accordance with the agreement made by the intergovernmental Steering Committee of the UNEP/GEF SCS Project. The Government of China is committed to the implementation of the proposed project in line with its commitment to participate in the other activities of the SCS Project. SEPA is the designated focal institution of the SCS project with a responsibility to coordinate activities at the national level. Zhongshan University serves as a specialised executing agency in charge of activities related to wetland component. Zhongshan University will serve as the executing agency of this proposed project, hence ensuring close linkage with the SCS Project management framework.

Reporting to and receiving guidance from the Regional Working Group on Wetland meetings and other relevant meetings/workshops such as Regional Scientific and Technical Committee meetings of the SCS project will ensure the inter-linkage between the proposed project and other demonstration projects implemented under the SCS Project.

At the local level, the Shantou City Goverment is committed to supporting the implementation of the project by providing co-financing equal to that of the central government, hosting the Project Management Committee and the Project Management Unit (PMU); and coordinating relevant local government agencies, and establishing local institutional arrangements for integrated area management.

b) Consultation, Coordination and Collaboration between IAs, and IAs and ExAs, if appropriate.

The PCU of the SCS Project located in Bangkok will play a key role in providing technical and administrative support for all demonstration projects developed under its framework including this proposed project. The project will also receive scientific advice from the Chinese National Wetland Committee and other habitats related committees, the National Technical Working Group, the Regional Working Groups on wetland and other habitats, and the Regional Scientific and Technical Committee, which are all established and functional under the SCS Project.

Collaboration with other demonstration projects under the framework of the SCS Project and other domestic and regional sites, which could mutually benefit each other by sharing information and experiences, will be ensured through the necessary coordination provided by:

· Chinese National Committees on wetland and other relevant habitats and National Technical Working Group at the national level; and

· Regional Working Group on wetland and other habitats and Regional Scientific and Technical Committee at the regional level.

In the sixth meeting of the Regional Working Group for the Wetlands Sub-component of the UNEP/GEF Project in Cambodia 2005, information and personnel exchange between the SCS wetland demonstration sites were discussed. It was agreed that Shantou will exchange personnel with Balat (Vietnam) during the proposed project. It is anticipated that three personnel of Shantou will visit Balat to study their experiences on ecotourism and silvo-fishery for 2 months; while two personnel of Balat will visit Shantou to study their experiences on bird monitoring and ecotourism .The Project Management Committee and the PMU will play a key role in coordinating on-the-ground activities of these two projects and foster information and personnel exchange.

GEF projects including UNDP/GEF Wetland Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Use Project, ADB/GEF Sanjiang Plain Wetlands Protection Project, and UNEP/GEF Development of a Wetland Site and Flyway Network for Conservation of the Siberian Crane and Other Migratory Waterbirds in Asia Project are directly or indirectly relevant to the objectives of this project, although the approaches, modalities of execution and geographic coverage of these projects are different. The present proposal is complementary since it focuses on local scale interventions designed to halt or reduce the present rates of environmental degradation in respect of habitat loss or degradation, overexploitation of fisheries and regionally significant transboundary pollution. By closely coordinating these GEF funded projects, mutual value-added benefits will be derived.

c) Project Implementation Arrangement

Proposed Project Management Structure

Zhongshan University, as the specialized executing agency of China for the wetlands sub-component for UNEP/GEF SCS Project in the first stage (2002-present) will continue to be responsible for the project and has an initial and overall responsibility of project execution under the supervision and monitoring by the implementing agency of UNEP (UNEP/GEF SCS Project PCU). The responsibilities of Zhongshan University include:

· To prepare the project proposal;

· To identify and select qualified organizations and institutions for the designed subcontract activities; and to sign the subcontracts in accordance with the project budget;

· To provide guidance to and to supervise the Project Management Unit for the project activities; and to oversight and monitor the project activities on a regular monthly basis;

· To produce half-year reports of progress and financial reports to the UNEP/GEF SCS PCU;

· To report the project progress to the National Technical Working Group for UNEP/GEF SCS project through the National Wetland Sub-committee;

· To organise the project Scientific and Technical Committee and Management Committee meetings;

· To conduct other routine executing activities of the project; and

· To transfer regional advice and guidance to local implementation of the project, and provide experience and lessons summarised at the local level to be used and shared at the regional level.

The Project Management Unit (PMU) will be established for executing the project activities and is proposed to be co-located with Shantou Nature Reserve Office in Shantou. The PMU, directed by the selected site manager from Shantou Nature Reserve and supported by consultants and sub-contract units, will be responsible for the proposed project management activities. The wide network of organization involved in project execution will be linked through workshops, seminars, field work, training courses as well as community based meetings, to which all stakeholders will be invited and which will serve to provide advice and inputs to management. The responsibilities of PMU include:

· To organise and supervise on-site activities of the project;

· To prepare data and information for half-year reports of activities and financial aspects for submission by Zhongshan University;

· To submit the three-month reports of the project progress to the Project Management Committee for review and evaluation; and

· To conduct routine management and administration works of the project.

The project Scientific and Technical Committee (STC) will be composed of experts from other habitat sub-components and economic and plan fields/departments and local experts. The project STC will provide guidance and advice to Zhongshan University, the PMU and PMC, and review the project progress on scientific and technical matters.

The Project Management Committee, as the decision-making body on behalf of Shantou City Government, will convene half-yearly meetings for review of the project progress and evaluation of the outputs of the project based on the project reports and recommendations of the Scientific & Technical Committee. Providing guidance to the project Scientific and Technical committee and PMU, formal approval of the integrated management plan and other matters needed for the project required by PMU is also the responsibilities of the Project Management Committee.

The project management structure is also illustrated in diagram as annex 10.

6. Required Attachments

a) Report on the Use of Project Preparation Grant (if used)

b) Country Endorsement Letter (RAF endorsement letter if BD or CC project)

c) Confirmed letters of commitments from co-financiers (with English translations)

d) Agency Notification on Major Amendment and provide details of the amendment, if applicable.

Response to project reviews

a) Convention Secretariat comments and IA/ExA response

b) STAP expert review and IA/ExA response (if requested)

c) GEF Secretariat and other Agencies’ comments and IA/ExA response

GEF IA/ExA

0

Project Components/Outcomes

Co-financing ($)

Component

Estimated staff weeks

GEF($)

Other sources ($)

Project total ($)

Locally recruited personnel*

149

Internationally recruited consultants*

Office facilities, equipment, vehicles and communications

Component

Estimated staff weeks

GEF($)

Other sources ($)

Project total ($)

Personnel

120

Local consultants

International consultants

Total

Co-financing Sources