PROJECT EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
REQUEST FOR MEDIUM-SIZED PROJECT APPROVAL
UNDER THE GEF TRUST FUND
FINANCING PLAN ($)
GEFSEC PROJECT ID: 3309
PPG
Project*
IA/ExA
GEF Total
0
400,000
PROJECT ID: TBD
Co-financing
(provide details in Section b: Co-
financing)
COUNTRY:
China
GEF IA/ExA
0
0
PROJECT TITLE:
Participatory Planning and
Government 0
200,000
Implementation in the Management
Others 0
315,200
of Shantou Intertidal Wetland
Co-financing
0
515,200
Total
GEF IA/ExA:
UNEP
Total
0
915,200
OTHER PROJECT
Financing for Associated Activities If
EXECUTING
Any:
** For multi-focal projects, indicate agreed split
AGENCY(IES):
Zhongshan University
between focal area allocations
DURATION:
3 years
FOR JOINT PARTNERSHIP**
GEF FOCAL AREA: International Water
GEF PROJECT/COMPONENT ($)
GEF STRATEGIC
(Agency Name)
(Share)
(Fee)
(Agency Name)
(Share)
(Fee)
OBJECTIVES: IW-1, SP-1
(Agency Name)
(Share)
(Fee)
*** Projects that are jointly implemented
GEF OPERATIONAL
by more than one IA or ExA
PROGRAM: OP-8
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
1
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
Project Contact Person
Shafqat Kakakhel
Deputy Executive Director
Takehiro Nakamura
Officer-in-Charge
Division of GEF Coordination
Date: May 17, 2007)
Tel: +254-20-762-3886
E-mail: Takehiro.Nakamura@unep.org
2
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
3
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 3rd 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
exchange1.
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)
1 See Annex 13: Framework for Regional Coordination, Dissemination of Experiences, and Personnel Exchange between Sites
(UNEP/GEF/SCS/PCS.3/3 Annex 8)
4
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 area2 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:
Conversion of wetland into aquaculture ponds and real estate land,
Over-exploitation of biological resources, and
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 grass3, 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.
2 Water area is not included.
3 Water grass found in the Shantou intertidal wetland include reed and rush such as reed (Phragmites communis), Shichito Matgrass (Cyperus
malaccensis), Softstem Bulrush (Scirpus tabernaemontani) and Broom Sedge (Lepironia articulata).
5
Objective
The objective of this project is to demonstrate a set of stress reduction measures effective
at the Shantou intertidal wetland ecosystem including:
Establishment of institutional arrangements for cross-sectoral and participatory
management (cross-sectoral management body and integrated management plan);
Rehabilitation and physical enclosure of some hotspots;
Promotion of environmentally friendly economic activities (silvo-fishery and eco-
tourism); and
Development and implementation of awareness raising and capacity building
programmes.
Outcomes
The expected Project Outcomes are:
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;
A total of 1,237.71 ha wetland rehabilitated and preserved through replantation and
physical enclosure of the area;
Environmentally friendly economic activities promoted, such as silvo-fishery and
eco-tourism, through planning and pilot activities; and
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
6
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.
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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,
8
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
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.
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
9
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 above4.
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
4 State Forestry Administration, et al.. 2000. China National Wetlands Conservation Action Plan. China Forestry Press, Beijing, pp. 74~117.
10
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.
11
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)
wetlands5. 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:
Rich biodiversity including a number of endangered/threatened species;
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
Strong commitment pledged by the local government and relevant
stakeholders.
Site information
Proposed demonstration project site is an intertidal wetland ecosystem with some
5 The SCS Project focuses its activities on five coastal wetland types, namely: estuaries (including deltas),
lagoons, intertidal mudflats, peat swamps, and non-peat swamps.
12
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 survey6, 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 1,0007. They were all found
in Shantou intertidal wetland.
Four endemic amphibian and reptile species are also found in Shantou intertidal flat:
6 Chen Gui-zhu, Lan Zhu-hong, Deng Pei-yan. 2005. Report of Chinese Subject of Wetland (UNEP/GEF SCS
Project). Guangzhou: Zhongshan University Press, pp. 122~132.
7 Collar NJ, Andrew P. 2001. Threatened birds of Asia: the Birdlife International Red Data Book. Cambridge:
Bird Life International, pp. 111~135.
13
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.
14
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
purpose8. 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 City10. 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,
8 Shantou City Government. 2003. Report of survey for Shantou intertidal wetland Provincial Nature Reserve,
48~49.
9 Shantou Statistic Bureau. 2004. The annals of Shantou City(2003). Shantou: Shantou University Press, pp.
84~85.
10 Shantou City Government. 2003. Overall Planning for Shantou intertidal wetland Provincial Nature Reserve,
pp. 25~29
15
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.
9500
ou
nt
ha
9000
S
in
r
e
8500
t
u
a)
Area of
u
l
(h
a
c
8000
aquacultufre
q
u
in Shantou
a
f
7500
o
ea
Ar
7000
1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004
Year
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.
16
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
17
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).
0.01
0.009
0.008
l
) 0.007
g/
Hg
0.006
Cu
e
t
a
l
(m
0.005
Pb
0.004
e
a
vy m
Cd
0.003
H
0.002
0.001
0
1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004
Year
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:
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.
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.
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
18
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:
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.
Develop and implement a program for wetland rehabilitation and conservation.
Promote environmentally friendly economic activities, to reduce over reliance
of the local communities on wetland natural resources.
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
19
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
20
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
Area
Highlights
Demonstration
(Ha)
Sites
Hexi
859.3
Habitat rehabilitation and conservation
6
Sanyuwei
1,182
Sylvo fishery
21
.41
Suaiwan
378.3
Environment education base
5
Waisha
766.7
Pilot activities for eco-tourism
5
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.
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
22
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
23
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.
24
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.
Risks and assumptions
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.
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
25
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
26
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
27
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.
28
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.
29
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.
30
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 ($)
1. Enhanced management
122,600
50,845
172,445
2. Conservation and rehabilitation of
109,400
166,130
275,530
wetland areas
3. Promotion of environmentally friendly
62,250
98,250
160,500
economic activities
4. Education and public awareness
135,150
73,775
208,925
5. Project management budget/cost*
85,800
11,000
96,800
Total project costs
515,200
400,000
915,200
* This item is an aggregate cost of project management; breakdown of this aggregate amount should
be presented in the table b) below.
b) PROJECT MANAGEMENT BUDGET/COST11
Estimated
GEF($)
Other sources
Project total
Component
staff weeks
($)
($)
Locally recruited personnel*
149
11,000 85,800 96,800
Internationally recruited
0 0 0 0
consultants*
Office facilities, equipment,
N/A 0 0 0
vehicles and communications
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:
11 For all consultants hired to manage project or provide technical assistance, please find description in Annex 8 on their
staff weeks, roles and functions in the project.
31
Estimated staff
Other sources
Project total
Component
weeks
GEF($)
($)
($)
Personnel
120
40,000 0
40,000
Local
consultants
92 15,875 12,950 28,825
International
consultants
0 0 0 0
Total
212
55,875
12,950
68,825
d) CO-FINANCING SOURCES12 (expand the table line items as necessary)
The proposed project is co-financed by the central and local governments of China.
Letters of co-finance commitment are attached as Annex 14
Co-financing Sources
Name of co-financier
Type
(source)
Classification
Amount ($)
Status*
Ministry of Finance of
National
Cash 200,000
Confirmed
the People's Republic
government
of China (though
SEPA)
Guangdong Provincial
Local
Cash 200,000
Confirmed
Department of Finance
government
and Shantou City
Government
Shantou City
Local
In Kind
115,200
Confirmed
Government and
government and
Zongshan University
academic
institute
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
12 Refer to the paper on Cofinancing, GEF/C.206/Rev. 1
32
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
33
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.
34
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.
35
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
36