WATER KNOWLEDGE NOTE China Sustainable Land and Water Management within Xining Municipality With a participatory and watershed-wide approach, the Xining Flood and Watershed Management Project helped China to improve social protection, build livelihood skills, and foster the sustainable use of land and water resources. From the project’s start in 2009 to the project closure in 2015, the project helped to protect more than 434,440 people from flooding through integrated flood risk management, while strengthening institutions through capacity building measures. Challenge The city of Xining is in Qinghai, is an economically lagging province in China. Found in the Huangshui River Basin, over 2.2 million people live in the Xining Municipal region, of which approximately one fifth of people live under the threat of severe flood risk. In an © World Bank environment characterized by steep mountain ranges and implementing emergency flood warning and forecast eroded bedrock, the region experiences acute summer systems; and creating livelihood opportunities related to storms that lead to periodic flooding. sustainable land and water use. Due to the frequency of natural disasters, the residents of The approach was based on key partnerships between the Huangshui River watershed have lived with the constant rural communities and local government to maximize threat of soil erosion and severe flooding. These natural project sustainability. Both structural and non-structural disasters negatively affect the already underdeveloped interventions guided the project, including constructing local economy of the city and the province, particularly wastewater interception pipes to connect with wastewater by limiting land use and destroying infrastructure. To treatment plants. The project also emboldened community compound the issue, Xining lacked robust and reliable conservation efforts while simultaneously strengthening the wastewater and urban storm water infrastructure. A history community’s resistance to environmental risk by improving of unsustainable land and water management practices urban environmental services. worsens the region’s environmental problems, threatening the region’s natural resource base and economic growth Results prospects of its rural inhabitants. Under the umbrella of a watershed-wide and integrated approach, the project (2009-15) employed a combination Approach of structural and non-structural interventions. Watersheds are socioecological systems that thrive on complex  interactions between society and natural The following key results were observed during the life of resources. As  such, the Xining Flood and Watershed the project: Management project activities ranged from improving livelihood opportunities to enhancing flood management • Over 434,000 people protected from flooding; and environmental protection systems. Within an • More than 87 kilometers of wastewater collection integrated framework, the project combined measures, pipes were constructed; including flood control works, wastewater collection, • Over 4.8 million tons of annual reduction of urban environmental sustainability, watershed rehabilitation, wastewater directly discharged into rivers; and livelihood improvement. Through a participatory • Over 16,000 farmers attended skills training and watershed management approach, the project was adopted sustainable agricultural practices; designed to ensure the sustainable use of land and • Farmers living in degraded watershed areas were water resources. The comprehensive flood intervention offered green energy options such as solar water approach also included strategically planting natural flora; heaters and three-wheeled motorcycles; Before After © World Bank. WATER GLOBAL PRACTICE | CHINA 2 Before After © World Bank. • 3,330 municipality and county staff were trained, Counterpart funding was also provided in the strengthening China’s institutional capacity for following amounts to ensure project momentum and environmental sustainability; sustainability: Xining Municipality (US$72.59 million), • The project resulted in the formation of a flood Datong County (US$15.57 million), Huangyuan warning center with a comprehensive system County (US$15.09 million), and Huangzhong County for flood forecasting, including a data collection (US$4.32 million). system for rainfall, meteorological, and engineering monitoring; and Beneficiaries • The project resulted in environmental sensitization, Li Kengcheng is 84 years old and has lived near the Beichuan including behavioral and mindset changes through River, a tributary of Huangshui River which runs through the education campaigns. city of Xining, for over 30 years. “The riverbank was all coarse gravel. No one would come here,” he says. “After the river was Bank Group Contribution cleaned up and the road was paved, we come here whenever The World Bank provided the People’s Republic of China we have time, to sunbathe or just spend some time together.” with a US$100 million loan from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD). The total Shen Junru is a 54-year-old farmer in Datong County project cost was US$216.62 million. of Xining Municipality: “My family’s annual income has increased from 3,000 yuan (US$500) to 6,000 yuan Partners (US$1,000) per person.” Central and local governments involvement was After the river was cleaned instrumental to the success of the project, and strong political leadership at multiple levels was demonstrated up and the road was paved, throughout the project design and implementation. Implementing agencies included the Xining Water Affairs we come here whenever we Bureau, the Datong Water Affairs Bureau, the Huangyuan have time, to sunbathe or just Water Affairs Bureau, and the Huangzhong Water Affairs Bureau. The project was supported by technical panels of spend some time together. experts at city and county levels. —Li Kengcheng, Xining resident WATER GLOBAL PRACTICE | CHINA 3 Before After © World Bank. Moving Forward China continues its commitment to a demand-driven and multiple types of stakeholders with the resources to continue participatory approach to improve flood management and improving the water and sanitation sector— from community support sustainable land and water use practices. Due to the level to government agencies such as the Xining Water Affairs project’s capacity building activities, the project equipped Bureau and the Huangzhong Water Affairs Bureau. 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