Document of The World Bank Report No.: 43729 PROJECT PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT REPORT GOVERNMENT OF CHINA NATURE RESERVES MANAGEMENT PROJECT (TF028301) May 30,2008 Sector Evaluation Division Independent Evaluation Group Currency Equivalents (annual averages) Currency Unit = Chinese Yuan (Exchange Rate Effective September 3,2002) Y8.30= US$ 1.00 U S $ 1.00 = Y0.12 2002 US$l.OO 2003 US$l.OO 2004 US$l.OO 2005 US$l.OO 2006 US$l.OO Abbreviations and Acronyms CBIMS China's Biodiversity Information Management System CCM Community Co-management CFB Changqing Forestry Bureau CIG Community Investment Grant DNR Division o f Nature Reserves DWC Department o f Wildlife Conservation GEFPD GEF Project Document GIS Geographic Information System GOC Government o f China ICR Implementation Completion Report IFAW International Fund for Animal Welfare IUCN International Union for the Conservation o f Nature NFPP National Forest Protection Program NGO Non-government Organization NR Nature Reserve NRMP Nature Reserves Management Project ONR Office o f Nature Reserves PMC Project Management Center PRA Participatory Rural Appraisal QCNR Qinling Cluster Nature Reserves SFA State Forestry Administration SOE State-owned Enterprise SPFD Shaanxi Provincial Forestry Department WWF World Wildlife Fund XNR Xishuangbanna Nature Reserve Fiscal Year Government: January 1 December 3 1 Director-General, Independent Evaluation : Mr. Vinod Thomas Director, Independent Evaluation Group (World Bank) : Ms. Cheryl Gray Manager, Sector Evaluation Division : Mr. John R. Heath Task Manager : Mr. Fernando Manibog Consultant : Mr. Ashwin Bhouraskar i IEGWB Mission: Enhancing development effectiveness through excellence and independence in evaluation. About this Report The Independent EvaluationGroup assesses the programs and activities of the World Bank for two purposes: first, to ensure the integrity of the Bank's self-evaluation process and to verify that the Bank's work is producing the expected results, and second, to help develop improved directions, policies, and procedures through the dissemination of lessons drawn from experience. As part of this work, IEGWB annually assesses about 25 percent of the Bank's lending operations through field work. In selecting operations for assessment, preference is given to those that are innovative, large, or complex; those that are relevant to upcoming studies or country evaluations; those for which Executive Directors or Bank management have requested assessments; and those that are likely to generate important lessons. To prepare a Project Performance Assessment Report (PPAR), IEGWB staff examine project files and other documents, interview operational staff, visit the borrowing country to discuss the operation with the government, and other in-country stakeholders, and interview Bank staff and other donor agency staff both at headquarters and in local offices as appropriate. Each PPAR is subject to internal IEGWB peer review, Panel review, and management approval. Once cleared internally, the PPAR is commented on by the responsible Bank department. IEGWB incorporates the comments as relevant. The completed PPAR is then sent to the borrower for review; the borrowers' comments are attached to the document that is sent to the Bank's Board of Executive Directors. After an assessment report has been sent to the Board, it is disclosed to the public. About the IEGWB Rating System IEGWB's use of multiple evaluation methods offers both rigor and a necessary level of flexibility to adapt to lending instrument, project design, or sectoral approach. IEGWB evaluators all apply the same basic method to arrive at their project ratings. Following is the definition and rating scale used for each evaluation criterion (additional information is available on the IEGWB website: httD://worldbank.orq/ieg). Outcome: The extent to which the operation's major relevant objectives were achieved, or are expected to be achieved, efficiently. The rating has three dimensions: relevance, efficacy, and efficiency. Relevance includes relevance of objectives and relevance of design. Relevance of objectives is the extent to which the project's objectives are consistent with the country's current development priorities and with current Bank country and sectoral assistance strategies and corporate goals (expressed in Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers, Country Assistance Strategies, Sector Strategy Papers, Operational Policies). Relevance of design is the extent to which the project's design is consistent with the stated objectives. Efficacy is the extent to which the project's objectives were achieved, or are expected to be achieved, taking into account their relative importance. Efficiency is the extent to which the project achieved, or is expected to achieve, a return higher than the opportunity cost of capital and benefits at least cost compared to alternatives. The efficiency dimension generally is not applied to adjustment operations. Possible ratings for Outcome: Highly Satisfactory, Satisfactory, Moderately Satisfactory, Moderately Unsatisfactory, Unsatisfactory, Highly Unsatisfactory. Risk to Development Outcome: The risk, at the time of evaluation, that development outcomes (or expected outcomes) will not be maintained (or realized). Possible ratings for Risk to Development Outcome: High Significant, Moderate, Negligible to Low, Not Evaluable. Bank Performance: The extent to which services provided by the Bank ensured quality at entry of the operation and supported effective implementation through appropriate supervision (including ensuring adequate transition arrangements for regular operation of supported activities after loan/credit closing, toward the achievement of development outcomes. The rating has two dimensions: quality at entry and quality of supervision. Possible ratings for Bank Performance: Highly Satisfactory, Satisfactory, Moderately Satisfactory, Moderately Unsatisfactory, Unsatisfactory, Highly Unsatisfactory. Borrower Performance: The extent to which the borrower (including the government and implementing agency or agencies) ensured quality of preparation and implementation, and complied with covenants and agreements, toward the achievement of development outcomes. The rating has two dimensions: government performance and implementing agency(ies) performance. Possible ratings for Borrower Performance: Highly Satisfactory, Satisfactory, Moderately Satisfactory, Moderately Unsatisfactory, Unsatisfactory, Highly Unsatisfactory. iii Contents PRINCIPAL RATINGS ................................................................................................... V KEY STAFF RESPONSIBLE ......................................................................................... V PREFACE.................................................................................................................... vi1 SUMMARY ................................................................................................................... IX 1. BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT........................................................................ 1 Project Objectives............................................................................................................ 2 Project Components ......................................................................................................... 3 2 . IMPLEMENTATION ISSUES .............................................................................. 4 Quality at entry .................................................................................................................. 4 Financing arrangements .................................................................................................. 5 3 . MONITORING AND EVALUATION ..................................................................... 6 Design ................................................................................................................................ 6 Implementation and Utilization........................................................................................ 7 Other Issues (safeguards. fiduciary. unintended impacts-positive or negative) .......8 4. RATINGS ............................................................................................................ 9 Outcome............................................................................................................................. 9 Relevance .......................................................................................................................... 9 Efficiency ........................................................................................................................... 9 Efficacy ............................................................................................................................ 10 Outcomes for Biodiversity............................................................................................. 15 5. RISKS TO DEVELOPMENT OUTCOME........................................................... 16 Bank Performance .......................................................................................................... 18 Borrower Performance................................................................................................... 19 6 . LESSONS ......................................................................................................... 20 iv . ANNEX A PROJECT COMPONENTS (AS DESCRIBED IN THE GEF PROJECT DOCUMENT)................................................................................................................ 23 ANNEX B. SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION ON THE EFFICACY OF THE NRMP ...25 ANNEX C. BASIC DATA SHEET ................................................................................. 37 ANNEX D: PEOPLE AND AGENCIES MET ................................................................. 41 ANNEX E. BORROWER COMMENTS ......................................................................... 43 TABLES Table 1. Project Nature Reserves.................................................................................................................... 3 Table 2 . NRMP Components........................................................................................................................... 3 Table 3. Reported Changes in Populations of Key Species in the NRs......................................................... 16 Table 4 . ICR Figures on Participation in Enterprise Restructuring Worker Programs ................................... 27 This report was prepared by Mr. Ashwin Bhouraskar. Consultant. who assessed the project in Ms. Mane Charles provided administrative support . V Principal Ratings ICR* ICR Review* PPAR Outcome Highly Satisfactory Satisfactory Moderately satisfactory Institutional High Substantial Not Applicable Development Impact** Risk to Development Not Applicable Not Applicable Substantial Outcome Sustainability*** Likely Likely Not Applicable Bank Performance Highly Satisfactory Highly Satisfactory Satisfactory Borrower Highly Satisfactory Highly Satisfactory Satisfactory Performance * The Implementation Completion Report (ICR) is a self-evaluation by the responsible Bank department. The ICR Review is an intermediate IEGWB product that seeks to independently verify the findings of the ICR. **AS of July 1, 2006, Institutional Development Impact is assessed as part of the Outcome rating. ***As of July 1,2006, Sustainability has been replaced by Risk to Development Outcome. As the scales are different, the ratings are not directly comparable. Key Staff Responsible Project Task Manager/Leader Division Chief/ Country Director Sector Director Appraisal Richard G. Scobey Joseph Goldberg Nicholas Hope Completion Susan S. Shen Mark D. Wilson Yukon Huang vi i Preface This i s a Project Performance Assessment Report (PPAR) for the Nature Reserve Management Project (NRMP, Trust Fund No. 28301). The NRMP was approved in June 1995 for a Global Environmental Facility (GEF) Trust Fund grant o f US$17.9 million equivalent. The project formally closed on schedule in June 2002, although due to a delay in the completion o f some sub-components the project’s duration was extended for an additional year. The NRMP was selected for an IEG assessment because it was the first World Bank-GEF project for biodiversity conservation and protected-area management strengthening in China, and would thus help to inform the IEG review, Effectiveness of World Bank Group Assistance for the Environment, being concurrently conducted and covering the Bank Group’s environmental performance in China and other major borrowing countries across the different regions. Lessons from the NRMP may also help in the design o f similar operations in China and other borrowing countries. The evaluation i s based on the Iinplementation Completion Report (ICR, Report No. 24807) issued o n November 20,2002, the Bank’s project documents, interviews and internal Bank publications. An IEG mission visited China in October 2006 to discuss the effectiveness o f the Bank and GEF’s assistance in the project with the Government, project implementing agencies at the national, provincial and nature-reserve levels, non-governmental environmental institutions, and beneficiary communities, and included field visits to Shaanxi and Yunnan provinces. The cooperation o f government agency staff in granting interviews and providing data i s gratefully acknowledged. The substantial assistance provided by the Department o f Wildlife Conservation o f the State Forestry Administration during the mission is especially appreciated. In accordance with standard IEG procedures, a copy o f the draft PPAR will be sent to the Borrower for their review and comments. The Borrower’s Comments will be reflected in the final draft and will be placed in Annex D o f the PPAR. ix Summary Approved in 1995, the Nature Reserve Management Project (NRMP) was the first project the GEF and the World Bank supported for conserving biodiversity and strengtheningthe management o f protected areas in China. The objective o f the project, which targeted nine o f China’s nature reserves o f international biodiversity importance, was t o enhance biodiversity conservation through innovative approaches to organization, planning, skills development, information management, and the integration o f local communities into reserve management. I t s aims also included reducing timber harvesting to a sustainable level in an area critical for Giant Panda habitat by restructuring the state-owned timber enterprises concerned, transferring their workers to more environmentally sustainable employment, and creating a new national-level nature reserve (NR). The project’s outcome is rated moderately satisfactory overall, as there were moderate shortcomings in the achievement o f the objective. While all o f the approaches adopted were innovative within the context o f China’s NR system and conservation o f biodiversity, only some were effective in enhancing Conservation management and strategy. The NRMP developed new capacities for NR management and conservation planning at all levels in the system, and provided the necessary procedures and infrastructure for enhanced field-level protection. Yet the transfer o f the displaced timber workers to new livelihoods encountered various difficulties, and enterprise restructuring was not demonstrated as a model that could be replicated for enhancing conservation in other areas. The contribution o f the information management methods and tools was modest, as monitoring and data analysis for improved NR management has been weak. Similarly, community involvement for developing eco-friendly livelihood activities did not succeed in cultivating government interest in supporting environmentally sustainable development, and had a negligible impact o n biodiversity. Owing to weak M&E and the influence o f non-project interventions, the NRMP’s outcomes in terms o f species abundance and diversity are unclear. The risks to development outcome are rated substantial. While the knowledge acquired under the NMRP has been sustained and extended to improve management in other N R s , and the risks to any biodiversity gains are small, support for critical NR management activities at most o f the sites has been insufficient due to problems in the intergovernmental fiscal transfer system. Bank performance i s rated satisfactory overall. Quality-at-entry was moderately satisfactory owing to insufficient appraisal to ensure the effectiveness and efficiency o f enterprise restructuring and worker transfer, weak M&E design, and the l o w importance given to addressing the strong human pressure o n biodiversity. Bank supervision, however, was highly satisfactory as the Bank gave focused attention to addressing the challenges to enterprise restructuring and capacity-building in order to achieve the development objectives, and held a forum to share project experiences with, and draw o n the knowledge of, other donors and NGOs in biodiversity conservation. Borrower performance is rated satisfactory as well. The government showed significant commitment overall to this first, major biodiversity conservation project in China, reflected partly by i t s creation o f a new national-level NR, and the implementing agencies were committed to achieving the project objectives. However, in some cases, counterpart funding for developing eco-friendly community livelihood sub-proj ects did not materialize and activities were implemented without following prescribed procedures. M&E performance was also weak. X The assessment o f the NRMP offers the Bank and GEF the following lessons for their future assistance in strengthening protected-area management and conserving biodiversity: 0 In order for sophisticated approaches to planning and information management to be useful for biodiversity conservation, protected-area managers first need to have a strong understanding o f the adaptive management approach and skills in each o f its steps; defining outcomes, formulating measurable objectives targeted to achieving them, collecting and analyzing data on the relevant indicators with reliable methods to assess the success o f efforts, and revising approaches in light o f the results. 0 For greater effectiveness and relevance, projects or components facilitating the development o f biodiversity-friendly, community-supported livelihood schemes where borrower agencies lack experience with them will need to: (1) provide for greater training, closer monitoring and continuous technical support o f staff responsible for engaging with communities to identify and plan sub-projects, and (2) demonstrate the biodiversity and livelihood impacts o f such schemes on meaningful scales, particularly in countries where resource use pressures o n biodiversity i s high. These steps will make i t more likely that capacity in this area will be sustained and extended to other protected areas, and greater borrower ownership and resources for biodiversity-supporting poverty reduction will be generated. 0 Biodiversity conservation in protected areas requires sustained financing, national and local, and fiscal and budget allocation systems and trends at these levels need to be understood to make certain real borrower commitment exists and the resources for long-term effective management can be delivered, or to help design reforms that will make this possible. If sustained support is not guaranteed, there are substantial risks that GEF and Bank resources will be used inefficiently, as improved management capacities that have been developed will go largely unutilized and threats to biodiversity from poaching and resource use will remain. 0 Programs to scale-down or close resource-extraction enterprises in remote, rural areas for the benefit o f biodiversity, and to equitably transfer workers displaced as a result to new livelihoods, can face numerous challenges; weak, uneven and unpredictable markets and opportunities, government economic policies, and the skill-level and social composition o f the displaced workers. Such programs therefore need to carefully consider and be tailored around these factors, including the viability o f alternate enterprises and existing opportunities in other sectors in the region. Furthermore, i t i s important that their design involves local government, as it has the knowledge o f local realities and hence o f what would be feasible. Vinod Thomas Director-General Evaluation 1 1. Background and Context 1.1 Since China began to initiate reforms in the late 1970s, it has experienced rapid economic growth. As it has shifted from a centrally-planned to a market economy, China has succeeded in maintaining GDP growth o f about 9% per year, and lifting roughly 400 million people out o f poverty. With a population o f 1.3 billion, i t recently became the world’s fourth largest economy and third largest trading nation. Yet China in many ways remains a developing country, with GDP per capita at about $1,740 and more than 135 m i l l i o n people living on less than $1 a day. Partly as a consequence o f i t s rapid economic growth, i t also faces significant challenges, among them serious environmental degradation and unsustainable resource use, which could limit China’s h t u r e achievements if they are not addressed. 1.2 Even as China has gone in its relationship with the World Bank from being a client to a development partner, it remains among the largest borrowers o f the Bank and recipients o f GEF grant assistance, with annual World Bank lending ranging from U S $ 1 to U S $ 1.5 billion. Although Bank Group and GEF assistance currently constitute only about 2 percent o f total support in China for development and environment, the institutions continue to have a unique influence on practice in these areas. World Bank assistance has gone to all o f China’s sectors, including, with the GEF, the environment and its various sub-sectors. Since the GEF was established, China has been one o f the largest recipients o f i t s support, including for biodiversity conservation. 1.3 Ranked as one o f the top 12 countries in the world with the highest percentages o f biodiversity, China hosts a rich composition o f wildlife and plant species, equal to one-eighth o f the world’s species, owing to its size, and climatic, topographical, and latitudinal variations. As a consequence o f high population pressure, rural poverty, a history o f unsustainable resource use, the illegal trade in species, and, in more recent years, wastewater pollution from urban centers, China’s natural ecosystems have been under significant threat and in absolute terms i t s number o f threatened species i s high. In 2006 the I U C N listed 356 wildlife species, among them the Giant Panda, as threatened. 1.4 Recognizing a need to protect its biodiversity, China in the 1980s began to dramatically increase i t s number o f protected areas. By the mid-l990s, there were more than 700 reserves, and today there exist 1,961 protected areas, or nature reserves as they are termed in China (China does not use I U C N categories o f protected land), covering 156 million hectares, or about 16.2 percent o f the country’s area. The 1980s also saw the development o f a series o f laws and regulations to protect biodiversity, which facilitated the creation o f a nature reserve system, and China became a member o f international conventions, ratifying the Ramsar Convention in 1992 and the Convention o n Biological Diversity in 1993. 1.5 While the number o f reserves and the share o f the land they cover i s impressive, a large percentage o f the reserves are relatively small (two large reserves in Qinghai and Tibet account for the high total area o f land covered) and they are highly fragmented. Additionally, institutional capacity in the vast majority o f them i s weak, the necessary infrastructure i s 2 lacking, and high human populations reside within or adjacent to them, using the N R s ’ resources and exerting pressure on their habitats and species. As a result, these reserves continue to be only “paper parks” and their biodiversity remains under significant threat. In response to the lack o f effective reserve management and protection, China, the GEF and the World Bank developed the Nature Reserve Management Project (NRMP). 1.6 Based on a Biodiversity Conservation Action Plan that China developed in 1994 with GEF, World Bank and UNDP assistance, and that ranked China’s reserves by conservation priority, 9 out o f 40 reserves o f the highest and o f globally-significant biodiversity value were selected for support under the NRMP. The project was associated with the larger World Bank China-Forest Resources Development and Protection Project (US$200M IDA credit), and together were to constitute a new comprehensive sectoral approach that capitalized on economic and environmental linkages across different forest areas, but also integrated national and global benefits into sector planning and management. A s the projects were with the Ministry o f Forests (now the State Forestry Administration, SFA), the 9 reserves selected were those under i t s management authority. Jurisdiction over China’s reserves has been distributed across several ministries and agencies, with little coordination for protection among them. The largest share o f reserves has been under SFA authority (about 80 percent today). 1.7 The NRMP was the GEF and the World Bank’s first project for biodiversity conservation in China, as well as the first large-scale and donor-funded project for this goal China had received, at US$ 17.6M. The project along with subsequent World Bank-GEF efforts for biodiversity in China have differed from those o f GEF and i t s other partner agencies in scope as the latter have tended to focus on policy and institutional reforms, and from international NGOs regarding scale and field presence. The World Bank-GEF partnership remains one o f the principal founders o f biodiversity protection in the country, and in the late 1 9 9 0 i~ largely replicated the NRMP’s objectives and activities in a t~ component o f the China- Sustainable Forestry Development Project (FY98). Project Objectives 1.8 The objective o f the Nature Reserves Management Project (NRMP), as stated in the GEF Project Document and grant agreement, was general in nature; to enhance biodiversity conservation through innovative approaches to organization, planning, skills development, information management, and the integration o f local communities into reserve management. The project targeted nine nature reserves o f international biodiversity importance in five reserve areas, as listed in Table 1. Its aims also included the creation o f a new national-level nature reserve (NR), Changqing NR, in the Qinling mountains. The project consisted o f five components (see Table 2). Annex 1 provides a detailed description o f them. 3 Table I.Project Nature Reserves Project Nature Reserve Biodiversity Significance Areas 1. Qinling mountains Consisting of four NRs, Foping, Niubeiliang, Zhouzhi, and Taibaishan, and Nipponia Nature Station, in Shaanxi Province, and their surrounding natural forest areas where healthy populations of giant pandas still reside 2. Xishuangbanna NR A cluster of five sub-reserves, Mengla, Mengkao, Menglun, Mengyang and Shanyong, in tropical southwest Yunnan, China's most biodiversitv-rich province 3. Wuyishan NR The highest and richest peak in southeast China straddling the borders of Fuiian and Jianaxi Provinces 4. Povana Lake NR I China's most important wetland site, in Jianaxi Province ~~ 5. ShGnongiia NR An area of very rich pristine forest, in Hubei Province Project Components Table 2. NRMP Components Component Estimated Actual cost cost 1. Nature Reserves: to develop more effective management and protection 7.96 6.37 systems in the five reserve areas through investments for (a) the preparation and implementation of new NR management plans; (b) strengthening field- level protection, and (c) expanding the role of local communities living within and adjacent to NRs in their planning and management. Pilot community co- management sub-component: to create community incentives for long-term sustainable biodiversity resource use in a total of 8 villages in 6 of the NRs through (i) community participation; (ii) training for NR staff in participatory rural appraisal; (iii) formation of stakeholder committees to help identify community needs; and (iv) preparation of Community Resource Management Plans and Co-Management Contracts. The project would support implementation of these plans and contracts through: (a) a community investment grant program to support non-consumptive economic activities consistent with sustainable resource use; (b) education programs; (c) community outreach programs; and (d) M&E to ensure effective implementation. 2. Enterprise Restructuring: to reduce forest degradation from heavy logging 7.97 10.33 in an area adjacent to the Qinling reserve cluster and important for Giant Pandas by restructuring 2 state-owned timber enterprises under the Changqing Forestry Bureau for more sustainable harvesting and the transfer of workers to more environmentally sustainable employment. The project was to support the following policy reforms and investments: 1) legal designation of the entire area as a national-level nature reserve; (2) core-zone protection activities; (3) sustainable timber harvesting in the experimental zone to maintain biodiversity; (4) preparation of a management plan, reforestation of degraded areas, and training and TA for improved silvicultural management. The labor force of the enterprises was to be restructured in line with the revised cutting program, with the redundant workers redeployed to other economic activities or terminated with a relocation Dackaae. ~ ~~ ~ 3. Capacity Building: tostrengthen technical and managerial skills in 4.86 5.53 4 biodiversity through development of a national team that would provide training at all levels of the NR system; and enhance the organizational capacity of the Division of Nature Reserves through: (a) preparation of a national conservation plan; (b) financing of equipment and related TA; and (c) preparation of a series of policy studies on biodiversity conservation. Additionally, it would strengthen the Office of Nature Reserves of the Forestry Department of Yunnan Province, which contains the largest diversity of species in China, through preparation of a provincial conservation plan and development of a provincial geographic information system. 4. Management Information System: to support improved management 1.95 1.34 decision- making for the 9 NRs through: (a) investment in computers, software and other equipment; (b) TA in database structure, data analysis and information management; and (c) development of a comprehensive monitoring and evaluation program for NRMP. 5. Research: to strengthen existing national biodiversity conservation research 0.9 1.12 through: (a) financing research infrastructure and equipment at the NRs; and (b) establishing a national small-scale competitive research grants program. 2. Implementation issues Quality at entry 2.1 In accordance with the project’s management capacity-strengthening goal, the Bank chose to have the Ministry o f Forestry’s Division o f Nature Reserves (DNR, later the State Forestry Administration’s Department o f Wildlife Conservation, DWC) at the national level and the NRs develop their own M&E frameworks for the project as a whole and for biodiversity at the NR level, respectively. While this was understandable, the Bank had an obligation to see that these frameworks were developed during appraisal and were rigorous so that M&E o f the objectives and expected outcomes could be done from the beginning o f project implementation. The borrower’s M&E plans were finalized two years after effectiveness and were more oriented to outputs rather than outcomes. 2.2 There was insufficient appraisal to ensure the enterprise restructuring objective would be effectively and efficiently achieved and this accounted for the difficulties the component experienced during implementation. To be sure, there were a number o f considerations that appeared to limit the options available for maintaining the livelihoods o f the displaced Changqing Forestry Bureau workers (CFB). Bank staff interviewed for this assessment stated that worker redeployment was pursued because the Bank and Government o f China (GOC) believed the employees should s t i l l be able to receive the social benefits they were entitled to under the CFB. Correspondence during appraisal and interviews with Bank staff indicate that a limit was placed on the allocation for relocation since i t involved severance payments, and although Bank policy had been evolving from a view o f severance payments as unproductive to seeing them as assisting in labor shedding for restructuring inefficient state-owned enterprises (SOEs), an official policy on them was still lacking. Concerns also existed during preparation that if the relocation program were expanded and was unsuccessful in its outcome, a large number o f people would suffer decreased livelihoods. Additionally, as 5 Bank staff stated in interviews, the project enterprises embodied reforms that had been made in the SOE sector. 2.3 However, most importantly, the NRMP enterprise retained many o f the characteristics o f older SOEs that made them inefficient and financially unviable. Private and collectively- owned rural township and village enterprises constituted China’s fastest growing sector in the late 1980s and early 1990s, but it was known that SOEs continued to remain economically and managerially inefficient, as well as hindered due to various national economic, institutional, legal policies relating to employment, social service provision and ownership. Bank AAA available at the time illustrated this.’ A more carefbl assessment o f whether an enabling institutional and economic environment existed would likely have predicted difficulties with the worker redeployment program and suggested the need to develop additional livelihood substitution components to manage the risks. In fact, there i s no mention in the GEF Project Document (GEFPD) o f the substantial risks the component faced. Had the Bank assessed the age composition and skills o f the CFB workforce during appraisal, it might have enabled some targeting o f the relocation and transfer programs to specific groups, or, again, created awareness o f the need for some modification or o f an additional program to address the high number o f retirees and reduce the burden they would place on the enterprises. Evaluating the feasibility o f the existing and new enterprises, and creating the latter, during project preparation were also essential, but these were done during implementation instead. 2.4 Considering the high level o f human pressure o n biodiversity in China, the extent to which the NRMP sought to address this problem in the selected N R s by introducing C C M as an approach was inadequate, even as a demonstration pilot. According to the GEFPD, at the time o f appraisal approximately 5 1,000 people in roughly 190 villages resided within the project N R s , and a comparable number lived adjacent to them. Yet the NRMP’s C C M component involved only a total o f eight villages. The l o w assistance for the component was the principal issue that borrower agencies at all levels raised concerning the project. 2.5 Although government hnding to sustain NR management activities after the project has been inadequate at both the national and local levels, the Bank had received assurance at appraisal o f the borrower’s financial commitment for this purpose. On other Quality-at-entry criteria Bank performance was satisfactory. Financing arrangements 2.6 The system developed to channel the GEF grant to the different levels in the NR system was challenging at first for the implementing agencies, but reflected care o n the part o f the Ministry o f Forestry’s World Bank Loan Project Management Center (PMC) that created it. Counterpart units at the DNR, provincial and NR levels to manage the disbursement, procurement and related activities for those units were created. For j o b creation under the enterprise restructuring component, GEF gave concessional loans to the 1. Cf. The World Bank. 1992. Rural Enterprise Development in China, 1986-90.World Bank Discussion Papers, China and Mongolia Department Series; The World Bank. 1994. Enterprise Reform and Restructuring I n Transition Economies. Policy Brief, Policy Research Department, The World Bank. 6 enterprises, repayments on which were to be used for a revolving fund to support future j o b creation schemes necessary for the cessation o f timber extraction in biodiversity-rich forests. 2.7 Although the total GEF grant was U S $ 17.9 My the actual contribution was slightly less, at U S $ 16.24 M, because the grant was denominated in SDRs, but disbursed in US$, and the U S $ depreciated against the SDR over the project. The total project cost at appraisal was US$23.6 M. The actual cost was US$24.7 M, and Chinese counterpart sources provided US$ 8.45 M of it, compared to US$5.74 M at appraisal, largely for implementing the enterprise restructuring component. 3. Monitoring and Evaluation 3.1 The overall rating for performance in this area i s Modest. Although there were significant weaknesses in the design, implementation and utilization o f M&E, the project did succeed in introducing M&E concepts and methods for NR management and i t s effects on biodiversity where there had been virtually none. Design 3.2 An M&E framework for the project was not developed at appraisal. Establishing M&E systems through the provision o f training and equipment to enable the N R s to track species, ecosystem conditions and livelihoods and adapt management based o n information they collected was one o f the very aims o f the project and was to be done by the counterpart agencies during implementation. Several useful ecosystem and species indicators, at different landscape scales, their relevance for each o f the reserve areas, and the data sources for them, were suggested in the GEFPD. Also provided were a number o f valuable socio-economic and institutional accountability and performance indicators that could possibly be used in the M&E plans the N R s developed, and an elaborate activity implementation schedule with the targeted outputs. 3.3 Nevertheless, intermediate and project outcomes, along with indicators for them, for institutional and capacity development could have been developed at appraisal. Only the enterprise restructuring component was designed with some outcome targets, mainly in regard to the workers to be transferred or relocated. 3.4 The M&E system for the project as a whole was developed only in mid-1997 by the DNR, two years after project effectiveness. This prevented the proper M&E, with baseline information, o f not only improved NR management, but also o f systematic patrolling, a critical activity for biodiversity protection. The plan and its indicators, moreover, were largely to track outputs rather than to assess the extent to which management capacity improved. Equally serious, the 1997 guidelines did provide a framework with indicators and targets for ecological and socioeconomic monitoring at the NR level. 3.5 There were a number o f weaknesses in the design o f M&E for enhanced biodiversity in the NR management plans. The plans, which were to present the monitoring frameworks 7 to be used, were finalized only in 1998-99. However, IEG found that even after their late completion, in the management plans made available to it, from Xishuangbanna (XNR) and the Qinling N R s , M&E plans were either absent (Zhouzhi NR) or insufficiently developed (Xishuangbanna, Taibai and Foping N R s ) . 3.6 Some data collection o f animal and plant species, to which ecological monitoring was largely confined, did begin earlier, as i t was conducted by patrol guards (and periodically by more skilled staff) and improved patrolling commenced at that time. But data from monitoringlpatrol rounds, recorded on standardized observational data sheets, could not be catalogued or effectively analyzed until 200 1, when the information management system became operational. 3.7 Perhaps more problematic was the weak scientific basis o f the monitoring methodology, especially in relation to species that are rare, inconspicuous or that conceal themselves, as species population size assessments were attempted without appropriate statistical approaches that consider the different species’ unique ecological characteristics, and using only raw data collected on species sightings and signs along patrol and transect routes. The data collection technique used could have provided reliable estimates o f relative population changes, if the information was analyzed with statistically rigorous models, but i t could not generate statistically reliable estimates o f absolute species abundance. Additionally, patrol and monitoring staff would have required considerable field training to ensure accurate detection. At the same time, the goal o f monitoring all species was too ambitious. M&E frameworks that focused o n only the few key species o f a reserve, but which also employed reliable approaches for interpreting data, by involving international or domestic experts, would have been preferable, especially given the l o w level o f NR capacity at the project’s commencement. Considering that the N R M&E plan development and baseline data collection were to be carried out during the project, i t was unrealistic assume that monitoring and analysis to assess the outcomes for biodiversity at the end o f the project could be conducted on time and generate meaningful information. 3.8 Under the project, N R s were also to conduct M&E on the livelihood outcomes o f communities participating in the community co-management (CCM) sub-component. However, M&E plans for socio-economic monitoring were not included under the C C M objective in the N R management plans. Furthermore, although data was supposedly collected on villages in and around the N R s , many o f the management plans did not include information on some o f the most basic livelihood indicators, such as average household income. And, in some N R s , C C M was initiated before management plans had been completed and PRAY which would collect additional livelihoods related information, was not carried out in all the sites. Implementation and Utilization 3.9 Ecological baseline surveys were reported as having been performed, but n o data from these exercises were presented in the management plans o f XNR or the Qinlingcluster o f N R s (QCNR). Population data collected o n Giant Pandas in Foping NR, and o n golden monkey and takin populations in Zhouzhi NR, before the NRMP became effective are presented in the respective management plans. But in both cases, the information was the 8 product o f research projects by other institutions in the past. There appeared to be n o coordination between the Bank and these institutions for data-gathering and evaluation for the project. During the project, patrol guards recorded information on species sightings, destructive practices and offences, but in addition to the methods being unreliable for estimating species population changes, there was weak analysis o f the data. Apart from the late installation o f the shared database, none o f the agencies, NR, provincial or State Forestry Administration (SFA), assumed the task o f regularly analyzing the data in i t for decision- making and providing direction for improved management at the NR level. Moreover, once the information system was operating, there was little time remaining in the project for monitoring data to be effectively utilized for resource reallocation and strategic redirection. Compounding these problems, the sustainability o f NR monitoring (and other activities) was also likely affected due to often inadequate resources for environmental conservation at the sub-national level and the GOC’s 1998 logging ban, which impacted 17 provinces, including those in the project, and led to a decline provincial revenues, which were used to support NR staff. Regarding project M&E, although the DNR collected information regularly once it formulated an M&E plan, because the approach tracked outputs rather than outcomes, its value was limited. Other Issues (safeguards, fiduciary, unintended impacts-positive o r negative) 3.10 Environmental assessments were carried out satisfactorily for all infrastructure development in the NRs and for the construction and expansion o f the enterprises under the enterprise restructuring component. The establishment o f the corridor linking Wuyishan N R ’ s core zones in 1998 required the application o f the Bank’s involuntary resettlement safeguard policy since it involved 155 households from 5 villages losing access to their lands for tea and bamboo cultivation and processing in the targeted area. At appraisal, the precise land area and number o f households was not known, as the arrangement was to have the N R ’ s management plan determine these. However, adequate assurance was obtained that if resettlement was found to be necessary the borrower would submit a resettlement plan satisfactory to the Bank and conduct all steps in accordance with the Operational Directive. 3.1 1 An appropriate resettlement plan was developed and the affected households were given compensation payments for 5 years for the land lost in the corridor, and provided assistance for improving productivity on land outside the area o f the same size as that lost in the corridor. A bamboo processing facility was also relocated. Based o n income monitoring conducted, the NRMP appears to have restored the livelihoods o f those the corridor affected. Bamboo productivity increased from 325 to 731 stems per hectare (95 percent o f the 750- stem target figure), and net stem earnings are also reported to have increased from RMB 5 to 17 per stem. From 1995 to 2005, average per capita income o f the households rose from RMB 2,672 to RMB 4,300, mainly from tea and bamboo production, but also from the employment o f household members in patrolling and tourism. This increase is largely consistent with the increase in incomes and inflation in China’s rural economy. NR officials stated that during the process o f following the Bank’s guidelines they believed the justifications for them were tenuous and the procedures arduous, but after implementing them and observing the outcomes, they concluded that the guidelines were sensible and effective. The Bank was diligent in ensuring that the implementing agency followed all the 9 safeguard procedures and provided the necessary information. The enterprise restructuring and worker redeployment component did not trigger this safeguard policy because it did not involve workers losing land. 3.12 The Bank’s safeguard policy o n indigenous peoples came into affect for the project activities in XNR, an area with a high population o f ethnic minorities. As XNR i s governed under the Xishuangbanna D a i (minority) autonomous prefecture o f Yunnan province, discussions with it and local government at appraisal constituted consultations with these bodies as representatives o f the minority communities. The NRMP did not propose or result in any activities harmful to the communities, and in fact sought their participation for developing eco-friendly livelihood schemes. 4. Ratings Outcome The outcome o f the project i s rated moderately satisfactory overall. Relevance 4.1 The relevance o f the N R M P ’ s objectives remains high. Most o f China’s nearly 2,000 N R s s t i l l lack effective management, including monitoring, patrolling and planning, as well as basic infrastructure. Furthermore, heavy resource use in and around N R s continues to exact a toll on habitats and biodiversity, though, given this, the NRMP did not seek sufficiently to address this problem. Formulating a strategy to protect biodiversity in order to help China meet i t s international environmental conventions i s a goal under the Bank’s 2006 Country Partnership Strategy for China, and the GOC has increased its financing and taken policy measures for biodiversity conservation. The objectives were also highly relevant to the GEF’s current strategic priorities for i t s biodiversity work. 4.2 However, relevance o f the project’s design i s lacking. There was a clear causal link between Bank funding and the inputs on the one hand, to the intended outcomes o n the other, but the objectives, as stated, lacked specificity and were unable to serve as a strong guide for the development o f an M&E framework and targets for it. Furthermore, as mentioned above, the M&E plan was developed two years after implementation had begun and outlined indicators and targets more for the completion o f outputs involved in the project rather than for the achievement o f the desired objectives and outcomes. Efficiency 4.3 The grant and other resources in the project were used in a relatively cost-effective manner, with the exception o f the enterprise restructuring component and monitoring and information management. The enterprises involved were financially unviable and burdened with social service and pension payment obligations for non-working and retired staff, and the worker transfer process was inefficient as a whole as the displaced workers had to be shifted to other programs when i t was realized that those they had been in could not 10 accommodate them. The financial rates o f return on the CCM-related sub-projects for which data is available (for one village in Taibai NR) were substantial. Those for the schemes in other villages that were launched are unknown, but based o n interviews with implementing agencies appear to be positive. In two C C M villages, sub-project investments resulted in negative returns as necessary counterpart funding did not materialize. Efficacy 4.4 The rating for the project’s efficacy i s modest overall. There were shortcomings in the achievement o f the objective, for although all o f the approaches adopted were innovative within the context o f China’s NR system and efforts for biodiversity conservation, some were effective in terms o f enhancing conservation while other equally important approaches were not. It should also be noted that the efficacy rating i s based o n an assessment o f outcomes at two levels, the extent to which conservation management, defined broadly, was improved, and the increases in species abundance and diversity that resulted. 4.5 Skills development through expert training led to enhanced capacity in several important areas o f biodiversity conservation and NR management at all three administrative levels in the SFA’s NR system, and to deeper institutional development impacts on SFA’s NR system. A reported total o f 1,000 DNR, provincial and NR level officials and staff took 13 courses in various basic and advanced management and technical areas, raising capacity, which in many areas was l o w or non-existent, especially at the NR and ONR levels, before the NRMP, to where conservation administration i s now functional and effective. The promotion o f many o f the training recipients to leadership positions within the NR system has also strengthened the system’s capacity overall. Based on the capacity development outcomes, the DNR under the project created an in-house national training program whereby trainees, particularly at the NR level, provided training to other N R s . Foping NR, for example, gave four management-plan development courses for 10 other N R s . Conservation research capacity was also developed in SFA and external institutions as a competitive research grant programs helped add knowledge o n baseline conditions in NRs and supported 59 smaller targeted projects. The latter projects, however, were not tailored to meeting NR management needs. 4.6 The benefits gained in terms o f improved management capacity have been sustained at the national level and extended to non-project NRs. The national NR management training-of-trainers capacity development system has been maintained within SFA’s Department o f Wildlife Conservation (DWC, previously the DNR), and a curriculum developed under the project and covering the key areas o f management has been used since the NRMP closed to train personnel o f other NRs. The D W C has held nine national-level courses since the project, training 430 staff, and several ONR-level trainings as well. NRMP- trained staff have also become consultants for donors and NGOs on their biodiversity projects. 4.7 Conservation planning abilities at the NR level have improved as a result o f the development o f NR management plans. However, capacity gaps at the NR level remain and management for conservation is still at a basic level. Indeed, the value NR staff have for the principles o f effective reserve management appears to be less than the project expected. The 11 NRMP developed NR management planning skills in China where previously even priority N R s lacked plans and decision-making was ad hoc in nature. NR staff, through training, formulated management plans o f quality and for the first time for their respective reserves (see Annex B Part A for a more detailed description o f the plans). Targeting N R s with capacity-strengthening-a new approach in China-rather than adopting a top-down approach for improved management, led their staff, an international NGO observed, to develop greater ownership and the knowledge and skills to implement plan activities, unlike in the past. When local public budgets allowed, activities planned were actually implemented. Enhanced planning abilities have allowed N R s to obtain support from and collaborate with international NGOs after the NRMP closed, and long-term goals in the management plans have been the basis o f h t u r e activities the N R s have developed with WWF and other NGOs in various activities (Annex B Part A contains a discussion o f the remaining capacity gaps). 4.8 Planning methods introduced improved decision-making and prioritization for biodiversity conservation in the Wildlife Conservation Office o f Yunnan Province and in the DNR. Through training and GIS assistance, Yunnan’s Wildlife Conservation Office developed and implemented a provincial NR master plan to increase biodiversity protection in key areas. Scientific and GIS research on biodiversity for the master plan established the value o f potential areas for reserve coverage and identified priority areas for legislative approval as N R s . Data the Office gathered led the State Council to expand two N R s , and upgrade and j o i n to another NR a third. Management plans were also developed for the N R s . The NRMP thus developed provincial-level leadership for conservation in Yunnan, China’s most biodiversity-rich province. Unlike Yunnan, the other participating provinces that did not receive such focused assistance experienced only modest capacity gains. (Annex B Part B discusses the modest levels o f planning capacity developed in the other provincial agencies). 4.9 The SFA developed a National Forestry Nature Reserve System Plan, based o n an analysis o f the gaps in biodiversity conservation in land under i t s jurisdiction, recommending an enlarged system, for more effective coverage o f critical biodiversity areas, and in accordance with I U C N criteria, ranked 87 N R s as Class Ior 11, thus deserving priority conservation attention in China’s 10th Five-Year Plan. For these N R s , the System Plan developed five-year budget needs estimates. However, the recommended level o f support did not materialize, leaving the System Plan uncompleted. 4.10 Organizational development at the NR level, consisting o f staff reorganization and strengthening, infrastructure investments, training and performance incentives, have improved the quality o f biodiversity management and protection. NR personnel restructuring raised the number o f patrol guards and reduced NR bureau staff to bring greater field- protection and improve other site-based activities. In XNR, for example, forest guards increased from 35 to 63 and office staff declined from 63 to 32. Yunnan province’s Wildlife Conservation Office’s management capabilities were strengthened as its staff increased. Significant gains to protection and management came from the basic and critical infrastructure and equipment including for communication and research that was provided and had been almost entirely lacking before. C i v i l works implementation included the 12 creation in Wuyishan NR o f a 3,878 ha-corridor linking its core areas that i s managed as a buffer zone. Greater presence o f wildlife in the corridor has been reported. 4.1 1 However, all infrastructure was constructed only after the management plans had been approved, which was in 1998-99, and as part o f their implementation, thus delaying the benefits o f increased protection. As the I C R and several NR and SFA staff have stated, the management plan development process was too long and the NRMP was near to closing by the time the plans were completed. To facilitate completion o f all the components, although the project closed on schedule, its duration was extended by one year. Despite this, the devaluation o f the grant meant that the infrastructure planned had to be scaled back. 4.12 Sound and rigorous patrolling guidelines were introduced through training and standardized across the N R s , and these have also allowed for monitoring, improved supervision o f protection activities, and training o f other NR staff. Patrol routes and schedules have been established in each NR. Local residents have been employed as guards, a cost-effective measure that has also generated some ownership and benefits for them. To ensure field staff carry out their responsibilities at high quality, some o f the major N R s , namely Foping NR and XNR, initiated an incentive system tying salary and promotions to performance on specific tasks and achievements. The better working and living conditions for personnel and their families made possible through the infrastructure provided have also increased staff incentives. 4.13 However, due to a lack o f public fimds for environmental aims at the sub-national levels, N R s have been unable to sustain patrolling and other management activities, leaving illicit resource use at high levels. As M&E has also been affected, it i s unclear to what extent enhanced protection has benefited the biodiversity o f the N R s although it i s likely it has had some positive effect. Due to weaknesses in China’s system o f fiscal decentralization that have existed since before the project, and to the 1998 logging ban, which has reduced the revenues o f the provinces affected, most o f the N R s , especially those in the poorer regions, have lacked the sub-national support for staff salaries they require to conduct field activities on a sustained basis. Although N R s generally claim that poaching has declined, data documenting this and linking it to improved protection i s lacking as the necessary M&E was not carried out. According to a wildlife rehabilitation organization in Shaanxi, poaching remains fairly high in the Qinling mountains, and hunting remains a serious problem in some XNR sub-reserves. Only in N R s receiving support from NGOs or the Ministry o f Finance, such as Foping NR, are patrolling and/or monitoring regular. 4.14 The closure o f the CFB’s timber enterprises enabled the creation o f a new national- level NR for Giant Panda protection in the Qinling mountains, but the impacts on the species’ population are not known. A 30,000-hectare area at the logging-affected site was declared Changqing NR, as the CFB was closed rather than its activities scaled down to sustainable levels. The closure along with the NFPP have led to forest and panda habitat restoration in the area, including in degraded corridors that had prevented panda movements, and with the adjacent Foping NR has increased the total contiguous habitat for the species in the area. However, the outcome in terms o f the panda population i s not known. While some increase can be assumed, no specific data was provided to IEG and it i s not clear that M&E was done. 13 4.15 Yet the approach o f enterprise restructuring and redeployment, inefficient and ineffective as it encountered numerous obstacles, did not demonstrate itself as a model that in the given context could be replicated for enhancing biodiversity conservation. The NRMP sought through a job-creation program to transfer the majority o f workers2 the closure affected to three existing and two new SOEs associated with the CFB. Though the existing SOEs had incorporated the recent sector reforms, they were already being managed inefficiently and without regard to market principles before receiving the new workers. The new SOEs became financially unviable due to market conditions, the l o w skill levels o f the transferred workers and o f management, and the retirement o f a large portion o f the workers shortly after their transfer and the need to pay their social benefits. Because o f pressure to create the new NR, the enterprise feasibility studies did not present the actual viability o f the companies. I t was reported to IEG that as o f 2005 all o f these SOEs were performing poorly, with debts outweighing assets in most cases, and the ratio o f working to non-working employees being about 1:2. Because the enterprises were unable to pay the GEF concessional loans they received, the facility proposed to recycle the repayments to fund future j o b creation schemes that would allow the closure o f other logging enterprises did not materialize (see Annex B Part C for a detailed discussion o f the NRMP’s experience with enterprise restructuring and redeployment). 4.16 Owing to an inability o f the job-creation program to absorb the number o f workers anticipated, and the CFB closure’s displacement o f a larger number o f workers than expected, the Bank and SPFD sought to transfer the remaining workers with earmarked capital to SOEs outside Changqing, although nearly h a l f o f them retired and were supported by the province. Those transferred to new SOEs were ultimately laid o f f and their new employers were unable to pay their social benefits, leaving them to be supported by the province as well. Owing to the difficulties and added costs that redeployment involved, counterpart funding was increased. Livelihoods monitoring o f the workers in the job-creation and worker-transfer programs was not conducted. Considering that because the participating SOEs have been economically unviable many o f the workers might have received non- working status to receive only subsistence support, it i s likely they are experiencing lower living standards than before. 4.17 The NRMP provided relocation packages to 150 employees. The program’s selection process and the relocation were conducted in a transparent and fair manner through quality consultations with employees, an NGO that observed the process confirms. Although the workers’ living standards after relocation and satisfaction with the program were reported as good, the quality o f the M&E conducted was weak, leaving it uncertain h o w the participants have fared. An additional 37 employees were given reduced relocation packages once the difficulty with the job-creation program became apparent. 4.18 The information management methods and tools introduced contributed only modestly to enhanced conservation management due to weak preparation, design and implementation o f M&E, the late installation o f the Chinese Biodiversity Information Management System (CBIMS) and continued technical problems with it, and the lack o f See Annex B Part D for the lack o f clarity on the number o f workers the CFB’s closure affected and how many participated in each o f the worker redeployment programs. 14 clarity within the NR system on the responsibilities for data analysis for improved NR management. Procedures for improved and detailed biodiversity monitoring were introduced and have been practiced in the N R s to an extent, but the M&E plans were developed only during implementation and it is unclear what biodiversity indicators have been used. Significant monitoring also began rather late and without quality baseline studies as a foundation, and methodologies have not been scientifically reliable. These factors have limited the agencies’-and the Bank’s-ability to determine the project’s contribution to biodiversity abundance in the N R s and meant that NR M&E capacity was only partially developed. Technical difficulties with CBIMS, the GIs-interfaced database accessible to agencies at all levels in the NR system, led to i t s late installation, in 2000, which meant a significant delay in the analysis o f monitoring and patrol data. The system has continued to malfunction and counterpart agencies find it complicated, preventing its effective use. Though i t has some potential, CBIMS i s not being utilized in many o f the N R s at this point. 4.19 More seriously, the chronic budget gaps for environmental activities at sub-national levels mean that it i s likely regular monitoring in most o f the NRs i s not being conducted. An international NGO IEG interviewed corroborated this. Indeed, although data was to be collected on a large number o f indicators, in most o f the NRs it i s quite sparse and weak in quality, covering only a few species and not scientifically reliable. Only where an international NGO is involved in species monitoring is data reliable. An additional problem has been the lack o f ownership within the NR system o f the task o f data analysis for improving NR management, as each level claims the task i s performed at another level. Consequently, the l i n k s between data collection, analysis and improved management action are tenuous, and considering the large amount o f data that has been entered into CBIMS, and the shared access to the system, the opportunities for infomation analysis to enhance NR management have been significantly underutilized. The NRMP aimed to introduce objectives-oriented decision-making with ongoing environmental and socioeconomic monitoring, but evidence indicates that this occurred minimally (Annex B Part D discusses these modest achievements in greater detail). 4.20 The NRMP’s “community co-management” approach did not seek so much to integrate local communities into NR management as it did to engage them in the participatory reduction o f natural resource use. Community co-management (CCM) contracts were developed between NRs and the eight selected villages, but these agreements were general and did not contain any real management responsibilities for the communities or benefits tied to their achievement other than the receipt o f one-time community investment grants (CIGs) for environmentally sustainable economic activities or educational projects. 4.21 The actual approach, while i t had potential to be effective, contributed little to developing biodiversity conservation management. One reason i s that the N R s did not adequately cultivate participation and counterpart funding did not always materialize. In perhaps only two cases, Taibai NR and possibly Foping NR were the C C M procedures to cultivate participation and identify issues properly followed. In most o f the villages, the steps were not conducted fully or at all, as N R s began to carry out C C M without the necessary training, and NR and local leaders tended to choose the sub-projects to be pursued. The CIGs supported a variety o f small-scale schemes, such as bee-keeping, tree-crop cultivation and fuelwood-saving stoves, and some o f these tended to benefit only a modest percentage o f the 15 households in a village. In X N R ’ s two villages, where C C M implementation was poor, counterpart funding was not provided owing to inadequate local budgets for conservation and hence sub-projects did not materialize. Despite the overall weak implementation o f CCM, the concept transformed the NR management paradigm in the SFA, and N R s sought to extend C C M to other non-NRMP villages during and after the project. However, resources for i t have been scarce. Hence as a pilot to develop the interest o f local government in environmentally sustainable development by showing the benefits it can deliver, the component did not succeed. 4.22 Furthermore, sub-projects were designed without clear benefits to biodiversity, and while the absence o f M&E means that CCM’s outcomes for habitats and species are not known, they are likely to be negligible given the small scale o f the NRMP’s C C M effort. The economic activities CIGs supported were primarily to improve livelihoods and in most cases NR officials had an insufficient understanding that the sub-projects were to generate conservation benefits as well. Because the link between livelihood improvement and biodiversity enhancement in the schemes was weak no real economic incentives for conservation were developed. A s there was no M&E o f the environmental impacts o f CCM, it i s unclear what the schemes’ effects were o n biodiversity. The livelihood effects o n the communities are also not clear because socio-economic M&E was inadequate. However, C C M likely contributed negligibly to conserving NR habitat given the problems discussed above, the small scale o f C C M and the heavy h um an pressure on the NRs by the more than 50,000 people living within the N R s at appraisal, according to the GEFPD. 4.23 The project nevertheless improved relations between the N R s and selected communities, laid a foundation for community-based conservation by other donors and NGOs, and led the NR system to incorporate C C M as an activity. The NRMP moved N R management from an authoritative command-and-control approach to one that understood the necessity o f addressing community needs, even where NR-community relations had been antagonistic. The new relationships appear to have provided the villages with some social incentive for conservation. The project also laid the groundwork for other donors and NGOs to implement participatory and environmentally sustainable livelihood activities in China’s N R s , and the DNR has adopted C C M as an approach for the N R system to follow. However, unless i t receives GOC support, it is unlikely that it will be replicated on a significant scale due to the l o w support available for i t at local government levels ( h e x B Part E provides an in-depth assessment o f CCM’s contributions to enhanced conservation). Outcomes for Biodiversity 4.24 All the N R s report that the biodiversity in their respective reserves has been enhanced since the mid-l990s, and that these gains are attributable in large part to the NRMP. Table 3 below contains all the quantitative data the N R s provided to IEG. Population figures today as opposed to those immediately after the project would actually better reflect the contribution o f the NRMP since improved management would have had time to affect species and because actual management actions and monitoring commenced only mid-way in the project. But as the quality and frequency o f monitoring has been poor in most o f the N R s , i t is difficult to ascertain what the benefits to biodiversity have been. Indeed, some o f the reported increases below, for example o f mouse deer in XNR, seem quite unrealistic. If 16 species abundance and diversity are greater today than they were before the project, to what extent they can be attributed to the NRMP i s not clear, although it i s likely that the improved protection the project brought made some contribution, because the GOC and several NGOs and donors have also taken various conservation measures, including the 1998 logging ban, in and around the N R s since the mid-1990s. At the same time, local or global threats m a y have emerged or risen since the project. In Poyang Lake, according to an international NGO, bird populations sometimes vary considerably from year to year and there i s some disagreement among scientists on whether l o w numbers in some years signify that the species are suffering adverse effects. Table 3. Reported Changes in Populations of Key Species in the NRs 1990s 2005 Nature Reserve and Key (exact year varies) (unless otherwise Species indicated) Foping Giant Panda 70 (“before 1995”) >90 Takin I 600 (1995) I 1000 Golden-haired Monkey 400 (1995) 600 Poyang Lake (average nos. of ~~ winterina birds) ~ ~~ ~ ~ Siberian Crane 1800 (“before orduring project”) 3100 Oriental Stork 800 ‘‘ “ 2500 Swan Geese 30.000 “ “ 60.000 Shennonjia I I Golden-haired Monkey I 760 (1998) I 1200 Xishuangbanna I I Asian Elephant I 200 (1996) I 250 (‘‘after project”) Mouse Deer I 100 (1996) I 1200 (2006) Parashorea chinensis (free) I 361 ha (“before proiect”) I 395 ha (‘‘after proiect”) Zhouzhi I I Golden-haired Monkey I 1100 (1996) I 1210 (2001) 5. Risks to Development Outcome 5.1 The rating for this criterion i s Significant. 5.2 The enhanced skills acquired at all levels in the NR system have been, and will likely continue to be, further utilized to extend improved management to other N R s and to obtain additional support, and the project N R s have been bolstered through other measures as well. Finally, the risks to any biodiversity gains achieved are small. Improved management planning capacity has enabled the DNR and N R s to generate additional support. The DNR has received increased funding from the GOC that also includes a budget for infrastructure in 17 the project N R s , and N R s as well as ONRs are able to obtain increased support from N G O s and donors. The DNR has continued to exercise i t s enhanced knowledge through its efforts to extend better management abilities to other N R s in SFA’s system. To replicate the NRMP’s benefits, 5 1 national-level N R s will create management plans in a new pilot project. The NRMP is serving as a model for other SFA NR-strengthening efforts as well. Hence some funding for national-level efforts did materialize although at project close, as the I C R states, the replication prospects were only modest. Capacity in terms o f management knowledge i s likely to be sustained at all levels within the NR system. Five years after the NRMP, N R s are still committed to carrying out effective management activities, when funding makes this possible. There has also been greater attention to the project N R s in the country and various actions have been taken to increase protection. The areas o f some N R s were expanded or new N R s were created adjacent to them, signifying the continued importance o f the N R s for the GOC, and legislation and regulations have been developed for some N R s , such as Poyang Lake, to facilitate their protection. Lastly, the risks to Changqing NR existence, and to the populations o f key species that genuinely increased, to the extent the increases can be attributed to the project, are not significant. 5.3 Yet at the NR level, which the NRMP focused o n and where resources are most essential for proper management to take place, support has been quite deficient for most o f the N R s . This has also meant that the project’s piloted C C M could not be up-scaled to be more effective in tackling resource use pressures on biodiversity. Financial support from the GOC for the project N R s and others, while it has increased, has remained grossly inadequate. As the NR System Plan developed under the project states, “national and local governments have not incorporated sufficient investments for development and management o f nature reserves into annual budgets.. , Funds are never sufficient or secure.. .[and] funds are often earmarked for specific activities without input from NR managers.” The MOF continues to hold the conventional view that biodiversity conservation primarily requires infrastructure and i t provides support only for this. Only for a select few N R s , such as Foping NR because it i s a key Giant Panda reserve, does it finance all activities. The project N R s depend for their staff salaries and support for eco-friendly community schemes o n sub-national governments, and as the budget allocations o f these units for environmental purposes have been small, especially in the less-developed, biodiversity-rich regions, the N R s have been unable to sustain on a regular basis the benefits in terms o f improved critical management activities, such as patrolling and monitoring, and perhaps even others.3 5.4 Insufficient local resources have also prevented the N R s and the DNR from scaling- up C C M to effectively address the principal threat o f heavy human pressure. Although the logging ban has improved and expanded areas for biodiversity, resources for N R s are even fewer after the ban as provinces have experienced declines in revenue. While the N R s have improved abilities to obtain external funding, an absence o f other major sources exists, especially for endangered species conservation. As CBIMS has had technical problems, the risks to its continued use where it does occur are significant if more user-friendly systems 4. One study estimated that in 2000, public expenditures, investment and current, for national protected areas were o f the value o f US$1.13/ha. Han, N. 2000. Study of the Sustainable Management Policies for China’s Nature Reserves. China National Committee o n M a n and Biosphere, Scientific and Technical Documents Publishing House, Beijing. 18 become available. Specifically regarding XNR, although is a high-priority NR, a Bangkok- Kunminghighway i s being built through it and i s bound to have adverse impacts. The risks to the NRMP’s development outcomes at the time o f this assessment are thus greater than the level the I C R implied at the end o f the project with its sustainability rating o f Likely. Bank Performance 5.5 The overall rating for Bank performance i s Satisfactory. The Bank’s performance during appraisal i s discussed above under “Quality at entry” (paragraph 2.1) and i s rated Moderately Satisfactory. This section covers supervision performance, which i s rated Highly Satisfactory. 5.6 The Bank gave strong attention during project implementation to ensure that the development objectives were achieved, addressing the challenges to enterprise restructuring, developing counterpart capacity one step at a time, requiring greater DNR ownership and supervision, and reminding borrower agencies o n the need for quality in their tasks and the timely submission o f reports. In managing the difficulties encountered with the worker transfer program and in an effort to make certain that all employees were redeployed in a just manner, the Bank team was able to adapt and innovate to develop solutions. There was careful attention and high commitment to achieving the objectives o f this major component. 5.7 Although the NRMP’s design was ambitious in i t s capacity development expectations and this led to some delays, i t nevertheless remained important for the counterpart agencies to build their foundation in one area before they proceeded to the next, and the Bank in its management ensured that this occurred. The Bank sought to maintain a logical order o f the activities and even postponed deadlines for some outputs, such as the NR management plans, and insisted NRs undergo training in C C M before engaging with communities so the work would be o f quality. The decision on whether the next activity should be pursued was based on careful supervision assessment. One factor that contributed to capacity development shortcomings at the NR level was insufficient DNR oversight and the Bank pressed the agency to adopt greater ownership and supervision. The Bank also redesigned CBIMS after it had been installed due to the difficulties counterpart agencies were experiencing with it. The Bank team during supervision was unable to correct for all the gaps either in Quality-at-entry or implementation performance, especially those o f the latter that occurred late in the project. However, i t did address many o f them with its high degree o f focus on achieving the development outcomes. 5.8 The Bank was also careful in its analysis o f studies and reports the borrower agencies submitted and indicated gaps in information to be filled. Based o n an examination o f project files and interviews with DNR officials, i t was also scrupulous in requiring all documents in timely manner to ensure that the project was on track to achieve its objectives. This was true for the project as a whole as well as for each sub-component. For example, the team gave significant attention to the details o f household compensation for the Wuyishan NR’s corridor creation. Supervision mission were frequent and usually staffed by specialists in several different areas. Reporting on the project’s performance was also detailed and honest. The DNR also noted that the experience o f working with the Bank in implementation itself 19 was beneficial, as it learned from it clear and logical implementation with articulated objectives and outcomes in mind and based o n sound supervision monitoring. 5.9 The Bank team also developed a platform during the project to share among project and external stakeholders lessons emerging from the NRMP. The Bank held two formal meetings with other NGOs and donors involved in biodiversity conservation to share with them the project’s experiences with pursuing the various objectives, and draw on their knowledge. These organizations included WWF-China, the Ford Foundation, UNDP, GTZ, Friends o f Nature, a local NGO, and others, and also involved the DNR. This engagement not only provided these other institutions with information o n the first large-scale biodiversity conservation project in China, but also helped establish a common understanding o f the challenges and opportunities in conservation in the country, and agreements on which areas require fhture collaboration. Borrower Performance 5.10 Borrower performance i s rated overall as Satisfactory, with the Government Performance rating being Moderately Satisfactory and implementing agency performance qualifying as Satisfactory. 5.1 1 The government gave significant importance to the project objectives o f this first major biodiversity conservation project in China that was also reflected in the level o f counterpart fhding provided. However, there were performance weaknesses in some k e y areas. Commitment to conservation more broadly was seen in the declaration o f Changqing NR as a national-level NR and the related decision on logging. Considerable government ownership existed as well, although on occasion i t was more o f measures at the national rather than the sub-national levels. During the project, counterpart fbnding was provided in a timely manner, and in fact actual borrower spending, at US$8.45M, was greater than the appraisal estimate o f US$5.74M. The only fimding shortfall was the lack o f counterpart resources for C C M schemes in XNR. There were some additional performance gaps as well. The GOC, along with sub-national levels, also shared responsibility with the Bank for not having foreseen the risks o f NRs failing to receive the support they required from local level governments after the project, and they did not develop arrangements for sustained NR financing for the transition to regular operation. Another performance weakness was that an enabling environment for the worker redeployment program was not created, leaving the sub- component destined to face problems. 5.12 Implementing agency performance was satisfactory, with the gaps having consisted o f the implementation o f activities without following the prescribed procedures, and weak accomplishments in M&E. The implementing agencies at the national, provincial and NR levels showed strong commitment to achieving the project outcomes and ownership o f the processes for their respective tasks. However, in some instances they proceeded with activities without the planned and necessary training. Beneficiary involvement in C C M was generally weak, but NRs did involve local residents in management activities to provide them benefits from, and give them ownership of, conservation. 20 5.13 The project being the first large-scale, GOC-organized and externally funded project for N R s in China, the DNR had had n o prior implementation experience with projects o f this kind or with the Bank, and was not entirely confident the NRMP would succeed. Although challenging, a project management structure was created with an entity at each level thus mirroring the administrative structure, to ensure procedures were properly followed, and this enabled the different levels within the NR system to work effectively together. Through diligence, procurement requirements were met and outputs were delivered. Given the complications o f the enterprise restructuring component, the SPFD performed effectively, and it was inventive in devising with the Bank alternatives for the worker transfer scheme and implementing them as efficiently as possible. Plans for M&E were developed only during the project and late, and were output- rather than outcome-oriented, but the fault here lies more with the Bank’s project preparation. To sustain and extend the project’s benefits for its regular operations, the DNR had planned during the project to pursue in-house training for other N R s in the system. 6. Lessons 6.1 The main lessons drawn f i o m the assessment o f the NRMP are the following: 1) Before sophisticated approaches to planning and information management can be u s e h l for biodiversity conservation, protected-area managers first need to have a strong understanding o f the adaptive management approach and skills in each o f its steps; defining outcomes, formulating measurable objectives targeted to achieving them, collecting and analyzing data on the relevant indicators with reliable methods to assess the success o f efforts, and revising approaches in light o f the results. For greater effectiveness and relevance, projects or components facilitating the development o f biodiversity-friendly, community-supported livelihood schemes where borrower agencies lack experience with them will need to: (1) provide for greater training, closer monitoring and continuous technical support o f staff responsible for engaging with communities to identify and plan sub-projects, and (2) demonstrate the biodiversity and livelihood impacts o f such schemes o n meaninghl scales, particularly in countries where resource use pressures on biodiversity is high. These steps will make it more likely that capacity in this area will be sustained and extended to other protected areas, and greater borrower ownership and resources for biodiversity-supporting poverty reduction will be generated. 3) Biodiversity conservation in protected areas requires sustained financing, national and local, and fiscal and budget allocation systems and trends at these levels need to be understood to make certain real borrower commitment exists and the resources for long-term effective management can be delivered, or to help design reforms that will make this possible. If sustained support is not guaranteed, there are substantial risks that GEF and Bank resources will be used inefficiently, as improved management capacities that have been developed will go largely unutilized and threats to biodiversity fi-om poaching and resource use will remain. 21 4) Programs to scale-down or close resource-extraction enterprises in remote, rural areas for the benefit o f biodiversity, and to equitably transfer workers displaced as a result to new livelihoods, can face numerous challenges; weak, uneven and unpredictable markets and opportunities, government economic policies, and the skill-level and social composition o f the displaced workers. Such programs therefore need to carefully consider and be tailored around these factors, including the viability o f alternate enterprises and existing opportunities in other sectors in the region. Furthermore, i t is important that their design involves local government, as i t has the knowledge o f local realities and hence o f what would be feasible. 23 Annex A Annex A. Project Components (as described in the GEF Project Document) 1. Nature Reserves: to develop more effective management and protection systems in the 5 reserve areas through investments for (a) the preparation and implementation o f new NR management plans; (b) strengthening field-level protection with guard posts, communications systems, field kits and other equipment: and (c) expanding the role o f local communities living within and adjacent to N R s in the planning and management o f reserves. Pilot community co-management sub-component: to create community incentives for long- term sustainable biodiversity resource use in eight villages in six reserves, Foping (l), Poyang Taibai (l), L a k e (l), Shennongjia (2), Xishuangbanna (2), and Zhouzhi (l), through 4 activities; (i) community briefing by NR officials on the objectives and scope o f co-management, and solicitation o f community participation; (ii)training for NR staff in participatory rural appraisal (PRA) and other participatory and advocacy skills; ( iii) formation o f stakeholder committees at each community to help NR staff conduct PRAs, collect and analyze resource use data, and identify and rank community problems and needs; (iv) preparation by stakeholder committees and NR staff o f Community Resource Management Plans and Co-Management Contracts that identify the respective roles and responsibilities in managing resource use. The project was to support the implementation o f these plans and contracts through: (a) a community investment grant program to support non-consumptive economic activities consistent with sustainable resource use; (b) education programs to strengthen community and public environmental awareness; (c) community outreach programs such as summer nature camps; and (d) detailed monitoring and evaluation to ensure equitable and effective implementation and to facilitate adjustments over the life o f the project. 2. Enterprise Restructuring: to reduce forest degradation from heavy logging in an area adjacent to the Qinling reserve cluster and important for Giant Pandas by restructuring 2 state- owned timber enterprises under the Changqing Forestry Bureau for more sustainable harvesting and the transfer o f workers to more environmentally sustainable employment. This program -- the first o f i t s kind in China -- i s expected to establish a model for sustainable land-use management and enterprise restructuring that would be disseminated to other protected areas in China. The following policy reforms and investment requirements would be supported. First, the entire area would be legally designated as a national level nature reserve, with a core zone o f 11,000 ha and an experimental zone o f 19,000 ha. The core zone would comprise the main panda habitat and all harvesting, road construction, and other human interventions would be prohibited there (the government has already stopped all these activities as o f December 1, 1993 in preparation o f the project). The project would support a variety o f protection activities for the core zone. The experimental zone would be managed on a sustainable basis. The farms would s t i l l be permitted to harvest timber in this area, but the following new conditions would apply: (a) the annual cut would not exceed the mean annual growth o f the forest; and (b) new silvicultural management practices would be introduced to maintain biodiversity values. The project would support improved management o f the experimental zone through preparation o f a management plan, 24 Annex A reforestation o f degraded areas, and training and technical assistance in improved silvicultural management techniques. Second, the labor force o f the forest farms would be restructured in line with the revised cutting program, with the 1,193 redundant workers redeployed to more conservation-oriented economic activities in the project area or terminated with a relocation package. The project would finance (a) sub-loans to develop employment opportunities for 1,043 redundant workers at existing and new enterprises; and (b) relocation packages for 150 redundant workers that would comprise specific expenditures related to worker and family relocation costs, worker retraining and placement costs, and livelihood development. 3. Capacity Building: to strengthen technical and managerial skills in biodiversity through development o f a national team that would provide about 900 person months o f operation and management training at the national, provincial, and NR levels. It would also enhance the organizational capacity o f the Division o f Nature Reserves (DNR) in the Ministry o f Forestry (MFO) through: (a) preparation o f a national conservation plan; (b) financing o f computers, office equipment, and related TA; and (c) preparation o f a series o f policy studies on biodiversity conservation. Additionally, it was to strengthen the Office o f Nature Reserves (ONR) o f the Forestry Department in Yunnan Province (YPFD), which contains the largest diversity o f species in China, through preparation o f a provincial conservation plan and development o f a provincial geographic information system. 4. Management Information System: to support improved management decision making for the 9 N R s through: (a) investment in computers, software, climatic recording equipment, and other scientific and office equipment; (b) TA in database structure, data analysis and information management; and (c) development o f a comprehensive monitoring and evaluation program for NRMP. 5. Research: to strengthen existing national biodiversity conservation research through: (a) financing research infrastructure and equipment at the 5 reserve areas; and (b) establishing a national small-scale competitive research grants program. 25 Annex B Annex B. Supplemental Information on the Efficacy o f the NRMP Part A. The NR Management Plans, and the Remaining Capacity Gaps at the NR Level Management planning capacity has improved in the participating NRs as a result o f training and the development o f management plans, but the plans, along with the project’s expectations of NR capacity to implement them, were overambitious, and analysis for how to address threats to biodiversity continues to need improvement. The management plans IEG examined (for three o f the QinlingMountains N R s , Foping, Taibai and Zhouzhi, and for Xishuangbanna NR) reflected an in-depthunderstanding o f the various external social, economic and ecological threats, and internal capacity, institutional and budgetary challenges facing the reserves, along with baseline information in some areas. They specified in detail the N R ’ s objectives, actions and resources needed to address these obstacles and perform essential reserve management functions, and listed the responsible NR-level unit(s) for each action. However, the plans were overambitious in terms o f the number o f issues they sought to address, especially in light o f the resource and capacity constraints the N R s were experiencing, and did not identify the objectives that were o f priority and realistic in nature. In the Taibai and Foping NR plans, the analysis behind the identification o f options to address the various threats, along with the choice o f options to be adopted, also tended to be superficial. As discussed earlier, another weakness was that M&E plans and targets were either insufficiently developed or absent. As the I C R and several NR and SFA staff have stated, the management plan development process was too long and the NRMP was near to closing by the time the plans were completed. Indeed, the plans contained several descriptive sections (on the N R ’ s history, relevant legislation, geology, etc.) that were not essential for management actions to be formulated, and these might have been added later to enable not only a more timely implementation o f the plan but, given the l o w capacity o f the N R s , also greater focus in capacity- building on management; i.e. determining priorities, deciding based o n sound analysis how the key internal and external challenges could be realistically and effectively addressed, collecting information to assess performance and adapting management in light o f results. Four N R s , including XNR, also produced ecotourism plans, and IEG reviewed this N R ’ s plan. Reflected in the plan was an undeveloped concept o f ecologically sustainable tourism from which local communities could possibly benefit. The plan merely proposed ideas o n h o w tourism in general in the prefecture’s capitol and region might be increased, with the implication that this expanded tourism would increase the number o f visitors to the NR. Management for biodiversity in the NRs has been effective although it is at a basic level. Although educational and skill levels o f NR staff are s t i l l relatively low, capacity-strengthening under the NRMP has translated into improved management for species protection and habitat conditions at the NR level. The collection and analysis o f basic data has informed and enhanced decision-making and has led to measures benefiting endangered wildlife, even though the data analyses, the links between the data and interventions taken, and the nature o f the interventions 26 Annex B have often been fairly rudimentary. In some cases, or more recently in particular N R s , data analysis for management has been more sophisticated. Advanced monitoring and GIS mapping o f elephant population distribution and movements in X N R ’ s Shanyong sub-reserve have enabled the NR to target patrolling resources in key areas to prevent hunting. However, this higher-quality work, found also now in Foping NR, i s due significantly if not entirely to the support and involvement o f other conservation NGOs in these N R s , such as the International Fund for Animal Welfare (FAW) in the case o f elephant monitoring in XNR and WWF Giant Panda monitoring in Foping NR, in the NRMP’s last years and after. Nevertheless, these more advanced activities were made possible because the project established a foundation in various management areas for other organizations to build upon. However, the value NR staff have for the principles o f effective reserve management appears to be less than the project’s expectations, as staff cite improvedpatrolling as having the greatest positive impact on the reserves and better management consistingprimarily o f CCM. When IEG asked senior staff at the NR and provincial levels their understanding o f good management, i t found the responses to reflect that staff in most cases had not entirely absorbed the principles o f quality conservation management. Officials n o w state that good management requires various activities; monitoring, patrolling, CCM, education, ecotourism, giving staff incentives for perfonnance, and others, and that they now plan for them. But what constitutes management in their opinion are activities. A developed understanding o f the concepts involved in effective management and o f the need to structure the different activities in particular sequences to be able to pursue objectives, determine biodiversity outcomes and reassess strategies i s generally somewhat lacking, although there was some variation in the responses. In fact, for many NR-level officials “management” improved essentially because the NRMP provided basic infi-astructure and equipment, and technical skills, and when asked what factor was most responsible for improved biodiversity in the reserve, the answer universally given was patrolling (although the NRs have not conducted M&E o f patrolling’s impacts). When asked how the project changed their concept o f management, NR officials replied that the C C M notion brought the most important shift in their thinking, and it led them from seeing their role as “a door-keeper”, preventing resource use in the reserves and punishing communities for illegal use, to viewing communities almost as partners and realizing that their livelihood needs have to be met if biodiversity is to be conserved. NR staff even cited C C M as the second factor behind the improvements in biodiversity they believe had occurred (although the N R s did not conduct M&E o f CCM’s effects on biodiversity or habitat). In every interview with NR staff, improved decision-making was only the third most important factor stated. Part B. The Management Planning Outcomes in the Provinces Other than Yunnan The capacitiesfor biodiversity conservationplanning in the Yunnan Forestry Department’s Wildlve Conservation Office were significantly enhanced and enabled provincial-level leadership for conservation in Yunnan, unlike in the other participating provinces. Because provincial-level assistance was provided only to Yunnan, the province in i t s coordinating capacities i s an exception among the others in the NRMP. Owing to the project’s focus o n NR 27 Annex B capacity-strengthening, other provincial NR offices, including Shaanxi, a key province, acted more as intermediaries between the DNR and their respective N R s and only served to review management plans. This i s despite training they received in management-plan development, database management and other areas. The lack o f provincial-level capacity-building resulted, even by admission o f staff at this level, in weak provincial involvement and oversight in the project, and poor knowledge o f the activities and outcomes at the NR level. Capacity i s significantly greater among the N R s than it i s at the provincial level, aside from Yunnan. One provincial staff member stated that provinces were to provide guidance and management to the N R s , but that it was not clear how this was to be done. Given the large number o f N R s in Shaanxi in the NRMP and the involvement o f several donors/NGOs there for Giant Panda conservation, assistance for the province to develop a NR master plan similar to that provided to Yunnan would have been merited and highly beneficial. Part C. The NRMP Experience with Enterprise Restructuring and Redeployment Workers that the CFB’s closure displaced participated in one o f three programs, relocation, j o b creation and worker transfer with earmarked capital. Determining precisely how many workers were affected and how many were involved in each program i s difficult as there i s much inconsistency among the sets o f figures the SFA, Shaanxi Provincial Forestry Department (SPFD) and the Bank team in the I C R provided, as well as lack o f clarity and inconsistency within the data available from the different borrower agencies’ and the Bank. Nevertheless, they all provide roughly the same picture on the performance o f the different programs. Provided in Table 4 below are the ICR figures to offer some sense o f it. Table 4. ICR Figures on Participation in Enterprise Restructuring Worker Programs Worker Program and Status of Displaced Number of Workers Employees Appraisal Estimate of Total No. of CFB 1193 Workers Displaced Actual Total of Displaced Workers 2262 Changqing NR Staff 220 Employed on enterprise restructuring 150 Retired 549 Relocation 187 Transfer with earmarked capital 150 Job creation, initially, of which: 1006 Employed 206 Retired or transferred to different jobs 448 Idle by mid-2002, because participating 352 enterprises downsized 28 Annex B The NRMP compensated I 8 7 workers with expensesfor relocation, training and livelihood development through a transparent and fair process, and their living standards are reported to be good in comparison to those they experienced before relocation, although the quality of livelihoods M&E was low. The different sets o f figures agree that ultimately 187 employees were relocated with financial assistance for moving, training, and developing agricultural or off-farm activities. Based on the estimated relocation cost per worker (US$8,000), the project’s allocation for relocation allowed 150 individuals to receive it. The program and the selection process were shared with the employees through quality consultations, an NGO that observed the process confirms, and recipients were chosen using a lottery given an excess demand for the package. Due to the lower actual average cost (US$6,400 per worker) and difficulties encountered later with the other programs, 37 additional workers received relocation assistance. Provincial officials claim that the compensation levels were substantial-and recipients did receive their pensions in addition-and an assessment o f the program’s outcomes regarding the livelihoods o f the former workers was conducted that concluded the participants were generally satisfied with the program. However, how they have fared in livelihood terms i s unclear for the methodology used in the assessment lacked rigor and the verdict o f the report even contradicts much o f the data in it. Related to this, information IEG received o n the program did not outline the approach used to develop the budgets for the new livelihood activities in agriculture and off-farm income generation. The remaining majority o f workers were eventually redeployed to different enterprises, but due to inefficiencies in this sector along with insufficient Bank preparation, the process encountered numerous obstacles and the enterprises have not been economically viable, resulting most likely in negative livelihood outcomesfor many o f the employees. Regarding the job-creation program, the three existing SOEs in the NRMP, like others in their sector and associated with the CFB, were already being managed inefficiently and without regard to market principles; burdened by debt, excess workers, and the obligations to pay support for non-working employees and retiree pensions, and had already been encountering economic difficulties. The new SOEs became financially unviable due to market conditions, the l o w skill levels o f the transferred workers and o f management, and the retirement o f a large portion o f the workers shortly after their transfer and the need to pay their social benefits. The enterprises also had to borrow from and repay local banks as they reported that GEF concessional loan financing was inadequate. Indeed, the Bank reduced the total investment in the two new enterprises, the Trading Company and the Construction Company, because it did not want to spend on them an average unit cost per worker that was more than that under the relocation pr~gram.~ Though the participating SOEs had incorporated the recent sector reforms, they were unable to compete with the growing township and village enterprise sector. I t was reported to IEG that as o f 2005, all o f these SOEs were performing poorly, with debts outweighing assets in most cases, and the ratio o f working to non-working (but employed under the Chinese economic system) employees being about 1:2. As the enterprises were unable to pay their loans, the facility proposed to 2. China-Nature Reserve Management Project, Mission Report, M a y 1996. 29 Annex B recycle the repayments to fund future job creation schemes that would allow the closure o f other logging enterprises did not materialize. One year after project effectiveness the Bank realized that “the initial implementation experience [ o f the j o b creation program] has suggested that the original project design overestimated the scope for developing new, environmentally sustainable employment within the Changqing area.. .” Because the j o b creation program was unable to accommodate as many workers as anticipated, owing partly to the CFB closure’s displacement o f a larger number o f workers than expected and to SPFD’s withdrawal o f its proposal for a third, uncompetitive enterprise, the Bank and SPFD developed the j o b transfer with earmarked capital program for the remaining employees. Some workers were transferred to SOEs outside Changqing with funds consisting o f a payment to the enterprises to hire the workers, relocation training and placement support, and a small equity investment in the enterprise for civil works or equipment, while nearly a h a l f retired and were supported by the province. Those transferred to new SOEs were ultimately laid o f f and their new employers were unable to pay their social benefits, leaving them to be supported by the province as well. Owing to the difficulties with redeployment and the added costs involved, counterpart funding was increased. Substantive monitoring o f the livelihoods o f workers in the j o b creation and worker transfer programs was not conducted. The SPFD reports only that the livelihoods o f those transferred with earmarked capital compared to area standards are “low” in some cases and at “a middle level” in others. Considering that the five SOEs in the j o b creation program have been economically unviable, although their non-working staff are receiving some subsistence support, they are likely experiencing lower living standards than before. I t should be noted that the 1998 national logging ban and the decline in provincial revenues it has led to has brought some economic downturn in the region. What led to the enterprise component’s lack o f success and the dependence on j o b creation to address the unemployment from CFB’s closure were several factors. One was the higher number o f workers displaced by the State Council’s decision to cease instead o f reduce logging. A second factor was the unrealistic view the DNR states i t held on the feasibility o f j o b creation. Perhaps a third was a Bank inclination to favor larger-enterprise and market- oriented solutions over relocation-type assistance. The GOC’s decisions left the SPFD to manage the process, and provincial authorities informed IEG that, aware o f the difficulties that would be experienced in absorbing labor, were skeptical about the component’s success and hesitant to close the CFB. As the existing SOEs involved in the NRMP were required by administrative order to accept redundant workers and there was pressure to both establish Chanqing NR and conduct the redeployment, insufficient analysis was done for the enterprise feasibility studies. The studies, which the province’s D e s i g n and Planning Institute conducted and which otherwise used sound criteria that the Bank required to approve GEF loans to the companies, consequently did not present the actual viability o f the enterprises, the SPFD informed IEG, although they did mention many o f the same factors discussed above that would pose as obstacles to performance. Finally, enterprise creation was problematic because during the process market conditions and factor prices kept changing. Based on the ICR, j o b creation, at the average cost o f US$10,800 per worker, was more costly than relocation and worker transfer (US$3,400). The SFA drew lessons from the 30 Annex B experience as it developed the National Forest Protection Program to help provinces cope with the effects o f the 1998 national logging ban, and, moving away from an initial idea for j o b creation, developed a program modeled on the relocation component. The enterprise restructuring component only brought greater complexity and risks to an already ambitious project. But as Bank staff have pointed out, given the developments at the time o f preparation critical panda habitat would have been lost had Changqing NR not been established. As discussed under “Quality at entry”, had the Bank appraised the situation better and taken steps to minimize the various risks the provision o f more secure substitute livelihoods for CFB’s employees might have been facilitated. Part D. The Modest Achievements in Improving Information Management Procedures for improved and detailed biodiversity monitoring were introduced and have been practiced in the NRs to an extent, but the M&E plans were developed only during implementation and monitoring methodologies have been inadequate, limiting the ability to determine the project’s contribution to biodiversity abundance in the NRs. The NRMP provided training in enhanced techniques for data collection and monitoring o f plant and wildlife species and standardized these across the N R s . Transect routes specifically for monitoring were established and patrol guards also collect data on species presence indicators during their rounds. The standardized data sheets the NRMP designed for them are nN R s where little or no ecological data-gathering had previously s t i l l being employed. I occurred, this has been a significant positive step, and where monitoring was conducted before the NRMP, such as in Shennongjia and Foping NRs, the project improved the quality o f data collection, enabling the discovery o f species thought absent. The frequency o f the activity though varies among the N R s due to various factors, the level o f local funding available for N R s being one o f the chief ones among them. While the procedures introduced were not advanced, they required recording information on a large number o f species and indicators. More significantly, the approach has lacked scientific reliability as raw data on species has been used to assess population abundance changes rather than data analyzed with species-specific statistical models. In some o f the N R s , international NGOs have been involved in more scientific and advanced species monitoring, but staff in them as well as in N R s without this activity appear to possess only l o w capacity for scientific data analysis. The NRMP’s data analysis course, it was stated, was difficult to apply. In cases where the N R s or provincial offices conduct their own population estimations, the results cannot be regarded as valid or used as indicators o f improved management. Also making any biodiversity data from the project problematic i s that some N R s began data- gathering before the training was received and used methodologies inconsistent with those the Bank proposed, thus producing poor quality information. In QCNR, outside institutions were hired for data collection, which meant at least initially that no NR capacity-building occurred. In fact, the NRMP was unrealistic in expecting to have quality baseline biodiversity data collection occur before management plan development when this requires 31 Annex B significant training and more than a year to perform. Third, significant monitoring generally began rather late, after the management plans had been developed. Finally, the M&E plan for the project as a whole and for assessing biodiversity outcomes was developed only during implementation and completed 2 years after effectiveness, whereas it should have been completed during appraisal. In fact, it remains unclear from the management plans what biodiversity monitoring indicators were used. The installation of the Chinese Biodiversity Information Management System (CBIMS) was delayed due to technicalproblems with it, and this also meant a delay in the analysis of monitoring data. Even after the system was established it was difficult to use and frequently malfunctioned, preventing i t s effective use in many cases. Interfaced with GIs, CBIMS was designed to create a new knowledge base o n N R s and biodiversity, showing dynamic changes occurring and available for all administrative levels in the NR system. Data gathered during monitoring and patrols on species, ecosystem conditions, and offenses, and on personnel and budgets was to be entered into CBIMS, allowing for its analysis. Yet from the start, CBIMS posed challenges due to its complexity and instability, and had to be redesigned during implementation. I t was not available at the NR level till late 1999, and at the provincial and DNR levels till 2000. Even after installation, the system has not worked properly, failing to show recently inputted data and requiring sub-reserves and N R s to submit their latest data to higher levels on paper or computer disks. While some staff have lacked the skill to use CBIMS, even some provincial officials responsible for data analysis and skilled NR-level staff find the system too complicated. While according to some external stakeholders the system can be useful and a few NRs have used employed i t effectively, CBIMS i s not being utilized in many o f the N R s at this point. Given its potential, SFA n o w wishes to retain but improve CBIMS and has requested MOF support to extend CBIMS to other N R s and for training other staff. But SFA i s also establishing a separate platform for personnel and budget data which will be used alongside a simplified CBIMS once the former is available. More seriously, chronic budget gaps for environmental activities at sub-national levels in less-developed areas are an endemic problem in China’s decentralized system and as a result it is unclear to what extent regular monitoring is actually being done in the NRs. Indeed, data o ~~ f some NRs in these areas is quite weak. Since the early 1 9 9 0 despite some improvements China’s system o f fiscal decentralization has possessed weaknesses that leave the biodiversity-rich poorer, central and western provinces without the financial resources they require to meet their responsibilities and a lack o f clarity o f the responsibilities o f each administrative level. Coupled with biodiversity conservation receiving lower priority, N R s in these provinces often do not receive the necessary support to conduct management activities and the majority o f reserves, even high-priority ones, are dependent on sub-national funding for staff salaries and benefits. Since the 1998 logging ban, budgets have been further reduced. Provincial officials IEG interviewed reported that local budgets have been insufficient for agencies to maintain all o f functions and services, and one official stated that staff in some reserves are not being paid on a regular basis. The Bank ought to have factored in these conditions when planning the project’s financing and obtained the necessary borrower commitment. 32 Annex B Based on the lack o f resources, it i s quite likely that even basic monitoring i s not being conducted regularly in many o f the NRs and sub-reserves in the poorer provinces. An international NGO interviewed corroborated this and added that even when data i s collected i t i s often not reported accurately because i t is not what higher-level managers want to see and staff are concerned about the repercussions they will face as a result. Monitoring was to be done on species, habitats, environmental services, and the extent and nature o f threats. W h i l e some data collection on these was likely done, no analytical monitoring to track and make sense o f changes in these indicators. In some o f the N R s IEG visited, no biodiversity monitoring data was presented although IEG made a formal request for this information during mission preparation. Where IEG made repeated requests for it, it was discovered that the data available was very poor, as it covered only a few species and was nonexistent even for many endangered ones. Only where an international NGO was involved and providing support for species monitoring, such as IFAW’s elephant monitoring in X N R ’ s Shanyong sub-reserve since 2003, was data available and o f quality. Additionally, within the N R system there has been little ownership by any level o f the task of data analysisfor improving NR management. Considering the large amount o f data entered into CBIMS for various indicators, and the shared access to the system, the opportunities for information analysis to enhance NR management have been significantly underutilized. The chain linking data collection at the NR level to analysis at higher levels and then back down to improved management action at the NR or sub-reserve level i s weak. In fact, it is unclear which level has responsibility for information analysis, as NR and sub- reserve directors say that they supply their data for analysis to the next highest level, but officials at these levels claim that they conduct only some analysis with the lower u n i t s sharing in the task, and that revised management action is decided at the field level. Aside from the lack o f clarity over which unit i s responsible, analysis for improved management that does not substantially involve NR or sub-reserve staff is problematic because the N R s and sub-reserves are too large and important, and the developments in them too complex, for removed, upper-level units to make the decisions. Last year X N R ’ s Shanyong S R begin to examine its own data on a CBIMS-adapted system better tailored to its ecological issues and informational needs. In addition to the difficulties with C B I M S and the lack o f resources for regular monitoring, which also influence data analysis, analytical capacity at the NR and provincial levels is not strong. While data collection training was provided for all N R s , that for data analysis was not available in all cases. Again, only when NGOs with expertise became involved was there good analytical use o f data that had been collected. At a deeper level, there appears to be an insufficient appreciation o f the h n c t i o n o f monitoring and i t s value for NR management and biodiversity protection. This i s related to a broader tendency observed that sees management and its activities as actions that can be achieved merely by following externally-provided rules and steps rather than requiring a critical and analytical perspective. The NRMP was thus too ambitious in expecting quality monitoring and analysis and the f ill use o f CBIMS when the baseline capacity o f the NR system was low. A central NRMP aim was to introduce objectives-oriented decision- making; baseline data collection and systematic analysis, ongoing monitoring o f environmental and socioeconomic factors, and the updating o f plans and actions. But 33 Annex B available evidence indicates that this occurred minimally, and where it did was at the simplest level. Part E. The Community Co-management Experience “Community Co-management contracts” were developed between the NRs and the selected villages, but these agreements were general and did not involve any real management on thepart o f the communities. The N R s formed C C M contracts with the eight villages selected to participate. The contracts, according to the GEF Project Document, were to define the respective roles and responsibilities o f the parties in managing resource use, and to support them community investment grants (CIGs) would be provided for environmentally sustainable economic activities. The contracts, however, were quite general, stating only that the village should help protect the resources from illegal and destructive activities and would lose the N R ’ s assistance if they did not. The term “co-management” was perhaps erroneous as the contracts did not contain any specific management obligations and responsibilities for the parties, nor statement o f benefits for the village that were tied to the achievement o f these responsibilities. The quality of the implementation of the CCMprocess varied significantly among the NRs, from strong to inadequate. There was an association between the quality o f implementation and the success of livelihood sub-projects. IEG visited or met with the residents o f three out o f the eight C C M villages (Da Wan, Taibai NR, and Xiahuibian and Xinlongshan, XNR), and visited two villages, in Zhouzhi and XNR N R s , to which C C M had been extended outside the NRMP. I t also discussed with the officials o f the other N R s their C C M experiences. What criteria were used to select the pilot villages i s unclear, as the villages varied considerably in terms o f accessibility, standard o f living, and their relationship with their respective N R s . M a n y villages, it should be noted, were unwilling to participate in the component. Inperhaps only two cases, namely Taibai NR, as the international C C M consultant provided direct guidance and leadership for the exercise there, and possibly Foping NR were the procedures for C C M were followed well. Communities were presented with the C C M concept, and its scope and benefits, Leading Groups composed o f village and external stakeholders were formed, participatory rural appraisal (PRA), including data collection and analysis, was performed to understand resource use and identify and prioritize economic activities, and community natural resource management plans were developed. Yet in most instances, stakeholder committees were not formed, and NR staff did not conduct any PRA or cultivate participation in decision-making. With local leaders they determined the sub-projects for the villages to pursue, the prime example being XNR. In fact, even in Taibai N R ’ s D a Wan village, the level o f village participation in decision-making appears to have been low, as involvement grew gradually only after village leaders adopted the economic activities. Indeed, in IEG’s meetings with the villages, ordinary villagers were practically absent and local leaders and their associates alone spoke. The Bank team had realized during implementation that C C M activities had been initiated without staff having 34 Annex B received training, which had resulted in village leaders “identifying a wish-list o f projects without having gone through a participatory consensus-building exerci~e.”~ New or existing economic schemes the CIGs supported in the various villages were mainly for improved bee-keeping, tree-crop and herbal medicine cultivation, potable water, fuelwood-saving stoves, and pig-raising, and spending was mainly o n training and technical assistance. The N R s tended by their own admission to involve only households with prior skills in the activities, bee-keeping being an example, and saw those without any capacities as unable to benefit, and this has meant that only a modest percentage o f the village’s households have participated in a scheme. The schemes were co-financed, according to project rules, by the communities, N R s from their own budgets, or local government, and household participation generally increased over time, particularly in tree-crop growing and the use o f more efficient stoves. Despite some N R s not having fully carried out C C M procedures, they did seek to extend C C M to other non-NRMP villages with their own resources or special GOC funds, indicating that the project had changed their management paradigm. However, nearly all the N R s complained about the NRMP’s l o w level o f support for C C M and the difficulty this created for sustaining and extending community economic activities. In X N R ’ s two C C M villages, where C C M implementation was poor, irrigation schemes were not established largely because county and prefecture governments, while they were involved in the Leading Groups, were ultimately unable to provide counterpart financing. Greater participation and analysis o f resource use may have identified less costly schemes, but local government budgets in Yunnan and elsewhere were also limited for conservation-oriented community schemes for the same reasons they could not sustain NR management activities, and there has been some dispute as to whether the NR system or local governments are responsible for addressing unsustainable resource use in N R s . However, that there would be difficulties in launching, sustaining and extending CCM-related activities due to the unavailability o f resources at the local level was not discussed as a risk in the GEF Project Document. Hence as a pilot to provide lessons to local governments on the benefits o f CCM, the component did not succeed. Although CIGs supported new economic activities, these activities were primarily to improve livelihoods and in most cases were not designed with the intent to produce clear conservation benefits. Some o f the schemes, such as fuelwood-saving stoves, clearly reduced use o f the N R ’ s resources, and the authorities most likely supported them for this reason. However, with the exception o f activities in Taibai N R ’ s villages, precisely what environmental harm many o f the other activities were to prevent or minimize was not determined. Indeed, N R officials placed an emphasis in the sub-projects o n income- generation and there was inadequate understanding that these needed to generate conservation benefits as well. The link between livelihood improvement and biodiversity enhancement in the schemes was weak and as a consequence no real economic incentives for conservation were developed. Sub-projects seemed to be based o n the mistaken assumption that increased income would necessarily lead to reduced resource use. Whether the economic 3. China Nature Reserves Management Project (GEF Grant 28301) Report o f Supervision Mission, conducted ,’ 1996. M a y 6-June 9 35 Annex B activities actually resulted in less resource use i s unknown since the N R s did not conduct any analyses o f the impacts. Various environmental education sub-projects for youth were carried out in Foping NR and in XNR. However, the N R s did not conduct any basic surveys to assess the effects o f the schemes on the participants’ attitudes. IEG visited one scheme, a “green culture room” with environmental education and recreation activities, in a C C M extension village in XNR. Based o n discussions with the youth, the activities have taught them the importance o f conservation, though primarily for the benefit o f their livelihoods. Overall, CCM contribute little to conserving NR habitat. Furthermore, there was no M&E of environmental impacts and even monitoring o f community livelihood impacts was inadequate. Given the small number o f villages the component involved and the minor scale o f most o f the schemes, the biodiversity gains for the N R s were negligible and resource use by the roughly 5 1,000 people living in the N R s (not including those adjacent) according to the GEFPD was little impacted. Where energy-efficient stoves were introduced, the fuelwood saved was not insubstantial. However, no M&E o f the effects o f this and other schemes o n biodiversity or habitat was conducted. Similarly, some livelihood activities, mainly tree-crop cultivation, appear to have generated sizeable incomes for participants, but M&E was not done at most sites, and where i t took place was o f insufficient quality to isolate whatever contribution each activity might have made. Generally, according to data from basic monitoring o f income changes that was done (in Foping, Shennongjia, and Zhouzhi N R s ) , village incomes rose by the same rate or slightly higher than that for the rural sector as a whole. Theproject laid the groundwork for other donors and NGOs to implement participatory and environmentally sustainable livelihood activities in China’s NRs, and the DNR has adopted CCM as an approach for the NR system to follow. However, to what extent it can implemented on a wide-scale is unclear due to the low support available for it at local government levels. The Bank and GEF succeeded in introducing C C M in NR management in China and thus made a significant contribution. Late in the project and after, several donors and NGOs, such as WWF and UNDP, began work in other communities o f the participating N R s or others that replicated or resembled the processes under the C C M component. WWF- China, for example, in 2000 initiated eco-friendly livelihoods projects in three villages in the QCNRs, including in the new Changqing NR, and C C M traineeshoordinators under the NRMP have served as advisors for them. With all levels in the NR system viewing C C M as having transformed their approach to NR management, C C M was incorporated into the National Forest Nature Reserve Management Plan, which requires all A-level SFA reserves to establish and operate Community Affairs Units. C C M has been extended to other N R s and published guidelines and examples based on the NRMP experience have been disseminated. Yet unless the intergovernmental fiscal transfer system i s reformed, the heavy resource-use pressure on biodiversity and ecosystems in N R s will continue. 37 Annex C Annex C. Basic Data Sheet NATURE RESERVE MANAGEMENT PROJECT (TF-28301) Key Project Data (amounts in US$ million) Appraisal Actual or Actual as % of estimate current estimate appraisal estimate GEF grant 17.90 16.24 90.70 Co financing NA NA NA Government 5.74 8.45 147.2 Total project cost 23.64 24.70 104.5 Project Dates Original Actual Departure of Appraisal Mission 01I01I1993 Appraisal 0310111995 Board approval 0610611995 Effectiveness 0711811995 0711811995 Mid-Term Review 0912011998 0912011998 Closing date 0613012002 06/3012002 Staff Inputs (staff weeks) A ctual/Latest Estimate N" Staff weeks us$us$(looo) Preparation 49.60 176.00 Appraisal 26.50 89.30 Supervision 96.88 445.30 Completion *9.55 *42.59 Total * I 82.53 *753.19 *Estimate figure 38 Annex C Mission Data Date No. of Specializations Performance Rating (month/year) persons represented Implementation Development Progress Objective Identification/ Preparation 3/92 9 lFS, 2EC, 1SNS, 1ECO, lNREC, IMS, 1Res, 1IMS 11/92 6 2FS,2EC, 1ECO, 1MS 5/93 5 lEC, lFS, 1ECO, 1FA, 1SE AppraisaVNegotiation 11/93 5 lECML, IECO, lSE, 2EC 8/94 3 lEC/ML, lECO, 1OA Supervision 8/95 2 lEC/ML, 1ECO S S 6/96 2 lEC/ML, 1ECO 5/97 2 lEC/ML, 1ECO HS HS 10/97 3 lECO/ML, lBS, S 100 3/98 4 lECO/ML, 1 0 0 , HS 1DO, 1EC 9/98 (Mid- 6 lECO/ML, HS HS Term) SPOO, l S , lWB, 1FE 2/99 4 IECO/ML, IBS, HS HS IM&E, 1TA 6/99 3 IECO/ML, IBS, S HS 1SPOO 1/oo 3 1ECO/ML, 1DO, HS S 1PO 3/00 3 ECOI M L, S S lM&E/ES, 1TS 6/00 2 IECO/ML, 1M&E S S 11/00 5 IECO/ML, IDO, HS S 1PO, 1RS, 1SDS 6/0 1 4 1IECO/ML, 1RS, HS S IBS, I E C 39 Annex C Date No. of Specializations Performance Rating (month/year) persons represented Implementation Development Progress Objective 12/01 4 1IECO/ML, 1RS, S HS 1PS, 1BS 3/02 2 lECO/ML, 1BS HS HS ICR 6/02 3 IGEF RC/ML, 1BS, 1SS Note: *Identification/Preparation Missions were part o f China Forest Resource Development and Protection Project (FRDPP) missions. BS: Biodiversity Specialist; DO: Disbursement Officer; EC: Economist; ECO: Ecologist; ES: Environment Specialist; FA: Financial Analyst; FE: Forest Economist; FS: Forestry Specialist; GEF RC: GEF Regional Coordinator; I M S : Information Management Specialist; ML:Mission Leader; M&E: Monitoring & Evaluation Specialist; M S : Marketing Specialist; NREC: Natural Resource Economist; OA: Operations Analyst; 00:Operations Officer; PO: Procurement Officer; PS: Procurement Specialist; RS: Resettlement Specialist; Res: Research Specialist; S: Sociologist; SDS: Social Development Specialist; SE: Socio-Economist; SNS: Seed Nursery Specialist; SPOO: Social Policy Operations Officer; SS: Social Scientist; TA: Team Assistant; TS: Training Specialist; WB: Wildlife Biologist 41 Annex D Annex D: People and Agencies m e t L i s t o f Persons M e t Ministrv of Finance Mr. Zou Ciyong, Director, International Department State Forestrv Administration Mr. Yan Xun, Deputy Director General, Department o f Wildlife Conservation Ms. Cheng Jinghua, Senior Engineer, World Bank Loan Project Management Center Ms. An Lidan, Deputy Director, Department o f Wildlife Conservation Fuiian Provincial Forestrv Bureau Wild Fauna and Flora Conservation Manavement Center Mr. Zhou Dongliang, Senior Engineer Hubei Provincial Forestrv Bureau Wild Fauna and Flora Conservation Division Mr. Zhou Lijia, Principal Staff Jiangxi Provincial Forestrv Department Wildlife Fauna and Flora Conservation Management Bureau Mr. Wu Yinghao, Deputy Director Forestrv Department of Shaanxi Province Mr. H o u Lingyu, Senior Engineer, Administrative Office of Natural Reserve and Wildlife Mr. Zhou Lingguo, Deputy Director, Conservation Division Mr. Fong Jinxu, Director, Industry Division, Resource Bureau Forestrv Department of Yunnan Province Mr. Guo Huijun, Vice Director-General Ms. Zhong Mingchuan, Deputy Director, Wildlife Conservation Office Mr. Chen Lixian, Deputy Director, Wildlife Conservation Office Mr. Zhang Bao, Deputy Director, International Cooperation Project Office Povang Lake National Nature Reserve Management Bureau Mr. Ji W e i Tao, Director and Senior Engineer Shennonaiia National Nature Reserve Management Bureau Mr. Yu Jie, Director, Office for International and Domestic Cooperation Taibai Nature Reserve Management Bureau Mr. Liu Mingshi, Director Mr. Wang Zhicheng, Deputy Director Mr. M a Yisheng, Deputy Director Mr. Liang Qihui, Former Director, GEF Project Office, Community Co-management Consultant Ms. Ruan Mouqin, Former Officer, GEF Project Office (information management system and training) 42 Annex D Wuvishan NationalNature Reserve Management Bureau Mr. He, Director Xishuangbanna Nature Reserve ManaPement Bureau Mr. Huang Jianguo, Deputy Director Mr. Yang Hongpei, Deputy Director o f the Research Institute o f Xishuangbanna Nature Reserve Mr. Liu Linyuan, Director o f the Research Institute o f Xishuangbanna Nature Reserve Mr. Wang Lifang, Director, Shangyong Sub-reserve Mr. Tao Qing, Deputy Director, Shangyong Sub-reserve Mr. Zeng Rong, Director, Mengyang Sub-reserve Management Station Mr. Li Zhongyuan, Deputy Director, Mengyang Sub-reserve Management Station Mr. Zhang Shuzhong, Head, Guanping Sub-station Mr. Yang Yinchun, Patrol Guard, Guanping Sub-station Mr. Wang Xiao’an, Patrol Guard, Guanping Sub-station Zhouzhi Nature Reserve ManaPement Bureau Mr. M a Junzheng, Deputy Director Mr. Yu Wendao, Deputy Director Mr. Wei Wuke, Head, GEF Office Mr. M a Jingui, Community Co-management Staff Local Communities in NRMP Cheng Ping Village, Zhouzhi Nature Reserve D a Wan Village, Taibai Nature Reserve Xiahuibian Village, Xishuangbanna Nature Reserve Mangnalang Village, Xishuangbanna Nature Reserve Xinlongshan Village, Xishuangbanna Nature Reserve Wetlands International Ms. Zhang Xiaohong, Deputy Director and Senior Technical Officer Conservation International Ms. Lu Zhi, China Country Director IUCN-The World Conservation Union-China Liaison Office Mr. Seth Cook, China Program Coordinator 43 Annex E Annex E. Borrower Comments wb148245 O:ENVIRON\Manibog\China PPAR & Case StudyWPARWRMP PPAR - Revised version 05-23-07.doc 05/24/2007 5:03:00 PM