Watershed management project helps thousands

By Liang Chao (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2008-12-18 19:35

China and the World Bank have highly applauded a watershed management project using 5 million pounds of government grants from the UK government. The grants helped thousands of poverty-stricken rural households in China's pilot areas during a four-year long scheme completed recently.

Since 2004, the project has been launched in four Counties of Gansu in Northwest China plagued by worsening soil and water erosion, natural disasters and environment problems.

"Over the years, however, we've not only gained significant experiences by carrying out the project for the local residents but lifted them out of poverty by introducing them the way of how to maintain a healthy life in harmony with local environment," Gao Bo, an official for the Ministry of Water Resources, said.

Addressing a seminar on the achievements of the UK-funded project in Beijing on Wednesday, Ede Ijjasz, sector manager of the WB's China and Mongolia sustainable development in East Asia and Pacific Region, made it clear that it has introduced many innovative ideas into the implementation process.

According to John Warburton, an official for the United Kingdom's Department for International Development (DFID), the department has supported small-scale pilot projects in four sub-watersheds in Gansu, the poorest region in the Loess Plateau, by addressing livehood and environmental needs, and balanced both private and public interests.

Through intensive participatory planning, households could chose from a "menu of options." So far, over 55,000 people have benefited from its packages for improving local infrastructure, environmental control, livelihood and their capacity building, including information exchanges, new technology introduction and other skill training, Warburton said.

"From what you have done, what has been produced, I'm glad to say that results are impressive in treating eroded land up from 30 percent prior to the project. The per capita income of residents grew in average by 17 percent over the last three years," Ijjasz said.

Furthermore, the success of the project has paved the way for other countries like those in Africa facing the same challenges in managing their watersheds, while addressing environmental and socio-economic goals in a sustainable manner.

Last October, the Ministry of Water Resources, in collaboration with the WB and DFID, hosted an event on watershed management. Ten participants from various regions in Africa attended including Rwanda, Burundi and Tanzania. As a result, the DFID has made a commitment to fostering this dialogue and deepening its long-standing collaboration between China and African countries.

Ijjasz said he hopes there will be opportunities for the parties to have more cooperation in the field, with the experiences China has gained to be passed on to other developing countries.