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1. Project Summary and Relationship to China's Agenda 21 This project is a demonstration project to tackle water supply shortage for the residents and livestock, and conserve drinking water sources in poverty-stricken areas in a comprehensive way. Integrated management demonstration projects will be set up respectively under such typical geological conditions as Loess Plateau, North China Plain and limestone mountainous area in Yichuan county and Yulin city of Shaanxi province, Haixing county and Zaoqiang county of Hebei province, and Luoping county and Wenshan county of Yunnan province. The project plans to explore suitable infrastructure for water supply and conservation, and matching management system under different geological conditions. This project is based on programme areas 8A and 14C of China's Agenda 21, and is related to programme area 11E.

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2. Background China's most poverty-stricken areas are mainly located in the dry areas of Loess Plateau, and limestone mountainous areas. Due to continuous drought in recent years, new poverty has emerged in some areas in North China Plain. The causes of poverty include: population has greatly exceeded the environmental capacity, and the extreme water shortage, insufficient water facilities and serious drought have resulted in low and unstable agricultural output and water supply problems in the rural areas. The 1990 statistics show that according to ìthe rural water supply difficulty criteria in the recent period" issued by the Ministry of Water Conservancy, there were 80 million people facing water supply problem, i.e., they live more than 1 km away from, or 100 m above the water drawing sites. During the Eighth Five-Year Plan (1990-1995) period, the government put in enormous amount of labour and material, and solved the water supply problem for 35 million people. In spite of the effort, there were still 65 million people with water supply difficulty according to the 1995 statistics. Such statistics show that in the course of solving the water supply problem, due to insufficient management of the existing projects, ageing and damage of the facilities, water pollution and insufficient water source project etc., new water supply problem has arisen. Therefore, in order to basically solve water shortage for residents and livestock by the year 2000, construction of water supply projects is not enough. The solution lies in tackling the problem in a more comprehensive way, including building a series of water supply and water source conservation projects. It is also necessary to construct water supply infrastructures. In the meantime, it is necessary to strengthen integrated management, to explore new water sources, and to conserve water. These projects would prevent water from being polluted, avoid new water supply problem and improve the water resources maintenance and management ability of the local communities. Shaanxi, Hebei and Yunnan have the most serious water supply problem in China and the selected counties are located in such typical water shortage areas as Loess Plateau, North China Plain and limestone area. It is of strategic importance to fundamentally solve the water supply problem for residents and livestock in China, set up demonstration areas in the three provinces to tackle the issue in a comprehensive way, explore suitable models for water supply and conservation projects under different geological conditions and find out a set of effective and efficient management methods. At the UN World Summit for Children in 1990, the Chinese Premier Mr. Li Peng signed the ìWorld Declaration on Childrenís Survival, Protection and Development" and the ìProgram on the Implementation of World Declaration on Childrenís Survival, Protection and Development in 1990ís." He made the commitment that China will solve drinking water problem in water shortage areas by the year 2000. The ìNinth Five-Year Plan of National Economic and Social Development and the Guidelines of the Long-term Goals for the Year 2010 of the Peopleís Republic of China" adopted by the Fourth Session of the Eighth National Peopleís Congress held on March 5th, 1996 sets out clear requirements on water supply for rural residents and livestock water supply, and puts forward the targets of basically eliminating poverty by the end of this century. The ìNational Eight-Seven Poverty Alleviation Program" states clearly that it is necessary to solve water supply problem for the residents and livestock in poor areas by the end of this century. The Ministry of Water Conservancy formulated ìTen-Year Program and Eighth Five-Year Plan on National Water Supply for Rural Residents and Livestock," planing to solve the national water supply problem for residents and livestock, especially that in the poverty-stricken areas, by the end of this century. This project enjoys reliable guarantee in terms of technology, organisational set-up and domestic input. The Ministry of Water Resources has long been responsible for water supply for residents and livestock, and thus has accumulated rich experiences in this field. It has co-operated with UNICEF, Japan, etc. on such projects. The Rural Water Supply Project Offices in the three target provinces' Water Conservancy Departments have implemented foreign financed project. The three water conservancy departments all have a Survey and Design Division and the project counties have planning, survey and design institutes. Theses enable them to carry the project planning, survey, design and construction independently. In each of the project provinces, it would cost RMB 60 million for residents and livestock water supply annually, which mainly comes from the state and provincial governments, loan and self-financing of the local people.

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3. Objectives

3.1 Long-term Objective To facilitate the realisation of the strategic objective of ìbasically solving national drinking water problem in water shortage areas all over the country by the end of this century" so as to lay a sound foundation of sustainable development for rural economy and society.

3.2 Immediate Objectives * To set up demonstration areas to tackle the problem in a comprehensive way under the three typical geological conditions and solve drinking water problem for 600,000 residents in the demonstration areas; * To improve the management capability of the government officials at various levels and project management personnel in the demonstration areas, and to enhance the self-maintenance ability of the projects so as to enhance their self-reliance.

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4. Outputs and Activities

4.1 Demonstration on the construction of drinking water supply facilities * To carry out a survey of the existing projects in the target counties and formulate overall programme and annual plan of the project; * To drill 380 deep and open wells and construct 140 pumping stations in the demonstration county areas in Hebei province where low rainfall and poor surface runoff but relatively rich underground drinking water resources are found; * To construct 96 pumping stations with water resource from wells, 11 surface water supply systems in townships and villages in Yulin city and Yichuan county in Shaanxi province, where rainfall is scare but motor-pumped wells are equipped, surface water resource and is rich and population is relatively concentrated; build 830 cisterns in sparsely populated areas; * To construct 100 water diversion works and 300 wells by using existing reservoirs and springs in rich raining and serious leakage limestone areas in Yunnan province; build 5000 cisterns in scattered populated areas. Monitoring Indicators: 95% of the projects are qualified and water supply problem for 600,000 people be solved. Implementing Agencies: the three provincial and target county water conservancy departments.

Time Schedule: January 1997 - December 1998

4.2 Construction demonstration for water resource and water conservation projects * To improve 24 reservoirs which are not fully utilised due to the lack of maintenance funds and ageing problems, of which 4 are in Shaanxi, 3 in Hebei, and 17 in Yunnan; * To construct integrated drainage systems in densely populated townships; construct hygienic latrines, build drainage ditch, underground drain and drainage pipe net, thus forming an integrated drainage system of which, 15 in Shaanxi, 18 in Hebei and 17 in Yunnan, and 800 hygienic latrines in each provinces. Monitoring Indicators: 95% of the projects should be qualified. Implementing Agencies: the three provincial and target county water conservancy departments. Time Schedule: January 1997 - December 1998 4.3 Establishment of project self-supporting system and water quality monitoring stations * To determine a water tariff that will enable self-reliance of the projects. The water tariff will be used for project maintenance; * To set up water quality monitoring stations; * To set up a water quality monitoring system for both drinking water and water source. Monitoring Indicators: the projectís monitoring coverage of water quality reaches 80% and water borne infectious diseases are reduced by 80% Implementing Agencies: target county water conservancy departments, pricing bureaus and health bureaus

Time Schedule: January 1998 - December 1998

4.4 Training of project management and maintenance personnel * To compile training materials on project management; * To compile project operation and management manuals; * To carry out training for project management personnel; * To carry out training for project operation and maintenance personnel, with emphasis on community participation, especially women participation. Monitoring Indicators: training for 200 project management personnel and 3,000 project operation and maintenance personnel Implementing Agencies: the Ministry of Water Resources, the three provincial and target county water conservancy departments.

Time Schedule: January 1997 - December 1998

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5. Inputs

5.1 Chinese Inputs Chinese inputs will be used for transportation, office facilities for project personnel, project design and construction.

5.2 International Inputs International inputs will be used for purchasing drilling equipment, hand-operated pumps, construction materials and importing the latest drilling technology. If international inputs are in the form of commercial loans, the repayment will be jointly shared by the government financial departments at various levels and local people who benefit from the projects.

5.3 Budget The total capital needed for this project is US$ 12 million. The Chinese side will raise US$ 6 million from domestic sources, while foreign aid and investment will cover the other US$ 6 million.

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Table 1. Budget by Item (in million US dollars)

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Table 2. Budget by Output (in million US dollars)

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6. Benefits Human well-being and the construction of living infrastructure are the basic conditions for economic and social development. The 600,000 people facing water shortage problem in the project areas will directly benefit from this project. The project will greatly improve their living conditions, freeing them from heavy water-drawing tasks, reducing the water-borne diseases, and improving their health, and economising annual health care cost by US$ 700,000. More importantly, the extension of the models established by the project to tackle the problem in a comprehensive way in the project areas will catalyse the settlement of water supply problem facing the 65 million people in the whole country.

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7. Risks The main factor that will influence the project implementation is financing. Whether enough funds are in place in time will influence the project progress. However, learning from foreign experience and summarising the experience of rural water supply projects for residents and livestock in the past will greatly reduce the risks involved. In addition, the coordination with co-operating partners and with water conservancy departments will also directly influence the completion and quality of the project.

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