1. Project Summary and Relationship to China's Agenda 21 This project seeks to deal correctly with the relationships among industry, agriculture, resources development and environmental protection by formulating and implementing the General Plan of Sustainable Development in the Yellow River Delta Area (acronym as YRD below), protecting, saving and utilising rationally the limited water resources, and to ensure the sustainable development of population, economy, resources, and environment in the area. This project is based on programme areas 11C, 11D, 11E, 14C and 14D of China's Agenda 21, and is related to programme areas 12B, 14E, 15A and 17B.
2. Background The Yellow River Delta is a newly-created land formed as a result of epeirogenic movement of the Yellow River in this century, which is still creating new land at the speed of 3,200 hectares per year on the average. Yet large tracts of land here still lie undeveloped and unutilised. The area is rich in natural resources, such as petroleum, natural gas, bittern, marine resources, as well as geo-thermal power, which endow the area high exploiting potential. Under the interaction of ocean, river and land, a wetland ecological system with special topography and landforms and a variety of biological species has been formed. Currently, the area has been listed as one of the national nature preserves. After the endeavour for several decades, the comprehensive development of the Yellow River Delta area has achieved breakthrough progress. The local economic strength has increased greatly. First, the treatment and control of the Yellow River Mouth has made a great progress. Through the research and experiment on the River Mouth treatment, an effective method for stabilising the River Mouth, stabilising the existing route of the Yellow River has been found, which has provided a stable environment for the comprehensive development of the area. Secondly, the infrastructure construction has been strengthened continuously, and the capacity for economic development has improved further. At present, the highway density of the area is 40.2 km/km2, which has reached the advanced level of the country. The coverage rate of program-controlled telephone line is at the head of the province. Construction of energy, chemical industry, agriculture, animal husbandry and fishery bases have also seen great progress. The comprehensive economic strength of the area has risen conspicuously. The pace of opening-up and international cooperation has also been accelerated. Currently, Dongying city has established economic, trade, and cultural relationships with more than 20 countries and regions of the world. In 1995, the currency income from export reached 16.13 million US dollars. Foreign-funded projects approved during the period of the ìEighth Five-Year Plan" came to 290 with contracted investment US$ 180 million. At present, there are 277 joint-venture enterprises operating there. A lot of work has been done on sustainable exploitation and utilisation of resources and environmental protection in the Yellow River Delta area. In March 1995, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) provided technical assistance to the project ìSupport for Sustainable Development of the Yellow River Delta (YRD)" as the first project of the Priority Programme for China's Agenda 21 UNDP supported. Owing to the joint efforts of the experts from the Netherlands, the United States and China, the project has been conducted smoothly and some important results have been achieved by stage, which lay the foundation for the comprehensive implementation of the project. At present, the focuses of sustainable development in the YRD area are: (1) further development of the rich land resources. There are 805,000 hectares land in Dongying city, of which more than 400,000 hectares desolate and alkali land are waiting for being developed; (2) Shengli oil field, the second largest oil field in China, concentrates its 80% oil reserves and 85% output in Dongying city. Therefore, the prevention, treatment and control of petroleum pollution and fast response to accidents such as oil spilling have become an important link in protecting ocean and land environment; (3) the development and utilisation of tourism resources. The long-standing civilisation and history of the Dongying city, the YRD national nature preserves, the magnificent Yellow River Mouth, as well as Gudong sea-blocking dike, which stretches hundreds of kilometres, etc., all of these form the unique natural and artificial scenery of the Yellow River Delta with the characteristics of being ìnew", ìmagnificent" and ìwild"; (4) the utilisation and conservation of water resources. Water resources are the foundation of the development of agriculture, petro-chemical industry as well as tourism industry of YRD. Conserving the existing water resources and carrying out water-saving projects are the base for local economic development and sustainable development. All of the above-mentioned problems should be further solved on the basis of the results already achieved. The development of YRD is a cross-century project. The Shandong Provincial Government has planned to construct the YRD into an important base for energy, chemical industry and agriculture, animal husbandry, fishery so that the YRD area will become one of the advanced deltas of the country. In 1993, the national government appointed the YRD as the first of the ìFive National Granaries" to be constructed, and now, it is being put into action. The development of YRD has also been incorporated into the ìNinth Five-Year Plan and the Long-term Targets for the Year 2010" by the Shandong Provincial Government.
3. Objectives 3.1 Long-term Objective To strengthen and improve the ability of the YRD to achieve sustainable development and to build the YRD into an economically advanced area in energy, chemical industry and agriculture so as to guarantee the co-ordinated relationship among population, economy and environment. 3.2 Immediate Objectives * To formulate an integrated plan for sustainable development and local priority programme in the Yellow River Delta; * To develop and utilise the land resources rationally and to ensure the sustainable development of agriculture; * To conserve and utilise water resources rationally, to develop tourism potentiality and to protect the ecological environment.
4. Outputs and Activities 4.1 The formulation of an integrated sustainable development plan for the Yellow River Delta * To formulate an integrated sustainable development plan for the YRD area, including an input/output analysis and industrial development plan, an optimal utilisation and management plan for water resources, a land use and regional development plan, a city and town management plan and an environmental protection plan; * To originate the local priority programme of co-operative development matching with the above mentioned integrated plan, and to convene an international investment promotion seminar for the purpose of attracting overseas investment; * To found a management information system for serving the formulation and implementation of YRD integrated plan for sustainable development; * To reinforce the institutional construction of YRD Conservation and Development Research Centre through the procurement of necessary automatic equipment for office use and personnel training. Monitoring Indicators: Formulation of Integrated Sustainable Development Plan and Local Priority Programme; Convoking of Investment Promotion Seminar. Implementing Agencies: Shandong Provincial Government and Dongying Municipal Government. Time Schedule: January 1997 - December 1998 4.2 The establishment of experimental district for sustainable agriculture * To conduct research on the strategy, model, and countermove on modern and sustainable agriculture in the YRD area according to the characteristics of the area; * To determine the way for agricultural eco-environmental protection and set up a technological monitoring system; * To build up a high-yield, high-quality and high-efficiency agricultural experimental zone and a commercial grain and cotton base through medium-lower yield land treatment and the arable waste land development; * To carry out research on saline soil suited plant and to establish a demonstration zone of comprehensive treatment of coastal saline-alkali land; to build a Chinese tamarisk base of on 100,000 hectares. Monitoring Indicators: the strategy of sustainable agricultural development of YRD; 267,000 hectares commercial grain and cotton base and 6700 hectares saline and alkali land treatment experimental district. Implementing Agencies: Shandong Provincial Government, Dongying Municipal Government Time Schedule: January 1997 - December 2000 4.3 Protection, utilisation and development of water resources in YRD area * To analyse and predict the relationship between supply and demand situation of YRD water resources, institute a rational water price system and to found a water resources regulating and monitoring system; * To develop local water resources, such as building of supporting installations for ìYellow River Diversion Project", ìWater Storage Project", and other water resource utilising projects including the treatment and recycling of industrial wastewater and municipal wastewater and the utilisation of underground shallow slightly salty water; * To take water-saving actions, for instance, to actualise agricultural water-saving through improving irrigation technology, to achieve industrial and municipal water-saving by technical modernisation and dissemination of water-saving technology etc.; * To formulate a flood-fighting and controlling plan for Dongying city; set up a computer dynamic model, a modern flood-fighting command system and flood control works system capable of resisting floods that might occur once in a century. Monitoring Indicators: rational utilisation and protection of the existing water resources and flood-fighting works system for Dongying city Implementing Agencies: Shandong Provincial Government, Dongying Municipal Government. Time Schedule: January 1997 - December 2000 4.4 The set-up of monitoring petroleum pollution of the yellow River Delta off-shore area * To build a petroleum pollution monitoring and fast response network, to provide guidance for dealing with accidents, such as oil overflow, and co-ordinate the activities of the various departments; * To establish local monitoring stations, response centres and link them together in a network. Monitoring indicators: fast response to petroleum pollution and provide guidance to accidents Implementing Agencies: the Shandong Provincial Government, Dongying Municipal Government, the China National Petroleum Corporation. Time Schedule: January 1997 - December 2000 4.5 The tourism resources development of YRD * To conceive an assessment of the eco-tourism potentiality and the integrated development plan for the YRD area; * To develop natural scenery resources, such as the landform and configuration scenery, hydrology scenery, celestial phenomena as well as the scenery of oil fields; * To develop and construct a science popularisation tourism zone; * To cultivate the management personnel for the tourism zones. Monitoring Indicators: natural scenery tourism zone and a science popularisation tourism zone Implementing Agencies: the Shandong Provincial Government, Dongying Municipal Government. Time Schedule: January 1997 - December 2000
5. Inputs 5.1 Chinese Inputs Chinese inputs will be used for transportation, procurement of equipment for office use, matching inputs for demonstration project initiation, as well as capacity building, etc.. 5.2 International Inputs International inputs will be used for the recruitment of international experts, import of foreign advanced technologies and management experiences as well as the purchase of necessary equipment. 5.3 Budget The total capital needed for this project is US$ 53.50 million. The Chinese side will raise US$ 29.20 million while foreign aid and investment will cover the remaining US$ 24.30 million.
Table 1. Budget by Item (in million US dollars)
Table 2. Budget by Output (in million US dollars)
6. Benefits The implementation of the project will bring the area additional 1.1 billion kilograms of grain and 43 million kilograms of cotton, while lowering the saline rate under 0.3% within the demonstration area. This will lead agriculture production and agro-ecological protection on the way of positive cycle. In addition, through the conservation, exploitation and utilisation of water resources of the area and through the establishment of monitoring system of petroleum pollution and rapid response network in the YRD off-shore area as well as the development of tourism resources of the area, it is expected to realise the aims of natural resources conservation, environmental protection, harmonised development of agriculture, industry, and city as well as the optimal and rational utilisation of the existing water and land resources. It will also raise the ability for flood-fighting, preventing and controlling of Dongying city, lower economic damages caused by natural disasters such as flood, water-logging, windstorm and tidal waves to the minimum, and at last realise the sustainable development of the Yellow River Delta Area.
7. Risks There are two factors which may influence the execution of the project. One is the difficulty in coordination and the cooperation among different departments and different regions. Another is the difficulty in raising funds. For these sakes, the national and provincial government will pay great attention to the relationship between project agencies and play an important role in the coordination during the implementing process. Besides, the project authorities will also strive for international cooperation in various ways to open financial channels and seek potential co-operators. Text Browser Utilities: |Back| |ACCA21 Home| | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||