Total Project Cost: $220,000

PEF Financing: $200,000

Approval Date: 1 July 2011

Main Project Partner(s): Provincial and municipal governments

Project Officer: Alvin Lopez, EARD

Type of Intervention: Pilot intervention

Status: Ongoing

Summary:
The project is focusing on the Jiangsu-Yancheng coastal wetland complex, with a primary emphasis on the two national nature reserves -- the Dafeng Milu Deer NNR and the Yancheng Rare Bird NNR. Complementing an approved loan project, it is providing a preliminary understanding of the complex relationship between wetland ecosystems and livelihoods, along with recommendations for managing the wetlands. More specifically, it is implementing a rapid integrated assessment of the wetland (biodiversity, livelihoods and economics), identifying key issues, and proposing preliminary innovative wetland ecosystem financing options, including payments for ecosystem services and eco-compensation. This work will lead to more extensive interventions supported through a grant from the Global Environment Facility.

Poverty-Environment Linkage:
Innovative approaches are needed to protect the Yancheng's wetlands, which are under threat from land reclamation and conversion, construction of roads and dikes, alien species, and increasing pollution loads generated in the upstream areas. Appropriate ecosystem management and financing solutions, involving both government-driven and market-based mechanisms, can benefit both biodiversity and human livelihoods in the area.

Expected Outputs:

• Rapid wetland and biodiversity assessment, including ecosystem services at the site level and the basin perspective, with recommendations for key wetland restoration interventions.
• Rapid livelihoods assessment highlighting, among other things, preliminary information on key concerned communities and villages, current livelihood strategies and recommendations to ensure livelihood concerns can be integrated into sustainable development and protected area management priorities.
• From the rapid assessments, a comprehensive report that provides an assessment of the net economic benefits of the proposed interventions and explores innovative financing options. It will include a preliminary analysis of possible eco-compensation pilot programs, including financial sources of eco-compensation, recipients of eco-compensation, and types of eco-compensation.
• Conference paper based on the final report that provides a comprehensive look at the Jiangsu-Yancheng wetlands as a case study in coastal wetlands management, including how a wetland eco-compensation system can be integrated into government financing as part of a long-term and sustained effort to protect the country's wetlands.

Related Documents:

• MEPR Proposal