Charting New Pathways Towards Inclusive and Sustainable Development of the Nu River Valley
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CHARTING NEW PATHWAYS TOWARDS INCLUSIVE AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF THE NU RIVER VALLEY March 2018 Yu Xiaogang, Chen Xiangxue, Carl Middleton and Nicholas Lo Green Watershed and Center for Social Development Studies (CSDS), Faculty of Political Science, Chulalongkorn University About Green Watershed Green Watershed is an NGO based in Kunming, Yunnan Province, China. It works towards participatory and integrated watershed management, gradually establishing it as a model for sustainable development in Western China, supported both by the government and by NGOs (www.chinagreenwatershed.org). About the Center for Social Development Studies The Center for Social Development Studies (CSDS) within the Faculty of Political Science of Chulalongkorn University produces critical interdisciplinary research on social development in Southeast Asia, engages in policy-making through building partnerships, and provides a public forum for debating critical issues (www.csds-chula.org). Contact Green Watershed Center for Social Development Studies (CSDS), 8-1-401, Dianchi Linquan Zhiyuan Xiaoqu, Faculty of Political Science, Guangfu Road Western Extend Line, 2nd Floor, Building 2 (Voraphakphibul Building), KunMing, Henri-Dunant Road, Pathumwan Yunnan, China Bangkok 10330, Thailand Telephone number: +86 871-64182395 Telephone number: + 66 2 218 7313 Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] Acknowledgements: The researchers would like to thank all of the interviewees who generously provided their time to answer our questions. We would also like to sincerely thank Dr. Diana Suhardiman for her feedback on an early draft of the report, and Dr Vanessa Lamb, Robert Irven and Orapan Pratomlek for their overall support. Cover image The first bend of the Nu River (Credit: Sun Min). This report This report was written by Yu Xiaogang, Chen Xiangxue, Carl Middleton and Nicholas Lo. It was published in March 2018. The report was edited by Nicholas Lo. The report, together with additional resources including policy briefs, are available for download at http://www.csds- chula.org/publications/ 2018/20/03/report-charting-new-pathways-towards-inclusive-and- sustainable-development-of-the-nu-river-valley. For further details, please contact [email protected]. Suggested citation Yu, X., Chen, X., Middleton, C. and Lo, N. (March 2018) Charting New Pathways Towards Inclusive and Sustainable Development of the Nu River Valley. Green Watershed and Center for Social Development Studies, Faculty of Political Science, Chulalongkorn University: Kunming and Bangkok. Contents Acronyms ................................................................................................................................................. 1 Executive Summary ................................................................................................................................. 2 Chapter 1: Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 6 Chapter 2: Methodology.......................................................................................................................... 9 Chapter 3: Conceptualizing a “pathways” approach .............................................................................11 Chapter 4: Background to the Nu Basin in China ..................................................................................13 4.1 Geography....................................................................................................................................13 4.2 Political Geography ......................................................................................................................13 4.3 Biodiversity ..................................................................................................................................15 4.4 Protected Areas ...........................................................................................................................16 4.5 Economy ......................................................................................................................................17 4.6 Hydropower Overview .................................................................................................................18 Chapter 5: Review of China’s Policies and Legal Frameworks ..............................................................20 5.1 National Socio-Economic-Political Development ........................................................................20 5.2 Electricity .....................................................................................................................................23 5.3 Natural Resources and Environmental Protection ......................................................................25 5.4 Water Resources Management ...................................................................................................26 5.5 Social Protection ..........................................................................................................................28 5.6 National Parks and Protected Areas ............................................................................................30 5.7 Transboundary Policies and Commitments .................................................................................31 Chapter 6. Institutional and Actor Analysis ...........................................................................................35 6.1 Government agencies ..................................................................................................................35 6.1.1 National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) ....................................................35 6.1.2 National Energy Administration (NEA) .................................................................................35 6.1.3 China Renewable Energy Engineering Institute (CREEI) ......................................................36 6.1.4 Ministry of Water Resources (MWR)....................................................................................36 6.1.5 Yangtze River Water Resources Commission (YRC)..............................................................36 6.1.6 Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP) .......................................................................37 6.1.7 NPC Environmental Protection and Resources Conservation Committee (ERC) .................37 6.1.8 Yunnan Provincial Government (YPG) ..................................................................................37 6.1.9 Yunnan Province Resettlement Bureau (YRB) ......................................................................38 6.1.10 Nujiang Prefecture Government ........................................................................................38 6.2 State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) .................................................................................................38 6.2.1 China Huadian Group Corp. .................................................................................................39 6.2.2 China Huaneng Group Corp. .................................................................................................39 6.2.3 China Datang Group Corp. ....................................................................................................39 6.2.4 State Power Investment Corp. (SPIC) ...................................................................................40 6.2.5 Power Construction Corp. of China (PowerChina) ...............................................................40 6.2.6 Sinohydro ..............................................................................................................................40 6.2.7 HydroChina Corp. ..................................................................................................................41 6.2.8 China Three Gorges Project Corp. (TGC) ..............................................................................42 6.3 Civil Society ..................................................................................................................................42 6.3.1 Friends of Nature ..................................................................................................................42 6.3.2 Green Earth Volunteers ........................................................................................................43 6.3.3 Green Watershed .................................................................................................................43 6.3.4 Hengduan Mountain Institute ..............................................................................................43 6.4 Scholars and Academics...............................................................................................................43 6.4.1 Scholars advocating hydropower on Nu River .....................................................................44 6.4.2 Scholars advocating careful decision-making on hydropower .............................................44 Chapter 7: Nu River Development Pathways ........................................................................................45 Timeline of Key Events for Nu River Pathways ..................................................................................46 7.1. Large-scale Hydropower Pathway ..............................................................................................49 7.1.1 National economic context of Western Development strategy...........................................49