Henan Xichuan Integrated Ecological Protection and Environmental Improvement Project (RRP PRC- 53053-001) SECTOR ASSESSMENT (SUMMARY): AGRICULTURE, NATURAL RESOURCES, AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT A. Sector Road Map 1. Sector Performance, Problems, and Opportunities 1. Xichuan County in Henan Province, part of the Han River watershed in the Yangtze River basin, is a national key ecological function zone designated by the government. Although the county is not within the Yangtze River Economic Belt (YREB), it provides a critical contribution to the YREB.1 The county was one of the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) 53 remaining national poverty counties in 2020. It has an area of 2,820 square kilometers (km2); in 2018 the population was 724,600, of which about 80% live in rural areas. It is located in the headwater zone of the middle route of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project (SNWDP), which transfers water from Danjiangkou Reservoir through a 1,277-kilometer (km) canal to 30 water-deprived northern cities, including Beijing in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region.2 2. Water resources management. Economic growth in the PRC is resulting in a growing demand for water. Under medium-growth scenarios (i.e., a medium economic growth and moderately intensive water conservation), total annual projected water supply (for water use) in the PRC from all sources is expected to reach about 700 billion cubic meters (m3) by 2030, an increase of 99 billion m3 compared with the 2014 base-year water supply. The middle route of the water diversion project has started to divert 9.5 billion m3 of fresh water annually from the Han River in Xichuan County to water- scarce northern areas, benefiting more than 100 million people. 3. While the county is helping to resolve water scarcity in the northern region of the PRC through the SNWDP, the county itself is experiencing acute water insecurity. The county currently uses only 32.13 million m3/year (about 13%) of surface water because of the restriction by the central government to meet the water supply for Danjiangkou Reservoir, and 72.1 million m3/year of ground water (171% of the total permissible amount based on the natural replenishment rate). The overexploitation has led to decreasing water levels and deteriorating water quality, rendering many existing intake structures nonfunctional. A lack of knowledge and capacity are two of the biggest obstacles to effective water resource planning and management. 4. Water quality. To ensure water quality for the SNWDP, industries with high levels of pollutant discharge (such as chemical and pharmaceutical industries) are prohibited in the Danjiangkou watershed. The water quality in some rivers in the county (such as the Danjiang and Laoguan) and in the proximity of the Danjiangkou Reservoir has exceeded Class III, with high concentration of nutrients (fertilizers and pesticides).3 Runoff, landslides, and soil erosion have resulted in excessive leaching of nutrients, pesticides, and sediment from farmlands into water bodies. Other sources of pollutants include livestock waste and direct discharge of untreated domestic wastewater from rural and urban areas. Large amounts of garbage and construction waste have also accumulated in the rivers. Poor management of waste and unsustainable farming practices threaten water quality in the Danjiangkou Reservoir. 1 Asian Development Bank (ADB). 2017. Technical Assistance to the People’s Republic of China for Preparing Yangtze River Economic Belt Projects. Consultant’s report. Manila (TA 9311-PRC). 2 South-to-North Water Diversion Project. http://www.china.org.cn/waterdiversion/index.htm. 3 Water above Class III is unfit for drinking (PRC’s Environmental Water Quality Standard-GB 3838-2002). X. Xin, W. Yin, and K. Li. 2017. Estimation of non-point source pollution loads with flux method in Danjiangkou Reservoir area, China. Water Science and Engineering. 10 (2), pp. 134–142. 2 5. The annual pollution load to the Danjiangkou Reservoir from the entire watershed totals about 58,200 tons of chemical oxygen demand (COD) and 1,863 tons of total phosphorus. About 3% of Danjiangkou Reservoir catchment is located in Xichuan County, with 4% of the water discharge into the reservoir coming through the Danjiang, Qihe, and Laoguan rivers; together these contribute about 3% of the reservoir’s total COD, and 6% of total phosphorus load. Within the county, about 73% of the COD load and 78% of the total phosphorus load are generated from the nonpoint pollution sources, with the remaining loads generated from point sources.4 6. Rural water services. The sewage network currently covers 85% of urban areas but almost none of the rural areas in the county. Total annual wastewater production in the county is estimated at about 13 million tons. There are 14 wastewater treatment plants with a capacity of 100,300 tons/day, but these serve only a fraction of the urban areas because of the lack of a wastewater collection network. As a result, all rural wastewater and 30% of wastewater from urban areas is discharged into local rivers without treatment. Poor sanitation prevails in rural areas, with many households lacking reliable piped water supplies and toilets, prompting many people to resort to open defecation (government plans to implement a public sanitation project). 7. In 2015, up to 18 million tons of food served in large cities in the PRC were wasted, enough to feed 30 to 50 million people.5 The county’s annual waste production includes 202,000 tons of solid waste; 1,000 tons of plastic waste; and 128,700 tons of farm waste. The average daily food waste produced in the county is estimated at 40 tons; this is one of the most toxic pollution sources but is not treated separately and instead is dumped in comingled landfill sites or flushed into the river system. 8. Almost all of the county’s rural population and 30% of its urban population lack proper access to water, wastewater, and solid waste management facilities. About 70% of the drinking water supply in the county comes from groundwater that has been contaminated, with supply restricted as a result of overexploitation. The county’s groundwater quality is far below national standards,6 resulting in poor health and creating heavy burden, particularly for women, who have a major role in household water and waste management. Poor access to safe water supplies and sanitation in combination with poor hygiene practices resulted in fast community spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic in the county in 2020. 9. Flood risk management. Small river sub-basins in the Yangtze River basin are highly susceptible to climatic events including floods, including the Danjiang River sub-basin in Xichuan County.7 The average annual rainfall in the mountainous area in the county is about 1,300 millimeters (mm), which falls mainly during May–October. There were about 14 major historical flash floods in the county, including in 2010, 2011, 2017, and 2018. Floods in 1958 and 2010 were the worst; in 2010, 10,716 houses along the Danjiang River in Xichuan collapsed completely as a result of the flood. The flood inundated 58,800 mu of cultivated land, resulting in losses of about CNY658 million.8 Flash flood events are exacerbated by poor drainage infrastructure and clogging 4 G.E Xiaoying, J. Zang, and L. Zhu. 2015. Analysis of Variation Characteristics of Drought and Waterlogging Disasters in Henan Province from 1981 to 2011. Modern Agricultural Science and Technology, No. 20, pp. 1007–5739. 5 L. Hui, 2018. Food Waste in China could feed 30–50 million. China Daily. 27 March 2018. 6 Government of the PRC. 2007. National Drinking Water Quality Standard (GB 5749-2006). Beijing. Above class III water is unfit for drinking according to the PRC’s Environmental Water Quality Standard (GB 3838-2002). 7 R. Osti. 2017. Strengthening Flood Risk Management Policy and Practice in the People’s Republic of China. Lessons Learned from the 2016 Yangtze River Floods. ADB East Asia Working Paper Series No. 11. Manila: Asian Development Bank. 8 A mu is a Chinese unit of measurement (1 mu = 666.67 square meters). 3 of natural creeks in low-lying areas. Jingziguan Town, Siwan Town, Taohe Township, and Dashiqian Township in the county are the most vulnerable to the recurring flood disasters. 10. Soil erosion and rocky desertification. The area in the Danjiangkou Reservoir watershed where active soil erosion is occurring covers about 3,369 km2, mostly in hilly areas around the reservoir in Xichuan County; this includes areas with intensive soil erosion (446.87 km2), moderate soil erosion (1,369.70 km2), and mild soil erosion (1,552.44 km2). The annual average soil erosion rate is 2,938 tons/km2; this has been exacerbated since the 1990s by unsustainable farming practices on 800 km2 of farmland in the county, where the erosion rate is 3,650 ton/km2. Soil erosion has significantly reduced agricultural productivity in Xichuan County, which is an agrarian county with a very low soil formation rate and highly permeable carbonate bedrock. This results in a highly fragile and vulnerable environment that is susceptible to rocky desertification, resulting in deforestation and soil erosion. The area in the county subject to extreme rocky desertification covers about 348.82 km2 (12.37% of the total area). Areas with active rocky desertification are located around Danjiangkou Reservoir—mainly in the Danjiang, Guan, Qi, Tao, and other river basins—and include 12 townships (Xijingguan, Siwan, Xihuang, Mao Tang, Shangji, Jinhe, Laocheng, Dashiqiao, Taohe, Shengwan, Cangfang, and Madeng).9 11. Ecosystem degradation. In addition to deforestation and serious soil erosion in rocky desertification areas, sedimentation resulting from water-induced soil erosion (topsoil erosion and landslides) has buried many natural and artificial wetlands and small creeks, including village ponds in the county.