SGP COUNTRY PROGRAMME STRATEGY FOR OP6 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Times New Roman 11 font in text, 10 font in tables, except where otherwise indicated] Country: CHINA OP6 resources (estimated): US$240million1 Background: As a GEF corporate programme, SGP aligns its operational phase strategies to that of the GEF, and provides a series of demonstration projects for further scaling up, replication and mainstreaming. Action at the local level by civil society, indigenous peoples and local communities is deemed a vital component of the GEF 20/20 Strategy (i.e. convening multi-stakeholder alliances to deliver global environmental benefits and contribute to UNDP’s Strategic Plan and focus on sustainable development).2 At the global level, the SGP OP6 programme goal is to “effectively support the creation of global environmental benefits and the safeguarding of the global environment through community and local solutions that complement and add value to national and global level action.” 1. SGP country programme - summary background (1 page) 1.1. In the above context, please describe succinctly (a) the most important national results and accomplishments achieved by the country programme from previous phases and up to OP5; (b) any link of these accomplishments to helping achieve global environmental benefits. Please mention aggregated results in each focal area, international awards, upscaling achieved, replication and mainstreaming of demonstration projects and key lessons learnt by the SGP country programme. SGP China started grant-making in 2010. So far, it has supported 70 projects, which are distributed in 25 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities. Among them, 26 are under biodiversity portfolio, 22 are under climate change portfolio, 6 are under land degradation portfolio, 5 are under international portfolio, 6 are under chemicals portfolio and there are 5 standalone capacity building and knowledge management projects. 68% projects are located in middle and west regions-the so-called undeveloped region. The country programme has achieved the following results: In biodiversity focal area, the SGP has enhanced communities’ biodiversity conservation capacity through establishment and demonstration of different types of community co-management models in different nature reserves; the country programme also supported ICCAs’ development in China and facilitated 5 ICCAs to register at UNEP-WCMC, which is the first time that ICCAs from China get 1 The level of SGP OP6 resources is an estimated total of: (i) the GEF6 core grant allocation (to be reviewed annually by CPMT on the basis of performance, co-financing and strategic partnerships, demonstrated NSC commitment rates, and UNOPS delivery); (ii) approved STAR resources; as well as (iii) other sources of third party cost sharing & co- financing (country, regional and/or global levels). Note that countries with remaining OP5 balances that have not been pipelined, will be expected to use these balances in line with the OP6 strategic approach in order to be coherent in terms of SGP programming and results expected. 2 The initial SGP OP6 concept was incorporated into the strategic directions for the overall GEF-6 replenishment, and subsequently approved by the GEF Council paper “GEF Small Grants Programme: Implementation Arrangements for GEF-6” (GEF/C.46/13) in May 2014. 1 international recognition. SGP China also supports one on-going strategic project in Guangxi to promote the ICCA recognition at provincial level. The sustainable use of biodiversity-based products is improved through utilization of traditional knowledge and sustainable livelihood approaches both within and outside protected areas and ICCAs. In climate change focal area, SGP has promoted models and approaches on removal of barrier to climate change mitigation through productive uses of renewable energy and improvement energy efficiency at community level. Solar energy, biogas, converting agriculture waste to biomass, energy- saving heating system, and energy –saving stoves and other affordable clean energy and energy efficiency approaches have been demonstrated at community level. In land degradation focal area, SGP has demonstrated and promoted sustainable land management practices through water and soil conservation, afforestation and reforestation, agro-forestry, revival of rotation grazing and sustainable livelihood development for local people. In international waters focal area, SGP has given priority to sites that have been included into SAPs for international waters, where initiatives of eliminating the causes of land and marine-based sources of pollution, integrated mangrove conservation and eco-aquiculture, seagrass bed conservation and sustainable fishery community management have been demonstrated. And also participatory community activities in joint biodiversity/ international waters multiple focal area projects have been supported by SGP. In POPs/chemical focal area, SGP has demonstrated waste management for avoiding open burning, eco-farming for reducing the use of pesticide and chemical fertilizer, and mercury-contained waste collection. SGP also enhanced target group’s capacity and public awareness on chemical/POPs issue through outreach, knowledge sharing, training, workshops and other means. So far, 13 projects have received international and domestic awards including UNDP Equator Prize, Ford Conservation & Environment Grants, China Social Innovation Award, Green China Annual Figure, and National Water Conservation Figure and so on. All the awards have helped the SGP grantee partner to draw attention on community-based conservation and to replicate and upscale their activities. Other projects in many cases have used SGP as a seed fund to leverage other resources from local government, academic institutes, private sectors and local communities. By showing the “tangible" and desirable results of projects, SGP provides solutions to other communities and regions with similar environmental problems, and it also promotes the integration of local government, community, and other funding mechanisms to solve common environmental issues. SGP provides not only fund but also capacity development for NGOs in all aspects of project and financial management, outreach and communication, and fund raising, etc. As a result of the strict project management and reporting procedure implemented by SGP, many grantees partners express that they can handle all other project after implementing SGP. 1.2 Please indicate how the experience and resources (e.g. supportive partners and networks, model projects that can be visited) of past projects can serve as a foundation for the effective implementation of SGP initiatives in OP6. 2 In the past 5 years of implementing SGP in China, the country programme has established a network that about 300 environment NGOs in China involved. SGP keeps frequent connection with these NGOs by sharing SGP newsletter, funding source information and other environment issues. We found that Beijing, Yunnan, Guangdong and Sichuan provinces have the most NGOs distribution, which can be considered one criterial for landscape priority during OP6. SGP has supported 10 projects in Yunnan, which is the province with richest biodiversity in China. These projects have laid a foundation to implement the landscape approach. SGP supported projects also concentrated in Beijing, Sichuan, Qinghai, Gansu, Guangdong and Guangxi where the NGOs are very active or ecological environment is vulnerable. These areas can be also considered as priority areas for OP6 and the capable NGOs could be the leading organization in geographic priority areas respectively or work together as a network in the future. Experiences from completed projects will contribute to the 4 SGP strategic initiatives in OP6. ICCAs development and community-based conservation in Tibetan area and other ethnic minority group areas, especially empowerment of local communities, endogenous type of conservation and development, multi- stakeholders involvement and combination of conservation and livelihood, can contribute to landscape approach. 1.3. Please present an overall situation analysis for the SGP country programme in OP6, including: major partnerships, and existing sources of co-financing (including from government, international donors, and other sources). There will be more enabling environment to implement SGP in China during OP6. The Government of China (GoC) has placed ecological conservation and environmental protection in an unprecedented height. In Sep. 2015, GoC issued the Integrated Reform Plan for Promoting Ecological Civilization, a plan for sweeping reforms on how China uses natural resources and can prevent pollution. The document introduces some very important institutional changes. For example, a new government body will be responsible for the ownership of all natural resources. Another single government department will be responsible for “all use-related regulatory duties and responsibilities for all territorial spaces”. “Duties and responsibilities for environmental protection, which are currently spread across departments, will be assigned to one single department”. These reforms are very important because in the past, a lot of environmental problems were allowed to continue because it was not clear who should take responsibility for natural resources. These resources were officially the property of ‘the people’. The latest reform plan