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United Nations Development Programme Country: China PROJECT DOCUMENT Project Title: Strengthening the effectiveness of the protected area system in Qinghai Province, China to cons globally important biodiversity UNDAF Outcome(s): Outcome 1.2. Policy and implementation mechanisms to manage natural resources are strengthened, with special attention to poor and ulnerable groups UNDP Strategic Plan Environment and Sustainable Development Primary Outcome: Mobilizing environmental financing UNDP Strategic Plan Secondary Outcome: Mainstreaming environment and energy Expected CP Outcome(s): Low carbon and other environmentally sustainable strategies and technologies are adopted widely to meet China ommitments and compliance with Multilateral Environmental Agreements. Provincial capacities of key institutions are strengthened to mplement global environmental commitments at regional level through integration of biodiversity and other environmental concerns into re olicies and programmes involved. Expected CPAP Output(s): Capacity to implement local climate change action plans for mitigation and adaptation, and sustainable develop uilt. Executing Entity/Implementing Partner: Department of Forestry, Qinghai Province Government, China mplementing Entity/Responsible Partners: Ministry of Environmental Protection (through umbrella project China Biodiversity Partnersh Framework for Action) UNDP GEF PIMS 4179 GEF Project ID 3992 rief description As the fourth largest province in China, with a total area of 720,000 km2, Qinghai serves as a significant store of the national biodiversity, exhibits nique high altitude grassland, mountain, wetland, desert and forest ecosystems, and serves as a significant controller of the Asian monsoon system ffects the climate of 3 billion people. The province includes the headwaters of three of Asia’s major rivers – the Yellow, Yangtze and Mekong rive Although Qinghai lists 11 nature reserves totalling an impressive 31% of the territory, the existing protected area (PA) system lacks adequate bala t shows significant gaps in ecosystem coverage and contains extensive overlap with other interests such as road construction, water diversion plan erder community tenure rights. It also includes areas exhibiting serious land degradation resulting from a combination inter alia of overgra ngineering damage and climate change. Other problems facing the PA system include illegal gold mining and poaching, livestock fences interru wildlife migratory pathways, and aggressive pest control programmes aimed at small burrowing mammals but that also harm many collateral specie RODOC 4179 Qinghai PA’s Page 1 Qinghai’s PA system also lacks sufficient authority (legal status) to adequately plan and execute appropriate biodiversity conservation measures, w hould incorporate the biological needs of species and ecosystems as well as the concerns and participation of local people and communities reside r adjacent to, the nature reserves in the province. In addition, the PAs themselves are severely under-staffed and under-funded. Although they pe heroic role in extremely harsh conditions, the few staff present enjoy only poor work equipment, basic facilities and inadequate low levels of train This project seeks to strengthen Qinghai’s systemic, institutional and operational capacity: (i) to ensure better integration and mainstreaming of th ystem into provincial socio-economic development priorities, in order to avoid conflicts of interest and ensure the PA System’s long-term fina ustainability; (ii) to effectively plan, resource and manage an enhanced PA System, including inter alia to identify, prioritize and target ga cosystem representation through PA expansion, or through complementary conservation efforts on the state land; (iii) to develop regulatory driver n incentives framework to support PA establishment and management, as well as complementary conservation measures such as the establishme enetic corridors; (iv) to support and expand (to establish more widely) and administer environmental stewardship programmes in tradi angelands, wetlands and community forests based on lessons learned in initial trials with PA co-management to be developed in the project; and espond effectively to the needs and aspirations of, and to meaningfully involve, different stakeholder groups in the on-going planning and operatio he enhanced PA System. The global environmental benefits of the project are represented by: (i) significant reduction in the number or extent of threats to global biodiv rom incompatible development projects; (ii) addition of an anticipated 250,000 ha of terrestrial landscapes under formal protection in the for orridors and new PA territory; (iii) increased management effectiveness at PA level (from a METT baseline ranging from <27% to 57%, to a METT target of all PAs scoring >65%); (iv) improvement of overall PA institutional capacity (from a baseline of 36% in the Capacity Assess corecard, to a final value >60%); and (v) increased financial sustainability of PAs (from a financial sustainability baseline score of 31%, to final >50%) as a result of the project. Institutionalization and increased support for community-based environmental stewardship within PA System xtends both the reach of environmental awareness programmes and the human resources necessary to achieve widespread conservation impact thr ocal environmental monitoring and management. Programme Period: 2012 - 2017 Total budget : US$ 23,703,545 Atlas Award ID: 00063658 Project ID: 00080635 PIMS # 4179 GEF US$ 5,354,545 Start date: May, 2012 End Date October, 2017 Co-Financing: Government in-cash US$ 14,602,900 Management Arrangements NEX Government in-kind US$ 3,746,100 PAC Meeting Date TBD reed by (Executing Entity/Implementing Partner): Date/Month/Year reed by (UNDP): Date/Month/Year RODOC 4179 Qinghai PA’s Page 2 able of Contents ECTION I: Elaboration of the Narrative ..................................................................................................................................................................... PART I: Situation Analysis ......................................................................................................................................................................................... Context and global significance ...................................................................................................................................................................... Environmental context .................................................................................................................................................................................... Global Significance of Qinghai’s Biodiversity ............................................................................................................................................... Socio-economic context and land use ............................................................................................................................................................. Figure 1: Ethnic make-up of Qinghai Province, 1952-2008 (as percentage of provincial population, by year) ............................................ Figure 2: Disposable income of urban and rural residents in Qinghai Province (in RMB per annum, by prefecture) ................................... Figure 3: Herd numbers in Qinghai Province, 1990-2008 .............................................................................................................................. Protected area system: current status and coverage ........................................................................................................................................ Map 1: Qinghai’s Protected Areas (2000) (shaded blue) ................................................................................................................................ Table 1: Qinghai’s PAs .................................................................................................................................................................................. Map 2: Vegetation map of Qinghai Province (scale 1:4,000,000) .................................................................................................................. Table 2: Current Management Prescriptions for Different Zones within NRs .............................................................................................. Map 3: Sanjiangyuan National Nature Reserve with 18 units (in 6 large blocks), each with 3 different management zones ...................... Institutional context ........................................................................................................................................................................................ Policy and Legislative Context ....................................................................................................................................................................... Threats, root causes and impacts .................................................................................................................................................................... Figure 4: Average annual temperatures in Qinghai Province, 1961-2008 ...................................................................................................... Figure 5: The Asian monsoon pattern ............................................................................................................................................................