Resettlement Planning Document Resettlement Plan Document Stage: Due Diligence Project Number: 35289 May 2009 PRC: Sanjiang Plain Wetlands Protection Project Due Diligence Report of Farmland to Forest Conversion Component – English Version Prepared by Heilongjiang Provincial Project Management Office for the Sanjiang Plain Wetland Protection Project. The resettlement plan is a document of the borrower. The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent those of ADB’s Board of Directors, Management, or staff, and may be preliminary in nature. ADB Loan Sanjiang Plain Wetlands Protection Project, Heilongjiang Province Sanjiang Plain Wetlands Protection Project Farmland to Forest Conversion Component Due Dligence Report Heilongjiang Province Sanjiang Plain Wetlands Protection Project Office October 2008 Preface This due diligence report is prepared by the Project Management Office (PMO) of Sanjiang Plain Wetlands Protection Project (SPWPP) under the resettlement policy framework developed by the PPTA of ADB in 2004. There is no detailed RP for this component so has been implemented following the Resettlement Framework document since the project started in 2005. Therefore, the PMO has prepared this report so ADB can review the progress of this component and ensure it is being implemented in accordance with the PRC laws and regulations as well as ADB’s Involuntary Resettlement Policy as set out in the Resettlement Framework. All the data used in this report is collected and provided by relevant forestry bureau or forest farms. The PMO's resettlement advisor used these data to prepare this due diligence report for the resettlement review. CONTENTS 1 Project Background ...................................................................................................................6 1.1 Impact of Original Project Design..................................................................................7 1.2 Resettlement Progress in Original Project Design.........................................................7 2 Project Progress and Actual Impacts.........................................................................................9 2.1 Implementation Progress..............................................................................................9 2.2 Farmland Conversion to Forest Status in Hulin County...............................................13 2.3 Farmland to Wetland Conversion in Linkou County....................................................15 2.4 Farmland Conversion Progress in Huanan County ......................................................17 2.5 Farmland to Forest Conversion Progress in Baoqing County ......................................20 2.6 Farmland to Forest Conversion Progress in Luobei County.........................................21 3 Resettlement of Affected Groups............................................................................................22 3.1 Original resettlement plan ..........................................................................................22 3.2 Actual measures taken ................................................................................................23 Appendix 1 The Beneficiary Information by Farmland Conversion to Forest in Hulin City ..........25 Appendix 2 Information on Affected Forest Farms by Farmland Conversion to Forest in Hulin City ..................................................................................................................................................28 Appendix 3 Inforamtion on Affected Employees by Farmland Conversion to Forest in Hulin County.............................................................................................................................................30 Appendix 4 Summary of Farmland to Forest Conversion Progress of Linkou County..................34 Appendix 5 Table of Basic Information of APs in Linkou County by Farmland Conversion to Forest ........................................................................................................................................................38 Appendix 6 Table of Basic Information of APs in Huanan County by Farmland Conversion to Forest ........................................................................................................................................................44 Appendix 7 Table of Basic Information for Farmland Conversion to Forest Activities in Baoqing County.............................................................................................................................................46 Appendix 8 Table of Basic Information of APs in Baoqing County by Farmland Conversion to Forest ........................................................................................................................................................48 Appendix 9 Table of Basic Information for Farmland Conversion to Forest Activities in Luobei County.............................................................................................................................................50 Appendix 10 Table of Basic Information of APs in Luobei County by Farmland Conversion to Forest ........................................................................................................................................................55 List of Tables Table 2‐1 Summary of Farmland toForest Conversion Component (Sept. 2008)....................10 Table 2‐6 Summary of Farmland to Forest Conversion Progress of Baoqing County ..............20 Table 3‐1 Entitlement Matrix for APs of Farmland to Forest Conversion of Sanjiang Plain Wetlands Protection Project ...........................................................................................22 1 Project Background Sanjiang Plain is one of the largest fresh water wetlands in China and also a habitat for birds globally. In 1999, the Chinese Government submitted the conceptual document of the “Sanjiang Plain Wetlands Protection Project” and Project Proposal of PDFB to GEF through ADB. After a period of preparation, GEF approved the donation on Feburary 8, 2005; and ADB approved the loan on March 14, 2005. The total project investment is USD 55.55 million, including USD 15 million from ADB loan and USD 12.14 million from GEF donation. The Project has 4 components: （1） Watershed Management: forestation and water source conservation within the nature reserves; enhancement of water resources management within the watershed (or the nature reserves) to restore the water balance; and development of watershed water resources planning to improve the basin-level management; （2） Nature Reserve Management: improvement of existing management and planning skills to eliminate the threats to the global endangered species ;introduction of practical and controllable model to restore the ecological function of six wetlands nature reserves involved; recovery of the quantity and scale of wild animals with international significance, especially the breeding population of the migrant birds in Sanjiang Plain Wetland; elimination of environmental threats to endangered species; and enforcement of relevant laws and regulations to reduce over-use of natural resources; （3） Alternative Livelihood: development of agro-forestry and non-timber Foresry Products to continuously increase the income of local residents; development and implementation of Village Development Plans to support community development and planning; and assistance to nature reserves in developing master plan of ecological industry and in conducting pilot activities. （4） Capacity building in wetlands management: capacity building for nature 6 reserves and local governments in terms of wetlands protection, and public awareness on protection of wetlands, wild animals and biodiversity. Provide specific training for women if appropriate. It is planned to restore an area of 4300 ha farmland to forest in the Watershed Management Component. 1.1 Impact of Original Project Design According to original project design, the “restoration farmland into forest” subproject involves 28 forest farms in 5 counties. See Table 2-1 below for details. 1.2 Resettlement Progress in Original Project Design The resettlement is planned to be conducted from 2005 to 2010. 1.3 Resettlement plan for Farmland to Forest Conversion Component in Original Project Design The resettlement requirements for the Farmland to Forest Conversion Component is set out in the Resettlement Framework_(RF) and concerned project documents of this project prepared in September 2004. For those persons who will be affected by farmland to forest restoration outside the nature reserves, the land ownership will not be transferred. The forestry farm or the village will (i) readjust the remaining farmland within the forestry farm or the village, (ii) ensure that the affected forestry workers or villagers can obtain the same quantity and quality farmland as other workers or villagers, and (iii) ensure the affected workers or villagers can continue as forestry workers, receive the wage and share the profits of forestry. However, since the income from reforestation is a long term venture, in order to remedy the income losses during the tree growth phase, the Project arranged a sub-component of developing non-timber forest products (NTFPs). Based on 7 investigations, it was determined that an area equivalent to 20% of the farmland restored to forest will be used for developing NTFPs in order to offset any income loss to the forest workers or villagers during the tree growth