Demonstration of Post-earthquake Ecological Restoration and Capacity Building in Ya’an Area, China

The Norwegian Embassy in Beijing has requested Norad to undertake a Mid-term Review of the project CHN-14/0002 Demonstration of Post-earthquake Ecological Restoration and Capacity Building in Ya’an Area, China. Based on the agreed ToR, the Review Team has assessed the relevance, design, progress, efficiency, outcome and sustainability as well as relevant crosscutting elements of the project.

The main project partners on the Chinese side are CICETE (executing agency), China Institute of Water and Hydropower Research (technical support and project management), Chengdu Institute of Biology-CAS (implementing institution for sub-project Management framework and capacity building for Ya’an Giant Panda National Park) and Sichuan Academy of Environmental Science (implementing institution for sub-project Water Management framework for the Ya’an - Baoxing River Basin). On the Norwegian side, Norwegian Environment Agency (NEA) is in charge of project coordination as well as providing technical input for both sub-projects.

The agreement between Norway and China was signed in December 2014, but the project implementation started only in 2016. The total financial contribution from RNE Beijing is NOK 24,236,000. At the time of the review, the outstanding amount was NOK 12,5 mill for CICETE and NOK 3,1 mill for NEA.

One main challenge for the team (and the project partners) has been an extremely complicated Results Framework resulting from the merger of two quite different projects into one. The partners have deciphered the Result Framework to make it workable, and in the opinion of the Team, all main elements of the original agreed framework are followed up. The project also has a complicated project management structure with many layers resulting in nearly 25 pst of the project budget being allocated to project management.

The project is well aligned with both Norwegian and Chinese priorities. The two sub-projects coincides with important national processes in China, and the project has been able to deliver important and useful input to these.

The Giant Panda National Park pilot is one of 10 national park pilots established by the Chinese government, and the knowledge developed by the project - especially on the relationship between local communities and the planned protected area- is seen as relevant.

In terms of management of watersheds, the project will provide reference and support for the establishment of the Chinese Watershed management system using best practices based on the EU Water Framework Directive. The sharing of Norwegian experiences as well as international best practices is deemed relevant by the Chinese partners.

Long term sustainability is likely to be achieved because the knowledge gained is relevant for ongoing political processes. The expert team under IWHR is seen as important, and especially the link to State Forestry Administration since this institution is given the responsibility for the Giant Panda NP pilot. Anyhow, the role and expected deliveries of the expert team should be clarified better. Gender, Human Rights and Anti-corruption are the cross-cutting issues discussed.

The team has highlighted some issues related to local communities in and around the proposed NP since the establishment of the national park may involve relocation of people as well as restrictions on income generating- and other activities.

The Team has given its assessment and/or recommendation throughout the report; we have answered separately the specific questions listed in the ToR for easy reference, and the overall conclusions as well as a list of the main recommendations can be found in the last chapter.