中国南海沿海地区生物多样性管理 Biodiversity Management in the Coastal Area of the China’s South Sea (BMCACSS) 联合国规划署 (United Nations Development Program) 全球环境基金 (Global Environmental Facility) 国家海洋局 (State Oceanic Administration )

Strategies to develop an UNDP project An UN project must have global significance As UN project is country-driven project, it must have full support of central government (endorsement letter for Ministry of Finance) As project will be implemented at different site, it must have local government’s commitment and support (interest) As project will also be community-based, it must be supported by local communities and various stakeholders.

Strategies to develop an UNDP project Site selection needs to consider all the baselines (governmental support, stakeholders’ support, existing management system, existing strength, global and national significance, threats/root-causes (must be removable) Best way to achieve these is to conduct careful site visits, local stakeholder consultation, workshops, social-economic assessment….

Strategies to develop an UNDP project Based on existing baseline information to design GEF proposal Proposal shall focus on the removable threats Proposal shall come up with actual strategies for removing threats, including budget, co-finance, community’s inputs…. Proposal shall also include component of assessment and monitoring.

中国南海沿海地区生物多样性管理 BMCACSS 项目启动日期 (Starting day):2000 年 9 月 (Sept. 2002) 资助机构 (Sponsor Agent): 全球环境基金 (GEF) 申报机构 (Applicant): 联合国规划署 (UNDP) 政府实施部门 (Implement agent): 国家海洋局 (SOA) 资助机构 (Other sponsors): 中国政府 (PRC government) / 香港科技大学 (HKUST) 执行机构 (Executing agent): 联合国项目服务处 (UNOPS) 技术机构 (Technical supporting agent): 香港科技大 学 (HKUST)/TIO

 1996 年，第一方案： 南中国海生态网 络 (Econet of South China Sea)  1997 年，第二方案： 国际水域项目 (International water Project)  1998 年，第三方案： 中国南海沿海地 区生物多样性管理 (BMCACSS) Background

Nature of the project  This is a national project of China which was submitted through UNDP to GEF for funding 。  It is not a research project but a management project focusing on biodiversity protection) 。  It is a national and local government-driven project with assistance of GEF) 。

Steering committee( 项目指导委员会 ) 国家海洋局 (SOA): H Q Li ( 组长 ) 联合国规划署 (UNDP): X A Hou 联合国项目服务处 (UNOPS): G Gunther GEF 立项专家 (GEF expert) : C Cosslett 项目国家协调员 (NPC): P Y Qian

Objectives To protect globally significant biodiversity at 4-6 significant demonstration sites in south-east China by: Developing and implementing institutional procedures to incorporate biodiversity conservation into integrated coastal zone management frameworks, Increasing the capacity of local governments to address biodiversity conservation through the application of participatory approaches to resource use planning and management; Providing a framework for adaptive co-management of coastal resources through improved monitoring, assessment, and sharing of data and information Promoting replication of models of biodiversity conservation through ICZM for application at other sites on the south-east coast of China.

Background  China is a “mega-biodiversity’ country, having 10% of species in the world.  The highest levels of marine diversity along the South China Sea coast.  The main coastal ecosystems in southeast China include tropical & subtropical forests, grasslands, marshes, and important marine systems.  Chinese white dolphin (Sousa chinensis), seagrass beds, sea cow (Dugong dugong), "living fossil" horseshoe crab species, Tachypleus tridentatus, nesting grounds for the loggerhead and green turtles, 200 species of reef building corals, habitat to thousands of fish and other invertebrate species.  high economic potential, e.g. extracts from coral reef organisms found in China recently have been developed into anti-cancer drugs with multi-million dollar sales.  China’s coastal and marine biodiversity is under threat, due to unprecedented economic growth, social change and population growth, and faces many problems: poorly planned land use, pollution, over-fishing and other forms of resource extraction…..  Many sites that are home to globally significant biodiversity are still in a condition amenable to interventions to sustainably remove the threats.  This project is to develop management stratigy to conserve the globally significant biodiversity on selected sites.

Threats to Biodiversity Poorly planned land use Pollution over-fishing and other forms of resource extraction/ directly related to conflict between economic development and conservation. Production took priority over protection, over-emphasis on economic development. Consultation took priority over participation. Inappropriate fishing techniques (dynamite, poison, electricity). Mining of coral and sand for construction purposes. Cutting of mangrove forests.

Major problems faced in China China has 5 national, 10 provincial and about 30 county nature reserves along the South China Sea cost. Incomplete national network of nature reserves Irrational establishment of nature reserves Unclear lines of authority Conflicts between economic development and conservation Lack of funds and low management skill levels Lack of law enforcement

Fundable areas of GEF support Capacity building ( 能力建设 ) ： training, scientific/technological support, monitoring program, management …. Public education ： Some hardware (such as equipment) Planning and strategic development

Step 1: Selection of site Criteria for site selection Globally significant biodiversity Existing baseline Interest and desire of local communities and government in biodiversity protection Threats fall in the category of GEF support Demonstratable Threats are removable through GEF support Complete set of project sites maximise cost-effectiveness in terms of demonstration value

Step 2: Stakeholder consultations Preliminary consultations to establish the agreement in principle of local authorities and communities for each of the candidate sites. Local workshops at each site will be conducted to secure broad-based assessments of the issues to be addressed, status of and threats to biodiversity, and community development goals. This will complement existing information on biodiversity and threats, but where necessary, primary data collection will supplement information collected during the workshops (see below). Second-round of stakeholder consultations: when PDF activities are nearing completion, and the full project strategy is at an advanced stage of development, during which local endorsement of proposed full project activities will be sought, and refinements made to such activities where consensus is found to be lacking. A Participation Plan will also be prepared for the full project in consultation with stakeholders, and will guide the choice of conservation strategy and design of interventions.

Questions concerning individual stakeholders: What are your baseline activities of each stakeholder (details including financial-current and projected) Technical capacity (staffing, infrastructure, training background, budget) Scope of authority, jurisdiction, legal mandate, overlap and grey areas Data Biodiversity significance at global & regional scale Threats, roots, removable threats What are the threats? Underlining causes What actions are needed to address the causes What would be the cost/risk to remove the threats How to monitor the effectiveness Questions to be addressed through consultation ( 咨询要 解决的问题 )

Questions to be addressed through consultation What can be done to remove the threats ； What are the social/economic constrains and impact What would be the cost/risk to remove the threats? Finance Who will pay for what? How to implement the plan? Management framework and coordination: Roles and degree of involvement of city government Identification of missing stakeholders (research institutions, Bureau of Env. Prot.) ICZM planning

Consultation report Social Feasibility Study, comprising a comprehensive stakeholder assessment, and recommendations regarding full project activities. Participation plan, listing activities to enable participatory processes, defining implementation responsibilities, and providing performance indicators (a summary of this information would be prepared for the proposal). Finalised ICZM committee structure and membership. Identification of training requirements

Step 3: Biological and socio-economic assessment Justification of biodiversity importance of each of the sites, based on indicators of global significance Threats Analysis for each of the sites, indicating root causes What are the major threats Root causes of these threats and consequence Action and strategies to remove these threats Financial needs for removing threats Potential social impact, risk for action to remove the threats Socio-economic assessment Risk analysis Incremental cost analysis Design of monitoring system for adaptive management; How to assess the effectiveness of the planed actions Establishment of database to facilitate data exchange and analysis

Step 4: GEF Project Formulation The process of preparing the Project Brief would require: Consensus building regarding site selection criteria, priorities, strategy, outputs and activities of the full project, based upon consultation with stakeholders, and a project formulation workshop to construct a logical framework of objectives, activities, outputs, and indicators. More detailed investigation and quantification of threats at the site level. Definition of institutional frameworks, stakeholders roles and responsibilities, and implementation modalities for the full project. An incremental cost analysis of the project to differentiate between baseline and incremental activities. PDF funds would be used to collect information on the baseline scenario, identify and cost incremental activities necessary to conserve biodiversity, and foster joint programming of baseline and incremental activities. Confirmation of co-financing for project components not eligible for GEF funding. Co-financing would have been secured to secure the sustainable development baseline. A consensus regarding the project strategy would have been obtained.

The main body of the proposal shall include A summary of the global significance and unique biological and ecological attributes of each of the project sites, and the global benefits that would accrue from conservation intervention Details of the ecological, social and economic attributes of the sites A description of the threats facing each site and their root causes A clear strategy for mitigating threats and their underlying causes An account of the realistic baseline Identification of the sustainable development baseline (comprising additional activities required to address threats that may be justified in the domestic interest) Identification and justification of the incremental costs of activities needed to generate global conservation benefits, over and above the sustainable development baseline. Details of monitoring and evaluation measures Details of execution and implementation measures, with an accompanying organization programme

Supporting documents Incremental Cost assessment describing global and domestic benefits, and justifying incremental costs for each output Logical Framework Assessment, with quantifiable indicators to measure impact, a list of sources of verification, and an outline of the assumptions and risks that underpin the project Details of the biodiversity values of each of the chosen sites, to supplement information provided in the main body of the Brief (from Components 1, 2 and 3) Assessment of the risks affecting project implementation and outline of mitigation measures Summary of the Stakeholder Assessment and Social Feasibility Study, defining the roles and responsibilities of different groups in design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation (from Component 2) Maps of the project area (provinces and sites) List of reference materials

Step 5: Implement, Monitoring and Evaluation When the project is approved, central government will implement the project with technical support from experts, UNDP Project implementation will be closely monitored by UNOPS and UNDP. Project will be evaluated periodically by international body

Site Selection Report for GEF/UNDP PDF-B (CPR/00/G41 – BMCACSS) Presented by Pei-Yuan Qian Report written by PY Qian, C Cosslett, QL Zhou

1 Initial candidate sites for this project

Site Selection Activities Site visit 1: PY Qian, QL Zhou, C Cosslett Duration: Feb. 11 to March 4, 2001 Site Visited: Inner Bay, Daya Bay, Dongzhai, Sanya, Dazhou Island, Sankou, Dongshan-Nanao, Longhai, “Nanji Islands” Site Visit 2: PY Qian, QL Zhou, H Si Duration: May 19-29, 2001 Site Visited: Nanji Islands, Fangchenggang- Beilun Estuary, Qinzhou Bay, 72-paths, Weizhou Island Report preparation: March-June

Daya Bay, Guangdong Province Bordered by Huidong County Huiyang City and the Longguang District of Shenzhen city to its south Semi-closed bay with a mouth of 15 km 2 in width opening into the South China Sea Subtropical monsoon climate Irregular semidiurnal tide

Biodiversity significance  Richest bay ecosystem in South China as it is a protected fishery resource reserve.  12 species of mangroves  Chinese white dolphin (Sousa chinensis Osbeck), other dolphin spp found here.  Sea Turtle Reserve in Daya Bay is the only National Natural Sea Turtle Reserve in China only breeding and nesting ground of green turtles  6 other species of turtles endangered or under national or international protection  horseshoe crabs breeding ground  important feeding ground for many migratory birds  Small coral reefs  breeding and nursing ground of many important commercial fishes, echinoderms, pearl oyster  Wintering ground of migratory birds.

Major challenges  Existing staff not trained for biodiversity conservation  Lack of the appropriate management framework for the entire bay  Insufficient management and facilities of turtle reserve  Rapid development of mariculture  Increase in population  Urbanization  Coordination

Sea turtle natural reserve

Management Status Pinghai National Turtle Natural Reserve  1992, the State Council approved the area as a national- level marine protected area  Under direct management of DOF of the province  10 staff with annual operational budget about 250k  Received some funding from the government to conduct a tagging program on green turtle

T hree distinct parts 5,600 ha The reefs, waters and eastern islets of Maozhou The coastal area and waters around the Luohuitou Cape to Yulin Cape The reefs and waters and islets of Yalong Bay SanYa coral Reef Reserve

Yalong Bay

Biodiversity significance 110 Scleractinian reef-building corals 30 species of soft corals Acropora, Porites luteu, Goniastrea aspra > 300 species of fish and 300 invertebrate spp > 60 large benthic algae Major endemic and endangered species include Ptycodera flava, lossobalanus morteenseni, Pinctada maxima and > 80 species of reef-building corals

Strength Good management framework: Sanya Marine Bureau Biodiversity Review of China categorises the area as IUCN Category IV, Habitat Management Area Good management baseline Good collaboration of reserve and private sectors Some international collaboration (NOAA UNEP and WWF)

Problems Insufficient staffing and financial resources and protection system Lack of interpretation and communication facilities Illegal fishing activities More efficient patrolling Database on biodiversity is required

Yunxiao Zhang River Estuary Mangrove Provincial Reserve 3 staff mangrove protection, planning and monitoring Both reserves under management by Dongshan County under supervision of Zhangzhou Municipality Dongshan Aquatic Production Bureau is responsible for management of provincial natural reserves at this stage 50 staff

Marine Nature Reserve at Nanji Islands, Zhejiang Province Physical and ecological overview km 2 southeast sea area of Pingyang County subtropical monsoon marine climate possibly the highest marine biodiversity in China cold and warm temporal regions communities, but also contained many subtropical and warm temperature species

Biodiversity significance 178 species of large seaweed rare species of 22 species microalgae: 459 spp, 30 species are the new record or new species in China 22 species of algae has been identified as rare species in China 421 species of shellfish, 36 shellfish species can only be found in Nanji in China considered a gene bank of marine shellfish and algae.

Biodiversity significance Sea Turtles Caretta caretta olivacea, Eretmochlys imbricata, Dermochelys coriacea are protected species High plants such as Giycine soja Sieb et Zucc, Zanthoxylum nitidum, Maytenus diversifolius, Ardisia sieboldii Pgychotria serpens L. are the protected species in China very important fishing ground in China

Travel to Nanji by a gunboat

Core Zone of Nanji Reserve

Risking our lives

Red tide (nontoxic)

Sea shells clinch on the rocks

Strength  Very good baseline (in both management and scientific research)  High biodiversity significance due to high number of endemic species/pristine ecosystem  Best management structure among all the sites  MAB site of UNESCO in 1998 – recognition by international society  Focal point of National Nature Reserve  Largest investment in infrastructure  High level of interest of local government  Threats removable

Concerns??? Resettlement issue may be an issue to someone but not an issue to me as there is no possible violation of human right or whatsoever. Local residents fully support this move as they will have better living conditions (better education, better hospital, better housing, better job opportunity yet no restriction to their resident on islands.

Scoring practice to rank all the sites  17 criteria covering biodiversity, management baseline and so on  Qian, Cosslett, Zhou gave individual scores  All the scores summed and averaged  2 nd round of more detailed analysis on top-ranked 6 sites  Recommendation

Table 1: Site selection criteria and scorin

Conclusions Top 6 sites represent different types of ecosystems  Nanji Islands site (136 points) – Highly recommended  Sanya site (130 points) – Highly recommended  Sankou site (125 points) – highly recommended  Daya Bay (124 points) -- recommended  Jiulongjiang estuary (122 points)– recommended with reservation Inner Deep Bay site (117 points) – recommended with reservation