GEF-6 REQUEST FOR PROJECT ENDORSEMENT/APPROVAL

GEF6 CEO Endorsement /Approval Template-August2016 1

PART I: PROJECT INFORMATION

Project Title: Strengthening the PA system in the Qilian Mountains-Qinghai Lake landscape Country(ies): China GEF Project ID: 9464 GEF Agency(ies): United Nations Development Programme GEF Agency Project ID: 5690 Other Executing Partner(s): Qinghai Forestry Department Submission Date:

Resubmission Date: April 06, 2018 July 16, 2018

GEF Focal Area (s): Biodiversity Project Duration (Months) 60 Integrated Approach Pilot IAP-Cities IAP-Commodities IAP-Food Security Corporate Program: SGP Name of Parent Program China’s Protected Area System Reform

(C-PAR) Agency Fee ($) 238,706.42

A. FOCAL AREA STRATEGY FRAMEWORK AND OTHER PROGRAM STRATEGIES

Focal Area Objectives/Programs

Focal Area Outcomes Trust Fund

(in $) GEF Project

Financing Co-financing

BD-1 Program 1 Outcome 1.1. Increased revenue for protected area systems and globally significant protected areas to meet total expenditures required for management.

Outcome 1.2: Improved management effectiveness of protected areas.

GEFTF 1,326,147.00 9,000,000

BD-1 Program 2 Outcome 2.1 Increase in area of terrestrial and marine ecosystems of global significance in new protected areas and increase in threatened species of global significance protected in new protected areas.

GEFTF 1,326,146.58 9,045,000

Total project costs 2,652,293.58 18,045,000

B. PROJECT DESCRIPTION SUMMARY

Project Objective: To strengthen the effectiveness of the protected area system in the Qilian Mountains-Qinghai Lake landscape to conserve globally significant biodiversity, including snow leopard and Przewalski’s gazelle

Project Components/

Programs

Financing Type

Project Outcomes Project Outputs Trust Fund

(in $) GEF

Project Financing

Confirmed Co-

financing Component 1: PA system consolidation and institutional strengthening

TA Outcome 1: Consolidated PA sub-system recognizing connectivity and KBAs and mainstreamed into provincial planning, indicated by:

- Legal, policy and institutional frameworks associated with the management of the Qilian Mountains-Qinghai Lake landscape are strengthened through: (a) Consolidated Qilian Mountains-Qinghai Lake landscape conservation plan developed and mainstreamed into 14th FYP, and (b) Strengthened and/or new policies and regulations for wildlife conservation and PA management recognizing KBAs;

Output 1.1: Consolidated landscape conservation strategy and action plan, threatened species plans and PA sub-system regulations for the Qilian Mountains-Qinghai Lake landscape adopted and mainstreamed into the provincial 14th five-year plan (FYP) Output 1.2: Policies and guidelines developed for value-based allocations of eco-compensation funds, broader participation of the

GEFTF 415,000 3,400,000

GEF-6 REQUEST FOR PROJECT ENDORSEMENT/APPROVAL PROJECT TYPE: Full-sized Project TYPE OF TRUST FUND:GEF Trust Fund

For more information about GEF, visit TheGEF.org


- Institutional capacities for protected area management of the Wildlife Bureau of the Qinghai Forestry Department increased from 44% to 79%, as indicated in scores of the UNDP Capacity Development Scorecard; and

- Strengthened financial sustainability and resource allocation for the PA system managed by QFD based on GEF Financial Sustainability Scorecard: (a) 30% reduction in PA system financing gap (basic management), and (b) 30% increase from baseline in scores in Financial Scorecard – Part II-III.

enterprise sector, and innovative financing mechanisms at the community level, strengthening the sustainability of PA financing Output 1.3: Institutional enabling environment strengthened through introduction of PA competency-based professional development and joint capacity building for collaborative PA governance

Component 2: Emplacement of effective PA management and incentivizing participatory conservation

TA Outcome 2: Strengthened and more participatory management of the expanded PA sub-system in the Qilian Mountains-Qinghai Lake landscape, indicated by:

- Expansion of PA sub-system by 833,950 ha including ecological corridor establishment;

- Increased management effectiveness of the Qilian Mountains Nature Reserve (NR) and Qinghai Lake National Nature Reserve (NNR), as indicated by METT scores increasing by 40% from baseline or achievement of “sound management” score of >67;

- Threats to globally significant biodiversity reduced through: (a) 20,000 ha of degraded grasslands restored through participatory management; (b) 60,000 ha of habitat under improved management, including: (i) Qilian Mountains NR: conservation set asides (or similar) within pasturelands managed by traditional herder groups; (ii) Qinghai Lake NNR: Reduction in fencing density in densely fenced areas in target villages (linear metre per ha).

- Advances to collaborative PA governance, indicated by: (a) At least two joint capacity development workshops organized with Qinghai and Gansu PA stakeholders, and (b) Lessons learned documented in an advisory report delivered to a joint meeting with provincial and national stakeholders

Output 2.1: Operationalization and expansion of the PA sub-system according to the consolidated landscape conservation strategy and action plan Output 2.2: Strengthened implementation capacities, coordination and partnerships across the Qilian Mountains-Qilian Lake PA sub-system Output 2.3: Demonstrations of participatory habitat restoration and management arrangements within the expanded PA sub-system Output 2.4: Pilot interventions for sustainable livelihoods, enterprise sector involvement and conservation financing, providing community benefits and biodiversity threat reduction

GEFTF 1,737,000 12,250,000

Component 3: Knowledge Management, Monitoring & Evaluation, and Gender and Social Inclusion

TA Outcome 3: Sustainability enhanced through effective monitoring & evaluation, knowledge management, and social inclusion, indicated by:

- Project effectively managed through proactive adaptive management guided by efficient project steering function

Output 3.1: Effective project management supported by proactive steering committee functions and inclusive monitoring & evaluation Output 3.2: Project results

GEFTF 376,000 1,545,000


- Extent of knowledge management, as indicated by (a) at least 5 lessons learned uploaded onto biodiversity knowledge platform (developed under the C-PAR1 project), and (b) At least two stakeholder workshops convened to disseminate project results

- Improvement in knowledge, attitudes and practices among target stakeholders of the value of the PA sub-system and globally significant biodiversity.

effectively shared through implementation of a targeted knowledge management action plan Output 3.3: Inclusive participation of local communities, including women and ethnic minorities ensured through effective implementation of environmental and social management framework

Subtotal 2,528,000 17,195,000 Project Management Cost (PMC) GEFTF 124,293.58 850,000

Total project costs 2,652,293.58 18,045,000

C. CONFIRMED SOURCES OF CO-FINANCING FOR THE PROJECT BY NAME AND BY TYPE

Please include evidence for co-financing for the project with this form.

Sources of Co-financing Name of Co-financier Type of Cofinancing Amount ($) Recipient Government Qinghai Provincial Finance Department Grants 15,000,000 Recipient Government Qinghai Provincial Finance Department In-kind 3,000,000 GEF Agency UNDP Grants 45,000

Total Co-financing 18,045,000

D. TRUST FUND RESOURCES REQUESTED BY AGENCY(IES), COUNTRY(IES), FOCAL AREA AND THE

PROGRAMMING OF FUNDS

GEF Agency

Trust Fund

Country

Name/Global Focal Area Programming of Funds

(in $)

GEF Project Financing (a)

Agency Fee a) (b)

Total (c)=a+b

UNDP GEF TF China Biodiversity N/A 2,652,293.58 238,706.42 2,891,000

Total Grant Resources 2,652,293.58 238,706.42 2,891,000 a ) Refer to the Fee Policy for GEF Partner Agencies

E. PROJECT’S TARGET CONTRIBUTIONS TO GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS

Provide the expected project targets as appropriate.

Corporate Results Replenishment Targets Project Targets

1. Maintain globally significant biodiversity and the ecosystem goods and services that it provides to society

Improved management of landscapes and seascapes covering 300 million hectares

2,104,550 hectares1

F. DOES THE PROJECT INCLUDE A “NON-GRANT” INSTRUMENT? No

PART II: PROJECT JUSTIFICATION A. DESCRIBE ANY CHANGES IN ALIGNMENT WITH THE PROJECT DESIGN WITH THE ORIGINAL PIF

1 The 2,104,450 ha figure is the cumulative sum of protected area in the Qilian Mountains-Qinghai Lake landscape following PA sub-system expansion and establishment of ecological corridors: Qilian Mountains National Park pilot (775,400 ha + 804,600 ha expansion), and the Qinghai Lake National Nature Reserve (495,000 ha + 29,350 ha of ecological corridor established).


A.1. Project Description.

1) Global Environmental Problems, Root Causes and Barriers The root causes and barriers affecting implementing a landscape approach for the protection of globally significant biodiversity in the Qilian Mountains-Qinghai Lake landscape are consistent with those outlined in the child project concept note (see Section II Development challenge, Figure 2 Problem tree analysis and Figure 3 Project Theory of Change of the project document), and further elaborated to reflect the current circumstances, particularly in light of the progress made on the National Park (NP) pilot program, the cornerstone of PA reforms in the country and baseline activities in Qinghai Province. 2) Baseline Scenario and Associated Baseline Projects The baseline scenario has been updated and elaborated during the PPG phase (see Section II Development Challenge of the Project Document), including in response to the government’s strategies on building an ecological civilization and creating a national park system:

a. The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the State Council issued an Overall Plan for the Reform of Ecological Civilization System, and in October 2017, the 19th National Congress of the CPC strengthened the idea of ecological civilization as being vital to sustain China's national development, emphasizing the need to strengthen environmental protection at all levels.

b. A cornerstone of this process is the Master Plan of establishing the National Park System (September 2017) which aims to gradually reform the protected areas system, in addition to establishing pilot National Parks. There are two transboundary national park (NP) pilots in Qinghai province, the Three-River Source NP pilot (the first of the NP pilots, encompassing Qinghai’s largest PAs the Sanjiangyuan National Nature Reserve and Kekexili NNR) and the approval in June 2017 of the inter-provincial Qilian Mountains NP pilot, bordering Qinghai and Gansu provinces. The NP will expand the area under protection in the current Qilian Mountains Provincial Nature Reserve more than twofold, covering >1.5 million ha on the Qinghai side alone and connecting the current eight blocks of Qilian Mountains Provincial Nature Reserve. At concept note stage, it was envisaged that this project would support the upgrading of the Qilian Mountains Provincial Nature Reserve to National Nature Reserve. As this PA will now be subsumed within the NP pilot, project activities have been adjusted to support the establishment of the Qilian Mountains NP pilot.

3) Proposed Alternative Scenario The project’s GEF alternative remains consistent with the child project concept note. The project strategy is focused on improving the effectiveness of managing globally significant biodiversity in the Qilian Mountains-Qinghai Lake landscape, focusing on participatory approaches that result in mutually beneficial conservation and socioeconomic outcomes. Project outcomes and outputs have been articulated in accordance with the concept note and the evolved project baseline – for example, activities under Components 1 and 2 have been adjusted to reflect the role that the new Qilian Mountains NP pilot will play in the PA sub-system and to support the operationalization of this new PA along with building mechanisms and capacity for transboundary collaborative governance. Project activities have been broadened to include the establishment of ecological corridors to support the conservation of Przewalski’s gazelle, aligning to new government policy and facilitating programmatic learning between the CPAR projects (multiple CPAR projects are working on this emerging area of conservation policy in China, namely CPAR-1 national project which will develop guidelines on the establishment of ecological corridors, and CPAR-2 in Gansu province which will also be demonstrating their establishment). A third component focused on strengthening knowledge management, M&E and gender and social inclusion has been added to the project, with GEF funds and cofinancing redistributed to support this new Component. The project Components included in the GEF project alternative are summarised as follows: Component 1: PA system consolidation and institutional strengthening. Component 1 will support consolidation of the PA system for Qilian Mountains-Qinghai Lake landscape through the development of a package of strategies, tools


and action plans designed to consolidate the PA system, increase the resilience of this landscape and reduce threats to globally significant biodiversity it harbors. A landscape scale consolidation strategy and action plan, incorporating the relevant elements of the climate resilient PA system plan that was developed under the GEF-4 project “Strengthening the effectiveness of the protected area system in Qinghai Province, China, to conserve globally important biodiversity”, will be prepared through a participatory process involving key provincial stakeholders. The strategy and action plan for the Qilian Mountains-Qinghai Lake landscape will be mainstreamed into the 14th 5-year Plan for Qinghai Province and linked to the Qinghai Provincial Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (QPBSAP) and the pilot plan for the inter-provincial Qilian Mountains NP pilot. In parallel, species recovery and action plans will be prepared for flagship threatened species and recovery actions integrated within the landscape consolidation strategy and action plan. The project will support the establishment of the Qilian Mountains NP – resulting in a significant improvement in the protection of globally significant biodiversity, including the flagship species snow leopard and Przewalski's gazelle. Project support will include adjustments and updates to the legal and institutional frameworks to recognize KBAs and ecological connectivity and to reflect the new Qilian Mountains NP; the enhancement of sustainable financing for PA management to accommodate increased demands; and improved capacities of the institutions and individuals responsible for stewardship of this KBA through the roll-out of a competency-based capacity development program. The Outputs under Component 1 are:

Output 1.1: Consolidated landscape conservation strategy and action plan, threatened species plans and PA sub-system regulations for the Qilian Mountains-Qinghai Lake landscape adopted and mainstreamed into the provincial 14th five-year plan (FYP);

Output 1.2: Policies and guidelines developed for value-based allocations of eco-compensation funds, broader participation of the enterprise sector, and innovative financing mechanisms at the community level, strengthening the sustainability of PA financing;

Output 1.3: Institutional enabling environment strengthened through introduction of PA competency-based professional development and joint capacity building for collaborative PA governance.

Component 2: Emplacement of effective PA management and incentivizing participatory conservation. Component 2 focuses on operationalisation of the consolidated PA system, expansion of the PA sub-system including ecological corridor establishment, community support and incentives for conservation and piloting of innovative management mechanisms with local communities to strengthen effective management and conservation across the landscape. The project will build on the completed GEF-financed, UNDP-supported Qinghai project by utilising the village committee approach for strengthening local ownership of planned community interventions within Qilian Mountains-Qinghai Lake landscape to reduce threats to biodiversity across the landscape. Operationalisation of the consolidated PA system will include: (i) capacity development of field staff and community rangers institutionalised; (ii) strengthened collaborative PA governance arrangements; (iii) enhanced biodiversity monitoring and PA enforcement systems; (iii) improved habitat management through participatory implementation of local pasture management plans; (iv) diversification of livelihoods of target communities; (v) pilot implementation of tourism partnership(s) and value-based eco-compensation and (vi) expanded public participation, including through environmental education initiatives, management of volunteers, advocating private sector involvement, and partnerships with civil society. The project will provide community support linked to incentives for collaborative PA management, scaling up their participation and reducing threats to critical ecosystems and threatened species. The Outputs under Component 2 are:

Output 2.1: Operationalization and expansion of the PA sub-system according to the consolidated landscape conservation strategy and action plan;

Output 2.2: Strengthened implementation capacities, coordination and partnerships across the Qilian Mountains-Qinghai Lake PA sub-system;

Output 2.3: Demonstrations of participatory habitat restoration and management arrangements within the expanded PA sub-system;

Output 2.4: Pilot interventions for sustainable livelihoods, enterprise sector involvement and conservation financing, improving community benefits and biodiversity threat reduction.


Component 3: Knowledge Management, Monitoring & Evaluation, and Gender and Social Inclusion. Under Component 3, the requisite enabling conditions for sustaining the project results will be strengthened through targeted knowledge management, monitoring & evaluation, and gender mainstreaming and social inclusion. A system for M&E and reporting inputs from the important community ranger contingent will be developed and demonstrated in the target intervention areas. The Outputs under Component 3 are:

Output 3.1: Effective project management supported by proactive steering committee functions and inclusive monitoring & evaluation;

Output 3.2: Project results effectively shared through implementation of a targeted knowledge management action plan;

Output 3.3: Inclusive participation of local communities, including women and ethnic minorities ensured through effective implementation of environmental and social management framework.

Further information on Components, Outputs and indicative Activities can be found in Section IV Results and Partnerships, (i. Expected Results) of the Project Document. 4) Incremental Cost Reasoning and Expected Contributions from the Baseline The baseline and incremental reasoning have been further elaborated and remain consistent with the summary provided in the child project concept note. The GEF support is timely and will allow for the project to provide targeted support for the operationalization of the Qilian Mountains NP pilot and the establishment of ecological corridors as part of a consolidated landscape strategy for the PA sub-system built upon participatory management with local communities and the use of innovative conservation financing mechanisms. The baseline and incremental reasoning for each component are described in Tables 7, 8 and 9 of Section IV Results and Partnerships of the Project Document. The project co-financing is consistent with the concept note. 5) Global Environmental Benefits The global environmental benefits expected to be delivered by the project have increased in accordance with the new Qilian Mountains NP pilot. The project is expected to generate global environmental benefits of improved management of landscapes and seascapes covering 2,104,550 ha across the Qilian Mountains-Qinghai Lake landscape, including a 804,600 ha PA expansion as part of the operationalization of the Qilian Mountains NP and the establishment of 29,350 ha of ecological corridors. The PA expansion area falls within the Eastern Qilian Shan Mountains KBA (ID 15510). This greatly exceeds the PA sub-system expansion target of 120,000 ha indicated at concept note stage and will focus on increasing representation of KBAs and critical habitats for globally significant species. Connectivity across the landscape will increase through connection of the existing blocks of the Qilian Mountains Provincial Nature Reserve in the Qilian Mountains NP and through the ecological corridors created to connect Przewalski’s gazelle habitat adjacent to Qinghai Lake National Nature Reserve. PPG assessments have confirmed the biodiversity significance of the two target PAs for enhanced management effectiveness: Qilian Mountains Provincial Nature Reserve and Qinghai Lake National Nature Reserve. Both PAs are high priority areas for biodiversity conservation, falling within registered KBAs (see Table 5 of the Project Document) and harboring globally significant species such as snow leopard (vulnerable) and Przewalski’s gazelle (endangered). The landscape contains the only remaining habitat of Przewalski’s gazelle. Other IUCN red-listed species present in the landscape include wild yak (vulnerable) and white-lipped deer (vulnerable). Qinghai Lake is listed on the Ramsar List of Wetlands of International Importance. GEF funds will secure populations of snow leopard and Przewalski’s gazelle and other globally significant species through: (i) consolidation and expansion of the PA sub-system in this landscape, increasing coverage of KBAs and critical threatened species habitat and increasing connectivity, (ii) increased management effectiveness of existing PAs, (iii) improvement of overall institutional and individual capacity to support PA management and operation, including for community participation and transboundary PA management, (iv) improved habitat protection and restoration


through participatory management arrangements that reflect improved perception of local communities towards PAs and conservation and reduce threats to globally significant biodiversity. Alignment of the project’s target to relevant GEF-7 core indicators is provided in Annex E. 6) Innovativeness, Sustainability and Scaling Up The project’s innovativeness, sustainability and potential for scaling up has been elaborated while remaining consistent with the summary provided in the child project concept note. These are given below from Part III Strategy (Innovation) and Part V Feasibility (vii. Sustainability and scaling up) of the Project Document. Innovativeness: Innovativeness is featured through the C-PAR programmatic approach. The program, for which this project has the coordination role, ensures linkages across the individual projects and enabling cross fertilization between projects through sharing of best practices, lessons and technical expertise, as well as allowing the PA reform agenda to be comprehensively tackled at national, provincial and site level. This project will demonstrate several innovative approaches, including establishment and operationalization of ecological corridors in the target landscape, reducing fragmentation of habitats for globally threatened species and increasing the resilience of ecosystems and species in the face of climate change – application of an approach that is new to China. Furthermore, the project will be demonstrating these approaches alongside other C-PAR projects facilitating programmatic learning and knowledge exchange (e.g. an ecological corridor guidance document will be prepared under the C-PAR1 (national) project and adapted to the child projects, including this project and the C-PAR2 project in Gansu). Using local pasture management plans as a platform for facilitating improved community collaborative PA management is an innovative approach that aligns locally relevant conservation objectives with landscape level objectives outlined in the consolidated landscape strategy developed by the project. Innovative approaches will also include development and marketing of nature reserve-friendly products from sustainable livelihood initiatives. Support provided for community livelihoods through the project will aim to enhance the linkages between sustainable PA management and enhanced and diversified livelihoods, including through sustainable harvesting, sustainable and responsible eco/nature tourism and habitat restoration. Greater levels of private sector investment will be promoted through demonstrating tourism partnership(s) and concessions, linking the enterprise sector with sustainable livelihood interventions at the community level and advocating for broadened private sector involvement. The project will also apply innovative economic tools to reduce threats within nature reserves and ecological corridors, including eco-compensation mechanisms that support conservation objectives included in local pasture management plans, e.g., through conservation easements where border fences would be removed to enable improved wildlife migration; and conservation set-asides, increasing collaboration between conservation and livestock management sectors. Moreover, the innovation of the project is highlighted through strengthening cooperation with regional and international partners and promoting international best practice into the PA reform process in the province. Sustainability and Scaling Up: The sustainability of the project is ensured across several fronts. First and most importantly, the project is strongly supported by top leaders of the Chinese Government. The establishment of a NP system has been clearly stated in the policies of the Qinghai provincial and the Chinese central government. The C-PAR3 Advisory Group will be established during the implementation of the project to ensure technical appropriateness while drawing on tried and tested international experience. Institutional and financial sustainability is supported by particularly strong country ownership, while economic and environmental sustainability are embedded into the project. A separate output has been designed to enhance the sustainability of PA financing, with an outcome level target of increasing available finances for the PA system managed by the Qinghai Forestry Department by more than 30% by the end of the project. This will be achieved through diversification of funding sources, broadening participation of non-governmental stakeholders, more efficiently integrating extra budgetary funds into strategic PA financing strategies, more effectively utilizing available resources (e.g., through implementing ecological compensation schemes based on ecosystem values) and improving financing reporting to more clearly record funds invested for PA management. A multi-faceted capacity-building program involving training of trainers, domestic and international knowledge transfer trainings among the child projects of the C-PAR program, operationalization of the PA competencies and performance standards developed in the national C-PAR1 project will ensure capacity development is institutionalised across the landscape, thus ensuring continued professional development for the existing staff and new staff brought on in years to


come, and promoting a learning-by-doing approach and facilitating cross-provincial and cross-sectoral partnerships that will last well beyond the lifespan of the GEF funding. With respect to institutional frameworks and governance, the project will provide technical assistance towards the ongoing PA reform process, introducing international best practice on legislation and institutional arrangements. The project will provide important experiential learning results on collaborative PA governance, including inter-provincial arrangements in case of the Qilian Mountains NP pilot and strengthened local governance units of the Qinghai Lake NNR and Qinghai Lake Scenic Area. The project has adopted a bottom-up approach to ensure the project ownership by local participants, including through genuine collaborative management arrangements within the target areas in Component 2. With respect to the environmental dimension of sustainability, GEF funds are allocated for promoting a more representative PA sub-system in the Qilian Mountains-Qinghai Lake landscape, increasing protection of globally significant biodiversity. Moreover, the project will deliver technical assistance for developing guidance on climate-responsive PA planning and monitoring, contributing towards a more resilient PA sub-system.

Scaling up: The niche aspects implemented on the project, including collaborative PA governance, establishment of ecological corridors, participatory pasture management plans, and pilot demonstrations of tourism partnership(s), value-based eco-compensation, volunteer management, etc., provide scalable models for replication across the landscape and elsewhere in the province and country. The project will also provide best practice guidance on social inclusion, including strengthened community engagement, broader participation by women and enhanced involvement of ethnic minorities, and increase awareness among decision makers and the public on the value of the PA sub-system.

Substantial resources are allocated for capacity development, including a target to train 750 people through a wide range of competency-based trainings, site level learning-by-doing, and international exchange. The project will identify and train “change agents”, i.e., people having the authority and aptitude to proactively advocate for integration and replication of the knowledge gained into sector level plans and strategies. Diverse livelihood possibilities for rural people will increase resilience at the household and community level, reducing pressures on fragile biodiversity and scarce ecosystem goods and services. Project replication potential will also be enhanced through strengthening collaborative partnerships, including inter-governmental, with civil society, with institutional partners, and with the enterprise sector. Distilling project results and lessons learned into informative, easily understood knowledge products will also support replication. And, scaling up will be facilitated through a functional and user-friendly biodiversity knowledge platform developed under the C-PAR1 (national) project, where PA management practitioners can share best practices, and where the public can participate through citizen science, volunteering, etc. A.2. Child Project? If this is a child project under a program, describe how the components contribute to the overall program impact. This project is one of six child projects under the GEF-financed C-PAR Program (GEF Program ID 9403). This programmatic approach will support coordinated knowledge management and cross-fertilization between individual child projects, coordinated by the national child project and the national C-PAR Program Steering Committee. During project preparation, a coordinated approach was taken towards the development of individual child projects, which benefited the detailed design of this project. Coordination included two program-level coordination workshops, the deployment of a team of national specialists providing inputs across all UNDP projects under the coordination of a lead national and international consultants, coordinated design of child project results frameworks based on a harmonized program-level results framework, and development of linkages between common activities and knowledge sharing opportunities. In particular, this project will coordinate with: C-PAR national project, on the adaptation and operationalization of developed guidelines on ecological corridors and HWC; C-PAR2 Gansu provincial project on joint capacity-building for both sides of the Qilian Mountains NP pilot, on sharing experiences and lessons learned through HWC management and ecological corridor establishment and through joint events to build effective transboundary collaborative governance for the Qilian Mountains NP. During implementation, the project will also benefit from the programmatic approach as monitoring and evaluation will be closely coordinated through the C-PAR program / C-PAR


national project (C-PAR 1) including a harmonized project Results Framework. The project components will contribute towards the C-PAR programmatic outcomes as shown below in Project Document Table 4, copied below. Program coordination is further detailed in Section V of the Project Document for the C-PAR1 national child project.

Project Document Table 4: Project contributions towards C-PAR program results C-PAR Program Objective

/ Component Program Outcomes C-PAR Program Indicators

Project contributions to C-PAR program level results

Objective: Transform China’s national protected area system through systematic legal and institutional reform and innovation for conservation of globally significant biodiversity

Component 1: Improved legal and institutional framework at national and provincial level

1.1 Effective governance and legal framework for the national protected area system – indicated by approved national systems plan and technical regulations allowing for establishment of new PA categories suited for biodiversity protection

1.2 Harmonized and effective national system for selecting, designing, managing and monitoring various types of protected areas – indicated by transparent selection, planning and monitoring procedures

1.3 Increased government financing for PA management – indicated by an increase of annual investment in PA system operation by >30% over baseline amount to be established during the PPG

Indicator 1: Extent to which legal, policy and institutional frameworks reflect current national policy for biodiversity conservation

Legal, policy and institutional frameworks associated with the management of the Qilian Mountains-Qinghai Lake landscape are strengthened through: a. Consolidated Qilian Mountains-Qinghai Lake landscape conservation plan adopted and mainstreamed into 14th FYP. b. Adoption of strengthened and/or new policies and regulations for wildlife conservation and PA management recognizing KBAs (Indicator 4)

Indicator 2: Sustainability of PA financing a. 30% increase in cumulative annual national PA financing (direct), justified by economic valuations, narrowing the gap for basic PA management scenario c. C-PAR4: Establish ecological compensation mechanism

30% reduction in PA system financing gap (basic management) (Indicator 6)

Indicator 3: Improved PA governance, as indicated by new or strengthened collaborative governance mechanisms

Advances to collaborative PA governance, as indicated through: a. At least two joint capacity development workshops organised with Qinghai and Gansu PA governance stakeholders. b. Lessons learned through demonstrations of collaborative PA governance documented in an advisory report delivered to a joint meeting with provincial and national stakeholders. (Indicator 9)

Component 2: Systematic PA planning and mainstreaming at national, provincial, county spatial planning and sectors

2.1 National protected area system expanded by 2.483 million ha

2.2 Threats to PAs reduced, indicated by increased ESAs and evidence of enforcement, integration of biodiversity concern in development and sector planning and operations, and increased capacity for community engagement

Indicator 4: New areas of terrestrial and marine ecosystems in the national PA system, indicated by coverage of ecologically sensitive areas (ESAs) and/or key biodiversity areas (KBAs) in protected area systems.

833,950 ha expansion of PA sub-system comprising: a. Qilian Mountains NP on Qinghai side expanded by 804,600 ha b. Qinghai Lake 29,350 ha of ecological corridors established (Indicator 2)

Indicator 5: Subnational institutional capacities of for protected area planning and management, as indicated by the UNDP Capacity Development Scorecard

Institutional capacities of the Wildlife Bureau of the Qinghai Forestry Department increased from a baseline score of 44% to 79% by the end of the project. (Indicator 5)

Indicator 6: Threats to globally significant biodiversity at project demonstration sites reduced.

Threats to globally significant biodiversity at project demonstration sites reduced, through: a. 20,000 ha of degraded grasslands restored through participatory management; b. 60,000 ha of habitat under improved management, including: (i) Qilian Mountains NR: Conservation set asides within pasturelands managed by traditional herder groups, aimed at reducing the threat of prey depletion due to competition with livestock and poaching; (ii) Qinghai Lake NNR: Reduction in fencing density in densely fenced areas in target villages, aimed at reducing fragmentation of habitats through fencing. (Indicator 8)

Component 3: 3.1 Increased management Indicator 7: Minimum 40% increase from baseline:


C-PAR Program Objective / Component

Program Outcomes C-PAR Program Indicators Project contributions to C-PAR program

level results Site level management and supervision standards raised for different PA types

effectiveness of demonstration PAs with globally significant biodiversity and ecosystems - 30% increase indicated by METT plus 20% improvement of EHI over baselines

3.2 Stable or improved status of rare species population – e.g. snow leopard, Przewalski’s gazelle, migratory birds

Protected area management effectiveness, as indicated by scores recorded in the GEF-6 version of the Management Effectiveness Tracking Tool (METT)

a. Qilian Mountains NR: 50% Achievement of sound management with score >67%: b. Qinghai Lake NNR: 67% (Indicator 7)

Indicator 8: Estimated populations of threatened species, as indicated by biodiversity assessments

Stable or improved status of targeted threatened species. Snow leopard (Panthera uncia) Przewalski’s gazelle (Procapra przewalskii) (Indicator 3)

Indicator 9: # direct project beneficiaries, a. Communities within/around target sites. b. People receiving training.

a. 3.275 b. 750 Total: 4,025

Indicator 10: Level of inclusiveness in management of the NP system, as indicated through: a. Gender inclusion b. Ethnic minorities inclusion c. Community engagement d. Civil society participation

a. 50% of direct beneficiaries are women. b. 3,000 ethnic minorities among direct beneficiaries (included within Indicator 1)

Component 4: Program Coordination, Knowledge Management, and M&E

4.1 Improved knowledge sharing between PAs and uptake of best practices

4.2 Improved understanding among decision makers and the public on value of PA system, indicated by Knowledge, Attitude and Practices surveys to be conducted at start and end of projects

Indicator 11: Effectiveness of program coordination, as indicated by: a. Program governance b. Program level reporting

N/A

Indicator 12: Extent of knowledge management of C-PAR program, as indicated through a. Functional biodiversity knowledge platform b. Lessons learned distilled and disseminated c. Knowledge exchange through workshops, seminars, conferences

a. 5 lessons learned completed and uploaded onto biodiversity knowledge platform and usage statistics indicate increasing reach of C-PAR program lessons learned across the PA system (# visits / downloads). b. At least two stakeholder workshops convened to disseminate project results. (Indicator 10)

Indicator 13: Level of understanding among decision makers and public on value of PA systems, based on results of knowledge, practices, and attitudes (KAP) survey

Improvement in knowledge, practices and attitudes (target to be set after baseline KAP survey at project inception) (Indicator 11)

Indicator 14: Mandatory basic reporting standard for Chinese nature reserve system, as a necessary evaluation part of supervision

N/A

A.3. Stakeholders. Identify key stakeholders and elaborate on how the key stakeholders engagement is incorporated in the preparation and implementation of the project. Do they include civil society organizations (yes /no )? and indigenous peoples (yes /no )? A stakeholder analysis was undertaken during project preparation to identify key stakeholders, consult with them regarding their interests in the project and define their roles and responsibilities during project implementation. Based upon this analysis, summarized below, a stakeholder engagement plan has been developed to guide the implementation team (see Annex G to the project document). The roles of key stakeholders in project management and implementation are also provided in the Governance and Management Arrangements section of the Project Document (i.e. Project Board members, Project Management Office), and are not repeated here. Stakeholders will also be consulted during the ESIA and on the development of the ESMP (and any stand-alone management plans). The ESMF and ESMP will undergo a period of public disclosure in accordance with UNDP SES policy.


Project Document Table 12: Stakeholder summary indicating mandates and roles in project

Stakeholders Mandate Role in Project Implementing Partner: Qinghai Forestry Department The Qinghai Forestry Department (QFD) is mandated to

implement State principles, policies, laws and rules concerning the improvement of forest resources of Qinghai Province. The QFD also drafts forestry regulations and is responsible for enforcement. The QFD is responsible for establishing and managing nature reserves, forest parks and wetland parks for protection of forest and wetland ecosystems.

The QFD is the implementing partner for the project, will designate a National Project Director, who will chair the project steering committee. QFD will also set up a Project Management Office (PMO) and recruit PMO staff. Involved on all outputs.

GEF Agency: United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

The UNDP has had a resident office in China for many years, providing a broad spectrum of development assistance, including sustainable management of natural resources, governance, gender equality, and the rule of law.

The UNDP is the GEF Agency for the project and the C-PAR Program Coordination Agency. UNDP will be the Senior Supplier on the Project and Program Steering Committees. The UNDP Country Office will provide administrative and strategic guidance to the project, and support procurement processes, including for international sourced goods and services. The UNDP-GEF Regional Technical Advisor based at the Regional Hub for Asia and the Pacific will provide strategic technical assistance and project assurance. UNDP is also one of the cofinancing partners on the project. All outputs.

Key Provincial Agencies and Governmental Stakeholders: Qinghai Provincial Development and Reform Commission

Responsible for coordination and implementation of Qinghai’s Development Plan and matters related to domestic engineering.

A key project stakeholder; will be invited to be a member of the C-PAR3 advisory group. Outputs 1.1, 3.1.

Qinghai Provincial Finance Department

The Qinghai Provincial Department of Finance is responsible for allocation and control of provincial finances for Qinghai Province.

The Qinghai Provincial Department of Finance is the main cofinancing partner on the project and will provide an oversight function for financial management and control of GEF funds dispersed. Outputs 1.2, 2.43, 3.1.

Qinghai Agriculture and Animal and Husbandry Department

Responsible for pasture use, aquatic products, livestock health and management, grasslands pest control, aquatic management (including fisheries), etc.

The Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Department will play a key role in the project’s work with local communities and herders relevant to livestock and grassland management and restoration. A senior official from the Department will be a member of the project steering committee, and professional staff members will be invited to be members of the C-PAR3 advisory group. All outputs.

Qinghai Lake NR Management Bureau

Responsible for protection and management of the Qinghai Lake NNR.

The Qinghai Lake NNR will be a key partner on the project, hosting a PA Coordination Team, assigning a PA focal point, and designating a senior official on the project steering committee. All outputs.

Qilian Mountain Management Bureau

Responsible for protection and management of the Qilian Mountains PNR.

The Qilian Mountains PNR will be a key partner on the project, hosting a PA Coordination Team, assigning a PA focal point, and designating a senior official on the project steering committee. All outputs.

Qinghai Lake Scenic Area Administration

The Qinghai Lake NNR reports to the Qinghai Lake Scenic Area Administration.

The Qinghai Lake Scenic Area Administration will be an important stakeholder on the project, particularly with respect to activities aimed at improving collaborative governance and enhancing the sustainability of PA financing. Management and professional staff will be invited to be members of the C-PAR3 advisory group.


Stakeholders Mandate Role in Project All outputs under Components 1 and 2, and Outputs 3.1 and 3.2.

Qinghai Environmental Protection Bureau

Coordination of environmental issues, participation in environmental assessment and implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity.

They are a key partner for the project, particularly in coordination and outreach activities, and professional staff will be invited to be members of the C-PAR3 advisory group. Outputs 1.3, 3.1, 3.2.

Qinghai Department of Land and Resources

Responsible for supervision and management of land development and utilization of resources in the project area, implementation of wildlife habitat protection laws and regulations and conservation planning.

They are a key partner for the project, and professional staff will be invited to be members of the C-PAR3 advisory group. Outputs 1.1, 1.3, 3.1, 3.2.

Nature Reserve Management Stations within the Qilian Mountains-Qinghai Lake landscape

They are key partners and beneficiaries of the project. Representatives of the NR management stations will receive training, participate in activities and provide support for project implementation. All outputs.

Three-River Source National Park Management Agency

The Three-River Source National Park (TRS NP) Management Agency has been established under the Qinghai Provincial Government as the agency responsible for management of the Three-River Source NP.

The TRS NP Management Agency will be responsible for implementation of project activities on the C-PAR1 (national) project at the TRS NP, which will include establishing a training centre within the agency. The TRS NP Management Agency will be an important partner on the C-PAR3 project, invited to be a member of the advisory group. Outputs 1.1, 1.2, 2.2, 3.1, 3.2, 3.3.

Qinghai Lake Farm, and Qinghai Lake Hudong Breeding Sheep Farm

Research farms supporting the conservation and livestock management activities in the Qinghai Lake region.

These stakeholders will be engaged in the development of the landscape conservation strategy and will be involved in development and implementation of pasture management plans. Outputs 1.1, 1.3, 2.3

Key National Agencies and Central Governmental Stakeholders: Ministry of Finance The Ministry of Finance is responsible for allocating

government funding and coordinating extra budgetary donor financing. The GEF Operational Focal Point is also based in the Ministry of Finance.

The Ministry of Finance will be a key member of the C-PAR Program Steering Committee. Output 3.1.

Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR)

The Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) was created on 17 March 2018, replacing the Ministry of Land & Resources, State Oceanic Administration (SOA), the National Surveying and Mapping Bureau and many functions of several other ministries and agencies, and is responsible for overseeing the development and protection of China’s natural resources, setting up a spatial planning system and establishing a system for payment of ecosystem services. This ministry is mandated with responsibility over the national PA system, through the subordinate State Forest and Grassland Administration / State National Park Authority.

This ministry was created at the end of the PPG phase. Considering their assigned mandate, this ministry will be one of the key stakeholders during the project. All outputs

State Forestry and Grassland Administration (SFGA) (http://www.forestry.gov.cn)

2

Until 17 March 2018, the State Forestry Administration (SFA) was the competent authority for forestry under the State Council, responsible for supervising the establishment and management of nature reserves of forests, terrestrial wild animals, and wetlands. Following the national institutional reform3, the State Forestry and Grassland Administration was established on April 10, 2018. The new Administration is mainly

SFA was a key stakeholder in the project at the national level, overseeing the provincial forestry system. It is anticipated that the new State Forestry and Grassland Administration will remain a key stakeholder, including a new State National Park Management Bureau. In turn, a State National Park Department has been planned as an internal

2 The government of China is currently undergoing a process of reform for its national Ministries aiming to bring together currently fragmented environmental roles and responsibilities. The National People’s Congress recently (17 March) passed the creation of the new Ministry of Ecology and Environment (taking on MEP functions, among others) and the new Ministry of Natural Resources (taking on functions from SFA, SOA and zoning functions from NDRC, among others). It is not yet fully clear how individual PA-related functions will be represented in the new Ministries. The stakeholder engagement plan, particularly the involvement of national agencies, will be revised during inception phase as the structure of the new Ministries and the allocation of functions becomes clearer. 3http://english.forestry.gov.cn/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1846:state‐administration‐of‐forestry‐and‐grassland‐of‐china‐established&catid=21:news&Itemid=105


Stakeholders Mandate Role in Project responsible for the monitoring and management of forest, grassland, wetland and desert; the development, utilization and protection of wildlife; ecological protection, restoration, reforestation, as well as National Park management. It is under the management of the Ministry of Natural Resources.

structure of SFPA, which is waiting for approval. Provincial level institutional reform has not yet started because central reform is still in progress.

Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE; formerly Ministry of Environmental Protection, MEP)4

From 17 March 2018, the functions of the Ministry of Environmental Protection were absorbed into the newly established Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE), which has also been mandated with the duties of overseeing river, marine and soil pollution, as well as climate change issues previously held by other ministries and departments. Until 17 March 2018 when MEE was created (see above), MEP was responsible for establishing a sound basic system for environmental protection; responsible for the overall coordination, supervision and administration of major environmental problems; undertakes the responsibilities for attaining national pollution reduction targets; guided, coordinated, and oversaw ecological conservation effort; Responsible for the supervision and administration of the prevention and control of environmental pollution, etc.

This ministry was created at the end of the PPG phase. The FECO division of MEP is expected to remain in place, under the new MEE. Key partner of the overall C-PAR program, of which this project will demonstrate many of the ongoing and planned national reforms. All outputs.

Subnational Governmental Stakeholders: Local governments and forestry administrations where proposed project interventions are located including the Haiyan Forestry Bureau, Gangcha Forestry and Forestry Police Bureau, and most importantly, the Haibei Autonomous Prefecture Forestry Bureau

A thorough socioeconomic study was made of the Qilian Mountains-Qinghai Lake landscape. The subnational government agencies in these jurisdictions will be responsible to administer the expansion of the protected areas, including drafting and managing possible resettlement and dislocation plans.

Provincial, county, township and village government units will be key partners during project implementation. Representative subnational officials are proposed to be members of the project steering committee. Project activities will be closely coordinated with local government units, starting with the preparation of the environmental and social impact assessment and the associated consultations. All outputs under Component 2, and Outputs 3.2 and 3.3.

Gansu Forestry Department The Gansu Forestry Department is mandated to implement State principles, policies, laws and rules concerning the improvement of forest resources of Gansu Province. The Qilian Mountains National Park, which is currently under pilot implementation, is partly situated in Gansu Province.

The project will promote improved inter-provincial collaborative governance of the Qilian Mountains NP. Gansu Forestry Department management and staff officials will also be invited to participate in joint training and field interventions. Outputs 1.1, 1.3, 2.2.

Local communities where project interventions are planned: Local communities Local communities where project interventions are

planned are among the key beneficiaries of the project. Target villages/communities were selected based upon stakeholder consultations and a common set of criteria.

Local communities will participate in collaborative PA management arrangements, receive specific training, be involved in sustainable alternative livelihoods demonstrations, etc. All outputs under Component 2, and Outputs 3.2 and 3.3.

Non- Government Organizations: Other international and domestic NGOs, including but not limited to WWF, CI, IUCN, WCS, TNC, China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation, Sanjiangyuan Ecological Protection Foundation, Qinghai

There are several international and domestic NGOs operating in Qinghai Province, promoting and advocating for improved and more participatory biodiversity conservation.

The project will develop partnerships with NGOs and community-based organizations for supporting the planned interventions. Representatives of NGOs will also be advocated for membership of the C-PAR3 Advisory Group. All outputs.

4 Ibid (to footnote 2).


Stakeholders Mandate Role in Project Environmental Education Association, Global Environmental Institute, Friends of Nature, Shanshui Partnership, etc. Scientific and Research Institutions: Scientific and research institutes and universities, and the broader professional community

Responsible for delivering technical assistance, carrying out field surveys, development of knowledge management systems, etc.: including the Northwest Institute of Plateau Biology (an institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS)), as well as other institutes, universities, and consultancies.

Scientific and research institutes, universities, and consultancies will be invited to bid on procurements under the project for technical assistance, e.g., carrying out biodiversity assessments on Przewalski’s gazelle and snow leopard, and provide technical guidance for conservation actions under the project. All outputs.

Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences

Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences (CRAES) was formally established in 1978, under the Ministry of Environmental Protection as a national not-for-profit environmental scientific research institution, to carry out innovative and basic scientific research, serving the engineering and consulting needs of major environmental issues in economic and social development and playing an important role in the country's strategy of sustainable development and environmental protection.

CRAES will be involved with capacity development aspects of the C-PAR program, e.g., development of PA competency standards, etc. As executing agency for the C-PAR6 project, CRAES will be a member of the Program Steering Committee. Outputs 1.3, 2.2, 3.1.

Private and Business Sector: Enterprise sector There has been increasing levels of participation by the

enterprise sector in biodiversity conservation in China, including establishment of private reserves, donating funds through corporate social responsibility initiatives, scaling up local cooperatives that are sustainably utilizing ecosystem goods and services, etc.

Partnerships with the enterprise sector will be developed, as part of the interventions aimed at diversifying PA financing, tourism partnerships and concessions, scaling up sustainable livelihood initiatives for local communities, etc. Outputs 1.2, 2.4, 3.2.

A.4. Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment. Elaborate on how gender equality and women’s empowerment issues are mainstreamed into the project implementation and monitoring, taking into account the differences, needs, roles and priorities of women and men. In addition, 1) did the project conduct a gender analysis during project preparation (yes /no )?; 2) did the project incorporate a gender responsive project results framework, including sex-disaggregated indicators (yes /no )?; and 3) what is the share of women and men direct beneficiaries (women 50%, men 50%)? During the PPG phase, a socio-economic and gender assessment was completed in accordance with UNDP-GEF policy, reviewing the role of females, males and disadvantaged groups in project development and implementation, and the potential impacts of the project on each gender group. Women were consulted about their needs and preference regarding the project activities, such as skill training needs and methods of alternative livelihood development, and the results of this consultation used to inform the development of the project Gender Action Plan (Annex I to the Project Document). Women will be actively involved in the project management and decision-making at different levels. For example, women will join the Project Steering Committee as members at the provincial level, join the day-to-day project management team at county/township levels, and provide guidance to the village committees and herder groups at the site level. The percentage of women in the above-mentioned committees or teams will comprise not less than 50%. Furthermore, women will actively participate in the field implementation of project activities and benefit from their contributions. As the key role players in livestock raising and rangeland management, women will participate in biodiversity monitoring, patrolling, and day-to-day management of the rangeland ecosystem. The project will ensure that the women can benefit from their contribution and will help to raise their status in their family and communities. The gender mainstreaming strategy for the project recognizes the differences between labor, knowledge, needs, and priorities of men and women, and calls for:

Equal consultation with women and men on their needs and requirements associated with project interventions; Promotion of equal representation and participation of women and men in project activities;


Development of strategic and planning documents with equal consultation of women and men at all levels, ranging from national, provincial, county and to the target villages;

Providing gender trainings to all members of the PMO, the Community Mobilisers, and consultants and other service providers tasked with community related activities; and

50% of the project direct beneficiaries are women. The project has UNDP GEN2 gender marker standard. Key gender-disaggregated indicators and targets in the project results framework and monitoring plan will be tracked throughout project implementation. The PMO and the two PA implementation teams will assign gender focal points, who will be responsible for overseeing implementation of the gender action plan and work with contracted gender specialists in training, awareness campaigns, and monitoring and evaluation activities. The PMO focal point for gender will be the M&E/Safeguards Officer. One of the criteria for selecting the villages for project interventions was the opportunity to advance gender equality, and the project will work with existing women’s groups and/or establish new groups where required to support the implementation of project activities. The proposed actions, indicators and targets extracted from the Gender Action Plan (Annex I to the Project Document) are copied below:

Proposed Actions Indicators Targets Outcome 1: Consolidated PA sub-system recognizing connectivity and KBAs and mainstreamed into provincial planning Ensure equal participation of women in the project-level training

programme # and % of female trainee 50% of female trainees

proportional to the trainee groups Ensure equal participation of women in the international best

practice knowledge transfer and training events # and % of female trainee 50% of female trainees

Outcome 2: Strengthened and more participatory management of the expanded PA sub-system in the Qilian Mountains-Qinghai Lake landscape Equal women representation on village committees and herder

groups # and % of women representatives on committees/groups

50%

Equally engage female villagers in the ecotourism pilot initiative # and % of female villagers engaged in the initiative

50% of female villagers in the relevant villages

Equally engage female staff in developing and implementing the human-wildlife conflict management plan

# and % of female staff engaged in developing the plan

% of female staff engaged no less the percentage of female staff in the agencies

Ensure women’s equal participation in the community collaborative management

# and % of women participants 50% of women participants

Equal participation of women in designing and implementing the grassland restoration

# and % of women participants 50% of women in the relevant communities

Equal participation of women in sustainable livelihood alternatives and equal attainment of micro-financing grants

# and % of women participants, # and % of micro-grants

50% of women in the relevant communities

Organize and train women groups to brand and market their products on the internet and/or on Wechat

# of women groups At least one group in Dayu Village in Qinghai Lake NNR

Outcome 3: Enabling conditions strengthened through improved monitoring & evaluation and reporting, knowledge management, and social inclusion

Ensure women’s equal participation in the project inception workshop, and annual project stakeholder workshops

# and % of women participants 50% of female participant no less than the percentage of women in the workforce

Equal consideration of women in the KAP survey # and % of women respondent 50% of women respondent Ensure women’s equal participation in the landscape level and

program level knowledge management initiatives # and % of women participant 50% of female participant no less

than the percentage of women in the agencies

For all outcomes and outputs Recruit a gender specialist # of gender specialist recruited 1 Designate one gender focal point by PMO and each NP # of gender focal point 4 in total” 1 from PMO, 1 from

each of the NPs Develop TORs for the gender focal points # of TOR developed 4 in total: 1 for gender focal point

in the PMO, 1 for each focal point in the three NPs

Develop protocol (questions, information gathering system, etc.) for the gender focal points to collect and report detailed gender

# of protocol 4 in total: 1 for PMO, 1 for each of the NPs


Proposed Actions Indicators Targets information including the project affected people, project beneficiaries, participants of each project activity, and so on

Provide training to the management staff and the gender focal points on gender equality

# of training # of participant

Once a year All people in the PMO, all managers of the 3 NP management agencies

provide technical support to the management staff to integrate gender into the project two-year work plans

Times of support provided Once a year

provide technical advice on gender whenever needed Times of support provided Once a month Record all data disaggregated by gender Sex-disaggregated data At least, sex-disaggregated project

direct beneficiaries, sex-disaggregated data on the project-related trainings, workshops, community activities, KAP surveys

Monitor and evaluate implementation of the Gender Mainstreaming Action Plan

Included in the APRs, MTE, TER Included in the APRs, MTE, TER

Include gender sensitive indicators in the Project Strategic Results Framework

# and % of the project direct women beneficiaries

50% of women beneficiaries

A.5 Risk. Elaborate on indicated risks, including climate change, potential social and environmental risks that might prevent the project objectives from being achieved, and, if possible, the proposed measures that address these risks at the time of project implementation.(table format acceptable): The key risks that could threaten the achievement of results through the chosen strategy are described below, along with proposed mitigation measures and recommended risk owners who would be responsible to manage the risks during the project implementation phase. Risks are only shown if their rating is considered to be Moderate or High, with the exception of risks identified in the Social and Environmental Screening Procedure (SESP) (Project Document Annex E) which are all described. As per standard UNDP requirements, the Project Manager will monitor risks quarterly and report on the status of risks to the UNDP Country Office. The UNDP Country Office will record progress in the UNDP ATLAS risk log. Risks will be reported as critical when the impact and probability are high. Management responses to critical risks will also be reported to the GEF in the annual PIR.

Project Document Table 11: Project risks and proposed mitigation measures

Risk Type Impact and Probability

Proposed Mitigation Measure Risk Owner

Brief Description of the risk Category of risk

Potential effect on project if risk were

to occur. Probability P and Impact I: 1 (low) to 5 (high)

What actions have been or will be taken to counter the risk Who is designated to monitor and act

upon this risk

1. Ineffective cross-agency coordination might restrict the effectiveness of implementation of a landscape approach to conservation, rather than sectoral.

Operational I=3; P=2

LOW

Execution of the project will require concerted advocacy and building upon partnerships. The Project Manager, with support from the NPD and CTA, will establish the cross-sectoral C-PAR3 Advisory Group, which will provide strategic guidance to the project and act as a bridge to complimentary initiatives. The project will deliver technical assistance for improving collaborative PA governance within the landscape, including inter-provincial. This project is building on a strong baseline of work, and steps to establish coordination among departments and sectors have already been made under the on-going UNDP supported GEF financed project in Qinghai province (including cross-sectoral advisory groups to support biodiversity mainstreaming in sectoral plans).

Project Manager, NPD, CTA

2. Local communities are resistant to changing their land use and grazing patterns and to participating in conservation

Strategic I=3; P=2

MODERATE

Co-management and incentive agreements have already been developed with local communities in the project area and wider Qinghai Province with success. The project is designed to provide a range of community support and to scale up incentives to increase community participation in conservation and to mitigate potential conflicts between communities and wildlife. It seeks win-win solutions through development of community jobs and livelihoods in support of PA management

M&E/Safeguards Officer, Project Manager




and conservation and will provide skills training. The project will actively seek involvement of existing respected community/cultural leaders as “change agents” of the project activities as a basis from which to foster local community involvement, as has already proved useful in areas of high biodiversity and environmental conservation value. Improved management of pasturelands supported through the project has potential to increase productivity and will enhance overall ecosystem resilience, benefitting local communities.

3. Contradictions between development and conservation priorities. Unbalanced emphasis towards development priorities diminishes the momentum towards PA reform.

Strategic I=3; P=1

LOW

The Ecological Civilization principle has been mainstreamed into national and provincial socioeconomic development frameworks. This was emphasized in the 19th Congress of the CPC and integrated into 13th Five-Year planning frameworks. Guided by KAP survey results, the project will advocate improvements in the level of awareness, knowledge, attitudes and practices will enable decision makers and the public to better appreciate the value of the PA system.

Project Manager, NPD

4. Legislative approval flows do not match project implementation timeframe.

Political I=3; P=2

LOW

At the provincial level, conservation is a high priority, as the province contains richly endowed with globally significant biodiversity and ecosystem services that are critical nationally and regionally. PA reform in China is currently centered on establishing the NP system, including the Qilian Mountains NP. The processes are underway, with full central and provincial government support. The C-PAR project is designed to feed into these reform processes, providing technical assistance in developing policies and guidelines that capture international best practice and promote protection of globally significant biodiversity.

NPD, Project Manager

5. Cofinancing contributions are not realized as planned.

Financial I=3; P=1

LOW

Cofinancing contributions are primarily represented by parallel, baseline funding for initiatives that have been approved or are ongoing. The Qinghai Provincial government has placed a high priority on conservation, and cofinancing streams are considered secure.

Project Manager

6. Insufficient coordination on the project and within the program.


LOW

Project resources are allocated for project coordination. The Project Manager will be supported by a CTA and the C-PAR Program Alignment Officer. Two full time PA Coordinators are budgeted, one for the Qilian Mountains NR and one for the Qinghai Lake NNR. Moreover, a Program Steering Committee will be established to provide program level oversight. And, an aggregated reporting mechanism will be established to facilitate efficient coordination on the program.

Project Manager, CTA, PA Coordinators, Program Alignment Officer

7. Uncertainties with respect to climate change impacts on biodiversity. Climate change may compromise the conservation results of the project.

Environmental I=2; P=2

LOW

Probability is difficult to estimate due to the high level of uncertainty and unpredictability regarding the nature and magnitude of climate change impacts. The consensus points to negative impacts, with increasing rates of habitat fragmentation, pressures on water supply, etc. Among the results envisaged under the project is establishment ecological corridors within the Qilian Mountains-Qinghai Lake landscape. One of the benefits of ecological corridors is increased habitat connectivity, providing enhanced protection for endangered species and vulnerable populations, including through climate refugia. Increased awareness by decision makers and local communities will also contribute towards strengthening the resilience of the PA system.

CTA, Project Manager,

8. Unfavorable fluctuations in USD:CNY exchange rates.

Financial I=3; P=1

LOW

GEF financed projects have been implemented in China, including Qinghai Province, over the past decade with limited impacts associated with currency fluctuation. Inflation rates in recent years been close to 2%. Disbursements will be made based on annual work plans, which will be adjusted to possible currency fluctuations.

Project Manager

Risks from Social and Environmental Screening Procedure (Annex E): SESP Risk 1: Local communities (including ethnic minorities) living in key conservation zones of NP pilot (Qilian Mountains) could be gradually (and voluntarily) resettled.

Environment and Social

I=4; P = 3

HIGH

Based on initial assessments, an environmental and social management framework (ESMF) has been prepared during the PPG phase to put in place measures for the management of the project’s social and environmental risks. In accordance with the ESMF, an environmental and social impact assessment (ESIA) will be carried out at project inception to assess this and all other environmental and social





Standard 5: Displacement and Resettlement, 5.1. 5.4. Standard 6: Indigenous Peoples, 6.6.

risks, followed by a subsequent environmental and social management plan (ESMP). Free and Prior Informed Consent (FPIC) must be applied throughout the ESIA/ESMP; no voluntary resettlement will take place without FPIC. Further information regarding the approved national park, including the master plan and any resettlement plans (if any resettlement is proposed), are expected to be available at project inception. The ESIA process will draw upon this information to assess the associated impacts, and to inform the specific management measures outlined in the ensuing ESMP. Indicative community level activities for the C-PAR3 project include strengthening the existing community ranger program, implementing participatory grassland restoration, and initiating collaborative livestock management in high mountain grassland ecosystems. These activities will have a positive impact in reinforcing the inherent linkages between the herder communities and conservation objectives, thus reducing the need for displacement and voluntary resettlement. If resettlement is proposed by the government GEF funds will not be used for resettlement. Any resettlement would be conducted by and financed by the government of China. Involuntary resettlement is not planned under the ongoing establishment of the NP system in China and will not be supported by this project.

SESP Risk 2: Communities in the project area (including ethnic minorities) could face economic displacement, changes to land rights and/or restricted access to resources because of the expansion of the NP and PA system, stronger PA controls and creation of ecological corridor areas. These impacts could impact women differently than men. Principle 1: Human Rights, 1.3. Principle 2 Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment, 2.4: Standard 5: Displacement and Resettlement 5.2., 5.4. Standard 6: Indigenous Peoples, 6.6.


I = 3; P = 4

HIGH

During the project preparation phase consultations with local communities, local government units, provincial government agencies, and civil society representatives have contributed to the design of project activities focus on participatory planning and management of natural resources in the Qilian Mountains-Qinghai Lake landscape. Local awareness has been further strengthened through the approval of the Qilian Mountains National Park pilot in June 2017. As noted above, the ESIA process will further assess the possible socioeconomic impacts, including those related to economic displacement and land rights, associated with the national park establishment and project activities, to ensure that local communities are duly informed and participate in key decisions. The ESIA process will also include additional consultations with local communities regarding the planned project interventions, and management measures (i.e. the ESMP) will be integrated into project implementation to ensure socioeconomic impacts are positive and to prevent adverse impacts. Free and Prior Informed Consent (FPIC) must be applied in line with the UNDP SES Guidance Note on Indigenous Peoples. There will also be a grievance redress mechanism put in place for project-affected communities to raise any grievances and for implementation partners to respond to accordingly.


SESP Risk 3: Expansion of existing PAs has the potential to affect the rights, lands and livelihoods (e.g. potential economic displacement, reduced access to resources, resettlement) of ethnic minority populations within and adjacent to the project demonstration PAs (including the Qilian Mountains NP pilot). Standard 6: Indigenous Peoples, 6.1., 6.3, 6.4., 6.6.


I = 4; P = 4

HIGH

During the project preparation phase consultations were made with local communities, local government officials, the QFD, other provincial government agencies, and the civil society representatives. Further community consultations will be required during project inception, as part of the ESIA, during which Free and Prior Informed Consent (FPIC) will be applied as necessary to ensure that ethnic minority communities are fully consulted and involved in development of all project interventions and plans at the target sites. The ESMP will provide specific protocols for managing this continued involvement during project implementation, as well as monitoring, evaluation, and reporting, and project budget has been allocated for these purposes. For example, facilitators that speak the local languages will support community engagement, key documents will be prepared in local languages, and communication and knowledge management techniques will be designed consistent with cultural norms and literacy circumstances. These and all other necessary management measures will be detailed in the ESMP and stand-alone management plans as required. Culturally appropriate consultations will be carried out with





the objective of achieving agreement and FPIC will be ensured on any matters that may affect the rights and interests, lands, resources, territories and traditional livelihoods of the indigenous peoples concerned. Project activities that may adversely affect the existence, value, use or enjoyment of indigenous lands, resources or territories shall not be conducted unless agreement has been achieved through the FPIC process. If resettlement is proposed by the government GEF funds will not be used for resettlement. Any resettlement would be conducted by and financed by the government of China. Involuntary resettlement is not planned under the ongoing establishment of the NP system in China and will not be supported by this project.

SESP Risk 4: Marginalized stakeholder groups, including women and ethnic minorities, could face barriers to full, meaningful participation in project activities (e.g. planned expansion of PA subsystem) that could affect them negatively. Principle 1: Human Rights 1.4, 1.6 Principle 2: Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment, 2.2 Standard 6: Indigenous Peoples 6.1., 6.4.


I = 3; P = 2

MODERATE

Consultations during the PPG phase have been supported by Tibetan assistants and some interviews were held only with women. A gender analysis was undertaken, and a gender action plan developed, which will be implemented for the duration of the project. Tibetan speaking facilitators are also planned to support activities during project implementation. Knowledge products will be developed according to the literacy and cultural circumstances of the local project communities. Further community consultations will be required during project inception, as part of the ESIA, with application of FPIC throughout, to ensure that ethnic minority communities are fully consulted and involved in development of all project interventions and plans at the target sites. Project activities that may adversely affect the existence, value, use or enjoyment of indigenous lands, resources or territories shall not be conducted unless agreement has been achieved through the FPIC process. The ESMP will provide specific protocols for managing this continued involvement during project implementation, as well as monitoring, evaluation, and reporting, and project budget has been allocated for these purposes.


SESP Risk 5: Project appointed duty-bearers at the county and township level (e.g. community mobilisers) could lack the capacity to implement the project according to UNDP standards regarding human rights, public participation, gender mainstreaming and attention to social and environmental safeguards. Principle 1: Human Rights 1.5


I = 3; P = 2

MODERATE

A capacity needs assessment of the Qinghai Forestry Department (QFD) was undertaken during the project preparation phase, and trainings are planned during the implementation phase to enhance duty-bearers’ capacities. Local capacities will be further assessed as part of the ESIA, and specific management measures designed in the ESMP for ensuring that duty-bearers are capacitated to facilitate implementation of the project activities and to ensure that project results are sustained after GEF funding ceases. Compounding nature of this risk with others is to be further assessed as part of the ESIA. Local staff will be offered training on safeguards, gender and FPIC to build local capacity, and engaged in activities related to gender and social safeguards mainstreaming.


SESP Risk 6: There are large disparities between men and women in the patriarchal culture of most Tibetan communities in and around the project sites that could potentially be reproduced by project activities, limiting engagement and involvement of women in project implementation. Principle 2: Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment, 2.2


I = 3; P = 2

MODERATE

A gender analysis and action plan were completed during the PPG phase and will guide proactive women’s empowerment efforts during implementation. Please see this plan for further detail of specific project gender mainstreaming actions and targets. The ESIA completed in accordance with the ESMF will also look at gender angles, including how gender intersects with the multiple risks in this SESP. The gender mainstreaming plan will be updated as required after the completion of the ESIA. Gender mainstreaming actions will also be incorporated into the ESMP and the Gender Action Plan updated as required.

M&E/Safeguards Officer, Project Manager, Gender Focal Point

SESP Risk 7: Project activities will occur within/adjacent to environmentally sensitive areas, posing potential risk to sensitive habitats and species if


I = 2; P = 1

LOW

No specific measures needed at this stage for this low risk; risk to be monitored during implementation.

CTA, Project Manager, M&E/Safeguards Officer




not designed and undertaken appropriately. Standard 1: Biodiversity Conservation and Natural Resource Management, 1.2, 1.5, 1.6 Risk 8: Climate change has potential to negatively impact species populations and targeted habitats/ protected areas. Standard 2: Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation, 2.2.


I = 2; P = 2

LOW



The SESP (see Annex E of the Project Document) was finalised during project preparation, as required by UNDP’s Social and Environmental Standards (SES). The SESP identified eight risks for this project that could have potential negative impacts in the absence of safeguards, two of which were rated as low, three moderate and three high. Therefore, the overall SESP risk categorization for the project is High. The three risks with high rating relate to potential physical displacement of local populations from the Qilian Mountains NP pilot core zone (SESP risk 1), the potential economic displacement of local populations due to restricted/changed access to land and resources associated with PA expansion, ecological corridor establishment and control of livestock grazing pressure (SESP risk 2), and the potential that both risks could apply to ethnic minorities (SESP risk 3). The safeguard standards triggered by these risks are: Principle 1 on Human Rights; Standard 5 on Displacement and Resettlement; and Standard 6 on Indigenous Peoples. As outlined in the SESP, risk 1, there could be potential voluntary resettlement of communities from the core zones of the Qilian Mountains NP pilot as it is established by the government. It is not yet clear whether this will be included in the Qilian Mountains NP master plan and therefore at this stage the potential of resettlement is not yet confirmed. Any resettlement proposed by government would be voluntary in nature. Involuntary resettlement is not planned under the ongoing establishment of the NP system in China and will not be supported by this project. The costs of any voluntary resettlement and compensation for affected communities would be funded by government as part of the government-led process to establish the Qilian Mountains NP. GEF funds will not be used for resettlement and there are no project activities that involve or directly support the voluntary resettlement of communities from Qilian Mountains NP. However, as the establishment of Qilian Mountains NP is strongly aligned with the objective and outcomes of this project and there is a potential that voluntary resettlement could arise during the master planning for the new NP, the social risks associated with any government-funded voluntary resettlement in the project area have been captured in the SESP, resulting in the ‘high risk’ categorization of the project. The potential for voluntary resettlement will become clearer when the NP master plan is released, and will then be further assessed as described below. In accordance with UNDP’s SES guidelines, an Environmental and Social Management Framework (ESMF) has been developed for this high risk project during the project preparation phase. The ESMF has been developed for the four UNDP-supported C-PAR child projects and will be submitted as part of the C-PAR1 national project (see Annex F of the C-PAR1 national project). The ESMF will be publicly disclosed via the UNDP China website in accordance with UNDP’s SES guidelines. This ESMF sets out the additional safeguards measures that apply to the project during the inception phase, including but not limited to: (i) the completion of an environmental and social impact assessment (ESIA) to further assess potential risks and impacts due to project activities, with an ESIA report; and (ii) the development of an Environmental and Social Management Plan (ESMP) including identified management measures as required based on the ESIA. The development of the ESIA and ESMP will involve public consultation and public disclosure. Free and Prior Informed Consent (FPIC) will be applied for all activities involving ethnic minorities, including but not limited to the implementation of the ESMF. Per the ESMF, a project-level Grievance Redress Mechanism (GRM) will be established during the first year of project implementation and detailed within the ESMP. The implementation of the ESMP will be overseen by the Project M&E/Safeguards Officer and monitored throughout the duration of the project.


No project activities that could result in economic displacement, reduced access to land or resources or that could provide livelihoods restoration support for voluntarily resettled and/or economically displaced communities can commence until the ESIA and ESMP have been completed and approved and the identified management measures are put in place. Specifically, the following project activities cannot commence until the ESMP is approved and identified management measures are in place: Output 1.1, activity 1.1.6 operationalizing regulations for Qilian Mountains NP; Output 2.1, activities 2.1.1 – 2.1.3 operational planning associated with Qilian Mountains NP establishment and management of Qilian Lake NNR, and technical assistance for the establishment of ecological corridors; Output 2.3, activities 2.3.2 – 2.3.5 demonstrations of participatory habitat management (Qinghai Lake pasture herder groups only); Output 2.4.1 – 2.4.2 sustainable livelihoods support that could include recipients that have been economically displaced and/or voluntarily resettled. Other relevant activities may be identified during the completion of the ESIA, and will be managed as determined appropriate based on that assessment. The project will adhere to UNDP SES Guidance Note Standard 6 on Indigenous Peoples. Specific project-related risks on ethnic minorities in the demonstration landscape will be further assessed as part of the ESIA, and required management measures, including the development of an Indigenous Peoples Plan, detailed in the ESMP. In accordance with Guidance Note on Standard 6, project activities that could adversely affect the existence, value, use or enjoyment of indigenous lands, resources or territories shall not be conducted unless agreement has been achieved through the FPIC process. Culturally appropriate consultation will be carried out with the objective of achieving agreement and FPIC will be ensured on any matters that may affect the rights and interests, lands, resources, territories (whether titled or untitled to the people in question) and traditional livelihoods of ethnic minorities. A.6. Institutional Arrangement and Coordination. Describe the institutional arrangement for project implementation. Elaborate on the planned coordination with other relevant GEF-financed projects and other initiatives. The project will be implemented following UNDP’s national implementation modality, according to the Standard Basic Assistance Agreement between UNDP and the Government of the People’s Republic of China, and the United Nations Development Assistance Framework for the People’s Republic of China (UNDAF 2016-2020). The Implementing Partner for this project is the Qinghai Forestry Department. The Implementing Partner is responsible and accountable for managing this project, including the monitoring and evaluation of project interventions, achieving project outcomes, and for the effective use of UNDP resources. The project organisation structure is illustrated overleaf, taken from Project Document Section VIII: Governance and Management Arrangements, which provides further detail on implementation and management arrangements. Project Steering Committee: The Project Steering Committee (PSC) is responsible for making by consensus, management decisions when guidance is required by the Project Manager, including recommendations for UNDP/Implementing Partner approval of project plans and revisions, and addressing any project level grievances. In order to ensure UNDP’s ultimate accountability, PSC decisions should be made in accordance with standards that shall ensure management for development results, best value money, fairness, integrity, transparency and effective international competition. In case a consensus cannot be reached within the Board, final decision shall rest with the UNDP Programme Manager. The Terms of Reference of the PSC are provided in Annex D of the Project Document. Project Management Office: Project management services will be delivered by the Project Management Office, located at the Qinghai Forestry Department, and staffed as follows: Project Manager; Project Assistant/Finance Officer; M&E / Safeguards Officer; Chief Technical Advisor (part-time); Protected Area Coordinator (2). Project Manager: The Project Manager has the authority to run the project on a day-to-day basis on behalf of the PSC within the constraints laid down by the PSC. The Project Manager is responsible for day-to-day management and decision-making for the project. The Project Manager’s prime responsibility is to ensure that the project produces the results specified in the project document, to the required standard of quality and within the specified constraints of time


and cost. The Implementing Partner appoints the Project Manager, who should be different from the Implementing Partner’s representative in the PSC.

Project Document Figure 8: Project organisation structure


Brief explanations of roles and responsibilities of the other members of the PMO are provided below and terms of reference are included in Annex D to the Project Document.

Project Assistant / Finance Officer provides administrative support for the Project Management Office (PMO) and responsible for financial accounting and reporting, and procurement of goods and services for the implementation of the C-PAR3 project.

Monitoring & Evaluation/Safeguards Officer is responsible for facilitating project M&E activities and for overseeing implementation of the environmental and social management framework for the project and preparation of the project environmental and social impact assessment and management plans and their subsequent approval by the PSC and implementation. Gender focal point for project.

Chief Technical Advisor provides technical advisory support on a part-time basis. Protected Area (PA) Coordinators, based in the offices of the Qinghai Lake NNR and Qilian

Mountains NR, will provide local coordination of activities implemented under Component 2. Community mobilisers (part-time) will facilitate community-based activities at the two pilot villages

of Dayu and Gonggongma located near the Qinghai Lake NNR. Protected Area Focal Points will be designated by the Qinghai Lake NNR and Qilian Mountains NR

The PA Focal Points are staff members of the nature reserve management agencies, seconded in part-time arrangements funded through cofinancing contributions.

Short-term support will be procured as needed among qualified national and local consultants, institutes, and civil society organizations through competitive bidding processes. The types of expertise envisaged on short-term assignments is detailed in Annex C of the Project Document and summarized below:

Protected area law and governance; Protected area financing; Capacity development; Biodiversity assessment; Social and environmental safeguards, including gender mainstreaming; Resettlement and livelihoods; Community engagement; Public awareness and education, including knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) survey; Knowledge management and communication; Monitoring and evaluation.

Project Advisory: The C-PAR3 Advisory Group will be established to provide technical and strategic guidance to the PMO and to the PSC through regular thematic meetings during implementation and on an as-needed basis, e.g., reviewing specific deliverables, terms of reference, etc. The C-PAR3 Advisory Group will be chaired by the National Project Director, with support from the PM and Chief Technical Advisor, and have with representation by provincial departments, PA management administrations, civil society, and academic/research institutions. Project Assurance: UNDP provides a three – tier supervision, oversight and quality assurance role – funded by the GEF agency fee – involving UNDP staff in Country Offices and at regional and headquarters levels. Project Assurance must be totally independent of the Project Management function. The quality assurance role supports the PSC and Project Management Office by carrying out objective and independent project oversight and monitoring functions. This role ensures appropriate project management milestones are managed and completed. The PSC cannot delegate any of its quality assurance responsibilities to the Project Manager. This project oversight and quality assurance role is covered by the GEF Agency. Governance role for project target groups: The project will work with existing multi-stakeholder partnership mechanisms and establish new partnerships where necessary to ensure project target groups are involved in the design, implementation, and monitoring & evaluation of the activities in their communities. Working with the PA Coordinators and the PA Focal Points, Community Mobilisers will facilitate the operation of the village committees and provide support to the project interventions.


Planned Coordination with Other Projects and Initiatives: Some of the key related initiatives where partnerships will be fostered are listed below.

Project Document Table 10: Intersection of related initiatives with project outputs

Other Initiatives Intersections with Project Outputs

Component 1 Component 2 Component 3

China’s Protected Areas System Reform (C-PAR) program All outputs; details outlined in Table 4

in the prodoc

All outputs; details outlined in Table 4

in the prodoc


in the prodoc Qinghai Biodiversity Conservation Strategy and Action Plan (QPBSAP)

All outputs All outputs 3.2, 3.3

Qinghai Provincial 13th 5-year Plan (2016-2020) All outputs All outputs 3.2, 3.3 Qilian Mountains Ecological Protection Program, until 2025 (Qinghai Province), including: Grassland restoration and livestock management; Afforestation; Glacier protection; Forest pest control; Publicity and environmental education; etc.


Qilian Mountains National Park pilot, together with Gansu Province All outputs All outputs All outputs Three-River Source NP pilot development (Three-River Source NP Management Agency, Qinghai Provincial Government)

1.3 2.2 3.1, 3.3

Provincial ecological monitoring (macro scale monitoring delivered through the Ecological Monitoring Centre using 3S technology)

1.1 All outputs 3.2

International Key Wetland Protection and Restoration Project in Qinghai Lake NNR, 2018-2019 (NDRC)

All outputs All outputs 3.2

Wetland Monitoring in Qinghai Lake NNR, 2017-2018 (SFA) 1.1, 1.3 2.1, 2.2 3.2, 3.3 Snow leopard field survey program, 2017-2019 (SFA) 1.1, 1.3 All outputs 3.2, 3.3 WWF-China – species conservation planning, human wildlife conflict management & biodiversity monitoring

1.1, 1.3 2.1, 2.3 3.2

Support herdsmen in Przewalski’s gazelle patrolling (China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation)

1.1 All outputs 3.2, 3.3

Global Environmental Institute (GEI), an NGO having community development activities in Qinghai province.


Environmental education for tourism sector (Qinghai Environmental Education Association, a local NGO)


Protected area products online platform in China 1.2 2.4 3.2 Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau Biodiversity Network 1.1, 1.3 All outputs 3.2 Global Snow Leopard and Ecosystem Protection Program 1.1 2.1 3.2

The project design is predicated on effective coordination with complementary projects and initiatives by cofinancing partners and other partners. For instance:

Synergies with the Qilian Mountains Ecological Protection Program were discussed during the formulation of the project document; e.g., the demonstration pasture management initiatives with the local herder groups under Output 2.3 (Activity 2.3.2) will work the Provincial Animal Husbandry section of the Agriculture Department and other stakeholders within the Qilian Mountains Ecological Protection Program in designing and implementing participatory grassland restoration and livestock management.

Partnerships regarding innovative conservation financing arrangements under Output 2.4 (Activities 2.4.5 and 2.4.6) will be coordinated with the Wetland Protection and Restoration project at Qinghai Lake. Staff responsible for the wetland project will be invited to participate in the design of the conservation financing arrangements, identifying collaboration opportunities and building sustainability structures into the arrangements.

The project monitoring and evaluation plan includes inputs from ongoing biodiversity monitoring, including the Ministry of Natural Resources funded snow leopard survey in the Qilian Mountains, and the Przewalski’s gazelle monitoring carried out by the Qinghai Forestry Department. The professional staff responsible for the regular monitoring of these flagship species will be consulted, as part of development of the species conservation and restoration plans under Output 1.1 (Activities 1.1.3 and 1.1.4), and as part of the participatory biodiversity monitoring planned under Output 2.2 (Activity 2.2.6).


There are several collaborations planned with the Three-River Source NP pilot, including the NP training base that is envisaged, with technical assistance support from the C-PAR1 project, under Output 1.3 (Activity 1.3.7 of the C-PAR1 project). The training of trainers, for example, planned under Output 1.3 (Activity 1.3.2) of the Qinghai project could be held at the Three-River Source NP training centre.

There are several partnership opportunities with NGOs that were consulted during the PPG phase and will be developed during project implementation. WWF China is working with the Gansu Forestry Department in the Qilian Mountains National Nature Reserve on snow leopard conservation. As part of the inter-provincial governance arrangements of the NP pilot, under Output 2.1 (Activity 2.1.4), expanding collaboration opportunities with WWF will be developed. The Global Environmental Institute (GEI) has been working in the Qinghai Lake region on community conservation initiatives, and collaboration opportunities were discussed during the PPG phase, regarding the planned community co-management and pasture management activities. GEI representatives informed the PPG team that they are in discussions with The Paradise International Foundation (www.pfi.org.cn), a non-profit organization based in China, on funding community development initiatives in Dayu village, one of the demonstration areas under the project, under Output 2.3 (Activity 2.3.2) and Output 2.4 (Activities 2.4.1 and 2.4.2). There are also potential NGO partnerships associated with the proposed environmental education initiatives under Output 2.3 (Activity 2.3.6), including with the Qinghai Environmental Education Association, a local NGO in Qinghai province. Under Output 2.2 (Activity 2.2.9), as part of the technical assistance provided for strengthening implementation capacities, the project will also provide opportunities for local NGOs to participate in trainings and building upon ongoing initiatives focused on participatory protected area management. The 19th Congress of Communist Party of China delivered in October 2017, promoted the task of “developing ecological corridors and biodiversity protection networks to strengthen the quality and stability of our ecosystems”. These arrangements depend upon proactive partnerships. One example is the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau Biodiversity Conservation Network which was established in 2016 under the GEF-4 financed project in Qinghai Province to promote unique biodiversity within the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau. Another example is the Global Snow Leopard & Ecosystem Protection Program (GSLEP). Additional Information not well elaborated at PIF Stage: A.7 Benefits. Describe the socioeconomic benefits to be delivered by the project at the national and local levels. How do these benefits translate in supporting the achievement of global environment benefits (GEF Trust Fund) or adaptation benefits (LDCF/SCCF)? Generation of global environmental benefits is closely linked to the well-being of the men and women in local communities that rely upon the ecosystem goods and services within Qilian Mountains-Qinghai Lake landscape. The project will generate the following socioeconomic benefits:

A cumulative total of 4,025 direct beneficiaries (50% women), comprising 750 people (50% women) obtaining PA competency qualification and staff directly involved in the project, and 3,275 people (50% women) living in the communities where project interventions will be carried out;

3,000 ethnic minorities among the direct beneficiaries; Participatory preparation and implementation of pasture management plans among the target communities,

working towards achieving mutually beneficial conservation and socioeconomic benefits; Collaborative community PA management demonstrated in villages situated within the landscape; Sustainable livelihoods strengthened among target communities, with micro grants issued to qualified

community-based organisations (50% of which women’s groups) and at least one group securing a partnership with an enterprise sector for scaling up;

Participatory restoration of degraded habitat and management of critical habitats by local communities; Pilot implementation of at least one tourism partnership and concessions, demonstrating opportunities for local

enterprises and communities to increase involvement in collaborative PA management; Pilot implementation of conservation financing mechanisms among target communities and herder groups,

providing scale-able models for replication throughout the landscape;


Strengthened management of volunteers in PA management, including facilitating specific activities supporting project interventions, PA management (e.g., through operating as local tour guides) and environmental education.

Improvement in knowledge, practices and attitudes among decision makers and the public; and At least two partnerships with NGOs strengthened or established, in support of Outputs 2.1-2-4 (see section A.6

for further detail of partnership areas with NGOs). A.8 Knowledge Management. Elaborate on the knowledge management approach for the project, including, if any, plans for the project to learn from other relevant projects and initiatives (e.g. participate in trainings, conferences, stakeholder exchanges, virtual networks, project twinning) and plans for the project to assess and document in a user-friendly form (e.g. lessons learned briefs, engaging websites, guidebooks based on experience) and share these experiences and expertise (e.g. participate in community of practices, organize seminars, trainings and conferences) with relevant stakeholders. A third component was added to the project compared to the indicative design in the concept note, to highlight the importance of knowledge management, as well as monitoring & evaluation and gender and social inclusion. Building on the knowledge management strategy developed for the C-PAR program, the project will prepare a knowledge management action plan, updating it annually according to adaptive management progress. Results from the project will be disseminated within and beyond the project intervention area through existing information sharing networks and forums. The project will identify and participate, as relevant and appropriate, in scientific, policy-based and/or any other networks, which may be of benefit to the project. The project will identify, analyze and share lessons learned that might be beneficial to the design and implementation of similar projects and disseminate these lessons widely. There will be continuous information exchange between this project and other projects of similar focus in the same country, region and globally. The project will promote communication and knowledge dissemination through organizing targeted workshops and awareness campaigns. Resources have also been allocated for development and dissemination of knowledge products, including but not limited to training modules, printed information material, video case studies, awareness campaign materials, radio communication spots, etc. Given low literacy levels in some of the target communities, the project will ensure that communication is presented orally and visually as well as in written form, to ensure local stakeholders can understand the specific activities being implemented and the potential impacts and benefits. Project case studies, lessons learned, generated knowledge products, etc. will be uploaded onto the biodiversity knowledge platform, developed under the C-PAR1 project, for program level dissemination, as well as wider availability among the conservation community and the public. Advocating the global environmental benefits generated through the project and program will be part of the knowledge management strategy and action plan. Participating in national, regional, and international conferences, workshops and seminars will be one way to share information and promote the global benefits generated across the C-PAR program. The project will host one biannual workshop of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau Biodiversity Network in Qinghai; this is an important regional platform for advocating conservation issues across the province. The project will also liaise with the Chinese focal points and the regional coordinating secretariat of the Global Snow Leopard and Ecosystem Protection (GSLEP) program, another international body relevant to the conservation focus of the project. One important international event that is planned during the lifespan of the project is the 15th Conference of the Parties (COP) to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) which is being held in China in 2020. The project team will join the C-PAR coordinating team on the C-PAR1 (national) project, and represent the Qinghai project at C-PAR oriented events at the COP.


B. DESCRIPTION OF THE CONSISTENCY OF THE PROJECT WITH:

B.1 Consistency with National Priorities. Describe the consistency of the project with national strategies and plans or reports and assessements under relevant conventions such as NAPAs, NAPs, ASGM NAPs, MIAs, NBSAPs, NCs, TNAs, NCSAs, NIPs, PRSPs, NPFE, BURs, INDCs, etc.: The project will make contributions to several Aichi targets, in particular Target 11 on protected areas (through expanding the PA sub-system by 833,950 ha). The project will also support Target 1 on awareness (through through participatory conservation activities) Target 5 on habitat fragmentation and loss (through improved management effectiveness of PAs and landscape conservation planning and ecological corridor establishment), Target 14 on ecosystem services contributions (through sustainable livelihoods support), Target 15 on ecosystem resilience (through integration of climate change adaptation into PA planning) and Target 18 on traditional and local knowledge (through work with local communities, including ethnic minorities). The project is closely aligned with the strategic tasks outlined in the China National Biodiversity Conservation Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP) for the period 2011-2030:

Strategic Task No. 1: Further improve related policies, regulations and systems on biodiversity conservation. (Project Outputs 1.1);

Strategic Task No. 2: Promote mainstreaming of biodiversity conservation into related planning processes. (Outputs 1.1 and 2.1);

Strategic Task No. 3: Strengthen capacities for biodiversity conservation. (Outputs 1.3 and 2.1); Strategic Task No. 4: Strengthen in-situ conservation of biodiversity and rationally carry out ex-situ

conservation. (all outputs); Strategic Task No. 5: Promote sustainable development and use of biological resources. (Outputs 2.2 and 3.2); Strategic Task No. 6: Improve benefit sharing of biological and genetic resources and associated traditional

knowledge. (Outputs 2.1 and 3.3); Strategic Task No. 7: Improve capacities to cope with new threats and challenges to biodiversity. (Outputs 1.3

and 2.1); and Strategic Task No. 8: Raise public awareness and strengthen international cooperation and exchange. (Outputs

2.2 and 3.2). The project is also consistent with the Qinghai Province Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (QPBSAP) and the 13th 5-year Plan of Qinghai Province (2016-2020), which particularly calls for strengthening ecological protection in the Qilian Mountains and Qinghai Lake landscape, including forest and grassland restoration, conservation of biodiversity and ecosystems, and strengthened protection of threatened species. The project is relevant with respect to several of the sustainable development goals (SDGs), most notably SDG 15: “Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss”. The project will also make secondary contributions towards SDG Goal 1 (End poverty in all its forms everywhere); SDG Goal 5 (Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls); SDG Goal 10 (Reduce inequality within and among countries); SDG Goal 13 (Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts); and SDG Goal 17 (Revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development).


C. DESCRIBE THE BUDGETED M &E PLAN:

The project’s monitoring and evaluation is provided in Section VII Monitoring and Evaluation Plan of the Project Document, summarized below.

Project document Table 13: Project M&E requirements and budget

GEF M&E requirements Primary responsibility

Indicative costs to be charged to the Project Budget [1] (USD) Time frame

GEF Co-financing

Inception Workshop Project Manager, QFD USD 11,000 USD 5,000 Within three months of project document signature

Inception Workshop Report Project Manager None None Within one month after inception workshop

Standard UNDP monitoring and reporting requirements as outlined in the UNDP POPP

UNDP CO None None Quarterly, annually

Risk management Project Manager, UNDP CO None USD 5,000 Quarterly, annually

Monitoring of indicators in project results framework (tendered to local institute, local consultant, NGO or service provider)

Project Manager, M&E/Safeguards Officer

Per year: USD 2,500 (Total: USD 12,500)

USD 80,000 (incl. species monitoring)

Annually before PIR

GEF Project Implementation Review (PIR) Project Manager, UNDP CO and UNDP-GEF team

None USD 5,000 Annually

NIM Audit as per UNDP audit policies (tendered to auditing company)

UNDP CO Per year: USD 4,000 (Total: USD 20,000)

None Annually or other frequency as per UNDP Audit policies

Lessons learned and knowledge generation (distillation of knowledge products tendered to local consultant or NGO)

Project Manager None USD 5,000 Annually

Monitoring of environmental and social risks, and corresponding management plans as relevant (tendered to national institute, local consultant, NGO or service provider)

Project Manager, UNDP CO, M&E/Safeguards Officer, PA Coordinators

Per year: USD 4,000

(Total: USD 20,000)

USD 5,000 On-going

Stakeholder Engagement Plan Project Manager, UNDP CO None USD 20,000 On-going

Gender Action Plan (tendered to local consultant or service provider)


Per year: USD 2,500

(Total: USD 12,500)

USD 5,000 On-going

Addressing environmental and social grievances Project Manager, UNDP CO None USD 3,000 On-going

Project Steering Committee (PSC) meetings (annual) Project Manager, PSC, UNDP CO

Per year: 5,000 (Total: USD

25,000)

USD 10,000 Annually

Supervision missions UNDP CO, None None Annually

Oversight missions UNDP-GEF team None [2] None Troubleshooting as needed

GEF Secretariat learning missions/site visits UNDP CO, Project Manager and UNDP-GEF team

None [2] None To be determined.

Mid-term assessment of GEF Tracking Tool, Capacity Development Scorecard (tendered to local institute or local consultant)

Project Manager USD 2,500 None Before mid-term review mission takes place.

Independent Mid-term Review (MTR) and management response

UNDP CO, PMO and UNDP-GEF team

USD 27,500 USD 3,000 Between 2nd and 3rd PIR.

Terminal assessment of GEF Tracking Tools, Capacity Development Scorecard (tendered to local institute or local consultant)

Project Manager USD 2,500 None Before terminal evaluation mission takes place




GEF Co-financing

Independent Terminal Evaluation (TE) included in UNDP evaluation plan, and management response


USD 33,500 USD 3,000 At least three months before operational closure

Translation of key sections of MTR and TE reports into Chinese (for benefit of Implementing Partner and Responsible Parties)

PMO USD 2,000 USD 1,000 As required. GEF will only accept reports in English.

Final Report (includes final PIR, TE report and TE management response)

Project Manager, UNDP CO None None At least one month prior to final PSC meeting

TOTAL indicative COST Excluding project team staff time, and UNDP staff and travel expenses

USD 169,000 USD 150,000

[1] Excluding project team staff time and UNDP staff time and travel expenses [2] The costs of UNDP Country Office and UNDP-GEF Unit’s participation and time are charged to the GEF Agency Fee


PART III: CERTIFICATION BY GEF PARTNER AGENCY(IES)

A. GEF Agency(ies) certification

This request has been prepared in accordance with GEF policies5 and procedures and meets the GEF criteria for CEO endorsement under GEF-6.

Agency Coordinator,

Agency Name Signature

Date (MM/dd/yyyy)

Project Contact Person

Telephone Email

Address Adriana Dinu,

UNDP-GEF Executive Coordinator,

UNDP

06 April 2018 Lisa Farroway, Regional Technical Advisor,

Ecosystems & Biodiversity

+66 98 286 9626

lisa.farroway@

undp.org

5 GEF policies encompass all managed trust funds, namely: GEFTF, LDCF, SCCF and CBIT


ANNEX A: PROJECT RESULTS FRAMEWORK (either copy and paste here the framework from the Agency document, or provide reference to the page in the project document where the framework could be found). This project will contribute to the following Sustainable Development Goal (s): Goal 15: Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss Secondary contributions towards SDG Goals 1 (end poverty), SDG 5 (gender equality), SDG 10 (reduce inequality), SDG 13 (climate change), and SDG 17 (global partnerships for sustainable development.

This project will contribute to the following country outcome included in the UNDAF/Country Program Document: UNDAF 2016‐2020: Priority Area No. 2: Improved and Sustainable Environment; Outcome 2: More people enjoy a cleaner, healthier and safer environment as a result of improved environmental protection and sustainable green growth

This project will be linked to the following output of the UNDP Strategic Plan (2018‐2020): 1.4.1. Solutions scaled up for sustainable management of natural resources, including sustainable commodities and green and inclusive value chains.

Objective and Outcome Indicators Baseline6

Mid‐term Target7

End of Project Target

Data Collection Methods and Risks/Assumptions8

Project Objective: To strengthen the effectiveness of the protected area system in the Qilian Mountains‐Qinghai Lake landscape to conserve globally significant biodiversity, including snow leopard and Przewalski’s gazelle

Indicator 1: Number of direct project beneficiaries, measured based on: a. Cumulative total of the following: b. Number of people obtaining PA competency qualification and staff directly involved in the project c. Number of people living in the communities where project interventions are carried out. (Mandatory UNDP indicator) (GEF‐7 core indicator 11)

Estimates of direct beneficiaries based on a capacity building needs assessment and stakeholder consultations during the PPG phase. These estimates will be verified at project inception through development of the capacity development plan the C‐PAR3 project and confirmation consultations with villages where project interventions are planned.

a. Cumulative total: a. Cumulative total: Achievement towards the training results will be measured through documentary evidence, including certificate of training records and monitoring reports of community‐based interventions. Risks:

Development of trainings according PA competency‐based standards delayed.

Local communities are reluctant to actively participate.

Community interventions delayed due to prolonged environmental and social impact assessment (ESIA) process.

Assumptions:

Development of trainings according to PA competency‐based standards is prioritised at project inception, allowing sufficient time for implementation.

Pilot coordinators and support contingent able to persuade communities to engage on the project.

ESIA process is prioritised at project inception, and resources allocated are sufficient to complete the process.

1,250 (50% women) 4,025 (50% women)

b. Number of people obtaining PA competency qualification:


250 (50% women) 750 (50% women)

c. Number of local beneficiaries:


1,000 (50% women) 3,275 (50% women)

Indicator 2: Extent of PA sub‐system expansion (including ecological corridors), with focus on increasing coverage of KBAs and improving habitat connectivity (UNDP IRRF indicator: 1.4.1 Natural resources that are managed under a

Baseline area 2017:

PA sub‐system: 1,270,600 ha

Ecological corridors: none

Source: Annexes L and M

To be confirmed at project inception

833,950 ha expansion of PA sub‐system comprising:

a. Qilian Mountains NP on Qinghai side expanded by 804,600 ha

b. Qinghai Lake 29,350 ha of ecological corridors established

Progress towards achievement of results under this indicator will be measured according to State Council gazette or Provincial Government gazette records of approved expanded protected areas and establishment of ecological corridor(s). Risks:

Approval of Qilian Mountains NP does not occur within the lifetime of the project.

6 Baseline, mid-term and end of project target levels must be expressed in the same neutral unit of analysis as the corresponding indicator. Baseline is the current/original status or condition and need to be quantified. The baseline must be established before the project document is submitted to the GEF for final approval. The baseline values will be used to measure the success of the project through implementation monitoring and evaluation. 7 Target is the change in the baseline value that will be achieved by the mid-term review and then again by the terminal evaluation. 8 Data collection methods should outline specific tools used to collect data and additional information as necessary to support monitoring. The PIR cannot be used as a source of verification.


sustainable use, conservation, access and benefit‐sharing regime: a) Area of land and marine habitat under protection (hectares)) (GEF‐7 core indicator 1.1)

PA expansion as part of the establishment of the NP system occurs outside of KBAs.

Assumptions:

Approval of the NP will occur during the lifetime of the project.

Ecological corridor(s) are recognised in the PA sub‐system.

Indicator 3: Estimated populations of threatened species, as indicated by biodiversity assessments, for

a. Snow leopard (Panthera uncia); IUCN Red List: VU; and

b. Przewalski’s gazelle (Procapra przewalskii); IUCN Red List: EN

(UNDP IRRF indicator: 1.4.1 Natural resources that are managed under a sustainable use, conservation, access and benefit‐sharing regime: e) Biodiversity (using appropriate units of measure))

a. Snow leopard

camera‐based detection rate 0.082 individuals/camera/month (2017 survey)

b. Przewalski’s gazelle

1,468

(2016 baseline)


Note: Baselines to be verified/updated at project inception.

No program level midterm targets.

Stable or improved status of targeted threatened species.

Data Sources & Measurement:

Systematic monitoring protocols for individual species adopted by targeted sites, including camera trapping grids; fixed transects/routes and direct observations. Means of verification include annual reports and technical reports from project sites and participating organizations

Risks:

Extreme climatic, environmental or disease conditions impact species populations

Assumptions:

Removal of threats through improved protection allows habitat condition and integrity to improve and globally threatened species populations to persist and recover.

Outcome9 1: Consolidated PA sub‐system recognizing connectivity and KBAs and mainstreamed into provincial planning

Output 1.1: Consolidated landscape conservation strategy and action plan, threatened species plans and PA sub‐system regulations for the Qilian Mountains‐Qinghai Lake landscape adopted and mainstreamed into the provincial 14th five‐year plan (FYP)

Output 1.2: Policies and guidelines developed for value‐based allocations of eco‐compensation funds, broader participation of the enterprise sector, and innovative financing mechanisms at the community level, strengthening the sustainability of PA financing.

Output 1.3 Institutional enabling environment strengthened through introduction of PA competency‐based professional development and joint capacity building for collaborative PA governance.


There are gaps in current legal, policy and institutional frameworks, in terms of insufficient cross‐sector collaboration, under‐represented habitats within the PA system, fragmentation of the PA system, and key biodiversity areas (KBAs) not recognised in PA planning and management

Improvements to legal, policy, and institutional frameworks developed and under approval process.

Legal, policy and institutional frameworks associated with the management of the Qilian Mountains‐Qinghai Lake landscape are strengthened through: a. Consolidated Qilian Mountains‐Qinghai Lake landscape conservation strategy and action plan adopted and mainstreamed into 14th FYP.

b. Adoption of strengthened and/or new policies and regulations for wildlife conservation and PA management recognizing KBAs

Progress towards achievement of the results under this indicator will be measured through documentary evidence, including a completed Provincial Government gazette records. Risks:

The project is unable to engage with key stakeholders.

Assumptions:

The project is effective at engaging with key stakeholders.

9Outcomes are short to medium term results that the project makes a contribution towards, and that are designed to help achieve the longer term objective. Achievement of outcomes will be influenced both by project outputs

and additional factors that may be outside the direct control of the project.


Indicator 5: Institutional capacities for protected area management, as indicated in scores of the UNDP Capacity Development Scorecard for the following areas: Area 1: Capacity to conceptualize and formulate policies, legislations, strategies and programs Area 2: Capacity to implement policies, legislation, strategies and programs Area 3: Capacity to engage and build consensus among all stakeholders Area 4: Capacity to mobilize information and knowledge Area 5: Capacity to monitor, evaluate, report and learn

Qinghai Forestry Dept. Wildlife Bureau:



Progress towards achievement of results under this indicator will be measured using the UNDP Protected Area Administration Capacity Development Scorecard adapted for the CPAR program. The baseline scores should be validated at inception, and each assessment should follow a participatory, workshop‐based approach, involving some of the same people for continuity. Risks:

Staff turnover could set back the institutional level scores.

Cofinancing contributions are not realized for trainings and other capacity building activities.

Assumptions:

Scores are representative and based on participatory inputs.

Cofinancing partners fulfil commitments regarding trainings and other capacity building activities.

Area 1: 56% Area 1: For midterm, target set

only for total score

Area 1: 89%

Area 2: 42% Area 2: Area 2: 79%

Area 3: 40% Area 3: Area 3: 67%

Area 4: 44% Area 4: Area 4: 89%

Area 5: 47% Area 5: Area 5: 80%

Total Score:

44% Total Score: 60% Total Score: 79%

Indicator 6: PA system financing gap

Annual PA financing gap

(basic management

needs): USD 5.195 million

Total annual PA finances available: USD 10.39 million (based on 2016 CNY figures converted to USD) Est. annual PA financing needs, basic: USD 15.585 million (based on 2016 CNY figures converted to USD)


(basic management needs)

reduced to: USD 4.6755

million (10% reduction)


(basic management needs)

reduced to: USD 3.6365

million (30% reduction)

For estimated annual PA financing needs for the basic management scenario, the baseline (in CNY figures) should be adjusted for inflation and then converted to USD using the BoC exchange rate for the year of the assessment. Baseline measured using the GEF‐6 BD tracking tools for Objective 1, Section III. Risks:

Diversifying PA financing dissuaded as part of PA reform

Access to financing data restricted.

Assumptions:

Midterm and terminal targets for PA finances available are inclusive of inflation.

Protocols developed during PPG phase are followed for updating annual PA financial analysis.

PA reform policies favour diversifying financing streams and promote increasing revenue generation.

Access to financing data unrestricted.

Outcome 2: Strengthened and more participatory management of the expanded PA sub‐system in the Qilian Mountains‐Qinghai Lake landscape

Output 2.1: Operationalization and expansion of the PA sub‐system according to the consolidated landscape conservation strategy and action plan.

Output 2.2: Strengthened implementation capacities, coordination and partnerships across the Qilian Mountains‐Qinghai Lake PA sub‐system.

Output 2.3: Demonstrations of participatory habitat restoration and management arrangements within the expanded PA sub‐system.

Output 2.4: Pilot interventions for sustainable livelihoods, enterprise sector involvement and conservation financing, improving community benefits and biodiversity threat reduction.

Indicator 7: Protected area management effectiveness score, as indicated by METT scores, for

a. Qilian Mountains NR b. Qinghai Lake NNR (GEF‐7 core indicator 1.2)

a. Qilian Mountains NR: 31% (Dec 2017) b. Qinghai Lake NNR: 49% (Dec 2017)

a. Qilian Mountains NR: 40% b. Qinghai Lake NNR: 59%.)

Minimum 40% increase from baseline: a. Qilian Mountains NR: 50% Achievement of sound management with score >67%:

Progress towards achievement of results under this indicator will be measured using the GEF‐6 BD tracking tools for Objective 1, Section II. The baseline scores will be validated at inception, and each assessment should follow a participatory, workshop‐based approach, involving some of the same people for continuity. Risks:


b. Qinghai Lake NNR: 67%

Establishment of NPs delayed, resulting in slower improvements to management effectiveness.

Midterm and terminal METT assessments are not sufficiently participatory and inconsistent with baseline approach.

Assumptions:

Establishment of NP system progresses as planned, with high level central and local government support.

Midterm and terminal METT assessments will be made through a participatory, workshop approach.

Indicator 8: Threats to globally significant biodiversity at project demonstration sites reduced, through:

a. Degraded grasslands restored through participatory management;

b. Habitat under improved management, including: (i) Qilian Mountains NR: Conservation set asides (or similar) within pasturelands managed by traditional herder groups aimed at reducing the threat of prey depletion due to competition with livestock and poaching; (ii) Qinghai Lake NNR: Reduction in fencing density in densely fenced areas in target villages, aimed at reducing fragmentation of habitats through fencing.

Intervention areas will be defined in the pasture management plans developed for the target areas.

a. TBD at project inception

b. TBD at project inception

a. 20,000 ha degraded grasslands restored through participatory arrangements

b. 60,000 ha under improved management; threat reduction targets TBD at project inception

Data Source & Measurement:

Progress towards achievement of this indicator will be measured through documentary evidence, including survey reports, enforcement records, etc.

Risks:

Project fails to change behaviour of those causing the threats.

Inaccessibility and large size of targeted landscapes render patrolling difficult and facilitate illegal activities.

Assumptions:

Threats are due to local factors and can be addressed through engaging relevant stakeholders and law enforcement.

Indicator 9: Advances to collaborative PA governance, as indicated through a. Demonstrations of collaborative governance arrangements. b. Recommendations on collaborative PA governance documented and shared with provincial and national stakeholders

The Integrated Plan for Establishing a National Park System in China, issued by the Office of the State Council on 26 September 2017 provides a vision for a National Park System, including a National Park Law and a unified National PA Management Agency

a. At least one joint capacity development workshop organised with Qinghai and Gansu PA governance stakeholders. b. no mid‐term target.

a. At least two joint capacity development workshops organised with Qinghai and Gansu PA governance stakeholders. b. Lessons learned through demonstrations of collaborative PA governance documented in an advisory report delivered to a joint meeting with provincial and national stakeholders.

Progress towards achievement of the results under this indicator will be measured through documentary evidence, including capacity development workshop proceedings, advisory report, and stakeholder workshop minutes. Risks:

Stakeholders are reluctant to collaborate across provinces.

Limited stakeholder consultation during development and review of the policies and guidelines.

Assumptions:

The project will have high level support, and senior officials will ensure participation across national and subnational levels.

Inclusive participation through effective stakeholder engagement.

Outcome 3: Sustainability

Output 3.1: Effective project management supported by proactive steering committee functions and inclusive monitoring & evaluation.

Output 3.2: Project results effectively shared through implementation of a targeted knowledge management action plan.


enhanced through effective monitoring & evaluation, knowledge management, and social inclusion

Output 3.3: Inclusive participation of local communities, including women and ethnic minorities ensured through effective implementation of environmental and social management framework.

Indicator 10: Extent of knowledge management, as indicated through a. Lessons learned distilled and disseminated b. Knowledge exchange through workshops, seminars, conferences

Resources have been allocated for assessing project results and preparing case studies, documenting lessons learned, and for participation in workshops, seminars and conferences.

a. Community interventions ongoing, generating information on best practice. b. Project supports and presents results in a bi‐annual meeting of the Qinghai‐Tibetan Plateau Biodiversity Network.

a. 5 lessons learned completed and uploaded onto biodiversity knowledge platform, and usage statistics indicate increasing reach of C‐PAR program lessons learned across the PA system (# visits / downloads).

b. At least two stakeholder workshops convened to disseminate project results.

Achievement towards these results will be measured through uploaded case studies onto the knowledge sharing platform; workshop proceedings and publications. Risks:

Project M&E is ineffective in assessing project results.

Project team is not proactive in participating in conferences and workshops.

Assumptions:

Project M&E provides informative feedback, supporting distillation of case studies.

The project team proactively engages with stakeholder community, disseminating the global environmental benefits generated.

Indicator 11: Level of knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) of target stakeholders, as measured by KAP surveys

KAP framework outlined in Annex Q to the project document and includes target stakeholder groups and objectives of survey(s). The baseline KAP survey will be made during project inception phase

Project interventions in target communities address knowledge, practices and attitudes assessed as part of the baseline KAP survey.

Improvement in knowledge, practices and attitudes (target to be set after baseline KAP survey at project inception).

This indicator will also be informed by two Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices (KAP) surveys: (1) a baseline KAP survey designed based upon the framework provided in Annex Q of the project document and delivered during project inception; and (2) an end‐of‐project KAP survey delivered, interpreted, and reported at least one month before the terminal evaluation Risks:

Local communities are reluctant to actively participate.

Insufficient response to the KAP survey.

Delays in delivering the baseline KAP survey

Assumptions:

Trainings and community consultations are effective in capacitating and informing local stakeholders.

The results of the KAP surveys are representative of the sampled stakeholders.

Design and delivery of the baseline KAP survey will be prioritized during the inception phase of the project.


ANNEX B: RESPONSES TO PROJECT REVIEWS (from GEF Secretariat and GEF Agencies, and Responses to Comments from Council at work program inclusion and the Convention Secretariat and STAP at PIF).

Comment Response Project Document Reference

GEF Compilation of Comments Submitted by Council Members (October 2016 Work Program) Germany’s Comments: Germany recommends including thorough analysis on how the project could support improving the governance of the Protected Area (PA) System. Germany therefore suggests considering the elaboration of a Governance Action Plan in order to improve the overall quality of governance (equitable and effective governance) of the PA system. This action plan could include initiatives to foster appropriate changes in PA legislation and policies encouraging different governance types, such as e.g. including community conserved areas or areas under co-management, recognised by IUCN and the CBD, and advancing legal and policy instruments that promote governance quality.

Community collaborative management will be addressed and demonstrated in the field among, i.e., with regard to the inter-provincial Qilian Mountains National Park pilot involving Qinghai and Gansu provinces. Part of Output 1.1 is focused on strengthening the enabling environment for collaborative PA governance. Pilot implementation will be demonstrated under Output 2.1, including inter-provincial collaborative governance for the Qilian Mountains NP pilot and in the Qinghai Lake region, where shortcomings in collaboration between the Qinghai Lake National Nature Reserve and Qinghai Lake Scenic Area will be addressed.

Outputs 1.1, 2.2 Annex G: Stakeholder engagement plan

USA’s Comments (No. 2): With regards to program finances, most of the funds will be given to the central and provincial authorities; however it might increase effectiveness if some of the funds were given to a third party CSO

Partnerships with local NGOs is an integral part of the project strategy, building upon ongoing initiatives and also strengthening capacities for ensuring sustainability after GEF funding ceases. Local NGOs will be invited to tender on capacity development activities, and there are several other implementation opportunities, including: setting up and managing the planned micro-financing fund for the project, strengthening conservation fund mechanism for managing private sector donations, public participation through environmental education, strengthening volunteer management, carrying out the KAP surveys, etc.

Outputs 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4, 3.2 Section IV: Results and Partnerships (Partnerships) Annex G: Stakeholder engagement plan

STAP (17 October 2016) It is clear from the PIF and from the literature that a major problem facing China's biodiversity is that the PAs are small, not-well situated or connected, and that there is lack of planning and information sharing at all levels. In order to avoid making the same mistakes going forward, it will be essential that comprehensive and rigorous analysis be undertaken in the form of a nationwide biodiversity assessment. Affiring project design, Wu et al., have begun this analysis but make it clear that the lack of a comprehensive Nature Reserve database and the absence of spatial data on locations and boundaries are a major impediment to researchers and planners and if possible, there should be a legal requirement to report

A national PA gap analysis is budgeted under the C-PAR1 (national) project. Building upon the results of this national survey and supported by a landscape level survey, the project will assist Qinghai stakeholders through technical assistance on designing an ecologically representative PA sub-system within the Qilian Mountains-Qinghai Lake landscape.

Output 1,1 Annex M: A GIS based analysis of protected areas within the Qinghai Lake and Qilian Mountains Landscape for conserving globally significant biodiversity


Comment Response Project Document Reference

such data to the Central Government (Wu et. al, 2011)10.

Given the dynamic pace of development expansion in China which is putting pressure on land resources (e.g. mining, construction, transport hubs, industry, etc.), it might be wise to involve stakeholders from these industries and the private sector in general to ensure that the establishment of new protected areas and the expansion of existing reserves is realistic and sustainable in the long term. Most of the stakeholders currently listed are from various levels of government.

Specific activities are planned to broaden participation, including by the enterprise sector. Technical assistance will support operationalization of tourism partnerships and concessions, and pilot implementation is planned within the target areas in the landscape. Sustainability of PA financing will be strengthened through diversification of funding sources, including the private sector. The pilot NP system is promoting integration of management functions, stream-lining the process of mainstreaming biodiversity conservation with land-use planning initiatives, including the ecological red-lining process.

Outputs 1.2, 2.4 Annex G: Stakeholder engagement plan

The section on Sustainability lacks specificity, stating that "improved use of pastures and enhanced ecosystems should all be sustained" and "seascape approach to marine area planning and management should be instituted." More information is needed on how the project will contribute to sustainable results in these areas, if possible.

For most of the protected areas in Qinghai Province, sustainable use arrangements will need to be maintained with local communities. Local Tibetan herders have been using the vast grasslands for generations, and collaborative management of the remote landscapes is practically the only viable option for a cost-effective and sustainable management. The consolidated landscape strategy and action plan will include guidance on best practices for pasture management, generating mutually beneficial conservation and socioeconomic outcomes. For the four target areas in the landscape, the project will facilitate participatory development of pasture management plans with local stakeholders, and then support implementation of the plans throughout the duration of the project. Implementation of these community driven pasture management plans will provide a blueprint for scaling up across the landscape, in line with the consolidated strategy.

Outputs 1.1, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4

10 Wu, R., S. Zhang, D.W. Zu, P. Zhao, X., Li, L. Wang, Q. Yu, J. Ma, A. Chen, and Y. Long (2011). Effectiveness of China's nature reserves in representing ecological diversity. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 9(7): 383-389.


ANNEX C: STATUS OF IMPLEMENTATION OF PROJECT PREPARATION ACTIVITIES AND THE USE OF FUNDS A. Provide detailed funding amount of the PPG activities financing status in the table below:

PPG Grant Approved at PIF: $100,000

Project Preparation Activities Implemented GETF/LDCF/SCCF/CBIT Amount ($)

Budgeted Amount

Amount Spent Todate

Amount Committed

Component A – Technical Review 50,000 16,532 33,469 Component B – Institutional Planning 10,000 3,306 6,694 Component C – Financial Planning & co-financing

10,000

3,306

6,694

Component D – Validation Workshop 15,000 4,959 10,041 Component E – Final Documentation 15,000 4,959 10,041 Total 100,000 33,063 66,937


ANNEX D: CALENDAR OF EXPECTED REFLOWS (if non-grant instrument is used) Provide a calendar of expected reflows to the GEF/LDCF/SCCF/CBIT Trust Funds or to your Agency (and/or revolving fund that will be set up) N/A


ANNEX E: INTERIM REPORTING TEMPLATE FOR GEF-7 CORE INDICATORS Indicators relevant to project:

Core Indicator 1: Terrestrial Protected Areas created or under improved management for conservation and sustainable use (hectares)

Core Indicator 11: Number of direct beneficiaries disaggregated by gender as co-benefit of GEF investment

Core Indicator 1: Terrestrial protected areas created or under improved management for conservation and sustainable use (hectares)

Ha (expected at PIF) Ha (expected at CEO Endorsement)

Ha (achieved at MTR) Ha (achieved at TE)

n/a 2,104,550.0

1.1 Terrestrial protected areas newly created

Total Ha (expected at PIF) Total Ha (expected at CEO Endorsement)

Total Ha (achieved at MTR)

Total Ha (achieved at TE)

n/a 833,950.0

Name of Protected Area

WDPA ID IUCN Category Total Ha (expected at PIF)

Total Ha (expected at CEO Endorsement)



Qilian Mountains NP

n/a n/a n/a 804,600.0

Qinghai Lake n/a n/a n/a 29,350.0

1.2 Terrestrial protected areas under improved management effectiveness

Total Ha (expected at PIF) Total Ha (expected at CEO Endorsement)



n/a 1,270,600.0






Qilian Mountains NR

95806 V n/a 775,400.0

Qinghai Lake NNR

96078 V n/a 495,200.0


METT Score at PIF METT Score at CEO Endorsement

METT Score at MTR METT Score at TE

Qilian Mountains NR n/a 31

Qinghai Lake NNR n/a 49


Core Indicator 11. Number of direct beneficiaries disaggregated by gender as co-benefit of GEF investment

Women / Men / Total Total number (expected at PIF)

Total number (expected at CEO Endorsement)

Total number (achieved at MTR)

Total number (achieved at TE)

Women n/a 2,012

Men n/a 2,013

Total n/a 4,025

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I. TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. Table of Contents ......................................................................................................................................... 3 II. Development Challenge ............................................................................................................................... 6 III. Strategy ...................................................................................................................................................... 18 IV. Results and Partnerships............................................................................................................................ 27 V. Project Management ................................................................................................................................. 64 VI. Project Results Framework ........................................................................................................................ 66 VII. Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Plan ..................................................................................................... 71 VIII. Governance and Management Arrangements .......................................................................................... 76 IX. Financial Planning and Management ......................................................................................................... 81 X. Total Budget and Work Plan ...................................................................................................................... 84 XI. Legal Context ............................................................................................................................................. 91 XII. Risk Management ...................................................................................................................................... 91 XIII. Annexes ...................................................................................................................................................... 93

List of Tables:

Table 1: Capacity Development Scorecard Baseline Scores ................................................................................. 13 Table 2: Project contributions towards Aichi targets ........................................................................................... 17 Table 3: Assumptions in theory of change analysis .............................................................................................. 20 Table 4: Project contributions towards C-PAR program results ........................................................................... 21 Table 5: Basic information on the target protected areas in the Qilian Mountains-Qinghai Lake landscape ...... 24 Table 6: Villages selected for project interventions, Qinghai Lake NNR............................................................... 26 Table 7: Summary of baseline and incremental reasoning for Component 1 ...................................................... 28 Table 8: Summary of baseline and incremental reasoning for Component 2 ...................................................... 34 Table 9: Summary of baseline and incremental reasoning for Component 3 ...................................................... 44 Table 10: Intersection of related initiatives with project outputs ........................................................................ 49 Table 11: Project risks and proposed mitigation measures .................................................................................. 51 Table 12: Stakeholder summary indicating mandates and roles in project ......................................................... 57 Table 13: Project M&E Requirements and Budget ............................................................................................... 74

List of Figures:

Figure 1: Map showing location of Qilian Mountains-Qinghai Lake landscape ...................................................... 6 Figure 2: Problem tree analysis ............................................................................................................................ 16 Figure 3: Theory of Change Diagram .................................................................................................................... 19 Figure 4: Zoning map of the Qilian Mountains Nature Reserve ........................................................................... 25 Figure 5: Zoning map of the Qinghai Lake National Nature Reserve .................................................................... 26 Figure 6: Current and potential habitats for Przewalski's gazelle ........................................................................ 38 Figure 7: Proposed outline of Qilian Mountains National Park ............................................................................ 39 Figure 8: Project Organisation Structure .............................................................................................................. 77

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Abbreviations and Acronyms:

AWP Annual Work Plan BoC Bank of China CITES Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Fauna and Flora CNY Chinese yuan C-PAR China’s Protected Area System Reform (GEF-financed program) CTA Chief Technical Advisor DPC Direct Project Cost EC Ecological Corridor ECBP European Union-China Biodiversity Programme ESA Ecological Sensitive Area ESIA Environmental and Social Impact Assessment ESMF Environmental and Social Management Framework ESMP Environmental and Social Management Plan FECO/MEE Foreign Economic Cooperation Office of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment FPIC Free Prior and Informed Consent FSP Full Sized Project GEF Global Environment Facility GEFSEC Global Environment Facility Secretariat GEI Global Environmental Institute GPAFS Global Protected Area Friendly System GRM Grievance Redress Mechanism GSLEP Global Snow Leopard and Ecosystem Protection Program ha Hectare HWC Human-Wildlife Conflict iied International Institute for Environment and Development IUCN International Union for the Conservation of Nature KAP Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices KBA Key Biodiversity Area KM Knowledge Management M&E Monitoring and Evaluation MEE Ministry of Ecology and Environment MEP Ministry of Environmental Protection METT Management Effectiveness Tracking Tool MTR Mid-term Review NBSAP National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan NDRC NFGA

National Development and Reform Commission National Forestry and Grassland Administration

NGO Non-Governmental Organisation NNR National Nature Reserve NP National Park NPD National Project Director NPP Net Primary Production NR Nature Reserve PA Protected Area PIF Project Identification Form PIMS Project Information Management System PIR GEF Project Implementation Review

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PMO Project Management Office PNR Provincial Nature Reserve POPP Programme and Operations Policies and Procedures PPG Project Preparation Grant PSC Project Steering Committee QFGB Qinghai Forestry and Grassland Bureau QPBSAP Qinghai Province Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan RTA Regional Technical Advisor SAPA Social Assessment for Protected Areas SDG Sustainable Development Goal SES Social and Environmental Standards (UNDP) SESP Social and Environmental Screening Procedure (UNDP) SFA State Forestry Administration SMART Spatial Monitoring and Reporting Tool (patrolling and reporting system) STAP GEF Scientific Technical Advisory Panel TE Terminal Evaluation UNDAF United Nations Development Assistance Framework UNDP United Nations Development Programme UNDP CO United Nations Development Programme Country Office UNDP-GEF UNDP Global Environmental Finance Unit USD United States Dollar WWF World Wide Fund for Nature

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II. DEVELOPMENT CHALLENGE 1. Qinghai Province, located on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, is one of the most biodiverse regions among the high altitudes in the world and has been listed as one of the most important conservation areas in China by the Chinese government. To date, Qinghai Province has established 11 nature reserves (NRs), with a total area of 218,000 km2, covering 30.2% of the province's land area (The People’s Government of Qinghai Province 2017). The Qilian Mountains-Qinghai Lake landscape lies in the northeast corner of the province. Qilian Mountains are the natural border between Qinghai and Gansu Province, and rise to a maximum elevation of 5,547 m; and Qinghai Lake nestles to the south of Qilian mountains (see Figure 1 below).

Figure 1: Map showing location of Qilian Mountains-Qinghai Lake landscape

2. The Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) recognized for this landscape include the Eastern Qilian Shan Mountains (KBA ID 15510) and Qinghai Hu/Koko Nor (KBA ID 15569).1 Within these KBAs lie the two target protected areas of this project: Qilian Mountains Nature Reserve, and Qinghai Lake National Nature Reserve. 3. The Qilian Mountains-Qinghai Lake landscape is significant for the globally significant biodiversity it harbours, including the Przewalski’s gazelle (Procapra przewalskii) and snow leopard (Panthera uncia); listed as Endangered and Vulnerable respectively in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Other key species occurring here include wild yak (Bos mutus), white-lipped deer (Cervus albirostris) (both globally Vulnerable), Tibetan gazelle (Procapra picticaudata), blue sheep (Pseudois nayaur) and Sichuan blue sheep (Pseudois nayaur szechuanensis). More than 243 species of vertebrates are found in the Qinghai Lake area alone, including 41 species of animals, 189 species of birds, 3 amphibians and 8 species of fish. The Lake is a major breeding site for Brown-headed Gull (Larus brunnicephalus) and several important endemic fish. Qinghai Lake is listed on the Ramsar List of Wetlands of International Importance.

1 KBA information obtained from the KBA database for China provided by the Secretariat of the KBA Partnership.

Net Primary Production NPP

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4. Przewalski’s gazelle, a globally endangered gazelle species, is a flagship species for the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau. The species was widely distributed in western China, ranging from Qinghai to Gansu, Ningxia and Inner Mongolia, but is now confined to the Qinghai Lake region with 10 populations in 6 patches, due to the increase in human activities in the second half of the 20th century. Surveys during the 1990s revealed surviving populations only in Qinghai Province, most of which were located along the margin of the Qinghai Lake Basin. By 1986, fewer than 200 gazelles were thought to survive in several fragmented subpopulations and by the 1990s, numerical estimates varied from about 200 to 300 animals. Recent demographic analysis suggested that the gazelle population had a genetic bottleneck, probably within a few dozen generations, and the ancestral effective population size had been reduced to <1 % of its original size.2 More recent work has revealed that the status of the species is less precarious than earlier reports indicated. Przewalski’s gazelle population has gradually recovered in recent years with the most recent survey concluding 1,468 individuals in 2016 according to the field survey of the Qinghai Lake NNR. 5. The snow leopard (Panthera uncia) now inhabits alpine and subalpine zones in the remote and rugged mountains on the Tibetan Plateau and its surrounding mountain ranges. Snow leopards mainly prey on mountain ungulates like blue sheep and ibex, but sometimes also prey on marmots and livestock. As an apex predator and keystone species, they play an important role in maintaining the stability of the unique mountain ecosystem they inhabit. As a keystone species, its status can reflect the condition of the fragile alpine ecosystems. It is estimated that the wild population of snow leopard is only about 4,000-7,000 individuals. With the threats of habitat loss, depletion of wild prey and poaching, the snow leopard was listed as Endangered and downgraded in 2017 to Vulnerable by International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and was included in Appendix I of Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in 1975. Snow leopards in China, which account for about 60% of the global snow leopard habitat, are mainly distributed in Qinghai Province, Tibet, and Xinjiang Autonomous Regions, and found in Gansu, Sichuan and Yunnan Provinces, and Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. The Qilian Mountains is one of the areas with the highest population density.3 6. Vegetation in the Qilian mountains includes warm valley grasslands, coniferous forest (such as Qinghai spruce) and broad leaved coniferous mixed forest, with elevations above 3,000 m supporting extensive alpine meadows and scrub vegetation on a landscape of rolling hills against a backdrop of rocky scree slopes and glaciated peaks. Qinghai Province has only 6% total forest cover and most of this is restricted to small scattered blocks on the western slopes of the Qilian Mountains. Around Qinghai Lake, vegetation types include temperate grasslands, coniferous forest, alpine and sandy scrub, alpine grasslands and meadows and marsh meadows.

7. There are currently three nature reserves within the Qilian Mountains-Qinghai Lake landscape, namely the Qilian Mountains Nature Reserve, the Qinghai Lake National Nature Reserve and the Datong4 National Nature Reserve and one national park under construction (the Qilian Mountains NP pilot). Protecting globally significant biodiversity in this landscape will require the implementation of a landscape approach to strengthen the effectiveness of the PA sub-system, including through strengthening legislation and institutional frameworks and identifying and establishing ecological corridors to boost landscape connectivity and population isolation of globally significant threatened species. Threats and Root Causes: 8. Unsustainable land and natural resource use leading to habitat loss and degradation: With the rapid economic development since the 1980s, China launched mass infrastructure construction of railways, highways, hydropower, and urbanization in the Qilian Mountains. These construction projects have severely changed the habitats and landscape, resulting in loss of natural habitats and replacement with other land uses, along with fragmentation and degradation of remaining habitat patches. Mining activities have damaged many of the

2 Zhang L, Liu JZ, Wang DJ , Schaller GB, Wu YL, et al., 2013. Distribution and population status of Przewalski’ s gazelle, Procapra przewalskii (Cetartiodactyla, Bovidae). Mammalia, 77(1), 31–40 3 McCarthy, T., Mallon, D., Jackson, R., Zahler, P. & McCarthy, K. 2017. Panthera uncia. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2017: e.T22732A50664030. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-2.RLTS.T22732A50664030.en 4 The Datong NNR is also situated in the landscape but is not included in the scope of the project, as Datong was primarily proclaimed to protected headwater ecosystem services, rather than for biodiversity conservation. Datong NNR staff will be included in certain capacity development activities on the project.

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habitats in the region, particularly in higher mountain habitats of the snow leopard. The improved transportation system has also brought more people to the area through tourism and the mining related business. 9. Habitat fragmentation: Ongoing fragmentation of habitats has become a significant threat to the conservation of globally significant species hindering their movement and gene flow. Habitat fragmentation is a particular threat to Przewalski’s gazelle. Natural barriers, such as streams and sand dunes, have minimal resistance to the movement of the species. The key threats are human-induced, including fencing, highways, railways, farms, pastures, and residential areas. Fences not only confine the movement of the Przewalski’s gazelle but also greatly facilitate the killing and wounding of the animals from predators such as wolves and foxes. Fences have caused a lot of wounds and deaths of the Przewalski's gazelle in the past years. Road networks that have fragmented the gazelle’s habitat have changed the diurnal activity patterns of the gazelles. Przewalski’s gazelle may have limited ability to adapt to these and other environmental changes, since the genetic diversity of the known subpopulations is very low.

10. Overgrazing: Overgrazing has led to the degradation of the grasslands in this region for many years. Overgrazing driven by the fast-growing livestock industry in the past decades not only caused grassland degradation but also had direct impacts on globally significant species. For example, overgrazing reduced the food sources (i.e. herbivores) of snow leopards due to more competitive grazing with livestock. Increasing numbers of domestic livestock within the gazelle’s range has intensified food competition, especially in the winter. Anthropogenic and natural disruptions within the Qilian Mountains ecosystems have also resulted in altered species balance including increases in pika (Ochotona dauurica) populations, which have in turn contributed to grassland degradation through excessive grazing pressure.

11. Human-wildlife conflict (HWC): With increasing success of conservation efforts and encroachment of human settlements into previously undeveloped wildlands, HWC is a growing concern in many areas, including the Qilian Mountains-Qinghai Lake landscape. More than 200 cases of HWC were reported in the Qilian Mountain nature reserve alone in 2016 based on the statistics collected by the Qinghai Qilian Mountain Provincial Nature Reserve, and many are related to the killing of livestock by snow leopards. In the Qinghai Lake region, predation of livestock (and the Przewalski’s gazelle), e.g., by wolves (Canis lupus), is a concern. Apart from the consequences of property loss and personal injury, the increasing incidence of HWC has also discouraged some people from participating in conservation activities. 12. Climate change is a further threat for the Qilian Mountains – Qinghai Lake landscape. Global warming has seen a much greater rate in the Tibetan Plateau region and will continue to lead the warming trend by the end of the century5. Given the fact that most of the snow leopard populations are currently distributed in the high altitudes, mountain peaks and ridges, there is little room for the species to adapt to a warmer climate by moving to higher elevations. A recent study shows that the Qilian Mountain is one of the three climate refugia for snow leopards under future climate change.6 For example, snow coverage, depth, and duration in the high altitudes is projected to continue to decrease in the Qilian Mountains. Reduced snow regimes will make it more difficult for snow leopards to succeed in chasing their preys. Brown bear is one of the major competitors with snow leopards for foods and climate change has changed the hibernation of the brown bear, emerging from hibernation about 2 months earlier than decades ago. This may result in a more intense competition with snow leopards for food sources. Climate change is also likely to increase Przewalski’s gazelle’s extinction risk. More information on threats and root causes is contained in Annex L (Qilian Mountains-Qinghai Lake Landscape Profile) and Annex M (Preliminary Protected Area Gap Analysis). Baseline Activities: 13. This section provides a synthesis of baseline projects and related resources supporting the implementation of the GEF project. Tables 7, 8 and 9 provide a summary of the baseline and GEF Alternative for the outputs in each project component. Further information on the baseline situation is included in Annex L (Qilian Mountains-Qinghai Lake Landscape Profile), Annex O (Legal and Governance Baseline Assessment Report) and Annex P (Protected Area Financing in Qinghai Province Baseline Report). 5 IPPC 2013. 6 Li et al. 2016. Climate refugia of snow leopards in High Asia, Biological Conservation 203: 188–196.

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14. Significant government investments have been made on conservation in Qinghai province over the past several years. From 1998 to 2012, the cumulative investment amount in Qinghai’s main ecological protection programs reached CNY 23.835 billion (approx. USD 3.5 billion); in January 2014, the second phase of Sanjiangyuan conservation program kick started with total investments reaching CNY 16 billion (approx. USD 2.35 billion), the Sanjiangyuan region, the Qinghai Lake basin, and the Qilian mountain water source conservation area have become the three main focal areas in Qinghai Province. Qinghai has implemented a series of national-level ecological conservation programs, such as the Grain for Green, the Natural Forest Conservation, the “Three-North” Shelter-belt Forest Programme, the Return of Grazing land to Grassland project, the Sanjiangyuan nature reserves conservation and construction, and the integrated ecological management project at Qinghai Lake and surrounding areas. 15. Government efforts in the project landscape are bolstered by NGO activities on biodiversity conservation, alternative livelihoods and environmental education. For example, WWF China is working on snow leopard conservation within the Qilian Mountains ecosystem. The Global Environmental Institute (GEI) has been working in the Qinghai Lake region on community conservation initiatives, including alternative livelihoods. And, Qinghai Environmental Education Association, a local NGO in Qinghai province, is implementing environmental education initiatives in the province. 16. As documented in the Qinghai Province 13th Five-year Plan, the province will continue to invest in conservation, through strengthening protection of natural resources, including nationally important water source zones, and promoting ecological restoration of grasslands and other important ecosystems. Moreover, two of the 11 national park pilot sites are situated in Qinghai Province, the Three-River Source NP, the first NP pilot approved in China, and the Qilian Mountains NP, the most recent pilot approved, in June 2017.

17. On 26 June 2017, the Central Leading Group on Comprehensively Deepening Reforms7 adopted the Qilian Mountains National Park System Pilot Program. According to the approved program, the total area of Qilian Mountains National Park would be 50,200 km2. Qinghai Part of the NP would be 15,800 km2 which is more than twice the size of the current Qilian Mountains NR, and Gansu part of the NP will be 34,400 km2. On the Qinghai Province side, the NP would connect the current eight blocks of Qilian Mountains Nature Reserve and keep the integrity of ecosystem. The NP shall pay attention to integrated protection of ecosystem and system recovery, solve transboundary and trans-departmental problems, promote coordinated development between ecological conservation and livelihood improvement, and accelerate the phase out of illegal mining and other projects.

18. As documented in the terminal evaluation report8 for the GEF-financed, UNDP-supported “Strengthening

the effectiveness of the protected area system in Qinghai Province, China, to conserve globally important biodiversity” project (2012 to 2017), significant changes have occurred to the PA system in the province in recent years. On one hand, the QFGB portfolio expanded during the lifespan of the project, with 10 newly established wetland parks and 4 desert parts. But, at the same time, two of the largest PA’s, the Sanjiangyuan NNR and Kekexili NNR were shifted out of the portfolio as part of the NP system pilot program. There remain 8 nature reserves under QFGB management and one of these, the Qilian Mountains NR, is the inter-provincial NP pilot together with neighboring Gansu Province. Although management arrangements are unclear at this time for the Qilian Mountains NP, it is likely that the State Forestry Administration (SFA) will be the lead agency at the central government level; both the QFGB and Forestry and Grassland Bureau of Gansu Province report directly to the SFA; thus, it seems probable that management responsibility will remain within the QFGB, although this is uncertain.

19. The GEF-4 project facilitated better integration of the Province’s PA System into development planning, to resource and manage an enhanced PA system and to support and expand environmental stewardship programmes in traditional rangelands, wetlands and community forests. In previous years, field projects and conservation grants were awarded in Qinghai under the EU-China Biodiversity Programme (ECBP), a joint

7 It is a policy formulation and implementation body set up under the Politburo of the Communist Party of China in charge of "Comprehensively Deepening Reforms". The Leading Group's main task is to determine policy guidelines for reforming the economic, political, cultural, social, ethical and party-building systems to address long-term reform issues, as well as to guide reform-related bodies of the CPC at central and local level and supervise the implementation of reform plans. 8 Terminal evaluation report dated 29 September 2017, project PIMS 4179 (GEF ID 3992).

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initiative by the EU, UNDP and Chinese Ministry of Commerce, Foreign Economic Cooperation Office and Ministry of Environmental Protection, implemented from 2005 to 2011. This included a warden grantee, Aheluo, who promotes awareness and active conservation of Przewalski’s gazelles near Qinghai Lake. Some conservation incentive agreements were implemented with support of ECBP. The focus of the agreements was on community conservation actions, which led to measurable conservation outcomes within a well-defined territory. For example, local people agreed to reduce the number of livestock they grazed or to reduce the height of their livestock fences so that Przewalski's gazelle can safely jump over them. The Provincial Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Department has since been managing de-fencing and livestock reduction initiatives, but there has been limited coordination with forestry and progress is impeded due to complicated land use rights with the local herder families. 20. The Qinghai Forestry and Grassland Bureau continues to monitor trends in biodiversity at its sites. One database on Przewalski's gazelle around Qinghai Lake has also been established with the cooperation with Qinghai Forestry Bur. Elsewhere community patrolling of associated habitats has been initiated as a protection measure for additional species – including Przewalski's Gazelle, snow leopard and wild yak.

Qilian Mountains-Qinghai Lake landscape: 21. Qilian Mountains: The Qilian Mountains NR management administration is a provincial public institution under the jurisdiction of the provincial forestry department, it undertakes the natural environment and natural resources conservation and management tasks in the Qilian mountain nature reserve. On 28 December 2012, the NDRC approved the Master Plan on Ecological Conservation and Integrated Control in Qilian Mountains (2012-2020). Following the Sanjiangyuan and Qinghai lake major ecological program, the Qilian Mountains program is the third major pillar of conservation focus in the province. The areas covered by which include the Qilian Mountains’ southern hills (Qinghai) and northern hills (Gansu), and the administrative regions involved include 23 counties (cities, districts, ranches, executive committees) in the Qinghai and Gansu provinces, covering a total area of 159,468.8 km2. Among these, 10 counties (cities, executive committees), 60 villages and 1 agriculture and herding ranch are located in the Qinghai province, with an area of 63,125.2 km2. The planning includes the following seven fields, the forest, grassland and wetland conservation and construction projects, water and soil conservation projects, glacier environment conservation projects, ecological conservation supporting projects and technological support projects. Total investment for the plan is estimated at CNY 7.9 billion (approx. USD 1.19 billion), of which close to CNY 3.5 billion (approx. USD 0.53 billion) would be used in Qinghai province, and the planning construction period is set at 8 years, 2012-2020. 22. Since 2013, following incidents involving the mining industry, the PRC has given preferential support to the Qilian Mountains conservation through additional investments in shelter forest and natural forest conservation constructions. Qinghai province has arranged a fiscal investment of CNY 100 million (approx. USD 15.10 million) to implement land closure projects and afforestation projects in mountainous areas, sand dune fixation for afforestation and grassland restoration, wetland conservation and restoration, water & soil conservation, grass consuming husbandry development, forest and grassland fire prevention and forest pest prevention and control. 23. The Implementation Program for Carrying out 13th 5-year plan on Western Development in Qinghai Province released in November 2017 requests to carry out ecological restoration of mountains, water, trees, fields and lakes in Qilian Mountains, and to promote the development of Qilian Mountains NP pilot.

24. Qinghai Lake: The land conversion project returning grazing land to natural grassland has been implemented in Qinghai Lake since 2012. Apart from this program there are several other initiatives in the Qinghai Lake region, including wetland protection and restoration, restoration of grasslands impacted by desertification, control of invasive alien species, pest control, restoration of black beach soil degraded grassland, and afforestation. 25. The Wetland Fund is an important source of conservation financing in the Qinghai Lake region. This special fund was set up to protect and recover related expenses of wetland protected areas, including Ramsar sites, managed by the forestry sector. The fund is mainly used for wetland monitoring, monitoring equipment purchase, wetland ecological recovery and salary of administrative staff.

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26. There is also an eco-compensation pilot on converting cropland to wetlands; funds earmarked for this province were calculated at approximately CNY 1,000 per mu (there are roughly 15 mu per ha). Expenses for wetland ecological compensation pilot are used for losses for compensation of important wetlands located on the routes of migratory birds due to wildlife protection. Compensation beneficiaries are those people who own the right to contract cultivated lands within the areas of basic farmlands. Expenses of wetland ecological compensation pilot can also be used for wetland surrounding social communities (village, group) which are suffered from loses or negative effect due to wetland protection to carry out ecology recovering and environmental improvement. Each county having wetland resources is earmarked to receive CNY 5 million for wetland protection initiatives. 27. A separate channel of funding is through ecological protection projects, financed by the Central Committee of the CPC and the State Council. Focus is on ecological protection and restoration, increasing investment in R&D, publicity, administration, training and law enforcement, improve exchange communication and international cooperation, strengthen support to social communities, regulate the use of nature resources, maintain ecosystem function in general, service for implementing sustainable development strategy. Long-term vision and barriers towards achieving it: 28. The long-term vision is to achieve a protected area system in the Qilian Mountains-Qinghai Lake landscape that effectively conserves globally significant biodiversity, including snow leopard and Przewalski’s gazelle. There are two key barriers to implementing this solution: Barrier 1: Under-representation of important habitats in the PA system and insufficient systemic capacity and financing for integrated PA planning and management and protection of endangered species 29. There have been notable advances in expanding the PA system in Qinghai Province, including establishment of the Sanjiangyuan NR and the Qinghai Lake NR, and the inclusion of the Three-River Source National Park (NP) and Qilian Mountains NP pilots. The system covers many threatened wildlife species such as snow leopard, Tibetan antelope, Przewalski's gazelle and black-necked crane, as well as diverse ecosystems including wetlands. In August 2017, Kekexili, as part of Sanjiangyuan NP, was successfully inscribed as a World Natural Heritage. In addition, Qinghai Lake NR and Zhaling Lake-Eling Lake NR were listed as Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar sites). Though PAs cover a significant area of Qinghai Province, major gaps remain in coverage of important ecosystems, due mainly to the biased spatial layout of the nature reserves.9 For example, 2 of the 10 WWF Ecoregions found in the Province (PA1015 Qilian Mountains sub-alpine meadows, PA0517 Qilian Mountains conifer forests), are not yet represented in the province’s PA system. More information is included in Annex M (Preliminary Protected Area Gap Analysis). 30. Furthermore, the current PA system does not effectively encompass critical habitats for globally endangered species. According to the latest survey by the Qinghai Lake NNR in 2016, the current Przewalski’s gazelle habitat area is 109,707.5 ha with 31,378.5 ha located within the nature reserve, accounting for only 28.6% of the total current habitats. This means 71.4% of the habitat of this endangered species is currently not protected by any means. Expanding the current nature reserve, establishing new PAs, or establishing ecological corridors to improve connectivity at a landscape scale is urgently needed.

31. Apart from the legislation and institutional arrangements associated with the PA system and biodiversity conservation at the national level, there are special local laws and policies considering the local characteristics of Qinghai Province. Among them, the Thirteen Five-year Plan of Qinghai Provinces (2016-2020), the Regulations on the Promotion of Ecological Civilization Construction in Qinghai Province(2015) the Rules on Management of Nature Reserves for Forest and Wildlife in Qinghai Province (1994), the Regulations of Ecological Environment Protection in Qinghai Lake Basin (2003), and the Regulations on Qinghai Lake Scenic Area (2015) are very important, besides national provisions on lawful rights and interests of ethnic minorities. While there have been some improvements, weaknesses remain in this legal framework as detailed in Annex O. Many laws remain outdated and do not effectively consider newer concepts such as ecological corridors and KBAs or make provisions for the use of innovative conservation financing mechanisms to support biodiversity conservation

9 Li R, Xu M, et al., 2018. Proposed biodiversity conservation areas: gap analysis and spatial prioritization on the inadequately studied Qinghai Plateau, China. Nature Conservation 24: 1–20.

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efforts. Insufficient enforcement lead to ineffective management of current and emerging threats to the PA system. Further, the establishment of NP pilots means that new legal and institutional systems are required. More contemporary issues such as landscape-level management and building the climate resilience of the PA network remain as gaps in the provincial framework. 32. Despite increasing government commitment to the PA system, current levels of PA financing in the province are constrained. Qinghai Province heavily depends on financial inputs from the central government; local financing streams are limited. There have been advances in recent years, e.g., gained through the support of the GEF-4 project that closed in 2017, but there remain shortfalls with respect to available PA financing. Firstly, the province is heavily reliant on funding from the central government, there is limited local level financing. With the relatively weak economic development and remoteness of Qinghai Province, opportunities for generating revenue locally are limited. There are also weak advocacy capacities for raising private social donations and more efficiently attracting and integrating international donor funding. Financing for PA management is insufficient, fulfilling basic expenditures such as staff salaries and operating expenditures but not adequate for capacity building, monitoring and promotion. This reflects the priority placed on establishing protected areas rather than effective management of the existing portfolio. 33. Based upon a financial gap analysis made at the PPG phase (an update to the terminal assessment made at the end of the GEF-4 project), USD 10.39 million of direct financing was available for management of the 11 nature reserves in the provincial PA system in 2016. This is USD 5.195 million short of estimated annual PA financing needs to meet basic management requirements (see Financial Analysis, Part I of the GEF-6 Sustainable Financing Scorecard in Annex B). It is important to note that this analysis is based on circumstances in 2016 and does not account for the substantive changes to PA financial management associated with the establishment of the Three-River Source. Management and financing of the Three-River Source NP, as well as the blocks of the Sanjiangyuan NNR that do not fall within the proposed NP, now fall under the responsibility of the Three-River Source NP, i.e., are no longer under the purview of the QFGB. The Sanjiangyuan NNR, covering 152,300 km2, is the largest protected area in the province. A similar situation might arise over the next couple of years as the management and governance arrangements for the Qilian Mountains NP are sorted out. 34. Apart from the financial analysis, systematic issues affecting sustainability of PA financing were assessed in Parts II and III of the GEF-6 tracking tool (see Annex B); results summarised below.

Component 1 (Legal, regulatory and institutional frameworks): Score 51% Component 2 (Business planning and tools for cost-effective management): Score 44% Component 3 (Tools for revenue generation by PAs): Score 45% Total score, as a percentage of the total possible points: 47%

35. Complex and inefficient institutional arrangements hinder implementation of integrated management approaches in the landscape. Take for example the Qinghai Lake region, which hosts a National Nature Reserve and a Scenic Area. The provincial government leads the task of Qinghai Lake Basin ecological environment protection, the prefecture and county governments are responsible for the protection of the ecological environment in the Qinghai Lake Basin in their respective administrative areas, the departments of environmental protection, water conservancy, construction, grassland, forestry, fishery and tourism of the people's governments of provinces, prefectures and counties shall be responsible for the ecological and environmental protection of the Qinghai Lake Basin according to their respective responsibilities, the nature reserve management organization is responsible for the specific management of the nature reserve. On the other hand, the Qinghai Lake Scenic Area Administration under the provincial government (with its Management Board of Qinghai Lake National Nature Reserve, Maritime Safety Board and Market Supervision Board) is responsible for the planning, construction, protection, utilization supervision and tourism development of the Qinghai Lake Scenic Area. Due to the lack of communication and cooperation between these local governments, departments and units, there has not been effective integration of different priorities such as biodiversity conservation and tourism development in Qinghai Lake and management efficiency is low. More information on institutional capacity and enabling framework gaps is included in Annex N (Institutional Capacity Needs Assessment and Capacity Development Scorecards), Annex O (Legal and Governance Baseline Assessment Report) and Annex P (Protected Area Financing in Qinghai Province Baseline Report).

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Barrier 2: Lack of operationalisation of PA system and weak institutional and individual capacity for management of PAs and buffer zones 36. At a site level, complex and inefficient management systems, with inadequate staffing and funding, inadequate engagement of local communities and weak coordination of conservation and livelihood priorities are hindering effective management and sustainable financing of the PA system. The significant changes to the institutional landscape in Qinghai Province have resulted in a situation of transitional uncertainty. With the institutional capacity and influence of the QFGB partly diminished because of the two largest nature reserves formerly under their management shifted into the Three-Rivers Source NP Administration, it will likely take a few years before the institutional arrangements among the agencies responsible for PA management are sorted out. There are also shortcomings with respect to individual capacities. Human resources qualification of the protected areas is spotty. For the Qinghai Lake NNR, staff members are recruited through open sources and are well motivated. However, staff of many protected areas, including the Qilian Mountains NR, are transferred from workers in original state forest farms and lack basic skills on management and biodiversity monitoring. The capacity gaps are reflected in the results of baseline capacity development needs assessments of the Wildlife Bureau of the QFGB, as indicated in the UNDP Capacity Development Scorecard; see below and refer to Annex N (Institutional Capacity Needs Assessment and Capacity Development Scorecards).

Table 1: Capacity Development Scorecard Baseline Scores

Strategic Area Qinghai Forestry and

Grassland Bureau (Wildlife Bureau)

Area 1: Capacity to conceptualize and formulate policies, legislations, strategies and programmes 56%

Area 2: Capacity to implement policies, legislation, strategies and programmes 42%

Area 3: Capacity to engage and build consensus among all stakeholders 40%

Area 4: Capacity to mobilize information and knowledge 44%

Area 5: Capacity to monitor, evaluate, report and learn 47%

Total Score: 44% 37. While there is a strong baseline of work in Qinghai Province to strengthen the effectiveness of the overall PA system in the Province to protect globally significant biodiversity, the PA system in this landscape has not been fully operationalised. The large Qilian Mountains NR was proclaimed in 2005 but only operationalised in 2014, with very few staff and no fully established management system and structure. In beginning of 2016, the Qinghai Government decided to upgrade the Qilian Mountains NR to a national level reserve. In July of 2016, the scientific survey necessary for the upgrade was completed. And in April 2017, Qinghai Government approved the Master Plan for upgrading Qilian Mountains NR to a national NR. The process was put on hold after neighbouring Gansu Province initiated an application for establishing an inter-provincial national park pilot and the institutional arrangements to operationalise this NP pilot remain uncertain. 38. Most of the master plans for PAs are entrusted to professional organisations with relevant qualifications to develop them. These plans are developed in a largely top-down fashion, with high participation of the protected areas but low participation of other relevant agencies and local communities. Participatory PA management remains weak. Several local initiatives have been successful in piloting community agreements and incentives to reduce threats to species such as Przewalski’s gazelle, however these are of limited scale and consequently limited impact. Many local communities in Qinghai Province are economically underdeveloped, with residents mainly comprised of Tibetan ethnic minorities. These areas are the focus of national poverty alleviation and development work counties. Their economic structures are singular, with traditional animal husbandry industry still the main industry. Although most residents have basic knowledge of environment protection and biodiversity conservation associated with their traditional ways of herder life, their daily lives are focused on providing basic needs for their families. There is no sound and systematic mechanism for public participation, such as co-management, village agreements. Through a program coupling conservation and social welfare, the province has tasked several thousand people, many of which are Tibetan herders, to work for nature reserves in ecological positions (“eco-positions”), but there remain significant capacity limitations among the workers and the province lacks sufficient supervisory capacity to oversee, evaluate and deliver professional

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development services to this vast contingent of temporary staff. There is insufficient capacity or protocols to manage emerging issues such as Human-Wildlife Conflict (HWC). A lack of simple modern equipment in the demonstration landscape is constraining enforcement capacity and the ability to successfully enforce laws at individual PAs. More information on institutional and individual capacity issues is included in Annex N (Institutional Capacity Needs Assessment and Capacity Development Scorecards). Summary of Problem Analysis 39. As outlined in the problem tree analysis illustrated in Figure 2, several direct threats are related to the lack of operationalisation of the PA system. Habitat degradation is occurring due to overgrazing; significant fragmentation of habitats has occurred due to linear infrastructure including fencing roads, and railways; the economic losses and conflicts due to livestock depredation have reduced community support for conservation; and the ecosystems are vulnerable to the potential impacts of climate change. 40. Significant conservation advances have been made in recent years in Qinghai Province, through domestic and international support. The natural capital of the province underpins the socioeconomic development priorities, and the national and provincial governments are allocating increasing levels of resources to protect the vast areas harbouring globally significant biodiversity and key ecological services. There remain shortfalls in financing, capacity limitations are holding back progress and there is ineffective coordination across key sectors, including forestry management and animal husbandry. National Policy Alignment: 41. The project is closely aligned with the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP), the Qinghai Province Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (QPBSAP), and the 13th 5-year Plan of Qinghai Province (2016-2020), which particularly calls for strengthening ecological protection in this key region of the country, including:

• Regarding the Qilian Mountains, the government priority is to implement fully the ecological protection program, through the projects of forest and grassland restoration, wetland protection and rehabilitation, soil and water conservation, glacier environmental protection, improving management of Heihe River, Shule River, Shiyang River, Datong River and other water resources, and strengthening the comprehensive management of mining sites.

• Regarding the Qinghai Lake area, the government priority is to promote the projects of ecological protection and environmental management around the lake, to conserve biodiversity and ecosystems, to strengthen protection of threatened species, to increase restoration of degraded, including combatting desertification.

42. The project is consistent with Outcome 2, “More people enjoy a cleaner, healthier and safer environment as a result of improved environmental protection and sustainable green growth” under the Priority Area of “Improved and Sustainable Environment” in the recently approved United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) for 2016-2020. As part of this priority area, the UN plans on providing technical assistance and capacity building support for China's ecosystem protection and restoration, and the sustainable development of mountainous and forest regions, to slow down ecological degradation, reduce relevant poverty incidence, and promote green growth. Relevance to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): 43. The project is relevant with respect to several of the sustainable development goals (SDGs), most notably SDG 15: “Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss”. Specific project contributions that are consistent with the SDG 15 targets include:

• Adding 819,600 ha to the PA sub-system (including ecological corridors), increasing coverage of globally significant biodiversity.

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• Integrating ecosystem and biodiversity values into national and local planning, development processes, poverty reduction strategies and accounts, particularly the 14th 5-year provincial plan.

• Mobilise and increase by 30% financial resources for PA management of the Qinghai PA system. • Increasing the capacity of local communities to pursue sustainable livelihood opportunities.

44. The project will also make secondary contributions towards SDG Goal 1 (End poverty in all its forms everywhere); SDG Goal 5 (Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls); SDG Goal 10 (Reduce inequality within and among countries); SDG Goal 13 (Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts); and SDG Goal 17 (Revitalise the global partnership for sustainable development).

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Figure 2: Problem tree analysis

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Contributions towards Aichi Targets 45. The project will make contributions towards several of the Aichi targets; see below in Table 2.

Table 2: Project contributions towards Aichi targets

Aichi Target Project Contribution

Strategic Goal A: Address the underlying causes of biodiversity loss by mainstreaming biodiversity across government and society

Target 1: By 2020, at the latest, people are aware of the values of biodiversity and the steps they can take to conserve and use it sustainably.

Substantive resources allocated for strengthening institutional and individual capacities and increasing awareness with respect to participatory community driven conservation and sustainable natural resource management.

Strategic Goal B: Reduce the direct pressures on biodiversity and promote sustainable use

Target 5: By 2020, the rate of loss of all natural habitats, including forests, is at least halved and where feasible brought close to zero, and degradation and fragmentation is significantly reduced.

Technical assistance will be provided for a landscape level conservation strategy and action plan, aimed at improving coverage of globally significant biodiversity within the PA sub-system. Management effectiveness improved at two protected areas having cumulative area of >2 million ha.

Strategic Goal C: To improve the status of biodiversity by safeguarding ecosystems, species and genetic diversity

Target 11: By 2020, at least 17 per cent of terrestrial and inland water, and 10 per cent of coastal and marine areas, especially areas of particular importance for biodiversity and ecosystem services, are conserved through effectively and equitably managed, ecologically representative and well connected systems of protected areas and other effective area-based conservation measures, and integrated into the wider landscapes and seascapes.

The project supports strengthening of the PA system within the Qilian Mountains-Qinghai Lake landscape, expanding the terrestrial PA sub-system (including ecological corridors) by 833,950 ha, increasing coverage of KBAs.

Strategic Goal D: Enhance the benefits to all from biodiversity and ecosystem services

Target 14: By 2020, ecosystems that provide essential services, including services related to water, and contribute to health, livelihoods and well-being, are restored and safeguarded, taking into account the needs of women, indigenous and local communities, and the poor and vulnerable.

Sustainable livelihoods enhanced within target villages in and near the target areas having a cumulative population of 3,275 inhabitants, with a target of benefiting 1,638 women (50%).

Target 15: By 2020, ecosystem resilience and the contribution of biodiversity to carbon stocks has been enhanced, through conservation and restoration, including restoration of at least 15 per cent of degraded ecosystems, thereby contributing to climate change mitigation and adaptation and to combating desertification.

The project will provide technical assistance to PA managers and staff on integrating climate change adaptation into PA planning and monitoring, contributing towards a more resilient PA sub-system.

Strategic Goal E: Enhance implementation through participatory planning, knowledge management and capacity building

Target 18: By 2020, the traditional knowledge, innovations and practices of indigenous and local communities relevant for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, and their customary use of biological resources, are respected, subject to national legislation and relevant international obligations, and fully integrated and reflected in the implementation of the Convention with the full and effective participation of indigenous and local communities, at all relevant levels.

The project will facilitate increased sharing of knowledge, including traditional knowledge, and broadening participation of the public in biodiversity conservation.

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III. STRATEGY 46. The Project Objective is “to strengthen the effectiveness of the protected area system in the Qilian Mountains-Qinghai Lake landscape to conserve globally significant biodiversity, including snow leopard and Przewalski’s gazelle”. The project strategy, as the GEF project alternative aimed at removing the barriers outlined above, is broken down into the following three components and described in the theory of change diagram in Figure 3:

Component 1: Protected Area System Consolidation and Institutional Strengthening Component 2: Emplacement of Effective PA Management and Incentivising Participatory Conservation Component 3: Knowledge Management, Monitoring & Evaluation, and Gender and Social Inclusion.

47. Component 1 will support consolidation of the PA system for Qilian Mountains-Qinghai Lake landscape through development of a package of strategies, tools and action plans designed to consolidate the PA system, increase the resilience of this landscape and reduce threats to globally significant biodiversity it harbours. A landscape scale consolidation strategy and action plan, incorporating the relevant elements of the climate resilient PA system plan that was developed under the GEF-4 financed project “Strengthening the effectiveness of the protected area system in Qinghai Province, China, to conserve globally important biodiversity” project, will be prepared through a participatory process involving key provincial stakeholders. The strategy and action plan for the Qilian Mountains-Qinghai Lake landscape will be mainstreamed into the 14th 5-year Plan for Qinghai Province and linked to the Qinghai Provincial Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (QPBSAP) and will be aligned with the pilot plan for the inter-provincial Qilian Mountains National Park (NP) Pilot. In parallel, species recovery and action plans will be prepared for flagship threatened species and recovery actions integrated within the landscape consolidation strategy and action plan. The project will support the establishment of the Qilian Mountains NP – resulting in a significant improvement in the protection of globally significant biodiversity, including the flagship species snow leopard and Przewalski's gazelle. Project support will include adjustments and updates to the legal and institutional frameworks, enhancement of sustainable financing for PA management to accommodate increased demands, and improved capacities of the institutions and individuals responsible for stewardship of this KBA. 48. Component 2 focuses on operationalisation of the consolidated PA system, expansion of the PA sub-system including ecological corridor establishment, community support and incentives for conservation and piloting of innovative management mechanisms with local communities to strengthen effective management and conservation across the landscape. Support for PA operationalisation will build on the completed GEF-financed, UNDP-supported Qinghai project by utilising the village committee approach for strengthening local ownership of planned community interventions within Qilian Mountains-Qinghai Lake landscape. The project will scale up work with local communities to reduce threats to biodiversity across the landscape. Operationalisation of the consolidated PA system will include: (i) capacity development of field staff and community rangers institutionalised; (ii) strengthened collaborative PA governance arrangements; (iii) enhanced biodiversity monitoring and PA enforcement systems; (iii) improved habitat management through participatory implementation of local pasture management plans; (iv) diversification of livelihoods of target communities; (v) pilot implementation of tourism partnership(s) and value-based eco-compensation and (vi) expanded public participation, including through environmental education initiatives, management of volunteers, advocating private sector involvement, and partnerships with civil society. The project will provide community support linked to incentives for collaborative PA management, scaling up their participation and reducing threats to critical ecosystems and threatened species. This support will include: (i) demonstration of value-based ecological compensation schemes at sites providing an incentive for conservation, (ii) community agreements to adjust fencing to reduce threats to Przewalski’s gazelle and increase habitat connectivity, (iii) development of community jobs in support of PA management, (iv) support for sustainable alternative livelihoods linked to conservation incentives (e.g., biodiversity friendly eco-tourism), and (v) pilots of innovative participatory conservation finance mechanisms, including to support restoration and improved habitat management. 49. Under Component 3, the requisite enabling conditions for sustaining the project results will be strengthened through targeted knowledge management, monitoring & evaluation, and gender mainstreaming and social inclusion. A system for M&E and reporting inputs from the important community ranger contingent will be developed and demonstrated in the project intervention areas.

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Figure 3: Theory of Change Diagram

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50. The project components and outcomes are described in greater detail in the Results and Partnerships section, which also includes the outputs and related activities (see also Annex A). Indicators and assumptions for the achievement of expected Outcomes under each Component are described in the Project Results Framework (Section VI). Realisation of the project strategy depends upon strong country ownership and effective stakeholder engagement, as outlined in the key assumptions in the theory of change analysis summarised below in Table 3.

Table 3: Assumptions in theory of change analysis

Assumption Description A1 Government vision

establish NP system is maintained

The project is designed to feed into the PA reform processes in the country, particularly the establishment of the NP system, which includes the Qilian Mountains NP. The reforms are embedded into socioeconomic development planning structures, including the 13th FYP for Qinghai Province, and it is safe to assume that both the provincial and central government will maintain focus on integrating the principle of ecological civilization into development strategies.

A2 Effective coordination, including cross-sectoral and inter-provincial

Coordination is required across several fronts, including between the forestry sector and animal husbandry. For activities aimed at reducing threats associated with fencing and over-grazing, the project assumes that collaboration with animal husbandry initiatives will proceed as planned. Consultations were made with forestry and animal husbandry staff during the project preparation phase, and the GEF-4 project was successful in strengthening cross-sectoral coordination among provincial departments. Operationalisation of the consolidated landscape plan also requires improved collaborative governance arrangements between the Qinghai Scenic Area Administration and the Qinghai Lake NNR. Establishment of the Qilian Mountains NP pilot is a positive step towards implementing a landscape approach to conservation of the globally significant biodiversity in these ecosystems, but development and operation of the park will require a strong inter-provincial collaborative partnership. There are existing joint collaborations between the Qinghai and Gansu nature reserves in the Qilian Mountains, but these will need to be formalised and broadened to meet the demands posed by management of a national park.

A3 Sufficient buy-in by local herders

The long-term sustainability of effective PA management in Qinghai Province is intrinsically connected to the participation of local herders. The traditional ecological knowledge the herders have obtained over generations of managing lands in this landscape is invaluable, and achievement of conservation objectives requires sufficient buy-in by these important stakeholders. Although many herders are involved in community ranger programs, increased human-wildlife conflicts and inconsistent eco-compensation schemes have diminished support by some local communities. The project assumes, through proactive community engagement, local herders will constructively participate in the project interventions.

A4 Inclusive participation by women and ethnic minorities.

The project design includes a concerted emphasis on participation of women and ethnic minorities. Inclusive participation will depend upon several factors, including (1) effective consultations as part of the ESIA/ESMP processes; (2) genuine commitment by women and ethnic minorities; (3) recruitment of qualified staff and service providers who will be effective in facilitating participation; (4) dedication by central and local governance units to promote participation.

51. This project is one of six child projects under the GEF-financed C-PAR Program (GEF Program ID 9403). This programmatic approach will support coordinated knowledge management and cross-fertilisation between individual child projects, coordinated by the national child project and the national C-PAR Program Steering

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Committee. The project components will contribute towards the C-PAR programmatic outcomes as shown in Table 4. Program coordination is further detailed in Section V and the project document for the national child project.

Table 4: Project contributions towards C-PAR program results C-PAR Program

Objective / Component Program Outcomes C-PAR Program Indicators Project contributions to C-PAR program level results

Objective: Transform China’s national protected area system through systematic legal and institutional reform and innovation for conservation of globally significant biodiversity Component 1: Improved legal and institutional framework at national and provincial level

1.1 Effective governance and legal framework for the national protected area system – indicated by approved national systems plan and technical regulations allowing for establishment of new PA categories suited for biodiversity protection

1.2 Harmonized and effective national system for selecting, designing, managing and monitoring various types of protected areas – indicated by transparent selection, planning and monitoring procedures

1.3 Increased government financing for PA management – indicated by an increase of annual investment in PA system operation by >30% over baseline amount to be established during the PPG


Legal, policy and institutional frameworks associated with the management of the Qilian Mountains-Qinghai Lake landscape are strengthened through: a. Consolidated Qilian Mountains-Qinghai

Lake landscape conservation strategy and action plan adopted and mainstreamed into 14th FYP.

b. Adoption of strengthened and/or new policies and regulations for wildlife conservation and PA management recognizing KBAs

(Indicator 4) Indicator 2: Sustainability of PA financing a. 30% increase in cumulative

annual national PA financing (direct), justified by economic valuations, narrowing the gap for basic PA management scenario

b. C-PAR4: Establish ecological compensation mechanism

30% reduction in PA system financing gap (basic management) (Indicator 6)

Indicator 3: Improved PA governance, as indicated by new or strengthened collaborative governance mechanisms

Advances to collaborative PA governance, as indicated through: a. At least two joint capacity development workshops organised with Qinghai and Gansu PA governance stakeholders. b. Lessons learned through demonstrations of collaborative PA governance documented in an advisory report delivered to a joint meeting with provincial and national stakeholders. (Indicator 9)

Component 2: Systematic PA planning and mainstreaming at national, provincial, county spatial planning and sectors

2.1 National protected area system expanded by 2.483 million ha

2.2 Threats to PAs reduced, indicated by increased ESAs and evidence of enforcement, integration of biodiversity concern in development and sector planning and operations, and increased capacity for community engagement

Indicator 4: New areas of terrestrial and marine ecosystems in the national PA system, indicated by coverage of ecologically sensitive areas (ESAs) and/or key biodiversity areas (KBAs) in protected area systems.

PA sub-system expanded by 833,950 ha including ecological corridors, increasing coverage of KBAs and with emphasis on habitat connectivity

a. Qilian Mountains NP expansion: 804,600 ha

b. Qinghai Lake ecological corridor establishment: 29,350 ha

(Indicator 2) Indicator 5: Subnational institutional capacities of for protected area planning and management, as indicated by the UNDP Capacity Development Scorecard, tallied across the following five thematic areas: Area 1: Capacity to conceptualize and formulate policies, legislations, strategies and programs Area 2: Capacity to implement policies, legislation, strategies and programs

Institutional capacities of the Wildlife Bureau of the Qinghai Forestry and Grassland Bureau increased from a baseline score of 44% to 79% by the end of the project. (Indicator 5)

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C-PAR Program Objective / Component Program Outcomes C-PAR Program Indicators Project contributions to C-PAR program

level results Area 3: Capacity to engage and build consensus among all stakeholders Area 4: Capacity to mobilize information and knowledge Area 5: Capacity to monitor, evaluate, report and learn Indicator 6: Threats to globally significant biodiversity at project demonstration sites reduced.

Threats to globally significant biodiversity at project demonstration sites reduced, through: a. 20,000 ha of degraded grasslands restored through participatory management; b. 60,000 ha of habitat under improved management, including: (i) Qilian Mountains NR: Conservation set asides within pasturelands managed by traditional herder groups, aimed at reducing the threat of prey depletion due to competition with livestock and poaching; (ii) Qinghai Lake NNR: Reduction in fencing density in densely fenced areas in target villages, aimed at reducing fragmentation of habitats through fencing. (Indicator 8)

Component 3: Site level management and supervision standards raised for different PA types

3.1 Increased management effectiveness of demonstration PAs with globally significant biodiversity and ecosystems - 30% increase indicated by METT plus 20% improvement of EHI over baselines

3.2 Stable or improved status of rare species population – e.g. snow leopard, Przewalski’s gazelle, migratory birds

Indicator 7: Protected area management effectiveness, as indicated by scores recorded in the GEF-6 version of the Management Effectiveness Tracking Tool (METT)

Minimum 40% increase from baseline: a. Qilian Mountains NR: 50% Achievement of sound management with score >67%: b. Qinghai Lake NNR: 67% (Indicator 7)

Indicator 8: Estimated populations of threatened species, as indicated by biodiversity assessments

Stable or improved status of targeted threatened species. Snow leopard (Panthera uncia)

Przewalski’s gazelle (Procapra przewalskii) (Indicator 3)

Indicator 9: # direct project beneficiaries, a. Communities within/around target sites. b. People receiving training.

a) 3,275 b) 750

Total: 4,025 (Indicator 1)

Indicator 10: Level of inclusiveness in management of the NP system, as indicated through: a. Gender inclusion b. Ethnic minorities inclusion c. Community engagement d. Civil society participation

a. 50% of direct beneficiaries are women. b. 3,000 ethnic minorities among direct beneficiaries (included within Indicator 1)

Component 4: Program Coordination, Knowledge Management, and M&E

4.1 Improved knowledge sharing between PAs and uptake of best practices

4.2 Improved understanding among decision makers and the public on value of PA system, indicated by Knowledge, Attitude and Practices surveys to be conducted at start and end of projects

Indicator 11: Effectiveness of program coordination, as indicated by: a. Program governance b. Program level reporting

N/A

Indicator 12: Extent of knowledge management of C-PAR program, as indicated through a. Functional biodiversity knowledge platform b. Lessons learned distilled and disseminated c. Knowledge exchange through workshops, seminars, conferences

a. 5 lessons learned completed and uploaded onto biodiversity knowledge platform, and usage statistics indicate increasing reach of C-PAR program lessons learned across the PA system (# visits / downloads). b. At least two stakeholder workshops convened to disseminate project results. (Indicator 10)

Indicator 13:

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C-PAR Program Objective / Component Program Outcomes C-PAR Program Indicators Project contributions to C-PAR program

level results Level of understanding among decision makers and public on value of PA systems, based on results of knowledge, practices, and attitudes (KAP) survey

Improvement in knowledge, practices and attitudes (target to be set after baseline KAP survey at project inception) (Indicator 11)

Indicator 14: Mandatory basic reporting standard for Chinese nature reserve system, as a necessary evaluation part of supervision

N/A

Innovativeness: 52. Innovativeness is featured through the C-PAR programmatic approach. The program will ensure linkages across the individual projects and enabling cross fertilization between projects through sharing of best practices, lessons and technical expertise, as well as allowing the PA reform agenda to be comprehensively tackled at national, provincial and site level. This project will demonstrate several innovative approaches, including establishment and operationalisation of ecological corridors in the target landscape, reducing fragmentation of habitats for globally threatened species and increasing the resilience of ecosystems and species in the face of climate change will be new to China. An ecological corridor guidance document will be prepared under the C-PAR1 (national) project and adapted to the child projects, including this project (and also C-PAR2 project in Gansu, which will provide synergy opportunities between these neighbouring provinces). 53. Using local pasture management plans (developed under Component 2) as a platform for facilitating improved community collaborative PA management is an innovative approach that aligns locally relevant conservation objectives with landscape level objectives outlined in the consolidated landscape strategy (developed under Component 1). Innovative approaches will also include potential development and marketing of nature reserve-friendly products from sustainable livelihood initiatives. Support provided for community livelihoods through the project will aim to enhance the linkages between sustainable PA management and enhanced and diversified livelihoods, including through sustainable harvesting, sustainable and responsible eco/nature tourism and habitat restoration. Greater levels of private sector investment will be promoted through demonstrating tourism partnership(s) and concessions, linking the enterprise sector with sustainable livelihood interventions at the community level and advocating for broadened private sector involvement. The project will also apply innovative economic tools to reduce threats within nature reserves and ecological corridors, including eco-compensation mechanisms that support conservation objectives included in local pasture management plans, e.g., through conservation easements where border fences would be removed to enable improved wildlife migration, and conservation set-asides, increasing collaboration between conservation and livestock management sectors. Moreover, the innovation of the project is highlighted through strengthening cooperation with regional and international partners and promoting international best practice into the PA reform process in the province. Further, multiple activities recognise the importance of integrating international best practice in PA design and management. Socioeconomic Benefits: 54. Generation of global environmental benefits is closely linked to the well-being of the men and women in local communities that rely upon the ecosystem goods and services within Qilian Mountains-Qinghai Lake landscape. The project will generate the following socioeconomic benefits:

• A cumulative total of 4,025 direct beneficiaries (50% women), comprising 750 people (50% women) obtaining PA competency qualification and staff directly involved in the project, and 3,275 people (50% women) living in the communities where project interventions will be carried out.

• 3,000 ethnic minorities among the direct beneficiaries; • Participatory preparation and implementation of pasture management plans among the target

communities, working towards achieving mutually beneficial conservation and socioeconomic benefits;

• Collaborative community PA management demonstrated in villages situated within the landscape;

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• Sustainable livelihoods strengthened among target communities, with micro grants issued to qualified community-based organisations (50% of which are women’s groups) and at least one group securing a partnership with an enterprise sector for scaling up;

• Participatory restoration of degraded habitat and management of critical habitats by local communities;

• Pilot implementation of at least one tourism partnership and concessions, demonstrating opportunities for local enterprises and communities to increase involvement in collaborative PA management;

• Pilot implementation of conservation financing mechanisms among target communities and herder groups, providing scale-able models for replication throughout the landscape;

• Strengthened management of volunteers in PA management, including facilitating specific activities supporting project interventions, PA management (e.g., through operating as local tour guides) and environmental education.

• Improvement in knowledge, practices and attitudes regarding the value of the PA sub-system in the Qilian Mountains-Qinghai Lake landscape; and

• At least two partnerships with NGOs strengthened or established. Project demonstration landscape and target villages: 55. The target protected areas (PAs) within the Qilian Mountains-Qinghai Lake landscape are the Qilian Mountains Nature Reserve and the Qinghai Lake National Nature Reserve (NNR) (see Table 5). These protected areas are both globally significant and located within registered KBAs. For further information see Annex L: Profile of Qilian Mountains-Qinghai Lake Landscape.

Table 5: Basic information on the target protected areas in the Qilian Mountains-Qinghai Lake landscape10

Name of Nature Reserve Area (ha) Key habitats / Species Protected

Supervision agency

Georeferenced Coordinates11 Pertinent Key Biodiversity Area

(KBA)12 Latitude Longitude

Qilian Mountains Nature Reserve 775,400 Alpine forest, shrub and

meadow, snow leopard

Qinghai Forestry and Grassland

Bureau 38.308°N 100.243°E

Eastern Qilian Shan Mountains

KBA ID 15510

Qinghai Lake National Nature Reserve 495,200 Przewalski’s gazelle, many

important bird species Government of

Qinghai Province 36.906°N 101.046°E Qinghai Hu (Koko Nor) KBA ID 15569

Total 1,270,600

56. The Qilian Mountain Nature Reserve is located at E 96°39’24’’- 102°36’22’’, N 37°8’45’’-39°5’20’’, near border on the northeast of Jiuquan, Zhangye and Weiwu prefecture of Gansu Province, on Wulan County of Haixi Mongolian and Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture on its west, on Haiyan County and Gangcha County of Haibei Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture on the south, on Huzhu Tu People Autonomous County of Haidong Prefecture and Datong County of Xining City on its east. There are 8 blocks including Heyuan, Tuanjiefeng, Sanheyuan, Youhulu, Heiheyuan, Huangzang Temple- Mangza, Shiyangheyuan and Xianmi of Qilian Mountains Provincial Nature Reserve, which covers an area of 775,400 ha, including a core zone of 230,100 ha, a buffer zone of 220,800 ha, and an experiment zone of 324,500 ha. The zoning map for the Qilian Mountains Nature Reserve is shown below in Figure 4.

10 The Datong NNR is also situated in the landscape but is not included in the scope of the project, as Datong was primarily proclaimed to protected headwater ecosystem services, rather than for biodiversity conservation. Datong NNR staff will be included in certain capacity development activities on the project. 11 The georeferenced coordinates represent the approximate geographic midpoint of the protected area. 12 KBA information obtained from the KBA database for China provided by the Secretariat of the KBA Partnership.

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Figure 4: Zoning map of the Qilian Mountains Nature Reserve13

57. The Qinghai Lake National Natural Reserve (NNR) has an area of 495,200 ha and is located at N97°53’-101°13’E, N36°28’-38°25’, within the northeast reaches of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. The NNR includes the whole area of Qinghai Lake, 5 islands and peninsulas which are Egg Island, Haixi Island, Haixin hill island, Sand Island, Sankuaishi Island and the lakeside wetland. The Bird Island section of the NNR was entered in the List of Ramsar wetlands of international importance. The zoning map for the Qinghai Lake National Nature Reserve is shown below in Figure 5. 58. Target villages (Qinghai Lake) and management stations (Qilian Mountains): The selection of villages for implementation of participatory management interventions under Component 2 was based upon stakeholder consultations and site visits during the PPG phase. The following selection criteria were applied:

Location (e.g., proximity to priority areas and/or KBAs) Threats (e.g., significant and/or increasing) Preparedness (e.g., existing community groups, local NGOs, etc.) Socioeconomic circumstances (e.g., higher priority to low income communities) Gender opportunities (e.g., activities where women have equal or more opportunities to participate

in decision making) Minority communities (e.g., higher priority to disadvantaged ethnic communities) Logistical considerations (e.g., travel costs, accessibility) Stakeholder advocacy (e.g., promoted by governmental and/or non-governmental stakeholders) Readiness (e.g., previous international project experience) Advocacy (e.g., local champions who are actively involved and advocating for engagement with

activities associated with the protected area) Willingness and enthusiasm (e.g., based on feedback from community meetings and subsequent

communications)

13 Source: Qilian Mountains Nature Reserve master plan, 2017-2026.

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Figure 5: Zoning map of the Qinghai Lake National Nature Reserve14

59. Qinghai Lake: The two villages proposed for the Qinghai Lake NNR, Dayu (Haiyan County) and Gonggongma (Gangcha County), have a cumulative total of 3,075 inhabitants, of which more than 90% are Tibetan ethnic minorities (see Table 6). The village of Dayu is situated within a key breeding habitat for the Przewalski’s gazelle and although there have been domestic and international initiatives on enhancing conservation efforts, overgrazing remains a problem, particularly in the winter months. The grasslands near the village of Gonggongma are also important breeding habitats for gazelle. These two villages are outside the administrative boundary of the Qinghai Lake NNR; the key stakeholders for project interventions in these areas include Haiyan Forestry Bureau, Gangcha Forestry and Forestry Police Bureau, and most importantly, the Haibei Autonomous Prefecture Forestry Bureau.

Table 6: Villages selected for project interventions, Qinghai Lake NNR

Village Prefecture, County Population (2016)15

Dayu Haibei, Haiyan 986 (91% Tibetan)

Gonggongma Haibei, Gangcha 2,089 (100% Tibetan)

Total: 3,075 (2,990 Tibetan)

60. Qilian Mountains: For the Qilian Mountains NR, the focus is on strengthening the capacity of the management stations of the nature reserve. There are 22 management stations serving four management sub-bureaus across the eight blocks of the reserve. The management stations are heavily dependent upon ecological positions filled by residents of local communities, mostly Tibetan herders. According to the master plan (2017-2025) for the reserve, there are 140 ecological positions among the 22 management stations. The ecological positions are not only providing direct socioeconomic benefit to the herder households, but they also represent the interface between the administration of the reserve and the well-being of the local communities. 61. The two management stations proposed for the Qilian Mountains NR, Liuhuanggou and Laohugou, are both under the Menyuan management sub-bureau. There are 12 staff, cumulatively working at these two management stations, and an estimated 200 residents, comprised predominantly of Tibetan herders in the communities situated in the territory the stations are covering.

14 Source: Qinghai Lake National Nature Reserve master plan, 2015-2024. 15 Source: demographic records provided by the Qinghai Forestry and Grassland Bureau.

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62. Final section of the villages will be made at project inception, concurrent with the environmental and social impact assessment and confirmed through free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) where warranted.

More information on the target areas is included in Annex H (Baseline socioeconomic report).

IV. RESULTS AND PARTNERSHIPS Expected Results: 63. Global Environmental Benefits: The project is expected to generate global environmental benefits of improved management of landscapes and seascapes covering 2.10445 million ha16. This contributes towards the 300 million ha GEF-6 replenishment target for Corporate Result No. 1, “Maintain globally significant biodiversity and the ecosystem goods and services that it provides to society”. The target Qilian Mountains-Qinghai Lake landscape harbours globally significant biodiversity, including the snow leopard, other globally threatened species and the only remaining natural habitat of Przewalski’s gazelle. This landscape is rich in important forests, grasslands, lakes, snow-capped mountains and glaciers, which are ecologically significant to the country, especially the northwest region of China. The key global environmental benefits of the project are: (i) consolidation of the PA system in this landscape, increasing coverage of KBAs and critical threatened species habitat and increasing connectivity, (ii) increased management effectiveness of existing PAs, (iii) improvement of overall institutional and individual capacity to support PA management and operation, including for community participation and law enforcement (as assessed by the UNDP Capacity Scorecard), (iv) improved habitat protection and restoration and reduced threats to globally significant biodiversity as indicated by increased or stable populations of snow leopard and Przewalski’s gazelle and improved perception of local communities towards PAs and conservation. 64. Project objective: To strengthen the effectiveness of the protected area system in the Qilian Mountains-Qinghai Lake landscape to conserve globally significant biodiversity, including snow leopard and Przewalski’s gazelle. 65. Expected objective-level results include the following:

• A total of 4,025 direct beneficiaries (50% women), including 750 people obtaining competency qualification and staff directly involved in the project, and 3,275 people living in the communities where project interventions are planned;

• PA sub-system in the Qilian Mountains-Qinghai Lake landscape expands by 833,950 ha including the establishment of 29,350 ha ecological corridors, increasing coverage of KBAs and with emphasis on habitat connectivity; and

• Estimated populations of threatened species, including snow leopard (Panthera uncia) and Przewalski’s gazelle (Procapra przewalskii), stable or improved status in the target landscape compared to baseline conditions.

Component 1: PA system consolidation and institutional strengthening Total Cost: USD 3,815,000; GEF project grant requested: USD 415,000; Cofinancing: USD 3,400,000 66. The baseline situation and incremental reasoning for Component 1 are summarized below in Table 7.

16 The 2.10455 million ha figure is the cumulative sum of protected areas following PA sub-system expansion including the establishment of ecological corridors (EC): Qilian Mountains NP (0.7754 million ha + 0.8046 million ha expansion), and the Qinghai Lake NNR (0.4952 million ha + 0.02935 million ha EC).

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Table 7: Summary of baseline and incremental reasoning for Component 1

Summary of Baseline Situation Incremental Reasoning

Output 1.1: Consolidated landscape conservation strategy and action plan, threatened species plans and PA sub-system regulations for the Qilian Mountains-Qinghai Lake landscape adopted and mainstreamed into the provincial 14th five-year plan (FYP)

The baseline legislative and institutional frameworks are outlined in the 13th 5-year Plan of Qinghai Province (2016-2020), the Regulations on the Promotion of Ecological Civilization Construction in Qinghai Province (2015) the Rules on Management of Nature Reserves for Forest and Wildlife in Qinghai Province (1994), the Regulations of Ecological Environment Protection in Qinghai Lake Basin (2003), and the Regulations on Qinghai Lake Scenic Area (2015). Under the baseline situation, outdated legislation and insufficient enforcement lead to ineffective management of current and emerging threats to the PA sub-system, and complex and inefficient management systems hinder effective management of the globally significant biodiversity in the Qilian Mountains-Qinghai Lake landscape. More information is included in the legal and institutional baseline report in Annex O.

The incremental support delivered under this output will facilitate improved protection of globally significant biodiversity through a landscape level approach, supported by strengthened legal and institutional enabling frameworks that capture emerging priorities, strategies and best practices; for example, by incorporating ecological corridors and recognising Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) into the scope of protection. The legal frameworks will also address innovative conservation financing mechanisms, such as conservation easements, and community co-management and alternative livelihoods. Moreover, the legal and institutional frameworks are also expected, through the engagement of the project, to reiterate the importance of protection of rights of ethnic minorities and other vulnerable groups with regard to the process of reforming the PA system.

Output 1.2: Policies and guidelines developed for value-based allocations of eco-compensation funds, broader participation of the enterprise sector, and innovative financing mechanisms at the community level, strengthening the sustainability of PA financing

As documented in the Qinghai Province 13th Five-year Plan, the province will continue to invest in conservation, through strengthening protection of natural resources, including nationally important water source zones, and promoting ecological restoration of grasslands and other important ecosystems. With respect to direct financing for protected area management, there have been advances in recent years, e.g., gained through the support of the GEF-4 project that closed in 2017, but there remain shortfalls. Firstly, the province is heavily reliant on funding from the central government, with limited local level financing. With the relatively weak economic development and remoteness of Qinghai Province, opportunities for generating revenue locally are limited. More information is included in the baseline PA financing report in Annex P.

The project will provide technical support to develop a sustainable PA financing plan, coupled with advancing policies and guidelines that enable broader participation, reduced reliance on central government funding, and the use of eco-compensation approaches that are value-based and promote mutually beneficial conservation and socioeconomic outcomes. Specific guidelines and pilot implementation plans will be developed and them demonstrated at a site level under Component 2.

Output 1.3: Institutional enabling environment strengthened through introduction of PA competency-based professional development and joint capacity building for collaborative PA governance Institutional capacity is relatively good at the QFGB, through advances made under the GEF-4 project for the Sanjiangyuan NNR and other governmental and international assistance. There are, however, capacity shortcomings at the site level in the project landscape, particularly the Qilian Mountains NR, which was established in 2004 but only staffed in 2014. Furthermore, the introduction of the NP

Through this output, the project will develop and implement a tailored capacity development plan according to the capacities and skills required for modern PA and landscape management at a site level. A set of domestic and international knowledge transfers are proposed, building capacity on emerging issues and obtaining first-hand knowledge of international best practice. A

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Summary of Baseline Situation Incremental Reasoning system in the country requires capacities and skills that are currently lacking, e.g., interaction with tourists, managing volunteers, developing and maintaining international partnerships, etc. More information is included in the baseline institutional capacity report in Annex N.

group of trainers will be trained to ensure the sustainability after GEF funding ceases, and partnerships with enabling stakeholders will be nurtured.

Outcome 1: Consolidated PA sub-system recognizing connectivity and KBAs and mainstreamed into provincial planning 67. Results expected through achievement of Outcome 1 include:

• Legal, policy and institutional frameworks associated with the management of the Qilian Mountains-Qinghai Lake landscape are strengthened through: (a) Consolidated Qilian Mountains-Qinghai Lake landscape conservation plan mainstreamed into 14th FYP, and (b) Strengthened and/or new policies and regulations for wildlife conservation and PA management recognizing KBAs;

• Institutional capacities for protected area management of the Wildlife Bureau of the Qinghai Forestry and Grassland Bureau increased from 44% at baseline to 79% at project closure, as indicated in scores of the UNDP Capacity Development Scorecard adapted for the C-PAR program; and

• Strengthened financial sustainability and resource allocation for PA system managed by QFGB, based on the Financial Sustainability Scorecard (GEF-6 Biodiversity Tracking Tool, Objective 1, Section III, Annex B), as indicated by: (a) 30% reduction in PA system financing gap (basic management) – Part 1.2, and (b) 30% increase from baseline in scores in the Financial Scorecard - Part II-III.

Output 1.1: Consolidated landscape conservation strategy and action plan, threatened species plans and PA sub-system regulations for the Qilian Mountains-Qinghai Lake landscape adopted and mainstreamed into the provincial 14th five-year plan (FYP) Key deliverables/results:

• PA sub-system consolidation strategy and action plan for the Qilian Mountains-Qinghai Lake landscape;

• Species conservation plans for Przewalski’s gazelle and snow leopard. 68. The activities under this output are designed to provide strategic guidance on establishment of a more representative PA system in the landscape. 69. To ensure the effective stakeholder engagement, the project will establish a C-PAR3 Advisory Group, with representation by provincial departments, PA management administrations, civil society, and academic/research institutions. The advisory group will provide executive guidance to the project in making sure the “Ecological Red Lining” process, as well as other provincial and national strategies are effectively mainstreamed into the PA sub-system. Two cross-cutting focal areas the project will address, with support of the advisory group include:

• Addressing the rights of local communities, including ethnic minorities and other vulnerable groups, especially with respect to resettlement of households and transfer of collectively held land to the state; and

• Recognising ecological corridors and Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) into the scope of protection. 70. Integrated PA system and landscape management. The project will support development of a PA consolidation strategy and action plan for the Qilian Mountains-Qinghai Lake landscape, through reviewing, improving and building upon existing management plans for the PAs in this sub-system; identifying gaps in coverage of globally significant biodiversity and ecosystems; incorporating county and provincial level land use

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planning issues, e.g., delineated ecological red-lines; and outlining concrete steps to fill the identified gaps and build connectivity through PA expansion and ecological corridors, improving resilience to the potential impacts of climate change, and to operationalise the consolidated system. This plan will be integrated with threatened species conservation and recovery action plans that will be prepared for globally significant species present in the landscape (e.g. snow leopard, Przewalski’s gazelle). With respect to PA expansion, the relevant KBA is the Eastern Qilian Shan mountains (ID 15510), which covers an area of 4,284,000 ha in Qinghai and Gansu provinces. The proposed NP would provide increased ecological connectivity between the existing 8 blocks of the Qilian Mountains Nature Reserve in Qinghai Province and encompass the nature reserve on the Gansu province side; the proposed expansion on the Gansu side is 92,800 ha compared to 804,600 ha on the Qinghai province side; thus, improving PA system coverage of the Eastern Qilian Shan mountains KBA. 71. Legal Framework. Resources are allocated under this output to provide technical assistance to the provincial government legislative teams in strengthening the legal framework required for operationalisation of the landscape level strategy, including formulating specific regulations for the newly approved Qilian Mountain National Park (Qinghai Part) – a task that is expected to be included in the 13th Five-year Legislative Plan, and also review and provide recommendations to the Regulations on Ecological Environment Protection in Qinghai Lake Basin (2003) and the Regulations on Qinghai Lake Scenic Area (2015) and other legal documents related to Qilian Mountains-Qinghai Lake landscape. Through support from the C-PAR3 Advisory Group, the project will promote mainstreaming of the landscape strategy and action plan into the 14th 5-year plan for Qinghai Province.

72. Strengthening collaborative PA governance. The coordinated implementation of the landscape consolidation strategy will be supported by landscape-level coordination mechanisms. The project will support the establishment, piloting and strengthening of these mechanisms to facilitate integration of the landscape strategy and action plan into regional, provincial and local development planning processes. Existing mechanisms will be built in where they exist, including the existing inter-provincial collaborative governance mechanism between Qinghai and Gansu in the Qilian Mountains. An inter-departmental coordination mechanism for Qinghai Lake, which is situated fully within Qinghai Province, will be trialled under the project. The Management Board of the Qinghai Lake National Nature Reserve, led by the Qinghai Forestry and Grassland Bureau, and the Qinghai Lake Scenic Area Administration are the two main agencies that will be involved in the proposed improved collaborative governance initiatives. Other agencies and decision-making bodies that will be involved include the Qinghai Lake Tourism Administration, the Qinghai Lake Water Transportation Board, the Qinghai Lake Market Supervisory Board, and the prefecture and county level governments within the greater Qinghai Lake Basin. The project will also promote improved coordination between prefecture and county level governments and nature reserve management agencies, to take concrete measures to enforce the requirements of local legislation, esp. the Regulations of Ecological Environment Protection in Qinghai Lake Basin (2003), including measures to limit and reduce man-made activities harmful for the habitats of Przewalski’s gazelle, black-necked cranes, swans and other endangered terrestrial wildlife, and demarcating zones and other measures to protect Przewalski’s gazelle based on their habits and distribution.

73. Indicative activities under Output 1.1 include:

1.1.1. Assemble the C-PAR3 Advisory Group and convene regularly to deliver feedback on key project deliverables. The Advisory Group will include representatives of the QFGB, Qilian Mountains NR, Qinghai Lake NNR, Provincial Agriculture-Animal Husbandry, other provincial departments, non-governmental organisations, and academic/research institutions.

1.1.2. Carry out a gap analysis across the Qilian Mountains-Qinghai Lake landscape, identifying conservation objectives and enabling conditions, in support of a landscape conservation strategy and action plan.

1.1.3. Prepare a species conservation and restoration plan for the snow leopard in the Qilian Mountains-Qinghai Lake landscape, through consolidating and updating existing plans and studies and the gap analysis completed under this output.

1.1.4. Prepare a species conservation and restoration plan for the Przewalski’s gazelle in the Qilian Mountains-Qinghai Lake landscape, through consolidating and updating existing plans and studies and the gap analysis completed under this output.

1.1.5. Prepare a PA sub-system landscape conservation strategy and action plan for the Qilian Mountains-Qinghai Lake landscape, including establishment of ecological corridors, recovery actions and habitat needs for globally significant species (e.g., snow leopard, Przewalski’s gazelle), recognition of key

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biodiversity areas (KBAs), and climate refugia, and proposals for expansion and consolidation to improve connectivity and increase protection of globally significant biodiversity.

1.1.6. Assemble the Law and Enforcement Task Force, a working group of the C-PAR3 Advisory Group, and with their oversight, review and assess provincial legal and regulatory frameworks associated with PA management and assist in formulating revised or new policies and/or regulations to address gaps and current and emerging threats. This activity also includes support for the preparation of the NP regulation for the Qilian Mountains NP.

1.1.7. Facilitated by the Law and Enforcement Task Force, provide technical assistance to improve the institutional frameworks for collaborative PA governance and establish collaborative PA governance arrangements to support: (i) transboundary collaboration for the Qilian Mountains NP, (ii) inter-agency coordination between the Qinghai Scenic Area and NNR, and (iii) coordination between provincial and local government units in the management of the Qinghai Lake NNR and buffer zone in the periphery reaches of the reserve.

1.1.8. Determine and draft proposals for inclusion of landscape-scale biodiversity conservation in the upcoming 14th 5-year plan for Qinghai Province (including provisions on community-based conservation financing per guidance developed in Output 1.2, and operationalisation and scaling up of ecological corridors according advances facilitated under Output 2.1).

1.1.9. Convene a landscape wide workshop, to socialise key stakeholders on the landscape conservation strategy and action plan, identifying partnerships in support of implementation activities under Component 2.

Output 1.2: Policies and guidelines developed for value-based allocations of eco-compensation funds, broader participation of the enterprise sector, and innovative financing mechanisms at the community level, strengthening the sustainability of PA financing Key deliverables/results:

• Sustainable PA financing plan for the Qilian Mountains-Qinghai Lake landscape; • Advisory report on value-based allocation of ecological compensation funds; • Pilot implementation plan for tourism partnerships and concessions; • Guidelines for implementation of innovative PA financing among herder communities in the

landscape. • Resource management and monitoring regulations.

74. The activities under this output are designed to address the systematic shortcomings with respect to the sustainability of available financing for the management of the PA system under the jurisdiction of the QFGB. 75. Sustainable PA Financing Plan. The landscape consolidation strategy and action plan developed under Output 1.1, will be supported with a sustainable PA financing plan, including actions for improving the ecological compensation system and supporting sustainable economic development in environmentally sensitive areas and propose financing priorities in the landscape. This plan will also address the policy, regulatory and fiscal barriers currently constraining the development and effective management of Qinghai’s PA system, considering the welfare and benefit of local rural households. 76. Allocating ecological compensation funds according to values of ecosystem services. Qinghai province will increase its financial inputs towards ecological compensation for PAs, including the Qinghai Lake NNR and Qilian Mountains NR, consistently promoting effective implementation of the policies on the transfer payment of key eco-function zones, the environmental supervision of key eco-function zones, the daily management and conservation of grassland, and the subsidies and rewards for grassland eco-conservation. Technical assistance through the project will produce guidance on value-based ecological compensation, including developing a pilot plan to be implemented under Component 2, as part of the pasture management plans. 77. Incentivising broader participation through tourism partnerships and concessions. Conflicts between conservation and development remain a concern in Qinghai province. Under this output, the project will explore effective methods to coordinate local economic development and biodiversity conservation, which can help the

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PAs to develop ecotourism and green industries to promote local economic development. Sustainability of PA financing will also be enhanced through broadening participation, e.g., among communities and the enterprise sector through tourism partnerships and concessions. The project will adapt the guideline on tourism partnerships and concessions developed under the national project, C-PAR1, to the local circumstances in Qinghai province, and develop a pilot implementation plan for one of the demonstration villages in Component 2. The pilot implementation plan is expected to be approved in the later part of Year 2, to allow sufficient time for monitoring and evaluation the implementation of the pilot. Furthermore, resource management plans and monitoring plans will be developed as a key part for ecological tourism development plan of PAs in Qinghai Lake and Qilian Mountains. The project will help to set up resource management and resource monitoring regulations, to facilitate strict monitoring of ecological changes at protected areas and timely feedback to resource management departments. This will help better link resource management and monitoring functions and capture inputs from community level rangers. 78. Innovative PA financing mechanisms. PA management in the Qilian Mountains-Qinghai Lake landscape is intrinsically connected with activities of local herders across the vast grassland ecosystems. It is imperative that policies be put in place that promote mutual beneficial outcomes in terms of conservation objectives and the well-being of the local herder families. In support of the demonstration activities planned under Component 2, resources are allocated to develop guidelines for innovative PA financing mechanisms, e.g., conservation easements, ecological corridors, pasture user fees, etc. 79. Indicative activities under Output 1.2 include:

1.2.1. Develop a sustainable financing plan for the consolidated Qilian Mountains-Qinghai Lake landscape; some preliminary aspects that could be considered include but are not limited to the following:

a. Channelling eco-compensation funds for PA management within the landscape. b. Introducing new ecotourism activities associated with the Przewalski’s gazelle. c. Sustainable alternative livelihoods linked to conservation incentives. d. Strengthen enabling conditions regarding participation of the civil society. e. Innovative conservation financing scheme for reducing threats associated with fencing in

Przewalski’s gazelle habitat.

1.2.2. Support the development of an advisory report on improving the ecological compensation system and increasing ecological compensation finance inputs, linking eco-compensation funds according to values of the relevant ecosystem services, and prepare a pilot plan to be implemented under Component 2 (Output 2.4) as part of at least one of the pasture management plans.

1.2.3. Adapt the guideline on tourism partnerships and concessions developed under the national project, C-PAR1, to the local circumstances in Qinghai province, and develop a pilot implementation plan for at least one of the target villages under Component 2 (to be implemented under Output 2.4).

1.2.4. Develop guidelines for innovative PA financing mechanisms, e.g., conservation easements, ecological corridors, pasture user fees, etc., in support of the community-based demonstration activities planned under Component 2 (Output 2.4).

1.2.5. Develop resource management and resource monitoring regulations, as a key part for participatory conservation activities, e.g., ecological tourism development. Implementation of the regulations will be initiated and tested through the participatory project activities under Outputs 2.3 and 2.4.

Output 1.3: Institutional enabling environment strengthened through introduction of PA competency-based professional development and joint capacity building for collaborative PA governance Key deliverables/results:

• Capacity development plan for the project; • 750 people obtaining qualifications towards one or more PA competency-based standard.

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80. Achieving effective management of the PA sub-system within the Qilian Mountains-Qinghai Lake landscape is dependent upon an efficient institutional enabling environment, which is largely influenced by the capacities of conservation agencies and other key stakeholders – collectively tasked with stewardship of the PA system. The activities under this output are focused on strengthening institutional capacities through initiating implementation of the PA competency-based standards for professional development, delivering a series of trainings, supporting implementation of technical guidelines and strengthening partnerships. 81. The results of the capacity needs assessment completed during the PPG phase identified the following preliminary training needs:

PA management staff: • National policies and regulations related to protected area • Application, implementation and management of protected area conservation projects • Project development and application, project cycle management • Preparation of protected area development plan, management plan and financing plan • Protected area resources management and sustainable use PA technical staff: • National policies and regulations related to protected area • Wildlife field monitoring and survey methods • Protected area resources management and sustainable use • Basic theoretical knowledge on biodiversity conservation • Human resources management and staff training

82. The project has a target of 750 trained persons. Each of the trainings will be designed according to the competency-based standards, with trainees earning qualification towards the particular competencies targeted in the training. The indicative breakdown for the 750 trained persons is as follows:

• 25 through training of trainers • 160 on social inclusion, gender and community development (budgeted under Output 2.2) • 360 through online E-learning courses (budgeted under Output 2.2) • 25 through domestic knowledge transfer (budgeted under Output 2.2) • 160 through site-level learning (budgeted under Output 2.2) • 10 through one international PA system best practice knowledge transfer • 10 project management staff and supporting consultants

83. The training specifics for the project will be detailed in a capacity development plan, based on validation consultations with provincial stakeholders at project inception. The target groups for training under this output will include staff among the QFGB, as well as other provincial departments having mandates for PA management, including Environmental Protection, Agriculture, Water Resources, Land Resources, as well as other provincial agencies, as well as local government units and non-governmental sector organisations. 84. Gender and social inclusion training will be mandatory for PMO staff and supporting consultants. Considering that effectively engaging local communities through participatory management arrangements is an important element of managing the PA system, a relevant competency standard will be developed, and trainings are planned for central level conservation agencies.

85. Site-level learning will focus on implementation capacities including for the field interventions designed under Component 2 of the project, with capacity building delivered through a learning-by-doing approach. The domestic knowledge transfer trainings are planned in collaboration with the other child projects under the C-PAR program.

86. Resources are allocated under this output for trainings to be delivered in Qinghai province by one or more international specialists, e.g., through building upon existing partnerships such as those initiated as part of the National Park pilot program in China, including through the support delivered by Paulson Institute and the Heren Foundation in collaboration with the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC). Through the Paulson-Heren-NDRC program, trainings were delivered in China, including Qinghai province, by an

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organised group of retired United States National Park Service staff members. The project will coordinate the trainings with the C-PAR1 (national) project, potentially in collaboration with the Three-River Source NP pilot in Qinghai Province. 87. In addition to having international specialists deliver trainings in Qinghai province, an international best practice knowledge transfer is planned for 10 people so that they can directly observe international best practices in PA management. The focus will be on senior staff members who are deemed potential “change agents”, i.e., persons having the authority and aptitude to proactively advocate for integration of the knowledge gained into sector level plans and strategies. These international trainings will also be designed to deliver specific competencies. The location and thematic focus of the trainings will be determined as part of the formulating the capacity development plan for the project. 88. Through the networking associated with arranging the international trainings and international experts, the project will help facilitate improved partnerships between the protected areas and international partners. PA management staff in cooperation with the International Cooperation Office of the QFGB will be able to maintain and expand these partnerships after GEF funding ceases.


1.3.1. Verify the capacity needs assessment completed during the PPG phase, and design a capacity development plan for the project in line with the C-PAR program level plan.

1.3.2. Organise and deliver the training of trainers, on priority subjects (to be confirmed in capacity development plan) of: species conservation plans under Output 1.1, Qilian Mountains-Qinghai Lake consolidated landscape plan, strengthened PA management and enforcement regulations, biodiversity monitoring and wildlife rescue, among others.

1.3.3. Arrange for one or more international specialists to deliver site level training in Qinghai province, in coordination with the C-PAR1 project and building upon existing partnerships.

1.3.4. Organise an international PA system best practice knowledge transfer for targeted staff to visit international best practices in PA management and directly observe and learn from international experiences.

Component 2: Emplacement of effective PA management and incentivizing participatory conservation Total Cost: USD 13,987,000; GEF project grant requested: USD 1,737,000; Cofinancing: USD 12,250,000 90. The alternative proposed by the project involves strengthening participatory conservation to more effectively protect globally significant biodiversity. The requisite enabling environment to achieve improved participatory conservation will be strengthened, and implementation of the advocated reforms will be initiated, leading to more genuine community involvement with mutually beneficial outcomes, i.e., safeguarding biodiversity and ecosystem services and improving the well-being of the local herder families. The baseline situation and incremental reasoning for Component 2 are summarized in 91. Table 8.


Summary of Baseline Situation Incremental Reasoning

Output 2.1: Operationalisation and expansion of the PA sub-system according to the consolidated landscape conservation strategy and action plan

To date, Qinghai Province has established 11 nature reserves (NRs), with a total area of 218,000 km2, covering 30.2% of the province's land area. However, many rare and endangered species and ecosystems remain unprotected due mainly to the biased spatial layout of the NRs, critical habitats are highly fragmented and overgrazing and other pressures have resulted in degradation of fragile grasslands. An expansion of the Qilian Mountains NR as part of the

GEF resources will deliver technical assistance for supporting the Qinghai province stakeholders in implementing the consolidated landscape strategy and action plan, to achieve an 833,950 ha expansion of the PA sub-system including 29,350 ha of established ecological corridors. The project will provide targeted planning support to achieve the realization of this PA and ecological

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Summary of Baseline Situation Incremental Reasoning establishment of the trans-provincial Qilian Mountains NP is proposed, yet not yet operational on the ground and the Qilian Mountains NR itself is only recently operationalized. More information is included in Annexes L and M.

corridor expansion along with support for PA collaborative governance that will be needed to support the effective administration of the Qilian Mountains NP and the integration of the landscape consolidation strategy and action plan across the landscape.

Output 2.2: Strengthened implementation capacities, coordination and partnerships across the Qilian Mountains-Qilian Lake PA sub-system

While community ranger programs are in place, there is a lack of systematic mechanisms and the approaches have tended to be top-down in nature, e.g., the social welfare program that has created several thousand “eco-position” functions as temporary staff for the PA system. Many of the field PA staff come from the forest production sector and lack knowledge and training on conservation, community development and legislation. In terms of collaborative PA governance mechanisms, the Forestry and Grassland Bureaus of Gansu and Qinghai Province hold joint initiatives on cross-border issues associated with the Qilian Mountains NR. These inter-provincial governance arrangements will be more formalised once the NP is established. More information is included in Annexes, L, M, and N.

The added value delivered through the GEF funding of this output starts with establishing village committees and herder groups in the target areas, allowing the local communities the opportunity to develop pasture management plans according to the local circumstances. This bottom-up approach will produce a strong sense of local stewardship that is currently lacking in the baseline scenario. The capacity and capabilities of field staff and community rangers in the target areas will be strengthened, strengthening their knowledge of biodiversity conservation and emerging issues. The trainings among the field staff will be organised jointly to promote improved collaborative governance.

Output 2.3: Demonstrations of participatory habitat restoration and management arrangements within the expanded PA sub-system

The provincial government is managing several ecological improvement programs, involving grassland restoration, livestock reduction, afforestation, etc. Coordination across sectors, particularly between forestry and animal husbandry is currently inconsistent, e.g., the extensive use of fencing for grassland restoration. Participation of local communities in these government programs is typically after decisions have been made, rather than involving them in the decision-making process. Fencing has been widely used to restore degraded grasslands, but the fenced areas create several problems, e.g., provide physical barriers for wildlife migration, reduce gene flow and increase wildlife mortality. More information is included in Annexes M, O, and P.

The project will promote grassland restoration through participatory arrangements. Under this output, the pasture management plans developed in Outcome 2.1 will be implemented, with habitat restoration and improved management measures put in place based on decisions reached at the local level. Partnerships with the ongoing government programs will be imperative, with GEF resources providing incremental support, e.g., through implementing restoration with limited or no fencing, reaching agreement among herder groups on reducing livestock numbers and developing agreements on conservation set-asides.

Output 2.4: Pilot interventions for sustainable livelihoods, enterprise sector involvement and conservation financing, improving community benefits and biodiversity threat reduction

There are current conservation financing programs in the province, including the wetland fund which is a special fund set up for environmental protection in the Qinghai Lake region. There are also ecological compensation programs, e.g., converting cropland to wetland or the Grain to Green program, which converts grazing land to grassland. There have been successful fence removal interventions in the Qinghai

Through this output, the project will demonstrate participatory conservation financing mechanisms, e.g., through agreement on conservation easements, enabling more efficient de-fencing, or implementing value-based eco-compensation in the target areas. The project will demonstrate alternative livelihoods initiatives, which incorporate women and ethnic minorities as fully participating

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Summary of Baseline Situation Incremental Reasoning Lake region, but compensation arrangements to the herders have not been fully worked out and, hence, excessive livestock grazing continues to threaten the Przewalski’s gazelle. With private sector social donations increasing in recent years in China, foundations have been set up, including the public foundation Sanjiangyuan Ecological Protection Foundation as legal bodies regulated to management such funds, yet these opportunities have not yet been fully explored. More information is included in the PA financing baseline report in Annex P.

members and provide more sustainable co-benefits to local communities. Through pilot implementation of at least one tourism partnership and concession, the project will demonstrate a replicable approach to incentivising the enterprise sector to be involved in conservation. The project will facilitate diversification of PA financing, showcasing how local generated financing can help support local conservation initiatives that contribute to broader, landscape objectives.

92. Component 2 will operationalize the consolidated PA system in the target landscape and strengthen community participation in natural resource management, with the goal of mutually beneficial conservation and socioeconomic outcomes, along the poverty-environment nexus and consistent with the precautionary principle in biodiversity conservation and natural resource management, respecting priorities of both conservation and sustainable development. Outcome 2: Strengthened and more participatory management of expanded PA sub-system in the Qilian Mountains-Qinghai Lake landscape 93. Results expected through achievement of Outcome 2 include:

• Protected area management effectiveness score for the Qilian Mountains NR and Qinghai Lake NNR, as indicated by the GEF-6 version of the METT scores, increase by 40% from baseline or achievement of “sound management” score of >67;

• Threats to globally significant biodiversity at project demonstration sites reduced, through: (a) 20,000 ha of degraded grasslands restored through participatory management; (b) 60,000 ha of habitat under improved management, including: (i) Qilian Mountains NR: Conservation set asides (or similar) within pasturelands managed by traditional herder groups, aimed at reducing the threat of snow leopard prey depletion due to competition with livestock and poaching; (ii) Qinghai Lake NNR: Reduction in fencing density in densely fenced areas in target villages (linear metre per ha), aimed at reducing fragmentation of gazelle habitats through fencing.

Output 2.1: Operationalisation and expansion of the PA sub-system according to the consolidated landscape conservation strategy and action plan Key results/deliverables:

• Advisory reports on establishment of expansion of the PA sub-system, including through ecological corridors.

• Updated management plan for the Qinghai Lake NNR. • Advances to collaborative PA governance, as indicated through: (a) At least two joint capacity

development workshops organised with Qinghai and Gansu PA governance stakeholders, and (b) Lessons learned through demonstrations of collaborative PA governance documented in an advisory report delivered to a joint meeting with provincial and national stakeholders.

94. Output 2.1 is focused on operationalising and expanding the PA sub-system according to the consolidated landscape strategy and action plan developed under Output 1.1, helping achieve a PA sub-system expansion of 833,950 ha including the establishment of 29,350 ha of ecological corridors. 95. Enhancing habitat connectivity and expanding total habitat area under protection. The project will provide technical assistance for enhancing habitat connectivity and expanding total habitat area under protection across the landscape. In the case of the Przewalski’s gazelle, enhancing genetic diversity is critical to the conservation as there is a very small population size. The current habitats of the Przewalski’s gazelle are poorly connected and scattered in multiple patches, especially to the east of Qinghai Lake (see Figure 6). The

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project will support the establishment of ecological corridors between habitat patches to facilitate improved gene flow among populations. The project will facilitate establishment of an approximate 29,350 ha corridor adjacent to the north side of Qinghai Lake NNR, within Gangcha and Haiyan counties, as shown as current and potential habitats a1, a2, a6, b2, b4 and b5 (see Figure 6 and Annex M). This would be a demonstration corridor, which could later be expanded within the other habitats identified in the preliminary gap analysis. The project will also support an updating of the Qinghai Lake NNR management plan to recognize the newly-established ecological corridors. 96. The proposed establishment of the Qilian Mountains NP will entail a major expansion of the area under protection, more than doubling the current 775,400 ha to 1,580,000 ha on the Qinghai province side for the NP (see Figure 7). The proposed NP will provide increased ecological connectivity between the existing 8 blocks of the Qilian Mountains Nature Reserve in Qinghai Province and encompass the nature reserve on the Gansu province side; the proposed expansion on the Gansu side is 92,800 ha compared to 804,600 ha on the Qinghai province side; thus, improving PA system coverage of the Eastern Qilian Shan mountains KBA (KBA ID 15510). A preliminary concept of the NP has been prepared and this will be finalized over the short-term as the master plan for the NP pilot is developed. The C-PAR3 project is timely in that regard, providing an opportunity to support the team designing the NP, including establishing ecological corridors, and embedding it within the landscape-level conservation strategy for the Qilian Mountains-Qilian Lake landscape developed under Component 1. 97. Strengthening collaborative PA governance. This output will support implementation of specific actions to strengthen collaborative PA governance that are identified in the consolidated landscape strategy and action plan prepared under Component 1. Support is expected to include organising workshops and field demonstrations on joint biodiversity monitoring and PA enforcement, visiting management stations of the Three-River Source NP to obtain first-hand information on integrated management arrangements under operation, etc. The prevailing concept for the management of the Qilian Mountains NP involves a centralized management modality, with the overall supervision by the State Administration of Forestry and Grassland / State Administration of National Parks, and provincial level management units set up or strengthened in Qinghai and Gansu provinces, likely within the provincial forestry departments. The arrangements will be outlined in the draft master plan for the Qilian Mountains NP pilot; this plan is expected to be ready by the end of 2018, which coincides with the envisaged inception phase of the proposed project. Currently there are some limited technical collaborative arrangements between Qinghai and Gansu provinces associated with the nature reserves in the Qilian Mountains. As part of the NP pilot program implementation, these arrangements will be formalized and expanded to include enforcement, administrative, reporting and strategic planning aspects. With respect to Qinghai Lake, the Management Board of the Qinghai Lake National Nature Reserve is led by the Qinghai Forestry and Grassland Bureau and the Qinghai Lake Scenic Area Administration. These are the two main agencies that will be involved in the proposed project activities associated with improved collaborative governance. Other agencies and decision-making bodies that will be involved include the Qinghai Lake Tourism Administration, the Qinghai Lake Water Transportation Board, the Qinghai Lake Market Supervisory Board, and the prefecture and county governments within the greater Qinghai Lake basin. 98. Indicative activities under Output 2.1 include the following:

2.1.1. Provide technical assistance for the establishment of ecological corridors to consolidate Przewalski’s gazelle habitats that are contiguous with the current layout of the Qinghai Lake NNR, and support documentation of lessons learned from the demonstration corridor to support replication.

2.1.2. Update the management plan for the Qinghai Lake NNR, including recognition of the established ecological corridors and improvements to law enforcement and habitat/biodiversity monitoring protocols to address threats facing the Przewalski’s gazelle and other globally significant biodiversity.

2.1.3. Provide technical assistance in support of the design and establishment of the Qilian Mountains National Park, focusing on increased protection of globally significant biodiversity and improving connectivity of critical habitats. (See also Output 3.3 for participatory assessment of social benefits/impacts associated with the establishment of the PA)

2.1.4. Organise annual joint interactive workshops between Qinghai and Gansu PA management and staff and Qinghai Lake NNR and Qinghai Lake Scenic Area, strengthening collaborative PA governance. Possible topics will include but not limited to the following:

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• Integrated ecosystem management planning for PAs • Ecological Corridor design, implementation, and management • Spatial Monitoring and Reporting Tool (SMART) patrolling17 • Monitoring of key biodiversity (habitats and species) • Information management and communications • Community-based natural resource management • Participatory approaches, facilitation and conflict resolution • Climate change vulnerability assessment and adaptation planning • Briefings on revised legislation and regulations on biodiversity conservation.

Figure 6: Current and potential habitats for Przewalski's gazelle

17 SMART is a refinement of existing software systems that assists managers of protected areas to do reporting of their activities in the field. The system provides basic knowledge for management and protection of conservation areas, as well as data management

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Figure 7: Proposed outline of Qilian Mountains National Park

Output 2.2: Strengthened implementation capacities, coordination and partnerships across the Qilian Mountains-Qilian Lake PA sub-system 99. Output 2.2 is focused on strengthening the requisite management capacities and partnerships for effective and sustainable operationalisation of the PA sub-system. Activities under this output include capacity building for field staff and community members who are providing collaborative management services; enhancing biodiversity monitoring and PA enforcement systems; and strengthening partnerships with local NGOs, women’s groups, etc. 100. Establish participatory management structures. To ensure effective participation, coordinating structures will be established at project inception. For the two villages at the Qinghai Lake NNR, Dayu and Gonggongma, village committees will be established, with representation by village leaders, women’s groups, local NGOs, local government representatives, enterprise sector and the PA Focal Point. The PA Coordinator will facilitate the process of establishment of the committees and, together with the Community Mobilisers and PA Focal Point, the operation of the committees during project implementation. A simple charter will be prepared for the committees, setting the foundation for structures that would carry on after GEF funding ceases. 101. Similarly, at the Qilian Mountains NR, herder groups will be established within the territories supervised by the Liuhuanggou and Laohugou management stations. Representation by herders who are utilising the grasslands in these ecosystems will be encouraged to join, facilitated by the PA Coordinator, the PA Focal Point and the community rangers working for the stations who are from the communities. 102. Enhancing biodiversity monitoring and PA enforcement systems. A lack of sufficient data, especially the spatial distribution data, has severely limited the ability to map the habitats of snow leopards with high resolution. The dearth of information constrains a science-based design of the Qilian Mountains NP, limiting the ability to make informed decisions and take effective actions to protect the species. Field surveys and continuous monitoring with new technologies, such as infrared cameras, drones, etc., are necessary for the establishment of information systems for snow leopards and further to the improvement of conservation effectiveness of the species and critical ecosystems in the Qinghai Lake – Qilian Mountain landscape. PA enforcement is also increasingly important and new techniques and systems are supporting traditional methods. GEF resources are

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allocated for enhancing biodiversity monitoring and PA enforcement systems at the community management level (including women and ethnic minorities) through targeted training and limited equipment to support enhanced community patrolling and implementation of the pasture management plans in Output 2.3. 103. Strengthening capacity of field PA staff and community collaborative management providers. As part of the capacity development plan produced under Output 1.3, training and other capacity building activities will be delivered to PA staff and community co-management providers, including the community rangers. The project will facilitate the deployment of E-learning courses (including those offered on the biodiversity knowledge platform developed under the C-PAR1 project) through organising group facilitated sessions led by local service providers or trainers trained under Output 1.3. With respect to Qinghai Lake, staff from the NNR, Scenic Area, County Forestry Bureaus and local herders who are providing co-management services will be invited. Regarding the Qilian Mountains, NR staff and community rangers will be included in the trainings, and contingent staff on the Gansu side of the proposed NP will also be included in some of the trainings. Community collaborative management committees will be strengthened or established in target villages, building upon capacities developed under the GEF-4 project and other initiatives. 104. Strengthening partnerships for supporting community driven conservation initiatives. Partnerships with local NGOs will be assessed for delivery of some of the trainings, and the project will facilitate strengthened capacities of local associations for fundraising, volunteer management, and other public participation activities. There are several NGOs delivering development assistance in the landscape, including but not limited to the Qinghai Environmental Education Association, the China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation, the Sanjiangyuan Ecological Protection Foundation, the Global Environment Institute (GEI), Shanshui Conservation Centre (Shanshui), WWF, etc.

105. Indicative activities under Output 2.2 include the following:

2.2.1. For the Qinghai Lake NNR, facilitate establishment and operation of project village committees in the Dayu and Gonggongma villages, with representation by village leaders, women’s groups, local government representatives, institutional partners, local NGOs and the PA focal point.

2.2.2. For the Qilian Mountains NR, facilitate establishment and operation of herder groups within the territory supervised by the Liuhuanggou and Laohugou management stations.

2.2.3. Deliver trainings on social inclusion, gender mainstreaming and community development to PA staff, local government staff, village leaders, community-based organisations, including women’s groups and herder groups.

2.2.4. Specify and procure monitoring and enforcement equipment and supplies, including binoculars, cameras, uniforms, etc., to strengthen community monitoring and patrolling and support implementation of the pasture management plans (implemented under Outputs 2.3 and 2.4).

2.2.5. Deliver site-level learning by delivering training to PA staff, local government staff, village leaders, community-based organisations, including women’s groups and herder groups, focusing on the monitoring and enforcement protocols developed under Output 2.3, e.g., grassland restoration, improved habitat management, etc.

2.2.6. Provide technical assistance for carrying out participatory biodiversity surveys of the target areas; including at project inception and at the end of the project.

2.2.7. Facilitate E-learning trainings for PA staff, local government staff, village leaders, community-based organisations, including women’s groups and herder groups, on topics recommended in the capacity development plan formulated under Output 1.3.

2.2.8. Organise domestic knowledge transfer training, e.g., through cross visits to other interventions implemented on other C-PAR child projects or complimentary projects/programs

2.2.9. Provide technical assistance for strengthening capacities of local NGOs, associations and other enabling stakeholders for fundraising, volunteer management, and other public participation activities.


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106. The focus of Output 2.3 is on demonstrating participatory conservation, including restoration of degraded habitats and improved habitat management through collaborative community arrangements, and facilitation of increased public participation. 107. Develop pasture management plans for the target areas through participatory processes. Working from the consolidated landscape strategy and action plan, specific 5-year pasture management plans will be prepared, containing actions that are relevant for the two target villages at Qinghai Lake NNR and the pastureland utilised by the herder groups in the territories supervised by the Liuhuanggou and Laohugou management stations. The pasture management plans will include easy to understand maps, prepared through participatory community interactions, and contain achievable and relevant actions that address the threats to biodiversity in the ecosystems and the concerns raised by the local communities. The plans will also capture traditional ecological knowledge, including sites sacred to local Tibetan ethnic minority communities. County level officials will be involved to ensure the pasture management plans are consistent with county land use plans and conservation strategies.

108. Issues in the pasture management plans will include reduction of fencing density, alternative approaches to property border delineation, livestock management, grassland restoration, conservation set-asides, management of human-wildlife conflicts, management of tourist inflows, biodiversity monitoring and enforcement protocols, etc. The pasture management plans will be consistent with the land use regulations for the zones of the nature reserves, the proposed ecological corridor(s) expanding protection of P. gazelle habitat, current or new county level reserves, and the proposed Qilian Mountains NP. Inputs from local and provincial government officials will be critical for identifying linkages with ongoing programs and fostering long-term collaborative management relationships. Monitoring and enforcement protocols will be included in the pasture management plans. The pasture management plans will have 5-year duration, consistent with the lifespan of the project, and will be updated annually, after year-end reviews are made by the village committees and herder groups, assisted by the project team. 109. Implement the local pasture management plans. The pasture management plans will be implemented according to the agreed individual work programs in the plans. GEF funds together with cofinancing contributions will support the implementation, facilitated by the PA Coordinators, Community Mobilisers and local partners, including women’s groups, herder groups, local NGOs, institutional partners etc. The project is targeting the following through implementation of the pasture management plans:

• 20,000 ha of degraded habitat restored • 60,000 ha of habitat under improved management.

110. Coordination with local and provincial government programs will be imperative in achieving these targets. The Provincial Agriculture-Animal Husbandry Department is an important partner, as the department is implementing grassland restoration and livestock management programs throughout the province, including within the Qilian Mountains-Qinghai Lake landscape. Fencing has been widely used to restore degraded grasslands, but the fenced areas create several problems, e.g., provide physical barriers for wildlife migration, reduce gene flow and increase wildlife mortality. In many cases, the fences are not removed following grassland restoration. The project will promote grassland restoration through participatory arrangements, including application of limited or non-fencing approaches. The restoration measures to be considered include natural regeneration with participatory management by local herders, planting native grassland species, controlling rodents, and supplementing fodders for Przewalski’s gazelles and livestock in winter when the grasslands are dormant. For the Qinghai Lake region, restoration of degraded grasslands is targeted in Gangcha County (Gonggongma village) and Haiyan County (Dayu village) where most of the Przewalski’s gazelles are located. Grassland restoration will also be considered in the Qilian Mountains NR, depending upon the priorities in the pasture management plans. 111. For habitats under improved management, the pasture management plans will identify feasibly implemented actions associated with the conservation priorities outlined in the consolidated landscape strategy and the management plans for the nature reserves. Such actions could include voluntary de-fencing, installation of wildlife gates into existing fence lines, applying alternative non-fence property delineation, voluntary reduction of livestock numbers, enforcing ecological corridor rules/bylaws with community rangers, establishing spatial-temporal separation between wildlife and livestock, e.g., through conservation set-asides or other

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collaborative agreement with local herders, etc. Where feasible, the project will support demarcation of boundaries where local conservation areas are agreed upon as a part of the pasture management plans. Demarcation will be made using durable and culturally appropriate means, e.g., in dual language (Chinese and Tibetan), with pictograms consistent with local customs or according to other practices followed by the local herder communities.

112. Improved habitat management also entails improving management of human-wildlife conflict (HWC). Building upon the guidance document on management of HWC developed under the national C-PAR1 project, the project team will work with the local target communities on adapting relevant measures to reduce HWC into the work programs of the pasture management plans. Informative workshops will be arranged within the target areas, inviting herders, representatives of local governance units, local NGOs and insurance companies, sharing details on available coverage. New technologies, such as mobile telephone-based applications might be used to more efficiently collect onsite data and, thus, expediting processing the compensation process. And, at least one cross visit to Gansu province where HWC management is proposed in target villages under the C-PAR2 project, building cross-fertilisation of ideas and sharing of best practices. Representatives of herder groups, local and provincial government officials, and local NGOs will be invited on the visit to Gansu. 113. Facilitate enhanced public participation. The sustainability of the participatory conservation measures implemented under the project will largely depend on increased awareness and public involvement. Through consultations with the village committees and herder groups, and based on the results of the knowledge, practices and attitudes (KAP) survey in Output 3.2, the project will promote and facilitate enhanced public participation; for example, through:

• Environmental education initiatives delivered to primary or secondary schools. • Volunteer conservation groups, e.g., focusing on P. gazelle or snow leopard conservation. • Volunteer tour guides, providing visitors informed and biodiversity friendly tours, complimenting the

capacities of the nature reserve stations. • Awareness campaigns aimed at specific target groups, including tourists, developers, school children,

and themes, such as human-wildlife conflicts, grassland protection, climate change, etc. 114. The project will work with local and provincial community outreach departments, local NGOs who have community level experience in the province, educational facilities, and other specialists in designing and delivering the public participation initiatives. Information will be presented in local languages and delivered using culturally sensitive methods. 115. Indicative activities under Output 2.3 include:

2.3.1. Through a participatory process with village committees and herder groups, prepare 5-year pasture management plans for the Dayu and Gonggongma villages and the land managed by herders in the territory supervised by the Liuhuanggou and Laohugou management stations.

2.3.2. Implement the pasture management plans to restore degraded grasslands, through restoration measures such as natural regeneration, planting native grassland species, rodent control and supplementary fodder etc. Implementation will be led by the village committees and herder groups, facilitated by the PA coordinators and community mobilisers, and in collaboration with provincial and local governments.

2.3.3. Implement the pasture management plans to improve management of habitats, through measures such as voluntary de-fencing, installation of wildlife gates, non-fence property delineation, establishment of conservation set-asides etc. Implementation will be led by the village committees and herder groups, facilitated by the PA coordinators and community mobilisers, and in collaboration with provincial and local governments.

2.3.4. Adapting the HWC management guideline developed under the C-PAR1 project, integrate HWC management guidelines into at least one pasture management plan, and organise an information sharing workshop with the village committee members, local government officials, HWC experts and insurance company representatives to discuss current and emerging practices and regulations. This activity will also include a knowledge exchange visit with Gansu province who is also working on HWC management under C-PAR2.

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2.3.5. Carry out annual reviews of pasture management plans, adjust the plans according to progress made and lessons learned, and apply adaptive management measures to emergent issues.

2.3.6. Promote enhanced public participation through environmental education initiatives delivered to primary and or secondary schools.

2.3.7. Promote increased volunteer participation, e.g., including facilitating establishment of volunteer conservation groups focusing on P. gazelle or snow leopard, and develop capacities for volunteer tour guides.

Output 2.4: Pilot interventions for sustainable livelihoods, enterprise sector involvement and conservation financing, improving community benefits and biodiversity threat reduction 116. Output 2.4 is designed to install sustainable capacities and incentive arrangements that will support long-term viability of the community conservation initiatives. Activities include strengthening skills and capacities for sustainable alternative livelihoods, incentivising involvement of the enterprise sector through at least one tourism partnership and piloting conservation financing mechanisms. 117. Strengthening skills and capacities for sustainable alternative livelihoods. With viable and sustainable alternative livelihood options, local communities would be more willing to engage in conservation initiatives, including reducing threats to fragile ecosystems within the landscape. The Dayu village is proposed for this activity. The village developed a poverty alleviation and economic development park in 2015 with CNY 4.68 million (USD 0.7 million) of financial support from the Haiyan County Tourism Bureau. Some local households and cooperatives have used the facilities for local production of products such as yoghurt, beef jerky and Tibetan clothing; however, the park has not flourished due to capacity limitations, including limited skills in business planning and marketing. The project will work with local partners in delivering capacity building (including training in business planning) and promoting the development of a base for alternative livelihoods for local households, linked to the participatory Przewalski’s gazelle conservation activities.

118. GEF resources are also allocated to support a micro-financing program that would issue micro grants to qualified community-based organisations, including women’s groups, to develop and market alternative livelihood activities. A partnership with at least one local NGO or local government department will be established to implement the micro-financing program, with the village committee involved in making decisions based upon review of grant proposals. The project will endeavour to grant at least 50% of the micro grants to community-based women’s groups or ones that have at least 50% representation of women. Online marketing of the products and services will also be promoted, through linking up with the biodiversity knowledge platform that will be developed under the C-PAR1 (national) project, and also through existing sites, e.g., the Baohudi18 platform for protected area products and services. 119. Incentivising involvement by the enterprise sector. Tourism is increasing in the province, particularly at Qinghai Lake, where bird-watching is a popular pastime. Under this output, the project will pilot implementation of at least one tourism partnership with an operator in the Qinghai Lake region, applying the guideline developed under Output 1.3. Through concessionary arrangements, a certain percentage of the proceeds would be directed to the community-based conservation initiatives in the Qilian Mountains-Qinghai Landscape. The project will work with the local and provincial tourism departments as well as the Qinghai Lake Scenic Area Administration in working out the pilot tourism partnership. 120. Pilot demonstrations of conservation financing mechanisms. Many of the threats to biodiversity and habitats come from the local communities, but the solutions also rely on these communities. Achievement of sustainable conservation outcomes is intrinsically linked to the development and well-being of the local communities. The project will advocate the establishment of enabling conditions that result in co-benefits to the local communities, through implementation of conservation financing mechanisms, such as value-based eco-compensation, conservation easements, etc. Working with local and provincial stakeholders and facilitated by a resource economist, the project will develop feasible pilot scale conservation financing arrangements. For example, compensation standards can be established according to the ecosystem services added through the

18 Part of the Global Protected Area Friendly System (GPAFS): www.baohudi.org

http://www.baohudi.org/

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conservation, such as carbon sequestration, soil erosion reduction, fresh water production, and pollution reduction. The project will also support activities on valuation of these ecosystem services to explore the co-benefits of snow leopard and P. gazelle conservation. In the Qinghai Lake region, including the target villages of Dayu and Gonggongma villages, there are de-fencing initiatives, but there has not been eco-compensation for herders implementing biodiversity friendly management practices. Eco-compensation will also be linked to the management of HWC, e.g., compensating herders for adjusting livestock management practices where HWC is prevalent. GEF resources are allocated for technical assistance and advocacy. Funding the payment for ecosystem services or conservation easements will be provided through cofinancing contributions, e.g., linking to current eco-compensation schemes, and through funds generated through the pilot tourism partnership(s) and social donations. 121. Indicative activities under Output 2.4 include:

2.4.1. Support community-based sustainable livelihood activities through a small grants program, with priority given to women’s and ethnic minority groups. A local partner will be contracted, e.g., local NGO or foundation, to design and manage the micro-financing program.

2.4.2. Working with the two village committees in Dayu and Gonggongma villages of Qinghai Lake NNR and facilitated by the Community Mobilisers, carry out advocacy, partnership building and capacity development among local community-based organisations, including women’s groups, providing training on developing proposals, business plans and financial management.

2.4.3. Organise at least one local exhibition of products and services produced through the alternative livelihood program for Qinghai Lake NNR, with the aim of fostering long-term partnerships and identifying opportunities for scaling up.

2.4.4. In connection with the pilot implementation plan developed under Output 1.2, procure a tourism partnership for Qinghai Lake NNR, inviting tourism operators in the province, aimed at improving collaborative PA governance arrangements between the Qinghai Lake NNR and Scenic Area, as well as increasing involvement of local communities in the tourism sector.

2.4.5. Carry out an ecosystem valuation study in the landscape, identifying eco-compensation pilot opportunities, formulating a specific implementation plan according to the guidelines developed under Output 1.2.

2.4.6. Implement at least one eco-compensation pilot demonstration, through a time-bound agreement between one or more village committees or herder groups and local government units.

2.4.7. Organise a stakeholder workshop, showcasing the results of achieved under this output and advocating for replication.

Component 3: Knowledge Management, Monitoring & Evaluation, and Gender and Social Inclusion Total Cost: USD 1,921,000; GEF project grant requested: USD 376,000; Cofinancing: USD 1,545,000 122. This component focuses on putting in place effective management procedures for ensuring efficient use of resources, inclusive participation, and improved knowledge management. The baseline situation and incremental reasoning for Component 3 are summarized below in Table 9.


Summary of Baseline Situation Incremental Reasoning Output 3.1: Effective project management supported by proactive steering committee functions and inclusive monitoring & evaluation Project management support structures are in place at the QFGB, which has a project implementation office for international donor funded projects. There is good capacity and understanding of UNDP and GEF requirements for procurement and financial reporting.

The recruited PMO team will be incorporated into this integrated functional project implementation division of the QFGB. The project will contribute to C-PAR program level M&E through its harmonized results framework and

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Summary of Baseline Situation Incremental Reasoning Currently there are several provincial level information systems under direction of the QFGB, including systems for forestry resource management, forestry coverage, returning the grain plots to forestry, etc. The GEF-4 project supported development of a biodiversity knowledge management system and a remote application for community rangers to upload monitoring and enforcement information. The Department plans to integrate the different information systems and centralise management under the information centre of the QFGB. Biodiversity information is also managed through an information management system developed and operated by the Qinghai Provincial Ecology and Environment Department, and the Administration for the Three Rivers Source National Park pilot is currently developing a system for the national park.

coordinated implementation and reporting procedures. The project will also strengthen procedures for integrating inputs from community ranger programs into landscape level M&E and reporting procedures and facilitating linkage with the biodiversity knowledge platform developed under the C-PAR1 national project. There are no significant investments planned for information management systems, rather the project is focusing on capacitating the community rangers in M&E tasks.

Output 3.2: Project results effectively shared through implementation of a targeted knowledge management action plan Although most residents have basic knowledge and awareness of environment protection and biodiversity conservation associated with their traditional ways of herder life, there are shortcomings due to lack of systematic communication methods and outreach. Baseline awareness levels will be determined at project inception, in year 1, for targeted audiences using the methodology in the framework design of the planned KAP survey in Annex Q.

This project will directly participate in the knowledge sharing mechanisms under the C-PAR program, contributing knowledge gained through the project and disseminating lessons learned from the other C-PAR projects to stakeholders in Qinghai province. In addition, the project aims to strengthen provincial capacity for knowledge management on biodiversity conservation issues guided by a project knowledge management action plan with information generated by the project being made available through technical reports, online news articles, awareness materials and technical briefs, case studies and best practices – shared on the biodiversity knowledge platform that will be developed under the C-PAR1 (national) project.

Output 3.3: Inclusive participation of local communities, including women and ethnic minorities ensured through effective implementation of environmental and social management framework Local communities are widely socialized to living and working inside and near conservation areas. The existing Qilian Mountains NR and Qinghai Lake NNR are essentially managed under sustainable use arrangements, with local herders having access to grasslands within certain zones of the protected areas. The awareness and collaborative participation of local communities in development projects have been enhanced through previous projects, including the recently closed GEF-4 project and the EU-China biodiversity project that was completed about 10 years ago. The increasing integration of conservation and socioeconomic development priorities, both at the national and provincial level, has further reinforced the value of the protected area system in helping to secure

Genuine and sustainable collaborative management arrangement with local communities are critical for achieving effective management of this landscape, which covers vast areas with traditional land uses practiced by Tibetan herders over many generations. The project will facilitate scale-able participatory pasture management planning that addresses conservation and socioeconomic objectives. Gender and social inclusion priorities have been integrated into the design of the project interventions; specific activities will be further reviewed as part of the environmental and social management planning process at project inception. The full-time M&E/Safeguards Officer will work with the PA Coordinators, PA Focal Points, Community Mobilisers and contracted specialists to ensure

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Summary of Baseline Situation Incremental Reasoning long-term sustainability of the ecosystem goods and services that local communities are reliant upon. Gender mainstreaming remains a relatively novel concept for biodiversity projects, especially for PAs in remote areas with poor ethnic minority populations. The existing situation regarding gender roles is described in Annex I; see also Annex H.

targets associated with inclusion of women and ethnic minorities are fulfilled.

Outcome 3: Sustainability enhanced through effective monitoring & evaluation, knowledge management, and social inclusion 123. Results expected through achievement of Outcome 3 include:

• Extent of knowledge management, as indicated by (a) at least 5 lessons learned uploaded onto biodiversity knowledge platform (developed under the C-PAR1 project), and (b) At least two stakeholder workshops convened to disseminate project results.

Output 3.1: Effective project management supported by proactive steering committee functions and inclusive monitoring & evaluation 124. The activities under this output are designed to put in place enabling procedures and protocols to facilitate effective project management. The project inception workshop, to be held within three months of signing of the project document, is a critical milestone on the implementation timeline, providing an opportunity to validate the project document, including the environmental and social management framework; confirming governance implementation arrangements, including agreements with responsible parties; assessing changes in relevant circumstances and making adjustments to the project and program results framework accordingly; verifying stakeholder roles and responsibilities; updating the project risks and agreeing to mitigation measures and responsibilities; and agreeing to the multi-year work plan. An inception workshop report will be prepared and disseminated among the project steering committee members. 125. One of the responsibilities of the project management team is to develop the annual work plans and budgets. Annual stakeholder workshops will be organised with the support of the C-PAR3 Advisory Group, to discuss plans for the subsequent year, issues associated with implementation of the project, and recommended adaptive management measures on an as-needed basis.

126. The project steering committee (PSC) will be the main platform for high-level and strategic decisions, and the proposed compositions of the committee provides for efficient and representative feedback (see Section VIII: Governance and Management Arrangements). Annual project steering committees are planned. For budgetary purposes, PSC meetings in Years 1, 3, and 5 are planned in Xining, and the meetings in Years 2 and 4 are planned to be held in the field at the Qinghai Lake NNR and Qilian Mountains NR, respectively, enabling the committee members to observe first-hand progress and issues. Terms of Reference for the steering committee are included in Annex D. The project will also host one C-PAR program steering committee meeting, tentatively scheduled for Year 2, possibly coinciding with the PSC meeting at the Qinghai Lake NNR. 127. According to GEF requirements, two independent evaluations will be carried out of the project, a midterm review and terminal evaluation. At least one month before the midterm and terminal evaluations, the project will contract a local institute, local consultant or other service provider to carry out assessments of the GEF tracking tools, UNDP Capacity Development Scorecard and other results requiring verification/analysis. 128. Indicative activities under Output 3.1 include:

3.1.1. Organise the project inception workshop, including review of multi-year work plan, project results framework, tracking tools, stakeholder engagement plan, environmental and social management framework (ESMF), etc.; a record of the inception workshop will be documented in a project inception report.

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3.1.2. Organize annual project stakeholder workshops, supported by the C-PAR3 Advisory Group, as part of the annual work plan preparation and adaptive management.

3.1.3. Organize project steering committee meetings annually at a minimum, and host one C-PAR program steering committee meeting.

3.1.4. Carry out a midterm assessment of the GEF tracking tools for the project and other results.

3.1.5. Procure and support an independent midterm review of the project, according to UNDP and GEF guidelines.

3.1.6. Carry out an end-of-project assessment of the GEF tracking tools for the project and other results.

3.1.7. Procure and support an independent terminal evaluation of the project, according to UNDP and GEF guidelines.

3.1.8. Prepare the final report for the project; including the PIR for the last year of implementation, the terminal evaluation report, and the management response to the terminal evaluation report.

Output 3.2: Project results effectively shared through implementation of a targeted knowledge management action plan 129. Under this output, a knowledge management (KM) action plan for the project will be developed, based upon the C-PAR program KM strategy. 130. The project KM action plan will be finalized at project inception, based upon the results of a knowledge, practices and attitudes (KAP) survey delivered at project inception. A few examples of issues assessed as part of the KAP survey include, but are not limited to the following:

• Perception on issues related to biodiversity conservation, PAs and their role among local communities.

• Current level of knowledge, attitudes and practices (behaviour, social, cultural and traditional) of target villages with respect to biodiversity conservation.

• Knowledge of protected areas and their benefits. • Attitudes and practices of key target groups towards the pilot NPs and the proposed expansions. • Range of existing household livelihood activities. • Willingness of households to try out alternative livelihood options. • The means of communication for promoting improve management of natural resources

131. A framework for the KAP survey is presented in Annex Q to the project document. The survey will be conducted by a qualified service provider/institute recruited through a competitive procurement process. Based upon the results of the KAP surveys, a KM action plan for the project will be developed and implemented. Specific actions will be integrated into activities across all three components of the project, as well as project management. End-of-project targets will be included as part of the strategy, and during the final year of the project, at least one month prior to the terminal evaluation, a separate KAP survey will be completed to assess changes in knowledge, attitudes and practices. 132. The KM action plan will cover knowledge management elements across the project, e.g., in the design of trainings and in the way in which knowledge shared. The KM/Communications Officer for the C-PAR1 project will provide guidance. Knowledge products will include case studies distilled from the results achieved on the project and will also include awareness raising materials to support advocacy and public participation campaigns. Project case studies, lessons learned, generated knowledge products, etc. will be uploaded onto the biodiversity knowledge platform, developed under the C-PAR1 project, for program level dissemination, as well as wider availability among the conservation community and the public. 133. Advocating the global environmental benefits generated through the project will be part of the KM strategy. Participating in national, regional, and international conferences, workshops and seminars will be one way to share information and promote the global benefits generated. Resources have also been allocated for organising a biannual workshop of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau Biodiversity Conservation Network, scheduled in 2020 in Qinghai province.

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3.2.1. Design, administer and interpret a baseline KAP survey, assessing knowledge, attitudes regarding the value of the national PA system.

3.2.2. Based on the results of the baseline KAP survey of this project and the knowledge management strategy for the C-PAR program, develop a knowledge management action plan for the project. The action plan will be reviewed and updated annually.

3.2.3. Advocate the global environmental benefits generated through the project by participating in national, regional and international conferences, workshops, seminars and other events, including but not limited to Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau Biodiversity Conservation Network and the Global Snow Leopard & Ecosystem Protection Program (GSLEP).

3.2.4. Organise one biannual workshop of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau Biodiversity Conservation Network.

3.2.5. Perform an assessment of results achieved through the sustainable livelihoods initiatives, tourism partnership and eco-compensation pilots, and distil lessons learned into informative case studies.

3.2.6. Organise awareness raising and advocacy campaigns, focused on specific themes and aimed at defined target groups, e.g., biodiversity friendly tourism, grassland protection, promotion of traditional ecological knowledge, etc.

3.2.7. Administer and interpret the results of an end-of-project KAP survey, assessing changes in knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding the value of the national PA system.

Output 3.3: Inclusive participation of local communities, including women and ethnic minorities facilitated through effective implementation of environmental and social management framework 135. As part of social and environmental screening procedure (see Annex E), the project has been allocated an overall risk categorization of High. In accordance with UNDP policy for High-risk projects, an environmental and social management framework (ESMF – see Annex F) has been developed during the project preparation phase to provide a practical guideline for installing the required safeguards for ensuring social and environmental risks and impacts of the project’s activities are fully assessed and management measures in place prior to implementation. 136. Resources have been allocated under this output for carrying out an environmental and social impact assessment (ESIA) at project inception that will evaluate in more detail the potential environmental and social impacts associated with the planned project interventions. The results of the ESIA will be used to develop specific management measures that will be incorporated into an environmental and social management plan (ESMP) for the project, which will be implemented by the project team under the stewardship of the project M&E/Safeguards Officer. 137. The project will implement the ESMP and monitor potential environmental and social impacts and the co-benefits generated through the mitigation measures put in place. The project will also implement the gender action plan which is outlined in Annex I to the project document, with appropriate linkages drawn to the ESMP after it has been developed.

138. Sustained community ranger participation is critical for the long-term effectiveness of PA management within the Qilian Mountains-Qinghai Lake landscape. Through activities under Component 2 the project will strengthen capacities and collaborative mechanisms for the community ranger programs. Under this output, the project will provide technical assistance for developing and implementing a system for integrating the inputs from the community ranger programs into landscape level M&E and reporting procedures. Refer to Annex R: Baseline Report on Knowledge Management Systems. 139. Indicative activities under Output 3.3 include:

3.3.1. Carry out an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) and develop an Environmental and Social Management Plan (ESMP) for the project.

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3.3.2. If Qilian Mountains NP master planning indicates voluntary resettlement associated with PA establishment, provide support to the provincial government for the review and finalization of any targeted resettlement plans for voluntary resettlement to reflect international standards.

3.3.3. Implement the ESMP and monitor potential environmental and social impacts, as well as co-benefits generated through implementation of relevant mitigation measures.

3.3.4. Implement the gender action plan.

3.3.5. Develop and implement a system for integrating inputs from community ranger programs into landscape level M&E and reporting procedures.

3.3.6. Develop and disseminate knowledge products on environmental and social issues associated with the project.

3.3.7. Assess social benefits/impacts associated with the conservation advances made within the Qilian Mountains landscape through a participatory assessment using the International Institute for Environment and Development (iied) Social Assessment for Protected Areas (SAPA) 19 methodology, or similar approach (Year 4).

Key Approvals: 140. Several key approvals (see Annex S) are expected over the course of the project implementation phase, enabling achievement of the envisaged results. These approvals will be integrated into project work planning structures. Partnerships: 141. The project strategy has a strong emphasis on building upon baseline activities implemented by project partners, as well as on building and strengthening partnerships to ensure the sustainability of the results achieved. One of the advantages of the programmatic approach of the C-PAR program is the benefit of partnerships across the child projects. The national level C-PAR1 project will share guidance developed on collaborative PA governance arrangements, establishment of ecological corridors, tourism partnerships and concessions, PA competency-based standards, human-wildlife conflict management, climate-responsive PA planning and monitoring protocols, etc.

142. Some of the key related initiatives where partnerships will be fostered are listed below in Table 10.

Table 10: Intersection of related initiatives with project outputs


Component 1 Component 2 Component 3

China’s Protected Areas System Reform (C-PAR) program All outputs; details outlined in Table 4



Qinghai Biodiversity Conservation Strategy and Action Plan (QPBSAP) All outputs All outputs 3.2, 3.3

Qinghai Provincial 13th 5-year Plan (2016-2020) All outputs All outputs 3.2, 3.3 Qilian Mountains Ecological Protection Program, until 2025 (Qinghai Province), including: • Grassland restoration and livestock management; • Afforestation; • Glacier protection; • Forest pest control; • Publicity and environmental education; • Etc.


Qilian Mountains National Park pilot, together with Gansu Province All outputs All outputs All outputs

19 SAPA is a relatively simple low-cost methodology for assessing the positive and negative social impacts of a PA and the well-being of communities living within and around it. SAPA is designed to help PA managers and other key stakeholder groups to increase and more equitably share positive impacts (benefits) and reduce the negative impacts (costs). More information at: https://www.iied.org/assessing-social-impacts-protected-areas.

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Component 1 Component 2 Component 3 Three-River Source NP pilot development (Three-River Source NP Management Agency, Qinghai Provincial Government)

1.3 2.2 3.1, 3.3

Provincial ecological monitoring (macro scale monitoring delivered through the Ecological Monitoring Centre using 3S technology)

1.1 All outputs 3.2

International Key Wetland Protection and Restoration Project in Qinghai Lake NNR, 2018-2019 (NDRC) All outputs All outputs 3.2

Wetland Monitoring in Qinghai Lake NNR, 2017-2018 (SFA) 1.1, 1.3 2.1, 2.2 3.2, 3.3 Snow leopard field survey program, 2017-2019 (SFA) 1.1, 1.3 All outputs 3.2, 3.3 WWF-China – species conservation planning, human wildlife conflict management & biodiversity monitoring 1.1, 1.3 All outputs 3.2

Support herdsmen in Przewalski’s gazelle patrolling (China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation)


Global Environmental Institute (GEI), an NGO having community development activities in Qinghai province. 1.3 All outputs 3.2, 3.3

Environmental education for tourism sector (Qinghai Environmental Education Association, a local NGO) 1.3 All outputs 3.2, 3.3

Baohudi Protected area products online platform in China 1.2 2.4 3.2 Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau Biodiversity Network 1.1, 1.3 All outputs 3.2 Global Snow Leopard and Ecosystem Protection Program 1.1 2.1 3.2

143. Regarding the capacity development components of the project, critical partnerships will be developed between institutions and other service providers with qualified training capabilities. The project design assumes that there will be sufficient participation among training providers, willing to enhance their capacities and adopt the proposed PA competency-based standards among their courses and curricula. 144. The project design is predicated on effective coordination with complementary projects and initiatives by cofinancing partners and other partners. For instance:

• Synergies with the Qilian Mountains Ecological Protection Program were discussed during the formulation of the project document; e.g., the demonstration pasture management initiatives with the local herder groups under Output 2.3 (Activity 2.3.2) will work the Provincial Animal Husbandry section of the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Department and other stakeholders within the Qilian Mountains Ecological Protection Program in designing and implementing participatory grassland restoration and livestock management.

• Partnerships regarding innovative conservation financing arrangements under Output 2.4 (Activities 2.4.5 and 2.4.6) will be coordinated with the Wetland Protection and Restoration project at Qinghai Lake. Staff responsible for the wetland project will be invited to participate in the design of the conservation financing arrangements, identifying collaboration opportunities and building sustainability structures into the arrangements.

• The project monitoring and evaluation plan includes inputs from ongoing biodiversity monitoring, including the Ministry of Natural Resources funded snow leopard survey in the Qilian Mountains, and the Przewalski’s gazelle monitoring carried out by the Qinghai Forestry and Grassland Bureau. The professional staff responsible for the regular monitoring of these flagship species will be consulted, as part of development of the species conservation and restoration plans under Output 1.1 (Activities 1.1.3 and 1.1.4), and as part of the participatory biodiversity monitoring planned under Output 2.2 (Activity 2.2.6).

• There are several collaborations planned with the Three-River Source NP pilot, which is one of the three NP pilots included in the national C-PAR1 project.

145. There are several partnership opportunities with NGOs that were consulted during the PPG phase and will

be developed during project implementation. WWF China is working with the Forestry and Grassland Bureau of Gansu Province in the Qilian Mountains National Nature Reserve on snow leopard conservation. As part of the inter-provincial governance arrangements of the NP pilot, under Output 2.1 (Activity 2.1.4), expanding collaboration opportunities with WWF will be developed. The Global Environmental Institute

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(GEI) has been working in the Qinghai Lake region on community conservation initiatives, and collaboration opportunities were discussed during the PPG phase, regarding the planned community co-management and pasture management activities. GEI representatives informed the PPG team that they are in discussions with The Paradise International Foundation (www.pfi.org.cn), a non-profit organization based in China, on funding community development initiatives in Dayu village, one of the demonstration areas under the project, under Output 2.3 (Activity 2.3.2) and Output 2.4 (Activities 2.4.1 and 2.4.2). There are also potential NGO partnerships associated with the proposed environmental education initiatives under Output 2.3 (Activity 2.3.6), including with the Qinghai Environmental Education Association, a local NGO in Qinghai province. Under Output 2.2 (Activity 2.2.9), as part of the technical assistance provided for strengthening implementation capacities, the project will also provide opportunities for local NGOs to participate in trainings and building upon ongoing initiatives focused on participatory protected area management.

146. The 19th Congress of Communist Party of China delivered in October 2017, promoted the task of “developing ecological corridors and biodiversity protection networks to strengthen the quality and stability of our ecosystems”. These arrangements depend upon proactive partnerships. One example is the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau Biodiversity Conservation Network which was established in 2016 under the GEF-4 financed project in Qinghai Province to promote unique biodiversity within the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau. Another example is the Global Snow Leopard & Ecosystem Protection Program (GSLEP).

147. One of the main comparative advantages of UNDP-GEF’s global outreach is the extensive networks of multilateral agencies, inter-governmental bodies, public and private research institutions, academia, civil society, and the private sector. The project will leverage off this institutional capacity through working with regional and international partners, facilitating collaborative partnerships that will help sustain the project results after GEF funding ceases. Risks and Assumptions: 148. The key risks that could threaten the achievement of results through the chosen strategy are described below in Table 11, along with proposed mitigation measures and recommended risk owners who would be responsible to manage the risks during the project implementation phase.

Table 11: Project risks and proposed mitigation measures Risk Type Impact and Probability Proposed Mitigation Measure Risk Owner

Brief Description of the risk

Category of risk

Potential effect on project if risk were to occur.

Probability P and Impact I: 1 (low) to 5 (high)

What actions have been or will be taken to counter the risk

Who is designated to monitor and act

upon this risk

1. Ineffective cross-agency coordination might restrict the effectiveness of implementation of a landscape approach to conservation, rather than sectoral.


LOW

Execution of the project will require concerted advocacy and building upon partnerships. The Project Manager, with support from the NPD and CTA, will establish the cross-sectoral C-PAR3 Advisory Group, which will provide strategic guidance to the project and act as a bridge to complimentary initiatives. The project will deliver technical assistance for improving collaborative PA governance within the landscape, including inter-provincial. This project is building on a strong baseline of work, and steps to establish coordination among departments and sectors have already been made under the on-going UNDP supported GEF financed project in Qinghai province (including cross-sectoral advisory groups to support biodiversity mainstreaming in sectoral plans).



Strategic I=3; P=2

MODERATE

Co-management and incentive agreements have already been developed with local communities in the project area and wider Qinghai Province with success. The project is designed to provide a range of community support and to scale up incentives to increase community participation in conservation and to mitigate potential conflicts between


http://www.pfi.org.cn/

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Risk Type Impact and Probability Proposed Mitigation Measure Risk Owner communities and wildlife. It seeks win-win solutions through development of community jobs and livelihoods in support of PA management and conservation and will provide skills training. The project will actively seek involvement of existing respected community/cultural leaders as “change agents” of the project activities as a basis from which to foster local community involvement, as has already proved useful in areas of high biodiversity and environmental conservation value. Improved management of pasturelands supported through the project has potential to increase productivity and will enhance overall ecosystem resilience, benefitting local communities.


Strategic I=3; P=1

LOW

The Ecological Civilization principle has been mainstreamed into national and provincial socioeconomic development frameworks. This was emphasised in the 19th Congress of the CPC and integrated into 13th Five-Year planning frameworks. Guided by KAP survey results, the project will advocate improvements in the level of awareness, knowledge, attitudes and practices will enable decision makers and the public to better appreciate the value of the PA system.



Political I=3; P=2

LOW

At the provincial level, conservation is a high priority, as the province contains richly endowed with globally significant biodiversity and ecosystem services that are critical nationally and regionally. PA reform in China is currently centred on establishing the NP system, including the Qilian Mountains NP. The processes are underway, with full central and provincial government support. The C-PAR project is designed to feed into these reform processes, providing technical assistance in developing policies and guidelines that capture international best practice and promote protection of globally significant biodiversity.



Financial I=3; P=1

LOW


Project Manager



LOW

Project resources are allocated for project coordination. The Project Manager will be supported by a CTA and the C-PAR Program Alignment Officer. Two full time PA Coordinators are budgeted, one for the Qilian Mountains NR and one for the Qinghai Lake NNR. Moreover, a Program Steering Committee will be established to provide program level oversight. And, an aggregated reporting mechanism will be established to facilitate efficient coordination on the program.




LOW

Probability is difficult to estimate due to the high level of uncertainty and unpredictability regarding the nature and magnitude of climate change impacts. The consensus points to negative impacts, with increasing rates of habitat fragmentation, pressures on water supply, etc. Among the results envisaged under the project is establishment ecological corridors within the Qilian Mountains-Qinghai Lake landscape. One


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Risk Type Impact and Probability Proposed Mitigation Measure Risk Owner of the benefits of ecological corridors is increased habitat connectivity, providing enhanced protection for endangered species and vulnerable populations, including through climate refugia. Increased awareness by decision makers and local communities will also contribute towards strengthening the resilience of the PA system.

8. Unfavourable fluctuations in USD:CNY exchange rates.

Financial I=3; P=1

LOW


Project Manager

Risks from Social and Environmental Screening Procedure (Annex E): SESP Risk 1: Local communities (including ethnic minorities) living in key conservation zones of NP pilot (Qilian Mountains) could be gradually (and voluntarily) resettled. Standard 5: Displacement and Resettlement, 5.1. 5.4. Standard 6: Indigenous Peoples, 6.6.


I=4; P = 3

HIGH

Based on initial assessments, an environmental and social management framework (ESMF) has been prepared during the PPG phase to put in place measures for the management of the project’s social and environmental risks. In accordance with the ESMF, an environmental and social impact assessment (ESIA) will be carried out at project inception to assess this and all other environmental and social risks, followed by a subsequent environmental and social management plan (ESMP). Free and Prior Informed Consent (FPIC) must be applied throughout the ESIA/ESMP; no voluntary resettlement will take place without FPIC. Further information regarding the approved national park, including the master plan and any resettlement plans (if any resettlement is proposed), are expected to be available at project inception. The ESIA process will draw upon this information to assess the associated impacts, and to inform the specific management measures outlined in the ensuing ESMP. Indicative community level activities for the C-PAR3 project include strengthening the existing community ranger program, implementing participatory grassland restoration, and initiating collaborative livestock management in high mountain grassland ecosystems. These activities will have a positive impact in reinforcing the inherent linkages between the herder communities and conservation objectives, thus reducing the need for displacement and voluntary resettlement. If resettlement is proposed by the government GEF funds will not be used for resettlement. Any resettlement would be conducted by and financed by the government of China. Involuntary resettlement is not planned under the ongoing establishment of the NP system in China and will not be supported by this project.


SESP Risk 2: Communities in the project area (including ethnic minorities) could face economic displacement, changes to land rights and/or restricted access to resources because of the expansion of the NP and PA system, stronger PA controls and


I = 3; P = 4

HIGH

During the project preparation phase consultations with local communities, local government units, provincial government agencies, and civil society representatives have contributed to the design of project activities focus on participatory planning and management of natural resources in the Qilian Mountains-Qinghai Lake landscape. Local awareness has been further strengthened through the approval of the Qilian Mountains National Park pilot in June 2017.


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Risk Type Impact and Probability Proposed Mitigation Measure Risk Owner creation of ecological corridor areas. These impacts could impact women differently than men. Principle 1: Human Rights, 1.3. Principle 2 Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment, 2.4: Standard 5: Displacement and Resettlement 5.2., 5.4. Standard 6: Indigenous Peoples, 6.6.

As noted above, the ESIA process will further assess the possible socioeconomic impacts, including those related to economic displacement and land rights, associated with the national park establishment and project activities, to ensure that local communities are duly informed and participate in key decisions. The ESIA process will also include additional consultations with local communities regarding the planned project interventions, and management measures (i.e. the ESMP) will be integrated into project implementation to ensure socioeconomic impacts are positive and to prevent adverse impacts. Free and Prior Informed Consent (FPIC) must be applied in line with the UNDP SES Guidance Note on Indigenous Peoples. There will also be a grievance redress mechanism put in place for project-affected communities to raise any grievances and for implementation partners to respond to accordingly.



I = 4; P = 4

HIGH

During the project preparation phase consultations were made with local communities, local government officials, the QFGB, other provincial government agencies, and the civil society representatives. Further community consultations will be required during project inception, as part of the ESIA, during which Free and Prior Informed Consent (FPIC) will be applied as necessary to ensure that ethnic minority communities are fully consulted and involved in development of all project interventions and plans at the target sites. The ESMP will provide specific protocols for managing this continued involvement during project implementation, as well as monitoring, evaluation, and reporting, and project budget has been allocated for these purposes. For example, facilitators that speak the local languages will support community engagement, key documents will be prepared in local languages, and communication and knowledge management techniques will be designed consistent with cultural norms and literacy circumstances. These and all other necessary management measures will be detailed in the ESMP and stand-alone management plans for livelihoods, resettlement and/or indigenous peoples as required. Culturally appropriate consultations will be carried out with the objective of achieving agreement and FPIC will be ensured on any matters that may affect the rights and interests, lands, resources, territories and traditional livelihoods of the indigenous peoples concerned. Project activities that may adversely affect the existence, value, use or enjoyment of indigenous lands, resources or territories shall not be conducted unless agreement has been achieved through the FPIC process. If resettlement is proposed by the government GEF funds will not be used for resettlement. Any resettlement would be conducted by and financed by the government of China. Involuntary resettlement is not planned under the ongoing establishment of the NP system in China and will not be supported by this project.


SESP Risk 4: Marginalized stakeholder groups,


I = 3; P = 2

MODERATE

Consultations during the PPG phase have been supported by Tibetan assistants and some interviews were held only with women. A


https://info.undp.org/sites/bpps/SES_Toolkit/SES%20Document%20Library/Uploaded%20October%202016/Final%20UNDP%20SES%20Indigenous%20Peoples%20GN_Jan2017.pdf?Web=1

https://info.undp.org/sites/bpps/SES_Toolkit/SES%20Document%20Library/Uploaded%20October%202016/Final%20UNDP%20SES%20Indigenous%20Peoples%20GN_Jan2017.pdf?Web=1

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Risk Type Impact and Probability Proposed Mitigation Measure Risk Owner including women and ethnic minorities, could face barriers to full, meaningful participation in project activities (e.g. planned expansion of PA subsystem) that could affect them negatively. Principle 1: Human Rights 1.4, 1.6 Principle 2: Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment, 2.2 Standard 6: Indigenous Peoples 6.1., 6.4.

gender analysis was undertaken, and a gender action plan developed, which will be implemented for the duration of the project. Tibetan speaking facilitators are also planned to support activities during project implementation. Knowledge products will be developed according to the literacy and cultural circumstances of the local project communities. Further community consultations will be required during project inception, as part of the ESIA, with application of FPIC throughout, to ensure that ethnic minority communities are fully consulted and involved in development of all project interventions and plans at the target sites. Project activities that may adversely affect the existence, value, use or enjoyment of indigenous lands, resources or territories shall not be conducted unless agreement has been achieved through the FPIC process. The ESMP will provide specific protocols for managing this continued involvement during project implementation, as well as monitoring, evaluation, and reporting, and project budget has been allocated for these purposes.

SESP Risk 5: Project appointed duty-bearers at the county and township level (e.g. community mobilisers) could lack the capacity to implement the project according to UNDP standards regarding human rights, public participation, gender mainstreaming and attention to social and environmental safeguards. Principle 1: Human Rights 1.5


I = 3; P = 2

MODERATE

A capacity needs assessment of the Qinghai Forestry and Grassland Bureau (QFGB) was undertaken during the project preparation phase, and trainings are planned during the implementation phase to enhance duty-bearers’ capacities. Local capacities will be further assessed as part of the ESIA, and specific management measures designed in the ESMP for ensuring that duty-bearers are capacitated to facilitate implementation of the project activities and to ensure that project results are sustained after GEF funding ceases. Compounding nature of this risk with others is to be further assessed as part of the ESIA. Local staff will be offered training on safeguards, gender and FPIC to build local capacity, and engaged in activities related to gender and social safeguards mainstreaming.




I = 3; P = 2

MODERATE

A gender analysis and action plan were completed during the PPG phase and will guide proactive women’s empowerment efforts during implementation. Please see this plan for further detail of specific project gender mainstreaming actions and targets. The ESIA completed in accordance with the ESMF will also look at gender angles, including how gender intersects with the multiple risks in this SESP. The gender mainstreaming plan will be updated as required after the completion of the ESIA. Gender mainstreaming actions will also be incorporated into the ESMP and the Gender Action Plan updated as required.


SESP Risk 7: Project activities will occur within/adjacent to environmentally sensitive areas, posing potential risk to sensitive habitats and species if not designed


I = 2; P = 1

LOW



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Risk Type Impact and Probability Proposed Mitigation Measure Risk Owner and undertaken appropriately. Standard 1: Biodiversity Conservation and Natural Resource Management, 1.2, 1.5, 1.6 Risk 8: Climate change has potential to negatively impact species populations and targeted habitats/ protected areas. Standard 2: Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation, 2.2.


I = 2; P = 2

LOW



149. The SESP (see Annex E) was finalised during project preparation, as required by UNDP’s Social and Environmental Standards (SES). The SESP identified eight risks for this project that could have potential negative impacts in the absence of safeguards, two of these risks were rated as low, three moderate and three high. Therefore, the overall SESP risk categorization for the project is High. The three risks with high rating relate to potential physical displacement of local populations from the Qilian Mountains NP pilot core zone (SESP risk 1), the potential economic displacement of local populations due to restricted/changed access to land and resources associated with PA expansion, ecological corridor establishment and control of livestock grazing pressure (SESP risk 2), and the potential that both risks could apply to ethnic minorities (SESP risk 3). The safeguard standards triggered by these risks are: Principle 1 on Human Rights; Standard 5 on Displacement and Resettlement; and Standard 6 on Indigenous Peoples. 150. As outlined in the SESP (Annex E), risk 1, there could be potential voluntary resettlement of communities from the core zones of the Qilian Mountains NP pilot as it is established by the government. It is not yet clear whether this will be included in the Qilian Mountains NP master plan and therefore at this stage the potential for resettlement is not confirmed. Any resettlement proposed by government would be voluntary in nature. Involuntary resettlement is not planned under the ongoing establishment of the NP system in China and will not be supported by this project. The costs of any voluntary resettlement and compensation for affected communities would be funded by government as part of the government-led process to establish the Qilian Mountains NP. GEF funds will not be used for resettlement and there are no project activities that involve or directly support the voluntary resettlement of communities from Qilian Mountains NP. However, as the establishment of Qilian Mountains NP is strongly aligned with the objective and outcomes of this project and there is a potential that voluntary resettlement could arise during the master planning for the new NP, the social risks associated with any government-funded voluntary resettlement in the project area have been captured in the SESP, resulting in the ‘high risk’ categorization of the project. The potential for voluntary resettlement will become clearer when the NP master plan is released and will then be further assessed as described below.

151. In accordance with UNDP’s SES guidelines, an Environmental and Social Management Framework (ESMF) has been developed for this high risk project during the project preparation phase (see Annex F)20. This ESMF sets out the additional safeguards measures that apply to the project during the inception phase, including but not limited to: (i) completion of an environmental and social impact assessment (ESIA) to further assess potential risks and impacts due to project activities, with an ESIA report; and (ii) the development of an Environmental and Social Management Plan (ESMP) including identified management measures as required based on the ESIA. The development of the ESIA and ESMP will involve public consultation and public disclosure, in line with UNDP’s Information Disclosure Policy, and SES. Free and Prior Informed Consent (FPIC) will be applied for all activities involving ethnic minorities, including but not limited to the implementation of the ESMF. The implementation of the ESMP will be overseen by the Project M&E/Safeguards Officer and monitored throughout the duration of the project. The development of the ESIA and ESMP will involve public consultation and public disclosure, in line with UNDP’s Information Disclosure Policy, and SES. Free and Prior Informed Consent (FPIC)

20 The ESMF covers the four UNDP-supported CPAR child projects, and outlines the risks and requirements of each individual project.

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will be applied for all activities involving ethnic minorities, including but not limited to the implementation of the ESMF. 152. No project activities that could result in economic displacement, reduced access to land or resources or that could provide livelihoods restoration support for voluntarily resettled and/or economically displaced communities can commence until the ESIA and ESMP have been completed and approved and the identified management measures are put in place. Specifically, the following project activities cannot commence until the ESMP is approved and identified management measures are in place: Output 1.1, activity 1.1.6 operationalizing regulations for Qilian Mountains NP; Output 2.1, activities 2.1.1 – 2.1.3 operational planning associated with Qilian Mountains NP establishment and management of Qilian Lake NNR, and technical assistance for the establishment of ecological corridors; Output 2.3, activities 2.3.2 – 2.3.5 demonstrations of participatory habitat management (Qinghai Lake pasture herder groups only); Output 2.4.1 – 2.4.2 sustainable livelihoods support that could include recipients that have been economically displaced and/or voluntarily resettled. Other relevant activities may be identified during the completion of the ESIA and will be managed as determined appropriate based on that assessment. 153. The project will adhere to UNDP SES Guidance Note Standard 6 on Indigenous Peoples. Specific project-related risks on ethnic minorities in the demonstration landscape will be further assessed as part of the ESIA, and required management measures, including the development of an Indigenous Peoples Plan, detailed in the ESMP. In accordance with Guidance Note on Standard 6, project activities that could adversely affect the existence, value, use or enjoyment of indigenous lands, resources or territories shall not be conducted unless agreement has been achieved through the FPIC process. Culturally appropriate consultation will be carried out with the objective of achieving agreement and FPIC will be ensured on any matters that may affect the rights and interests, lands, resources, territories (whether titled or untitled to the people in question) and traditional livelihoods of ethnic minorities. 154. Per the ESMF, a project-level Grievance Redress Mechanism (GRM) will be established during the first year of project implementation and detailed within the ESMP. The full detail of the GRM will be agreed following the completion of the project ESIA and ESMP. Interested stakeholders may raise a grievance at any time to the Project Management Office, the Executing Agency, Implementing Agency (UNDP), or the GEF. Stakeholder engagement plan: 155. A stakeholder analysis was undertaken during project preparation to identify key stakeholders, consult with them regarding their interests in the project and define their roles and responsibilities during project implementation. Based upon this analysis, summarised below in Table 12, a stakeholder engagement plan has been developed to guide the implementation team (see Annex G). 156. Stakeholders will be consulted during the ESIA and on the development of the ESMP (and any stand-alone management plans). The ESMF and ESMP will undergo a period of public disclosure in accordance with UNDP SES policy.

Table 12: Stakeholder summary indicating mandates and roles in project

Stakeholders Mandate Role in Project Implementing Partner: Qinghai Forestry and Grassland Bureau

The Qinghai Forestry and Grassland Bureau (QFGB) is mandated to implement State principles, policies, laws and rules concerning the improvement of forest resources of Qinghai Province. The QFGB also drafts forestry regulations and is responsible for enforcement. The QFGB is responsible for establishing and managing nature reserves, forest parks and wetland parks for protection of forest and wetland ecosystems.

The QFGB is the implementing partner for the project, will designate a National Project Director, who will chair the project steering committee. QFGB will also set up a Project Management Office (PMO) and recruit PMO staff. Involved on all outputs.

GEF Agency: United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

The UNDP has had a resident office in China for many years, providing a broad spectrum of development assistance, including sustainable

The UNDP is the GEF Agency for the project and the C-PAR Program Coordination Agency. UNDP will be the Senior Supplier on the Project and

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Stakeholders Mandate Role in Project management of natural resources, governance, gender equality, and the rule of law.

Program Steering Committees. The UNDP Country Office will provide administrative and strategic guidance to the project, and support procurement processes, including for international sourced goods and services. The UNDP-GEF Regional Technical Advisor based at the Regional Hub for Asia and the Pacific will provide strategic technical assistance and project assurance. UNDP is also one of the cofinancing partners on the project. All outputs.

Key Provincial Agencies and Governmental Stakeholders: Qinghai Provincial Development and Reform Commission

Responsible for coordination and implementation of Qinghai’s Development Plan and matters related to domestic engineering

A key project stakeholder; will be invited to be a member of the C-PAR3 advisory group. Outputs 1.1, 3.1.


The Qinghai Provincial Department of Finance is responsible for allocation and control of provincial finances for Qinghai Province.

The Qinghai Provincial Department of Finance is the main cofinancing partner on the project and will provide an oversight function for financial management and control of GEF funds dispersed. Outputs 1.2, 2.43, 3.1.

Qinghai Agriculture and Animal and Husbandry Department

Responsible for pasture use, aquatic products, livestock health and management, grasslands pest control, aquatic management (including fisheries), etc.

The Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Department will play a key role in the project’s work with local communities and herders relevant to livestock and grassland management and restoration. A senior official from the Department will be a member of the project steering committee, and professional staff members will be invited to be members of the C-PAR3 advisory group. All outputs.

Qinghai Lake NNR Management Bureau

Responsible for protection and management of the Qinghai Lake NNR.

The Qinghai Lake NNR will be a key partner on the project, hosting a PA Coordination Team, assigning a PA focal point, and designating a senior official on the project steering committee. All outputs.

Qilian Mountain NR Management Bureau

Responsible for protection and management of the Qilian Mountains NR.

The Qilian Mountains NR will be a key partner on the project, hosting a PA Coordination Team, assigning a PA focal point, and designating a senior official on the project steering committee. All outputs.


The Qinghai Lake NNR reports to the Qinghai Lake Scenic Area Administration.

The Qinghai Lake Scenic Area Administration will be an important stakeholder on the project, particularly with respect to activities aimed at improving collaborative governance and enhancing the sustainability of PA financing. Management and professional staff will be invited to be members of the C-PAR3 advisory group. All outputs under Components 1 and 2, and Outputs 3.1 and 3.2.

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Stakeholders Mandate Role in Project Qinghai Environmental Protection Bureau

Coordination of environmental issues, participation in environmental assessment and implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity.

They are a key partner for the project, particularly in coordination and outreach activities, and professional staff will be invited to be members of the C-PAR3 advisory group. Outputs 1.3, 3.1, 3.2.

Qinghai Department of Natural Resources

Responsible for supervision and management of land development and utilization of resources in the project area, implementation of wildlife habitat protection laws and regulations and conservation planning.

They are a key partner for the project, and professional staff will be invited to be members of the C-PAR3 advisory group. Outputs 1.1, 1.3, 3.1, 3.2.

Nature Reserve Management Stations within the Qilian Mountains-Qinghai Lake landscape

They are key partners and beneficiaries of the project.

Representatives of the NR management stations will receive training, participate in activities and provide support for project implementation. All outputs.

Three-River Source National Park Management Agency

The Three-River Source National Park (TRS NP) Management Agency has been established under the Qinghai Provincial Government as the agency responsible for management of the Three-River Source NP.

The TRS NP Management Agency will be responsible for implementation of project activities on the C-PAR1 (national) project at the TRS NP, which will include establishing a training centre within the agency. The TRS NP Management Agency will be an important partner on the C-PAR3 project, invited to be a member of the advisory group. Outputs 1.1, 1.2, 2.2, 3.1, 3.2, 3.3.

Qinghai Lake Farm, and Qinghai Lake Hudong Breeding Sheep Farm

Research farms supporting the conservation and livestock management activities in the Qinghai Lake region.

These stakeholders will be engaged in th development of the landscape conservation strategy and will be involved in development and implementation of pasture management plans. Outputs 1.1, 1.3, 2.3

Key National Agencies and Central Governmental Stakeholders: Ministry of Finance The Ministry of Finance is responsible for allocating

government funding and coordinating extra budgetary donor financing. The GEF Operational Focal Point is also based in the Ministry of Finance.

The Ministry of Finance will be a key member of the C-PAR Program Steering Committee. Output 3.1.

Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR)

The Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) was created on 17 March 2018, replacing the Ministry of Land & Resources, State Oceanic Administration (SOA), the National Surveying and Mapping Bureau and many functions of several other ministries and agencies, and is responsible for overseeing the development and protection of China’s natural resources, setting up a spatial planning system and establishing a system for payment of ecosystem services. This ministry is mandated with responsibility over the national PA system, through the subordinate State Forest and Grassland Administration / State National Park Authority.

This ministry was created at the end of the PPG phase. Considering their assigned mandate, this ministry will be one of the key stakeholders during the project. All outputs

National Forestry and Grassland Administration (NFGA) (http://www.forestry.gov.cn) 21

Until 17 March 2018, the State Forestry Administration (SFA) was the competent authority for forestry under the State Council, responsible for supervising the establishment and management of

SFA was a key stakeholder in the project at the national level, overseeing the provincial forestry system. It is anticipated that the new State

21 The government of China is currently undergoing a process of reform for its national Ministries aiming to bring together currently fragmented environmental roles and responsibilities. The National People’s Congress recently (17 March) passed the creation of the new Ministry of Ecology and Environment (taking on MEP functions, among others) and the new Ministry of Natural Resources (taking on functions from SFA, SOA and zoning functions from NDRC, among others). It is not yet fully clear how individual PA-related functions will be represented in the new Ministries. The stakeholder engagement plan, particularly the involvement of national agencies, will be revised

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Stakeholders Mandate Role in Project nature reserves of forests, terrestrial wild animals, and wetlands. Following the national institutional reform22, the State Forestry and Grassland Administration was established on April 10, 2018. The new Administration is mainly responsible for the monitoring and management of forest, grassland, wetland and desert; the development, utilization and protection of wildlife; ecological protection, restoration, reforestation, as well as National Park management. It is under the management of the Ministry of Natural Resources.

Forestry and Grassland Administration will remain a key stakeholder, including a new State National Park Management Bureau. In turn, a State National Park Department has been planned as an internal structure of SFPA, which is waiting for approval. Provincial level institutional reform has not yet started because central reform is still in progress.

Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE; formerly Ministry of Environmental Protection, MEP)23

From 17 March 2018, the functions of the Ministry of Environmental Protection were absorbed into the newly established Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE), which has also been mandated with the duties of overseeing river, marine and soil pollution, as well as climate change issues previously held by other ministries and departments. Until 17 March 2018 when MEE was created (see above), MEP was responsible for establishing a sound basic system for environmental protection; responsible for the overall coordination, supervision and administration of major environmental problems; undertakes the responsibilities for attaining national pollution reduction targets; guided, coordinated, and oversaw ecological conservation effort; Responsible for the supervision and administration of the prevention and control of environmental pollution, etc.

This ministry was created at the end of the PPG phase. The FECO division of MEP is expected to remain in place, under the new MEE. Key partner of the overall C-PAR program, of which this project will demonstrate many of the ongoing and planned national reforms. All outputs.

Subnational Governmental Stakeholders: Local governments and forestry administrations where proposed project interventions are located including the Haiyan Forestry Bureau, Gangcha Forestry and Forestry Police Bureau, and the Haibei Autonomous Prefecture Forestry Bureau

A thorough socioeconomic study was made of the Qilian Mountains-Qinghai Lake landscape. The subnational government agencies in these jurisdictions will be responsible to administer the expansion of the protected areas, including drafting and managing possible resettlement and dislocation plans.

Provincial, county, township and village government units will be key partners during project implementation. Representative subnational officials are proposed to be members of the project steering committee. Project activities will be closely coordinated with local government units, starting with the preparation of the environmental and social impact assessment and the associated consultations. All outputs under Component 2, and Outputs 3.2 and 3.3.

Forestry and Grassland Bureau of Gansu Province

The Forestry and Grassland Bureau of Gansu Province is mandated to implement State principles, policies, laws and rules concerning the improvement of forest resources of Gansu Province. The Qilian Mountains National Park, which is currently under pilot implementation, is partly situated in Gansu Province.

The project will promote improved inter-provincial collaborative governance of the Qilian Mountains NP. Forestry and Grassland Bureau of Gansu Province management and staff officials will also be invited to participate in joint training and field interventions. Outputs 1.1, 1.3, 2.2.

Local communities where project interventions are planned: Local communities Local communities where project interventions are

planned are among the key beneficiaries of the Local communities will participate in collaborative PA management

during inception phase as the structure of the new Ministries and the allocation of functions becomes clearer. 22 http://english.forestry.gov.cn/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1846:state-administration-of-forestry-and-grassland-of-china-established&catid=21:news&Itemid=105 23 Ibid (to footnote 21)

http://english.forestry.gov.cn/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1846:state-administration-of-forestry-and-grassland-of-china-established&catid=21:news&Itemid=105

http://english.forestry.gov.cn/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1846:state-administration-of-forestry-and-grassland-of-china-established&catid=21:news&Itemid=105

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Stakeholders Mandate Role in Project project. Target villages/communities were selected based upon stakeholder consultations and a common set of criteria.

arrangements, receive specific training, be involved in sustainable alternative livelihoods demonstrations, etc. All outputs under Component 2, and Outputs 3.2 and 3.3.

Non-governmental Organisations: International and domestic NGOs, including but not limited to WWF, CI, IUCN, WCS, TNC, China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation, Sanjiangyuan Ecological Protection Foundation, Qinghai Environmental Education Association, Global Environmental Institute, Friends of Nature, Shanshui Partnership, etc.

There are several international and domestic NGOs operating in Qinghai Province, promoting and advocating for improved and more participatory biodiversity conservation.

The project will develop partnerships with NGOs and community-based organisations for supporting the planned interventions. Representatives of NGOs will also be advocated for membership of the C-PAR3 Advisory Group. All outputs.

Scientific and Research Institutions: Scientific and research institutes and universities, and the broader professional community

Responsible for delivering technical assistance, carrying out field surveys, development of knowledge management systems, etc.: including the Northwest Institute of Plateau Biology (an institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS)), as well as other institutes, universities, and consultancies.

Scientific and research institutes, universities, and consultancies will be invited to bid on procurements under the project for technical assistance, e.g., carrying out biodiversity assessments on Przewalski’s gazelle and snow leopard, and provide technical guidance for conservation actions under the project. All outputs.

Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences

Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences (CRAES) was formally established in 1978, under the Ministry of Environmental Protection as a national not-for-profit environmental scientific research institution, to carry out innovative and basic scientific research, serving the engineering and consulting needs of major environmental issues in economic and social development and playing an important role in the country's strategy of sustainable development and environmental protection.

CRAES will be involved with capacity development aspects of the C-PAR program, e.g., development of PA competency standards, etc. As executing agency for the C-PAR6 project, CRAES will be a member of the Program Steering Committee. Outputs 1.3, 2.2, 3.1.

Private and Business Sector: Enterprise sector There has been increasing levels of participation by

the enterprise sector in biodiversity conservation in China, including establishment of private reserves, donating funds through corporate social responsibility initiatives, scaling up local cooperatives that are sustainably utilising ecosystem goods and services, etc.

Partnerships with the enterprise sector will be developed, as part of the interventions aimed at diversifying PA financing, tourism partnerships and concessions, scaling up sustainable livelihood initiatives for local communities, etc. Outputs 1.2, 2.4, 3.2.

157. Stakeholders will be consulted during the ESIA and on the development of the ESMP (and any stand-alone management plans). The ESMF and ESMP will undergo a period of public disclosure in accordance with UNDP SES policy. Gender equality and empowering women: 158. The Qilian Mountain Area is a mixed landscape of water head natural forest, managed forest, rangeland and wetland. The minority groups of Tibetan and Mongolian backgrounds are using the rangeland for cattle and sheep grazing, and the women play a significant role in grazing activities, unlike other areas where men dominate in workforce. Circumstances demand that gender issues be seriously addressed in the project design and

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implementation. During PPG period women were consulted about their needs and preference regarding the project activities, such as skill training needs and methods of alternative livelihood development. Women will be actively involved in the project management and decision-making at different levels. For example, women will join the Project Steering Committee as members at the province level, join the day-to-day project management team at county/township levels, and provide guidance to the village committees and herder groups at the site level. The percentage of women in the above-mentioned committees or teams will comprise not less than 40%. Furthermore, women will actively participate in the field implementation of project activities and benefit from their contributions. As the key role players in livestock raising and rangeland management, women will participate in biodiversity monitoring, patrolling, and day-to-day management of the rangeland ecosystem. The project will ensure that the women can benefit from their contribution and will help to raise their status in their family and communities. 159. The gender mainstreaming strategy for the project recognizes the differences between labour, knowledge, needs, and priorities of men and women, and calls for:

• Equal consultation with women and men on their needs and requirements associated with project interventions;

• Promotion of equal representation and participation of women and men in project activities; • Development of strategic and planning documents with equal consultation of women and men at all

levels, ranging from national, provincial, county and to the target villages; • Providing gender trainings to all members of the PMO, the Community Mobilisers, and consultants

and other service providers tasked with community related activities. • Equal payment for men and women, when applicable; and • 50% of the project direct beneficiaries are women.

160. The PMO and the two PA implementation teams will assign gender focal points among the staff members, who will be responsible for overseeing implementation of the gender action plan and work with contracted gender specialists in trainings, awareness campaigns, and monitoring and evaluation activities. One of the criteria for selecting the villages for project interventions was associated with opportunity to advance gender equality, and the project will work with existing women’s groups and/or establish ones to support the design and implementation of project activities. More information on gender mainstreaming is included in Annex I (Gender Analysis and Action Plan) to the project document. South-South and Triangular Cooperation (SSTrC): 161. There are several opportunities for potential cooperation with other countries, visiting experts, and/or training and exchange visits for PA and government staff on key issues where greater experience and clearer vision exist as a result of other initiatives, including: development and management of ecological corridor systems (e.g. Bhutan, Nepal, Russia); collaborative National Park management (Australia, USA, South Africa, Nepal); responding to HWC (Bhutan, India, Indonesia); and community-based ecotourism development (Nepal). Ongoing and recently completed UNDP-GEF protected area projects in Mongolia may also provide good learning opportunities on pasture management, community engagement and networking. The Global Snow Leopard and Ecosystem Protection Program also provides good opportunity for networking and learning on species conservation planning with assistance from WWF China, including UNDP-GEF project 5413 Transboundary Cooperation for Snow Leopard and Ecosystem Conservation. Sustainability and Scaling Up: 162. The sustainability of the project is ensured across several fronts. First and most importantly, the project is strongly supported by top leaders of the Chinese Government. The establishment of a NP system has been clearly stated in the policies of the Qinghai provincial and the Chinese central government. The C-PAR3 Advisory Group will be established during the implementation of the project to ensure technical appropriateness while drawing on tried and tested international experience. Institutional and financial sustainability is particularly strong country ownership, and economic and environmental sustainability are embedded into the project with clear targets on the biodiversity conservation and sustainable use of its components.

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163. Financial resources are often the main driving force regarding sustainability. A separate output has been designed focusing on enhancing the sustainability of PA financing, with an outcome level target of increasing available PA finances for the PA system managed by the QFGB by more than 30% by the end of the project. This will be achieved through diversification of funding sources, broadening participation of non-governmental stakeholders, more efficiently integrating extra budgetary funds into strategic PA financing strategies, more effectively utilising available resources, e.g., through implementing ecological compensation schemes based on ecosystem values, and improving financing reporting to more clearly recording funds invested for PA management.

164. The establishment of the national NP system will demand higher capacities, but the expected increase in central government funding will support the sustained development of institutional and individual capacities. Sustainability of capacity will be elaborated in the capacity development plan that will be prepared under Output 1.3 (Activity 1.3.1) upon completion of the updated needs assessment at project inception. A series of train the trainers events and domestic and international knowledge transfer trainings are planned among the child projects of the C-PAR program, promoting a learning-by-doing approach and facilitating cross-provincial and cross-sectoral partnerships that will last well beyond the lifespan of the GEF funding. By operationalising the PA competencies and performance standards developed in the national C-PAR1 project (Output 1.3, Activity 1.3.2) on this project (Outputs 1.3 and 2.2), the capacity development approaches will be institutionalised across the landscape, thus ensuring continued professional development for the existing staff and new staff brought on in years to come. The joint, interactive workshops planned under Output 2.1 (Activity 2.1.4) are designed to strengthen collaborative PA governance capacities through focusing on specific thematic topics, such as biodiversity monitoring, SMART patrolling, information management, participatory approaches and conflict resolution, etc. These interactions will build enduring collaborative partnerships, not only among the key institutional stakeholders but also with local communities and NGOs. 165. With respect to institutional frameworks and governance, the project will provide technical assistance towards the ongoing PA reform process, introducing international best practice regarding legislation and institutional arrangements. The project will provide important experiential learning results on collaborative PA governance, including inter-provincial arrangements in case of the Qilian Mountains NP pilot and strengthened local governance units of the Qinghai Lake NNR and Qinghai Lake Scenic Area. The project has adopted a bottom-up approach to ensure the project ownership by local participants, including through genuine collaborative management arrangements within the target areas in Component 2.

166. With respect to the environmental dimension of sustainability, GEF funds are allocated for promoting a more representative PA sub-system in the Qilian Mountains-Qinghai Lake landscape, increasing protection of globally significant biodiversity. Building from the Qinghai biodiversity conservation strategy developed under the GEF-4 project, this project will integrate climate adaptation aspects into the Qilian Mountains-Qinghai Lake conservation strategy and action plan and include climate change among the capacity development subjects, thus contributing towards a more resilient PA sub-system.

167. The niche aspects implemented on the project, including collaborative PA governance, establishment of ecological corridors, participatory pasture management plans, and pilot demonstrations of tourism partnership(s), value-based eco-compensation, volunteer management, etc., provide scale-able models for replication across the landscape and elsewhere in the province and China. The project will also provide best practice guidance on social inclusion, including strengthened community engagement, broader participation by women, enhanced involvement of ethnic minorities, and increasing awareness on the value of the NP system and how management of the NP system will impact the well-being of the communities inside the boundaries and nearby.

168. Substantial resources are allocated for capacity development, including a target to train 750 people through a wide range of competency-based trainings, site level learning-by-doing, and international exchange. The project will identify and train “change agents”, i.e., people having the authority and aptitude to proactively advocate for integration and replication of the knowledge gained into sector level plans and strategies. Diverse livelihood possibilities for rural people also increases the resilience at the household and community level, reducing pressures on fragile biodiversity and scarce ecosystem goods and services.

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169. The likelihood for replication will also be enhanced through strengthening collaborative partnerships, including inter-governmental, with civil society, with institutional partners, and with the enterprise sector. Distilling project results and lessons learned into informative, easily understood knowledge products will also support replication. And, scaling up will be facilitated through a functional and user-friendly biodiversity knowledge platform developed under the C-PAR1 (national) project, where PA management practitioners can share best practices, and where the public can participate through citizen science, volunteering, etc.

V. PROJECT MANAGEMENT Cost efficiency and effectiveness: 170. The project strategy is centred on consolidating the Qilian Mountains-Qinghai Lake landscape. With a strong emphasis on diversification and increase in PA financing, the project is designed to impart long-lasting contributions towards sound and participatory management of the landscape. Moreover, increasing coverage of globally significant biodiversity enhances the management effectiveness of the PA system, and mainstreaming PA planning with development, e.g., through the ecological red-lining and other processes, promotes rational decisions to be made regarding conservation and resource use. 171. With respect to cost efficiency, GEF funds are allocated for capacity building activities aimed at strengthening enabling conditions at the institutional level and delivering pragmatic knowledge to local communities and governance units, facilitating more genuine collaborative management arrangements. This is considered a cost-efficient investment, by contributing to foundational capacities for sustainable stewardship of the landscape. Efficiency gains are integrated into the project through collaborating with the other child projects on technical advisory, knowledge management, aggregated reporting, etc. Several cost-effective considerations are also incorporated into the design of the project activities. For instance, local service providers, including civil society organisations and consultants, are envisaged to carry out many of the community level activities. Field interventions are designed as demonstrations that can be replicated and scaled up in the same communities or elsewhere in the PA system. 172. The total GEF investment of US$2,652,294 for this project will leverage a minimum of $18 million in cofinancing from the Qinghai provincial government, a highly cost-effective ratio of 6.79. Finally, the receipt of GEF resources channelled through a UN agency often facilitates their ability to achieve the necessary political commitment to take difficult decisions on issues such as reforming outdated legislation, making plans for extending the PA system network, strengthening inter-sectoral coordination, and adopting more environmentally friendly practices in related sectors. Overall this represents a very cost-effective investment of GEF funds. Project management: 173. The Project Management Office (PMO) will be based at the Qinghai Forestry and Grassland Bureau in Xining. Coordination with other C-PAR child projects will be led by the Project Manager in liaison with the C-PAR Program Alignment Officer working under the C-PAR 1 National Project. Coordination amongst provincial government agencies will be facilitated by the International Division of Qinghai Provincial Financial Department, and the C-PAR3 Advisory Group will be established to provide an avenue for coordination, information exchange and engagement with a wide range of provincial stakeholders including NGOs and academic institutions. 174. Protected Area Coordination Teams will be located at the project demonstration sites, namely: Qilian Mountains NR and the Qinghai Lake NNR. Agreement on intellectual property rights and use of logo on the project’s deliverables and disclosure of information: 175. To accord proper acknowledgement to the GEF for providing grant funding, the GEF logo will appear together with the UNDP logo on all promotional materials, other written materials like publications developed by the project, and project hardware. Any citation on publications regarding projects funded by the GEF will also

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accord proper acknowledgement to the GEF. Information will be disclosed in accordance with relevant policies notably the UNDP Disclosure Policy24 and the GEF policy on public involvement25.

24 See http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/operations/transparency/information_disclosurepolicy/ 25 See https://www.thegef.org/gef/policies_guidelines

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VI. PROJECT RESULTS FRAMEWORK This project will contribute to the following Sustainable Development Goal (s): Goal 15: Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss Secondary contributions towards SDG Goals 1 (end poverty), SDG 5 (gender equality), SDG 10 (reduce inequality), SDG 13 (climate change), and SDG 17 (global partnerships for sustainable development. This project will contribute to the following country outcome included in the UNDAF/Country Program Document: UNDAF 2016-2020: Priority Area No. 2: Improved and Sustainable Environment; Outcome 2: More people enjoy a cleaner, healthier and safer environment as a result of improved environmental protection and sustainable green growth This project will be linked to the following output of the UNDP Strategic Plan (2018-2020): 1.4.1. Solutions scaled up for sustainable management of natural resources, including sustainable commodities and green and inclusive value chains.

Objective and Outcome Indicators Baseline26

Mid-term Target27

End of Project Target

Data Collection Methods and Risks/Assumptions28

Project Objective: To strengthen the effectiveness of the protected area system in the Qilian Mountains-Qinghai Lake landscape to conserve globally significant biodiversity, including snow leopard and Przewalski’s gazelle

Indicator 1: Number of direct project beneficiaries, measured based on: a. Cumulative total of the following: b. Number of people obtaining PA competency qualification and staff directly involved in the project c. Number of people living in the communities where project interventions are carried out. (Mandatory UNDP indicator) (GEF-7 core indicator 11)

Estimates of direct beneficiaries based on a capacity building needs assessment and stakeholder consultations during the PPG phase. These estimates will be verified at project inception through development of the capacity development plan the C-PAR3 project and confirmation consultations with villages where project interventions are planned.

a. Cumulative total: a. Cumulative total: Achievement towards the training results will be measured through documentary evidence, including certificate of training records and monitoring reports of community-based interventions. Risks: • Development of trainings according PA competency-

based standards delayed. • Local communities are reluctant to actively participate. • Community interventions delayed due to prolonged

environmental and social impact assessment (ESIA) process.

Assumptions: • Development of trainings according to PA competency-

based standards is prioritised at project inception, allowing sufficient time for implementation.

• Pilot coordinators and support contingent able to persuade communities to engage on the project.

• ESIA process is prioritised at project inception, and resources allocated are sufficient to complete the process.

1,250 (50% women) 4,025 (50% women)



250 (50% women) 750 (50% women)



1,000 (50% women) 3,275 (50% women)

Indicator 2: Extent of PA sub-system expansion (including ecological corridors), with focus on increasing coverage of KBAs and improving habitat connectivity (UNDP IRRF indicator: 1.4.1 Natural resources that are managed under a sustainable use, conservation, access and benefit-sharing regime: a) Area of land and marine habitat under protection (hectares)) (GEF-7 core indicator 1.1)

Baseline area 2017:

PA sub-system: 1,270,600 ha

Ecological corridors: none


To be confirmed at project inception

833,950 ha expansion of PA sub-system comprising:

a. Qilian Mountains NP on Qinghai side expanded by 804,600 ha

b. Qinghai Lake 29,350 ha of ecological corridors established

Progress towards achievement of results under this indicator will be measured according to State Council gazette or Provincial Government gazette records of approved expanded protected areas and establishment of ecological corridor(s). Risks: • Approval of Qilian Mountains NP does not occur within

the lifetime of the project. • PA expansion as part of the establishment of the NP

system occurs outside of KBAs.

Assumptions:

26 Baseline, mid-term and end of project target levels must be expressed in the same neutral unit of analysis as the corresponding indicator. Baseline is the current/original status or condition and need to be quantified. The baseline must be established before the project document is submitted to the GEF for final approval. The baseline values will be used to measure the success of the project through implementation monitoring and evaluation. 27 Target is the change in the baseline value that will be achieved by the mid-term review and then again by the terminal evaluation. 28 Data collection methods should outline specific tools used to collect data and additional information as necessary to support monitoring. The PIR cannot be used as a source of verification.

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• Approval of the NP will occur during the lifetime of the project.

• Ecological corridor(s) are recognised in the PA sub-system.

Indicator 3: Estimated populations of threatened species, as indicated by biodiversity assessments, for a. Snow leopard (Panthera uncia); IUCN Red List: VU; and b. Przewalski’s gazelle (Procapra przewalskii); IUCN Red List: EN

(UNDP IRRF indicator: 1.4.1 Natural resources that are managed under a sustainable use, conservation, access and benefit-sharing regime: e) Biodiversity (using appropriate units of measure))

a. Snow leopard

camera-based detection rate 0.082

individuals/camera/month (2017 survey)

b. Przewalski’s gazelle

1,468

(2016 baseline)

Source: Annexes L and M Note: Baselines to be verified/updated at project inception.

No program level midterm targets.

Stable or improved status of targeted threatened species.

Data Sources & Measurement: Systematic monitoring protocols for individual species adopted by targeted sites, including camera trapping grids; fixed transects/routes and direct observations. Means of verification include annual reports and technical reports from project sites and participating organizations Risks: • Extreme climatic, environmental or disease conditions

impact species populations Assumptions: • Removal of threats through improved protection allows

habitat condition and integrity to improve and globally threatened species populations to persist and recover.

Outcome29 1: Consolidated PA sub-system recognizing connectivity and KBAs and mainstreamed into provincial planning

Output 1.1: Consolidated landscape conservation strategy and action plan, threatened species plans and PA sub-system regulations for the Qilian Mountains-Qinghai Lake landscape adopted and mainstreamed into the provincial 14th five-year plan (FYP) Output 1.2: Policies and guidelines developed for value-based allocations of eco-compensation funds, broader participation of the enterprise sector, and innovative financing mechanisms at the community level, strengthening the sustainability of PA financing. Output 1.3 Institutional enabling environment strengthened through introduction of PA competency-based professional development and joint capacity building for collaborative PA governance. Indicator 4: Extent to which legal, policy and institutional frameworks reflect current national policy for biodiversity conservation

There are gaps in current legal, policy and institutional frameworks, in terms of insufficient cross-sector collaboration, under-represented habitats within the PA system, fragmentation of the PA system, and key biodiversity areas (KBAs) not recognised in PA planning and management

Improvements to legal, policy, and institutional frameworks developed and under approval process.

Legal, policy and institutional frameworks associated with the management of the Qilian Mountains-Qinghai Lake landscape are strengthened through: a. Consolidated Qilian Mountains-Qinghai Lake landscape conservation strategy and action plan adopted and mainstreamed into 14th FYP. b. Adoption of strengthened and/or new policies and regulations for wildlife conservation and PA management recognizing KBAs

Progress towards achievement of the results under this indicator will be measured through documentary evidence, including a completed Provincial Government gazette records. Risks: • The project is unable to engage with key stakeholders.

Assumptions: • The project is effective at engaging with key

stakeholders.

Indicator 5: Institutional capacities for protected area management, as indicated in scores of the UNDP Capacity Development Scorecard for the following areas:




Progress towards achievement of results under this indicator will be measured using the UNDP Protected Area Administration Capacity Development Scorecard adapted for the CPAR program. The baseline scores should be validated at inception, and each assessment should follow a participatory, workshop-

Area 1: 56% Area 1: For midterm, target set only for

Area 1: 89%

Area 2: 42% Area 2: Area 2: 79%

Area 3: 40% Area 3: Area 3: 67%

29Outcomes are short to medium term results that the project makes a contribution towards, and that are designed to help achieve the longer term objective. Achievement of outcomes will be influenced both by project outputs and additional factors that may be outside the direct control of the project.

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Area 1: Capacity to conceptualize and formulate policies, legislations, strategies and programs Area 2: Capacity to implement policies, legislation, strategies and programs Area 3: Capacity to engage and build consensus among all stakeholders Area 4: Capacity to mobilize information and knowledge Area 5: Capacity to monitor, evaluate, report and learn

Area 4: 44% Area 4: total score

Area 4: 89% based approach, involving some of the same people for continuity. Risks: • Staff turnover could set back the institutional level

scores. • Cofinancing contributions are not realized for trainings

and other capacity building activities.

Assumptions: • Scores are representative and based on participatory

inputs. • Cofinancing partners fulfil commitments regarding

trainings and other capacity building activities.

Area 5: 47% Area 5: Area 5: 80%

Total Score: 44% Total Score: 60% Total Score: 79%

Indicator 6: PA system financing gap

Annual PA financing gap (basic management needs): USD 5.195 million Total annual PA finances available: USD 10.39 million (based on 2016 CNY figures converted to USD) Est. annual PA financing needs, basic: USD 15.585 million (based on 2016 CNY figures converted to USD)

Annual PA financing gap (basic management needs) reduced to: USD 4.6755 million (10% reduction)

Annual PA financing gap (basic management needs) reduced to: USD 3.6365 million (30% reduction)

For estimated annual PA financing needs for the basic management scenario, the baseline (in CNY figures) should be adjusted for inflation and then converted to USD using the BoC exchange rate for the year of the assessment. Baseline was developed using GEF-6 BD tracking tools for Objective 1, Section III. Risks: • Diversifying PA financing dissuaded as part of PA reform • Access to financing data restricted.

Assumptions: • Midterm and terminal targets for PA finances available

are inclusive of inflation. • Protocols developed during PPG phase are followed for

updating annual PA financial analysis. • PA reform policies favour diversifying financing streams

and promote increasing revenue generation. • Access to financing data unrestricted.

Outcome 2: Strengthened and more participatory management of the expanded PA sub-system in the Qilian Mountains-Qinghai Lake landscape

Output 2.1: Operationalization and expansion of the PA sub-system according to the consolidated landscape conservation strategy and action plan. Output 2.2: Strengthened implementation capacities, coordination and partnerships across the Qilian Mountains-Qinghai Lake PA sub-system. Output 2.3: Demonstrations of participatory habitat restoration and management arrangements within the expanded PA sub-system. Output 2.4: Pilot interventions for sustainable livelihoods, enterprise sector involvement and conservation financing, improving community benefits and biodiversity threat reduction. Indicator 7: Protected area management effectiveness score, as indicated by METT scores, for a. Qilian Mountains NR b. Qinghai Lake NNR (GEF-7 core indicator 1.2)

a. Qilian Mountains NR: 31% (Dec 2017) b. Qinghai Lake NNR: 49% (Dec 2017)

a. Qilian Mountains NR: 40% b. Qinghai Lake NNR: 59%.)

Minimum 40% increase from baseline: a. Qilian Mountains NR: 50% Achievement of sound management with score >67%: b. Qinghai Lake NNR: 67%

Progress towards achievement of results under this indicator will be measured using the GEF-6 BD tracking tools for Objective 1, Section II. The baseline scores will be validated at inception, and each assessment should follow a participatory, workshop-based approach, involving some of the same people for continuity. Risks: • Establishment of NPs delayed, resulting in slower

improvements to management effectiveness. • Midterm and terminal METT assessments are not

sufficiently participatory and inconsistent with baseline approach.

Assumptions: • Establishment of NP system progresses as planned, with

high level central and local government support.

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• Midterm and terminal METT assessments will be made through a participatory, workshop approach.

Indicator 8: Threats to globally significant biodiversity at project demonstration sites reduced, through: a. Degraded grasslands restored through participatory management; b. Habitat under improved management, including: (i) Qilian Mountains NR: Conservation set asides (or similar) within pasturelands managed by traditional herder groups aimed at reducing the threat of prey depletion due to competition with livestock and poaching; (ii) Qinghai Lake NNR: Reduction in fencing density in densely fenced areas in target villages, aimed at reducing fragmentation of habitats through fencing.

Intervention areas will be defined in the pasture management plans developed for the target areas.

a. TBD at project inception

b. TBD at project inception

a. 20,000 ha degraded grasslands restored through participatory arrangements

b. 60,000 ha under improved management; threat reduction targets TBD at project inception

Data Source & Measurement: Progress towards achievement of this indicator will be measured through documentary evidence, including survey reports, enforcement records, etc. Risks: • Project fails to change behaviour of those causing the

threats. • Inaccessibility and large size of targeted landscapes

render patrolling difficult and facilitate illegal activities. Assumptions: • Threats are due to local factors and can be addressed

through engaging relevant stakeholders and law enforcement.

Indicator 9: Advances to collaborative PA governance, as indicated through a. Demonstrations of collaborative governance arrangements. b. Recommendations on collaborative PA governance documented and shared with provincial and national stakeholders

The Integrated Plan for Establishing a National Park System in China, issued by the Office of the State Council on 26 September 2017 provides a vision for a National Park System, including a National Park Law and a unified National PA Management Agency

a. At least one joint capacity development workshop organised with Qinghai and Gansu PA governance stakeholders. b. no mid-term target.

a. At least two joint capacity development workshops organised with Qinghai and Gansu PA governance stakeholders. b. Lessons learned through demonstrations of collaborative PA governance documented in an advisory report delivered to a joint meeting with provincial and national stakeholders.

Progress towards achievement of the results under this indicator will be measured through documentary evidence, including capacity development workshop proceedings, advisory report, and stakeholder workshop minutes. Risks: • Stakeholders are reluctant to collaborate across

provinces. • Limited stakeholder consultation during development

and review of the policies and guidelines.

Assumptions: • The project will have high level support, and senior

officials will ensure participation across national and subnational levels.

• Inclusive participation through effective stakeholder engagement.

Outcome 3: Sustainability enhanced through effective monitoring & evaluation, knowledge management, and social inclusion

Output 3.1: Effective project management supported by proactive steering committee functions and inclusive monitoring & evaluation. Output 3.2: Project results effectively shared through implementation of a targeted knowledge management action plan. Output 3.3: Inclusive participation of local communities, including women and ethnic minorities ensured through effective implementation of environmental and social management framework. Indicator 10: Extent of knowledge management, as indicated through a. Lessons learned distilled and disseminated b. Knowledge exchange through workshops, seminars, conferences

Resources have been allocated for assessing project results and preparing case studies, documenting lessons learned, and for participation in workshops, seminars and conferences.

a. Community interventions ongoing, generating information on best practice. b. Project supports and presents results in a bi-annual meeting of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau Biodiversity Network.

a. 5 lessons learned completed and uploaded onto biodiversity knowledge platform, and usage statistics indicate increasing reach of C-PAR program lessons learned across the PA system (# visits / downloads).

Achievement towards these results will be measured through uploaded case studies onto the knowledge sharing platform; workshop proceedings and publications. Risks: • Project M&E is ineffective in assessing project results. • Project team is not proactive in participating in

conferences and workshops.

Assumptions: • Project M&E provides informative feedback, supporting

distillation of case studies.

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b. At least two stakeholder workshops convened to disseminate project results.

• The project team proactively engages with stakeholder community, disseminating the global environmental benefits generated.

Indicator 11: Level of knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) of target stakeholders, as measured by KAP surveys

KAP framework outlined in Annex Q to the project document and includes target stakeholder groups and objectives of survey(s). The baseline KAP survey will be made during project inception phase

Project interventions in target communities address knowledge, practices and attitudes assessed as part of the baseline KAP survey.

Improvement in knowledge, practices and attitudes (target to be set after baseline KAP survey at project inception).

This indicator will also be informed by two Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices (KAP) surveys: (1) a baseline KAP survey designed based upon the framework provided in Annex Q of the project document and delivered during project inception; and (2) an end-of-project KAP survey delivered, interpreted, and reported at least one month before the terminal evaluation Risks: • Local communities are reluctant to actively participate. • Insufficient response to the KAP survey. • Delays in delivering the baseline KAP survey

Assumptions: • Trainings and community consultations are effective in

capacitating and informing local stakeholders. • The results of the KAP surveys are representative of the

sampled stakeholders. • Design and delivery of the baseline KAP survey will be

prioritized during the inception phase of the project.

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VII. MONITORING AND EVALUATION (M&E) PLAN 176. The project results as outlined in the project results framework will be monitored annually and evaluated periodically during project implementation to ensure the project effectively achieves these results. Supported by Component 3: Knowledge Management, Monitoring & Evaluation and Gender Mainstreaming, the project monitoring and evaluation plan will also facilitate learning and ensure knowledge products are shared and widely disseminated to support the scaling up and replication of project results. 177. Project-level monitoring and evaluation will be undertaken in compliance with UNDP requirements as outlined in the UNDP POPP and UNDP Evaluation Policy. The UNDP Country Office will work with the relevant project stakeholders to ensure UNDP M&E requirements are met in a timely fashion and to high quality standards. Additional mandatory GEF-specific M&E requirements (as outlined below) will be undertaken in accordance with the GEF M&E policy and other relevant GEF policies30.

178. In addition to these mandatory UNDP and GEF M&E requirements, other M&E activities deemed necessary to support project-level adaptive management will be agreed during the Project Inception Workshop and will be detailed in the Inception Report. This will include the exact role of project target groups and other stakeholders in project M&E activities including the GEF Operational Focal Point and national/regional institutes assigned to undertake project monitoring. The GEF Operational Focal Point will strive to ensure consistency in the approach taken to the GEF-specific M&E requirements (notably the GEF Tracking Tools) across all GEF-financed projects in the country. This could be achieved for example by using one national institute to complete the GEF Tracking Tools for all GEF-financed projects in the country, including projects supported by other GEF Agencies.31 M&E Oversight and monitoring responsibilities: 179. Project Manager: The Project Manager is responsible for day-to-day project management and regular monitoring of project results and risks, including social and environmental risks. The Project Manager will ensure that all project staff maintain a high level of transparency, responsibility and accountability in M&E and reporting of project results. The Project Manager will inform the Project Board, the UNDP Country Office and the UNDP-GEF RTA of any delays or difficulties as they arise during implementation so that appropriate support and corrective measures can be adopted. 180. The Project Manager will develop annual work plans based on the multi-year work plan included in Annex A, including annual output targets to support the efficient implementation of the project. The Project Manager will ensure that the standard UNDP and GEF M&E requirements are fulfilled to the highest quality. This includes, but is not limited to, ensuring the results framework indicators are monitored annually in time for evidence-based reporting in the GEF PIR, and that the monitoring of risks and the various plans/strategies developed to support project implementation (e.g., ESMP, gender action plan, stakeholder engagement plan etc.) occur on a regular basis. 181. Project Steering Committee: The Project Steering Committee (PCS) will take corrective action as needed to ensure the project achieves the desired results. The PSC will hold project reviews to assess the performance of the project and appraise the Annual Work Plan for the following year. In the project’s final year, the PSC will hold an end-of-project review to capture lessons learned and discuss opportunities for scaling up and to highlight project results and lessons learned with relevant audiences. This final review meeting will also discuss the findings outlined in the project terminal evaluation report and the management response. 182. Project Implementing Partner: The Implementing Partner is responsible for providing all required information and data necessary for timely, comprehensive and evidence-based project reporting, including results and financial data, as necessary. The Implementing Partner will strive to ensure project-level M&E is undertaken by national institutes, consultants or other service providers, and is aligned with national systems so that the data used and generated by the project support national systems. 30 See https://www.thegef.org/gef/policies_guidelines 31 See https://www.thegef.org/gef/gef_agencies

http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/operations/accountability/programme_and_operationspoliciesandprocedures.html

http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/operations/accountability/evaluation/evaluation_policyofundp.html

http://www.thegef.org/gef/Evaluation%20Policy%202010

https://www.thegef.org/gef/policies_guidelines

https://www.thegef.org/gef/gef_agencies

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183. UNDP Country Office: The UNDP Country Office will support the Project Manager as needed, including through annual supervision missions. The annual supervision missions will take place according to the schedule outlined in the annual work plan. Supervision mission reports will be circulated to the project team within one month of the mission. The UNDP Country Office will initiate and organize key GEF M&E activities including the annual GEF PIR, the independent mid-term review and the independent terminal evaluation. The UNDP Country Office will also ensure that the standard UNDP and GEF M&E requirements are fulfilled to the highest quality. 184. The UNDP Country Office is responsible for complying with all UNDP project-level M&E requirements as outlined in the UNDP POPP. This includes ensuring the UNDP Quality Assurance Assessment during implementation is undertaken annually; that annual targets at the output level are developed and monitored and reported using UNDP corporate systems; the regular updating of the ATLAS risk log; and, the updating of the UNDP gender marker on an annual basis based on gender mainstreaming progress reported in the GEF PIR and the UNDP ROAR. Any quality concerns flagged during these M&E activities (e.g. annual GEF PIR quality assessment ratings) must be addressed by the UNDP Country Office and the Project Manager. 185. The UNDP Country Office will retain all M&E records for this project for up to seven years after project financial closure to support ex-post evaluations undertaken by the UNDP Independent Evaluation Office (IEO) and/or the GEF Independent Evaluation Office (IEO). 186. UNDP-GEF Unit: Additional M&E and implementation quality assurance and troubleshooting support will be provided by the UNDP-GEF Regional Technical Advisor and the UNDP-GEF Directorate as needed. 187. Audit: The project will be audited as per UNDP Financial Regulations and Rules and applicable audit policies on NIM implemented projects.32 Additional GEF monitoring and reporting requirements: 188. Inception Workshop and Report: A project inception workshop will be held within three months after the project document has been signed by all relevant parties to, amongst others:

a) Re-orient project stakeholders to the project strategy and discuss any changes in the overall context that influence project strategy and implementation;

b) Discuss the roles and responsibilities of the project team, including reporting and communication lines and conflict resolution mechanisms;

c) Review the results framework and finalize the indicators, means of verification and monitoring plan;

d) Discuss reporting, monitoring and evaluation roles and responsibilities and finalize the M&E budget; identify national/regional institutes to be involved in project-level M&E; discuss the role of the GEF OFP in M&E;

e) Update and review responsibilities for monitoring the various project plans and strategies, including the risk log; SESP, Environmental and Social Management Plan and other safeguard requirements; project grievance mechanisms; the gender strategy; the knowledge management strategy, and other relevant strategies;

f) Review financial reporting procedures and mandatory requirements, and agree on the arrangements for the annual audit; and

g) Plan and schedule PSC meetings and finalize the first-year annual work plan. 189. The Project Manager will prepare the inception report no later than one month after the inception workshop. The inception report will be cleared by the UNDP Country Office and the UNDP-GEF Regional Technical Advisor and will be approved by the PSC. 190. GEF Project Implementation Report (PIR): The Project Manager, the UNDP Country Office, and the UNDP-GEF Regional Technical Advisor will provide objective input to the annual GEF PIR covering the reporting period July (previous year) to June (current year) for each year of project implementation. The Project Manager will ensure that the indicators included in the project results framework are monitored annually in advance of 32 See guidance here: https://info.undp.org/global/popp/frm/pages/financial-management-and-execution-modalities.aspx

http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/operations/accountability/programme_and_operationspoliciesandprocedures.html

https://info.undp.org/global/popp/frm/pages/financial-management-and-execution-modalities.aspx

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the PIR submission deadline so that progress can be reported in the PIR. Any environmental and social risks and related management plans will be monitored regularly, and progress will be reported in the PIR. 191. The PIR submitted to the GEF will be shared with the PSC. The UNDP Country Office will coordinate the input of the GEF Operational Focal Point and other stakeholders to the PIR as appropriate. The quality rating of the previous year’s PIR will be used to inform the preparation of the subsequent PIR. 192. Lessons learned and knowledge generation: Results from the project will be disseminated within and beyond the project intervention area through existing information sharing networks and forums. The project will identify and participate, as relevant and appropriate, in scientific, policy-based and/or any other networks, which may be of benefit to the project. The project will identify, analyse and share lessons learned that might be beneficial to the design and implementation of similar projects and disseminate these lessons widely. There will be continuous information exchange between this project and other projects of similar focus in the same country, region and globally. 193. GEF Focal Area Tracking Tools: The following GEF Tracking Tools will be used to monitor global environmental benefits: for GEF-6 Biodiversity Projects, Objective 1, Sections I, II, as well as the UNDP Capacity Development Scorecard adapted for the C-PAR program, as agreed with the UNDP-GEF Regional Technical Advisor. The baseline/CEO Endorsement GEF Focal Area Tracking Tool(s) – submitted as Annex B to this project document – will be updated by the Project Manager/Team (not the evaluation consultants hired to undertake the MTR or the TE) and shared with the mid-term review consultants and terminal evaluation consultants before the required review/evaluation missions take place. Part III, Financial Sustainability Scorecard, was completed at baseline and is retained in Annex B to support institutional memory (it will not be completed at mid-term or end of project). The updated GEF Tracking Tools will be submitted to the GEF along with the completed Mid-term Review report and Terminal Evaluation report. 194. Independent Mid-term Review (MTR): An independent mid-term review process will begin after the second PIR has been submitted to the GEF, and the MTR report will be submitted to the GEF in the same year as the 3rd PIR. The MTR findings and responses outlined in the management response will be incorporated as recommendations for enhanced implementation during the final half of the project’s duration. The terms of reference, the review process and the MTR report will follow the standard templates and guidance prepared by the UNDP IEO for GEF-financed projects available on the UNDP Evaluation Resource Center (ERC). As noted in this guidance, the evaluation will be ‘independent, impartial and rigorous’. The consultants that will be hired to undertake the assignment will be independent from organizations that were involved in designing, executing or advising on the project to be evaluated. The GEF Operational Focal Point and other stakeholders will be involved and consulted during the terminal evaluation process. Additional quality assurance support is available from the UNDP-GEF Directorate. The final MTR report will be available in English and will be cleared by the UNDP Country Office and the UNDP-GEF Regional Technical Advisor and approved by the PSC. Resources have been allocated for translation of key sections of the MTR report to Chinese, to ensure the findings and recommendations are effectively shared with the Implementing Partner, and other project stakeholders and beneficiaries. 195. Terminal Evaluation (TE): An independent terminal evaluation (TE) will take place upon completion of all major project outputs and activities. The terminal evaluation process will begin three months before operational closure of the project allowing the evaluation mission to proceed while the project team is still in place, yet ensuring the project is close enough to completion for the evaluation team to reach conclusions on key aspects such as project sustainability. The Project Manager will remain on contract until the TE report and management response have been finalized. The terms of reference, the evaluation process and the final TE report will follow the standard templates and guidance prepared by the UNDP IEO for GEF-financed projects available on the UNDP Evaluation Resource Center. As noted in this guidance, the evaluation will be ‘independent, impartial and rigorous’. The consultants that will be hired to undertake the assignment will be independent from organizations that were involved in designing, executing or advising on the project to be evaluated. The GEF Operational Focal Point and other stakeholders will be involved and consulted during the terminal evaluation process. Additional quality assurance support is available from the UNDP-GEF Directorate. The final TE report will be cleared by the UNDP Country Office and the UNDP-GEF Regional Technical Advisor and will be approved by the PSC. The TE report will be publicly available in English on the UNDP ERC. Resources have been allocated for translation of key sections of the MTR report to Chinese, to ensure the findings and

http://web.undp.org/evaluation/guidance.shtml#gef

http://web.undp.org/evaluation/guidance.shtml#gef

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recommendations are effectively shared with the Implementing Partner, and other project stakeholders and beneficiaries. 196. The UNDP Country Office will include the planned project terminal evaluation in the UNDP Country Office evaluation plan and will upload the final terminal evaluation report in English and the corresponding management response to the UNDP Evaluation Resource Centre (ERC). Once uploaded to the ERC, the UNDP IEO will undertake a quality assessment and validate the findings and ratings in the TE report and rate the quality of the TE report. The UNDP IEO assessment report will be sent to the GEF IEO along with the project terminal evaluation report. 197. Final Report: The project’s terminal PIR along with the terminal evaluation (TE) report and corresponding management response will serve as the final project report package. The final project report package shall be discussed with the PSC during an end-of-project review meeting to discuss lesson learned and opportunities for scaling up.

Mandatory GEF M&E Requirements and M&E Budget: 198. Project level M&E activities, responsibilities, indicative budget and timeframes are summarised in Table 13 below. The budget will be covered under the Component 3 of the C-PAR3 project.

Table 13: Project M&E Requirements and Budget



GEF Co-financing

Inception Workshop Project Manager, QFGB USD 11,000 USD 5,000 Within three months of project document signature

Inception Workshop Report Project Manager None None Within one month after inception workshop

Standard UNDP monitoring and reporting requirements as outlined in the UNDP POPP

UNDP CO None None Quarterly, annually

Risk management Project Manager, UNDP CO None USD 5,000 Quarterly, annually

Monitoring of indicators in project results framework (tendered to local institute, local consultant, NGO or service provider)

Project Manager, M&E/Safeguards Officer

Per year: USD 2,500 (Total: USD 12,500)

USD 80,000 (mainly on

species monitoring)

Annually before PIR

GEF Project Implementation Review (PIR) Project Manager, UNDP CO and UNDP-GEF team

None USD 5,000 Annually

NIM Audit as per UNDP audit policies (tendered to auditing company)

UNDP CO Per year: USD 4,000 (Total: USD 20,000)

None Annually or other frequency as per UNDP Audit policies

Lessons learned and knowledge generation (distillation of knowledge products tendered to local consultant, NGO or service provider)

Project Manager None USD 5,000 Annually

Monitoring of environmental and social risks, and corresponding management plans as relevant (tendered to national institute, local consultant, NGP or service provider)


Per year: USD 4,000

(Total: USD 20,000)

USD 5,000 On-going

Stakeholder Engagement Plan Project Manager, UNDP CO None USD 20,000 On-going

Gender Action Plan (tendered to local consultant or service provider)


Per year: USD 2,500

(Total: USD 12,500)

USD 5,000 On-going

Addressing environmental and social grievances

Project Manager, UNDP CO None USD 3,000 On-going

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GEF Co-financing

Project Steering Committee (PSC) meetings (annual)

Project Manager, PSC, UNDP CO

Per year: 5,000 (Total: USD

25,000)

USD 10,000 Annually

Supervision missions UNDP CO, None None Annually

Oversight missions UNDP-GEF team None [2] None Troubleshooting as needed

GEF Secretariat learning missions/site visits

UNDP CO, Project Manager and UNDP-GEF team

None [2] None To be determined.

Mid-term assessment of GEF Tracking Tool, Capacity Development Scorecard (tendered to local institute, local consultant or service provider)

Project Manager USD 2,500 None Before mid-term review mission takes place.

Independent Mid-term Review (MTR) and management response


USD 27,500 USD 3,000 Between 2nd and 3rd PIR.

Terminal assessment of GEF Tracking Tools, Capacity Development Scorecard (tendered to local institute, local consultant or service provider)

Project Manager USD 2,500 None Before terminal evaluation mission takes place

Independent Terminal Evaluation (TE) included in UNDP evaluation plan, and management response


USD 33,500 USD 3,000 At least three months before operational closure

Translation of key sections of MTR and TE reports into Chinese (for benefit of Implementing Partner and Responsible Parties)

PMO USD 2,000 USD 1,000 As required. GEF will only accept reports in English.

Final Report (includes final PIR, TE report and TE management response)

Project Manager, UNDP CO None None At least one month prior to final PSC meeting

TOTAL indicative COST Excluding project team staff time, and UNDP staff and travel expenses

USD 169,000 USD 150,000

[1] Excluding project team staff time and UNDP staff time and travel expenses

[2] The costs of UNDP Country Office and UNDP-GEF Unit’s participation and time are charged to the GEF Agency Fee

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VIII. GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT ARRANGEMENTS 199. Roles and responsibilities of the project’s governance mechanism: The project will be implemented following UNDP’s national implementation modality, according to the Standard Basic Assistance Agreement between UNDP and the Government of the People’s Republic of China, and the United Nations Development Assistance Framework for the People’s Republic of China (UNDAF 2016-2020). 200. The Implementing Partner for this project is the Qinghai Forestry and Grassland Bureau. The Implementing Partner is responsible and accountable for managing this project, including the monitoring and evaluation of project interventions, achieving project outcomes, and for the effective use of UNDP resources. The Implementing Partner is responsible for:

• Drafting and signing the multiyear workplan; • Drafting and signing the combined delivery report at the end of the year; and, • Signing the financial report or the funding authorization and certificate of expenditures.

201. The project organisation structure is illustrated in Figure 8. 202. Project Steering Committee: The Project Steering Committee (PSC) is responsible for making by consensus, management decisions when guidance is required by the Project Manager, including recommendations for UNDP/Implementing Partner approval of project plans and revisions, and addressing any project level grievances. In order to ensure UNDP’s ultimate accountability, PSC decisions should be made in accordance with standards that shall ensure management for development results, best value money, fairness, integrity, transparency and effective international competition. In case a consensus cannot be reached within the Board, final decision shall rest with the UNDP Programme Manager. 203. Specific responsibilities of the PSC include:

• Provide overall guidance and direction to the project, ensuring it remains within any specified constraints;

• Address project issues as raised by the project manager; • Provide guidance on new project risks, and agree on possible countermeasures and management

actions to address specific risks; • Agree on project manager’s tolerances as required; • Review the project progress, and provide direction and recommendations to ensure that the

agreed deliverables are produced satisfactorily according to plans; • Appraise the annual project implementation report, including the quality assessment rating report;

make recommendations for the workplan; • Provide ad hoc direction and advice for exceptional situations when the project manager’s

tolerances are exceeded; and • Assess and decide to proceed on project changes through appropriate revisions.

204. PSC meetings will be convened annually at a minimum, and the composition of the PSC includes the following roles. 205. Executive: The Executive is an individual who represents ownership of the project who will chair the PSC. This role can be held by a representative from the Government Cooperating Agency or UNDP. The Executive is: Deputy Director in-charge of Qinghai Forestry and Grassland Bureau. 206. The Executive is ultimately responsible for the project, supported by the Senior Beneficiary and Senior Supplier. The Executive’s role is to ensure that the project is focused throughout its life cycle on achieving its objectives and delivering outputs that will contribute to higher level outcomes. The executive has to ensure that the project gives value for money, ensuring cost-conscious approach to the project, balancing the demands of beneficiary and suppler. Specific Responsibilities (as part of the above responsibilities for the PSC):

• Ensure that there is a coherent project organisation structure and logical set of plans; • Set tolerances in the AWP and other plans as required for the Project Manager; • Monitor and control the progress of the project at a strategic level;

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• Ensure that risks are being tracked and mitigated as effectively as possible; • Brief relevant stakeholders about project progress; • Organise and chair PSC meetings.

Figure 8: Project Organisation Structure

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207. Senior Supplier: The Senior Supplier is an individual or group representing the interests of the parties concerned which provide funding and/or technical expertise to the project (designing, developing, facilitating, procuring, implementing). The Senior Supplier’s primary function within the PSC is to provide guidance regarding the technical feasibility of the project. The Senior Supplier role must have the authority to commit or acquire supplier resources required. The Senior Suppler is: Programme Manager / Country Director of UNDP China. Specific Responsibilities (as part of the above responsibilities for the PSC) include:

• Make sure that progress towards the outputs remains consistent from the supplier perspective; • Promote and maintain focus on the expected project output(s) from the point of view of supplier

management; • Ensure that the supplier resources required for the project are made available; • Contribute supplier opinions on PSC decisions on whether to implement recommendations on

proposed changes; • Arbitrate on, and ensure resolution of, any supplier priority or resource conflicts.

208. Senior Beneficiary: The Senior Beneficiary is an individual or group of individuals representing the interests of those who will ultimately benefit from the project. The Senior Beneficiary’s primary function within the PSC is to ensure the realization of project results from the perspective of project beneficiaries. The Senior Beneficiary role is held by a representative of the government or civil society. The Senior Beneficiary is: the group consisting of representatives of the Qilian Mountains NR, Qilian Lake NNR and local government units where project interventions are planned. 209. The Senior Beneficiary is responsible for validating the needs and for monitoring that the solution will meet those needs within the constraints of the project. The Senior Beneficiary role monitors progress against targets and quality criteria. This role may require more than one person to cover all the beneficiary interests. For the sake of effectiveness, the role should not be split between too many people. Specific Responsibilities (as part of the above responsibilities for the PSC):

• Prioritize and contribute beneficiaries’ opinions on PSC decisions on whether to implement recommendations on proposed changes;

• Specification of the Beneficiary’s needs is accurate, complete and unambiguous; • Implementation of activities at all stages is monitored to ensure that they will meet the

beneficiary’s needs and are progressing towards that target; • Impact of potential changes is evaluated from the beneficiary point of view; • Risks to the beneficiaries are frequently monitored.

210. Project Management Office: Project management services will be delivered by the Project Management Office, staffed as follows:

• Project Manager • Project Assistant/Finance Offer • M&E/Safeguards Officer • Chief Technical Advisor (part-time) • Protected Area Coordinator (2).

211. Project Manager: The Project Manager has the authority to run the project on a day-to-day basis on behalf of the PSC within the constraints laid down by the PSC. The Project Manager is responsible for day-to-day management and decision-making for the project. The Project Manager’s prime responsibility is to ensure that the project produces the results specified in the project document, to the required standard of quality and within the specified constraints of time and cost. The Implementing Partner appoints the Project Manager, who should be different from the Implementing Partner’s representative in the PSC. Specific responsibilities include (full terms of reference included in Annex D):

• Provide direction and guidance to project team(s)/ responsible party (ies); • Liaise with the PSC to assure the overall direction and integrity of the project; • Identify and obtain any support and advice required for the management, planning and control of

the project; • Responsible for project administration; • Plan the activities of the project and monitor progress against the project results framework and

the approved annual workplan;

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• Mobilise personnel, goods and services, training and micro-capital grants to initiative activities, including drafting terms of reference and work specifications, and overseeing all contractors’ work;

• Monitor events as determined in the project monitoring schedule plan/timetable, and update the plan as required;

• Manage requests for the provision of financial resources by UNDP, through advance of funds, direct payments or reimbursement using the fund authorization and certificate of expenditures;

• Monitor financial resources and accounting to ensure the accuracy and reliability of financial reports;

• Be responsible for preparing and submitting financial reports to UNDP on a quarterly basis; • Manage and monitor the project risks initially identified and submit new risks to the PSC for

consideration and decision on possible actions if required; update the status of these risks by maintaining the project risks log;

• Capture lessons learned during project implementation; • Prepare the annual workplan for the following year; and update the Atlas Project Management

module if external access is made available. • Prepare the GEF PIR and submit the final report to the PSC; • Based on the GEF PIR and the PSC review, prepare the AWP for the following year. • Ensure the mid-term review process is undertaken as per the UNDP guidance, and submit the final

MTR report to the PSC. • Identify follow-on actions and submit them for consideration to the PSC; • Ensure the terminal evaluation process is undertaken as per the UNDP guidance, and submit the

final TE report to the PSC. 212. Brief explanations of roles and responsibilities of the other members of the PMO are provided below and terms of reference are included in Annex D.

• Project Assistant/Finance Officer provides administrative support for the Project Management Office (PMO) and responsible for financial accounting and reporting, and procurement of goods and services for the implementation of the C-PAR3 project. The Project Assistant/Finance Officer is budgeted as full-time position, fully charged against the GEF grant for the project through a long-term contractual arrangement with the Implementing Partner.

• Monitoring & Evaluation/Safeguards Officer is responsible for facilitating project M&E activities and for overseeing implementation of the environmental and social management framework for the project and preparation of the project environmental and social impact assessment and management plans and their subsequent approval by the PSC and implementation. The M&E/Safeguards Officer will also act as gender/social inclusion focal point for the project. The M&E/Safeguards Officer is budgeted as a full-time position, fully charged against the GEF grant through a long-term contractual arrangement with the Implementing Partner.

• Chief Technical Advisor provides technical advisory support. The Chief Technical Advisor position will be contracted through a long-term consultancy arrangement; the position is budgeted for 3 months per year for each of the 5 years of implementation.

• Protected Area (PA) Coordinators, based in the offices of the Qinghai Lake NNR and Qilian Mountains NR, will provide local coordination of activities implemented under Component 2. The PA Coordinators are budgeted as full-time positions (54 months per coordinator), fully charged against the GEF grant.

213. The position of Project Manager will be jointly recruited by QFGB and UNDP nationally, and the desired candidate would be someone with relevant experience. The Project Manager should be delegated with sufficient decision-making authority to allow effective project management. The other positions of the PMO will also be recruited nationally. 214. Short-term support will be procured as needed among qualified national and local consultants, institutes, and civil society organisations through competitive bidding processes. The types of expertise envisaged on short-term assignments include but are not limited to the following:

• Protected area law and governance; • Protected area financing;

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• Capacity development; • Biodiversity assessment; • Social and environmental safeguards, including gender mainstreaming; • Resettlement and livelihoods; • Community engagement; • Public awareness and education, including knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) survey; • Knowledge management and communication; • Monitoring and evaluation.

215. To facilitate community-based activities at the two pilot villages of Dayu and Gonggongma located near the Qinghai Lake NNR, two Community Mobilisers, one per village, are budgeted for 6 months per year in years 2, 3, 4, and 5. The community mobilisers will be contracted through agreements with local consultancies or NGOs. Under direction of the PA Coordinator and PA Focal Point, the community mobilisers will work with existing village committees in working out the details for the project interventions, oversee implementation, liaise with local partners, and support monitoring and evaluation activities. 216. The Qinghai Lake NNR and Qilian Mountains NR will each designate a Protected Area (PA) Focal Point. The PA Focal Points are staff members of the nature reserve management agencies, seconded in part-time arrangements funded through subnational cofinancing contributions, providing support for project activities at the local level. 217. For certain specialised services, including leading the two independent evaluations and supporting the ESIA and ESMP, recruitment will be made internationally, using the UNDP procurement system. 218. Project Advisory: The C-PAR3 Advisory Group will be established to provide technical and strategic guidance to the PMO and to the PSC through regular thematic meetings during implementation and on an as-needed basis, e.g., reviewing specific deliverables, terms of reference, etc. The C-PAR3 Advisory Group will be chaired by the NPD, with support from the PM and Chief Technical Advisor, and have with representation by provincial departments, PA management administrations, civil society, and academic/research institutions. 219. Project Assurance: UNDP provides a three – tier supervision, oversight and quality assurance role – funded by the GEF agency fee – involving UNDP staff in Country Offices and at regional and headquarters levels. Project Assurance must be totally independent of the Project Management function. The quality assurance role supports the PSC and Project Management Office by carrying out objective and independent project oversight and monitoring functions. This role ensures appropriate project management milestones are managed and completed. The PSC cannot delegate any of its quality assurance responsibilities to the Project Manager. This project oversight and quality assurance role is covered by the GEF Agency. 220. Governance role for project target groups: The project will work with existing multi-stakeholder partnership mechanisms and establish new partnerships where necessary to ensure project target groups are involved in the design, implementation, and monitoring & evaluation of the activities in their communities. Working with the PA Coordinators and the PA Focal Points, Community Mobilisers will facilitate the operation of the village committees and provide support to the project interventions.

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IX. FINANCIAL PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT 221. The total cost of the project is USD 20,697,293.58. This is financed through a GEF grant of USD 2,652,293.58, and USD 18,045,000 in parallel co-financing. UNDP, as the GEF Implementing Agency, is responsible for the execution of the GEF resources and the cash co-financing transferred to UNDP bank account only. 222. Parallel co-financing: The actual realisation of project co-financing will be monitored during the mid-term review and terminal evaluation process and will be reported to the GEF. The planned parallel co-financing will be used as follows:

Co-financing source

Co-financing type

Co-financing amount

Planned Activities/Outputs Risks Risk Mitigation Measures

Qinghai Provincial Finance Departmen

Grant USD 15 million

Output 1.1: Consolidated landscape conservation strategy and action plan, threatened species plans and PA sub-system regulations for the Qilian Mountains-Qinghai Lake landscape adopted and mainstreamed into the provincial 14th five-year plan (FYP); Output 1.2: Policies and guidelines developed for value-based allocations of eco-compensation funds, broader participation of the enterprise sector, and innovative financing mechanisms at the community level, strengthening the sustainability of PA financing; Output 1.3 Institutional enabling environment strengthened through introduction of PA competency-based professional development and joint capacity building for collaborative PA governance; Output 2.1: Operationalization and expansion of the PA sub-system according to the consolidated landscape conservation strategy and action plan; Output 2.2: Strengthened implementation capacities, coordination and partnerships across the Qilian Mountains-Qinghai Lake PA sub-system; Output 2.3: Demonstrations of participatory habitat restoration and management arrangements within the expanded PA sub-system; Output 2.4: Pilot interventions for sustainable livelihoods, enterprise sector involvement and conservation financing, improving community benefits and biodiversity threat reduction; Output 3.1: Effective project management supported by proactive steering committee functions and inclusive monitoring & evaluation; Output 3.2: Project results effectively shared through implementation of a targeted knowledge management action plan; Output 3.3: Inclusive participation of local communities, including women and ethnic minorities ensured through effective implementation of environmental and social management framework.

Insufficient cross-sectoral involvement.

Legislative approval flows do not match project implementation timeframe.

Cofinancing contributions are not realised.

Inefficient project management.

Cofinancing contributions are not realized.

Potential exclusion of marginalized groups.

Insufficient capacity of duty-bearers.

Project outcomes might involve resettlement or displacement.

Difficulties in recruiting qualified PMO staff.

Recruit qualified project staff.

Assign senior official to project steering committee.

Proactively promote the project among the key provincial and local government agencies.

Facilitate regular meetings of the C-PAR3 Advisory Group.

Participate in project sponsored trainings.


In-kind USD 3 million

Output 3.1: Effective project management supported by proactive steering committee functions and inclusive monitoring & evaluation.


Recruit qualified project staff.

Assign senior official to project steering committee.

Proactively promote the project among the key provincial and

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Co-financing source

Co-financing type

Co-financing amount

Planned Activities/Outputs Risks Risk Mitigation Measures

local government agencies.

Facilitate regular meetings of the C-PAR3 Advisory Group.

Participate in project sponsored trainings

UNDP Grant USD 0.045 million

Output 3.1: Effective project management supported by proactive steering committee functions and inclusive monitoring & evaluation; Output 3.2: Project results effectively shared through implementation of a targeted knowledge management action plan; Output 3.3: Inclusive participation of local communities, including women and ethnic minorities ensured through effective implementation of environmental and social management framework.


Provide guidance on recruitment of PMO staff.

Facilitate proactive implementation of ESMF.

UNDP involvement will occur at several levels, including the country office and Asia and the Pacific regional hub.

223. UNDP Direct Project Services (DPS) as requested by Government (if any): The UNDP, as GEF Agency for this project, will provide project management cycle services for the project as defined by the GEF Council. In addition, the Government of China may request UNDP direct services for specific projects, according to its policies and convenience. The UNDP and Government of China acknowledge and agree that those services are not mandatory, and will be provided only upon Government request. If requested, the services would follow the UNDP policies on the recovery of direct costs. These services (and their costs) are specified in the Letter of Agreement (Annex T2). As is determined by the GEF Council requirements, these service costs will be assigned as Project Management Cost, duly identified in the project budget as Direct Project Costs. Eligible Direct Project Costs should not be charged as a flat percentage. They should be calculated on the basis of estimated actual or transaction based costs and should be charged to the direct project costs account codes: “64397- Services to projects – CO staff” and “74596 – Services to projects – GOE for CO”. 224. Budget Revision and Tolerance: As per UNDP requirements outlined in the UNDP POPP, the PSC will agree on a budget tolerance level for each plan under the overall annual work plan allowing the project manager to expend up to the tolerance level beyond the approved project budget amount for the year without requiring a revision from the PSC. Should the following deviations occur, the Project Manager and UNDP Country Office will seek the approval of the UNDP-GEF team to ensure accurate reporting to the GEF: a) Budget re-allocations among components in the project with amounts involving 10% of the total project grant or more; b) Introduction of new budget items/or components that exceed 5% of original GEF allocation. 225. Any over expenditure incurred beyond the available GEF grant amount will be absorbed by non-GEF resources (e.g., UNDP TRAC or cash co-financing). 226. Refund to GEF: Should a refund of unspent funds to the GEF be necessary, this will be managed directly by the UNDP-GEF Unit in New York. 227. Project Closure: Project closure will be conducted as per UNDP requirements outlined in the UNDP POPP.33 On an exceptional basis only, a no-cost extension beyond the initial duration of the project will be sought from in-country UNDP colleagues and then the UNDP-GEF Executive Coordinator. 228. Operational completion: The project will be operationally completed when the last UNDP-financed inputs have been provided and the related activities have been completed. This includes the final clearance of the Terminal Evaluation Report (that will be available in English) and the corresponding management response, and the end-of-project review PSC meeting. The Implementing Partner through a PSC decision will notify the UNDP Country Office when operational closure has been completed. At this time, the relevant parties will have

33 see https://info.undp.org/global/popp/ppm/Pages/Closing-a-Project.aspx

https://info.undp.org/global/popp/ppm/Pages/Closing-a-Project.aspx

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already agreed and confirmed in writing on the arrangements for the disposal of any equipment that is still the property of UNDP. 229. Transfer or disposal of assets: In consultation with the NIM Implementing Partner and other parties of the project, UNDP program manager (UNDP Resident Representative) is responsible for deciding on the transfer or other disposal of assets. Transfer or disposal of assets is recommended to be reviewed and endorsed by the PSC following UNDP rules and regulations. Assets may be transferred to the government for project activities managed by a national institution at any time during the life of a project. In all cases of transfer, a transfer document must be prepared and kept on file34. 230. Financial completion: The project will be financially closed when the following conditions have been met: a) The project is operationally completed or has been cancelled; b) The Implementing Partner has reported all financial transactions to UNDP; c) UNDP has closed the accounts for the project; d) UNDP and the Implementing Partner have certified a final Combined Delivery Report (which serves as final budget revision). 231. The project will be financially completed within 12 months of operational closure or after the date of cancellation. Between operational and financial closure, the implementing partner will identify and settle all financial obligations and prepare a final expenditure report. The UNDP Country Office will send the final signed closure documents including confirmation of final cumulative expenditure and unspent balance to the UNDP-GEF Unit for confirmation before the project will be financially closed in Atlas by the UNDP Country Office.

34 See https://popp.undp.org/_layouts/15/WopiFrame.aspx?sourcedoc=/UNDP_POPP_DOCUMENT_LIBRARY/Public/PPM_Project%20Management_Closing.docx&action=default.

https://popp.undp.org/_layouts/15/WopiFrame.aspx?sourcedoc=/UNDP_POPP_DOCUMENT_LIBRARY/Public/PPM_Project%20Management_Closing.docx&action=default

https://popp.undp.org/_layouts/15/WopiFrame.aspx?sourcedoc=/UNDP_POPP_DOCUMENT_LIBRARY/Public/PPM_Project%20Management_Closing.docx&action=default

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X. TOTAL BUDGET AND WORK PLAN Total Budget and Work Plan Atlas Proposal or Award ID: 00096253 Atlas Primary Output Project ID: 00100227 Atlas Proposal or Award Title: FSP-Strengthen PA System in QH Atlas Business Unit CHN10 Atlas Primary Output Project Title Strengthening the PA System in the Qilian Mountains-Qinghai Lake Landscape UNDP/GEF PIMS No. 5690 Implementing Partner Qinghai Forestry and Grassland Bureau

GEF Output/Atlas Activity

Responsible Party/[1]

(Atlas Implementing

Agent)

Fund ID

Donor Name

Atlas Budgetary Account

Code

ATLAS Budget Description Amount Year 1 (USD)

Amount Year 2 (USD)

Amount Year 3 (USD)

Amount Year 4 (USD)

Amount Year 5 (USD)

Total (USD)

See Budget Note:

Component 1: PA system

consolidation and institutional

strengthening

QFGB 62000 GEF

71200 International Consultants - - 12,000 - - 12,000 1

71300 Local Consultants 26,996 26,052 14,215 14,358 14,507 96,128 2

71400 Contractual Services - Individ 2,072 2,175 2,285 2,399 2,519 11,450 3

71600 Travel 1,264 - 35,000 35,000 - 71,264 4

71800 Contractual Services - Imp Partn 11,973 12,572 13,200 13,860 14,553 66,158 5

72100 Contractual Services-Companies 12,000 70,500 20,000 2,500 - 105,000 6

74200 Audio Visual&Print Prod Costs - 3,125 3,125 3,125 3,125 12,500 7

75700 Training, Workshops and Confer 8,000 8,000 18,500 3,000 3,000 40,500 8

sub-total GEF Outcome 1 62,305 122,424 118,325 74,242 37,704 415,000

Total Component 1 62,305 122,424 118,325 74,242 37,704 415,000

Component 2: Emplacement of

effective PA management and

incentivizing participatory conservation

QFGB 62000 GEF



71600 Travel - 6,675 6,675 6,675 6,675 26,700 11


72100 Contractual Services-Companies 44,000 158,750 213,625 185,875 125,500 727,750 13

72200 Equipment and Furniture - 47,500 52,500 35,000 - 135,000 14

72400 Communic & Audio Visual Equip 10,000 - - - - 10,000 15

72800 Information Technology Equipmt 6,256 10,000 10,000 - - 26,256 16

73400 Rental & Maint of Other Equip 20,256 20,256 20,256 20,256 20,256 101,280 17

74200 Audio Visual&Print Prod Costs - 8,750 8,750 8,750 8,750 35,000 18


sub-total GEF Output 2 159,751 385,166 466,176 409,329 316,578 1,737,000

Total Component 2 159,751 385,166 466,176 409,329 316,578 1,737,000

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GEF Output/Atlas Activity

Responsible Party/[1]

(Atlas Implementing

Agent)

Fund ID

Donor Name

Atlas Budgetary Account

Code

ATLAS Budget Description Amount Year 1 (USD)

Amount Year 2 (USD)

Amount Year 3 (USD)

Amount Year 4 (USD)

Amount Year 5 (USD)

Total (USD)

See Budget Note:

Component 3: Knowledge

Management, Monitoring &

Evaluation, and Gender and Social

Inclusion

QFGB 62000 GEF

71200 International Consultants 6,000 - 15,000 - 21,000 42,000 20



71600 Travel 13,853 3,687 10,047 5,472 12,547 45,606 23


72100 Contractual Services-Companies 11,000 1,000 1,000 1,000 6,000 20,000 25

74100 Professional Services 4,000 4,000 4,000 4,000 4,000 20,000 26


sub-total GEF Output 3 83,508 55,291 90,201 52,762 94,238 376,000

Total Component 3 83,508 55,291 90,201 52,762 94,238 376,000

Project Management QFGB 62000 GEF


72500 Supplies 500 500 500 500 500 2,500 29

72800 Information Technology Equipmt 4,000 - - - - 4,000 30

74500 Miscellaneous Expenses 1,243 1,243 1,243 1,243 1,242.58 6,214.58 31

74596 Services to Projects 2,122 2,979 2,979 2,979 2,979 14,038 32

sub-total GEF PM 25,517 23,257 24,184 25,157 26,178.58 124,293.58

Total Project Management 25,517 23,257 24,184 25,157 26,178.58 124,293.58

PROJECT TOTAL 331,081 586,138 698,886 561,490 474,698.58 2,652,293.58

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Summary of Funds: 35

Source Amount Amount Amount Amount Amount

Total Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5

GEF $331,081 $586,138 $698,886 $561,490 $474,698.58 $2,652,293.58

Qinghai Provincial Finance Department $3,600,000 $3,600,000 $3,600,000 $3,600,000 $3,600,000 $18,000,000

UNDP $9,000 $9,000 $9,000 $9,000 $9,000 $45,000

TOTAL $3,940,081 $4,195,138 $4,307,886 $4,170,490 $4,083,698.58 $20,697,293.58

Budget note number Comments

Component 1 / Outcome 1: 1 71200. International consultants.

International PA management specialist under Output 1.3 delivering training workshop in China (4 weeks at USD 3,000 per week in Year 3; Total: USD 12,000); Total: USD 12,000

2 71300. Local consultants. Project Chief Technical Advisor supporting all outputs under Component 1 (0.75 months per year for 5 years, at a gross salary of USD 3,454 per month, adjusted with a cost of living adjustment of 5% per year starting in year 2; Total: USD 14,313); PA law, policy, governance specialist under Output 1.1, providing consultancy services for regulatory and institutional reforms (6 weeks per year in Years 1 and 2, and 4 weeks per year in Years 3, 4, and 5, at a gross rate of USD 1,381.50 per week; Total: 33,156); PA finance specialist/resource economist under Output 1.2, preparing sustainable PA financing plan and facilitating financing activities and developing resource management and monitoring regulations (6 weeks in Year 1, 8 weeks in Year 2, and 2 weeks per year in Years 3, 4, and 5, at a gross rate of USD 1,535 per week; Total: USD 30,700); Capacity development specialist under Output 1.3, preparing capacity development plan and oversee capacity building activities on the project (5 weeks in Year 1, and 2 weeks per year in Years 2, 3, 4, and 5, at a gross rate of USD 1,381.50 per week; Total: 17,959); Total: USD 96,128

3 71400. Contractual services – Individuals. Program Alignment Officer (recruited by CPAR-1 project; 0.75 month per year for 5 years, at a gross salary of USD 2,763 per month, adjusted with a cost of living adjustment of 5% per year starting in year 2; Total: USD 11,450); Total: USD 11,450

4 71600. Travel. Travel expenses for capacity development consultant for activities under Output 1.3 (USD 1,264 in Year 1); Travel expenses for Project Manager and M&E/Safeguards Officer for joining the international training missions in Years 3 and 4 (USD 5,000 per mission per staff; Total USD 20,000); International knowledge transfer trainings on international PA management best practices under Output 1.3 (USD 5,000 per person for 10 persons; Total: USD 50,000); Total: USD 71,264

5 71800. Contractual services – Implementation Partners. PMO technical contributions to Component 1, all outputs: Project Manager (2 months per year for 5 years, at a gross salary of USD 3,070 per month, adjusted with a cost of living adjustment of 5% per year starting in year 2; Total: USD 33,927); Project Assistant/Finance Officer (2 months per year for 5 years, at a gross salary of USD 1,535 per month, adjusted with a cost of living adjustment of 5% per year starting in year 2; Total: USD 16,964); M&E/Safeguards Officer (1.5 months per year for 5 years, at a gross salary of USD 1,842 per month, adjusted with a cost of living adjustment of 5% per year starting in year 2; Total: USD 15,267); Total: USD 66,158

6 72100. Contractual services – Company. Technical assistance to support: Output 1.1 for carrying out a gap analysis (USD 20,000); Output 1.1 for developing a species conservation and restoration plan for snow leopard (USD 10,000);

35 Summary table should include all financing of all kinds: GEF financing, cofinancing, cash, in-kind, etc.

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Output 1.1 for developing a species conservation and restoration plan for Przewalski’s gazelle (USD 10,000); Output 1.1 for developing a consolidated landscape strategy and action plan (USD 25,000); Output 1.2 for developing an advisory report on improved allocation of eco-compensation funds (USD 15,000); Output 1.2 for developing an implementation plan for PA tourism partnerships and concessions (USD 15,000); Output 1.2 for developing guidelines for innovative PA financing mechanisms (USD 10,000); Total: USD 105,000

7 74200. Audio-visual and print production costs. Audio-visual and print production for knowledge products used for disseminating and advocating capacity development initiatives across Component 1 outputs (USD 3,125 in Years 2, 3, 4, and 5; Total: USD 12,500); Total: USD 12,500

8 75700. Training, workshop, conference. C-PAR3 Advisory Group workshops under Output 1.1 (USD 1,000 per workshop, twice per year; Total: USD 10,000); Landscape level workshop on strategy and action plan under Output 1.1 (USD 8,000 in Year 3; Total USD 8,000) PA Financing Working Group workshops under Output 1.2 (USD 1,000 per meeting, with one meeting per year; Total: USD 5,000); Training of trainers workshops under Output 1.3 (USD 500 per person for 25 persons; Total: USD 12,500); Training for PMO staff and supporting consultants under Output 1.3 (USD 500 per person for 10 persons; Total: USD 5,000); Total: USD 40,500

Component 2 / Outcome 2: 9 71300. Local consultants.

Project Chief Technical Advisor contributions to implementation of Component 2, all outputs (1.75 months per year for 5 years, at a gross salary of USD 3,454 per month, adjusted with a cost of living adjustment of 5% per year starting in year 2; Total: USD 33,397); Capacity development specialist under Output 2.1, supporting trainings delivered by international consultant (3 weeks in Year 3 at a gross rate of USD 1,381.50 per week; Total: USD 4,144); PA finance specialist/resource economist under Output 2.4, carrying out ecosystem valuation study of target areas (10 weeks at a gross rate of USD 1,381.50 per week; Total USD 13,815); providing guidance during implementation of conservation financing interventions (9 weeks at a gross rate of USD 1,381.50 per week; Total: USD 8,100); for assessing results achieved and preparing a technical report, supporting the case studies prepared by the KM specialist (4 weeks at gross rate of USD 1,381.50 per week; Total: USD 5,526). Community mobilisers, supporting project field interventions under Outputs 2.1, 2.2, 2.3 and 2.4, bilingual Chinese/Tibetan (2 positions in total, 1 per village, working 6 months per year in Years 2, 3, 4, and 5, at a gross rate of USD 900 per month; Total: USD 43,200); Total: USD 108,182

10 71400. Contractual services – Individuals. Program Alignment Officer (CPAR-1 project; 0.75 month per year for 5 years, at a gross salary of USD 2,763 per month, adjusted with a cost of living adjustment of 5% per year starting in year 2; Total: USD 11,450); Total: USD 11,450

11 71600. Travel. Travel expenses for international training expert under Output 3.1 (USD 5,000 in Year 3); Miscellaneous travel expenses supporting field interventions under Outputs 2.2 and 2.3 (USD 5,426.5 per year in Years 2, 3, 4, and 5; Total: USD 21,706); Total: USD 26,700

12 71800. Contractual services – Implementation Partners. PMO contributions to implementation of Component 2, all outputs: Project Manager (6.25 months per year for 5 years, at a gross salary of USD 3,070 per month, adjusted with a cost of living adjustment of 5% per year starting in year 2; Total: USD 106,022); Project Assistant/Finance Officer (2.75 months per year for 5 years, at a gross salary of USD 1,535 per month, adjusted with a cost of living adjustment of 5% per year starting in year 2; Total: USD 31,807); M&E/Safeguards Officer (7.5 months per year for 5 years, at a gross salary of USD 1,842 per month, adjusted with a cost of living adjustment of 5% per year starting in year 2; Total: USD 78,881); PA Coordinator, Qilian Mountains NR (6 months in year 1 and 12 months per year in years 2, 3, 4 and 5, at a gross salary of USD 1,842 per month, adjusted with a cost of living adjustment of 5% per year starting in year 2; Total: USD 111,086); ); PA Coordinator, Qinghai Lake NNR (6 months in year 1 and 12 months per year in years 2, 3, 4 and 5, at a gross salary of USD 1,842 per month, adjusted with a cost of living adjustment of 5% per year starting in year 2; Total: USD 111,086); Total: USD 438,882

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13 72100. Contractual services – Company. Technical assistance for: Output 2.1. for establishment of ecological corridors (USD 40,000); Output 2.1 in support of the design of the Qilian Mountains NP (USD 15,000); Output 2.1 in updating management plan for the Qinghai Lake NNR (USD 50,000); Organising and delivering training through E-learning courses under Output 2.1 (for an estimated 360 people; Total: USD 54,000); Organising and delivering training through domestic knowledge transfer under Output 2.1 (for an estimated 25 people; Total: USD 16,250); Enhancing biodiversity monitoring capacities under Output 2.2, participatory surveys (USD 20,000 in Year 1, and USD 20,000 in Year 5; Total: USD 60,000); Development of pasture management plans under Output 2.3 (USD 6,000 x 4 plans: Total: USD 24,000), and carry out annual reviews of the management plans in Years 3, 4 and 5 (USD 2,000 x 3 years; Total: USD 6,000); Technical demonstration of grassland restoration techniques to support implementation of pasture management plans under Output 2.3: degraded habitat restored (USD 100,000); Technical demonstration of de-fencing, installation of wildlife gates, non-fence property delineation, establishment of conservation set-asides to support implementation of for pasture management plans under Output 2.3: habitat under improved management (USD 100,000); Preparation and promotion of HWC management guideline for at least one target village (USD 15,000); Development of environmental education programs to promote public participation under Output 2.3 (USD 30,000); Development of measures to strengthen volunteer management under Output 2.3 (USD 25,000); Capacity building for sustainable livelihood alternatives under Output 2.3 (Total: USD 50,000); Design and implementation of a micro-financing program under Output 2.4 (USD 10,000); issuing of grants to qualified community-based organisations, including women’s groups, to develop and market alternative livelihood activities (USD 5,000 x 15 micro-grants; Total: USD 75,000); Facilitation of a tourism partnership under Output 2.4 (USD 45,000); Implementation of at least one eco-compensation pilot under Output 2.4 (USD 45,000); Total: USD 727,750

14 72200. Equipment and furniture. Miscellaneous equipment supporting project interventions and strengthening monitoring and patrolling capacities, including camera traps, drones, binoculars, field tracking devices, etc. (USD 25,000 X 4 target villages/herder groups, and USD 35,000 for management stations; total USD 135,000); Total: USD 135,000

15 72400. Communication and Audio-Visual Equipment. Communication and audio-visual equipment for community mobilisers supporting community activities in Qinghai Lake NNR (USD 10,000 in Year 1); Total: USD 10,000

16 72800. Information technology equipment. IT equipment for M&E/Safeguards Officer, PA Coordinators and Community Mobilisers (Total: USD 6,256); IT equipment supporting field interventions in Outputs 2.1, 2.2, 2.3 and 2.4 (USD 5,000 per village committee and herder group x 4; Total: USD 20,000); Total: USD 26,250

17 73400. Rental & Maint of Other Equip Vehicle rental for field consultations and management of activities under Outputs 2.1, 2.2, 2.3 and 2.4, supporting community-based activities at project sites in Qilian Mountains and Qinghai Lake (12 month per year at USD 1,688 per month for 5 years of implementation; Total: USD 101,280) Total: USD 101,280

18 74200. Audio visual & print production costs. Miscellaneous audio visual and print production costs supporting project interventions under Outputs 2.2, 2.3 and 2.4 (USD 8,750 in years 2, 3,4, and 5; Total: USD 35,000); Total: USD 35,000

19 75700. Training, Workshop, Conference. Training on social inclusion, gender and community development under Output 2.1 (USD 150 per person for 160 persons; Total: USD 24,000) Training through site-level learning under Output 2.1 (USD 250 per person for 160 persons; Total: USD 40,000); Inter-provincial training activities between Gansu and Qinghai stakeholders under Output 2.1 (across the 5 years of implementation; Total: USD 25,000);

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Organise a sustainable livelihoods exhibition under Output 2.4 (USD 7,500); Organise stakeholder workshop, showcasing results of sustainable livelihoods initiatives, tourism partnership and eco-compensation pilots under Outputs 2.3 and 2.4 (USD 20,000); Total: USD 116,500

Component 3 / Outcome 3: 20 71200. International consultants. Midterm review consultant under Output 3.1 (5 weeks at USD 3,000 per week, in Year 3; Total: USD 15,000);

Terminal evaluation consultant under Output 3.1 (7 weeks at USD 3,000 per week, in Year 5; Total: USD 21,000); Safeguards and Resettlement Specialist under Output 3.3 supporting ESIA and ESMP preparation (2 weeks at USD 3,000 per week during Year 1; Total: USD 6,000); Total: USD 42,000

21 71300. Local consultants. Project Chief Technical Advisor technical contributions to Component 3, all outputs (0.5 months per year for 5 years, at a gross salary of USD 3,454 per month, adjusted with a cost of living adjustment of 5% per year starting in year 2; Total: USD 9,542); M&E Specialist under Output 3.1 for midterm tracking tool assessment (2 weeks at USD 1,381.50 per week, in Year 3; Total: USD 2,763); M&E Specialist under Output 3.1 supporting midterm review (4 weeks at USD 1,381 per week, in Year 3; Total: 6,140); M&E Specialist under Output 3.1 for terminal tracking tool assessment (2 weeks at USD 1,381.50 per week, in Year 5; Total: USD 2,763); M&E Specialist under Output 3.1 supporting terminal evaluation (4 weeks at USD 1,381.50 per week, in Year 5; Total: USD 6,140); Knowledge Management/Communication Specialist under Output 3.2, supporting KM activities (3 weeks in Year 1 and 2 weeks per year in Years 2, 3, 4, and 5, at a gross rate of USD 1,381.50 per week; Total: USD 15,196); Knowledge management specialist under Outputs 3.2, documenting project results in case studies and knowledge products (6 weeks, including 3 weeks in Year 4 and 3 weeks in Year 5, at a gross salary of USD 1,381.50 per week; Total: USD 8,289); Social Inclusion/Safeguards/Ethnic Minorities/Resettlement Specialist under Output 3.3 supporting ESIA and development of ESMP in Year 1 and iied SAPA methodology of social impacts in Year 4 (4 weeks at USD 1,535 per week in Year 1, and 2 weeks at USD 1,535 per week in Year 4; Total: USD 9,210); Local Social Inclusion Specialist bilingual in Chinese and Tibetan under Output 3.3, supporting ESIA and ESMP processes (6 weeks in Year 1 and 3 weeks per year in Years 2, 3, and 5 and 6 weeks in Year 4 to support the iied SAPA methodology of social impacts at a gross rate of USD 1,381.50 per week; Total: 29,012); Gender Specialist under Output 3.3, supporting implementation of gender mainstreaming plan (10 weeks total, 2 weeks per year for each year of implementation, at USD 1,381.50 per week; Total: USD 13,815); Total: USD 102,870

22 71400. Contractual services – Individuals. Program Alignment Officer (CPAR-1 project; 0.75 months per year for 5 years, at a gross salary of USD 2,763 per month, adjusted with a cost of living adjustment of 5% per year starting in year 2; Total: USD 11,450); Total: USD 11,451

23 71600. Travel. Travel expenses in support of Output 3.1 for midterm review team (USD 6,360 lump sum in Year 3) and terminal evaluation team (USD 6.360 lump sum, in Year 5); Travel expenses for carrying out the ESIA and developing the ESMP under Output 3.3 in Year 1, including return airfare for international consultant to field (Total: USD 2,500); two return airfares for national consultant Beijing-Xining (USD 537 per return flight; Total: USD 537); local travel costs for field consultations (1 month at USD 1,688 per month; Total: 1,688); DSA for international consultant, UN rate for Elsewhere in China (5 days at USD 143 per day; Total: USD 715); DSA for national (5 days) and local consultant (15 days), Government rate for provinces (20 days at USD 84 per day; Total: USD 1,688); and for community consultations as part of the iied SAPA methodology of social impacts in Year 4 under Output 3.3 (USD 1,785); Travel expenses for PM or CTA oversight missions (10 return flights from Beijing-provinces at USD 537 per flight, and 50 days of DSA at Government rate for provinces at USD 84 per day; Total: USD 9,593); Travel expenses for KAP survey under Output 3.2 (USD 2,500 in Year 1 and USD 2,500 in Year 5; Total: USD 5,000); Miscellaneous travel, as part of monitoring missions under Output 3.3 (USD 1,768 per year for each of the 5 years of implementation; Total: USD 8,841); Total: USD 45,606

24 71800. Contractual services – Implementation Partners. PMO contributions to implementation of Component 3: Project Manager (0.75 months per year for 5 years, at a gross salary of USD 3,070 per month, adjusted with a cost of living adjustment of 5% per year starting in year 2; Total: USD 12,722); Project Assistant/Finance Officer (0.75 months per year for 5 years, at a gross salary of USD 1,535 per month, adjusted with a cost of living adjustment of 5% per year starting in year 2; Total: USD 6,361); M&E/Safeguards Officer (2.75 months per year for 5 years, at a gross salary of USD 1,842 per month, adjusted with a cost of living adjustment of 5% per year starting in year 2; Total: USD 27,990);

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Total: USD 47,074 25 72100. Contractual services – Company. English translation/interpretation, miscellaneous support for all Component 3 outputs (USD 1,000 per year; Total: USD 5,000);

Service provider for designing, administering, and interpreting the baseline KAP survey under Output 3.2 in Year 1, and supporting development of project KM action plan (Total: USD 10,000); Service provider for designing, administering, and interpreting final KAP survey under Output 3.2 in Year 5 (Total: USD 5,000); Total: USD 20,000

26 74100. Professional Services. Financial NIM audit under Output 3.1 (USD 4,000 per year; Total: USD 20,000); Total: USD 20,000

27 75700. Training, Workshop, Conference. Project inception workshop under Output 3.1 (Total: USD 11,000 in Year 1); Project Steering Committee Meetings and Exchange Visits under Output 3.1 (USD 3,000 per meeting in Years 1, 3, and 5, for PSC meetings in Xining; and USD 6,000 per meeting in Year 2 for PSC meetings including site visits; Total: 15,000): Program Steering Committee Meeting and Exchange Visit under Output 3.1 (USD 8,000 for meeting in Year 2); Annual Stakeholder Workshops in Xining under Output 3.1 (USD 1,000 per meeting, annually for 5 years; Total: USD 5,000); Organise a Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau Biodiversity Conservation Network workshop under Output 3.2 (USD 15,000 in year 2); Participation in national, regional, international workshops, conferences under Output 3.2 (USD 3,000 per year in Years 2, 3 and 5; Total: USD 9,000); Organise targeted awareness and advocacy campaigns under Output 3.2 (Total: USD 20,000); Deliver promotional/advocacy campaigns on social inclusion under Output 3.3 (USD 1,000 per year in Years 2, 3, 4, and 5; Total: USD 4,000); Total: USD 87,000

Project Management: 28 71800. Contractual services – Implementation Partners. Project Manager (3 months per year for 5 years, at a gross salary of USD 3,070 per month, adjusted with a cost of living

adjustment of 5% per year starting in year 2; Total: USD 50,891); Project Assistant/Finance Officer (5.5 months per year for 5 years, at a gross salary of USD 1,535 per month, adjusted with a cost of living adjustment of 5% per year starting in year 2; Total: USD 46,650); Total: USD 97,541

29 72500. Supplies. Costs of office supplies at USD 500 per year for each of the 5 years of implementation. Total: USD 2,500

30 72800. Information technology equipment. IT equipment including 2 laptop computers (for Project Manager and Project Assistant/Finance Officer) in year 1 at USD 1,500 per unit; and USD 1,000 for other information technology equipment, including a multifunction printer/scanner. Total: USD 4,000

31 74500. Miscellaneous expenses. PMO related expenses including telephone, internet, insurance, etc., at USD 1,243 per year for each of the 5 years of implementation. Total: USD 6,214.58

32 74596. Services to Projects. DPCs including USD 5,579.40 for consultant recruitment at USD 371.96 per procurement and three consultants recruited during each year of implementation; USD 3,431.48 for procurement processes involving local CAP (higher value) for an estimated four procurements at USD 857.87 per procurement, with one procurement per year in Years 2, 3, 4, and 5; USD 5,028.60 for procurement not involving local CAP (low value) for an estimated fifteen procurements at USD 335.24 per procurement, with three procurements per year during each year of implementation. Total: USD 14,038

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XI. LEGAL CONTEXT Option a. Where the country has signed the Standard Basic Assistance Agreement (SBAA) 232. This project document shall be the instrument referred to as such in Article 1 of the Standard Basic Assistance Agreement between the Government of (country) and UNDP, signed on (date). All references in the SBAA to “Executing Agency” shall be deemed to refer to “Implementing Partner.” 233. This project will be implemented by the Qinghai Forestry and Grassland Bureau (“Implementing Partner”) in accordance with its financial regulations, rules, practices and procedures only to the extent that they do not contravene the principles of the Financial Regulations and Rules of UNDP. Where the financial governance of an Implementing Partner does not provide the required guidance to ensure best value for money, fairness, integrity, transparency, and effective international competition, the financial governance of UNDP shall apply. 234. Any designations on maps or other references employed in this project document do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of UNDP concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.

XII. RISK MANAGEMENT Option a. Government Entity (NIM) 235. Consistent with the Article III of the SBAA, the responsibility for the safety and security of the Implementing Partner and its personnel and property, and of UNDP’s property in the Implementing Partner’s custody, rests with the Implementing Partner. To this end, the Implementing Partner shall:

a) put in place an appropriate security plan and maintain the security plan, taking into account the security situation in the country where the project is being carried;

b) assume all risks and liabilities related to the Implementing Partner’s security, and the full implementation of the security plan.

236. UNDP reserves the right to verify whether such a plan is in place, and to suggest modifications to the plan when necessary. Failure to maintain and implement an appropriate security plan as required hereunder shall be deemed a breach of the Implementing Partner’s obligations under this Project Document. 237. The Implementing Partner agrees to undertake all reasonable efforts to ensure that no UNDP funds received pursuant to the Project Document are used to provide support to individuals or entities associated with terrorism and that the recipients of any amounts provided by UNDP hereunder do not appear on the list maintained by the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 1267 (1999). The list can be accessed via http://www.un.org/sc/committees/1267/aq_sanctions_list.shtml. 238. Social and environmental sustainability will be enhanced through application of the UNDP Social and Environmental Standards (http://www.undp.org/ses) and related Accountability Mechanism (http://www.undp.org/secu-srm). 239. The Implementing Partner shall: (a) conduct project-related activities in a manner consistent with the UNDP Social and Environmental Standards, (b) implement any management or mitigation plan prepared for the project to comply with such standards, and (c) engage in a constructive and timely manner to address any concerns and complaints raised through the Accountability Mechanism. UNDP will seek to ensure that communities and other project stakeholders are informed of and have access to the Accountability Mechanism. 240. All signatories to the Project Document shall cooperate in good faith with any exercise to evaluate any project-related commitments or compliance with the UNDP Social and Environmental Standards. This includes providing access to project sites, relevant personnel, information, and documentation.

http://intra.undp.org/bdp/archive-programming-manual/docs/reference-centre/chapter6/sbaa.pdf

http://www.un.org/sc/committees/1267/aq_sanctions_list.shtml

http://www.undp.org/ses

http://www.undp.org/secu-srm

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241. The Implementing Partner will take appropriate steps to prevent misuse of funds, fraud or corruption, by its officials, consultants, responsible parties, subcontractors and sub-recipients in implementing the project or using UNDP funds. The Implementing Partner will ensure that its financial management, anti-corruption and anti-fraud policies are in place and enforced for all funding received from or through UNDP. 242. The requirements of the following documents, then in force at the time of signature of the Project Document, apply to the Implementing Partner: (a) UNDP Policy on Fraud and other Corrupt Practices and (b) UNDP Office of Audit and Investigations Investigation Guidelines. The Implementing Partner agrees to the requirements of the above documents, which are an integral part of this Project Document and are available online at www.undp.org. 243. In the event that an investigation is required, UNDP has the obligation to conduct investigations relating to any aspect of UNDP projects and programmes. The Implementing Partner shall provide its full cooperation, including making available personnel, relevant documentation, and granting access to the Implementing Partner’s (and its consultants’, responsible parties’, subcontractors’ and sub-recipients’) premises, for such purposes at reasonable times and on reasonable conditions as may be required for the purpose of an investigation. Should there be a limitation in meeting this obligation, UNDP shall consult with the Implementing Partner to find a solution. 244. The signatories to this Project Document will promptly inform one another in case of any incidence of inappropriate use of funds, or credible allegation of fraud or corruption with due confidentiality.

245. Where the Implementing Partner becomes aware that a UNDP project or activity, in whole or in part, is the focus of investigation for alleged fraud/corruption, the Implementing Partner will inform the UNDP Resident Representative/Head of Office, who will promptly inform UNDP’s Office of Audit and Investigations (OAI). The Implementing Partner shall provide regular updates to the head of UNDP in the country and OAI of the status of, and actions relating to, such investigation. 246. UNDP shall be entitled to a refund from the Implementing Partner of any funds provided that have been used inappropriately, including through fraud or corruption, or otherwise paid other than in accordance with the terms and conditions of the Project Document. Such amount may be deducted by UNDP from any payment due to the Implementing Partner under this or any other agreement. 247. Where such funds have not been refunded to UNDP, the Implementing Partner agrees that donors to UNDP (including the Government) whose funding is the source, in whole or in part, of the funds for the activities under this Project Document, may seek recourse to the Implementing Partner for the recovery of any funds determined by UNDP to have been used inappropriately, including through fraud or corruption, or otherwise paid other than in accordance with the terms and conditions of the Project Document. 248. Note: The term “Project Document” as used in this clause shall be deemed to include any relevant subsidiary agreement further to the Project Document, including those with responsible parties, subcontractors and sub-recipients. 249. Each contract issued by the Implementing Partner in connection with this Project Document shall include a provision representing that no fees, gratuities, rebates, gifts, commissions or other payments, other than those shown in the proposal, have been given, received, or promised in connection with the selection process or in contract execution, and that the recipient of funds from the Implementing Partner shall cooperate with any and all investigations and post-payment audits. 250. Should UNDP refer to the relevant national authorities for appropriate legal action any alleged wrongdoing relating to the project, the Government will ensure that the relevant national authorities shall actively investigate the same and take appropriate legal action against all individuals found to have participated in the wrongdoing, recover and return any recovered funds to UNDP. The Implementing Partner shall ensure that all of its obligations set forth under this section entitled “Risk Management” are passed on to each responsible party, subcontractor and sub-recipient and that all the clauses

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under this section entitled “Risk Management Standard Clauses” are included, mutatis mutandis, in all sub-contracts or sub-agreements entered into further to this Project Document.

XIII. ANNEXES

--- See separate file --- A. Annex A: Multi Year Work Plan B. Annex B: GEF Tracking Tool at baseline; GEF-7 core indicators reporting C. Annex C: Overview of Technical Consultancies/subcontracts D. Annex D: Terms of Reference for Project Steering Committee and PMU E. Annex E: UNDP Social and Environmental Screening Procedure F. Annex F: Environmental and Social Management Framework (annexed to CPAR-1 Project Document) G. Annex G: Stakeholder Engagement Plan H. Annex H: Socioeconomic Baseline Report I. Annex I: Gender Analysis and Action Plan J. Annex J: UNDP Risk Log K. Annex K: Results of the capacity assessment of the project IP and HACT micro assessment L. Annex L: Profile of the Qilian Mountains-Qinghai Lake Landscape M. Annex M: A GIS based analysis of protected areas within the Qinghai Lake and Qilian Mountains

Landscape for conserving globally significant biodiversity N. Annex N: Institutional Capacity Needs Assessment and Capacity Development Scorecards O. Annex O: Legal and Governance Baseline Assessment P. Annex P: Protected Area Financing in Qinghai Province Baseline Report Q. Annex Q: Framework for Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices (KAP) Survey R. Annex R: Baseline Report on Biodiversity Knowledge Management Systems S. Annex S: Expected Approvals during Project Implementation T. Annex T: Additional Agreements: Co-financing letters; draft Letter of Agreement for Direct Project

Services U. Annex U: List of Stakeholders Contacted during PPG Consultations

From:仪律北 <[email protected]>Sent: Tuesday, May 15, 2018 9:50 AMTo: Chaode Ma <[email protected]>Cc: Lisa Farroway <[email protected]>; ??? <[email protected]>Subject: RE: C-PAR3 | Co-financing information from PMO of QFD 15/15/2018

Date:15th May 2018Dear Dr. Ma,

RE: C-PAR3 | Co-financing information from PMO of QFD 15/15/2018

As per instruction from Mr. Li Yande, this email is to extend co-financing information to you on behalf of Mr. LiYande and Project Management Office of Qinghai Forestry Department that he represented and to keep recordthe three issues that we have reached consensus.

Based on the five referential emails attached and the instruction from Mr. Li Yande, hereby we provided the Co-financing information as following:

Best Regards!

Daniel (Yi Lubei)on behalf of Mr. Li Yande of Project Management Office of Qinghai Forestry Department for this email aboveONLY

04‐Annex A_5690_CPAR3_Multi Year Work Plan_1st‐resubmission.docx Page 1

Annex A: Multi Year Work Plan

Output Indicator RP Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5

Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4

COMPONENT 1: PA system consolidation and institutional strengthening

Outcome 1: Consolidated PA sub‐system recognizing connectivity and KBAs and mainstreamed into provincial planning

Output 1.1: Consolidated landscape conservation strategy and action plan, threatened species plans and PA sub‐system regulations for the Qilian Mountains‐Qinghai Lake landscape adopted and mainstreamed into the provincial 14th five‐year plan (FYP)

1.1.1. Assemble C‐PAR3 Advisory Group and convene meetings. Meeting minutes PMO

1.1.2. Prepare landscape gap analysis. Final report PMO

1.1.3. Prepare species conservation / restoration plan for P. gazelle. QFD approval PMO

1.1.4. Prepare species conservation / restoration plan for snow leopard. Province decision QFD

1.1.5. Prepare landscape conservation strategy and action plan. Province approval QFD

1.1.6. TA for regulatory review and drafting policies and regulations. Province decisions QFD

1.1.7. TA for support improvements to institutional frameworks. Province decisions QFD

1.1.8. Draft proposals for inclusion of landscape BD into 14th FYP. QFD approval QFD

1.1.9. Convene landscape wide workshop on the strategy/action plan. Proceedings PMO

Output 1.2: Policies and guidelines developed for value‐based allocations of eco‐compensation funds, broader participation of the enterprise sector, and innovative financing mechanisms at the community level, strengthening the sustainability of PA financing

1.2.1. Develop sustainable financing plan for landscape. QFD approval PMO

1.2.2. Provide TA for improving eco‐compensation schemes. Pilot plan PMO

1.2.3. Adapt guideline on tourism partnerships and concessions. Pilot plan PMO

1.2.4. Develop guidelines innovative conservation financing. Advisory report PMO

1.2.5. Develop resource management and monitoring regulations. QFD approval PMO

Output 1.3: Institutional enabling environment strengthened through introduction of PA competency‐based professional development and joint capacity building for collaborative PA governance

1.3.1. Develop capacity development plan. QFD approval PMO

1.3.2. Organise and deliver training for trainers Training records PMO

1.3.3. Arrange international specialists to deliver trainings in Qinghai. Training records QFD

1.3.4. Organise and deliver international knowledge transfer. Training records QFD

COMPONENT 2: Emplacement of effective PA management and incentivizing participatory conservation

Outcome 2: Strengthened and more participatory management of expanded PA sub‐system in the Qilian Mountains‐Qinghai Lake landscape

Output 2.1: Operationalisation and expansion of the PA sub‐system according to the consolidated landscape conservation strategy and action plan

2.1.1. Provide TA in establishing ecological corridor near Qinghai L. NR Province approval QFD

2.1.2. Update management plan for Qinghai L NR. QFD approval QFD




2.1.3. Provide TA for ecological design of Qilian Mountains NP. National approval QFD

2.1.4. Organise annual collaborative PA governance workshops. Proceedings PMO

Output 2.2: Strengthened implementation capacities, coordination and partnerships across the Qilian Mountains‐Qilian Lake PA sub‐system

2.2.1. Establish and maintain village committees in Qinghai L. region. Approved TOR PMO

2.2.2. Establish and maintain herder groups in Qilian Mtn. region. Approved TOR PMO

2.2.3. Deliver training on social inclusion, gender, community devel. Training records PMO

2.2.4. Procure equipment to support community interventions. Purchase receipts QFD

2.2.5. Deliver site‐level learning by doing trainings. Training records PMO

2.2.6. Provide TA for participatory biodiversity surveys. Survey reports PMO

2.2.7. Facilitate E‐learning trainings for PA staff, community, etc. Training records PMO

2.2.8. Organise domestic knowledge transfer training, other C‐PAR sites. Training records PMO

2.2.9. Strengthen capacities of local NGOs, associations. Reports PMO

Output 2.3: Demonstrations of participatory habitat restoration and management arrangements within the expanded PA sub‐system

2.3.1. Prepare 5‐y pasture management plans for target areas. Pasture man plans PMO

2.3.2. Implement pasture management plans: habitat restoration. Monitoring records PMO

2.3.3. Implement pasture management plans: improved management. Monitoring records PMO

2.3.4. Adapt and promote HWC management guideline. HWC guideline PMO

2.3.5. Carry out annual reviews of pasture management plans. Report PMO

2.3.6. Promote public participation: environmental education. Records PMO

2.3.7. Promote increased volunteer participation. Records PMO

Output 2.4: Pilot interventions for sustainable livelihoods, enterprise sector involvement and conservation financing, improving community benefits and biodiversity threat reduction

2.4.1. Design and manage a project micro‐financing program. Micro grants PMO

2.4.2. Capacity building on sustainable livelihoods and financial manag. Monitoring records PMO

2.4.3. Organise an exhibition on sustainable livelihoods. Proceedings PMO

2.4.4. Procure and implement a tourism partnership pilot. Monitoring records PMO

2.4.5. Carry out an ecosystem valuation study of the target areas. Technical report PMO

2.4.6. Implement an eco‐compensation pilot. Monitoring records PMO

2.4.7. Organise a stakeholder workshops, advocating for replication. Proceedings PMO

COMPONENT 3: Knowledge Management, Monitoring & Evaluation, and Gender and Social Inclusion





Output 3.1: Effective project management supported by proactive steering committee functions and inclusive monitoring & evaluation

3.1.1. Organise project inception workshop, prepare report. Inception report PMO

3.1.2. Organise annual project stakeholder workshops. Meeting minutes PMO

3.1.3. Organise project steering committee meetings. Meeting minutes QFD

3.1.4. Carry out midterm assessment of GEF tracking tools. Monitoring report PMO

3.1.5. Procure independent midterm review. MTR report UNDP

3.1.6. Carry out end‐of‐project assessment of GEF tracking tools. Monitoring report PMO

3.1.7. Procure independent terminal evaluation. TE report PMO

3.1.8. Prepare final report for the project. Final report QFD

Output 3.2: Project results effectively shared through implementation of a targeted knowledge management action plan

3.2.1. Design, administer and interpret baseline KAP survey. KAP survey report PMO

3.2.2. Develop knowledge management action plan and update yearly. KM plan PMO

3.2.3. Advocate the project through participation in conferences. Proceedings PMO

3.2.4. Organise one workshop of the Qinghai‐Tibetan BD Network. Proceedings PMO

3.2.5. Distil project results and develop case studies. Case studies PMO

3.2.6. Organise awareness raising and advocacy campaigns. Records PMO

3.2.7. Design, administer and interpret end of project KAP survey. KAP survey report PMO

Output 3.3: Inclusive participation of local communities, including women and ethnic minorities ensured through effective implementation of environmental and social management framework

3.3.1. Carry out ESIA and develop ESMP. ESIA, ESMP UNDP

3.3.2. Support/review voluntary resettlement plans for Qilian Mtns. NP. Local gov plans QFD

3.2.3. Implement ESMP, including monitoring of impacts Monitoring reports PMO

3.3.4. Implement gender mainstreaming plan. Monitoring reports PMO

3.3.5. Develop and implement community ranger M&E system. System records PMO

3.3.6. Develop and disseminate social inclusion knowledge products. Dissemination PMO

3.3.7 Conduct iied SAPA assessment for Qilian Mountains NP. Monitoring report PMO

I. General Data Please indicate your answer

here Notes

Project Title

Strengthening the effectiveness of the protected area system in

Qinghai Province, China to conserve globally important

biodiversity

GEF Project ID 9403Agency Project ID PIMS 5690

Implementing Agency UNDPProject Type FSP FSP or MSP

Country P.R ChinaRegion EAP

Date of submission of the tracking tool March 24, 2018 Month DD, YYYY (e.g., May 12, 2010)Name of reviewers completing tracking tool and completion date Longqing Fan/NR staff Completion Date

Planned project duration 5 yearsActual project duration years under implementation to date

Lead Project Executing Agency (ies) Qinghai Forestry Department

II. Total Extent by Biome

Terrestrial (insert total hectares for terrestrial coverage) 816,523 ha

Freshwater (insert total hectares for freshwater coverage) 454,077 ha (Qinghai Lake is an inland saline lake but considered freshwater for this definition)

Marine (insert total hectares for marine coverage) ha

Tracking Tool for GEF-6 Biodiversity Projects

PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS TOOL IS ONLY FOR USE FOR GEF-6 PROJECTS.

GEF 6: Objective 1: Catalyzing Sustainability of Protected Area Systems, Programs 1 and 2SECTION I

Objective: To measure progress in achieving the impacts and outcomes established at the portfolio level under the biodiversity focal area. Rationale: Project data from the GEF-6 project cohort will be aggregated for analysis of directional trends and patterns at a portfolio-wide level to inform the development of future GEF strategies and to report to GEF Council on portfolio-level performance in the biodiversity focal area. Structure of Tracking Tool: Each tracking tool requests background and coverage information on the project and specific information required to track portfolio level indicators in the GEF-6 strategy. Guidance in Applying GEF Tracking Tools: GEF tracking tools are applied three times: at CEO endorsement or CEO approval for MSPs, at project mid-term, and at project completion. Submission: The finalized tracking tool will be cleared by the GEF Agencies as being correctly completed and submitted to the GEF Secretariat.

Please complete this table with the total extent of protected areas targeted by the project by terrestrial, freshwater, and marine biome.

Please complete this section for all projects under Objective 1.

Please complete this section for all projects under Objective 1.

III. Targeted Protected Areas Please indicate your answer here

Name of Protected Area Qinghai Lake National Nature Reserve

Is this a new protected area that is being established through this project intervention? 0 Yes = 1, No = 0 Area in Hectares 495,200

Biome type Terrestrial Please select from the drop-down list.Global designation or priority lists Ramsar Please select from the drop-down list.

Local Designation of Protected Area National Nature Reserve (E.g, indigenous reserve, private reserve, etc.)

IUCN Category

5: Protected Landscape/Seascape: managed mainly for landscape/seascape

protection and recreation

Please select from the drop-down list.

Name of Protected Area Qilian Mountain Nature Reserve

Is this a new protected area that is being established through this project intervention? 0 Yes = 1, No = 0 Area in Hectares 775,400

Biome type Terrestrial Please select from the drop-down list.Global designation or priority lists Please select from the drop-down list.

Local Designation of Protected Area Provincial Nature Reserve (E.g, indigenous reserve, private reserve, etc.)IUCN Category 5 Please select from the drop-down list.

Name of Protected AreaIs this a new protected area that is being established through this project intervention? Yes = 1, No = 0

Area in HectaresBiome type Please select from the drop-down list.

Global designation or priority lists Please select from the drop-down list.Local Designation of Protected Area (E.g, indigenous reserve, private reserve, etc.)

IUCN Category Please select from the drop-down list.

Name of Protected AreaIs this a new protected area that is being established through this project intervention? Yes = 1, No = 0

Area in HectaresBiome type Please select from the drop-down list.

Global designation or priority lists Please select from the drop-down list.Local Designation of Protected Area (E.g, indigenous reserve, private reserve, etc.)

IUCN Category Please select from the drop-down list.

3. Protected Area

4. Protected Area

Please complete the table below for the protected areas that are the target of the GEF intervention (i.e. completing a METT). Add new tables (copy/paste rows) for each protected area, as needed.

Use N/A for not applicable.

1. Protected Area

2. Protected Area

1

ANNEX B part b: Draft Interim Reporting Template for GEF‐7 Core Indicators C‐PAR 3 / 13 July 2018

Contents Core Indicator 1: Terrestrial protected areas created or under improved management for conservation and sustainable use (hectares) .......................................... 1

Core Indicator 11. Number of direct beneficiaries disaggregated by gender as co‐benefit of GEF investment ..................................................................................... 2

Core Indicator 1: Terrestrial protected areas created or under improved management for conservation and sustainable use (hectares)

Ha (expected at PIF) Ha (expected at CEO Endorsement)

Ha (achieved at MTR) Ha (achieved at TE)

n/a 2,104,550.0

1.1 Terrestrial protected areas newly created

Total Ha (expected at PIF)




n/a 833,950.0






Qilian Mountains NP

n/a n/a n/a 804,600.0

Qinghai Lake n/a n/a n/a 29,350.0

1.2 Terrestrial protected areas under improved management effectiveness

Total Ha (expected at PIF)




n/a 1,270,600.0






Qilian Mountains NR

95806 V n/a 775,400.0

2

Qinghai Lake NNR 96078 V n/a 495,200.0


METT Score at PIF METT Score at CEO Endorsement

METT Score at MTR METT Score at TE

Qilian Mountains NR

n/a 31

Qinghai Lake NNR n/a 49

Core Indicator 11. Number of direct beneficiaries disaggregated by gender as co‐benefit of GEF investment Women / Men / Total Total number

(expected at PIF) Total number (expected at CEO Endorsement)

Total number (achieved at MTR)

Total number (achieved at TE)

Women n/a 2,012

Men n/a 2,013

Total n/a 4,025

06‐Annex D_Term of Reference_PIMS 5690 CPAR3_5Apr2018.docx Page 1

Annex D: Terms of Reference Terms of Reference for the Project Steering Committee The Project Steering Committee (PSC) will serve as the project’s decision‐making body. It will meet according to necessity, at least once each year, to review project progress, approve project work plans and approve major project deliverables. The PSC is responsible for providing the strategic guidance and oversight to project implementation to ensure that it meets the requirements of the approved Project Document and achieves the stated outcomes. The PSC’s role will include:

Provide strategic guidance to project implementation;

Ensure coordination between various donor funded and government funded projects and programs;

Ensure coordination with various government agencies and their participation in project activities;

Approve annual project work plans and budgets, at the proposal of the Project Manager;

Approve any major changes in project plans or programs;

Oversee monitoring, evaluation and reporting in line with GEF requirements;

Ensure commitment of human resources to support project implementation, arbitrating any issues within the project;

Negotiate solutions between the project and any parties beyond the scope of the project;

Ensure that UNDP Social and Environmental Safeguards Policy is applied throughout project implementation; and, address related grievances as necessary.

Reaching a quorum: Each member of the PSC shall have one vote. For the proposed seven‐member PSC, at least four must vote yes to pass a motion, regardless of how many are present. This means that if four members show up, then requirements for a quorum would be met– all four would need to vote yes to pass a motion in that case. No member of the PSC, or his/her duly designated and recognized proxy may cast a vote in absentia. PSC members who are unable to attend meetings of the PSC, and who are not represented by proxy, may have their comments on specific items considered by the PSC by submitting their comments in writing to the Secretariat. Such written comments may be presented for consideration by the PSC but shall not constitute or be recorded as a vote by the absent member. Providing a proxy: Members of the PSC may provide a proxy to someone to appear and vote for them at a meeting of the PSC. A member of the PSC may not designate another member of the PSC as his/her proxy. The PSC will recognise a person as proxy so designated in writing by a PSC member upon delivery of notification of the proxy to the Secretariat. Written notification of proxy designation must contain the signature of the PSC member authorizing the proxy. Change in position: The members of the PSC are position dependent. Upon change of the person in the designated position, representation on the PSC shall change accordingly. These terms of reference will be verified and finalized during the project inception. Terms of Reference for the C‐PAR3 Advisory Group The C‐PAR3 Advisory Group will be established by the Project Manager, with support from the National Project Director and Chief Technical Advisor, to provide technical and strategic guidance to the PMO and to the PSC through regular thematic meetings during implementation and on an as‐needed basis, e.g., reviewing specific deliverables, terms of reference, etc. The C‐PAR3 Advisory Group will be chaired by the NPD, with Secretariat support from the PM and and technical support from the Chief Technical Advisor. The C‐PAR3 Advisory Group have representation from provincial and local government agencies, research institutes, and civil society organisations. Technical experts may be invited in to discuss specific issues. Apart from providing technical guidance, the C‐PAR3 Advisory Group may also deliver support for capacity building activities. Indicative Terms of Reference are as follows. These will be reviewed by the PSC during project inception and may be extended as necessary.


Review planned activities and ensure that they are technically sound and that, wherever possible, there is integration and synergy between the various project components during planning and implementation;

Promote technical coordination between institutions, where such coordination is necessary and where opportunities for synergy and sharing of lessons exist;

Provide technical advice and guidance on specific issues.

Share information on project progress and lessons learned with related stakeholders at the provincial and national level.

The advisory group or a subset of its members may be requested to undertake specific project‐related tasks, such as preparing or reviewing analytical reports, strategies and action plans, etc.

Other tasks as indicated by the Project Steering Committee (PSC).

Terms of Reference for Key Project Staff National Project Director (NPD) Background The National Project Director (NPD) is the Deputy Director in‐charge of the Qinghai Forestry Department, who will be accountable to the QFD and UNDP for the achievement of objectives and results in the assigned Project. The NPD will be a member and chair of the Project Steering Committee and answer to it. The NPD will be financed through provincial government funds (cofinancing). Duties and Responsibilities

Serve as a member and chair of the PSC.

Supervise compliance with objectives, activities, results, and all fundamental aspects of project execution as specified in the project document.

Supervise compliance of project implementation with QFD policies, procedures and ensure consistency with national plans and strategies.

Facilitate coordination with other organizations and institutions that will conduct related conservation activities for the protected area system elsewhere in the province.

Participate in project evaluation, testing, and monitoring missions.

Coordinate with national governmental representatives on legal and financial aspects of project activities.

Coordinate and supervise government staff inputs to project implementation.

Coordinate, oversee and report on government cofinancing inputs to project implementation. Project Manager Background The Project Manager (PM), will be locally recruited following QFD and UNDP CO procedures, with input from the other project partners. The position will be appointed by the Implementing Partner, QFD and funded entirely from the project. The PM will be responsible for the overall management of the project, including the mobilisation of project inputs, supervision over project management office (PMO) staff, consultants and sub‐contractors. The PM will report to the NPD and inform the UNDP Program Manager of substantive and administrative issues. Apart from the annual PSC meetings, from the strategic point of view of the project, the PM will report on an as‐needed basis to the PSC, based on the NPD’s instruction. Generally, the PM will support the NPD who will be responsible for meeting government obligations under the project, under the national implementation modality (NIM) execution modality. The PM will work closely with the Sub‐Level Responsible Parties. Duties and Responsibilities

Plan the activities of the project and monitor progress against the approved work plan.

Supervise and coordinate the production of project outputs, as per the project document in a timely and high‐quality fashion.

Coordinate all project inputs and ensure that they are adhere to QFD and UNDP procedures for nationally executed projects.

Supervise and coordinate the work of PMO staff, consultants and sub‐contractors ensuring timing and quality of outputs.


Coordinate the recruitment and selection of project personnel, including the CTA, consultants and sub‐contracts, including drafting terms of reference and work specifications and overseeing all contractors’ work.

Manage requests for the provision of financial resources by UNDP, through advance of funds, direct payments, or reimbursement using the UNDP provided format.

Prepare, revise and submit project work and financial plans, as required by PSC and UNDP.

Monitor financial resources and accounting to ensure accuracy and reliability of financial reports, submitted on a quarterly basis.

Manage and monitor the project risks initially identified and submit new risks to the PSC for consideration and decision on possible actions if required; update the status of these risks by maintaining the project risks log.

Liaise with UNDP, PSC, relevant government agencies, and all project partners, including donor organisations and NGOs for effective coordination of all project activities.

Help establish and maintain the CPAR3 Advisory Group.

Provide project advocacy among key stakeholders.

Facilitate administrative support to subcontractors and training activities supported by the Project.

Oversee and ensure timely submission of the Inception Report, Project Implementation Report, Technical reports, quarterly financial reports, and other reports as may be required by UNDP, GEF and other oversight agencies.

Disseminate project reports and respond to queries from concerned stakeholders.

Perform Secretariat duties for the Project Steering Committee.

Report progress of project to the steering committee and ensure the fulfilment of PSC directives.

Oversee the exchange and sharing of experiences and lessons learned with relevant projects nationally and internationally.

Assist community groups, municipalities, NGOs, staff, students and others with development of essential skills through training workshops and on the job training thereby increasing their institutional capabilities.

Encourage staff, partners and consultants such that strategic, intentional and demonstrable efforts are made to actively include women in the project, including activity design and planning, budgeting, staff and consultant hiring, subcontracting, purchasing, formal community governance and advocacy, outreach to social organizations, training, participation in meetings; and access to program benefits.

Assists and advises the PA Coordinators and PA Focal Points, responsible for activity implementation at the two target PA’s.

Carry out regular, announced and unannounced inspections of all sites and the activities in the field. Required skills and expertise

A university degree (MSc or PhD) in a subject related to natural resource management or environmental sciences.

At least 10 years of experience in natural resource management (preferably in the context of protected area design, monitoring and management in Qinghai Province).

At least 5 years of demonstrable project/program management experience.

At least 5 years of experience working institutions that are concerned with natural resource and/or environmental management.

Competencies

Strong leadership, managerial and coordination skills, with a demonstrated ability to effectively coordinate the implementation of large multi‐stakeholder projects, including financial and technical aspects.

Ability to effectively manage technical and administrative teams, work with a wide range of stakeholders across various sectors and at all levels, to develop durable partnerships with collaborating agencies.

Ability to administer budgets, train and work effectively with counterpart staff at all levels and with all groups involved in the project.

Ability to coordinate and supervise multiple responsible parties in their implementation of technical activities in partnership with a variety of subnational stakeholder groups, including community and government.

Strong drafting, presentation and reporting skills.


Strong communication and advocacy skills, especially in timely and accurate responses to emails.

Strong computer skills.

Strong knowledge about the political and socio‐economic context related to protected area system in Qinghai Province and in China in general.

Capacity to work under pressure and meet deadlines.

Native Chinese language skills, with excellent command of English (writing, speaking and reading). Chief Technical Advisor: Background The Chief Technical Advisor (CTA) provides project level technical advisory support. Duties and Responsibilities

Provide technical review of outputs on the project, and make recommendations to the NPD and PM.

Advise on program level outcomes and impacts towards PA reform in China.

Provide strategic input into project implementation, including adaptive management measures.

Provide input to the PM on strategic approach to stakeholder engagement with governmental and non‐governmental partners in PA reform.

Assist in project risk management, through identifying critical issues, helping to troubleshoot problems and developing mitigation measures.

Participate in project meetings, on an as‐needed basis.

Work with the PMO to develop clear messaging for project stakeholders.

Strengthen partnerships with leading provincial, national and international institutions and expert groups.

Assist in the implementation of knowledge management activities, including distilling and documenting lessons learned, developing strategic messaging for the project.

Facilitate inputs from the C‐PAR3 Advisory Group.

Prepare technical documents and terms of reference, reviewing deliverables among the project activities and outputs, organising technical meetings, and providing technical guidance on project activities.

Required skills and expertise

A university degree (MSc or PhD) in a subject related to natural resource management or environmental sciences.

At least 15 years of experience in natural resource management (preferably in the context of protected area design, monitoring and management in Qinghai Province).

At least 10 years of experience working with institutions that are concerned with natural resource and/or environmental management.

At least 10 years of demonstrable chief technical advisory experience. Competencies

Strong knowledge about the political and socio‐economic context related to protected area system in Qinghai Province and in China in general.

Ability to lead on strategic planning, change processes, results‐based management and reporting.

Good interpersonal and communication skills.

Ability to work independently and in teams.

Excellent collaborative work style.

Constructive advocacy skills.

Ability to coordinate and supervise multiple responsible parties in their implementation of technical activities in partnership with a variety of subnational stakeholder groups, including community and government.

Native Chinese language skills, with excellent command of English (writing, speaking and reading).


Project Monitoring & Evaluation/Safeguards Officer Under the overall supervision and guidance of the Project Manager, the M&E/Safeguards Officer will have the responsibility for project monitoring and evaluation and will have the responsibility for the implementation of the project environmental and social management plan/framework. Specific responsibilities will include:

Monitor project progress and participate in the production of progress reports ensuring that they meet

the necessary reporting requirements and standards.

Responsible for implementation of the project ESMP/ESMF ensuring that UNDPs SES policy and reporting

requirements are fulfilled.

Ensure project’s M&E meets the requirements of the QFD, the UNDP Country Office, and UNDP‐GEF;

develop project‐specific M&E tools as necessary.

Oversee and ensure the implementation of the project’s M&E plan, including periodic appraisal of the

Project’s Theory of Change and Results Framework with reference to actual and potential project progress

and results.

Oversee/develop/coordinate completion of the ESIA and development and implementation of all

safeguard related plans.

Oversee/develop/coordinate the implementation of the stakeholder engagement plan.

Ensure full disclosure with concerned stakeholders.

Oversee and guide the design of surveys/ assessments commissioned for monitoring and evaluating

project results.

Ensure social and environmental grievances are managed effectively and transparently.

Review the ESMP annually, and update and revise corresponding risk log; mitigation/management plans

as necessary.

Ensure environmental and social risks are identified, avoided, mitigated and managed throughout project

implementation.

Facilitate mid‐term and terminal evaluations of the project; including management responses.

Facilitate annual reviews of the project and produce analytical reports from these annual reviews,

including learning and other knowledge management products.

Support project site M&E and learning missions.

Visit project sites as and when required to appraise project progress on the ground and validate written

progress reports.

The Project M&E/Safeguards Officer will be recruited based on the following qualifications:

Master’s degree, preferably in the field of natural resources management and community development.

At least five years of relevant work experience preferably in a project management setting involving multi‐

lateral/ international funding agency. Previous experience with UN project will be a definite asset.

Significant experience in collating, analysing and writing up results for reporting purposes.

Good knowledge of results‐based management and project cycle management, particularly with regards

to M&E approach and methods. Formal training in RBM/ PCM will be a definite asset.

An environmental and social safeguards qualification, and previous experience in developing and

implementing environmental and social safeguard strategies for organizations or projects, with experience

with resettlement and/or ethnic minorities an advantage.

Knowledge and working experience of the application of gender mainstreaming;

Understanding of PA management, biodiversity conservation, sustainable livelihoods and associated

issues.

Very good inter‐personal skills.

Proficiency in computer application and information technology.

Native Chinese language skills and excellent command of English (writing, speaking and reading);

proficiency in Tibetan language would be an asset.


Project Assistant/Finance Officer Under the guidance and supervision of the Project Manager, the Project Assistant/Finance Officer will carry out the following tasks:

Assist the Project Manager in day‐to‐day management and oversight of project activities.

Keep records of project funds and expenditures and ensure all project‐related financial documentation are

well maintained and readily available when required by the Project Manager.

Assist in procurement of goods and services for implementation of project activities.

Review project expenditures and ensure that project funds are used in compliance with the Project

Document and relevant national financial rules and procedures.

Validate and certify FACE forms before submission to UNDP.

Provide necessary financial information as and when required for project management decisions.

Provide necessary financial information during project audits.

Review annual budgets and project expenditure reports and notify the Project Manager if there are any

discrepancies or issues.

Assist the M&E officer in matters related to M&E and knowledge management.

Assist in the preparation of progress reports.

Ensure all project documentation (progress reports, consulting and other technical reports, minutes of

meetings, etc.) are properly maintained in hard and electronic copies in an efficient and readily accessible

filing system.

Provide PMO‐related administrative and logistical assistance.

The Project Assistant/Finance Officer will be recruited based on the following qualifications:

A Bachelor’s degree or an advanced diploma in accounting/ financial management;

At least five years of relevant work experience preferably in a project management setting involving multi‐

lateral/ international funding agency. Previous experience with UN project will be a definite asset.

Proficiency in the use of computer software applications particularly MS Excel.

Very good inter‐personal skills;

Native Chinese language and excellent command of English (writing, speaking and reading).

Protected Area (PA) Coordinators (2) Under the supervision of the Project Manager and in close cooperation with the PA Focal Points designated by the QFD, PA Coordinators will be responsible for effective planning, coordination, and monitoring and evaluation of the project activities planned for the two target PA’s. One full‐time PA Coordinator is budgeted for each of the two target PA’s, the Qilian Mountains NR and the Qinghai Lake NNR. Key responsibilities include the following:

Facilitate implementation of work plans, covering PA level activities;

Coordinate procurement of specialists and service providers for delivery of technical assistance.

Deliver quality control over the implementation of PA level activities.

Support the development of annual work plans.

Organise and participate in regular C‐PAR3 Advisory Group meetings.

Lead periodic monitoring and evaluation field visits and providing feedback to the PM.

Identify and promoting opportunities for partnership opportunities and stakeholder engagement.

Keep abreast of progress towards establishment of the national parks, as well as associated

socioeconomic aspects with local government units.

Provide strategic direction and guidance to project team and consultants.

Prepare quarterly and annual progress reports, according to PM instructions.

Coordinate knowledge management activities, with support from the PMO.

Coordinate the site level implementation of the environmental and social management plan and assisting

in addressing possible grievances.

The PA Coordinators will be recruited based on the following qualifications:


University degree in natural resource management, environmental science, or related social science

discipline.

At least 5 years of experience in protected area management and community engagement in the

landscape where the NP is situated.

Familiarity with policies, programs and operating styles of local and provincial stakeholders.

Proficiency in the use of computer software applications.

Very good inter‐personal skills;

Native Chinese language and excellent command of English (writing, speaking and reading); proficiency in

Tibetan language would be an asset.

DRAFT Environmental and Social Management Framework (ESMF)

For four UNDP‐supported, GEF‐financed projects in China:

Project title UNDP ID GEF ID

China’s Protected Area Reform (C‐PAR) for Conserving Globally Significant Biodiversity (C‐PAR1)

5688 9679

Enhancing conservation of globally significant biodiversity through PA system strengthening in Gansu (C‐PAR2)

5689 9465

Strengthening the PA system in the Qilian Mountains‐Qinghai Lake landscape (C‐PAR3) 5690 9464

Strengthening Marine Protected Areas in SE China to conserve globally significant coastal biodiversity (C‐PAR4)

5379 9463

C‐PAR Environmental and Social Management Framework

Contents

Executive Summary ................................................................................................................................................. i

Abbreviations and Acronyms .................................................................................................................................. ii

1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................................... 1

1.1 Project descriptions ................................................................................................................................ 1

1.2 Purpose and scope of this ESMF ............................................................................................................. 4

1.3 Potential Social and Environmental Impacts .......................................................................................... 4

2 Legislation and Institutional Frameworks for environmental and social matters ......................................... 9

2.1 National Legislation, Policies and Regulations ........................................................................................ 9

2.2 International Agreements and Treaties ................................................................................................ 11

2.3 UNDP’s Social and Environmental Standards ....................................................................................... 11

2.4 Gaps in policy framework ..................................................................................................................... 12

3 Procedures for Screening, Assessing and Managing Social and Environmental Impacts ............................ 14

4 Institutional arrangements and capacity building ....................................................................................... 15

4.1 Roles and responsibilities for implementing this ESMF ........................................................................ 15

4.2 Capacity Building .................................................................................................................................. 17

5 Stakeholder engagement and information disclosure ................................................................................. 17

6 Accountability and Grievance Redress Mechanisms ................................................................................... 18

6.1 UNDP’s Accountability Mechanisms ..................................................................................................... 18

6.2 Project‐level Grievance Redress Mechanisms ...................................................................................... 19

7 Budget for ESMF Implementation ............................................................................................................... 19

8 Monitoring and evaluation arrangements ................................................................................................... 19

9 Annexes........................................................................................................................................................ 23

9.1 C‐PAR1 (National project) SESP Template ............................................................................................ 23

9.2 C‐PAR2 (Gansu project) SESP Template ................................................................................................ 23

9.3 C‐PAR3 (Qinghai project) SESP Template ............................................................................................. 23

9.4 C‐PAR4 (MPA project) SESP Template .................................................................................................. 23

9.5 Indicative Outline of Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) Report ............................. 24

9.6 Indicative outline of Environmental and Social Management Plan (ESMP) ......................................... 26

List of Tables:

Table 1: List of projects under the C‐PAR program ................................................................................................ 1

Table 2: Summary of main project activities resulting in potential social and environmental impacts. ................ 6

Table 3: Summary of safeguards triggered by projects based on screening conducted during project preparation .............................................................................................................................................................................. 12

Table 4: Breakdown of project level costs for ESMF implementation.................................................................. 19

Table 5: ESMF M&E plan and estimated budget .................................................................................................. 21


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Executive Summary

This Environmental and Social Management Framework (ESMF) covers four UNDP‐supported, GEF‐financed biodiversity projects that have been developed with the Government of the People’s Republic of China (PRC):

1. China’s Protected Area Reform (C‐PAR) for Conserving Globally Significant Biodiversity (C‐PAR1 National)

2. Enhancing conservation of globally significant biodiversity through PA system strengthening in Gansu (C‐PAR2 Gansu)

3. Strengthening the PA system in the Qilian Mountains‐Qinghai Lake landscape (C‐PAR3 Qinghai)

4. Strengthening Marine Protected Areas in SE China to conserve globally significant coastal biodiversity (C‐PAR4 MPA)

The four projects are child projects under the GEF‐6 China’s Protected Area System Reform (C‐PAR) program. There are six child projects under the C‐PAR program. This ESMF only covers the four projects being supported by UNDP as GEF Agency. The two other child projects in the C‐PAR program – one implemented by Conservation International (CI) as GEF Agency, and one by the Foreign Economic Cooperation Office, Ministry of Environmental Protection of China (FECO) as GEF Agency – do not fall under the scope of this UNDP‐developed ESMF. The safeguard requirements for those two other child projects are the responsibility of the respective GEF Agencies (CI and FECO) in accordance with their own agency standards.

This Environmental and Social Management Framework (ESMF) has been prepared for the submission of the four UNDP project proposals to the GEF for the purposes of assisting in the assessment of their potential environmental and social impacts. Preliminary analysis and screening conducted during the project development phase via UNDP’s Social and Environmental Screening Procedure (SESP) identified potential social and environmental risks associated with project activities. In particular, the establishment and expansion of protected areas (including National Park pilots) through the four projects has the potential to lead to economic displacement and voluntary physical resettlement of local communities (including ethnic minorities) as new restrictions on access to land and resources are put in place.

This ESMF has been prepared based on the social and environmental screening procedure (UNDP’s SESP) undertaken during the project development phase including consultations with implementing partners and local communities. This screening resulted in an overall social and environmental risk categorization of “high” for three projects (C‐PAR1 National (PIMS 5688, GEFID 9679), C‐PAR2 Gansu (PIMS 5689, GEFID 9465), C‐PAR3 Qinghai (PIMS5690, GEFID 9464)) and “moderate” for one project (C‐PAR4 MPA; PIMS 5379, GEFID 9463).

This ESMF has been developed – on this basis of these project risk categorizations – to specify the processes that will be undertaken by each of the four projects for the additional assessment of potential impacts and identification and development of appropriate risk management measures, in line with UNDP’s Social and Environmental Standards (SES).

This ESMF identifies the steps that will be followed during the inception phase of each project for: i) detailed assessment of potential social and environmental impacts of project activities, via completion of an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) for each of the three “high” risk projects of C‐PAR1 National, C‐PAR2 Gansu, C‐PAR3 Qinghai, and a targeted assessment of impacts for the “moderate” risk C‐PAR4 MPA project; and ii) based on those assessments, preparing and approving appropriate management plans for avoiding, and where avoidance is not possible, reducing, mitigating, and managing adverse impacts, via preparation of an Environmental and Social Management Plan (ESMP) for each of the three “high” risk projects of C‐PAR1 National, C‐PAR2 Gansu, C‐PAR3 Qinghai, and completion of stand‐alone management plans (as justified based on results of the assessment) for the “moderate” risk C‐PAR4 MPA project.

This ESMF also details the roles and responsibilities for its implementation and includes a detailed budget and monitoring and evaluation plan.


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Abbreviations and Acronyms

CI Conservation International

C‐PAR China’s Protected Area System Reform

CRAES Chinese Research Academy on Environmental Sciences

EIA Environmental Impact Assessment

ESIA Environmental and Social Impact Assessment

ESMF Environmental and Social Management Framework

ESMP Environmental and Social Management Plan

FECO/MEE Foreign Economic Cooperation Office of the MEE

FPIC Free, prior and informed consent

FSP Full Sized Project (GEF)

GEF Global Environment Facility

GEFSEC Global Environment Facility Secretariat

MEE Ministry of Ecology and Environment

METT Management Effectiveness Tracking Tool

MOF Ministry of Finance

MPA Marine Protected Area

MSP Medium Sized Project (GEF)

NDRC National Development and Reform Commission

NP National Park

PA Protected Area

PIF Project Identification Form (GEF)

PIR GEF Project Implementation Report

POPP Programme and Operations Policies and Procedures (UNDP)

PPG Project Preparation Grant (GEF)

PRC Peoples’ Republic of China (PRC)

SECU Social and Environmental Compliance Review Unit (UNDP)

SES Social and Environmental Standards (UNDP)

SESP Social and Environmental Screening Procedure (UNDP)

SRM Stakeholder Response Mechanism (UNDP)

UNDP United Nations Development Programme

UNDP‐GEF UNDP Global Environmental Finance Unit


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1 Introduction

This Environmental and Social Management Framework (ESMF) has been prepared for the UNDP‐supported child projects within the GEF‐financed China’s Protected Area System Reform (C‐PAR) program, developed together with the Government of the Peoples’ Republic of China (PRC).

The C‐PAR program consists of six child projects that are brought together under one coordinated framework of protected area reform. UNDP is the GEF Agency for four of those child projects, to which this ESMF applies. Conservation International (CI) and the Foreign Economic Cooperation Office (FECO) of China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) are each implementing one child project, as indicated below in Table 1. This ESMF is restricted to the four child projects being implemented by UNDP as GEF Agency. The safeguards requirements of the other two child projects, as applicable, are the responsibility of the respective GEF Agencies in accordance with their own safeguards policies and procedures.

Table 1: List of projects under the C‐PAR program

Project Title GEF Agency Implementing

Partner Covered by this ESMF?

GEF Project Grant, USD

Cofinancing, USD

C‐PAR1 National

China’s Protected Area Reform (C‐PAR) for Conserving Globally Significant Biodiversity

UNDP FECO/Ministry of

Ecology and Environment

YES $6,222,018.35 $49,106,000

C‐PAR2 Gansu

Enhancing conservation of globally significant biodiversity through PA system strengthening in Gansu

UNDP Gansu Forestry Department

YES $2,652,293.58 $18,045,000

C‐PAR3 Qinghai

Strengthening the PA system in the Qilian Mountains‐Qinghai Lake landscape

UNDP Qinghai Forestry Department

YES $2,652,293.58 $18,045,000

C‐PAR4 MPA

Strengthening Marine Protected Areas in SE China to conserve globally significant coastal biodiversity

UNDP State Oceanic Administration

YES $2,652,293.58 $22,362,852

C‐PAR5

Expanding the coverage and strengthening the management of wetland protected areas in Sichuan Province

[not covered by this ESMF]

CI Sichuan Forestry Department

No $2,652,293.58 $18,000,000

C‐PAR6

Building Sustainability into PA reforms to conserve globally significant biodiversity in China

[not covered by this ESMF]

FECO

Chinese Research Academy of

Environmental Sciences (CRAES)

No $1,784,862.00 $12,000,000

Total: $18,616,054.67 $137,558,852

1.1 Project descriptions

The objective of the C‐PAR program is to transform China’s national protected area (PA) system through systematic legal and institutional reform and innovation for conservation of globally significant biodiversity.

The social and environmental objectives of the C‐PAR program (and the four projects under this ESMF) are:

Conserve globally significant biodiversity within the PA system in China;

Strengthen the enabling conditions, including legal frameworks, institutional arrangements, and institutional and individual capacities, required for sustainable management of the PA system;

Promote sustainable livelihoods and management practices in utilisation of natural resources;

Increase climate resilience and adaptive capacity of the demonstration protected areas and communities relying on the ecosystem goods and services of the protected areas; and

Strengthen knowledge, information management, and monitoring systems on biodiversity conservation and the value of the PA system in China.


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Within the C‐PAR program, the four projects to which this ESMF applies have the following focus:

Project 1: C‐PAR1 National

This project will aim to establish an effective National Park (NP) System1 through protected area reform and institutional innovation, increasing coverage of protected areas and improving effectiveness of PA management for conservation of globally significant biodiversity.

Project Implementing Partner: Foreign Economic Cooperation Office, Ministry of Ecology and Environment (FECO/MEE)

Project components: Component 1: National Park System Establishment. This component will support the Government reform process of the national protected area (PA) system, particularly the national park (NP) system, which is envisaged by the central government to act as the cornerstone for the national PA system. The project will provide support to the process by establishing effective governance and legal frameworks for the national PA system, harmonized an effective national system for selecting, designing, managing and monitoring various types of protected areas (PAs). Human‐rights based approaches will be mainstreamed by ensuring transparent selection, planning and monitoring procedure for different types of PAs under the new framework, as well as ensuring a legal framework that provides for various forms of collaborative management of PAs and natural resources.

Component 2: Provincial level National Park System Strengthening. This component will bring about expansion of the national PA system, an increase in environmental sensitive areas (ESA) and capacity building for biodiversity mainstreaming in development and sector planning. Human‐rights approaches will be mainstreamed by establishing clear safeguards for project operation to ensure protected area expansion or ESA designation of an area do not infringe on human rights of both men and women and of different ethnicity. Local community consent and participation will be assured for PA or ESA planning, designation and management.

Component 3: Program Coordination and Knowledge Management. Under Component 3 the requisite enabling conditions for sustaining the project results will be strengthened through targeted knowledge management, monitoring & evaluation, and gender mainstreaming and social inclusion.

Project demonstration sites: Three‐River Source National Park pilot, Qinghai Province; Giant Panda National Park pilot, Sichuan/Gansu/Shaanxi Provinces; Xianju National Park pilot, Zhejiang Province.

Project 2: C‐PAR2 Gansu

The project objective is to strengthen the conservation of globally significant biodiversity in Gansu Province through improving the legal and institutional framework, reforming and mainstreaming the protected area system, enhancing habitat connectivity and reducing key threats

Project Implementing Partner: Gansu Forestry Department

Project components: Component 1: Improved legal and institutional framework for protected areas (PAs), Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) and globally threatened species, and mainstreaming of biodiversity conservation in provincial planning. This component will strengthen the legal and institutional framework for Gansu provincial government for reducing threats to globally threatened species and their habitats and mainstreaming biodiversity conservation into provincial planning processes.

Component 2: Strengthened West Qinling Mountains‐Minshan Mountains protected area and ecological corridor network and reduction of threats. This Component will build on Component 1 by supporting the operationalization of plans for the conservation and recovery of globally threatened species, and expansion of the Protected Area and Ecological Corridor Network in the West Qinling – Minshan Mountains demonstration area to enhance species conservation and reduce threats.

Component 3: Knowledge management, monitoring and evaluation and gender mainstreaming. The third project component closely links with and underpins the other two, by supporting the sharing of knowledge,

1 The National Park System in this project refers to a modern system of protected areas with a set of defined protected area categories which conform with international standards, with a clear set of standards for effective management, quality assurance mechanism, and mainstreamed within national and local development and sector planning.


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experiences and lessons learned through project implementation with project stakeholders, the wider public in Gansu Province, and nationally through the GEF C‐PAR Program.

Project demonstration sites: West Qinling – Minshan Mountains, Axia, Chagangliang, Duoer and Yuhe Nature Reserves. Yuhe Nature Reserve is in the process of being absorbed by the transboundary (Sichuan‐Shaanxi‐Gansu) Giant Panda National Park pilot. Qilian Mountains National Park pilot is a demonstration site for restricted activities, e.g. capacity building.

Project 3: C‐PAR3 Qinghai

The project seeks to improve the effectiveness of the protected area system in the Qilian Mountains‐Qinghai Lake landscape to conserve globally significant biodiversity, including snow leopard and Przewalski’s gazelle.

Project Implementing Partner: Qinghai Forestry Department

Project components: Component 1: PA System Consolidation and Institutional Strengthening, will consolidate the PA system in this landscape by increasing coverage of Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) and increasing connectivity. To complement PA consolidation and address threats across the wider landscape, a landscape‐level management plan will be developed through stakeholder engagement.

Component 2: Emplacement of Effective PA Management and Incentivizing Participatory Conservation, will operationalize the consolidated PA system in the target landscape and strengthen community participation in natural resource management, with the goal of mutually beneficial conservation and socioeconomic outcomes, along the poverty‐environment nexus and consistent with the precautionary principle in biodiversity conservation and natural resource management, respecting priorities of both conservation and sustainable development.

Component 3: Knowledge Management, Monitoring & Evaluation, and Gender and Social Inclusion, will strengthen the requisite enabling conditions for sustaining the project results will be strengthened through targeted knowledge management, monitoring & evaluation, and gender mainstreaming and social inclusion. The project is also designed to strengthen the environmental management capacities of the QFD, PA management agencies, other provincial sectors, local governments, the civil society, and community groups.

Project demonstration sites: Qilian Mountains Provincial Nature Reserve (recently approved as the Qilian Mountains National Park pilot) and Qinghai Lake National Nature Reserve

Project 4: C‐PAR4 MPA

The project Objective is to conserve globally significant coastal biodiversity in South‐East China through integrated seascape planning and threat management, MPA network expansion and strengthened MPA operations. Coastal ecosystems and their biodiversity in SE China are under extreme pressure from dense human populations, intensive natural resource exploitation and disturbance, conversion of natural habitats and pollution. The project focuses on coastal ecosystems, using the iconic Chinese white dolphin (CWD) as an indicator and flagship species to engage multiple stakeholders in novel ecosystem‐based approaches.

Project Implementing Partner: State Oceanic Administration

Project components: Component 1: Strengthened MPA legal framework and mainstreaming and expansion of MPA network. This will expand the area and improve the connectivity of MPAs protecting globally significant biodiversity, as well as piloting innovative mechanisms to mainstream biodiversity conservation into marine spatial planning and improving MPA regulations and financing.

Component 2: Demonstrations of improved MPA and ESA (Ecologically Sensitive Area) management. This will strengthen the management effectiveness of MPAs in the project’s three pilot areas, build the capacity of MPA staff, enhance the participation of communities, and reduce locally specific threats in MPAs and across wider seascapes through participatory action and enforcement and improved awareness.

Component 3: Monitoring, evaluation and sharing of knowledge and information on coastal habitats and species. This will establish a functioning MPA Network linking MPAs across SE China including a GIS‐based information platform for knowledge and information sharing, enhance the coordination of research and monitoring for globally significant biodiversity, and ensure that the project is implemented effectively, and knowledge and lessons learned are widely shared with project stakeholders, including the wider public.


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Project demonstration sites: Xiamen Bay Coastal Waters in Fujian province; Zhuhai‐Jiangmen Coastal Waters in Guangdong province; Qinzhou‐Behai Coastal Waters in Guangxi province.

The duration of all four projects is five years (2018‐2023).

1.2 Purpose and scope of this ESMF

This ESMF is a management tool to assist in managing potential adverse social and environmental impacts associated with activities of the four UNDP‐supported child projects under the GEF‐financed C‐PAR program, in line with the requirements of UNDP’s SES. The implementing partners of the projects and the relevant members of the project management units will follow this ESMF during the start of the projects’ implementation to ensure the environmental and social risks and impacts are fully assessed and management measure in place prior to the implementation of the relevant project activities.

This ESMF identifies the steps for detailed screening and assessment of the projects’ potential social and environmental risks, and for preparing and approving the required management plans for avoiding, and where avoidance is not possible, reducing, mitigating, and managing these adverse impacts.

As explained above, the scope of this ESMF is restricted to four UNDP‐supported child projects in the GEF‐financed C‐PAR program. The other two child projects, supported by CI and FECO as GEF Agency, are not within the scope of this ESMF.

1.3 Potential Social and Environmental Impacts

UNDP utilizes its Social and Environmental Screening Procedure (SESP) to identify potential social and environmental risks and opportunities associated with proposed projects. Each project is scrutinized as to its type, location, scale, sensitivity and the magnitude of its potential social and environmental impacts. All project activities are screened, including planning support, policy advice, and capacity‐building, and site‐specific, physical interventions. Activities that will be completed under project co‐financing are also included in the scope of this assessment.

During project development, each UNDP‐supported C‐PAR project was individually reviewed with UNDP’s SESP. This analysis identified a range of potential social and environmental impacts associated with the projects’ activities. These primarily relate to the establishment/expansion of protected areas including the establishment of national park pilot sites, the enhanced enforcement of regulations in existing protected areas, and changes to zoning and land use regulations in areas buffering and connecting protected areas and/or critical habitats.

The project‐specific SESP templates (Annexes 9.1‐9.4) detail the specific environmental and social risks that apply to each project. Overall, eight (8) social and environmental risks were identified for the C‐PAR1 National project, 10 risks for the C‐PAR2 Gansu project, eight (8) risks for the C‐PAR3 project and eight (8) risks for the C‐PAR4 MPA project. The significance of each risk, based on its probability of occurrence and extent of impact, has been estimated as low, moderate or high. Based on the significance of these individual risks, each project has been allocated an overall SESP risk categorization rating of low, moderate or high (which is the same as the highest rating allocated to an individual risk, i.e. if a project has one or more high risks, it will have a high overall risk categorization).

The overall risk categorizations, and a summary of the main risks of the four projects are as follows.

C‐PAR1 National project, C‐PAR2 Gansu project, C‐PAR3 Qinghai project

High Risk: defined by UNDP’s SES2 as “Projects that include activities with potential significant and/or irreversible adverse social and environmental risks and impacts, or which raise significant concerns among potentially affected communities and individuals as expressed during the stakeholder engagement process.”

2 UNDP’s Social and Environmental Standards (SES), page 48. https://www.undp.org/ses


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The “high” risk categorization for C‐PAR projects 1‐3 is linked to the potential voluntary resettlement of communities from the ‘core zones’ of national park pilot sites that are demonstration sites for the projects, the risk of economic displacement of communities at these sites through changed access to land and resources, and the risk that both resettlement and economic displacement will apply to ethnic minorities.

The target PAs among the C‐PAR1, C‐PAR2, and C‐PAR3 projects include national park pilot sites, specifically, the Three‐River Source NP in Qinghai Province, the Giant Panda NP traversing the three provinces of Sichuan, Gansu, and Shaanxi, and the Qilian Mountains NP which extends over a vast area of northern Qinghai province and western Gansu province. The NP pilot program, led by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), started in 2015 and is the focal point for PA reform in China. NP is being introduced as a new type of PA in the country, and extensive plans are being implemented to consolidate existing PAs and expand protection into critical ecosystems and habitats harbouring globally significant biodiversity – such plans are likely to result in resettlement of communities from ‘core zones’ of national park pilots and changes to access/use of resources in national parks in other zones. Many of the communities located within and near the proposed national park sites are predominantly made up of ethnic minorities and thus could be impacted by these physical resettlement and economic displacement impacts.

Involuntary resettlement is not planned under the ongoing establishment of the NP system and will not be supported by any of the four projects. Any resettlement that occurs will be voluntary in nature and supported by government co‐financing. GEF funds will not be used for resettlement and there are no project activities that involve or directly support the voluntary resettlement of communities. Activities supported by GEF funds will include the provision of sustainable livelihood support to local communities, including those that may have been economically displaced and/or voluntarily resettled, to help improve livelihoods.

C‐PAR4 MPA project

Moderate Risk: defined by UNDP’s SES3 as “Projects that include activities with potential adverse social and environmental risks and impacts, that are limited in scale, can be identified with a reasonable degree of certainty, and can be addressed through application of standard best practice, mitigation measures and stakeholder engagement during Project implementation.”

The “moderate” risk categorization for C‐PAR4 is linked to the potential economic displacement of fishing communities through the establishment of new MPAs in South‐East China and/or enhanced enforcement of MPA restrictions on fishing and access to marine resources.

A synthesis of the key project activities with potential social and environmental impacts is shown in Table 2. This table is supported by the more detailed information on project‐specific risks contained in the SESP completed for each project and found in Annex 9.1.

3 UNDP SES, page 47.


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Table 2: Summary of main project activities resulting in potential social and environmental impacts. See Annex 9.1‐9.4 for more detail for potential risks and mitigation measures for each project and a full listing of project risks (only those rated moderate or high are shown below).

Project activity Potential social and environmental impact SESP references (see SESPs in Annex) Potential project benefits

Creation of new protected areas and expansion of existing protected areas, including national park pilot sites

Economic displacement

Communities in the project area could face economic displacement because of the expansion of the NP system, e.g., through restricted/altered use of access to land and resources. Certain land use activities would likely be prohibited as part of the process of transferring collectively held land to the state, but the residents might be allowed to continue to live in their dwellings. These impacts could affect men differently than women.

The use of marine resources by fishermen/women could be impacted by the establishment of new MPAs in South‐East China.

Voluntary resettlement of communities from ‘core zones’ of national parks

The target PAs among the C‐PAR1, C‐PAR2, and C‐PAR3 projects include national park pilot sites. The National NP System Master Plan that was released in September 2017 indicates that communities could be voluntarily resettled from NP core zones. Resettlement is proposed or could be proposed for communities that live within the ‘core zone’ of national parks. As the NP system remains in pilot phase, there is a level of uncertainty on how this will be achieved and over what timeframes. Involuntary resettlement is not planned for NP pilot establishment in China will not be supported by any of the four projects. Potential impacts are:

Giant Panda National Park pilot: Based on information gathered during the PPG phase, there are approximately 170,000 people living in the Sichuan section of the proposed NP, but most of these are within a zone referred to as “traditional use”, where resettlement is not planned. There are about 6,000 people living in the delineated core zone and, of which, 200 households have been identified for voluntary resettlement by 2020. Many of the households in the core conservation zone are comprised of ethnic minorities. The Gansu section of the NP covers about 567 km2, and according to a draft zoning plan, some 2,309 people are likely to be affected, with voluntary resettlement proposed for those in the core zone, with the option of remaining and undertaking compatible livelihood activities.

Three Rivers Source National Park pilot. There are an estimated 64,600 people living in the core conservation zone, and most of these residents are of Tibetan ethnic minority. As outlined in the draft master plan, this population will be gradually decreased by 2020 and further by 2025 through voluntary migration and is expected to reach a stable level by 2035. The remaining inhabitants are expected to be largely local herders who will be involved in NP management through collaborative arrangements.

CPAR1 National

Risk 1 (resettlement): HIGH

Risk 2 (economic displacement): HIGH

Risk 3 (impacts on ethnic minorities): HIGH

Risk 4 (marginalized groups): MODERATE

Risk 5 (lack of capacity): MODERATE

Risk 6 (gender disparities): MODERATE

CPAR2 Gansu







Risk 9 (climate change impacts): MODERATE

Risk 10 (natural disasters): MODERATE

CPAR3 Qinghai







CPAR4 MPA

Risk 1 (economic displacement): MODERATE


Conservation of China’s biodiversity including globally significant species and ecologically important habitats (e.g. Key Biodiversity Areas).

Strengthened collaborative management arrangements with local communities.

Better management of human‐wildlife conflicts

Value based allocation of ecological compensation funds.

Alternative livelihood options will be introduced to pilot communities on the project, to reduce pressures on limited ecosystem goods and services.

Local communities and PA management staff will also be provided targeted training, to increase awareness and knowledge on the value of protected areas.


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Qilian Mountains National Park pilot, approved as an NP pilot in June 2017, is part of the NP system pilot implementation currently being led by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC). Potential resettlement impacts are unclear.

Indigenous Peoples (Ethnic Minorities)

All project areas include communities of ethnic minorities that could be impacted by the establishment of new PAs through either economic displacement, loss of access to land/resources and/or voluntary resettlement (if located in core zones of NP pilots). The generally low literacy rates and gender disparities among ethnic minority communities do pose a risk that rights‐holders do not have the capacity to claim their rights.

Stricter enforcement of regulations of existing protected areas


Communities in the project areas could face economic displacement where project activities to strengthen PA management effectiveness lead to increased patrolling and tougher enforcement of existing regulations regarding access and use rights. These impacts could be felt by ethnic minorities and could affect women differently to men.

Restrictions could exacerbate or bring about community conflicts over access to resources.

CPAR1 National





CPAR2 Gansu





CPAR3 Qinghai





CPAR4 MPA



Reduced unsustainable/inappropriate use of resources within PAs.

Enhanced conservation outcomes within PAs.

Revision of zoning and regulatory mechanisms, including tools such as ecological corridors, Ecologically Sensitive Areas (ESAs) and Marine Functional Zoning


Communities in the project area could face economic displacement because of the creation of ecological corridors in Gansu and Qinghai. Certain land use activities would likely be prohibited or restricted as part of the process of establishing ecological corridors.

The use of marine resources by fishermen/women could be impacted by the rollout of marine functional zoning.

CPAR2 Gansu




CPAR3 Qinghai



Improved conservation of biodiversity including globally significant species that suffer poor gene flow, through enhanced landscape connectivity

Strengthened ecological resilience of PAs that border and/or are connected by ecological corridors


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CPAR4 MPA



Broadening participation in PA management and benefit sharing, including through community ranger patrols and sustainable livelihood activities

Potential reproduction of discriminations against women

There remain disparities between men and women, particularly in rural areas and in the patriarchal cultures of some of the ethnic minority communities.

Lack of capacity of duty bearers to deliver project activities to UNDP‐GEF standards

Capacity assessments indicate a lower level of capacity at some project sites. It may be difficult with current levels of capacity to implement projects according to UNDP and GEF standards regarding human rights, public participation, gender mainstreaming and attention to social and environmental safeguards.

CPAR1 National



CPAR2 Gansu



CPAR3 Qinghai



CPAR4 MPA


Enhanced skills and competencies of sub‐provincial and local staff and community members.

Strengthened collaborative management with local communities will improve social inclusion and gender equality.

Sustainable livelihood opportunities for local communities that contribute towards improved gender equity.

Broadened participation by the enterprise sector will provide increased opportunities for local communities including women.

Biodiversity conservation activities (various)

Project conservation outcomes could be vulnerable to potential impacts of climate change

Climate change has the potential to impact PAs and MPAs in China, e.g., through habitat loss because of prolonged droughts or from devastating floods, or through changes in species location, movements and gene flow. These impacts could limit the success of project activities and outcomes in the long‐term.

Project outcomes could be vulnerable to natural disasters

The project area for the C‐PAR2 Gansu project has been impacted in the past by a large debris flow that resulted in damage to property and loss of monitoring data. There is a risk of similar occurrences.

CPAR2 Gansu

Risk 9 (climate change impacts): MODERATE

Risk 10 (natural disasters): MODERATE

Effective conservation of biodiversity and increased resilience and adaptive capacity to climate change impacts.


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2 Legislation and Institutional Frameworks for environmental and social matters

2.1 National Legislation, Policies and Regulations

The following legislation is relevant to the implementation of the projects.

The Implementation Plan of Establishing the National Park (NP) System, issued on 26 September 2017 by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), states the following:

… excerpt (unofficial English translation): In key protection zones, local communities should be gradually resettled, meanwhile, collectively‐owned land should be normatively transferred through leasing, land exchange approaches based on fully solicitation with owners and users, aim to uniformly managed by the NP management department. Local people in other zones can emigrate or live in a relatively concentrated area of NP based on realistic situation. Through the cooperation agreement (like easement), collectively‐owned land in these zones could be uniformly and effectively managed. Diversified conservation modes, e.g., protection protocol, are encouraged to be explored.

General Environmental Protection:

The Environmental Protection Law (2015) is the most stringent environmental law passed in China, and it has a strong emphasis on nature conservation. In its purpose, this law incorporates the ‘building of ecological civilization’ and it declares environmental protection as ‘the basic national policy’. The law establishes a set of legal instruments for ecological protection, such as ecological functional zoning, ecological restoration and ecological compensation. Especially, Article 29 stipulates that the state shall draw up an ecological protection redline in key ecological functional zones, ecological environmental sensitive zones and vulnerable zones, and strict protection should be implemented.

The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Law (2003, revised in 2016) stipulates two types of EIA: an EIA for plans (including land use planning) and an EIA for construction projects.

Land Rights (resettlement):

China has a long history of establishing and implementing laws and regulations associated with displacement and resettlement, many of which have been associated with hydropower projects. The National Construction Land Acquisition Measures, promulgated in 1953, was the first statute on land acquisition, demolition, removal and resettlement. These measures outlined the principles and procedures for land acquisition and set the standards for payment of compensation for acquired land, serving as the basis for the subsequent Land Administration Law. The Land Administration Law has been updated and amended several times, with regulations added to enhance the land law, including the Land Acquisition and Resettlement Regulation for Construction of Large and Medium‐Sized Water Conservation Projects (1991 and 2006). The 2006 Regulations added subsidies for relocation and training for livelihoods, annual post‐relocation fund support of RMB 600 per year per capita for 20 years4, and community infrastructure rehabilitation and improvement based on the needs of resettled people. Additional guidelines promulgated in 2006 – Guidelines for Provision of Job Retraining and Social Insurance for Farmers that Lose Land – stipulated that the compensation and rehabilitation package also include a social security fund for rural farmers whose land is acquired and become urban citizens, and long‐term compensation annually. The aim of both the 1991 and 2006 Regulations was to maintain or surpass pre‐resettlement living standards which aligned China’s resettlement policy with the international standards of organizations such as the World Bank and Asian Development Bank.5

Administration of Resettlement: The administration and implementation of resettlement policy is essentially decentralized. Under the decentralized model of resettlement administration and management, provinces issue their own administrative standards within the guidelines of national regulations. Different provinces and even

4 The State Council: Regulations on Follow‐up Support to People Relocated due to Construction of Large‐ or Medium‐Size Reservoirs, 17 May 2006. http://www.gov.cn/gongbao/content/2006/content_389912.htm 5 Wilmsen, B. 2011. Progress, problems, and prospects of dam‐induced displacement and resettlement in China. China Information, Vol. 25(2).


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different counties apply different standards of compensation. The county government sets the multiplication figure within the range of the national standard. Major projects of national interest, such as highways and energy development (including large dams), tend to attract lower compensation standards than commercial projects. Paddy fields attract a higher multiplication factor than mountainous woodlands, and orchards have a higher multiplication factor than economic woodlands. The 2006 Regulations are also weighted towards compensation as a means of restoring rights rather than benefit sharing or development.

There is no specific law or regulation regarding compensation for landowners or households resettled from their lands due biodiversity conservation purposes. The laws and regulations on resettlement discussed above have been applied for cases of ecological migration. Central government notices have been issued that reinforce the land rights of farmers and restricts involuntary requisition of collectively held farmland; for example:

Notice issued by the State Council on 27 December 2010 on Strictly Regulating a Balance between Urban Development and Practical Treatment of Rural Land Issues. Point No. 8 indicates that it is forbidden to encroach on farmers’ interests. Local communities need to be informed of planned developments and if exchange of land cannot be realized without consent by the local communities and farmers.

Notice issued by the Ministry of Land Resources on 26 June 2010 on Land Requisition Management. Point No. 11 states that after a proposal for land requisition is approved, public notice and compensation planning may start synchronously. If farmers have different opinions regarding the arrangements, the government must provide further information to the farmers until their consent is granted. Involuntary land requisition is forbidden.

Urgent Notice issued by the Ministry of Land Resources on 14 June 2006 on Strict and Impartial Law Enforcement to Restrain Illegal Land Uses. Point No. 4 indicates that the legal rights and interests of farmers whose land will be requisitioned must be protected. Prior to requisitioning collectively held farmland, farmers must be informed and agree to the arrangements. If compensation and a new residence is not provided, the planned land requisition will be stopped.

Urgent Notice issued by the State Council on 30 April 2004 on Conflict Resolutions Associated with the Current Rural Land Contract. Point No. 21 indicates that it is forbidden to force farmers to transfer their land rights against their will.

Ethnic Minorities:

There are a total of 56 ethnic groups identified in China, mainly based on their similarities such as common ancestry, language, society, and culture. Of the 56 ethnic groups, Han ethnicity is the ethnic majority and the other 55 ethnic groups are considered ethnic minorities. The term “indigenous peoples” is not used in China.

The Constitution (1982, revised in 2004) addresses the issue of PA through confirming the state and collective ownership of land and natural resources and prescribing the State’s responsibility in environmental and resource protection. The Constitution emphasizes that all nationalities in the People’s Republic of China are equal. The State protects the lawful rights and interests of minority nationalities and upholds and develops a relationship of equality, unity and mutual assistance among all of China’s nationalities. The State assists areas inhabited by minority nationalities in accelerating their economic and cultural development according to the characteristics and needs of the various minority nationalities. Regional autonomy is practiced in areas where people of minority nationalities live in concentrated communities; in these areas organs of self‐government are established to exercise the power of autonomy. And in exploiting natural resources and building enterprises in the national autonomous areas, the State shall give due consideration to the interests of those areas. And all these provisions are reiterated in the Regional Ethnic Autonomy Law (1984, revised in 2001)6.

The Rules of the State Council on the implementation of the Law of the People's Republic of China on Regional National Autonomy (2005)7 stipulates that the state strengthens the poverty alleviation and development of the ethnic autonomous areas, and emphasizes the infrastructure and the basic construction of the farmland in the poor rural areas of the autonomous areas, which focus on water, electricity, access, radio, television

6 State Ethnic Affairs Commission of the People’s Republic of China. Regional Ethnic Autonomy Law (second amendment), 28 February 2001). http://www.seac.gov.cn/art/2011/6/29/art_4901_128701.html 7 General Office of the State Council. Rules of the State Council on the implementation of the Law of the People's Republic of China on Regional National Autonomy. Issued on 11 May 2005. http://www.gov.cn/xxgk/pub/govpublic/mrlm/200803/t20080328_31650.html


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construction, and the transform of thatched house and dilapidated house, and ecological migration. And all these activities are based on the residents’ willingness.

2.2 International Agreements and Treaties

China is a signatory to several multilateral agreements and conventions that are relevant to the program; including but not limited to the following:

1971, Convention on Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar)

1972, Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage

1992, Convention on Biological Diversity

1992, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

1995, Beijing Declaration (a resolution adopted by the UN at the end of the Fourth World Conference on Women on 15 September 1995. The resolution adopted to promulgate a set of principles concerning the equality of men and women)

1998, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR); signed in 1998, not yet ratified

2000, Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety on the Convention on Biological Diversity

2007, United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP)

2.3 UNDP’s Social and Environmental Standards

The four C‐PAR child projects covered by this ESMF will comply with UNDP’s Social and Environmental Standards (SES), which came into effect 1 January 2015. These Standards underpin UNDP’s commitment to mainstream social and environmental sustainability in its programs and projects to support sustainable development and are an integral component of UNDP’s quality assurance and risk management approach to programming. Through the SES, UNDP meets the requirements of the GEF’s Environmental and Social Safeguards Policy.

The objectives of the SES are to:

Strengthen the social and environmental outcomes of Programs and Projects

Avoid adverse impacts to people and the environment

Minimize, mitigate, and manage adverse impacts where avoidance is not possible

Strengthen UNDP and partner capacities for managing social and environmental risks

Ensure full and effective stakeholder engagement, including through a mechanism to respond to complaints from project‐affected people

In accordance with UNDP SES policy, the Social and Environmental Screening Procedure (SESP) has been applied to each of the four projects during the project development phase. In accordance with UNDP SES policy, a SES principle or standard is ‘triggered’ when a potential risk is identified and assessed as having either a ‘moderate’ or ‘high’ risk rating based on its probability of occurrence and extent of impact. Risks that are assessed as ‘low’ do not trigger the related principle or standard.

The screenings conducted during project development indicate that up to six of the nine social and environmental principles and standards have been triggered across the four projects due to ‘moderate’ or ‘high’ risks:

Principle 1: Human Rights (due to the risk that land use and resource access rights will be impacted by the establishment of new PAs and enhanced regulations for these areas or areas of critical habitat connecting/buffering PAs)

Principle 2: Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment (due to the gender disparities that exist at demonstration sites)


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Standard 2: Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation (due to the risk that project outcomes will be vulnerable to impacts of climate change)

Standard 3: Community Health, Safety and Working Conditions (due to the potential risk of natural disasters that may impact project sites)

Standard 5: Displacement and Resettlement (due to potential voluntary resettlement8 and economic displacement associated with PA expansion and enhanced enforcement of regulations in existing PAs)

Standard 6: Indigenous Peoples (due to the presence of ethnic minorities in project demonstration sites include core zones of national park pilots that will be potentially impacted by resettlement and/or economic displacement impacts).

A summary of the risk significance under each SES principle and standard, and the project‐level safeguard standards triggered by each project (indicated with ticks) are shown in Table 3.

2.4 Gaps in policy framework

Further analysis of the legal and policy frameworks that apply to the four projects will be completed during the implementation of this ESMF (i.e. during the completion of ESIAs and/or targeted assessment). At this stage, no gaps have been identified.

Table 3: Summary of safeguards triggered by projects based on screening conducted during project preparation

Project C‐PAR1 National

C‐PAR2 Gansu

C‐PAR3 Qinghai

C‐PAR4 MPA

Overall Project Risk Categorization High High High Moderate

Overarching Principle / Project‐level Standard Risk Rating

Principle 1: Human Rights

High

High

High

Moderate

Principle 2: Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment

Moderate

Moderate

Moderate

Moderate

Principle 3: Environmental Sustainability

‐Standard 1: Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Natural Resource Management

Low Low Low Low

‐Standard 2: Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Low

Moderate Low Low

‐Standard 3: Community Health, Safety and Working Conditions N/A

Moderate

N/A N/A

‐Standard 4: Cultural Heritage N/A N/A N/A N/A

‐Standard 5: Displacement and Resettlement

High

High

High

Moderate

‐Standard 6: Indigenous Peoples

High

High

High Low

‐Standard 7: Pollution Prevention and Resource Efficiency N/A N/A N/A N/A

Number of risks in each risk rating category C‐PAR1 C‐PAR2 C‐PAR3 C‐PAR4

High 3 3 3 ‐

Moderate 3 5 3 2

8 Resettlement is associated with government co‐financing and will not be supported by GEF funds.


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Project C‐PAR1 National

C‐PAR2 Gansu

C‐PAR3 Qinghai

C‐PAR4 MPA


Overarching Principle / Project‐level Standard Risk Rating

Low 2 2 2 6

Total number of project risks 8 10 8 8


Number of safeguard standards triggered 4 6 4 3


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3 Procedures for Screening, Assessing and Managing Social and Environmental Impacts

This ESMF has been developed as part of UNDP’s due diligence process in the project cycle, following the screening of the four UNDP‐supported C‐PAR projects with the SESP template. Based on the project risk categorization assigned to each project and their specific risks, the following procedures for screening, assessing and managing those risks must be undertaken during the inception phase of the relevant projects, as follows.

High Risk project categorization

C‐PAR1 National, C‐PAR2 Gansu, C‐PAR3 Qinghai

The following measures are required for each project:

a) Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA): In accordance with UNDP’s SES policy, High Risk projects require comprehensive forms of assessment. An ESIA for each of these three project will be developed and carried out by independent experts in a participatory manner with stakeholders during the inception phase. Each ESIA will further identify and assess social and environmental impacts of each project and its area of influence; evaluate alternative; and design appropriate avoidance, mitigation, management, and monitoring measures. It will address all relevant issues related to the SES Overarching Principles and Project‐level Standards. A key output of the ESIA is an ESMP, as described next.

b) ESIA report and Environmental and Social Management Plan (ESMP): An ESIA report and ESMP (one for each High‐Risk project) will provide a set of avoidance, mitigation, monitoring and institutional measures – as well as actions needed to implement these measures – to achieve the desired social and environmental sustainability outcomes. Complementing what has already been identified in the ProDocs, the ESMP will further identify project activities that cannot take place until the relevant mitigation measures are approved and put in place. The measures will be adopted and integrated into the project activities, monitoring and reporting framework and budget, and captured in a revised SESP for each project.

The Social and Environmental Screening Procedure (SESP) completed for C‐PAR1, C‐PAR2 and C‐PAR3 during project development phase will be used as the basis of this detailed assessment. Initial analysis and screening with UNDP’s SESP indicate that the ESIA and ESMP for the three high risk projects would address, among other issues, the following key points:

Assess potential physical and economic displacement impacts at demonstration sites;

Assess national and provincial policy and institutional framework applying to resettlement against UNDP standards to identify any gaps;

Ensure no forced evictions or involuntary resettlement takes place;

Ensure that alternative livelihood support is provided to those economically displaced;

Assess potential impacts (including resettlement and/or economic displacement) specifically on ethnic minorities to protect rights of minority groups;

Apply Free and Prior Inform Consent (FPIC) for all activities involving ethnic minorities;

Appropriate linkages with implementation of the Gender Mainstreaming Plan and Stakeholder Engagement Plan for all projects;

Appropriate consultation with affected communities during preparation of ESIAs, ESMPs and any stand‐alone management plans to consult on potential impacts and management measures and opportunities to participate in planning, implementation and monitoring of activities that could result in social and environmental impacts (e.g. voluntary resettlement, economic displacement).

Further information on the ESIA and ESMP requirements can be found in Annexes 9.5 and 9.6 of this ESMF.


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Moderate Risk project categorization

C‐PAR4 MPA

The following measures are required of this one project:

a) Targeted assessment of potential economic displacement: In accordance with UNDP SES policy, Moderate Risk projects require limited or focused forms of social and environmental assessment. For the C‐PAR4 MPA project, a targeted assessment of potential economic displacement will be carried out by independent experts in a participatory manner with stakeholders during the project inception phase. The assessment will assess potential economic displacement impacts associated with the planned establishment of new MPAs and the planned enhanced enforcement of MPA regulations. The SESP completed for C‐PAR4 during project development phase will be used as the basis of this targeted assessment. The assessment will include appropriate consultation with affected communities, including FPIC consultations with ethnic minorities, to consult on potential impacts and management measures and ensure community participation in planning, implementation and monitoring.

b) Assessment report and identified management measures: Identification of time‐bound measures to avoid, reduce, mitigate and manage potential impacts will be captured in an assessment report and revised SESP. If determined necessary by the targeted assessment, then a stand‐alone management plan (e.g. Livelihood Action Plan) will be prepared to capture those management measures. In either case (updated SESP or stand‐alone management plan), at a minimum the output of the targeted assessment must include:

Summary of identified adverse social and environmental risks and impacts that could not be avoided or remain after impact minimization efforts

Actions to implement mitigation measures for each identified risk and impact

A monitoring and reporting plan

Stakeholder engagement, including FPIC consultations with ethnic minorities, and plan for stakeholder engagement during implementation of management measures

Implementation schedule, cost estimates and funding sources.

Further information on stand‐alone management plans can be found on the UNDP website at: https://info.undp.org/sites/bpps/SES_Toolkit/SitePages/Guidance%20and%20Templates.aspx.

For all projects covered by this ESMF, the above required assessments and management plans must be prepared and mitigation measures in place, per those plans, prior to the initiation of any project activity that may cause adverse impacts, in particular any actions that may lead to or cause physical or economic displacement, and impacts on ethnic minorities. Specific activities for each project are identified in the respective Project Documents.

Screening:

During implementation, these projects will be re‐screened with the UNDP SESP as needed in the course of required assessments; as prescribed by the projects’ ESMP or stand‐alone management plan; when determined necessary by the respective Project Manager (after consideration of the advice from PMO staff with responsibility for safeguards), the Project Steering Committee, the Program Alignment Officer (who will provide support for safeguards at a program level), or UNDP; and/or when project circumstances change in a substantive or relevant way.

4 Institutional arrangements and capacity building

4.1 Roles and responsibilities for implementing this ESMF

The roles and responsibilities of project staff and associated agencies in implementation of this ESMF is as follows. This ESMF does not cover the roles and responsibilities associated with implementation of the


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subsequent ESMPs and/or stand‐alone management plans; those will be defined in each project’s subsequent management plan that is developed in the project inception phase, as required per this ESMF.

Implementing Partners:

C‐PAR1: National project Foreign Economic Cooperation Office of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment

C‐PAR2: Gansu project Gansu Forestry Department

C‐PAR3: Qinghai project Qinghai Forestry Department

C‐PAR4: MPA project State Oceanic Administration

Ensure that the required assessment (ESIA or targeted assessment, as above) and assessment report and the required management plan(s) (an ESMP and/or stand‐alone management plan, as above) are developed, disclosed for public consultation and approved, and management measures are adopted and integrated during project implementation;

Report, fairly and accurately, on project progress against agreed work plans in accordance with the reporting schedule and required formats;

Maintain documentation and evidence that describes the proper and prudent use of project resources in conformity to the signed Project Document and in accordance with applicable regulations and procedures (e.g. SES);

Ensure all requirements of UNDP’s SES and national regulatory/policy frameworks and relevant international standards have been addressed (e.g. mitigation of voluntary resettlement impacts);

Hold responsibility and accountability to UNDP for overall management of the project, including compliance with UNDP SES.

Project Steering Committees:

C‐PAR1: National project Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Ecology and Environment, UNDP, FECO/MEE, Qinghai Provincial Government, Sichuan Provincial Government, Xianju County Government

C‐PAR2: Gansu project Gansu Forestry Department, UNDP, Gansu Department of Finance, Development and Reform Commission, Department of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry, Department of Water Resources, Department of Environmental Protection, Tourism Bureau, Axia, Chagangliang, Duoer and Yuhe NRs, Gansu Endangered Animals Protection Centre, local government including Wudu District, Zhouqu County, Diebu County, Liangdang County, Hezheng County and Wuwei City

C‐PAR3: Qinghai project Qinghai Forestry Dept., Ministry of Finance, UNDP, Qinghai Finance Dept., Qinghai Agriculture‐Animal Husbandry Dept., Qilian Mountains Provincial Nature Reserve, Qinghai Lake National Nature Reserve, Local Governments (where project interventions are planned)

C‐PAR4: MPA project State Oceanic Administration, Ministry of Finance, UNDP, Third Institute of Oceanography, representatives of the provincial Oceans and Fisheries Departments (Guangxi, Guangdong, Fujian), representatives of the coastal Municipalities of the pilot areas (Qinzhou, Behai, Jiangmen, Zhuhai, Xiamen)

Monitor implementation of this ESMF and compliance with national and international regulations, and UNDP social and environmental standards;

Decision making for the adoption of necessary measures including full integration of management measures within project Outputs and annual work plans;

Establish and support GRM mechanism to address any grievances.

UNDP:

Provide oversight on all matters related to safeguards;

Inform all the stakeholders and right‐holders involved in, or potentially impacted, positively or negatively, by the GEF‐financed projects, about the UNDP’s corporate Accountability Mechanism (described below);

Ensure that the Compliance Review and the Stakeholder Response Mechanisms are operational during the lifetime of the projects;

Ensure adhere to the SES for project activities implemented using funds channelled through UNDP’s accounts, and undertake appropriate measures to address any shortcomings;

Verify and document that all UNDP SES requirements have been addressed;


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Provide technical guidance on implementation of this ESMF and administrative assistance in recruiting and contracting expert safeguards services (as required), and monitor adherence of each project to the ESMF and UNDP policies and procedures.

Project Management Office:

Supervise and manage implementation of measures defined in this ESMF;

Assign specific responsibilities for implementation of this ESMF, including monitoring, and community consultations on the draft management plans to a staff member(s) of the PMO;

Maintain relevant records associated with management of environmental and social risks, including updated SESPs, impact assessments, a log of grievances together with documentation of management measures implemented;

Report to the Implementing Partner, the Project Steering Committee, the Program Alignment Officer in C‐PAR 1 and UNDP CO on the implementation of the ESMF;

Ensure that all service providers are informed of their responsibilities for the day to day compliance with the ESMF.

C‐PAR Program Steering Committee (comprising Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Ecology and Environment, UNDP, FECO/MEE (2 seats), National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), State Administration of Forestry and Grassland / State Administration of National Parks, State Oceanic Administration (SOA), Gansu Forestry Department, Qinghai Forestry Department, Sichuan Forestry Department, Conservation International (CI), and Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences (CRAES)):

Provide strategic guidance to implementation of the C‐PAR program including oversight for safeguards and the implementation of this ESMF.

As noted above, the projects’ subsequent ESMPs (for C‐PAR1, 2, 3) and stand‐alone management plan (for C‐PAR4, as required) will describe the roles and responsibilities in the implementation of those plans. Those new roles and responsibilities will be assessed and integrated, as appropriate, as part of the participatory decision making and implementation proceedings of the project.

4.2 Capacity Building

Specialists with relevant expertise in social and environmental safeguards will be engaged to support the completion of the ESIAs (C‐PAR1 National, C‐PAR2 Gansu, C‐PAR3 Qinghai) and targeted assessment of economic displacement (C‐PAR4 MPA), and the subsequent development of ESMPs (C‐PAR1 National, C‐PAR2 Gansu, C‐PAR3 Qinghai) and any stand‐alone management plans. These experts will offer an induction session for Project Management Units (and implementing partners, as needed) on safeguards responsibilities and approaches.

The UNDP‐GEF Unit will provide advice to project teams as needed to support the implementation of this ESMF and the preparation, implementation and monitoring of social and environmental management plans/measures.

Each Project Steering Committee will have the final responsibility for the integration of ESMP/stand‐alone management plan(s) in the execution of the project. The integration of those plans will need to consider particular institutional needs within the implementation framework for application of the ESMP, including a review of the required budget allocations for each measure, as well as the authority and capability of institutions at different administrative levels (e.g. local, regional, and national), and their capacity to manage and monitor ESMP implementation. Where necessary, capacity building and technical assistance activities will be included to enable proper implementation of the ESMP.

5 Stakeholder engagement and information disclosure

Discussions with project stakeholders, including local communities at project sites, commenced during the project development phase of each project. A list of the stakeholders engaged in these consultations has been Annexed to the Project Documents. Each project also has an individual Stakeholder Engagement Plan and Gender Action Plan, which is annexed to the Project Documents. These Plans will be followed to ensure that


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stakeholders are engaged in project implementation and particularly in the further assessment of social and environmental impacts and the development of appropriate management measures. Project Stakeholder Engagement Plans will be updated during project implementation based on the assessments and management plans conducted in line with this ESMF, as needed.

Potentially affected stakeholders will be engaged during the implementation of this ESMF for each project. This will include FPIC consultations with ethnic minorities.

As part of the stakeholder engagement process, UNDP’s SES require that project stakeholders have access to relevant information. Specifically, the SES (SES, Policy Delivery Process, para. 21) stipulates that, among other disclosures specified by UNDP’s policies and procedures, UNDP will ensure that the following information be made available:

• Stakeholder engagement plans and summary reports of stakeholder consultations

• Social and environmental screening reports with project documentation

• Draft social and environmental assessments, including any draft management plans

• Final social and environmental assessments and associated management plans

• Any required social and environmental monitoring reports.

As outlined in the SES and UNDP’s Social and Environmental Screening Procedure (SESP), the type and timing of assessments and management plans vary depending of the level of social and environmental risk associated with a project as well as timing of the social and environmental assessment.

This ESMF (and project SESPs) will be disclosed via the UNDP China website in accordance with UNDP SES policy. The subsequent project ESMPs or stand‐alone management plan(s) (for C‐PAR4) will also be publicly disclosed via the UNDP China website once drafted, and finalized and adopted only after the required time period for disclosure has elapsed.

These requirements for stakeholder engagement and disclosure will be adhered to during the implementation of this ESMF, and the subsequent implementation of the resulting ESMPs and any stand‐alone management plans.

6 Accountability and Grievance Redress Mechanisms

6.1 UNDP’s Accountability Mechanisms

UNDP’s SES recognize that even with strong planning and stakeholder engagement, unanticipated issues can still arise. Therefore, the SES are underpinned by an Accountability Mechanism with two key components:

1. A Social and Environmental Compliance Review Unit (SECU) to respond to claims that UNDP is not in compliance with applicable environmental and social policies; and

2. A Stakeholder Response Mechanism (SRM) that ensures individuals, peoples, and communities affected by projects have access to appropriate grievance resolution procedures for hearing and addressing project‐related complaints and disputes.

UNDP’s Accountability Mechanism is available to all of UNDP’s project stakeholders.

The Social and Environmental Compliance Unit (SECU) investigates concerns about non‐compliance with UNDP’s Social and Environmental Standards and Screening Procedure raised by project‐affected stakeholders and recommends measures to address findings of non‐compliance.

The Stakeholder Response Mechanism helps project‐affected stakeholders, UNDP’s partners (governments, NGOs, businesses) and others jointly address grievances or disputes related to the social and/or environmental impacts of UNDP‐supported projects.

Further information, including how to submit a request to SECU or SRM, is found on the UNDP website at: http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/operations/accountability/secu‐srm/


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6.2 Project‐level Grievance Redress Mechanisms

As described in the Project Document of each of the four projects, each project will establish a project‐level Grievance Redress Mechanism (GRM) at the start of implementation. The full details of these GRMs will be agreed upon during the assessments completed for each project.

Interested stakeholders may raise a grievance at any time to the Project Management Office, the Executing Agency, Implementing Agency (UNDP), or the GEF.

7 Budget for ESMF Implementation

Funding for implementation of the ESMF is included in the individual budgets of the four child projects. The estimated costs are indicated in Table 4 below. Costs associated with the time of Project Management Unit Staff coordinating the implementation of this ESMF or UNDP support are not shown. Further detail is found in the budgets of the respective Project Documents.

Table 4: Breakdown of project level costs for ESMF implementation

Item Budget Cost (USD)

C‐PAR1: National Project (HIGH Risk)

International consultant, safeguards specialist $15,000

National consultant, safeguards specialist $15,350

Local consultant, community development specialist $8,596

Travel expenses for consultations $10,466

Audio‐visual & print production expenses $1,500

Total: $50,912

C‐PAR2: Gansu Project (HIGH Risk)

International consultant, safeguards and resettlement specialist $12,000

National consultant, social inclusion specialist $15,350

Local consultant, social inclusion specialist bilingual in Chinese and Tibetan $5,526



Total: $40,967

C‐PAR3: Qinghai Project (HIGH Risk)

International consultant, safeguards specialist $6,000

National consultant, safeguards specialist $6,140

Local consultant, community development specialist $8,289



Total: $30,721

C‐PAR4: Marine Protected Areas Project (MODERATE Risk)

National consultant, safeguards and gender specialist $3,414



Total: $5,714

8 Monitoring and evaluation arrangements

Reporting on progress and issues in the implementation of this ESMF will be documented in the project quarterly reports and annual project implementation reports (PIRs). Until the ESMPs and stand‐alone management plans are put in place, the C‐PAR Program Alignment Officer will be responsible for compiling reports on the implementation of this ESMF, for reporting to the Project Steering Committees and C‐PAR Program Steering Committee (as required). Key issues will be presented to the respective Project Steering Committee during each committee meeting.


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Implementation of the subsequent ESMPs (High Risk projects) and stand‐alone management plans (all projects, as required) will be the responsibility for the individual project management teams, and other partners as agreed upon and described in those future plans.

The ESMF monitoring and evaluation plan is outlined below in Table 5.


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Table 5: ESMF M&E plan and estimated budget

Monitoring Activity & Relevant Projects

Description Frequency / Timeframe

Expected Action Roles and Responsibilities

Cost (per project, excl. staff time

Track progress of ESMF implementation (All four UNDP‐supported C‐PAR projects)

Implementation of this ESMF coordinated for each project, and with results reported to each Project Steering Committee on an annual basis

Quarterly (until ESMPs and management plans are in place)

Required ESMF steps are completed for each of the four UNDP‐supported C‐PAR project in a timely manner.

Program Alignment Officer; Project Managers, with support from and Project M&E/Safeguards Officers

None

Development of ESIA and report, and ESMP (High Risk projects only: C‐PAR1, C‐PAR2, C‐PAR3)

Carried out in a participatory manner, in‐depth analysis about potential social and environmental impacts, as well as identification / validation of mitigation measures, drafted in participatory manner

Quarters 1 and 2 of project implementation

Risks and potential impacts are assessed with support of external consultants and participation of project team and stakeholders; management actions identified and incorporated into project implementation strategies.

External service providers (environmental and social) With guidance from UNDP, Project Managers, and Project M&E/Safeguards Officers

US$51,000 (C‐PAR1) US$41,000 (C‐PAR2) US$31,000 (C‐PAR3)

Implementation of mitigation measures and monitoring of potential impacts identified in ESIA and per the subsequent ESMP (High Risk projects only: CPAR1, CPAR2, CPAR3)

Permanent and participatory implementation and monitoring of impacts and mitigation measures, in accordance with ESMP (to be prepared together with ESIA)

Continuous, once ESIA is completed and ESMP is in place

Implementation of ESMP; participatory monitoring of ESIA findings (i.e. identifying indicators, monitoring potential impacts and risks); integration of ESMP into project implementation strategies. Monitoring of environmental and social risks, and corresponding management plans as relevant (tendered to national institute, local consultant, CSO or service provider)

Project Manager, M&E/Safeguards Officer, Pilot Coordinators, oversight by UNDP CO, PSC

TBD, based on ESIAs

Development of targeted assessment and report, and livelihoods action plan as needed (Moderate risk project: CPAR4)

Carried out in a participatory manner, targeted analysis of potential livelihood impacts associated with MPA establishment/ enhanced management, as well as identification / validation of mitigation measures, drafted in participatory manner

Quarters 1 and 2 of project implementation

Potential impacts related to economic displacement around MPAs are assessed with support of external consultants and participation of project team and stakeholders; targeted assessment report completed; if justified based on findings of targeted assessment, a livelihoods action plan will be developed; management actions will be identified and incorporated into project implementation strategies.

External service providers (environmental and social) With guidance from UNDP, Project Manager, and Project M&E/Safeguards Officer

US$5,700 (C‐PAR4)

Implementation of management measures and monitoring of potential

Permanent and participatory implementation and monitoring of management measures, in accordance

Continuous, once assessment is complete and

Implementation of stand‐alone management plans; participatory monitoring; integration of management plans into project implementation strategies

Project Manager, Pilot Coordinators, oversight by UNDP CO, PSC

TBD, based on assessment


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Monitoring Activity & Relevant Projects

Description Frequency / Timeframe

Expected Action Roles and Responsibilities

Cost (per project, excl. staff time

impacts identified in targeted assessment (Moderate risk project: CPAR4)

with findings of targeted assessment (and livelihoods action plan if developed)

management plan is in place

Learning (All four UNDP‐supported C‐PAR projects)

Knowledge, good practices and lessons learned regarding social and environmental risk management will be captured regularly, as well as actively sourced from other projects and partners and integrated back into the project.

At least annually

Relevant lessons are captured by the project teams and used to inform management decisions.

Project Managers, KM/Communications Officer for C‐PAR1

None

Annual project quality assurance (All four UNDP‐supported C‐PAR projects)

The quality of the project will be assessed against UNDP’s quality standards to identify project strengths and weaknesses and to inform management decision making to improve the project

Annually Areas of strength and weakness will be reviewed and used to inform decisions to improve project performance

UNDP CO, Program Alignment Officer, with support from Project Managers and Project M&E/Safeguards Officers

None

Review and make course corrections (All four UNDP‐supported C‐PAR projects)

Internal review of data and evidence from all monitoring actions to inform decision making

At least annually

Performance data, risks, lessons and quality will be discussed by the project steering committee and used to make course corrections

Project and/or Program Steering Committees (considering stakeholders’ opinions)

None

Annual project implementation reports (All four UNDP‐supported C‐PAR projects)

As part of progress report to be presented to the Program/Project Steering Committee and key stakeholders, analysis, updating and recommendations for risk management will be included

Annually Updates on progress of ESMF/ESMP will be reported in the project’s annual PIRs. A summary of the avoidance and mitigation of potential social and environmental impacts will be included in the program annual report, sharing best practices and lessons learned across the program.

UNDP CO, UNDP‐GEF RTA, Program Alignment Officer and Project Managers

None

Project review (All four UNDP‐supported C‐PAR projects)

The Project Steering Committee will consider updated analysis of risks and recommended risk mitigation measures at all meetings

At least annually

Any risks and/ or impacts that are not adequately addressed by national mechanisms or project team will be discussed in project steering committee. Recommendations will be made, discussed and agreed upon.

Project and/or Program Steering Committees Program Alignment Officer and Project Managers

None


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9 Annexes

9.1 C‐PAR1 (National project) SESP Template

Refer to Annex E of C‐PAR1 submission. (to be Annexed for public disclosure via UNDP China website_

9.2 C‐PAR2 (Gansu project) SESP Template


9.3 C‐PAR3 (Qinghai project) SESP Template


9.4 C‐PAR4 (MPA project) SESP Template



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9.5 Indicative Outline of Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) Report

UNDP Social and Environmental Standards:

ESIA Report – Indicative Outline

Please refer to the UNDP SES Guidance Note on Assessment and Management for additional information.

An ESIA report should include the following major elements (not necessarily in the following order):

(1) Executive summary: Concisely discusses significant findings and recommended actions.

(2) Legal and institutional framework: Summarizes the analysis of the legal and institutional framework for the project, within which the social and environmental assessment is carried out, including (a) the country's applicable policy framework, national laws and regulations, and institutional capabilities (including implementation) relating to social and environmental issues; obligations of the country directly applicable to the project under relevant international treaties and agreements; (b) applicable requirements under UNDP’s SES; and (c) and other relevant social and environmental standards and/or requirements, including those of any other donors and development partners. Compares the existing social and environmental framework and applicable requirements of UNDP’s SES (and those of other donors/development partners) and identifies any potential gaps that will need to be addressed.

(3) Project description: Concisely describes the proposed project and its geographic, social, environmental, and temporal context, including any offsite activities that may be required (e.g., dedicated pipelines, access roads, power supply, water supply, housing, and raw material and product storage facilities), as well as the project’s primary supply chain. Includes a map of sufficient detail, showing the project site and the area that may be affected by the project’s direct, indirect, and cumulative impacts. (i.e. area of influence).

(4) Baseline data: Summarizes the baseline data that is relevant to decisions about project location, design, operation, or mitigation measures; identifies and estimates the extent and quality of available data, key data gaps, and uncertainties associated with predictions; assesses the scope of the area to be studied and describes relevant physical, biological, and socioeconomic conditions, including any changes anticipated before the project commences; and takes into account current and proposed development activities within the project area but not directly connected to the project.

(5) Social and environmental risks and impacts: Predicts and takes into account all relevant social and environmental risks and impacts of the project, including those related to UNDP’s SES (Overarching Policy and Principles and Project‐level Standards). These will include, but are not limited to, the following:

(a) Environmental risks and impacts, including: any material threat to the protection, conservation, maintenance and rehabilitation of natural habitats, biodiversity, and ecosystems; those related to climate change and other transboundary or global impacts; those related to community health and safety; those related to pollution and discharges of waste; those related to the use of living natural resources, such as fisheries and forests; and those related to other applicable standards.9

(b) Social risks and impacts, including: any project‐related threats to human rights of affected communities and individuals; threats to human security through the escalation of personal, communal or inter‐state conflict, crime or violence; risks of gender discrimination; risks that adverse project impacts fall disproportionately on disadvantaged or marginalized groups; any prejudice or discrimination toward individuals or groups in providing access to development resources and project benefits, particularly in the case of disadvantaged or marginalized groups; negative economic and social impacts relating to physical displacement (i.e. relocation or loss of shelter) or economic displacement (i.e. loss of assets or access to assets that leads to loss of income sources or means of livelihood) as a result of project‐related land or resource acquisition or restrictions on land use or access to resources; impacts on the health, safety and well‐being of workers and project‐affected communities; and risks

9 For example, the Environmental, Health, and Safety Guidelines (EHSGs), which are technical reference documents with general and industry‐specific statements of Good International Industry Practice. The EHSGs contain information on industry‐ specific risks and impacts and the performance levels and measures that are generally considered to be achievable in new facilities by existing technology at reasonable cost. Available at www.ifc.org/ehsguidelines.


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to cultural heritage.

(6) Analysis of alternatives: systematically compares feasible alternatives to the proposed project site, technology, design, and operation – including the "without project" situation – in terms of their potential social and environmental impacts; assesses the alternatives’ feasibility of mitigating the adverse social and environmental impacts; the capital and recurrent costs of alternative mitigation measures, and their suitability under local conditions; the institutional, training, and monitoring requirements for the alternative mitigation measures; for each of the alternatives, quantifies the social and environmental impacts to the extent possible, and attaches economic values where feasible. Sets out the basis for selecting the particular project design.

(7) Mitigation Measures: Inclusion or summary of (with attachment of full) Environmental and Social Management Plan (ESMP) (see indicative outline of ESMP below.) The ESMP identifies mitigation measures required to address identified social and environmental risks and impacts, as well as measures related to monitoring, capacity development, stakeholder engagement, and implementation action plan.

(8) Conclusions and Recommendations: Succinctly describes conclusion drawn from the assessment and provides recommendations.

(9) Appendices: (i) List of the individuals or organisations that prepared or contributed to the social and environmental assessment; (ii) References – setting out the written materials both published and unpublished, that have been used; (iii) Record of meetings, consultations and surveys with stakeholders, including those with affected people and local NGOs. The record specifies the means of such stakeholder engagement that were used to obtain the views of affected groups and local NGOs, summarizes key concerns and how these concerns addressed in project design and mitigation measures; (iv) Tables presenting the relevant data referred to or summarized in the main text; (v) Attachment of any other mitigation plans; (vi) List of associated reports or plans.


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9.6 Indicative outline of Environmental and Social Management Plan (ESMP)

UNDP Social and Environmental Standards:

ESMP – Indicative Outline

Please refer to the UNDP SES Guidance Note on Assessment and Management for additional information.

An ESMP may be prepared as part of the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) or as a stand‐alone document.10 The content of the ESMP should address the following sections:

(1) Mitigation: Identifies measures and actions in accordance with the mitigation hierarchy that avoid, or if avoidance not possible, reduce potentially significant adverse social and environmental impacts to acceptable levels. Specifically, the ESMP: (a) identifies and summarizes all anticipated significant adverse social and environmental impacts; (b) describes – with technical details – each mitigation measure, including the type of impact to which it relates and the conditions under which it is required (e.g., continuously or in the event of contingencies), together with designs, equipment descriptions, and operating procedures, as appropriate; (c) estimates any potential social and environmental impacts of these measures and any residual impacts following mitigation; and (d) takes into account, and is consistent with, other required mitigation plans (e.g. for displacement, indigenous peoples).

(2) Monitoring: Identifies monitoring objectives and specifies the type of monitoring, with linkages to the impacts assessed in the environmental and social assessment and the mitigation measures described in the ESMP. Specifically, the monitoring section of the ESMP provides (a) a specific description, and technical details, of monitoring measures, including the parameters to be measured, methods to be used, sampling locations, frequency of measurements, detection limits (where appropriate), and definition of thresholds that will signal the need for corrective actions; and (b) monitoring and reporting procedures to (i) ensure early detection of conditions that necessitate particular mitigation measures, and (ii) furnish information on the progress and results of mitigation.

(3) Capacity development and training: To support timely and effective implementation of social and environmental project components and mitigation measures, the ESMP draws on the environmental and social assessment of the existence, role, and capability of responsible parties on site or at the agency and ministry level. Specifically, the ESMP provides a description of institutional arrangements, identifying which party is responsible for carrying out the mitigation and monitoring measures (e.g. for operation, supervision, enforcement, monitoring of implementation, remedial action, financing, reporting, and staff training). Where support for strengthening social and environmental management capability is identified, ESMP recommends the establishment or expansion of the parties responsible, the training of staff and any additional measures that may be necessary to support implementation of mitigation measures and any other recommendations of the environmental and social assessment.

(4) Stakeholder Engagement: Outlines plan to engage in meaningful, effective and informed consultations with affected stakeholders. Includes information on (a) means used to inform and involve affected people in the assessment process; (b) summary of stakeholder engagement plan for meaningful, effective consultations during project implementation, including identification of milestones for consultations, information disclosure, and periodic reporting on progress on project implementation; and (c) description of effective processes for receiving and addressing stakeholder concerns and grievances regarding the project’s social and environmental performance.

(5) Implementation action plan (schedule and cost estimates): For all four above aspects (mitigation, monitoring, capacity development, and stakeholder engagement), ESMP provides (a) an implementation schedule for measures that must be carried out as part of the project, showing phasing and coordination with overall project implementation plans; and (b) the capital and recurrent cost estimates and sources of funds for implementing the ESMP. These figures are also integrated into the total project cost tables. Each of the measures

10 This may be particularly relevant where contractors are being engaged to carry out the project, or parts thereof, and the ESMP sets out the requirements to be followed by contractors. In this case the ESMP should be incorporated as part of the contract with the contractor, together with appropriate monitoring and enforcement provisions.


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and actions to be implemented will be clearly specified and the costs of so doing will be integrated into the project's overall planning, design, budget, and implementation.

Annex F. Environmental and Social Management Framework Annexed to Project Document for CPAR‐1.

09‐Annex G_PIMS 5690 CPAR3_Stakeholder engagement_5Apr2018.docx Page 1

Annex G: Stakeholder Engagement Plan

Introduction

This annex provides strategic guidance on the mechanisms for stakeholder engagement during project implementation, which may be further elaborated at project inception. During the PPG process, a stakeholder analysis was undertaken to identify key stakeholders, assess their interests in the project and define their roles and responsibilities in its implementation. Overall, support for the project and involvement in it was secured from a diverse group of stakeholders, whose roles are summarised in Table 12 (main project document).

The roles of key stakeholders in project management and implementation are also provided in the Governance and Management Arrangements section of the Project Document (i.e. Project Steering Committee members, Project Management Office), and are not repeated here. In addition, the Multi Year Workplan in Annex A also lists the Responsible Party for all proposed activities (Qinghai Forestry Department).

Approach

The approach to stakeholder involvement and participation encourages adherence to several guiding principles, including: a. Adding value to project activities;

b. Ensuring accessibility of information, including by both government and non‐government, to inform decision‐making processes;

c. Encouraging adherence to values of transparency, trust, equity, and fairness;

d. Promoting responsiveness to identified needs and the highest ethical standards and respects for differing priorities and values;

e. Ensuring local ownership and the creation of outputs that are relevant and of benefit to communities and organizations;

f. Supporting collaborative approaches to project interventions;

g. Including different types of stakeholder groups in participation processes and benefit distribution, including but not limited to engagement, capacity building, employment, skills transfer, sharing of knowledge and the increase of cultural awareness;

h. Developing mechanisms to manage conflicts in the public interest;

i. Being flexible to adapt to changing circumstances;

j. Fostering well‐coordinated and planned implementation;

k. Generating, and responding to, feedback; and

l. Creating proactive partnerships that will enhance sustainability of project results after GEF funding ceases.

Effective stakeholder engagement is expected to support the project in generating the following benefits: a. Relate better to the local context;

b. Provide technical excellence;

c. Follow international good practice;

d. Harmonize with other development partners and projects; and

e. Reflect a broad range of information and perspectives

Summary of Previous Stakeholder Engagement Activities

Stakeholder consultations completed during the PPG phase are summarized in the table below.


Date Activity Location Remark

3 May 2017 C‐PAR program inception workshop

Beijing

The objectives of the C‐PAR program and each child project, including C‐PAR3 were described. The project preparation phase activities and timeframes were discussed.

7 May 2017 C‐PAR3 project inception workshop

Xining The objective of the C‐PAR3 project were discussed with provincial stakeholders, PPG tasks were outlined, and feedback obtained during workshop discussions.

9‐11 May 2017 C‐PAR3 field mission to target PA’s and local communities

Qinghai Lake, Qilian Mountains

Field visits were made to Qinghai Lake NNR, including the Bird Island Przewalski’s gazelle rescue centre and local communities in Haiyan County, Ganzihe Township. Field visits were also made to the Qilian Mountains NR, including to the Shiyanghe and Xianmi Blocks. Interviews were made with PA staff and local communities.

4 Jun 2017 Qinghai Lake NNR consultations

Xining Consultations were made with the NNR management board on land use status, biodiversity distribution, etc.

4 June 2017 Qilian Mountains NR consultations

Xining Consultations were made with the NR management board to discuss the current version of the master plan for the NR and biodiversity monitoring reports.

06 Jul 2017 Stakeholder consultations

Xining

The PPG team leader, local consultant, legal specialist and socioeconomic/gender specialist met with officials from QFD, Qinghai Lake NNR and Qilian Mountains NR to discuss project strategy and specific activities.

31 July 2017

Assessment of institutional capacities of the QFD Wildlife Management Bureau

Xining

National PPG consultants visited Xining and facilitated an assessment of the institutional capacities of the QFD Wildlife Management Bureau, using the UNDP Capacity Development Scorecard.

22 Sep 2017 Assessment of Management Effectiveness

Xining

The Local PPG consultant facilitated a participatory assessment of the management effectiveness of the Qilian Mountains NR and Qinghai Lake NNR, using the GEF‐6 management effectiveness tracking tool included in the tracking tool for biodiversity focal area projects.

29 Sep 2017 Qinghai Lake NNR consultations

Xining Consultations were made with the NR management board on the status of neighbouring communities around the lake.

14 Nov 2017 C‐PAR3 Review workshop

Xining A workshop was organised to review and discuss the draft project document. Provincial stakeholders provided feedback on draft project activities.

17 Nov 2017 C‐PAR program review workshop

Beijing

A workshop was held in Beijing with stakeholders from each of the C‐PAR child projects, including C‐PAR3, to discuss C‐PAR program PPG progress and timeframes for completion of the project documents.

Stakeholder Engagement for Implementation of the Project Components

Component 1 of the project will involve extensive stakeholder engagement among the key agencies responsible for implementing the legal and institutional frameworks for PA management and biodiversity conservation. This includes PA and biodiversity mainstreaming into provincial and sectoral planning, improving and developing PA regulations and enforcement, sustainable financing for the PA system, and planning for globally threatened species conservation. These aspects will be led by the Qinghai Forestry Department (QFD) as the project


Implementing Partner, working in close cooperation with key provincial and county government agencies both directly and through the project’s management structures.

Key among these agencies is the Qinghai Provincial Finance Bureau, which is well positioned to facilitate the coordination of the project among different sectoral agencies at provincial level, and will be reviewing and approving project budgets and cofinancing inputs, as well as supporting activities seeking to strengthen the sustainable financing of the PA system, increasing incentives and benefits to rural communities in and around PAs and ecological corridors, and application innovative conservation financing pilot schemes. The Qinghai Development and Reform Commission is also a coordinating agency, with a key role to play in advising and facilitating strategic PA system reforms through changes in the policy, legislative, regulatory, planning and institutional frameworks. It will also facilitate the integration of this project with other initiatives including international projects and mobilise the upscaling and replication of lessons arising from the project. A range of other provincial agencies (including Departments of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry, Environmental Protection, and Land and Resources) will be engaged in working groups for specific activities, and otherwise consulted and informed through the C‐PAR3 Advisory Group, with representation by provincial departments, PA management administrations, NGOs and academic/research institutions.

The C‐PAR Advisory Group and other ad hoc working groups on specific thematic subjects, such as species conservation planning, landscape gap analysis, development of the landscape strategy and action plan, and improvements to the legal and institutional frameworks will guide implementation processes for Output 1.1 on consolidating the PA sub‐system recognising connectivity and key biodiversity areas and mainstreaming into provincial planning processes. Strengthening the financial sustainability of the PA sub‐system under Output 1.2 will be supported by the Provincial Finance Bureau, QFD officials, and management of the PA’s in the target landscape, specifically the Qilian Mountains NR Management Bureau and the Qinghai Lake NNR Management Bureau. Delivery of capacity development activities under Output 1.3 will involve a wide range of expertise, including for provision of training services and specific thematic topics (e.g., academic/research institutions, NGOs). The Three‐River Source National Park (NP) Pilot Management Agency will also be engaged in the capacity building aspects of the project, in conjunction with the C‐PAR1 (national) project, which includes this NP as one of three pilot sites.

Component 2 of the project focuses on the demonstration Qilian Mountains – Qinghai Lake landscape. As for Component 1, the Qinghai Forestry Department as the project Implementing Partner will lead implementation, working in close cooperation with local governments, county and prefecture forestry bureaus, PA staff, NGOs and community representatives to carry out the planned activities. The two PA Coordinators, members of the Project Management Office, will liaise with designated PA Focal Points from the local partners at each of the two demonstration PAs. Regarding operationalisation and expansion of the PA sub‐system, the aims of Output 2.1, QFD officials will be leading the stakeholder engagement process, with inputs from the PA management of the two PA’s in the landscape and key sectoral stakeholders. Gansu province stakeholders will be engaged as part of the transboundary capacity building activities designed as part of the collaborative PA governance aspects of Output 2.1.

Village committees and herder groups will be the main stakeholder engagement platforms for implementation of the activities in Outputs 2.2, 2.3 and 2.4. Specific stakeholder involvement will be further outlined in the pasture management plans developed under Output 2.2. For the site level and community trainings planned in Output 2.2, qualified stakeholders, including academic/research institutes and NGOs will be engaged, as well as the trainers trained under Output 1.3. Trainings will be implemented in support of implementation of the pasture management plans in Outputs 2.3 and 2.4, and knowledge transfer will be facilitated at domestic sites, including among other C‐PAR child projects.

The Qinghai Provincial Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Department will be a key stakeholder in supporting the design and implementation of the pasture management plans in Outputs 2.3 and 2.4, which, for example, include participatory grassland restoration and livestock management activities. Increasing public participation, e.g., through environmental education initiatives and encouraging involvement by volunteers, will require involvement by qualified enabling stakeholders, including NGOs, schools, academic/research institutions and local governments.

Building capacity on sustainable livelihoods and collaborative PA management will be supported by stakeholders qualified to deliver skills training, for managing and advocating the planned micro‐financing program under Output 2.4. The enterprise sector will be involved in the implementation of the tourism partnership and concession pilots and linked up with local communities for scaling up sustainable livelihood alternatives.


Component 3 focuses on project management, knowledge management and social and gender inclusion. The Project Management Office will lead project management activities under Output 3.1, with guidance delivered by the Project Steering Committee. The QFD, as Implementing Partner and the UNDP, as GEF Agency will further support project management. Under this output the project will organise annual stakeholder workshops, to solicit feedback regarding project progress and plans for each of the 5 years of implementation.

Output 3.2 concerns knowledge management and will coordinate closely in knowledge sharing with other C‐PAR child projects, as well as other international projects and programs. Under this output the project will organise regular awareness and advocacy campaigns, advocate the global environmental benefits achieved through participation in national, regional and international workshops, and organisation of one workshop of the Qinghai‐Tibetan Biodiversity Network, an important stakeholder engagement platform for this region.

Under Output 3.3, the project will seek to mainstream ethnic minorities and gender through implementation of the environmental and social management plan (ESMP), to be developed at project inception, and the gender mainstreaming plan. A gender focal point will be designated among PMO staff and for each of the demonstration PA’s. Involvement by local women’s groups, traditional leaders and other enabling stakeholders will ensure social and gender inclusion is achieved during project implementation and local capacities are strengthened for sustaining participatory involvement after GEF funding ceases.

Culturally Appropriate Stakeholder Engagement

The project will ensure that stakeholder engagement is undertaken in a culturally appropriate manner, delivering environmental and development benefits.

Given low literacy levels in some of the target villages, project details will be communicated orally and visually as well as in written form in local languages, to ensure local stakeholders can understand the specific activities being implemented and the potential impacts and benefits.

Long‐term Stakeholder Participation

The project will provide the following opportunities for long‐term participation of all stakeholders, with a special emphasis on the active participation of women, and enhancement of inter‐sectoral coordination for implementation of the activities for biodiversity conservation.

Decision‐making – through the establishment of the Project Steering Committee. The establishment of the structure will follow a participatory and transparent process involving the confirmation of all key project stakeholders; conducting one‐to‐one consultations with all stakeholders; development of Terms of Reference and ground‐rules; inception meeting to agree on the constitution of the PB.

Capacity building – at systemic, institutional and individual levels – is one of the key strategic interventions of the project and will target all stakeholders that have the potential to be involved in implementation of the project, including demonstration activities at the local level. Women and any people of ethnic minority provenance present within the project sites will be proactively considered for capacity building activities.

Communication ‐ will include the participatory development of an integrated communication strategy. The communication strategy will be based on the following key principles: providing information to all stakeholders; promoting dialogue between stakeholders; and promoting access to information.

The project’s design incorporates several features to ensure on‐going and effective stakeholder participation in the project’s implementation. The mechanisms to facilitate involvement and active participation of different stakeholders in project implementation will comprise several different components:

i) Project inception workshop

The project will be launched by a multi‐stakeholder inception workshop (building on the PPG review workshops already held). This workshop will provide an opportunity to provide all stakeholders with the most updated information on the project, refine and confirm the work plan, and will establish a basis for further consultation as the project’s implementation commences.

ii) Constitution of the Project Committee

The Project Steering Committee’s membership will ensure representation of key interests throughout the project’s implementation. The members and terms of reference of the steering committees are described in the Governance and Management Arrangements section of the Project Document. The establishment of this structure will follow a participatory and transparent process involving the confirmation of all key project


stakeholders and nominated focal points. The inception workshop will agree on the constitution of the committees, and finalisation of its Terms of Reference and ground‐rules.

iii) Establishment of the Project Management Office

The Project Management Office will take direct operational responsibility for facilitating stakeholder involvement and ensuring local ownership of the project and its results. The PMO will be located in the QFD offices in Xining to ensure coordination among key stakeholder organizations at provincial level during the project period.

iv) Establishment of local working groups

At the activity level, working groups will be established as required, to facilitate the active participation of affected institutions, organisations and individuals in the implementation of the respective project activities. Different stakeholders may take the lead in each of these groups, depending on their respective mandates. There will be representation of women according to the targets of the project’s gender plan in working groups and activities such as capacity building and awareness programs.

v) Project communications

The project will develop, implement and annually update a communications strategy and plan to ensure that all stakeholders are informed on an on‐going basis about the project’s objectives and activities, overall project progress, and the opportunities for stakeholders’ involvement in various aspects of the project’s implementation.

vi) Implementation arrangements

Demonstration activities in Component 2 have specifically been designed to directly involve local stakeholders during implementation, and to ensure that they benefit from the co‐management of PAs, capacity building, sustainable livelihoods, awareness raising and final outcomes of these activities. Women and ethnic minority groups (where relevant) will be proactively considered for participation in these demonstration activities.

Annex I

Gender Analysis and Action Plan

C‐PAR3 (Qinghai)

Prepared by:

Xuemei Zhang

Project Preparation Grant (PPG)

Program:

China's Protected Area System Reform (C‐PAR)

GEF Program ID: 9403 UNDP Program ID: 5695

Project:

Strengthening the PA system in the Qilian Mountains‐Qinghai Lake landscape project

(C‐PAR3)

GEF Project ID: 9464 UNDP PIMS ID: 5690

UNDP Gender Marker: GEN2

Date: Version No.: Comments: Checked by:

31 Aug 2017 01 First draft J. Lenoci

31 Oct 2017 02

Restructured the document according to UNDP guidance,

strengthened the situational analysis, provided project specific

details to the gender action plan.

J. Lenoci

12 Mar 2018 03 Included additional gender activities J. Lenoci

24 Mar 2018 04 Reflected the revised outputs in the project design J. Lenoci

10‐Annex I_PIMS 5690 CPAR3_Gender Analysis and Action Plan_5Apr2018_A.docx

Page i

Executive Summary

Women and men have difference roles, responsibilities, needs and priorities in the project area.

High gender disparities still exist in areas of education attainment, training opportunities,

employment opportunities, participation, decision making, and wage equality in rural, and in areas

of participation and decision making in urban of the project area. The C‐PAR3 project has potential

to generate outputs that greatly advance gender equality. The project has UNDP GEN2 gender

maker

Recommended key gender mainstreaming strategy considering the differences between labor,

knowledge, needs, and priorities of men and women includes the following:

Equal consultation with women and men on their needs and requirements associated with all

interventions;

Promotion of equal representation and participation of women and men in the project

activities;

Development of all strategic and planning documents with equal consultation of women and

men at all levels, from provincial to the communities;

Providing gender trainings to all members of the project management office, and the relevant

people in the Qinghai Lake NNR and the Qilian Mountains PNR/NP;

Equal payment for men and women, when applicable; and

At least 50% of the project direct beneficiaries are women, which will be included in the project

result framework



APR Annual Project Report

AWP Annual Work Plan

CNY Chinese yuan


CTA Chief Technical Advisor

EA Executing Agency

ECBP EU‐China Biodiversity Programme

GDP Gross Domestic Product


GEI Global Environmental Institute

IA Implementing Agency

KAP Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices

M&E Monitoring and evaluation

MTR Midterm Review

NBSAP National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan

NGO Non‐Governmental Organization

NNR National Nature Reserve

NR Nature Reserve

PA Protected Area

PIF Project Identification Form

PIMS Project Information Management System

PIR Project Implementation Review

PIU Project Implementation Unit

PM Project Manager

PNR Provincial Nature Reserve

PPG Project Preparation Grant (for GEF)

PSC Project Steering Committee

RTA Regional Technical Advisor

SRF Strategic Results Framework

TBD To Be Determined

TE Terminal Evaluation

TNC The Nature Conservancy

TOR Terms of Reference


USD United States Dollar

WWF World Wide Fund for Nature


TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS ................................................................................................................ II 1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................... 1

1.1 PROJECT OVERVIEW ................................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 OBJECTIVE OF THE GENDER ANALYSIS AND ACTION PLAN ................................................................................... 1 1.3 METHODOLOGY ......................................................................................................................................... 1

2 GENDER SITUATION ............................................................................................................................. 1 2.1 GENDER SITUATION IN THE PRC.................................................................................................................... 1 2.2 GENDER SITUATION IN QINGHAI PROVINCE ..................................................................................................... 5 2.3 GENDER SITUATION IN THE PROJECT AREA ...................................................................................................... 7

3 GENDER ANALYSIS ............................................................................................................................... 7 3.1 GENDER GAPS ........................................................................................................................................... 7 3.2 THEORY OF CHANGE ................................................................................................................................... 8 3.3 GENDER MAKER ........................................................................................................................................ 8 3.4 CONSISTENCY WITH UNDP AND GEF POLICIES AND STRATEGIES ......................................................................... 9 3.5 ANALYSIS OF STAKEHOLDER CAPACITIES .......................................................................................................... 9 3.6 ANALYSIS OF PARTNERSHIPS ....................................................................................................................... 10

4 GENDER MAINSTREAMING ACTION PLAN........................................................................................... 10 4.1 GENDER MAINSTREAMING STRATEGY .......................................................................................................... 10 4.2 GENDER MAINSTREAMING ACTION PLAN ..................................................................................................... 10

LIST OF TABLES:

Table 1: Gender Disparities in the PRC in 2016 ...................................................................................................... 2 Table 2: Human Assets by Gender in Qinghai Province in 2010 (%) ....................................................................... 6 Table 3: Social assets by gender in Qinghai Province in 2010 (%) .......................................................................... 6 Table 4: Physical Assets possessed by Gender in Qinghai Province in 2010 .......................................................... 6 Table 5: Women's Development in Qinghai Province in 2014 (%) ......................................................................... 7 Table 6: UNDEP Gender Marker ............................................................................................................................. 8

Table 7：Gender Mainstreaming Action Plan ...................................................................................................... 14

LIST OF FIGURES:

Figure 2‐1: Chinese Women’s Income as Percentage of Chinese Men’s Income ................................................... 3

Figure 2‐2: Educational attainment by gender & area in 2010 .............................................................................. 4


Page 1

1 Introduction

1.1 Project Overview

The “Strengthening the PA system in the Qilian Mountains‐Qinghai Lake landscape” project

(C‐PAR3) is the third of the six child projects under GEF program of “China's Protected Area

System Reform (C‐PAR)”. The objective of the project is “to strengthen the effectiveness of

the protected area system in the Qilian Mountains‐Qinghai Lake landscape to conserve

globally significant biodiversity, including snow leopard and Przewalski’s gazelle”.

In line with the gender equality and social inclusion strategies, guidance, and standards of

both UNDP and GEF, the participation of women and men with equal voice is integral to the

successful implementation of this project.

This Gender Mainstreaming Action Plan (GMAP) analyzes gender situation in the project area,

and presents the major strategies and planned actions to promote women’s and men’s equal

benefit from and representation in the project, considering different roles, needs, and

responsibilities of the both.

1.2 Objective of the Gender Analysis and Action Plan

The objective of this gender analysis and action plan is to provide the project

implementation team a framework for ensuring women and men involved on the C‐PAR3

project receiving culturally equitable social and economic benefits.

1.3 Methodology

This gender mainstreaming action plan was developed in accordance with relevant sections

of the UNDP Guidance Note on Gender Analysis1, UNDP Gender Equality Strategy 2014‐2017,

UNDP Social and Environmental Standards 2 , GEF 2020 Strategy, GEF Policy on Gender

Mainstreaming (2012), the GEF’s Gender Equality Action Plan 3 , GEF Policy on Public

Involvement in GEF Projects (2012) and Guidelines for the Implementation of the Public

Involvement Policy (2014).

The document was developed based upon consultations with a number of local stakeholders

and review of available data. Information specific to gender in the project communities are

based upon community consultations completed during the project preparation phase.

2 Gender Situation

2.1 Gender Situation in the PRC

The People’s Republic of China (the PRC) recognizes the importance of gender equality and

1 UNDP, How to Conduct a Gender Analysis, A Guidance Note for UNDP Staff, 2016 2 UNDP Social and Environmental Standards (SES), June 2014. 3GEF Gender Equality Action Plan, May 2015


Page 2

devotes great efforts on promoting gender quality, as evident in its 5‐year development

plans, 2015 White Paper on Gender Equality, specific legislations, and government

machinery to implement specific policies and regulations. Significant advancements in

gender equality have been made since establishment of the PRC in 1949. However, despite

this progress, gender inequality in the PRC continues to persist in many forms, including the

disparity in women’s political representation and participation, occupational segregation,

the gender pay gap, different adult educational attainment, and the unequal distribution of

housework.

It is known from the World Economic Forum (WEF)‐ Global Gender Gap Report‐2016 that

the ratio of female to male labour force participation was 0.84; the ratio of adult female to

male secondary and tertiary education attainment was about 0.7; the ratio of women to

men access to asset use, control and ownership was 0.5; ministerial positions was 0.13;

unpaid work was 2.36; wage equality for similar work was 0.65; and earned income was

0.62 (Table 1).

Table 1: Gender Disparities in the PRC in 2016

Female Male f/m ratio

Economic participation and opportunity 0.66

Labour force participation 70 84 0.84

Wage equality for similar work (survey) ‐ ‐ 0.65

Estimated earned income (US$, PPP) 10,049 16,177 0.62

Legislators, senior officials and managers 17 83 0.20

Ability of women to raise to positions of leadership 0.66

Work, minutes per day 525 481 1.09

Proportion of unpaid work per day 45 19 2.36

Professional and technical workers 52 48 1.07

Education attainment 0.97

Literacy rate 94 98 0.96

Secondary education attainment in adults 19 25 0.76

Tertiary education attainment in adults 3 4 0.72

Political empowerment 0.16

Women in parliament 24 76 0.31

Women in ministerial positions 12 88 0.13

Years with female head of state (last 50) 4 6 0.08

Access to assets

Women’s access to land use, control and ownership 0.50

Women’s access to non‐land assets use, control and ownership 0.50

Note: WEF‐Global Gender Gaps Report‐2016

Gender gaps in labour force participation, employment, occupation, education, unpaid work,

and income, were also documented in the National Population Census and many research

papers.


Page 3

Labor force participation: data from the fifth and sixth National Population Census show

that although the labor force participation rates of both men and women are declining,

women’s labor force participation rate was declining with a faster pace. Labor force

participation has been falling for both women and men, but the gender gap in the labor

force participation rate has been increasing since 2000.4 Since the market‐oriented

economic reform, Chinese women’s labor force participation rate has declined. Especially

after the privatization of state‐owned enterprises in the 1990s, the women’s labor force

participation rate dropped by a large margin, and the labor force participation rate of

mothers with pre‐school age children dropped even further. 5 Women have far fewer job

opportunities than men in the labor market6.

Occupational segregation: compared with men, women are often engaged in occupations

and sectors that pay less.7 Engineers, technicians and senior managers were predominated

men, as expected by the traditional social division of labor and social norms, whereas

secretaries and nurses were mostly women. Gender segregation was not only for urban

people, more for rural labour. China’s economical shift away from the primary sector to the

secondary and tertiary sectors affected both men and women’s employment. More men

moved to industry whereas more women are engaged in agriculture sector, the lowest

productivity sector. The shift was also accompanied by industrial gender segregation, with

women concentrated in the lowest‐paid industrial sectors. 8 Male migrant workers were

mostly in the construction sector, whereas female migrant workers were primarily

concentrated on hair salons, housekeeping, and service

businesses which compose sectoral segregation.

Gender occupational segregation exists even within

informal employment. Female workers in the informal

sector were mostly commercial and service staff,

whereas male workers in the informal sector were

mostly technicians and managers.9

Low education attainment and gender norms were the

primary reasons for the occupational segregation10.

Women with lower education attainment were

engaged in low level occupation, who were faced with

4 Bohong Liu, etc. Gender Equality in China’s Economic Transformation, a report, UN Women, 2014. 5 ILO and ADB, Gender Equality and the Labor Market, women, work, and migration in the PRC, 2017. 6 Bohong Liu, etc. Gender Equality in China’s Economic Transformation, a report, UN Women, 2014. 7 Bohong Liu, etc. Gender Equality in China’s Economic Transformation, a report, UN Women, 2014. 8 ILO and ADB, Gender Equality and the Labor Market, women, work, and migration in the PRC, 2017. 9 Bohong Liu, etc. Gender Equality in China’s Economic Transformation, a report, UN Women, 2014. 10 ibid


Page 4

more discrimination in income.11

Migrant workers: Due to the hukou system, rural‐urban migration tends to be temporary or

circular, since people with a rural hukou are constrained in accessing health care and

education services for their children in urban areas. Thus, gender norms interact with the

hukou system to determine gendered patterns of migration. Motivations for migrating and

returning were gendered, with women more likely than men to migrate to return to fulfill

unpaid care responsibilities. The impact of out‐migration is significant in rural areas, and it is

gendered, with greater increases in work time for elderly women and girls than for elderly

men and boys.

Pay gap: Income of women as percentage of that of men dropped from 84% in 1984, to 79 in

2002, and 74% in 200712. The gender disparity in income in the labour market has been

expanding from 1990 to 2010. The average income of urban women as a percentage of that

of men dropped from 77.5 percent in 1990 to 67.3 percent in 2010. 13 The average income

of rural working women was 79 percent of that of men in 1990, plummeted to 56 percent in

2010. (Figure 2‐1) 14

Gender gap in employment and gender occupational segregation, horizontal and vertical,

highly contribute to the gender gap in income. Migrant women workers subject to higher

levels of gender wage discrimination and lowest levels of self‐reported well‐being.

Education: Error! Reference source not found. presents the education attainments of

women and men by rural and urban in 2010. It shows that women’s education attainments

were lower than that of men in both urban

and rural area15.

Unpaid work: Data from the National

Bureau of Statistics time‐use survey shows

that rural women spend over three times

as much time as rural men on unpaid work

every week16. This ratio in urban area was

2 times. Women—especially rural

women—performed most of the unpaid

work.

11 Kaiming Guo and Se Yan: Gender Gap in Labor Market and the Related Regulations, Economics research Journal, 2015.7 12 LI Jia‐xing , Journal of Chinese Women's Studies, Economic Transition and Increase in Gender Wage Gaps in Labour Markets since the 1990s, March, 2017 13 Bohong Liu, etc. Gender Equality in China’s Economic Transformation, a report, UN Women, 2014 14 Dong Xiaoyuan and An Xinli, Gender Patterns and Value of Unpaid Work: Findings from China‘s First Large‐Scale Time Use Survey. 2012 15 Data source: Collection of Women’s Studies, 2011 (11). 16 http://www.stats.gov.cn/ztjc/ztsj/2008sjly/201407/P020140701560414423645.pdf

Figure 2‐2: Educational attainment by gender & area in 2010


Page 5

After the market‐oriented economic reform since 1980s, public services such as

kindergarten etc. were taken over by the market and families. Public services provided by

the market could no longer meet the needs of families and many families could no longer

afford family care services, and the responsibilities of family care fall back on women’s

shoulders.

Unequal distribution of caring responsibilities is highly linked to discriminatory social

institutions and stereotypes on gender roles. Women are burdened both with unpaid work

and paid work, which means they have much longer working hours and much less spare time

each day than men. Heavy unpaid work burden often leads to gender discrimination. 17

Besides gender gap in economic field, gender discrimination also affects women’s

participation and position in civil organizations.18

Gender norms: the above mentioned gender gaps are conditioned by, or mediated through,

a set of societal factors. These include gender norms, meaning gendered values, beliefs, and

attitudes affecting role, behaviours, work and resources. These gender norms ascribe

difference roles to women and men in the household, workplace, and society. Gender norms

operate beyond the household, often in invisible ways, and structure public institutions and

systems, including laws, policies and services. However, gender norms are not static, as

attitudes and values change over time.

The National Program on the Development of Chinese Women (2011‐2020) has been issued

in 2011, which covers the seven fields of health, education, economy, political participation,

social security, environment, and law. The project can make contribution towards the

objectives of improvement women’s training, employment, equal pay, and political

participation, through provision of appropriate technical and skill training, equitable

employment opportunities, equal pay for work of equal value, proportional political

participation, etc.

2.2 Gender Situation in Qinghai Province

Gender gaps exist in many areas in Qinghai Province, such as human assets, social assets and

physical assets. The data from the Third Survey on Chinese Women’s Social Status19 shows

that gender discrepancies were still substantive. Over half of survey rural women were

17 LI Jia‐xing , Journal of Chinese Women's Studies, Economic Transition and Increase in Gender Wage Gaps in Labour Markets since the 1990s, March, 2017 18 XU Lan1an, The Study of Sex Segmentation of Associational Participation and Its Contributing，Journal of

Chinese Women’S Studies， May 2017 19The survey was jointly launched and organized by the All‐China Women’s Federation (ACWF) and National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), which was a nationwide decennial survey. The survey targeted at people aged 18‐64, with 50% of women and 50% of men.


Page 6

illiterate, which was 17 percentage points higher than that of rural men, 40 percentage points

higher than that of urban women, and 50 points higher than that urban men (Table 2).

Table 2: Human Assets by Gender in Qinghai Province in 2010 (%)

Total Urban Rural

Women Men Women Men Women Men Illiterate 30.9 18.7 11.2 1.9 51.6 34.4

Primary school 17.8 22 9.7 11.1 26.2 32.1

Educational level

Middle school 20.6 23.6 23.7 20.2 16 26.9

High school 13.7 15.8 22.9 27.7 5.1 4.5

College and above 17.0 19.9 32.5 39.1 1.1 2.1

Self‐rated Good 63.4 73.4 65.8 74.7 60.9 72.3

health Poor 12.4 8.1 8.1 3.3 15.8 7.4

Source：Legal consideration on Equality of Men and Women, Pan Deng, 2015 (6)

Proportion of rural women who received credit was only 14.7%, lower than that of rural men

by 10 percentage points. Less than 2% of rural women were a leader or principle, compared

to 5.8% of rural men, 7.5% of urban women, and 19% of urban men (Table 3);

Table 3: Social assets by gender in Qinghai Province in 2010 (%)

Total Urban Rural

Women Men Women Men Women Men Retirement insurance 51.3 55.8 64.5 70.1 37.6 42.7

Social security Health insurance 91.7 93.2 86.8 88.5 96.8 97.5

Unemployment insurance 20.9 25.1 25.9 30.6 2.2 6.7

Obtained credit 11.9 17.2 5.1 8.4 14.7 25.3

Being a leader or principle 4.7 12.1 7.5 19 1.7 5.8

Agreement to "men in charge of outside affairs while women domestic affairs”

51.1 61.7 39.5 52.7 60.2 70.0

Source：Legal consideration on Equality of Men and Women, Pan Deng, 2015 (6)

Less rural women than rural men possessed physical assets including house, homestead,

deposit and motor vehicle. Of the surveyed rural women, 19.8% did not earn income, which

was 16 percentage points higher than that of rural men. Rural women earned only 60% of

rural men’s wage (Table 4).

Table 4: Physical Assets possessed by Gender in Qinghai Province in 2010

Total Urban Rural

Women Men Women Men Women Men

Assets

Possessed

House % 17.2 41.2 19.3 49.5 14.9 33.5

Homestead % 13.0 32.3 4.5 11.5 22.0 51.6

Deposit % 30.9 40.4 44 50.1 17.1 31.2

Motor vehicle % 5.5 21.8 3.7 16.5 7.5 26.8

Earned yes % 73.0 89.7 66.3 86.4 80.2 92.7

no % 23.9 6.5 26.6 7.1 19.8 6.1


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Total Urban Rural

Women Men Women Men Women Men

income20

Yearly amount CNY 11862.7 18626.2 17139.8 27328.3 6315.6 10556.4

Source: Pan Deng, Legal consideration on Equality of Men and Women, 2015 (6).

Even by 2014, there were only two third of women engaged in stable wage work, and less

than two third of women knew their own rights to education, politics, and protection. (Table

5)

Table 5: Women's Development in Qinghai Province in 2014 (%)

%

women engaged in stable wage work 66.6

making decision collectively for home affairs 74.6

women attended training program organized by governments or Women Federation 0ver 50

women hoped to enhance their capacity 63.4

women emphasized voting 65

women knowing laws on women protection 91.3

women knowing their own rights to education, politics, and protection 65.6

women knowing preferential agricultural policies 90

women held benefited from the preferential agricultural policies 49.4

women hoped training opportunities 76

Source: Li Zhang, Women’s Development Situation in Qinghai Province, China Women’s Movement,

2015 (5).

2.3 Gender Situation in the Project Area

In the project area, men are usually in charge of external affairs, while women of domestic

affairs. Women have a low level of involvement in public affairs, and often absent from

participating in public affairs. Tibetan women have a more limited capability to communicate

in Mandarin than men.

3 Gender Analysis

3.1 Gender Gaps

It is known from above studies and reports on the gender situation in the PRC, in Qinghai

Province, in the prefectures and counties where the project will be located, and in the

project area that large gender disparities persist in areas of education attainment, training

opportunities, employment opportunities, participation, decision making, and wage

equality. It is also known that gender differences also still exist in areas of participation, and

decision making in urban areas.

20 Only labor force


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Due to traditional gender norms that men are responsible for outside affairs while women

for domestic work and other social‐cultural barriers, women continue to face disparities in

access to training, employment participation opportunities, and decision making

opportunities, while taking up almost all housework.

3.2 Theory of Change

Involving more women in the project consultation will facilitate equal opportunities for

women to express themselves, to speak out about their needs, priorities, ideas, and

opinions, which will lay a foundation for the project to develop and take culturally‐

appropriate measures to equally meet women’s and men’s needs, and for women to get

benefits from the project equally.

Including more women in the project trainings, itself, is a progress toward gender equality in

access to resources, as well as increases women’s capacity, technical and/or skills.

Recruiting more women workers for the project not only promote gender equality in terms

of employment, but also increase women’s income, which is empowering women

economically.

Including more women in the project related decision makings, such as in the Project

Steering Committee, in the Pilot Community Management Committees, in development of

the project PA management plans, not only promotes gender equality in terms of

representation, but can also be seen as a necessary condition for women’s interests to be

take into account. Including more women in decision making in the development of the PA

management plans will make the plans more appropriate because more women than men

are living and working surrounding the PAs, and women have more information and

knowledge on the situation of the PAs. Taking women’s perspective in the decision‐making

will facilitate achievement of the goals of gender equality.

3.3 Gender Maker

The C‐PAR3 project has potential to generate outputs that greatly advance gender equality.

According to the UNDP gender marker definition below, the project has GEN2 gender

marker.

Table 6: UNDP Gender Marker

UNDP Gender Marker Coding Definition

0 (GEN0) Outputs that are ‘not expected to contribute noticeably’ to gender equality

1 (GEN1) Outputs that will contribute ‘in some way’ to gender equality, but not significantly

2 (GEN2) Outputs that have gender equality as a ‘significant’ objective

3 (GEN3) Projects/outputs that have gender equality as a ‘principal’ objective


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3.4 Consistency with UNDP and GEF Policies and Strategies

UNDP prioritizes gender mainstreaming as the main strategy to achieve gender equality.

Faster progress is achieved in reducing gender inequality and promoting women’s

empowerment is one of the sever outcomes proposed in the UNDP Strategic Plan 2014‐

2017. Development of this gender mainstreaming action plan is in line with the UNDP

Strategic Plan. Development of the GMAP follows the core operation principle of

strengthen its focus on gender mainstreaming and women’s empowerment of the GEF 2020 Strategy, and is in accordance with the GEF policy on Gender Mainstreaming that

requires all GEF Partner Agencies to have established either (a) polity, (b) strategies, or

(c) action plans that promote gender equality.

The action plan will facilitate gender equality in terms of resources accessibility,

participation, voice expression, decision making and getting benefits from the project.

Conducting gender analysis, integrating gender sensitive activities and measures,

including gender responsive indicators and targets in the results‐based framework, using

gender disaggregated indicators, and recruiting gender focal points and gender

specialists meet the minimum requirements of the GEF Policy on Gender

Mainstreaming, the GEF Gender Equality Action Plan, and output 4.5 of the UNDP

Gender Equality Strategy 2014‐2017.

By conducting gender analysis, potential roles, benefits, impacts and risks for women

and men can be appropriately assessed and identified if any. By integrating gender

sensitive activities and measures, possible adverse gender impacts will be mitigated or

minimized, and potential positive gender impacts will be maximized. By collecting

gender disaggregated indicators during the project implementation, and by including

gender responsive indicators and targets in the results‐based framework such as 50% of

female project direct beneficiaries, progress on gender equality can be monitored and

evaluated in time. By including gender focal points and gender specialists,

implementation of the project can be directed toward achievement of gender equality.

Equal participation of men and women throughout the project cycle complies with the

GEF Policy on Public Involvement in GEF projects. It is especially important to consult and

involve local disadvantaged populations including women whose incomes and livelihoods

will be potentially affected.

3.5 Analysis of Stakeholder Capacities

The project implementing agency, Qinghai Forest Department has implemented several

international projects, including UNDP‐GEF4 project. The agency has certain capacity and

experience in taking appropriate consideration of gender in implementation of the C‐PAR3

project. The Qinghai Lake NNR also has certain experience in implementation of international

projects, such as ECBP. Qilian Mountains PNR was a young NR, established in 2015. The

management staff members have limited experience in implementing international project,

and have limited capacity in mainstreaming gender into the project implementation.


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3.6 Analysis of Partnerships

The Global Environmental Institute (GEI) has conducted several community development

projects including eco‐tourism, community co‐management in Qinghai Province for over 10

years. Their working areas include the Three River Sources, Qinghai Lake and other areas of

Qinghai Province. The GEI keeps working together with Qinghai Forest Department. Manager

of the GEI, Dr. Kui Peng, and his team not only have experience and capacity in mainstreaming

gender into the project implementation, also are highly enthusiastic in participation in the C‐

PAR projects.

4 Gender Mainstreaming Action Plan

Based on the different roles of women and men in the project area, the following gender

mainstreaming strategy and action plan to avoid gender inequality in this project has been

developed and will be executed and monitored and evaluated during the project

implementation.

4.1 Gender Mainstreaming Strategy

The project gender mainstreaming strategy recognizes the differences between labor,

knowledge, needs, and priorities of men and women, and includes but is not limited to the

following:

Equal consultation with women and men on their needs and requirements associated

with all interventions;

Promotion of equal representation and participation of women and men in the project

activities;

Development of all strategic and planning documents with equal consultation of

women and men at all levels, from provincial to the communities;

Providing gender trainings to all members of the project management office, and the

relevant people in the Qinghai Lake NNR and the Qilian Mountains PNR/NP;

Equal payment for men and women, when applicable; and

At least 50% of the project direct beneficiaries are women, which will be included in the

project result framework

4.2 Gender Mainstreaming Action Plan

The actions planned can be classified into the following areas. Detailed actions, indicators,

responsible agencies, timeline, budget etc. are presented in the Table 7.

4.2.1 Mobilize Support by Gender Specialist(s)

The gender specialist(s) can help the project to promote gender equality through effectively

and efficiently implementing the strategies and actions, and providing advice wherever and


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whenever needed.

The project will be supported by a programme level safeguard specialist, and might

also contract gender specialists to help facilitate implementation of the GMAP and

assist in monitoring and evaluating the processes.

4.2.2 Designate Gender Focal Points

Terms of Reference (TOR) for the gender focal points will include, but not be limited to,

monitoring, recording and reporting gender‐related information at his/her management

area during project implementation. The information will provide a solid basis for the project

management staff to understand the progress of gender activities, and to conduct adaptive

managements.

Each PMO/pilot PA will designate a gender focal point among the project management

staff. The gender focal points will be responsible for gender related tasks. The gender

focal points can be part‐time; and

The gender specialist with support by the project managers will develop TORs for the

gender focal points.

4.2.3 Build Capacity of the Project Management Staff on Gender Equality

Project management staff and the gender focal points will work for the project every day.

Their gender awareness and capacity for considering gender is crucial for the project to

promote gender equality.

Qualified gender specialist(s) will

train the management staff and the gender focal points on gender equality, and on this

GMAP, especially in the beginning of the project implementation phase and the start

of specific activities; and

provide technical support to the management staff to integrate gender into the project

implementation plan, such as the two‐year working plans.

4.2.4 Ensure Women’s Genuine and Equal Representation

Women are often chosen to sit on decision making bodies but tend to be offered nominal

positions with little decision‐making power or influence, that is, women often hold positions

as tokens. This project will seek to address this tendency and ensure women’s genuine and

equal representation. Genuine, not nominal, representation of women is useful to promote

gender equality. Genuine representation is not only just to include a number of women in

the decision‐making bodies. More important is that women have equal access to important

positions that hold influence. The decision‐making bodies should provide a free environment

for women to express their voice. Equal participation means women’s proportional

representation relative to their ratio in the local population.


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The project will ensure

At least 50% of women participation in the community pilot activities

Women staff participation in the project training activities proportionally; and

All project activities will be conducted in a way suitable for women’s participation,

especially for Tibetan women’s participation. The consultation time should take full

consideration of women’s various roles and responsibilities. To organize separate

meeting for women wherever and whenever necessary.

4.2.5 Ensure Women’s Equal Access to Project Information

Most of the time, a few men who have access to information and documents may control

and manipulate discussions. This project need to address these concerns by ensuring both

men and women have equal access to the project information and the information is

presented in a manner that can be understood by both men and women in the communities.

The project will ensure that

All communication and awareness raising materials are distributed equally to both

men and women, considering labor division for women and men; and

All materials are presented in a manner accessible to illiterate Tibetan women and men

villagers.

Community meetings will be scheduled at an appropriate time to allow equal

participation by both men and women.

4.2.6 Organize and train women groups on branding and marketing on the internet

The project can provide trainings to women groups for them to develop, brand and market

their products on the internet, or on Wechat. Wechat is now very popular in China. Almost

all adults can access to and able to use Wechat. The specific products will be assessed using

participatory approaches. The products might be traditional handcrafts, local foods, local

featured agricultural products etc.

4.2.7 Collect Detailed Sex‐disaggregated Data

Whilst some of the baseline data collection did occur during the PPG phase of the project,

there remains a need for more data collection. Detailed gender specific data on the project

beneficiaries will need to be collected at each local project site, as well as possible

positive/negative impacts on men and women.

The gender specialist(s) with support by the project manager will develop the protocol

(questions, information gathering system, etc.) for collecting detailed gender

information including the project affected people, the project beneficiaries,

participants of each project activity, etc.

Following the information gathering, the gender specialist(s) will be responsible for

interpreting the information and ensure implementation of the GMAP.


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4.2.8 Budget and resources

The budget and its resources are presented in the Table 7, which will be further discussed

and adjusted.

4.2.9 Monitoring and Evaluation

The monitoring indicators and targets are presented in the Table 7, which will be discussed

and adjusted. Implementation progress of this gender mainstreaming action plan will be

monitored by the PMO and a separate semi‐yearly or yearly progress report will be

submitted to UNDP. The project mid‐term evaluation will cover this action plan, and the

project terminal evaluation report will include situation of this action plan.


Page 14

Table 7: Gender Mainstreaming Action Plan

Actions Indicators Targets Baselines Responsible agencies

Timeline Cost and budget

Outcome 1: Consolidated PA sub‐system recognizing connectivity and KBAs and mainstreamed into provincial planning Output 1.1: Consolidated landscape conservation strategy and action plan, threatened species plans and PA sub‐system regulations for the Qilian Mountains‐Qinghai Lake landscape adopted and mainstreamed into the provincial 14th five‐year plan (FYP) Output 1.2: Policies and guidelines developed for value‐based allocations of eco‐compensation funds, broader participation of the enterprise sector, and innovative financing mechanisms at the community level, strengthening the sustainability of PA financing Output 1.3: Institutional enabling environment strengthened through introduction of PA competency‐based professional development and joint capacity building for collaborative PA governance

Ensure equal participation of women in the project‐level training programme

# and % of female trainee

50% of female trainee proportional to the trainee groups

0 PMO, 2018‐2023 No extra cost

Ensure equal participation of women in the international training

# and % of female trainee

50% of female trainee 0 PMO 2018‐2023 No extra cost

Outcome 2: Strengthened and more participatory management of the expanded PA sub‐system in the Qilian Mountains‐Qinghai Lake landscape Output 2.1: Operationalization and expansion of the PA sub‐system according to the consolidated landscape conservation strategy and action plan; Output 2.2: Strengthened implementation capacities, coordination and partnerships across the Qilian Mountains‐Qilian Lake PA sub‐system; Output 2.3: Demonstrations of participatory habitat restoration and management arrangements within the expanded PA sub‐system; Output 2.4: Pilot interventions for sustainable livelihoods, enterprise sector involvement and conservation financing, providing community benefits and biodiversity threat reduction.

Equal women representation on village committees and herder groups

# and % of women representatives on committees/groups

50% 0 PMO, PA, gender focal points, pilot village project management committee

2018‐2023 No extra cost

Equally engage female villagers in the ecotourism pilot initiative

# and % of female villagers engaged in the initiative

50% of female villagers in the relevant villages

0 PMO, PA, gender focal points, pilot village project management committee


Equally engage female staff in developing and implementing the human‐wildlife conflict management plan

# and % of female staff engaged in developing the plan

% of female staff engaged no less the percentage of female staff in the agencies

0 Relevant PAs, Relevant provincial and local government agencies


Ensure women’s equal participation in the community collaborative management

# and % of women participants

50% of women participant 0 PMO, PA, gender focal points, pilot village project management



Page 15



committee

Equal participation of women in designing and implementing the grassland restoration



0 PMO, PA, gender focal points


Equal participation of women in sustainable livelihood alternatives and equal attainment of micro‐financing grants

# and % of women participants, # and % of micro‐grants


0 PMO, PA, gender focal points


Organize and train women groups to brand and market their products on the internet and/or on Wechat

# of women groups At least one group in Dayu Village in Qinghai Lake NNR

o PMO, the project manager, the GEI if they are recruited by the project and the gender specialist

2018‐2023 The project budget

Outcome 3: Enabling conditions strengthened through improved monitoring & evaluation and reporting, knowledge management, and social inclusion Output 3.1: Effective project management supported by proactive steering committee functions and inclusive monitoring & evaluation; Output 3.2: Project results effectively shared through implementation of a targeted knowledge management action plan; Output 3.3: Inclusive participation of local communities, including women and ethnic minorities ensured through effective implementation of environmental and social management framework

Ensure women’s equal participation in the project inception workshop, and annual project stakeholder workshops


50% of female participant no less than the percentage of women in the workforce

0 PMO, project manager, project‐level gender specialist, gender focal points


Equal consideration of women in the KAP survey # and % of women respondent

50% of women respondent 0 PMO, project‐level gender specialist, KAP survey organizers


Ensure women’s equal participation in the landscape level and program level knowledge management initiatives

# and % of women participant

50% of female participant no less than the percentage of women in the agencies

0 PMO, project manager, project‐level gender specialist


For all outcomes and outputs

Recruit a project‐level gender specialist # of gender specialist 1 gender specialist 0 The project PMO 2018 TBD

Designate one gender focal point by each PMO/PA # of gender focal point

1 in PMO, 1 in Qinghai Lake NNR, 1 in Qilian Mountains PNR/NP

0 PMOs 2018 No extra cost

Develop TORs for the gender focal points # of TOR 1 for each of the gender focal point

0 Gender specialist, PMOs

2018 No extra cost


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Project manager

Develop protocol (questions, information gathering system, etc.) for the gender focal points to collect and report detailed gender information including the project affected people, project beneficiaries, participants of each project activity, and so on

# of the protocol 1 for each of the gender focal point

0 Project manager, Gender specialist


Provide training to the management staff and the gender focal points on gender equality

# of training # of participant

Once a year All people in the PMO, all managers of the 2 PAs

0 Project manager, Gender specialist

2018‐2023 TBD

provide technical support to the management staff to integrate gender into the project two‐year work plans

Times of support provided

Once a year 0 Project manager, Gender specialist


provide technical advice on gender whenever needed Times of support provided

Once a month 0 Project manager, Gender specialist


Record all data disaggregated by gender Sex‐disaggregated data

At least, sex‐disaggregated project direct beneficiaries, sex‐disaggregated data on the project‐related trainings, workshops, community activities, KAP surveys

0 Project manager, gender focal points Gender specialist


Monitor and evaluate implementation of the GMAP Included in the APRs, MTE, TER

Included in the APRs, MTE, TER

0 Project manager, gender focal points Gender specialist


Include gender sensitive indicators in the Project Strategic Results Framework

# and % of the project direct women beneficiaries

50% of women beneficiaries 0 PPG experts PPG stage

4/4/2018 Design & Appraisal Stage Quality Assurance Report

https://intranet.undp.org/sites/CHN/project/00096253/_layouts/15/projectqa/print/DesignAppraisalPrintV3.aspx?fid=CHN_00096253_DESIGNV3_2017&year=2017

Design & Appraisal Stage Quality Assurance ReportOverall Project Rating:

Decision:

Project Title: FSP--Strengthening the PA system in the Qilian Mountains-Qinghai Lake landscape

Project Date: 01-Jun-2018

Strategic Quality Rating:

1. Does the project’s Theory of Change specify how it will contribute to higher level change? (Select the option from 1-3 thatbest reflects the project)

3: The project has a theory of change with explicit assumptions and clear change pathway describing how the project willcontribute to outcome level change as specified in the programme/CPD, backed by credible evidence of what works effectively in thiscontext. The project document clearly describes why the project’s strategy is the best approach at this point in time.

2: The project has a theory of change. It has an explicit change pathway that explains how the project intends to contribute tooutcome-level change and why the project strategy is the best approach at this point in time, but is backed by limited evidence.

1: The project does not have a theory of change, but the project document may describe in generic terms how the project willcontribute to development results, without specifying the key assumptions. It does not make an explicit link to the programme/CPD’stheory of change.

Evidence Management Response

The theory of change shows the logical process of the realization of goals of the project with explicit assumptions and clear change pathway.

2. Is the project aligned with the thematic focus of the UNDP Strategic Plan? (select the option from 1-3 that best reflects theproject)

3: The project responds to one of the three areas of development work as specified in the Strategic Plan; it addresses at leastone of the proposed new and emerging areas; an issues-based analysis has been incorporated into the project design; and theproject’s RRF includes all the relevant SP output indicators. (all must be true to select this option)

2: The project responds to one of the three areas of development work as specified in the Strategic Plan. The project’s RRFincludes at least one SP output indicator, if relevant. (both must be true to select this option)

1: While the project may respond to one of the three areas of development work as specified in the Strategic Plan, it is based ona sectoral approach without addressing the complexity of the development issue. None of the relevant SP indicators are included inthe RRF. This answer is also selected if the project does not respond to any of the three areas of development work in the StrategicPlan.

Evidence

Project objective is to strengthen the effectiveness of the protected area system in the Qilian Mountains-Qinghai Lake landscape withUNDP Strategic Plan (2018-2021) Output: 1.4.1. Solutions scaled up for sustainable management of natural resources, including sustainable commodities and green andinclusive value chains.

Relevant Quality Rating:

Project Number: 00100227

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3. Does the project have strategies to effectively identify, engage and ensure the meaningful participation of targetedgroups/geographic areas with a priority focus on the excluded and marginalized? (select the option from 1-3 that best reflectsthis project)

3: The target groups/geographic areas are appropriately specified, prioritising the excluded and/or marginalised. Beneficiaries willbe identified through a rigorous process based on evidence (if applicable.)The project has an explicit strategy to identify, engage andensure the meaningful participation of specified target groups/geographic areas throughout the project, including through monitoringand decision-making (such as representation on the project board) (all must be true to select this option)

2: The target groups/geographic areas are appropriately specified, prioritising the excluded and/or marginalised. The projectdocument states how beneficiaries will be identified, engaged and how meaningful participation will be ensured throughout the project.(both must be true to select this option)

1: The target groups/geographic areas are not specified, or do not prioritize excluded and/or marginalised populations. Theproject does not have a written strategy to identify or engage or ensure the meaningful participation of the target groups/geographicareas throughout the project.

Not Applicable


The project will work with existing multi-stakeholder partnershipmechanisms and establish new partnerships where necessary toensure project target groups are involved in the design,implementation, and monitoring & evaluation of the activities intheir communities.

4. Have knowledge, good practices, and past lessons learned of UNDP and others informed the project design? (select theoption from 1-3 that best reflects this project)

3: Knowledge and lessons learned (gained e.g. through peer assist sessions) backed by credible evidence from evaluation,corporate policies/strategies, and monitoring have been explicitly used, with appropriate referencing, to develop the project’s theory ofchange and justify the approach used by the project over alternatives.

2: The project design mentions knowledge and lessons learned backed by evidence/sources, which inform the project’s theory ofchange but have not been used/are not sufficient to justify the approach selected over alternatives.

1: There is only scant or no mention of knowledge and lessons learned informing the project design. Any references that aremade are not backed by evidence.


During PPG stage, experiences and lessons from UNDP and other donors were sorted out and brought into project design. Project document.

5. Does the project use gender analysis in the project design and does the project respond to this gender analysis withconcrete measures to address gender inequities and empower women? (select the option from 1-3 that best reflects thisproject)

3: A participatory gender analysis on the project has been conducted. This analysis reflects on the different needs, roles andaccess to/control over resources of women and men, and it is fully integrated into the project document. The project establishesconcrete priorities to address gender inequalities in its strategy. The results framework includes outputs and activities that specificallyrespond to this gender analysis, with indicators that measure and monitor results contributing to gender equality. (all must be true toselect this option)



2: A gender analysis on the project has been conducted. This analysis reflects on the different needs, roles and access to/controlover resources of women and men. Gender concerns are integrated in the development challenge and strategy sections of the projectdocument. The results framework includes outputs and activities that specifically respond to this gender analysis, with indicators thatmeasure and monitor results contributing to gender equality. (all must be true to select this option)

1: The project design may or may not mention information and/or data on the differential impact of the project’s developmentsituation on gender relations, women and men, but the constraints have not been clearly identified and interventions have not beenconsidered.


Gender Analysis and Action Plan in the project document.

6. Does UNDP have a clear advantage to engage in the role envisioned by the project vis-à-vis national partners, otherdevelopment partners, and other actors? (select the option from 1-3 that best reflects this project)

3: An analysis has been conducted on the role of other partners in the area where the project intends to work, and credibleevidence supports the proposed engagement of UNDP and partners through the project. It is clear how results achieved by relevantpartners will contribute to outcome level change complementing the project’s intended results. If relevant, options for south-south andtriangular cooperation have been considered, as appropriate. (all must be true to select this option)

2: Some analysis has been conducted on the role of other partners where the project intends to work, and relatively limitedevidence supports the proposed engagement of and division of labour between UNDP and partners through the project. Options forsouth-south and triangular cooperation may not have not been fully developed during project design, even if relevant opportunitieshave been identified.

1: No clear analysis has been conducted on the role of other partners in the area that the project intends to work, and relativelylimited evidence supports the proposed engagement of UNDP and partners through the project. There is risk that the project overlapsand/or does not coordinate with partners’ interventions in this area. Options for south-south and triangular cooperation have not beenconsidered, despite its potential relevance.


Stakeholder analysis and List of Stakeholders Consulted duringProject Preparation Phase in Project document.

Social & Environmental Standards Quality Rating:

7. Does the project seek to further the realization of human rights using a human rights based approach? (select from options1-3 that best reflects this project)

3: Credible evidence that the project aims to further the realization of human rights, upholding the relevant international andnational laws and standards in the area of the project. Any potential adverse impacts on enjoyment of human rights were rigorouslyidentified and assessed as relevant, with appropriate mitigation and management measures incorporated into project design andbudget. (all must be true to select this option)

2: Some evidence that the project aims to further the realization of human rights. Potential adverse impacts on enjoyment ofhuman rights were identified and assessed as relevant, and appropriate mitigation and management measures incorporated into theproject design and budget.

1: No evidence that the project aims to further the realization of human rights. Limited or no evidence that potential adverseimpacts on enjoyment of human rights were considered.


Environmental and Social Management Framework.



8. Did the project consider potential environmental opportunities and adverse impacts, applying a precautionary approach?(select from options 1-3 that best reflects this project)

3: Credible evidence that opportunities to enhance environmental sustainability and integrate poverty-environment linkages werefully considered as relevant, and integrated in project strategy and design. Credible evidence that potential adverse environmentalimpacts have been identified and rigorously assessed with appropriate management and mitigation measures incorporated into projectdesign and budget. (all must be true to select this option).

2: No evidence that opportunities to strengthen environmental sustainability and poverty-environment linkages were considered.Credible evidence that potential adverse environmental impacts have been identified and assessed, if relevant, and appropriatemanagement and mitigation measures incorporated into project design and budget.

1: No evidence that opportunities to strengthen environmental sustainability and poverty-environment linkages were considered.Limited or no evidence that potential adverse environmental impacts were adequately considered.


The SESP identified 8 risks for this project that could have potential negative impacts in the absence of safeguards while mitigation measures are incorporated into project design.

9. Has the Social and Environmental Screening Procedure (SESP) been conducted to identify potential social andenvironmental impacts and risks? [If yes, upload the completed checklist as evidence. If SESP is not required, provide thereason(s) for the exemption in the evidence section. Exemptions include the following:

Preparation and dissemination of reports, documents and communication materialsOrganization of an event, workshop, trainingStrengthening capacities of partners to participate in international negotiations and conferencesPartnership coordination (including UN coordination) and management of networksGlobal/regional projects with no country level activities (e.g. knowledge management, inter-governmental processes)UNDP acting as Administrative Agent

Yes

No

SESP not required

Evidence

Please find the attached SESP.

Management & Monitoring Quality Rating:

10. Does the project have a strong results framework? (select from options 1-3 that best reflects this project)

3: The project’s selection of outputs and activities are at an appropriate level and relate in a clear way to the project’s theory ofchange. Outputs are accompanied by SMART, results-oriented indicators that measure all of the key expected changes identified inthe theory of change, each with credible data sources, and populated baselines and targets, including gender sensitive, sex-disaggregated indicators where appropriate. (all must be true to select this option)

2: The project’s selection of outputs and activities are at an appropriate level, but may not cover all aspects of the project’s theoryof change. Outputs are accompanied by SMART, results-oriented indicators, but baselines, targets and data sources may not yet befully specified. Some use of gender sensitive, sex-disaggregated indicators, as appropriate. (all must be true to select this option)



1: The results framework does not meet all of the conditions specified in selection “2” above. This includes: the project’s selectionof outputs and activities are not at an appropriate level and do not relate in a clear way to the project’s theory of change; outputs arenot accompanied by SMART, results-oriented indicators that measure the expected change, and have not been populated withbaselines and targets; data sources are not specified, and/or no gender sensitive, sex-disaggregation of indicators.


The Section VI of Project Results Framework is appropriate andrelate clearly to the ToC.

11. Is there a comprehensive and costed M&E plan with specified data collection sources and methods to support evidence-based management, monitoring and evaluation of the project?

Yes

No

Evidence

There is a M & E plan and the project implementation will be monitored annually and evaluated periodically during projectimplementation.

12. Is the project’s governance mechanism clearly defined in the project document, including planned composition of theproject board? (select from options 1-3 that best reflects this project)

3: The project’s governance mechanism is fully defined in the project document. Individuals have been specified for each positionin the governance mechanism (especially all members of the project board.) Project Board members have agreed on their roles andresponsibilities as specified in the terms of reference. The ToR of the project board has been attached to the project document. (allmust be true to select this option).

2: The project’s governance mechanism is defined in the project document; specific institutions are noted as holding keygovernance roles, but individuals may not have been specified yet. The prodoc lists the most important responsibilities of the projectboard, project director/manager and quality assurance roles. (all must be true to select this option)

1: The project’s governance mechanism is loosely defined in the project document, only mentioning key roles that will need to befilled at a later date. No information on the responsibilities of key positions in the governance mechanism is provided.


See the Project Structure in the project document.

13. Have the project risks been identified with clear plans stated to manage and mitigate each risks? (select from options 1-3that best reflects this project)

3: Project risks related to the achievement of results are fully described in the project risk log, based on comprehensive analysisdrawing on the theory of change, Social and Environmental Standards and screening, situation analysis, capacity assessments andother analysis. Clear and complete plan in place to manage and mitigate each risk. (both must be true to select this option)

2: Project risks related to the achievement of results identified in the initial project risk log with mitigation measures identified foreach risk.

1: Some risks may be identified in the initial project risk log, but no evidence of analysis and no clear risk mitigation measuresidentified. This option is also selected if risks are not clearly identified and no initial risk log is included with the project document.




During PPG project risks were screened and analyzed while mitigation measures were put in place.

Efficient Quality Rating:

14. Have specific measures for ensuring cost-efficient use of resources been explicitly mentioned as part of the project design?This can include: i) using the theory of change analysis to explore different options of achieving the maximum results with theresources available; ii) using a portfolio management approach to improve cost effectiveness through synergies with otherinterventions; iii) through joint operations (e.g., monitoring or procurement) with other partners.

Yes

No

Evidence

The Cost efficiency and effectiveness part in V. Project Management has listed out the specific measures to ensure the resourcesbeing mobilized accordingly.

15. Are explicit plans in place to ensure the project links up with other relevant on-going projects and initiatives, whether led byUNDP, national or other partners, to achieve more efficient results (including, for example, through sharing resources orcoordinating delivery?)

Yes

No

Evidence

50. This project is one of six child projects under the GEF-financed C-PAR Program (GEF Program ID 9403). This programmaticapproach will support coordinated knowledge management and cross-fertilisation between individual child projects, coordinated bythe national child project and the national C-PAR Program Steering Committee.

16. Is the budget justified and supported with valid estimates?

3: The project’s budget is at the activity level with funding sources, and is specified for the duration of the project period in a multi-year budget. Costs are supported with valid estimates using benchmarks from similar projects or activities. Cost implications frominflation and foreign exchange exposure have been estimated and incorporated in the budget.

2: The project’s budget is at the activity level with funding sources, when possible, and is specified for the duration of the projectin a multi-year budget. Costs are supported with valid estimates based on prevailing rates.

1: The project’s budget is not specified at the activity level, and/or may not be captured in a multi-year budget.

Evidence

Financial Planning and Management and Total Budget and Work Plan.

17. Is the Country Office fully recovering the costs involved with project implementation?

3: The budget fully covers all direct project costs that are directly attributable to the project, including programme managementand development effectiveness services related to strategic country programme planning, quality assurance, pipeline development,policy advocacy services, finance, procurement, human resources, administration, issuance of contracts, security, travel, assets,general services, information and communications based on full costing in accordance with prevailing UNDP policies (i.e., UPL, LPL.)



2: The budget covers significant direct project costs that are directly attributable to the project based on prevailing UNDP policies(i.e., UPL, LPL) as relevant.

1: The budget does not reimburse UNDP for direct project costs. UNDP is cross-subsidizing the project and the office shouldadvocate for the inclusion of DPC in any project budget revisions.


see Total Budge and Work Plan in the Prodoc.

Effective Quality Rating:

18. Is the chosen implementation modality most appropriate? (select from options 1-3 that best reflects this project)

3: The required implementing partner assessments (capacity assessment, HACT micro assessment) have been conducted, andthere is evidence that options for implementation modalities have been thoroughly considered. There is a strong justification forchoosing the selected modality, based on the development context. (both must be true to select this option)

2: The required implementing partner assessments (capacity assessment, HACT micro assessment) have been conducted andthe implementation modality chosen is consistent with the results of the assessments.

1: The required assessments have not been conducted, but there may be evidence that options for implementation modalitieshave been considered.


Capacity Assessment is in place while the HACT is still pending.

19. Have targeted groups, prioritizing marginalized and excluded populations that will be affected by the project, been engagedin the design of the project in a way that addresses any underlying causes of exclusion and discrimination?

3: Credible evidence that all targeted groups, prioritising marginalized and excluded populations that will be involved in oraffected by the project, have been actively engaged in the design of the project. Their views, rights and any constraints have beenanalysed and incorporated into the root cause analysis of the theory of change which seeks to address any underlying causes ofexclusion and discrimination and the selection of project interventions.

2: Some evidence that key targeted groups, prioritising marginalized and excluded populations that will be involved in the project,have been engaged in the design of the project. Some evidence that their views, rights and any constraints have been analysed andincorporated into the root cause analysis of the theory of change and the selection of project interventions.

1: No evidence of engagement with marginalized and excluded populations that will be involved in the project during projectdesign. No evidence that the views, rights and constraints of populations have been incorporated into the project.

Not Applicable

Evidence

Inclusion of targeted groups, including ethnic minorities, has been fully considered.

20. Does the project conduct regular monitoring activities, have explicit plans for evaluation, and include other lesson learning(e.g. through After Action Reviews or Lessons Learned Workshops), timed to inform course corrections if needed duringproject implementation?

Yes



No

Evidence

Mid-term review and Terminal evaluation will be conduct accordingly.

21. The gender marker for all project outputs are scored at GEN2 or GEN3, indicating that gender has been fully mainstreamedinto all project outputs at a minimum.

Yes

No


Gender mainstreaming has been integrated throughout the project design based on a gender analysis and gender mainstreaming plan (see Annex I).

22. Is there a realistic multi-year work plan and budget to ensure outputs are delivered on time and within allotted resources?(select from options 1-3 that best reflects this project)

3: The project has a realistic work plan & budget covering the duration of the project at the activity level to ensure outputs aredelivered on time and within the allotted resources.

2: The project has a work plan & budget covering the duration of the project at the output level.

1: The project does not yet have a work plan & budget covering the duration of the project.

Evidence

Annual work plans based on the multi-year work plan will be developed.

Sustainability & National Ownership Quality Rating:

23. Have national partners led, or proactively engaged in, the design of the project?

3: National partners have full ownership of the project and led the process of the development of the project jointly with UNDP.

2: The project has been developed by UNDP in close consultation with national partners.

1: The project has been developed by UNDP with limited or no engagement with national partners.

Not Applicable

Evidence

See the pro doc and list of Stakeholders Consulted during Project Preparation Phase

24. Are key institutions and systems identified, and is there a strategy for strengthening specific/ comprehensive capacitiesbased on capacity assessments conducted? (select from options 0-4 that best reflects this project):



3: The project has a comprehensive strategy for strengthening specific capacities of national institutions based on a systematicand detailed capacity assessment that has been completed. This strategy includes an approach to regularly monitor nationalcapacities using clear indicators and rigorous methods of data collection, and adjust the strategy to strengthen national capacitiesaccordingly.

2.5: A capacity assessment has been completed. The project document has identified activities that will be undertaken tostrengthen capacity of national institutions, but these activities are not part of a comprehensive strategy to monitor and strengthennational capacities.

2: A capacity assessment is planned after the start of the project. There are plans to develop a strategy to strengthen specificcapacities of national institutions based on the results of the capacity assessment.

1.5: There is mention in the project document of capacities of national institutions to be strengthened through the project, but nocapacity assessments or specific strategy development are planned.

1: Capacity assessments have not been carried out and are not foreseen. There is no strategy for strengthening specificcapacities of national institutions.

Not Applicable

Evidence

UNDP capacity assessment scorecard and planned capacity building programmes in the prodoc.

25. Is there is a clear strategy embedded in the project specifying how the project will use national systems (i.e., procurement,monitoring, evaluations, etc.,) to the extent possible?

Yes

No

Not Applicable

Evidence

Please find details in Flow of Funds and Procurement in the PD.

26. Is there a clear transition arrangement/ phase-out plan developed with key stakeholders in order to sustain or scale upresults (including resource mobilisation strategy)?

Yes

No

Evidence

Please find details in III. STRATEGY of PD.

Quality Assurance Summary/PAC Comments

Overall the project is well-designed abiding requirements from all parties.

Annex J: UNDP Risk Log

Risk Type Impact and Probability Proposed Mitigation Measure Risk Owner

Brief Description of the risk

Category of risk

Potential effect on project if risk were to occur.

Probability P and Impact I: 1 (low) to 5 (high)

What actions have been or will be taken to counter the risk

Who is designated to monitor and act upon this risk

1. Ineffective cross‐agency coordination might restrict the effectiveness of implementation of a landscape approach to conservation, rather than sectoral.


LOW

Execution of the project will require concerted advocacy and building upon partnerships. The Project Manager, with support from the NPD and CTA, will establish the cross‐sectoral C‐PAR3 Advisory Group, which will provide strategic guidance to the project and act as a bridge to complimentary initiatives. The project will deliver technical assistance for improving collaborative PA governance within the landscape, including inter‐provincial. This project is building on a strong baseline of work, and steps to establish coordination among departments and sectors have already been made under the on‐going UNDP supported GEF financed project in Qinghai province (including cross‐sectoral advisory groups to support biodiversity mainstreaming in sectoral plans).



Strategic I=3; P=2

MODERATE

Co‐management and incentive agreements have already been developed with local communities in the project area and wider Qinghai Province with success. The project is designed to provide a range of community support and to scale up incentives to increase community participation in conservation and to mitigate potential conflicts between communities and wildlife. It seeks win‐win solutions through development of community jobs and livelihoods in support of PA management and conservation and will provide skills training. The project will actively seek involvement of existing respected community/cultural leaders as “change agents” of the project activities as a basis from which to foster local community involvement, as has already proved useful in areas of high biodiversity and environmental conservation value. Improved management of pasturelands supported through the project has potential to increase productivity and will enhance overall ecosystem resilience, benefitting local communities.



Strategic I=3; P=1

LOW

The Ecological Civilization principle has been mainstreamed into national and provincial socioeconomic development frameworks. This was emphasised in the 19th Congress of the CPC and integrated into 13th Five‐Year planning frameworks. Guided by KAP survey results, the project will advocate improvements in the level of awareness, knowledge, attitudes and practices will enable decision makers and the public to better appreciate the value of the PA system.



Political I=3; P=2

LOW

At the provincial level, conservation is a high priority, as the province contains richly endowed with globally significant biodiversity and



ecosystem services that are critical nationally and regionally. PA reform in China is currently centred on establishing the NP system, including the Qilian Mountains NP. The processes are underway, with full central and provincial government support. The C‐PAR project is designed to feed into these reform processes, providing technical assistance in developing policies and guidelines that capture international best practice and promote protection of globally significant biodiversity.


Financial I=3; P=1

LOW


Project Manager



LOW

Project resources are allocated for project coordination. The Project Manager will be supported by a CTA and the C‐PAR Program Alignment Officer. Two full time PA Coordinators are budgeted, one for the Qilian Mountains NR and one for the Qinghai Lake NNR. Moreover, a Program Steering Committee will be established to provide program level oversight. And, an aggregated reporting mechanism will be established to facilitate efficient coordination on the program.




LOW

Probability is difficult to estimate due to the high level of uncertainty and unpredictability regarding the nature and magnitude of climate change impacts. The consensus points to negative impacts, with increasing rates of habitat fragmentation, pressures on water supply, etc. Among the results envisaged under the project is establishment ecological corridors within the Qilian Mountains‐Qinghai Lake landscape. One of the benefits of ecological corridors is increased habitat connectivity, providing enhanced protection for endangered species and vulnerable populations, including through climate refugia. Increased awareness by decision makers and local communities will also contribute towards strengthening the resilience of the PA system.


8. Unfavourable fluctuations in USD:CNY exchange rates.

Financial I=3; P=1

LOW


Project Manager

Risks from Social and Environmental Screening Procedure (Annex E):

SESP Risk 1: Local communities (including ethnic minorities) living in key conservation zones of NP pilot (Qilian Mountains) could be gradually (and voluntarily) resettled.


I=4; P = 3

HIGH

Based on initial assessments, an environmental and social management framework (ESMF) has been prepared during the PPG phase to put in place measures for the management of the project’s social and environmental risks. In accordance with the ESMF, an environmental and social impact assessment (ESIA) will be carried out at project inception to assess this



Standard 5: Displacement and Resettlement, 5.1. 5.4. Standard 6: Indigenous Peoples, 6.6.

and all other environmental and social risks, followed by a subsequent environmental and social management plan (ESMP). Free and Prior Informed Consent (FPIC) must be applied throughout the ESIA/ESMP; no voluntary resettlement will take place without FPIC. Further information regarding the approved national park, including the master plan, are expected to be available at project inception. The ESIA process will draw upon this information to assess the associated impacts, and to inform the specific management measures outlined in the ensuing ESMP. Indicative community level activities for the C‐PAR3 project include strengthening the existing community ranger program, implementing participatory grassland restoration, and initiating collaborative livestock management in high mountain grassland ecosystems. These activities will have a positive impact in reinforcing the inherent linkages between the herder communities and conservation objectives, thus reducing the need for displacement and resettlement. Involuntary resettlement is not planned under the ongoing establishment of the NP system in China and will not be supported by this project. Voluntary resettlement is linked to government co‐financing. GEF funds will not be used for resettlement.

SESP Risk 2: Communities in the project area (including ethnic minorities) could face economic displacement, changes to land rights and/or restricted access to resources because of the expansion of the NP and PA system, stronger PA controls and creation of ecological corridor areas. These impacts could impact women differently than men. Principle 1: Human Rights, 1.3. Principle 2 Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment, 2.4: Standard 5: Displacement and Resettlement 5.2., 5.4. Standard 6: Indigenous Peoples, 6.6.


I = 3; P = 4

HIGH

During the project preparation phase consultations with local communities, local government units, provincial government agencies, and civil society representatives have contributed to the design of project activities focus on participatory planning and management of natural resources in the Qilian Mountains‐Qinghai Lake landscape. Local awareness has been further strengthened through the approval of the Qilian Mountains National Park pilot in June 2017. As noted above, the ESIA process will further assess the possible socioeconomic impacts, including those related to economic displacement and land rights, associated with the national park establishment and project activities, to ensure that local communities are duly informed and participate in key decisions. The ESIA process will also include additional consultations with local communities regarding the planned project interventions, and management measures (i.e. the ESMP and/or stand‐alone management plans) will be integrated into project implementation to ensure socioeconomic impacts are positive and to prevent adverse impacts. Free and Prior Informed Consent (FPIC) must be applied in line with the UNDP SES Guidance Note on Indigenous Peoples. The need for a stand‐alone Livelihood Action Plan will be explored during the ESIA and addressed, as determined appropriate, in the ESMP. There will also be a grievance redress mechanism put in place for project‐affected communities to raise any grievances and for



implementation partners to respond to accordingly.



I = 4; P = 4

HIGH

A capacity needs assessment of the Qinghai Forestry Department (QFD) was undertaken during the project preparation phase, and trainings are planned during the implementation phase to enhance duty‐bearers’ capacities. Capacities will be further assessed as part of the ESIA, and specific management measures designed in the ESMP for ensuring that duty‐bearers are capacitated to facilitate implementation of the project activities and to ensure that project results are sustained after GEF funding ceases.


SESP Risk 4: Marginalized stakeholder groups, including women and ethnic minorities, could face barriers to full, meaningful participation in project activities (e.g. planned expansion of PA subsystem) that could affect them negatively. Principle 1: Human Rights 1.4, 1.6 Principle 2: Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment, 2.2 Standard 6: Indigenous Peoples 6.1., 6.4.


I = 3; P = 2

MODERATE

Consultations during the PPG phase have been supported by Tibetan assistants and some interviews were held only with women. A gender analysis was undertaken and a Gender Action Plan developed, which will be implemented for the duration of the project. Tibetan speaking facilitators are also planned to support activities during project implementation. Knowledge products will be developed according to the literacy and cultural circumstances of the local project communities. Further community consultations will be required during project inception, as part of the ESIA, to ensure that ethnic minority communities are fully consulted and involved in development of all project interventions and plans at the target sites (with application of FPIC throughout). The ESMP will provide specific protocols for managing this continued involvement during project implementation, as well as monitoring, evaluation, and reporting, and project budget has been allocated for these purposes.


SESP Risk 5: Project appointed duty‐bearers at the county and township level (e.g. community mobilisers) could lack the capacity to implement the project according to UNDP standards regarding human rights, public participation, gender mainstreaming and attention to social and environmental safeguards. Principle 1: Human Rights 1.5


I = 3; P = 2

MODERATE

A capacity needs assessment of the Qinghai Forestry Department (QFD) was undertaken during the project preparation phase, and trainings are planned during the implementation phase to enhance duty‐bearers’ capacities. Local capacities will be further assessed as part of the ESIA, and specific management measures designed in the ESMP for ensuring that duty‐bearers are capacitated to facilitate implementation of the project activities and to ensure that project results are sustained after GEF funding ceases.





I = 3; P = 2

MODERATE

A gender analysis and action plan was completed during the PPG phase and will guide proactive women’s empowerment efforts during implementation. Please see this plan for further detail of specific project gender mainstreaming actions and targets. The ESIA completed in accordance with the ESMF will also look at gender angles, including how gender intersects with the multiple risks in this SESP. The gender mainstreaming plan will be updated as required after the completion of the ESIA. Gender mainstreaming actions will also be incorporated into the ESMP and the Gender Action Plan updated as required.


SESP Risk 7: Project activities will occur within/adjacent to environmentally sensitive areas, posing potential risk to sensitive habitats and species if not designed and undertaken appropriately. Standard 1: Biodiversity Conservation and Natural Resource Management, 1.2, 1.5, 1.6


I = 2; P = 1

LOW



Risk 8: Climate change has potential to negatively impact species populations and targeted habitats/ protected areas. Standard 2: Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation, 2.2.


I = 2; P = 2

LOW



Annex K1: Results of the capacity assessment of the project implementing partner

CAPACITY ASSESSMENT OF THE PROJECT IMPLEMENTING PARTNER ‐ CHECKLIST

Qinghai Forestry Department/Qinghai Forestry Project Management Office

AREAS FOR ASSESSMENT

ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS REFERENCE DOCUMENTS AND INFORMATION SOURCES

PART I. BACKGROUND INFORMATION

1. History Qinghai Forestry Department has been implementing bilateral and multi‐lateral environment project projects since 2004. Particularly, ADB‐GEF Sustainable land management adapted to climate change in western China and UNDP‐GEF Strengthening the effectiveness of the protected area system in Qinghai Province, China.

http://www.qhlyt.gov.cn/

2. Mandate and constituency

What is the current mandate or purpose of the organization? Qinghai Forestry Department includes various functional divisions. Of which the function and mandate of Qinghai Forestry Project Management Office is to implement biodiversity and ecological conservation projects and coordinate inter‐departments cooperation mechanism.

http://www.qhlyt.gov.cn/

3. Legal status What is the organization’s legal status? Has it met the legal requirements for operation in the programme country? Qinghai Forestry Project Management Office is an official institution of government. It is an independent entity with its legal status and bank account.

Certificate

4. Funding What is the organization’s main source (s) of funds? Government budget and co‐finance support

Financial statement

5. Certification Is the organization certified in accordance with any international standards or certification procedure? None, however, UNDP awarded highly satisfaction rating as its GEF‐4 project implementation.

Certificate

6. Proscribed organizations

Is the organization listed in any UN reference list of proscribed organizations? No

PART II. PROJECT MANAGEMENT CAPACITY

2.1 Managerial Capacity

1. Leadership Commitment

Are leaders of the organization ready and willing to implement the proposed project? Yes. QFD and UNDP jointly prepared the project identification form and project document submitted to GEF. QFD prepared the submission of the project for approval by Ministry of Finance as GEF Focal Point under the government of China.

Letter of Endorsement for the project

Project Concept Note and Project Identification Form

2. Management experience and qualifications

Which managers in the organization would be concerned with the proposed project? What are their credentials and experience that relate to the proposed project? Do these managers have experience implementing UNDP or other donor‐funded projects? QFD has experience in implementing Global Environment Facility (GEF) funded projects in partnership with the UNDP, including the

GEF Project Documents

Reports of past projects



projects on “Strengthening the effectiveness of the protected area system in Qinghai Province, China”, and also ADB‐GEF project “Sustainable land management adapted to climate change in western China”. QFD also has experience with working with major development donors/partners, including AUSAID, EU, JICA etc

3. Planning and budgeting

Does the organization apply a results‐based management methodology? Are there measurable outputs or deliverables in the strategies, programmes and work plans? Are budgets commensurate with intended results? Yes, QFD has been implementing several projects in cooperation with UNDP, AUSAID, EU, JICA and RBM methodologies were applied strictly to every project. In addition, all GEF projects must include budgeted workplans with measureable output and result indicators.

Project and programme documents

Proposals, work plans and budgets

4. Supervision, review, and reporting

How do managers supervise the implementation of work plans? How do they measure progress against targets? The work plans including Annual Work Plan and Quarterly Work Plan are developed by the Implementing Partner, i.e. PMO of QFD clearly identify activities and annual targets for the year of implementation. Quarterly Progress Reports are prepared with data showing the implementation progress toward the targets. The AWPs with annual targets are approved by QFD, the Executing Agency and UNDP CO. The QWPs and Progress Report are prepared by PMO with the approval of National Project Director and submit to UNDP CO. Besides, the NPD, Project Manager, UNDP Programme Officer, and UNDP RTA provide inputs to annual project implementation review.

How does the organization document its performance, e.g., in annual or periodic reports? How are the organization’s plans and achievements presented to stakeholders? Yes, the Project Steering Committee meets to review the project implementation progress and workplan and budget at least once a year. Ad‐hoc meetings could be conducted once there is an issue to be solved. The meetings will involve all stakeholders that the project concerns including Local authorities, representatives from concerned departments such as Department of Agriculture, Department of Environment Protection, Department of Finance, UNDP.

Does the organization hold regular programme or project review meetings? Are such meetings open to all stakeholders? Besides, the Project Management Unit (PMU) also hold quarterly meetings to review the progress and activity planning and implementation.

Are the organization’s activities subject to external evaluation? How does the organization learn and adapt from its experience? Monitoring of the project will be undertaken by QFD, the UNDP CO and the UNDP RTA. The GEF requires mandatory reporting and independent evaluations for all projects of full‐size. Budgets and expenditure are reviewed on a quarterly basis and results on an

Annual reports/QPR/ Project Implementation reports

Internal reports

GEF Evaluation and Reporting Guidelines

Project Implementation Review reports for previous projects

Project Steering Committee meeting minutes.

Evaluation reports



annual basis as part of the Project Implementation Review, as per UNDP requirements.

The project will also report to and receive guidance from a Project Steering Committee consisting of leaders from different stakeholders.

5. Networking What other organizations are critical for the successful functioning of this organization? How does the organization conduct relations with these organizations? Is the organization a party to knowledge networks, coordinating bodies, and other fora? Due to past GEF and governmental ecological projects, PMO of QFD has mandates to coordinate with departments and established an inter‐department coordination mechanism in providing guidance for the implementation of resource use and environmental protection projects managed by relevant departments.

The Project will report to and receive guidance from a Project Steering Committee consisting of representatives from relevant departments of province.

Mainstreaming reports and PSC meeting minutes

2.2 Technical Capacity

1. Technical knowledge and skills

Do the skills and experience of the organization’s technical professionals match those required for the project? Would these professionals be available to the project? Yes. QFD has several skilled staff and high capacity in the areas of BD Conservation and GEF management.

Does the organization have the necessary technical infrastructure (e.g, laboratories, equipment, software, technical data bases, etc.) to support the implementation of the project? Yes.

How do staff members of the organization keep informed about the latest techniques and trends in their areas of expertise. What external technical contacts and networks does the organization utilize? What professional associations does the organization and/or its professional staff belong to?

QFD has a broad network of contacts and positive working relationships with numerous technical organisations and associations as well as advisory group. In particular, these include Northwest Institute of Plateau Biology of Chinese Academy of Sciences and universities,

CVs of technical staff

Advisory database

Technical library facilities

Reports from participation in international, regional, national or local meetings and conferences as well as study tours

Facilities description

PART III. ADMINISTRATIVE AND FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT CAPACITIES

3.1 Administrative capacity. Note: Answer only questions that are relevant to the proposed project.

1. Facilities, infrastructure and equipment

Does the organization possess sufficient administrative facilities, infrastructure, equipment and budget to carry out its activities, particularly in relation to the requirements of the project? Yes.

Can the organization manage and maintain the administrative and technical equipment and infrastructure? Yes. Their administrative and technical equipment and infrastructure are well managed.

Facilities and equipment available for project requirements

Maintenance personnel and budget



2. Procurement and contracting

Does the organization have the legal authority to enter into contracts and agreements with other organizations? Does the organization have access to legal counsel to ensure that contracts are enforceable, meet performance standards, and protect the interests of the organization and UNDP? Yes.

Does the organization have dedicated procurement capacity? Do procurement personnel have skills and experience that are appropriate to the requirements of the project? Does the organization have written procurement procedures? Yes. QFD has experience undertaking procurement under government regulations and NEM guidelines for its role as an executive partner in previous projects.

Is there evidence that the organization conducts procurement on the basis of best value for money, transparency, and effective international competition? Yes. QFD implemented procurement procedures in accordance with the Procurement and Bidding Law

Does the organization have a system and procedures for asset management and inventory control? Yes.

GEF project management Regulation

Procurement manual

Standard contracts

Documentation on procurement processes, sample contracts

Supplier data base

3. Recruitment and personnel management

Does the organization have the legal authority to enter into employment contracts with individuals? Yes.

Does the organization have dedicated personnel capacity? Do recruitment personnel have skills and experience that are appropriate to the requirements of the project? Does the organization have written recruitment procedures? Yes. The recruitment process will be implemented in accordance with the written personnel recruitment regulation. UNDP oversees recruitment processes to ensure that they are undertaken in line with the GEF requirement.

Is there evidence that the organization conducts recruitment objectively on the basis of competition, fairness, and transparency? Yes. The recruitment process is transparently conducted in line with the personnel recruitment regulation.

Does the organization have a salary scale that would apply to project personnel? Would that scale inhibit the hiring of the best candidates? Yes, QFD applies the GoV salary scales. Although this scale will not inhibit the hiring of the best candidates for this project, the UNDP‐GEF rate will apply where appropriate.

Personnel manual

Standard contracts and agreements

Job descriptions or terms of reference

Documentation of recruitment processes

CVs of recruitment personnel

3.2 Financial Management Capacity

1. Financial management organization and personnel

Does the organization have written rules and regulations for financial management that are consistent with international standards? Does the organization have a dedicated finance unit? Yes, there is a financial management regulation which is consistent with the regulation of the provincial Finance Department. There are experienced financial management personnel.

Do finance managers and personnel have skills and experience that are appropriate to the requirements of the project? Is the existing financial management capacity adequate to meets the additional requirements of the project? Yes, PMO of QFD has qualified financial management personnel who have experience managing GEF/UNDP projects.

Do finance personnel have experience managing donor resources? Yes.

CVs of financial personnel

A bank account or bank statements

Independent audit report

Finance management manual

2. Financial position

Does the organization have a sustainable financial position? What is the maximum amount of money the organization has ever managed? If the proposed project is implemented by this organization, what percentage of the organization’s total funding would the project comprise? Yes, PMO of QFD is in a stable financial situation. In 2017, PMO of QFD managed a state budget allocation of 3 million US dollars annually.

Financial statements, Independent audit report

3. Internal control

Does the organization maintain a bank account? Does the organization have written rules and procedures on segregation of duties for receipt, handling and custody of funds? How does the organization ensure physical security of advances, cash and records? Yes. PMO of QFD has its own bank account. In addition, there will be a separate bank account for the project budget management. By doing this, the project budget will be secured in advances, cash, and records.

Does the organization have clear written procedures and internal controls governing payments? How does the organization ensure that expenditures conform to their intended uses? Does the organization have a policy requiring two signatures for payments over a defined limit? Yes, PMO of QFD has clear written procedures(GEF project finance management regulation) on internal control and payment processing in accordance with the Government’s regulations.

Is there any evidence of non‐compliance with financial rules and procedures? None.

Financial management Regulation

Financial statement

Independent audit report

4. Accounting and financial reporting

Are accounts established and maintained in accordance with national standards or requirements? Yes, in accordance with national regulations.

When and to whom does the organization provide its financial statements?

Description of accounting system and reporting arrangements

Financial reports

Audit reports

For the project funding, financial statements are submitted to the Auditor and UNDP.

Can the organization track and report separately on the receipt and use of funds from individual donor organizations? Yes, separate bank account is used for the project Is there any evidence of deficiencies in accounting or financial reporting? No evidence.

5. Audit Is the organization subject regularly to external audit? Is audit conducted in accordance with international audit standards? Are audit findings public? If so, have the organization’s financial audits produced any significant recommendations for strengthening of financial systems and procedures? Have audits identified instances non‐compliance with rules and procedures or misuse of financial resources? What has been done to carry out audit recommendations?

PMO of QFD is subject to annual external audits, in accordance with national law. Since its establishment, PMO of QFD has passed each audit. PMO of QFD’s accountant and accounts staff are trained periodically and updated with the financial system. In addition, PMO of QFD also regularly undergoes the audit processes of other donors, such as Asian Development Bank, JICA and UNDP

Audit reports

Micro Assessment Report for

CHN-Forestry Department of Qinghai Province

October 2017

Micro Assessment of CHN-Forestry Department of Qinghai Province

Commissioned by United Nations Development Programme

Ruihua Certified Public Accountants

31 October 2017

Table of Contents

Page

1. Background, Scope and Methodology 1

2. Summary of Risk Assessment Results 2

3. Detailed Internal Control Findings and Recommendations 4

Annex I. Implementing Partner and Programme Information 5

Annex II. Organisational Chart of the Implementing Partner 6

Annex III. List of persons met 7

Annex IV. Micro Assessment Questionnaire 8

Micro Assessment for CHN-Forestry Department of Qinghai Province

2

2. Summary of Risk Assessment Results

Base on the micro assessment result, the overall risk rating for CHN-Forestry Department of Qinghai Province is low risk.

The table below summarizes the results and main internal control gaps found during application of the micro-assessment questionnaire (in Annex IV). Detailed findings and recommendations are set out in section 3. below.

Tested subject

area

Risk

assessment* Brief justification for rating (main internal control gaps)

1. Implementing

partner

Low The IP is a legally registered government ministry which

receives annual financial allocation and regular supervisions

from the Provincial Ministry of Finance. No significant issues

have been reported in the receipt and management of funds

in the past. Therefore we consider the risk level for this section

is Low.

2. Programme

Management

Low We reviewed some of the project planning and monitoring

documents, and confirmed that the IP is strictly following the

internal/donor’s project management policies. Therefore we

consider the risk level for this section is low.

3. Organizational

structure and

staffing

Low As a government ministry, the IP follows the national civil

servant recruiting and training policies. The annual civil

servant examination guaranteed the transparency of

recruitment and make sure qualified staffs are selected.

Therefore we consider the personnel of the IP have sufficient

capability to manage the fund/programme, and the risk level

for this section shall be considered as low.

4. Accounting

policies and

procedures

Low The IP sets up different account codes for different

programmes. Its accounting system is formally regulated and

duties are segregated. Cash expenditure is not allowed by the

IP. The IP performs internal audits each year and acts on the

internal auditor’s recommendations. Therefore we consider

the risk level for this section is low.

5. Fixed Assets and

Inventory

Low The IP follows the Measures for the Administration of

Government Fixed Assets, and has regular physical

verifications. Through reviewing the measures, we consider

the risk for this section is low. The main issue identified is that

its fixed assets are not adequately covered by insurance

policies.

6. Financial

Reporting and

Low The IP uses the governmental computerized financial

management system, which is sufficiently safeguarded and


3

Tested subject

area

Risk

assessment* Brief justification for rating (main internal control gaps)

Monitoring easy to generate reports. It is audited annually by the

Provincial Audit Office. Through the conversation, we

understand that there have been no major issues reported by

the external auditors. Therefore we consider the risk for this

section is low.

7. Procurement Low We inquired and understood the procurement procedures and

systems of the IP, and consider the procedures are transparent

and fair. There have been no major issues or post-facto actions

on contracts for the IP in the past. Therefore we consider the

risk for this section is low.

Overall Risk

Assessment

Low As a government ministry, the IP follows strictly to the internal

control procedures and the government policies. The IP

receives close and regular supervisions from National Audit

Office, Provincial Ministry of Finance and Provincial

Government Office. Therefore we consider the overall risk for

the IP is low.

*High, Significant, Moderate, Low


4

3. Detailed Internal Control Findings and Recommendations

No. Description of Finding Recommendation

1. Lack of fixed asset insurance policy

We noted that the IP’s fixed assets are not adequately covered by insurance policies, except for cars.

It is recommended that adequate insurance policies should be applied for the fixed assets.


5

Annex I. IP and Programme Information

Implementing partner name: CHN-Forestry Department of Qinghai Province

Implementing partner code or ID in UNICEF, UNDP, UNFPA records (as applicable)

00881

Implementing partner contact details (contact name, email address and telephone number):

Li Yande [email protected] 0971-6365120

No.25 of Nanchuan West Road, Chengxi District,Xining, 810008

Main programmes implemented with the applicable UN Agency/ies:

Strengthening the effectiveness of the Protected Area System in Qinghai province ,China to conserve Globally Important Biodiversity

Key Official in charge of the UN Agency/ies’ prorgamme(s):

Patrick Haverman

Programme location(s): Sanjiangyuan Area, Qinghai Province, China

Location of records related to the UN Agency/ies’ prorgamme(s):

Sanjiangyuan Area, Qinghai Province, China

Currency of records maintained: RMB

Expenditures incurred/reported to UNICEF, UNDP and UNFPA (as applicable) during the most recent financial reporting period (in US$);

US$ 450,937

Cash transfer modality/ies used by the UN agency/ies to the IP

Direct Cash Transfer

Intended start date of micro assessment: 15 October 2017

Number of days to be spent for visit to IP: 2.5 days

Any special requests to be considered during the micro assessment:

No

mailto:[email protected]


6

Annex II. Implementing Partner Organizational Chart

政策法规处Policy and Law Department Office

发展规划与资金管理处 Planning and Fund Management Office

森林资源管理处Forest Resources Management Office

造林绿化管理处Afforestation Management Office

野生动植物和自然保护区管理局 Wildlife Conservation and Nature Reserve Management Office

农村林业改革发展处 Rural Forestry Reform and Development Office

国际合作处International Cooperation Office

科学技术处Science and Technology Office

林业产业处 Forestry Industry Office

人事处Human Resources Office

机关党委Party Committee

机关纪委Organ Commission for Discipline Inspection

省森林公安局 Provincial Forest Public Security Office

省森林防火指挥部办公室Provincial Forest Fire Prevention Headquarters Office

省天然林保护办公室Provincial Natural Forest Protection Office

省退耕还林还草工程管理办公室 Provincial Returning farmland to forest and grassland project Management Office

省南北山绿化指挥部办公室 Provincial North and South Mountain greening headquarters Office

省林业项目办公室Provincial Forestry Project Office

省林业工会 Provincial Forestry trade union Office

省林业技术推广总站 Provincial Forestry Technology Extension Office

省森林病虫害防治检疫总站 Provincial forest pest control and quarantine Office

省林业调查规划院 Provincial Forestry Survey and Planning Office

省干旱浅山造林试验站 Provincial Arid Afforestation Experiment Office

省林木种苗站 Provincial Forest Seedling Office

省野生动植物保护管理站 Provincial Wildlife Conservation Management Office

省治沙试验站 Provincial sand control experimental Office

省玛可河林业局Province Makehe Forestry Bureau

省林业专用物资储备管理站 Provincial Forestry Special Material Reserve Management Office

机关后勤服务中心Government Logistics Service Center

省林木良种繁育示范中心 Provincial fine seed breeding Demonstration Center

青海省林业厅CHN-Forestry Department of Qinghai Province


7

Annex III. List of Persons Met

Name Unit/organization Position

Zhang Xueyuan Project Management Office of Forestry Department of Qinghai Province

Director

Li Yande Project Management Office of Forestry Department of Qinghai Province

Vice Director

Li Dongliang UNDP-GEF Qinghai Biodiversity Project Under Forestry Department of Qinghai Province

Component Manager

Guan Ming UNDP-GEF Qinghai Biodiversity Project Under Forestry Department of Qinghai Province

Component Manager


Annex IV. Micro Assessment Questionnaire

Micro-assessment workbook

1.1 Is the IP legally registered? If so, is it in compliance with registration requirements? Please

note the legal status and date of registration of the entity.Yes Low 1

Government ministrity. Registed in year 1949.

1.2 If the IP received United Nations resources in the past, were significant issues reported in

managing the resources, including from previous assurance activities.No Low 1

1.3 Does the IP have statutory reporting requirements? If so, are they in compliance with such

requirements in the prior three fiscal years?Yes Low 1

1.4 Does the governing body meet on a regular basis and perform oversight functions? Yes Low 1

1.5 If any other offices/ external entities participate in implementation, does the IP have policies

and process to ensure appropriate oversight and monitoring of implementation?Yes Low 1

1.6 Does the IP show basic financial stability in-country (core resources; funding trend)

Provide the amount of total assets, total liabilities, income and expenditure for the current and

prior three fiscal years. Yes Low 1

Data not avaiable for total assets and liabilities.

Year Income Expenditure

2014 ¥288m ¥314m

2015 ¥371m ¥350m

2016 ¥292m ¥331m

1.7 Can the IP easily receive funds? Have there been any major problems in the past in the receipt of

funds, particularly where the funds flow from government ministries?Yes Low 1

No major problems in the past in the receipt of funds.

1.8 Does the IP have any pending legal actions against it or outstanding material/significant disputes with

vendors/contractors?

If so, provide details and actions taken by the IP to resolve the legal action.

No Low 1

1.9 Does the IP have an anti-fraud and corruption policy? Yes Low 1

1.10 Has the IP advised employees, beneficiaries and other recipients to whom they should report if they

suspect fraud, waste or misuse of agency resources or property? If so, does the IP have a policy against

retaliation relating to such reporting?

Yes Low 1

1.11 Does the IP have any key financial or operational risks that are not covered by this questionnaire? If

so, please describe. Examples: foreign exchange risk; cash receipts.No Low 1

Total number of questions in subject area: 11 Lowest score possible 1.000

Total number of applicable questions in subject area: 11 Highest score possible 5.818

Total number of applicable key questions in subject area: 5 Banding width 1.205

Total number of risk points: 11 Low risk: scores below 2.205

Risk score 1 Moderate risk: scores below 3.409

Area risk rating Low Significant risk: scores below 4.614

Remarks/comments

1. Implementing Partner

Subject area

(key questions in bold )

Yes No N/A Risk

Assess

Risk points

8



2.1. Does the IP have and use sufficiently detailed written policies, procedures and other tools (e.g.

project development checklist, work planning templates, work planning schedule) to develop

programmes and plans?

Yes Low 1

2.2. Do work plans specify expected results and the activities to be carried out to achieve

results, with a time frame and budget for the activities?Yes Low 1

2.3 Does the IP identify the potential risks for programme delivery and mechanisms to mitigate them? Yes Low 1

2.4 Does the IP have and use sufficiently detailed policies, procedures, guidelines and other tools

(checklists, templates) for monitoring and evaluation?Yes Low 1

2.5 Does the IP have M&E frameworks for its programmes, with indicators, baselines, and targets to

monitor achievement of programme results? Yes Low 1

2.6 Does the IP carry out and document regular monitoring activities such as review meetings,

on-site project visits, etc.Yes Low 1

2.7 Does the IP systematically collect, monitor and evaluate data on the achievement of project results? Yes Low 1

2.8 Is it evident that the IP followed up on independent evaluation recommendations? Yes Low 1







2. Programme Management

Subject area


Yes No N/A Risk

Assess

Risk points Remarks/comments

9



3.1 Are the IP’s recruitment, employment and personnel practices clearly defined and followed,

and do they embrace transparency and competition?Yes Low 1

3.2 Does the IP have clearly defined job descriptions? Yes Low 1

3.3 Is the organizational structure of the finance and programme management departments, and

competency of staff, appropriate for the complexity of the IP and the scale of activities? Identify

the key staff, including job titles, responsibilities, educational backgrounds and professional

experience.

Yes Low 1

Please refer to attachment IV-1.

3.4 Is the IP’s accounting/finance function staffed adequately to ensure sufficient controls are in

place to manage agency funds?Yes Low 1

3.5 Does the IP have training policies for accounting/finance/ programme management staff? Are

necessary training activities undertaken?Yes Low 1

Qinghai Ministry of Finance and the IP organize all kinds of training on finance and

programme management each year.

3.6 Does the IP perform background verification/checks on all new accounting/finance and management

positions?Yes Low 1

3.7 Has there been significant turnover in key finance positions the past five years? If so, has the rate

improved or worsened and appears to be a problem?No Low 1

3.8 Does the IP have a documented internal control framework? Is this framework distributed and made

available to staff and updated periodically? If so, please describe.Yes Low 1

IP has a full set of internal control document, the updated internal control documents will

be distributed to the staff timely.







3. Organizational Structure and Staffing

Subject area


Yes No N/A Risk

Assess


10



4.1 Does the IP have an accounting system that allows for proper recording of financial

transactions from United Nations agencies, including allocation of expenditures in accordance

with the respective components, disbursement categories and sources of funds?

Yes Low 1

4.2 Does the IP have an appropriate cost allocation methodology that ensures accurate cost

allocations to the various funding sources in accordance with established agreements?Yes Low 1

4.3 Are all accounting and supporting documents retained in an organized system that allows

authorized users easy access?Yes Low 1

4.4 Are the general ledger and subsidiary ledgers reconciled at least monthly? Are explanations

provided for significant reconciling items?Yes Low 1

4.5 Are the following functional responsibilities performed by different units or individuals: (a)

authorization to execute a transaction; (b) recording of the transaction; and (c) custody of assets

involved in the transaction?

Yes Low 1

4.6 Are the functions of ordering, receiving, accounting for and paying for goods and services

appropriately segregated?Yes Low 1

4.7 Are bank reconciliations prepared by individuals other than those who make or approve

payments?Yes Low 1

4.8 Are budgets prepared for all activities in sufficient detail to provide a meaningful tool for

monitoring subsequent performance?Yes Low 1

4.9 Are actual expenditures compared to the budget with reasonable frequency? Are

explanations required for significant variations from the budget?Yes Low 1

4.10 Is prior approval sought for budget amendments in a timely way? Yes Low 1

4.11 Are IP budgets approved formally at an appropriate level? Yes Low 1

4.12 Do invoice processing procedures provide for:

· Copies of purchase orders and receiving reports to be obtained directly from issuing

departments?

· Comparison of invoice quantities, prices and terms with those indicated on the purchase

order and with records of goods/services actually received?

· Checking the accuracy of calculations?

Yes Low 1

4.13 Are payments authorized at an appropriate level? Does the IP have a table of payment

approval thresholds?Yes Low 1

4.14 Are all invoices stamped ‘PAID ’, approved, and marked with the project code and account

code?Yes Low 1

4.15 Do controls exist for preparation and approval of payroll expenditures? Are payroll changes

properly authorized?Yes Low 1

4.16 Do controls exist to ensure that direct staff salary costs reflects the actual amount of staff

time spent on a project?Yes Low 1

4.17 Do controls exist for expense categories that do not originate from invoice payments, such

as DSAs, travel, and internal cost allocations?Yes Low 1

4.18 Does the IP have a stated basis of accounting (i.e. cash or accrual) and does it allow for

compliance with the agency's requirement?Yes Low 1

4.19 Does the IP have an adequate policies and procedures manual and is it distributed to relevant staff? Yes Low 1

4e. Policies and procedures

Subject area


Yes No N/A Risk

Assess


4. Accounting Policies and Procedures4a. General

4b. Segregation of duties

4c. Budgeting system

4d. Payments

11



4.20 Does the IP require dual signatories / authorization for bank transactions? Are new

signatories approved at an appropriate level and timely updates made when signatories depart?Yes Low 1

4.21 Does the IP maintain an adequate, up‑to‑date cashbook, recording receipts and payments? Yes Low 1

4.22 If the partner is participating in micro-finance advances, do controls exist for the collection, timely

deposit and recording of receipts at each collection location?N/A N/A -

No micro-finance advances

4.23 Are bank balances and cash ledger reconciled monthly and properly approved? Are

explanations provided for significant, unusual and aged reconciling items?Yes Low 1

4.24 Is substantial expenditure paid in cash? If so, does the IP have adequate controls over cash

payments?N/A N/A -

No cash payments.

4.25 Does the IP carry out a regular petty cash reconciliation? N/A N/A - No cash payments.

4.26 Are cash and cheques maintained in a secure location with restricted access? Are bank accounts

protected with appropriate remote access controls?Yes Low 1

4.27 Are there adequate controls over submission of electronic payment files that ensure no

unauthorized amendments once payments are approved and files are transmitted over secure/encryptedYes Low 1

4.28 Does the IP have a process to ensure expenditures of subsidiary offices/ external entities

are in compliance with the work plan and/or contractual agreement?Yes Low 1

4.29 Is the internal auditor sufficiently independent to make critical assessments? To whom does the

internal auditor report?Yes Low 1

The Planning and Fund Management Office of IP lead the internal audit work .

The auditors report to the director of IP .

4.30 Does the IP have stated qualifications and experience requirements for internal audit department

staff?Yes Low 1

4.31 Are the activities financed by the agencies included in the internal audit department’s work

programme?Yes Low 1

4.32 Does the IP act on the internal auditor's recommendations? Yes Low 1







4f. Cash and bank

4g. Other offices or entities

4h. Internal audit

12



5.1 Is there a system of adequate safeguards to protect assets from fraud, waste and abuse? Yes Low 1

5.2 Are subsidiary records of fixed assets and inventory kept up to date and reconciled with control

accounts?Yes Low 1

5.3 Are there periodic physical verification and/or count of fixed assets and inventory? If so, please

describe?Yes Low 1

Annual physical verification is taken.

5.4 Are fixed assets and inventory adequately covered by insurance policies? No Low 1 No adequately insurance for assets except for cars.

5.5 Do warehouse facilities have adequate physical security? N/A N/A - No warehouse facilities

5.6 Is inventory stored so that it is identifiable, protected from damage, and countable? N/A N/A - No inventory

5.7 Does the IP have an inventory management system that enables monitoring of supply

distribution?N/A N/A - No inventory

5.8 Is responsibility for receiving and issuing inventory segregated from that for updating the inventory

records?N/A N/A - No inventory

5.9 Are regular physical counts of inventory carried out? N/A N/A - No inventory







5. Fixed Assets and Inventory5a. Safeguards over assets

5b. Warehousing and inventory management

Subject area


Yes No N/A Risk

Assess


13



6.1 Does the IP have established financial reporting procedures that specify what reports are to be

prepared, the source system for key reports, the frequency of preparation, what they are to contain and

how they are to be used?

Yes Low 1

6.2 Does the IP prepare overall financial statements? Yes Low 1

6.3 Are the IP’s overall financial statements audited regularly by an independent auditor in

accordance with appropriate national or international auditing standards? If so, please describe

the auditor.

Yes Low 1

National Audit Office, Provincial Ministry of Finance and Provincial Government Office.

6.4 Were there any major issues related to ineligible expenditure involving donor funds reported

in the audit reports of the IP over the past three years?No Low 1

6.5 Have any significant recommendations made by auditors in the prior five audit reports and/or

management letters over the past five years and have not yet been implemented?No Low 1

No significant recommendations made by auditors

6.6 Is the financial management system computerized? Yes Low 1

6.7 Can the computerized financial management system produce the necessary financial reports? Yes Low 1

6.8 Does the IP have appropriate safeguards to ensure the confidentiality, integrity and availability of the

financial data? E.g. password access controls; regular data back-up.Yes Low 1







6. Financial Reporting and Monitoring

Subject area


Yes No N/A Risk

Assess


14



7.1 Does the IP have written procurement policies and procedures? Yes Low 1

7.2 Are exceptions to procurement procedures approved by management and documented ? N/A N/A - No execption

7.3 Does the IP have a computerized procurement system with adequate access controls and segration

of duties between entering purchase orders, approval and receipting of goods? Provide a description of

the procurement system.

Yes Low 1

The procurement system is Qinghai Government procurement website.

7.4 Are procurement reports generated and reviewed regularly? Describe reports generated, frequency

and review & approvers. Yes Low 1

Annual procurement plan should be submited early each year, all procurement should

be undertaken according to the plan. For each procurement, it should be reviewed and

approved by leader of procurement department and Provincial Ministry of Finance.

7.5 Does the IP have a structured procurement unit with defined reporting lines that foster efficiency and

accountability?Yes Low 1

7.6 Is the IP’s procurement unit resourced with qualified staff who are trained and certified and

considered experts in procurement and conversant with UN / World Bank / European Union procurement

requirements in addition to the a IP's procurement rules and regulations?

Yes Low 1

7.7 Have any significant recommendations related to procurement made by auditors in the prior five

audit reports and/or management letters over the past five years and have not yet been implemented?No Low 1

No significant recommendations related to procurement made by auditors.

7.8 Does the IP require written or system authorizations for purchases? If so, evaluate if the

authorization thresholds are appropriate?Yes Low 1

7.9 Do the procurement procedures and templates of contracts integrate references to ethical

procurement principles and exclusion and ineligibility criteria?Yes Low 1

7.10 Does the IP obtain sufficient approvals before signing a contract? Yes Low 1

7.11 Does the IP have and apply formal guidelines and procedures to assist in identifying, monitoring and

dealing with potential conflicts of interest with potential suppliers/procurement agents? If so, how does

the IP proceed in cases of conflict of interest? Yes Low 1

1) After the biding information is posted, if the potential suppliers/procurement agents

has any question/objection on the biding information and criteria, he can address

inquiries to the tenderee or Provincial Ministry of Finance .The tenderee should reply

timely or amend the biding information if necessary. 2) Biding information and the

wining bidder's information are all posted on the government procurement website.

7.12 Does the IP follow a well-defined process for sourcing suppliers? Do formal procurement

methods include wide broadcasting of procurement opportunities?Yes Low 1

7.13 Does the IP keep track of past performance of suppliers? E.g. database of trusted suppliers. Yes Low 1

7.14 Does the IP follow a well-defined process to ensure a secure and transparent bid and

evaluation process? If so, describe the process.

Yes Low 1

1) The tender announcement is posted on the government procurement website.

2) A bidder submits his firmly sealed bid documents to the tenderee before deadline for

the tender Submission. The tenderee is not allowed to open the biding documents

before the bid opening time.

3) Experts are chosen randomly from the name lists of experts provided by the

government procurement system. The name list of members of the bid assessment

committee is kept secret and confidential before the bidding result is made.

4) After the evaluation of tender, the information of final winner need to be posted on the

website for days.

7.15 When a formal invitation to bid has been issued, does the IP award the contract on a pre-

defined basis set out in the solicitation documentation taking into account technical

responsiveness and price?

Yes Low 1

7.16 If the IP is managing major contracts, does the IP have a policy on contracts management /

administration?Yes Low 1

7. Procurement and Contract Administration7a. Procurement

Subject area


Yes No N/A Risk

Assess


15



7.17 Are there personnel specifically designated to manage contracts or monitor contract expirations? Yes Low 1

7.18 Are there staff designated to monitor expiration of performance securities, warranties, liquidated

damages and other risk management instruments?Yes Low 1

7.19 Does the IP have a policy on post-facto actions on contracts? Yes Low 1

7.20 How frequent do post-facto contract actions occur? No Low 1 So far, for UNDP project, no such post-facto action occur.







Total number of questions: 96 Lowest score possible 1.000

Total number of applicable questions: 87 Highest score possible 5.655

Total number of applicable key questions: 36 Banding width 1.164


Total risk score 1 Moderate risk: scores below 3.328

Overall risk rating Low Significant risk: scores below 4.491

7b. Contract Management - To be completed only for the IPs managing contracts as part of programme implementation. Otherwise select N/A for risk assessment

Totals

16

Annex IV-1 Questionnaire 3.3 Key Staff of the programme management departments

Name Position Responsibility Education Experience

2004.02- Present Qinghai Forestry Department Project Management Office

2003.08-2004.02 Sanjiangyuan National Nature Reserve Administration of Qinghai

Province2001.07-2003.08 Qinghai wildlife and Nature Reserve Administration2013.01- Present Project manager of of Project Management Office of Forestry Department

of Qinghai Province2011.08-2012.07 Director of Tibet Plateau Program of World Wide Fund for Nature

(WWF)-China Program Office (Based in Xining).2006.07-2011.08 As operations officer of Sustainable Business Advisory Business Line of

IFC Advisory Service, China.

2013.11- Present Component Manager & Senior Translator in UNDP-GEF Qinghai

Biodiversity Protection Project2010.06-2013.06 Project Manager & Senior Translator in Beijing Gondwana Resource Co.

Ltd2007.09-2010.04 Senior Geology Translator/Senior PA in Hunan Westralian Mining

Company

Li Dongliang

Component Manager of Qinghai

Biodiversity Project Under CHN-

Forestry Department of Qinghai

Province

Assist the project manager to complete the construction

of the whole project's reserve capacity, and be

responsible for the recruitment of international and

domestic experts, personnel contract arrangements and

on-site investigation work.

Qinghai Normal University

Li Yande

Vice Director of Project

Management Office of CHN-


Province

Responsible for the project decision-making, financial

capital approval, to ensure the implementation rate of

the project

Forestry College of Northwest

Agriculture and Forestry University

Fan Longqing

Project manager of of Project

Management Office of CHN-


Province

Responsible for planning, contacting and arranging all

activities of the project, and ensuring timely and

effective implementation of all the activities

College of life science,Sichuan

University

17

Annex T2: Letter of Agreement for UNDP Direct Project Services

STANDARD LETTER OF AGREEMENT BETWEEN

UNDP AND QINGHAI FORESTRY DEPARTMENT FOR THE PROVISION OF SUPPORT SERVICES Dear Mr. Gao Jingyu, Deputy Director General of Qinghai Forestry Department 1. Reference is made to consultations between officials of the Qinghai Forestry Department (hereinafter referred to as “QFD”) and officials of UNDP with respect to the provision of support services by the UNDP country office for the project. UNDP and QFD hereby agree that the UNDP country office may provide such support services at the request of QFD through its institution designated in the relevant project support document or project document, as described below. 2. The UNDP country office may provide support services for assistance with reporting requirements and direct payment. In providing such support services, the UNDP country office shall ensure that the capacity of QFD -designated institution is strengthened to enable it to carry out such activities directly. The costs incurred by the UNDP country office in providing such support services shall be recovered from the administrative budget of the office. 3. The UNDP country office may provide, at the request of QFD or its designated institutions, the following support services for the activities of the project: (a) Identification and/or recruitment of project and programme personnel; (b) Procurement of goods and services; and (c) Other project related actions as needed and requested in addition to the country office’s

project oversight support covered under the GEF implementing Agency fee. 4. The procurement of goods and services and the recruitment of project personnel by the UNDP country office shall be in accordance with the UNDP regulations, rules, policies and procedures. Support services described in paragraph 3 above shall be detailed in an annex to the project support document or project document, in the form provided in the Attachment hereto. If the requirements for support services by the country office change during the life of a project, the annex to the project support document is revised with the mutual agreement of the UNDP Country Director and the designated institution. 5. The relevant provisions of the Standard Basic Assistance Agreement between the Government of China and the United Nations Development Programme in China signed on January 29 1979 (the “SBAA”), including the provisions on liability and privileges and immunities, shall apply to the provision of such support services. The Government shall retain overall responsibility for the nationally managed programme or project through its designated institution. The responsibility of the UNDP country office for the provision of the support services described herein shall be limited to the provision of such support services detailed in the annex to the project support document or project document.

6. Any claim or dispute arising under or in connection with the provision of support services by the UNDP country office in accordance with this letter shall be handled pursuant to the relevant provisions of the SBAA and the project support document or project document. 7. The manner and method of cost-recovery by the UNDP country office in providing the support services described in paragraph 3 above shall be specified in the annex to the project support document. 8. The UNDP country office shall submit progress reports on the support services provided and shall report on the costs reimbursed in providing such services, as may be required. 9. Any modification of the present arrangements shall be effected by mutual written agreement of the parties hereto. 10. If you are in agreement with the provisions set forth above, please sign and return to this office three signed copies of this letter. Upon your signature, this letter shall constitute an agreement between the QFD and UNDP on the terms and conditions for the provision of support services by the UNDP country office for the project.

________________________ ________________________________ Mr. Devanand Ramiah Mr. Gao Jingyu, Deputy Country Director Deputy Director General United Nations Development Programme Qinghai Forestry Department ___ ___, 2018 __ _ __, 2018

Attachment

DESCRIPTION OF UNDP COUNTRY OFFICE SUPPORT SERVICES 1. Reference is made to consultations between State Oceanic Administration, the institution designated by the Government of China and officials of UNDP with respect to the provision of support services by the UNDP country office for the nationally managed project Strengthening the PA system in the Qilian Mountains‐Qinghai Lake landscape (China’s Protected Area System Reform (C‐PAR) Program Child Project #3). 2. In accordance with the provisions of the letter of agreement signed on ______, 2018 and the project document, the UNDP country office shall provide support services for the project as described below. 3. Support services to be provided:

Support services (insert description)

Schedule for the provision of the support services

Cost to UNDP of providing such support services (where appropriate)

Amount and method of reimbursement of UNDP (where appropriate)

1. DPCs for Consultant Recruitments

To be recruited during 2018- 2023 as per AWP.

DPC charge will follow UNDP-GEF specific guidance on DPC, i.e. services must be itemized and associated costs are based on UPL/ LPL

DPCs including USD 5,579.40 for consultant recruitment at USD 371.96 per procurement and three consultants recruited during each year of implementation; USD 3,431.48 for procurement processes involving local CAP (higher value) for an estimated four procurements at USD 857.87 per procurement, with one procurement per year in Years 2, 3, 4, and 5; USD 5,028.60 for procurement not involving local CAP (low value) for an estimated fifteen procurements at USD 335.24 per procurement, with three procurements per year during each year of implementation.

Total: USD 14,038. ATLAS billing -Estimated amount should not more than the amount of US$ 14,038.

4. Description of functions and responsibilities of the parties involved: Description of functions and responsibilities of the parties involved is as per the project document. UNDP country office will provide the services as stated above upon the request of the State Oceanic Administration. The reimbursement of the UNDP support cost will be recorded as per transactions based on the established UNDP financial regulations and rules.

16‐Annex C_5690_CPAR3_Overview of Technical Consultancies and subcontracts_1st‐resubmission.docx Page 1

Annex C: Overview of Technical Consultancies/subcontracts

Consultant/Individual/Contractor Time Input Tasks, Inputs and Outputs

Project Management

Local / National contracting:

Project Manager USD 3,070 per month, with 5% COLA per year from Year 2

3 months per year; 15 months total

The Project Manager will be responsible for the overall management of the project, including the mobilisation of project inputs, supervision over project staff, consultants and sub‐contractors. See the full TOR in Annex D for details.

Project Assistant/Finance Officer USD 1,535 per month, with 5% COLA per year from Year 2

5.5 months per year; 27.5 months total

The Project Assistant/Finance Officer will be responsible for finance, administration, IT and support translations. See the full TOR in Annex D for details.

Component 1



10 months total The Project Manager will be responsible for the overall management of the project, including the mobilisation of project inputs, supervision over project staff, consultants and sub‐contractors. See the full TOR in Annex D for details.


10 months total The Project Assistant/Finance Officer will be responsible for finance, administration, IT and support translations. See the full TOR in Annex D for details.

M&E/Safeguards Officer USD 1,842 per month, with 5% COLA per year from Year 2

7.5 months total The M&E/Safeguards Officer will be responsible for overseeing monitoring and evaluation activities, as well as the preparation of the ESIA and implementation of the ESMP. See the full TOR in Annex D for details.

Chief Technical Officer USD 3,454 per month, with 5% COLA per year from Year 2

3.75 months total The Chief Technical Advisor provides overall strategic guidance on the project, working closely with the Project Manager and other PMO staff on developing TORs, reviewing deliverables, liaising with the C‐PAR1 Advisory Group, and providing support to the other child projects. See the full TOR in Annex D for details.

Program Alignment Officer USD 2,763 per month, with 5% COLA per year from Year 2

3.75 months total The Program Alignment Officer provides program level technical support and coordination, including delivering additional support for environmental and social safeguards. See the full TOR in Annex D for details.

PA Law/Policy/Governance Specialist(s) USD 1,381 per week

24 weeks Output 1.1:

Facilitated by the Law and Enforcement Task Force, provide technical assistance to improve the institutional frameworks for collaborative PA governance and establish collaborative PA governance arrangements to support: (i) transboundary collaboration for the Qilian Mountains NP, (ii) inter‐agency coordination between the Qinghai Scenic Area and NNR, and (iii) coordination between provincial and local government units in the management of the Qinghai Lake NNR and buffer zone in the periphery reaches of the reserve.

Determine and draft proposals for inclusion of landscape‐scale biodiversity conservation in the upcoming 14th 5‐year plan for Qinghai Province (including provisions on community‐based conservation financing per guidance developed in Output 1.2, and operationalisation and scaling up of ecological corridors according advances facilitated under Output 2.1).

PA Financing Specialist / Resource Economist USD 1,535 per week


Develop a sustainable financing plan for the consolidated Qilian Mountains‐Qinghai Lake landscape; some preliminary aspects that could be considered include but are not limited to the following:

a. Channelling eco‐compensation funds for PA management within the landscape.



b. Introducing new ecotourism activities associated with the Przewalski’s gazelle.

c. Sustainable alternative livelihoods linked to conservation incentives.

d. Strengthen enabling conditions regarding participation of the civil society.

e. Innovative conservation financing scheme for reducing threats associated with fencing in Przewalski’s gazelle habitat.

Develop resource management and resource monitoring regulations, as a key part for participatory conservation activities, e.g., ecological tourism development. Implementation of the regulations will be initiated and tested through the participatory project activities under Outputs 2.3 and 2.4.

Capacity Development Specialist USD 1,381 per week


Verify the capacity needs assessment completed during the PPG phase, and design a capacity development plan for the project in line with the C‐PAR program level plan.

Oversee implementation of capacity development activities under Component 1.

Contractual services (company, institute) for gap analysis

Years 1, 2 Output 1.1:

Carry out a gap analysis across the Qilian Mountains‐Qinghai Lake landscape, identifying conservation objectives and enabling conditions, in support of a landscape conservation strategy and action plan.

Contractual services (company, institute) for species conservation and restoration plan, snow leopard


Prepare a species conservation and restoration plan for the snow leopard in the Qilian Mountains‐Qinghai Lake landscape, through consolidating and updating existing plans and studies and the gap analysis completed under this output.

Contractual services (company, institute) for species conservation and restoration plan, Przewalski’s gazelle


Prepare a species conservation and restoration plan for the Przewalski’s gazelle in the Qilian Mountains‐Qinghai Lake landscape, through consolidating and updating existing plans and studies and the gap analysis completed under this output.

Contractual services (company, institute) for consolidated landscape strategy and action plan

Years 2, 3, 4 Output 1.1:

Prepare a PA sub‐system landscape conservation strategy and action plan for the Qilian Mountains‐Qinghai Lake landscape, including establishment of ecological corridors, recovery actions and habitat needs for globally significant species (e.g., snow leopard, Przewalski’s gazelle), recognition of key biodiversity areas (KBAs), and climate refugia, and proposals for expansion and consolidation to improve connectivity and increase protection of globally significant biodiversity.

Contractual services (company, institute) for an advisory report on improved allocation of eco‐compensation funds


Support the development of an advisory report on improving the ecological compensation system and increasing ecological compensation finance inputs, linking eco‐compensation funds according to values of the relevant ecosystem services, and prepare a pilot plan to be implemented under Component 2 (Output 2.4) as part of at least one of the pasture management plans.

Contractual services (company, institute) for an implementation plan for PA tourism partnerships and concessions


Adapt the guideline on tourism partnerships and concessions developed under the national project, C‐PAR1, to the local circumstances in Qinghai province, and develop a pilot



implementation plan for at least one of the target villages under Component 2 (to be implemented under Output 2.4).

Contractual services (company, institute) for guidelines for innovative PA financing mechanisms


Develop guidelines for innovative PA financing mechanisms, e.g., conservation easements, ecological corridors, pasture user fees, etc., in support of the community‐based demonstration activities planned under Component 2 (Output 2.4).

International contracting:

PA Planning/Management Specialist(s) USD 3,000 per week

4 weeks Output 1.3:

Deliver site level training in Qinghai province, in coordination with the C‐PAR1 project and building upon existing partnerships.

Component 2



31.25 months total The Project Manager will be responsible for the overall management of the project, including the mobilisation of project inputs, supervision over project staff, consultants and sub‐contractors. See the full TOR in Annex D for details.


18.75 months total The Project Assistant/Finance Officer will be responsible for finance, administration, IT and support translations. See the full TOR in Annex D for details.





PA Coordinator, Qilian Mountains NR USD 1,842 per month, with 5% COLA per year from Year 2

54 months total The PA Coordinator for Qilian Mountains NR will be responsible for effective planning, coordination, and monitoring and evaluation of the project activities planned for the Qilian Mountains NR. See the full TOR in Annex D for details.

PA Coordinator, Qinghai Lake NNR USD 1,842 per month, with 5% COLA per year from Year 2

54 months total The PA Coordinator for Qinghai Lake NNR will be responsible for effective planning, coordination, and monitoring and evaluation of the project activities planned for the Qinghai Lake NNR See the full TOR in Annex D for details.

Capacity Development Specialist USD 1,381 per week

3 weeks Output 2.1:

Support trainings delivered by international training consultant.

PA Financing Specialist / Resource Economist USD 1,381 per week


Carry out an ecosystem valuation study in the landscape, identifying eco‐compensation pilot opportunities, formulating a specific implementation plan according to the guidelines developed under Output 1.2.

Provide oversight/guidance during implementation of conservation financing interventions.

Community Mobiliser (2) USD 900 per month

6 months per year in years 2, 3, 4, 5; cumulative total 24 months, per position

Outputs 2.1, 2.2, 2.3 and 2.4:

Working with village committees, herder groups, service providers and local beneficiaries, facilitating implementation of project interventions in the field.

Contractual services (company, institute, NGO) for establishment of ecological corridors

Years 2‐3 Output 2.1:

Provide technical assistance for the establishment of ecological corridors to consolidate Przewalski’s gazelle habitats that are contiguous with the current layout of the Qinghai Lake NNR, and



support documentation of lessons learned from the demonstration corridor to support replication.

Contractual services (company, institute, NGO) for support in design of Qilian Mountains NP


Provide technical assistance in support of the design and establishment of the Qilian Mountains National Park, focusing on increased protection of globally significant biodiversity and improving connectivity of critical habitats.

Contractual services (company, institute, NGO) for developing updated management plan for Qinghai Lake NNR

Year 4 Output 2.1:

Update the management plan for the Qinghai Lake NNR, including recognition of the established ecological corridors and improvements to law enforcement and habitat/biodiversity monitoring protocols to address threats facing the Przewalski’s gazelle and other globally significant biodiversity.

Contractual services (company, institute, NGO) for organising and managing joint interactive workshops

Annually Output 2.1:

Organise annual joint interactive workshops between Qinghai and Gansu PA management and staff and Qinghai Lake NNR and Qinghai Lake Scenic Area, strengthening collaborative PA governance. Possible topics will include but not limited to the following:

- Integrated ecosystem management planning for PAs - Ecological Corridor design, implementation, and management - Spatial Monitoring and Reporting Tool (SMART) patrolling - Monitoring of key biodiversity (habitats and species) - Information management and communications - Community‐based natural resource management - Participatory approaches, facilitation and conflict resolution - Climate change vulnerability assessment and adaptation

planning

- Briefings on revised legislation and regulations on biodiversity conservation.

Contractual services (company, institute, NGO) for enhancing biodiversity monitoring capacities

Year 1, Year 5 Output 2.2:

Provide technical assistance for carrying out participatory biodiversity surveys of the target areas; including at project inception and at the end of the project.

Contractual services (company, institute, NGO) for developing and reviewing annually pasture management plans

Year 1, and annually

Output 2.3:

Through a participatory process with village committees and herder groups, prepare 5‐year pasture management plans for the Dayu and Gonggongma villages and the land managed by herders in the territory supervised by the Liuhuanggou and Laohugou management stations.

Carry out annual reviews of pasture management plans, adjust the plans according to progress made and lessons learned, and apply adaptive management measures to emergent issues.

Contractual services (company, institute, NGO) for implementing pasture management plans: degraded habitats restored


Implement the pasture management plans to restore degraded grasslands, through restoration measures such as natural regeneration, planting native grassland species, rodent control and supplementary fodder etc. Implementation will be led by the village committees and herder groups, facilitated by the PA coordinators and community mobilisers, and in collaboration with provincial and local governments.

Contractual services (company, institute, NGO) for implementing pasture management plans: habitats under improved management


Implement the pasture management plans to improve management of habitats, through measures such as voluntary de‐fencing, installation of wildlife gates, non‐fence property delineation, establishment of conservation set‐asides etc. Implementation will



be led by the village committees and herder groups, facilitated by the PA coordinators and community mobilisers, and in collaboration with provincial and local governments.

Contractual services (company, institute, NGO) for preparing and promoting HWC management guideline


Adapting the HWC management guideline developed under the C‐PAR1 project, integrate HWC management guidelines into at least one pasture management plan, and organise an information sharing workshop with the village committee members, local government officials, HWC experts and insurance company representatives to discuss current and emerging practices and regulations. This activity will also include a knowledge exchange visit with Gansu province who is also working on HWC management under C‐PAR2.

Contractual services (company, institute, NGO) for promoting public participation through environmental education


Promote enhanced public participation through environmental education initiatives delivered to primary and or secondary schools.

Contractual services (company, institute, NGO) for strengthening volunteer management


Promote increased volunteer participation, e.g., including facilitating establishment of volunteer conservation groups focusing on P. gazelle or snow leopard, and develop capacities for volunteer tour guides.

Contractual services (company, institute, NGO) for designing and managing micro‐financing program for sustainable livelihoods


Support community‐based sustainable livelihood activities through a small grants program, with priority given to women’s and ethnic minority groups. A local partner will be contracted, e.g., local NGO or foundation, to design and manage the micro‐financing program.

Working with the two village committees in Dayu and Gonggongma villages of Qinghai Lake NNR and facilitated by the Community Mobilisers, carry out advocacy, partnership building and capacity development among local community‐based organisations, including women’s groups, providing training on developing proposals, business plans and financial management.

Organise at least one local exhibition of products and services produced through the alternative livelihood program for Qinghai Lake NNR, with the aim of fostering long‐term partnerships and identifying opportunities for scaling up.

Contractual services (company, institute, NGO) for facilitating tourism partnership


In connection with the pilot implementation plan developed under Output 1.2, procure a tourism partnership for Qinghai Lake NNR, inviting tourism operators in the province, aimed at improving collaborative PA governance arrangements between the Qinghai Lake NNR and Scenic Area, as well as increasing involvement of local communities in the tourism sector.

Contractual services (company, institute, NGO) for implementing at least one eco‐compensation pilots


Implement at least one eco‐compensation pilot demonstration, through a time‐bound agreement between one or more village committees or herder groups and local government units.

Component 3



3.75 months total The Project Manager will be responsible for the overall management of the project, including the mobilisation of project inputs, supervision over project staff, consultants and sub‐contractors. See the full TOR in Annex D for details.




3.75 months total The Project Assistant/Finance Officer will be responsible for finance, administration, IT and support translations. See the full TOR in Annex D for details.





Program Alignment Officer USD 2,763 per month, with 5% COLA per year from Year 2

3.75 months total The Program Alignment Officer provides program level technical support and coordination, including delivering additional support for environmental and social safeguards. See the full TOR in Annex D for details.

National Consultant for midterm results assessment USD 1,381 per week

2 weeks in Year 3 Output 3.1; support the project team in assessing midterm results, including filling out tracking tools, UNDP Capacity Development Scorecard, and compiling monitoring results.

National Consultant for Midterm Review USD 1,381 per week

4 weeks in Year 3 Output 3.1; see UNDP standard TOR for this position.

National Consultant for end‐of‐project results assessment USD 1,381 per week

2 weeks in Year 5 Output 3.1; support the project team in assessing end‐of‐project results, including filling out tracking tools, UNDP Capacity Development Scorecard, and compiling monitoring results.

National Consultant for Terminal Evaluation USD 1,381 per week


Knowledge Management / Communications Specialist USD 1,381 per week


Provide technical assistance on KM and communication activities.

Perform an assessment of results achieved through the sustainable livelihoods initiatives, tourism partnership and eco‐compensation pilots, and distil lessons learned into informative case studies.

Output 3.3:

Develop and implement a system for integrating inputs from community ranger programs into landscape level M&E and reporting procedures.

Safeguards Specialist, Lead USD 1,535 per week

6 weeks Output 3.3:

Carry out an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) and develop an Environmental and Social Management Plan (ESMP) for the project (4 weeks).

Carry out iied SAPA methodology for assessing social impacts (2 weeks).

Social Inclusion Specialist USD 1,381 per week


Support the ESIA/ESMP processes, including FPIC with local communities (6 weeks)

Implement the ESMP and monitor potential environmental and social impacts, as well as co‐benefits generated because of mitigation measures implemented (12weeks).

Support iied SAP methodology for assessing social impacts (3 weeks).

Gender Specialist USD 1,381 per week

10 weeks Provide training and technical assistance in the implementation of the gender action plan for the project.



Contractual services (company, institute) for KAP survey and KM strategy

Year 1 and Year 5 Output 3.2:

Design, administer and interpret a baseline KAP survey, assessing knowledge, attitudes and practices of decision makers and the public regarding the value of the national PA system.

Based on the results of the baseline KAP survey of this project and the other C‐PAR child projects, develop a program level knowledge management strategy and a project level action plan. The strategy and action plan will be reviewed and updated annually.

Administer and interpret the results of an end‐of‐project KAP survey, assessing changes in knowledge, attitudes and practices of decision makers and the public regarding the value of the national PA system.

Professional Services for financial NIM auditor

Annual service contract

See UNDP standard TOR for this service.

International contracting:

Midterm Reviewer USD 3,000 per week


Terminal Evaluator USD 3,000 per week

7 weeks in Year 5 Output 3.1; see UNDP standard TOR for this position

Resettlement and Safeguards Specialist USD 3,000 per week

2 weeks in Year 1 Output 3.3; provide technical guidance for the preparation of the ESIA and development of the ESMP.

COLA: Cost of Living Adjustment;

1

Annex H

Socioeconomic Baseline Report

Qinghai Lake and Qilian Mountains Landscape

CPAR3 (Qinghai)

Prepared by:

Dr. Zhang Xuemei


Programme: China's Protected Area System Reform (C‐PAR)

GEF Programme ID: 9403 UNDP Programme ID: 5695

Project:

Strengthening the PA system in the Qilian Mountains‐Qinghai Lake

landscape project (CPAR3)



21 Sep 2017 01 First draft J. Lenoci

31Oco 2017 02 Second draft J. Lenoci

30 Nov 2017 03 Third draft J. Lenoci

12 Mar 2018 04 Fourth draft J. Lenoci

04 Apr 2018 05 Fifth draft J. Lenoci

i

Executive Summary

This socioeconomic baseline report aims to provide information for identifying opportunities of alternative livelihoods,

community co‐management, gender mainstreaming activities, and for designing the knowledge, attitude, practices (KAP)

framework for the CPAR3 project.

The report includes a compilation of available secondary social and economic development information, information from

field missions and from communication with local people through phone call and email during May to October 2017.

Based on the analysis of the gathered information, the following recommendations are provided.

Major findings:

There are over 50,000 rural residents living in or adjacent to the Qinghai Lake National Nature Reserve (NNR), most

are Tibetan people. About 7,000 rural residents live within the Qilian Mountain PNR; with the upgrade to a

national park (NP), there are a number of additional communities situated inside the proposed borders of the NP.

Most are ethnic minority people. Hui and Tibetan ethnicities are the first two ethnic minority groups. Women

account for approximately 50% of the total population in areas of both nature reserves

The habitat of the gazelle extends onto collective villagers’ land, outside the borders of the Qinghai Lake NNR. The

habitats of Snow Leopard and prey of the leopard are overlapped with grasslands of the villagers in Qilian

Mountains PNR.

Herders in and surrounding the Qinghai Lake NNR are highly economically dependent on their grassland habitat of

the gazelle. Herders in the villages in the Qilian Mountains PNR are also reliant upon the grassland ecosystems

there.

Livestock fencing is the first and foremost threat to the gazelle, while fencing is important measure for separating

livestock belonging to different households, and for avoiding social conflict between neighbour households.

Overgrazing is another threat to the gazelle in Qinghai Lake area.

There have been no documented cases of retaliatory killing in the Qilian Mountain PNR in the past three years, but

poaching remains a concern. Each management station in the Qiliann Mountains PNR has limited staff while their

management scale is huge. Capacity of the staff members needs be improved.

Strategies proposed for the CPAR3 project include:

Implementation of innovative conservation financing mechanisms, e.g., through conservation easements, are

planned in Dayu Village , Haiyan County, in the Qinghai Lake NNR area as a means to remove and/or lower fences.

Community co‐management in the Dayu Village which will be combined with the innovative conservation financing

mechanisms in the village

Business capacity building in the Dayu Village which will be combined with the innovative conservation financing

mechanisms and the community co‐management in the village

Participation of local communities in the establishment of ecological corridors in the vicinity of the Qinghai Lake

NNR

Build capacity of staff in two management stations of Qilian Mountains PNR

Piloy collaborative management of pasture at high altitude in the Qilian Mountains area to minimize seasonal

fragmentation of wildlife migration.

In cooperation with the Provincial Animal Husbandry sector, local herder groups will be actively engaged in

grassland restoration, with limited or no use of fencing.

Estimated Direct Beneficiaries

Benefit area Beneficiary households (#)

Direct beneficiaries (person)

Female beneficiaries (%)

Activities in the pilot villages 753 3,075 50.1

Activities in the pilot management stations n/a 200 About 50

ii


AHD Animal Husbandry Department

CAPR3 C‐PAR3

CNKI China National Knowledge Infrastructure

C‐PAR China's Protected Area System Reform

CWCA China Wildlife Conservation Association



ha Hectare

HWC Human‐wildlife conflict


NR Nature Reserve

PNR Provincial Natural Reserve

PPG Programme Preparation Grant

QFD Qinghai Forestry Department

NP National Park



The PRC The People’s Republic of China



Exchange rate

CNY 6.6 =USD 1

iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Executive Summary .......................................................................................................................... i

Abbreviations and Acronyms ........................................................................................................... ii

1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 1

1.1 The Project .......................................................................................................................... 1

1.2 Basic Concepts .................................................................................................................... 1

1.3 Project Area and Pilot Villages and Pilot Management Stations ........................................ 2

1.4 Flagship Species in the Project Area ................................................................................... 3

2 Socioeconomic Situation ......................................................................................................... 3

2.1 Socioeconomic Situation in China....................................................................................... 3

2.2 Socioeconomic Situation in Qinghai Province .................................................................... 4

2.3 Land Characteristics ............................................................................................................ 5

2.4 GDP Composition and Income ............................................................................................ 5

2.5 Socioeconomic Situation in the Project Prefectures ........................................................... 6

2.6 Socioeconomic Situation in the Project County .................................................................. 7

2.7 Socioeconomic Situation in the Target Nature Reserves .................................................... 9

2.8 Socioeconomic Situation in the interviewed Communities .............................................. 14

3 Gender Analysis .................................................................................................................... 17

4 Public Education ................................................................................................................... 18

5 Local CSOs Involved in Community Activities in the Project Area............................................ 19

6 Baseline Programmes/projects on Conservation and Development ....................................... 19

6.1 National Policies and Projects ........................................................................................... 19

6.2 Qinghai Provincial Policies and Projects ........................................................................... 20

6.3 International Project in the Project Area .......................................................................... 21

7 Proposed Pilot Villages for the CPAR3 Interventions .............................................................. 22

7.1 Criteria for Selection of the Pilot villages .......................................................................... 22

7.2 Proposed Pilot Villages in the Qinghai Lake Area ............................................................. 23

7.3 Proposed Pilot Management Stations in the Qilian Mountains PNR ................................ 24

8 Proposed Strategies for Biodiversity Conservation ................................................................. 25

8.1 For the Qinghai Lake NNR ................................................................................................. 25

8.2 For Qilian Mountains PNR ................................................................................................. 27

8.3 Estimated Direct Beneficiaries of Proposed Community Activities .................................. 28

8.4 Principles Proposed for Implementing the Strategies ...................................................... 29

8.5 Necessary Expertise .......................................................................................................... 29

8.6 Stakeholder Analysis ......................................................................................................... 30

9 Risk Analysis ......................................................................................................................... 30

10 Annex ............................................................................................................................... 31

A‐Table 1: Information on Villages for Project Intervention in Qinghai Lake NNR (2016) ............... 31

1

1 Introduction

1.1 The Project

1. The project of “Strengthening the PA system in the Qilian Mountains‐Qinghai Lake

landscape” (the CPAR3) is the child project # 3 under GEF program of “China's Protected Area

System Reform (C‐PAR)”. Objective of the CPAR3 is to strengthen the effectiveness of the

protected area system in the Qilian Mountains‐Qinghai Lake landscape to conserve globally

significant biodiversity, including snow leopard and Przewalski’s gazelle. UNDP is the GEF

Agency.

2. This report analyses the socioeconomic situation and community related overgrazing,

fencing, and human‐wildlife conflict. Based on the analysis, some strategies for dealing with

the threats, alternative livelihoods, community co‐management, gender mainstreaming, and

public education are developed.

1.2 Basic Concepts

3. Target nature reserve means nature reserve where the project will target certain

actions. Project municipality is the municipality where the project target nature reserve(s)

are situated. Similarly, project county/district/city is the county/district/city where the project

target nature reserve(s) are situated. Pilot management station refers to management station

of the target nature reserves where the project plans to demonstrate some activities. Pilot

village/community means village/community where the project plans to demonstrate some

community development and biodiversity conservation activities.

4. Ethnic minorities / Indigenous Peoples is used in this report. The term Indigenous

Peoples has never been formally used in the PRC. In steady, ethnic minorities is used.

Identification of ethnicity had been started since establishment of the PRC. Totally 56 ethnic

groups have been identified mainly based on their similarities such as common ancestry,

language, society, and culture in 1970s. Of the 56 ethnic groups, Han ethnicity is the ethnic

majority, and the other 55 ethnic groups are ethnic minorities. The term Indigenous Peoples

has also seldom been used in academic discourses or in the development practices in the PRC.

5. “An official definition of “indigenous” has not been adopted by any UN‐system body.

Instead the system has developed a modern understanding of this term based on the

following”1:

6. Self‐ identification as indigenous peoples at the individual level and accepted by the

community as their member

Historical continuity with pre‐colonial and/or pre‐settler societies Strong link to territories and surrounding natural resources Distinct social, economic or political systems Distinct language, culture and beliefs Form non‐dominant groups of society

1 http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/unpfii/documents/5session_factsheet1.pdf

2

Resolve to maintain and reproduce their ancestral environments and systems as distinctive peoples and communities.

7. The term ‘Ethnic Minorities’ in the PRC is very similar to the term ‘Indigenous Peoples’

used in the UN‐system, except ‘Historical continuity with pre‐colonial and/or pre‐settler

societies’, which is not suitable to the PRC.

8. Administrative Village: In rural China, an ‘administrative village’ is an autonomous

management area which socially comprises a certain number of households. The households

usually live in the same area, but not always. In some areas, especially in mountainous areas

or in prairie areas, some households reside here, while some reside there. A small resided area

is customarily called a natural village. That is, an administrative village informally consists of

several natural villages. An administrative village is formally divided into several villager groups.

A villager group consists of some households. Village Committee is the management agency

of an administrative village. Each villager group has one to two group leaders. In this report,

term ‘village’ refer to administrative village.

9. Community in international discourses refers to a social group of any size whose

members resides in a specific locality, and often has a common cultural and historical heritage.

However, community is not a formal administrative term in the People’s Republic of China (the

PRC). Community in this report refers to either an administrative village or a natural village, or

an urban community.

1.3 Project Area and Pilot Villages and Pilot Management Stations

10. The project area includes Qinghai Lake National Nature Reserve (NNR) and the Qilian

Mountains Provincial Nature Reserve (PNR), the two target nature reserves. The project area

covers three prefectures: Haibei Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture (Haibe Prefecture), Hainan

Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture (Hainan Prefecture), and Haixi Mongol and Tibetan

Autonomous Prefecture (Haixi Prefecture). The Qinghai Lake NNR is situated partly in the

Hainan Prefecture and partly in the Haibei Prefecture. The Qilian Mountain PNR is situated

partly in the Haibei Prefecture and partly in the Haixi Prefecture. The Haibei Prefecture partly

accommodates the two NRs. The project area extends across seven counties: Gonghe,

Haiyan and Gangcha in the Qinghai Lake NNR, and Qilian, Menyuan, Tianjun and Delingha in

the Qilian Mountains PNR (Table 1).

Table 1: Project Prefectures and Project Counties

11. The project has two pilot management stations: Liuhuanggou Station and Laohugou

Station of the Qilian Mountains PNR, two pilot communities: Dayu Village of Haiyan County

and Gonggongma Village of Gangcha County in and adjacent to the Qinghai Lake NNR, and

one middle school in Xihai Town of Haiyan County, next to the Qinghai Lake NNR.

Qinghai Lake NNR Qilian Mountain PNR

Project prefecture Hainan Haibei Haixi

Project county/city Gonghe Haiyan Gangcha Qilian Menyuan Tianjun Delingha

3

1.4 Flagship Species in the Project Area

12. Przewalski’s gazelle. The Przewalski’s gazelle habitats are area in or surrounding the

Qinghai Lake. The gazelle habitats extend beyond the Qinghai Lake NNR physically and

administratively, on collectively held lands. Currently, the Qinghai Lake NNR is legally

administratively responsible for biodiversity conservation only within the NNR. The Haibei

Prefecture was designated as hometown of Przewalski’s gazelle by the China Wildlife

Conservation Association (CWCA) on 14 July 2017.

13. Snow Leopard: The Qilian Mountains have long been known to be important habitats

for the snow leopard, but the specific numbers and distribution details are unclear, partly

because only limited monitoring and research have been made. The Qilian Mountains PNR

was established in 2014, and has been upgraded to Qilian Mountains National Park pilot (NPP)

in 2017.

2 Socioeconomic Situation

2.1 Socioeconomic Situation in China

2.1.1 Population composition

14. China had a population of 1,383 million in 2016. Of which, 42.6% were living in rural

area 2 , 48.8% were female, and 8.4% were ethnic minority people (Table 2). Whereas

registered rural population accounted for 58.8% of the total population of China in 2016. The

difference between registered rural population and permanent rural population is because

more registered rural laborers shifted away from rural villages to urban towns for wage work.

There were 287.71 million rural migrant workers3 in 2016.

Table 2: Population Composition in China (2016)

Item Unit China

Total population million person 1,382.7

Urban % 57.35

Rural % 42.654

Male % 51.20

Female % 48.80

Han ethnicity* % 91.60

Ethnic minorities* % 8.40

Density of population Person/100 ha 145.88

Sources: Statistical Communique of the PRC on the 2016 National Economic and Social Development; * 1% National Population Sample Survey in 2015.

2.1.2 Land Characteristics

15. China has a land area of 947.8 million hectare (ha), with 253 million ha of forests land

2 permanent rural residents 3 Rural migrant workers/laborers refer to rural laborers who are registered as rural people, but they migrated away from rural area to urban towns for wage work.

4 It is ratio of rural resident over the total population.

4

and 219.4 million ha of area of grasslands5.

2.1.3 GDP Composition and Income

16. Over half of the national Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is derived from tertiary sector.

The GDP derived from primary sector accounted for just 8.6% of the total GDP in 2016.

Disposable income per rural resident was CNY 12,363 (USD 1,873) in 2016, which was just 37%

of that of the urban residents in the same year. That was a major reason that more and more

rural laborers migrated away from rural area to find jobs in urban towns.

Table 3: GDP Composition of China in 2016

Item Unit Data

GDP in total CNY billion 744,127

Primary sector % 8.6

Second sector % 39.8

Tertiary sector % 51.6

GDP per capita CNY 53,980

Disposable income per urban resident CNY 33,616

Disposable income per rural resident CNY 12,363

Ratio of rural to urban disposable income % 36.8

Sources: Statistical Communique of the PRC on the 2016 National Economic and Social Development.

2.2 Socioeconomic Situation in Qinghai Province

2.2.1 Population Composition

17. Qinghai Province had 5.88 million registered people, and 5.93 million permanent

residents in 2016, accounting for 0.42% and 0.43% of the total population of China respectively.

The density of permanent residents was 0.58 per hundred ha, which was 0.4% of the national

average in 2016. This means that Qinghai is sparsely populated.

18. Registered rural population in Qinghai was 3.42 million while the permanent rural

population was 2.87 million in 2016. It indicates that 0.55 million registered rural people

moved away from rural villages to urban area. Of the total permanent residents in Qinghai

Province in 2016, about half (48.37%) were rural, half (49.3%) were female, and half (47.7%)

were ethnic minority people. Tibetan ethnic group was the largest ethnic minority group in

Qinghai, accounting for 25.23% of the total population in 2016 (Table 4).

5 These figures are from China Statistical Yearbook‐2016, the data was for 2015.

5

Table 4: Population Composition of Qinghai Province in 2016

Sources: Qinghai Statistical Communique on the 2016 National Economic and Social Development. *1% National Population Sample Survey in 2015.

2.3 Land Characteristics

19. Total land area under jurisdiction of Qinghai Province was 72.23 million ha in 20166,

accounting for 7.6% of the total land area of China. Area of cultivated land, afforested lands,

grasslands and wetlands were respectively 0.59 million ha, 8.08 million ha, 36.4 million ha and

8.1 million ha, taking up to 0.44%, 2.58%, 9.26% and 15.19% of the totals in China respectively

in 2016.7

2.4 GDP Composition and Income

20. The GDP of Qinghai was less than 1% of the total in China in 2016. The disposable

income per urban resident was 79.6% of the national average, and the figure for rural resident

was 70% in 2016.

Table 5: GDP Composition and Income of Qinghai Province

Source: Qinghai Statistical Communique on the 2016 National Economic and Social Development.

6 http://www.qh.gov.cn/dmqh/glp/ 7 There figures were from China Statistical Yearbook‐2016. The figures were for 2015.

Data % of China

Registered population million 5.8 0.42

Permanent residents Million 5.93 0.43

Urban % 51.63

Rural % 48.37

Male % 50.3

Female % 49.3

Han ethnicity* % 52.29

Ethnic minorities* % 47.71

Tibetan ethnic group % 25.23

Hui ethnic group % 14.78

Tu ethnic group % 3.55

Sala ethnic group % 1.93

Mongolia ethnic group % 1.8

The others % 0.42

Density of population person/100 ha 0.58 0.4%

Qinghai % of China

GDP in total CNY billion 257.2 0.03

Primary sector % 8.6

Second sector % 48.6

Tertiary sector % 42.8

GDP per capita CNY 43,531 80.6

Disposable income per urban resident CNY 26,757 79.6

Disposable income per rural resident CNY 8,664 70.0

Ratio of rural to urban disposable income % 32.4

6

21. Governmental transfer accounted for about one third of the rural income in 2016

(Table 6), including various compensation and subsidies, such as compensation for protection

of ecological grasslands and forests.

Table 6: Income Composition of Rural Resident in Qinghai in 2016

Sources: Qinghai Statistical Communique on the 2016 National Economic and Social Development.

2.5 Socioeconomic Situation in the Project Prefectures


22. Most of residents in the Hainan and the Haibei prefectures live in rural area, while most

residents in the Haixi Prefecture live in urban area. Most people in the Hainan are ethnic

minority, and Tibetan is the largest ethnic minority group in terms of population. Two third

of population in the Haibei are ethnic minority, and Hui group is the largest ethnic minority

group in terms of population, followed by Tibetan. One third of the population in the Haixi

is ethnic minority, including Tibetan, Hui people, Mongolia and the others. Table 7 presents

the population situation in 2016.

Table 7: Population Composition in the Project‐located Prefectures in 2016

Source: Haibei/Haixi/Hainan Statistical Communique on the 2016 National Economic and Social Development; figures of ethnic minority: 1% National Population Census in 2015; Haibei Government. Population and Ethnicities of Haibei: http://www.qhhb.gov.cn/html/1698/7244.html 3 July 2015 (the ethnicity‐related data of Haibei was for 2015).

8 Net Business Income refers to net income earned by households and their members engaged in production and business activities.

Data (CNY/person) Proportion (%)

Income of wages and salaries 2,464 28.4

Net business income8 3,197 36.9

Net income from property 325 3.8

Net income from transfer 2,678 30.9

Total 8,664 100

Unit Hainan Haibei Haixi

Permanent population person 468,300 281,200 512,600

Urban % 23.2 36.4 71.3

Rural % 76.8 63.6 28.7

Male % 50.3 50.8 50.9

Female % 49.7 49.3 49.1

Han % 24.8 33.0 66.0

Ethnic minority % 75.2 67.0 34.0

Tibetan % 66.3 25.0 10.9

Mongolian % 0.7 5.3 5.5

Hui people % 6.8 32.5 13.5

Tu % 0.9 3.0 2.0

Sala % 0.2

1.0

Others % 0.2 1.2 1.1

7


23. Disposable incomes per rural resident in the three prefectures were all higher than the

rural Qinghai average (Table 8), by 10%, 24% and 33% in the Hainan, the Haibei and the Haixi

prefectures respectively in 2016.

Table 8: GDP Composition of the Project‐located Prefecture in 2016

Source: Haibei/Haixi/Hainan Statistical Communique on the 2016 National Economic and Social Development.

2.6 Socioeconomic Situation in the Project County

2.6.1 Administrative Information

24. Numbers of households in the seven project counties were all less than 50,000 in 2016,

that is, no county has more than 50,000 households. On average, each village in the counties

has less than 600 households in 2016, except Delingha City, where the figure was over 1,000.

(Table 9)

Table 9: Administrative Information of the Project County in 2016

Sources: Gangcha County Government. Population and Ethnicity: http://www.qhgc.gov.cn/html/2126/18200.html (3 December 2017); http://www.qhhyx.gov.cn/zjhy.html; Menyuan County Government. Introduction of Menyuan County: http://www.qhmy.gov.cn/html/1834/162968.html ($ December 2017); Haiyan County Government. Introduction of Haiyan County: http://www.qhhyx.gov.cn/zjhy.html (14 December 2017); Tianjun Government. Introduction of Tianjun County: http://www.hxtjx.gov.cn/zjtj/xzqh.htm (4 December 2017); Dehaling City Government. Introduction of Dehaling City: http://www.delingha.gov.cn/xwxx.action?xwid=15988&xwlbid=9560 (4 December 2017); Haibei Prefecture Government. Administrative Division: http://www.qhhb.gov.cn/html/1696/7240.html (2 July 2015); Haixi Prefecture Government. Administrative Division: http://www.haixi.gov.cn/ljhx/cdm_jbp/xzqh.htm (4 December 2017).


25. Over 60% of the population in the counties was rural in 2016, excluding Delingha City

Hainan Haibei Haixi

GDP billion CNY 15.268 10.067 48.696

Primary sector % 21 17.7 5.8

Second sector % 50 38.2 67.1

Tertiary sector % 29 44.1 27.1

GDP per capita CNY/person 32,754 35,953 95,314

Disposable income per urban resident CNY/person 26,218 26,828 27,720

Disposable income per rural resident CNY/person 9,550 10,735 11,539

Income ratio of rural to urban resident % 36.6 40.0 31.6

Qinghai Lake Qilian Mountain

Project prefecture Hainan Haibei Haixi


Township # 11 6 5 7 12 10 5

Village # 99 29 31 45 109 62 25

Household # 44,595 12,986 16,126 17,741 48,795 7,998 26,462

Household/village # 450 448 520 394 448 129 1,058

8

where over 60% was urban residents in the same year. Except Delingha City and Haiyan

County, most people in the other five counties were ethnic minority people. The Tibetan

ethnic group is the largest ethnic group in terms of population in Gonghe, Gangcha and Tianjun

counties, and Hui ethnic group is the largest one in Qilian and Menyuan counties. Table 10

shows the population situation in 2016.

Table 10: Population Composition in the Project County in 2016

Sources: Gangcha County Government. Population and Ethnicity: http://www.qhgc.gov.cn/html/2126/18200.html (3 December 2017); Haiyan County Government. Introduction of Haiyan County: http://www.qhhyx.gov.cn/zjhy.html (14 December 2017); Menyuan County Government. Introduction of Menyuan County: http://www.qhmy.gov.cn/html/1834/162968.html (4 December 2017); Tianjuan County Government. Population and Ethnicity: http://www.hxtjx.gov.cn/zjtj/mzrk.htm (4 December 2017); Dehaling City Government. Introduction of Dehaling City: http://www.delingha.gov.cn/xwxx.action?xwid=15988&xwlbid=9560 (4 December 2017).


26. Except Delingha City, share of primary sector in the total GDP in the other counties was

much higher than the national average and the Qinghai average in 2016. The share of

primary sector in the Haiyan County was similar to that in the Haibei Prefecture. The shares

of primary sector in the other counties/city were higher than the prefecture averages in the

same year. (Table 11) This implies that more agricultural activities were conducted in the

project counties/city compared to that of the other counties in the same prefectures.

Table 11: GDP Composition in the Project‐located Counties/city in 2016

PA: Qinghai Lake NNR Qilian Mountains PNR

Project prefecture Hainan Haibei Haibei Haixi


GDP Billion CNY

7.04 2.19 1.70 2.40 3.72 1.01 6.21

Primary sector % N.A. 17.6 24.4 19.1 19.0 29.2 8.7

Second sector % N.A. 39.1 37.4 54.7 40.0 26.8 46.9

Tertiary sector % N.A. 43.2 38.2 26.2 41.0 44.1 44.4

Urban disposable income

CNY/ person

26,395 27,853 26,950 26,178 26,617 28272.0

27797.0

Rural disposable income

CNY/ person

10,168 11,695 12,864 12,345 9,646 10874 12256

Qinghai Lake Qilian Mountain

Project‐located prefecture Hainan Haibei Haixi

Project‐located county/city Gonghe Haiyan Gangcha Qilian Menyuan Tianjun Delingha

Population person 136,438 36,337 46,100 52,027 162,712 22,565 73,189

Urban % 30.1 39.7 32.1 34.8 21.6 35.4 62.3

Rural % 69.9 60.3 67.9 65.2 78.4 64.6 37.7

Male % 50.5 50.3 50.3 49.8 51.0 49.9 50.7

Female % 49.5 49.7 49.7 50.2 49.0 50.1 49.3

Han Majority % 30.0 51.7 22.9 21.8 36.2 15 74.2

Ethnic minority % 72.6 48.3 77.2 79.2 63.8 85 25.8

Tibetan % 63.2 20.2 63.4 29.6 84 6.0

Hui minority % 34.9 47.9

Mongolian % 10.3 10.6

9

Income ratio of rural to urban

% 38.5 42.0 47.7 47.2 36.2 38.5 44.1

Sources: Haiyan County Government. Situation of Haiyan County: http://www.qhhyx.gov.cn/html/3446/158568.html; Qilian Government. Report on the work of Qilian Government in 2016: http://www.qhql.gov.cn/html/1477/212394.html; Menyuan County Government. Introduction of Menyuan County: http://www.qhmy.gov.cn/html/1834/162968.html (4 December 2017); Gangcha County Statistical Communique on the 2016 National Economic and Social Development; Gonghe County Government. Economic Development of Gonghe County in 2016: http://www.gonghenews.com/system/2017/02/21/012247744.shtml; Dehaling City Government. Introduction of Dehaling City: http://www.delingha.gov.cn/xwxx.action?xwid=15988&xwlbid=9560 (4 December 2017).

2.7 Socioeconomic Situation in the Target Nature Reserves

2.7.1 Land and its Rights

27. Type of land in the Qinghai Lake NNR: the Qinghai Lake NNR occupies a land area of

about 495,200 ha, and a water area of 462,400 ha. Most of the land (79.47%) is wetland.

Grassland accounts for 13.4% and cropland only 0.84% of the total land area of the NNR (Table

12).

Table 12: Land Type of the Qinghai Lake NNR in 2016

Type Proportion（%）

Wetland 79.47

Low density grassland 6.91

Medium density grassland 3.23

High density grassland 3.26

Cropland 0.84

Desert 4.51

Others 1.78

Source: Qinghai lake NR Monitoring Report in 2016

28. Land Rights in the Qinghai Lake NNR: of the total land area of the Qinghai Lake NNR,

over 85% are collective land. That is, most of land is collectively held by the communities.

Rights to use of the collective lands have been contracted to individual households since 1980s.

Table 13: Rights of the Land of the Qinghai Lake NNR

Sources: Source: Qinghai lake NR Monitoring Report in 2016.

29. Land Area adjacent to the Qinghai Lake NNR belongs to 4 counties of 3 prefectures in

Qinghai Province. The area covers 1,900,000 ha of pasture land, and 17,912 ha of cultivable

9 This figure is from interviews of local villagers during field survey in May 2017.

Unit Data

Total land area of the Qinghai Lake NNR ha 495,200

Collective land % Over 859

Rights to use of collective land contracted to individual households % 100

Administrative Authority

‐Qinghai Lake NNR % 13.8

‐Local government % The others

10

land (Table 14). All land is collective land. The use right of the land has been contracted to

individual households since 1980s.

Table 14: Land Area adjacent to the Qinghai Lake NNR

Sources: Master Plan of Qinghai Lake NNR (2015‐2024). The figures are for 2015.

30. Land Rights in the Qilian Mountain PNR: The Qilian Mountains PNR occupies 808,000

ha of land. Of which, 308,889 ha are barren land (38.2%), 267,328 ha (33%) are grasslands,

64,496ha (8%) are forests land, 44,189 ha (5.5%) are covered by glaciers, very limited lands

are cultivated,and the other areas include sand deposits, rivers and lakes, marshland, and

built‐up roads and other infrastructure. (Table 15). All grasslands within the PNR are state‐

owned. The rights to use of the grasslands have been contracted to the individual households.

Table 15: Land in the Qilian Mountain PNR in 2016

Source: Master Plan of Qilian Mountains Nature Reserve (2017‐2026).

2.7.2 Population and Income

31. Population within and adjacent to the Qinghai Lake NNR: The Qinghai Lake NNR

extends across 10 townships and 3 state‐owned institutes in 3 counties of 2 Tibet autonomous

prefectures. In 2015 there were totally 54,413 persons from 14,327 households living within

or adjacent to the NNR. Of the total population, about half are female. Ethnicity includes

Han, Tibetan, Mongolian, Hui and Tu groups. Less than 3,000 people are living in the core area

of the NNR. (Table 16)

unit Data Prefecture # 3

County # 4 Cultivable land ha 17,912

Pasture area ha 1,900,000 Pasture per rural capita ha/person 26.8

Within the Qilian Mountain NNR

Data (ha) %

Grassland 267,328 33.1

Forestland 64,496 8.0

Crop land 4 0.0

Road area 22 0.0

Glacier 44,189 5.5

River and lake 11,402 1.4

Barren land 308,889 38.2

Marshland 70,052 8.7

Sand area, etc 41,618 5.2

Total 808,000 100

11

Table 16: Population and Income in the Qinghai Lake NNR in 2015

Prefecture County Township Village Household Population Ethnicity Income per capita Zones

Haibei Gangcha

Quanji

Niannaisuoma 404 1,600 Tibetan 13,582 Core Buffer Experimental

Zhasuhe 220 920 Tibetan 12,426 Experimental

Yhemao 339 1565 Tibetan 13,425 Experimental

Qieji 177 710 Tibetan 12,996 Experimental

Shaliuhe

Guoluozanggongma 527 2,570 Tibetan 12,656 Experimental

Xinhai 173 718 Tibetan 14,125 Experimental

Panbao 249 913 Tibetan 12,554 Experimental

Yikewulan

Gangchagongma 437 1,732 Tibetan 9,260 Experimental

Jiaoshikexuema 316 1,187 Tibetan 9,314 Experimental

Jiaoshikegongma 201 847 Tibetan 9,314 Experimental

Yaxue 224 744 Tibetan 9,240 Experimental

Yagongma 127 537 Tibetan 9,015 Experimental

Shangmuduo 81 349 Tibetan 8,178 Experimental

Haergai

Guoluozangxuema 338 1,670 Tibetan 12,773 Experimental

Huancangxuem 370 1,854 Tibetan 12,571 Core Buffer Experimental

Yaxuema 288 1,407 Tibetan 10,673 Core Buffer Experimental

Gonggongma 383 1,939 Tibetan 13,541 Core Buffer Experimental

Qiecha 107 509 Tibetan 10,844 Core Buffer Experimental

Chala 113 535 Tibetan 14,426 Core Buffer Experimental

Sanjiaocheng Sheep Breeding center 972 2,705 Han 14,000 Core Buffer Experimental

1st sub‐farm of Qinghaihu Farm 227 526 Han 12,500 Core Buffer Experimental

Haibei Haiyan Qinghaihu

Tongbai 301 1,070 Tu,Han,Tibetan, Mongolian 7,000 Core Buffer Experimental

Dayuwugu 260 810 Han, Tibetan, Mongolian 11,000 Core Buffer Experimental

Ganzihe Eri 274 1,068 Tibetan, Han 7,900 Core Buffer Experimental

12

Prefecture County Township Village Household Population Ethnicity Income per capita Zones

Dayu 296 983 Tibetan,Han, Huis 6,000 Core Buffer Experimental

Reshui 250 930 Tibetan,Han, Mongolian 9,000 Core Buffer Experimental

Gahai 283 993 Tibetan,Han, Mongolian 5,400 Core Buffer Experimental

Dezhou 230 831 Mongolian,Huis 7,100 Core Buffer Experimental

Tuohua 180 660 Mongolian, Han, Huis 7,000 Core Buffer Experimental

Wendu 123 370 Tu, Han, Tibetan, Mongolian, Huis 8,300 Core Buffer Experimental

Hainan Gonghe

Daotanghe Jiayi 553 1,965 Tibetan, Han 8,253 Experimental

Jiangxigou

Dacang 509 1,668 Tibetan, Han 7,529 Experimental

More 724 2,655 Tibetan, Han 12,136 Experimental

Yuanzhe 561 2,003 Tibetan, Han 9,218 Experimental

Heimahe

Wenba 502 1,617 Tibetan 4,500 Buffer Experimental

Zhengquehu 458 1,619 Tibetan 4,500 Buffer Experimental

Jialong 320 1,148 Tibetan 4,500 Buffer Buffer Experimental

Ranque 87 325 Han 4,500 Buffer Experimental

Shinaihai

Luse 294 1,945 Tibetan, Han 6,700 Experimental

Garila 305 1,124 Tibetan, Han 6,276 Experimental

Qieji 385 1,278 Tibetan, Han 6,700 Buffer Buffer Experimental

Xianggong 357 1,268 Tibetan, Han 7,800 Buffer Buffer Experimental

Eastern Lake Breeding Farm 802 2,546 Han, Tibetan,Huis, Tu, Mongolian 2,600 Buffer Buffer Experimental 10+3 14,327 54,413

Sources: Qinghai Provincial Poverty Alleviation Office: Poverty Investigation in 2015.

13

32. Population in the Qilian Mountains PNR: The Qilian Mountains NNR has 8 blocks and

extends across 13 townships in 4 counties of 2 autonomous prefectures. Totally 7,602 people

from 1,805 households in 25 villages were scattered in the PNR in 2016 (Table 17).

Proportion of ethnic minority people is similar to that in the counties. Women account for

about half of the total population. The nature reserve is remote and has weak telephone

network signal that phone call is not available in most of the NR.

Table 17: Population and Livestock in the Qilian Mountain PNR in 2016

Source: Survey of Qilian Mountains PNR in 2017

2.7.3 Livestock Raised

33. Livestock in the Qilian Mountains PNR: the number of livestock raised by individual

households varies across the villages in the PNR, from less than 50 heads to over 350 heads,

and even about 500 heads. Of the 25 villages in the PNR, livestock raised in 8 villages was

more than 100 heads per person in 2016. (Table 17)

34. By protection zone, on average, rural households in the core zone raised more livestock

than households in the other two areas (Table 17). This might because the core area is far

Zones Blocks Townships Villages Households Population Livestock

name name name name # Person Head

Core Zone Huangzangshi Ebo Mangzha 140 840 15,789

Dangheyuan Keluke Taoshengnuoer 122 389 41,433

Kelunuoer 108 362 36,678

Sub‐total 370 1,591 93,900

Buffer zone Xianmi Zhugu Chumayuan 51 194 2,524

Yuanshu 112 451 4,886

Sub‐total 163 645 7,410

Experimental Zone

Youhulu Yeniugou Dalang Group‐1 38 162 4,287

Dalang Group‐2 21 101 2,473

Sanheyuan Dayu 201 1032 22,713

Longmen Longmen group 2 115 352 7,719

Muli Muli Group 4 83 285 6,045

Suli Suli Group‐1 91 332 6,473

Suli Group‐2 74 268 4,660

Tuanjiefeng Suli Suli Group‐3 72 336 4,960

Suli Group‐4 88 315 5,952

Suli Group‐5 51 195 3,548

Huangzangshi Babao Jiamu 34 161 3,843

Arou Rixu 80 471 9,070

Shiyanghe Xitan Jindong 25 53 8,779

Qingshizui Diaogou 8 14 2,792

Qingshizui 7 11 2,436

Suji Sujiwan 10 21 3,484

Beishan Daquan 8 8 3,020

Xitan Ximachang 5 8 2,489

Xianmi Zhugu Dongxu 100 575 4,452

Jiefang 161 666 4,165

Sub‐total 1,272 5,366 113,360

Grand Total 13 25 1,805 7,602 214,670

14

from towns or cities, rural laborers had less employment opportunities.

35. By county, rural households in Menyuan County, except in the Xianmi Block, raised

more livestock, while households in Qilian County raised less (Table 17). It was consistent

with the situation of the project counties. Rural resident accounted for 78.4% of the total

population in Menyuan County in 2016, which was higher than that of the other project

counties.

2.7.4 Eco‐tourism in Qinghai Lake Area

36. The Qinghai Lake is the largest inland salt lake in the PRC. The lake is located about

100 kilometres (km) west of the provincial capital of Xining at 3,205 m altitude in a hollow of

the Qinghai‐Tibetan plateau. Original ecological landscape and Tibetan culture are the two

important themes that attract a large number of tourists.10 The number of tourists visiting

the Qinghai Lake increased from 320,000 person‐times in 2008 to 1.88 million person‐times in

2016.11

37. The Qinghai Lake Scenic Spot was given the title of National Ecotourism Demonstration

Area by the National Tourism Administration in 2015. The brand of ecotourism is an

advantage. Infrastructure in the area is building, and various industries are integrating, while

some problems should be paid attention and be solved, which include low ecological

awareness of local people and the tourists. For example, the residents set up scenic spots

and advertising boards of their own, dispose sewage casually, and littering.12

2.7.5 Income

38. Income in the Qinghai Lake Area: Income per capita in most villages in the Qinghai

Lake NNR in 2016 was higher than that the rural Qinghai average (CNY 7,605)13 in the same

year. Over 70% of the total income of villagers in and adjacent to the Qinghai Lake was from

livestock in 2015.14 Income of rural people in the Qilian Mountain PNR is similar to that of

the counties.

2.8 Socioeconomic Situation in the interviewed Communities

2.8.1 Grasslands in the Qinghai Lake Area

39. Grasslands in the Qinghai Lake Area were grouped into two types: winter‐spring

grassland (winter grassland) and summer‐autumn grassland (summer grassland). Rights to

use of collectively held winter grasslands have been contracted to individual households

according to population since 1980’s for 30 years. After expiration of the contracts in 2013, the

rights have been contracted again in the same year. Use rights of collectively held summer

grasslands have been contracted to individual households in some villages, but not in all

10 Zhaoqiang Huang, et al. Research on Tourists’ Perception on Lake on Qinghai‐Tibet Plateau, Journal of Leshan Normal University, 2017 (5). 11 Quality enhanced and results improved in all aspects, China Quality Supervision, 18 January, 2017. 12 Xuezhi Ma: Reflection on Ecotourism Development of Qinghai Lake Scenic Spot, Modern Business, 2016 (32). 13 Qinghai Provincial Statistical Year book‐2016 14 Sources: Master Plan of Qinghai Lake NNR (2015‐2024).

15

villages. For example, in Niannaisuoma Village, use rights of all collectively held winter

grassland have been contracted to individual households, while use rights of the summer

grasslands are not contracted to individual households, which is equally shared by all

households in the village.

40. Scales of grasslands contracted to individual households vary highly across the area

and from one household to another. For example, in Nainaisuoma Village, size of contracted

grassland vary from some 300 mu (20 ha) a household to some 3,000 mu (200 ha) another

household. Grazing capacity of the grassland varies from about 150 heads to 300 heads of

livestock per 1,000 mu (66.7 ha).

2.8.2 Livestock Raised in the Qinghai Lake Area

41. Livestock raised in the Qinghai Lake Area are mainly sheep and yaks. Quantity of

livestock raised by a household varies across the area. For example, in Nainaisuoma Village,

number of sheep raised by a household was from 100 heads to 1,000 heads, and cattle from

few to over 200 heads in 2016. In the same village in 2016, about 10% of households had no

livestock due to several reasons, such as poverty, sick family members, etc. Besides livestock,

some households for example in Qinghai Lake area also operate restaurants, marketing

livestock, or doing other businesses.

42. It was known from the interviewed villagers in Qinghaihu area that their winter

grassland could not meet demand of their livestock, while the summer grassland was more

than demanded. That is why the summer grassland is not contracted to individual households.

2.8.3 Literacy in the Qinghai Lake Area

43. Farmers and herders in the Qinghai Lake area have less school education compared

with that of inland provinces. Most farmers received elementary or middle school education.

Women’s education level and literacy rate are lower than that of men. Tibetan people younger

than 35 years usually can speak in both Tibetan and Mandarin, can read and write Tibetan

characters, but may not have sufficient capacity to read and write Standard Chinese characters.

It is a little bit difficult for rural Tibetan older than 35 years to speak in Mandarin, let alone to

read or write in Standard Chinese characters. In terms of education and literacy, Hui people

are similar with Han people. It implies that any training materials or training methods should

be adapted to the literacy situation of the local farmers.

2.8.4 Employment and Income

44. In the Qinghai Lake Area: the interviewed Niannaisuoma Village is located next to

Qinghai Lake. The villagers have more employment opportunities related to tourism. There

were several households operating restaurants or doing other businesses, such as selling

souvenir to tourists, marketing sheep and cattle in 2016. Some villagers were employed by

the restaurants, with salary about CNY 3,000 (USD 455) per month; some villagers grazing for

others15, usually for households who were doing businesses and did not have enough labor or

15 In Nainaisuoma Village, each household graze their sheep and cattle by themselves within their own winter grasslands separated by fencing with barbed wire. They graze sheep and cattle in summer pasture together. It is not necessary for each household to appoint a grazier. Households do not have labor to graze just need to

16

time to graze. The salary was around CNY 2,000 (USD 303) per month. Some young people

migrated away from their villages and worked in Gangcha County Town, with salary over CNY

1,000 (USD 151) per month. Some households have rented out their grasslands. For

example, one of the interviewed villagers, his household has over 1,000 mu (66.7 ha) grassland

next to Qinghai Lake. Of which, two thirds were rented out. Another gentleman interviewed

said that his household operated a restaurant and did not raise any livestock. His family had

over 2,000 mu (133 ha) grasslands. A quarter of the grasslands had been submerged under

Qinghai Lake due to rise of the water surface in the past several years. The other grasslands

were all rent out at CNY 30 to CNY 50 per mu per year (USD 68 to USD 110 per ha per year).

45. In Dayu Village of Haiyan County in the Qinghai Lake Area, over 10% of laborers worked

outside the village and in the towns.

46. Government compensation and rewards for ecological protection of the grasslands and

for ecological forests was one of the major income sources of households in the interviewed

Nainaisuoma Village. For example, government subsidy for summer grasslands was CNY 2,200

per capita for the villagers in 201616. The villagers were also offered compensation and rewards

for protection of winter grasslands in 201617.

47. In the Area of Qilian Mountains PNR: on average, most (over 70%)18 income of rural

households was derived from livestock, and followed by income earned by migrant workers,

accounting for about 20% of the total income19.

48. Most young people, both men and women, migrated away from their villages to urban

areas for wage work. For example, in villages of Xianmi Township20 in Qilian Mountains PNR,

almost all laborers younger than 40 years migrated out from their villages to Xihai town in

Haiyan County of Haibei Prefecture or Xining City for good jobs. The villagers help each other

to find jobs in urban towns. Most herders in the villages are older than 40 years21.

2.8.5 Major Threats arising from Community Activities

49. Threats to the Przewalski’s Gazelle arising from community activities include fencing

and overgrazing.

50. Fencing is currently the first and foremost threat to the Przewalski’s gazelle. In Qinghai

Lake area, the fences are usually 1.5 m high with wire barbs, which were built according to

technical standards of agricultural and animal husbandry departments. The gazelle is unable

to jump over the fences. Adult gazelles usually can only jump over a 1‐m high obstacle. The

gazelles sometimes suffer fatal injuries from being caught on fences, and sometimes are

pay for others who graze for them: CNY20‐25 for one head of sheep and CNY100 for one head of yak every season, from about May to August.

16 In the village, the summer grassland is not contracted to individual households. The government compensation and rewards for ecological protection of the grasslands were equally shared by the villagers in 2016: 200mu/person*CNY11/mu.

17 Compensation and rewards for ecological protection of winter grasslands were distributed according to scale of grasslands contracted to individual households. 18 The Master plan of Qilian NNR (2017‐2026) 19 It was from interviewed villagers in May 2017. 20 Administratively belong to Menyuan County 21 It was from interviewed villagers in May 2017.

17

preyed by wolves because the fencing impeded them from escape.

51. Fencing has been used as boundaries between grasslands of individual households

since 1980s, when use rights of the grasslands have been contracted to individual

households22. Like in most places of China, in the project area, it is a custom that after sons

get married23, the original household is divided into several new households, one household

for each couple, nuclear families. As a result, number of households is increasing, and more

and more boundary fencings have been set up accordingly. For example, In Niannaisuoma

Village in the Qinghai Lake area, an interviewed herder indicated that his family was divided

from one household in 1982 into 5 households after his five brothers got married. The

grasslands of his original family were separated for the 5 households accordingly. Boundary

fencings have been set up between the grasslands, thus compounding the number of fences

over time.

52. Among others, over‐grazing poses direct and indirect threats to biodiversity. With

herder populations growing, the number of livestock has increased, placing more pressures

on grasslands, and accordingly negatively affect the gazelle.

53. Threats to the Snow Leopards: there have been no documented cases of retaliatory

killing in the Qilian Mountain PNR in the recent three years24, but poaching remains a concern.

Although the government made lots of efforts in protection, there were still two cases of

poaching snow leopards using iron‐clamper in 201425.

3 Gender Analysis

54. During the Programme Preparation Grant (PPG) phase of the CPAR3 project, explicit

attention has been given to gender during community meetings and one‐on‐one interviews to

document and understand the different ways in which women and men access to and utilize

natural resources and to identify any obstacles to equal participation in the conservation of

the natural resources and environment. Summary of the gender analysis is presented in the

following sections. Detailed information on gender is presented in the Gender

Mainstreaming Action Plan for the CPAR3 project.

55. It is worthy of attention that large gender disparities still exist in areas of education

attainment, training opportunities, employment opportunities, participation, decision making,

and wage equality in the PRC, in Qinghai Province, in the project prefectures, project counties

and in and adjacent to the project nature reserves.

56. Women and men have different roles and responsibilities in the project area. Men

are usually in charge of external affairs such as grazing, attending meeting, participating in

22 The grasslands are owned by a rural community, which is called collective land. Lands in China are owed either by the State, which is called state‐owned land, or by rural communities, which is called collective land. 23 It is a custom in the project area as well as in most of China, girls, after getting married, will physically and economically move to their husband’s households. That means that boys, after getting married, will still stay in their families. 24 It is from Daniel Yi, a staff of Qinghai Provincial Forest Department through group Wechat on 12 October, 2017. 25 It is from the report of Mr. Longqing Fan, the local consultant of the CPAR3 in 2017. No further specific source in the report.

18

training, while women are responsible for domestic affairs including cooking, washing,

cleaning houses, taking care of kids and the elderly. Sometimes, women are also engaged in

grazing if men are not available. Rural women’s education attainments are lower than that

of rural men, and also much lower than that of urban women. Tibetan women have a more

limited capability to communicate in Mandarin than Tibetan men. Women have a low level

of involvement in public affairs, and often absent from participating in public affairs. Rural

women have less access to employment opportunity, and less opportunity to be involved in

decision making related to community affairs.

57. The CPAR3 project has potential to generate outputs that will greatly advance gender

equality. According to UNDP gender marker standards, the project has UNDE GEN2 gender

maker. Considering the different responsibilities, literacy, needs, and priorities of men and

women, recommended gender mainstreaming strategy includes but not limited to the

following:

Consult with women groups about their needs, priorities etc. associated with the

project interventions

promote equal representation of women in project related decision in

communities, such as management committee of community‐based activities

supported by the project

Women’s equal participation in the project activities, such as training, alternative

livelihoods, etc.

Women‐targeted budget if necessary

Equal payment for men and women, when applicable

58. Key gender‐sensitive indicators and targets will be included in the project results

framework:

40% of the beneficiaries of the pilot community activities will be women

Women staff of PAs and PMOs were trained proportionally

4 Public Education

59. It was known from interviews of some villagers and representative civil society

organizations (CSO) that Local villagers have certain of awareness and knowledge on

environmental and ecological protection. There was also some public education activities

conducted in the Qinghai Lake area in the past. But further public education is still needed.

The public education will be conducted based on specific situation of the stakeholders’

knowledge, attitude, and practices (KAP). The PPG team of the CPAR3 develops a KAP

framework. The framework will be used as a practical guide for carrying out KAP survey in the

beginning and the end of the CPAR3 implementation. The survey results in the beginning will

be used by the CPAR3 to develop communication strategy and specific activities that will be

done during the project implementation.

19

5 Local CSOs Involved in Community Activities in the Project Area

60. Several national and local CSOs implements various project in the project area. The

Global Environment Institute (GEI) is conducting survey in some villages in the Qinghai Lake

NNR. Shanshui Conservation Center (Shanshui) implemented Europe‐China Biodiversity

Program in the Qinghai Lake area during 2008‐2010.

6 Baseline Programmes/projects on Conservation and Development

61. Chinese Central and Provincial governments and line agencies promulgated some

policies and launched some programmes/projects on conservation and development, such as

ecological conservation, and eco‐compensation. Some NGOs and international

development agencies also implemented projects on ecological conservation in the project

area. The following sections present policies and programmes/projects on conservation and

development which were implemented or implementing in the project area in the recent years.

6.1 National Policies and Projects

62. Policy on Compensation and Rewarding for Grasslands Ecological Conservation in

China has been promulgated by the State Council and implemented in 8 provinces/regions

including Qinghai, Gansu, and Sichuan since 2011, and extended to 13 provinces/regions since

2012. The first phase of the policy implementation was five years during 2011‐2015. The

second phase is also five years from 2016 to 2020. The policy aims to conserve the grasslands

while to increase the herdsmen’s income.

The compensation and rewarding standards include the followings26:

(i) Yearly compensation of CNY 6 per mu (USD 13.6 per ha) to herdsmen for grazing

prohibition in seriously degraded grasslands in the first phase and increased to CNY 7 per

mu (USD 15.9 per ha) during the second phase;

(ii) Yearly reward of CNY 1.5 per mu (USD 3.4 per ha) to herdsmen for keeping actual stock

rate within the livestock carrying capacity in the first phase, and increased to CNY 2.5 per

mu (USD 5.7 per ha) during the second phase;

(iii) Yearly subsidy of CNY 500 (USD 75.7) per household for production materials for

households participated in the above two activities;

(iv) Yearly subsidy of CNY 10 per mu (USD 22.7 per ha) for artificial planting fine forage.

All funds are from the Central Government. Totally CNY 77,300 million (USD 11,700 million)

was provided during 2011‐201527.

63. The Project of Natural Forest Protection in China has been promulgated by Chinese

Central Government and implemented since 2001. The first phase was 10 years from 2001

to 2010, and the second phase is from 2011 to 2020. The aim of the Natural Forest

Protection Project (the NFPP) is to restore ecological function of the natural forest through

26 http://www.gov.cn/ldhd/2010‐10/12/content_1720555.htm; http://www.moa.gov.cn/govpublic/CWS/201603/t20160304_5040527.htm;

27 http://www.chinanews.com/cj/2016/04‐01/7820281.shtml

20

closed‐off management. The NFPP covered 734 counties and 61 state‐owned forest farms in

13 provinces/regions in the first phase, and extended to 750 counties and 61 state‐owned

forest farms in the same provinces/regions in the second phase. Totally 1,545 million mu

(103 million ha) of natural forest are under protection in the second phase. Ecological

compensation rate for national level ecological forest, that is owned collectively or individually,

is CNY 10 per mu (USD 22.7 per ha). The compensation cost for national level ecological

forest is covered by the Central Government. The compensation rate for local level ecological

forest28is determined by provincial government. The central government pays CNY 3 per mu

(USD 6.8 per ha) for the local‐level ecological forest, and the others are covered by local

governments29.

6.2 Qinghai Provincial Policies and Projects

64. The Qilian Mountain Ecological Construction Project has been implemented during

2012 to 2020. The project in Qinghai covers 6,312,500 ha in 11 counties/district/city, including

Qilian, Menyuan, and Gangcha counties in Haibei Prefecture, and Dehaling City, and Tianjun

County in Haixi Prefecture. Total investment is CNY 3,468 million (equivalent to USD 525

million). The project activities include forestland protection and construction, grassland

protection and construction, wetland protection and construction, conservation of water and

soil, protection of glacier environment, and associated support work.

65. Compensation and Rewarding for Grasslands Ecological Conservation in Qinghai. The

Central Government provided CNY 9,736 million (USD 1,475 million) for the Conservation in

Qinghai in the first phase during 2011‐2015. Yearly budget for the second phase (2016‐2020)

of the compensation and rewarding for grasslands ecological conservation in Qinghai Province

is CNY 2,413 million (USD 366 million), which is CNY 466 million (USD 70 million) higher than

that in the first phase. The compensation and rewarding benefited 765,300 herdsmen by

getting CNY 1,588 (USD 241) per villager in 2016.30 Totally 4.74 million mu (31.6 million ha)

natural grasslands were conserved during 2011‐2015 and will be further conserved during

2016‐2020.31

66. Regulations on Management of Ecosystem Caretakers: in the same period of

implementation of the policy on Compensation and Rewarding for Grasslands Ecological

Conservation, Qinghai Provincial Government issued Regulations on Management of

Ecosystem Rangers, which includes offering jobs to rural labourers for protection and

management of grasslands and wetlands. Rural labourers taking the jobs are named

ecosystem rangers. Every 30,000 mu (2,000 has) grasslands require one ecosystem ranger in

Hainan, Yushu, Guoluo and Huangnan prefectures, and every 50,000 mu (3,333 ha) grasslands

require one ranger in Haibei, Haixi and the others prefectures. Monthly wage of a ranger is

CNY 1,800 (USD 273). 32

28 That is, non national level ecological forest. 29 Local governments include provincial government, prefecture government, county government, and township government.

30 http://www.gov.cn/xinwen/2016‐10/25/content_5123797.htm 31 http://xxgk.qh.gov.cn/html/1670/298191.html 32 http://xxgk.qh.gov.cn/html/1670/293034.html

21

67. Ecological Animal Husbandry Cooperatives: in order to alleviate degradation of

grasslands, and encourage herdsmen to keep stock rate within carrying capacity of the

grasslands, the Qinghai Government supports development of ecological animal husbandry

cooperatives since 2011. All 883 animal‐husbandry dominated villages and 78 farming‐

husbandry villages in Qinghai Province have established their own cooperatives by end of

201433. Of the cooperatives, 100 were selected for piloting shareholding systems. It was

estimated that net income per herdsman in the pilot cooperatives was CNY 10,362 (USD 1,570)

on average in 2016, 21% higher than Qinghai rural average net income in the same year. In

2010, the herdsmen’s income was lower than Qinghai rural average net income by 10%.34

68. The Natural Forest Protection Project in Qinghai was implemented in 38

counties/districts of seven prefectures including Haibei Hainan, Yushu, Guoluo, Xining,

Haidong and Huangnan since 2001. Totally CNY 1,409 million (USD 213.5 million) was

invested in the first phase (2001‐2010) for protecting 7.95 million ha of forestlands, state‐

owned and collective or individual owned forests. 35 The protected forest area increased

year by year. In 2012, totally 3.23 million ha of collective owned and individual households

owned ecological forest were compensated at a rate of CNY 15 per mu (USD 34 per ha). The

issue was that herdsmen and farmers need more compensation because their access to the

forest for grazing and for collecting firewood were limited, and cash expenditure of their

everyday life increased.36

6.3 International Project in the Project Area

69. The EU‐China Biodiversity Programme (the ECBP) was an effort by Europe and China

to reduce the rate of biodiversity depletion and ecosystem deterioration in China. The

programme has three components, focused on central policy development, visibility and

awareness, and a portfolio of 18 field projects in 16 provinces and autonomous regions of

western and southern China. The operational implementation phase was from June 2005 to

the end of March 2010. The field projects were intended to explore, test and validate a range

of conservation processes, and generate from the ideas, lessons and conclusions on how

biodiversity and ecosystems might be effectively conserved in China. The visibility and

awareness component would simultaneously be promoting and understanding and generating

support for biodiversity conservation and ecosystem values among officials and the public.

70. Community‐based Conservation in Qinghai (the CI/ShanShui‐led project) was one of

the 18 field project of the ECBP. It piloted in Gangcha and Haiyan counties in the Qinghai

Lake Area from 2008 to 2010. It piloted small grants to individuals and community sub‐groups,

and conservation agreements with entire communities.

71. Lesson points from the conservation by 2009: (i) Call for Proposal (CfP) for the 18 field

projects achieved a powerful additional impact. The applicants were encouraged to be

33 Faping Sun, and Zhongbing Ding: Investigation and Suggestions on Development of Ecological Animal Husbandry Cooperatives in Qinghai, Qinghai Social Science, 2015 (4).

34 http://www.qh.gov.cn/zwgk/system/2017/05/16/010264654.shtml 35 Xiao Dangyong: Practice and Reflection on Natural Forest Protection in Qinghai, Green China, 2011(10). 36 Junlin Huo: Discussion on Management of Collective and Individual Owned Ecological Forest Protection, Science and Technology of Qinghai Agriculture and Forestry, 2015(2).

22

governmental and non‐governmental, and Chinese and international, stakeholders who work

together, thus building trust and promoting the exchange of knowledge. The projects engaged

all the larger international conservation NGOs, including TNC, WWF, CI, WI, WCS and FFI as

well as bilateral technical assistance agencies like GTZ and multilateral ones like FAO, giving

the opportunity for China to benefit from their abundant resources and extensive global

networks. (ii) a similar CfP process within at least one of the field projects, which was used to

select communities for Conservation Agreements, also had an irreversible impact on

community capacity to analyze problems and articulate proposed solutions. These

improvements in ‘social technologies’ that encourage participation, empowerment,

consensus and solidarity at the local level, and confidence in cooperating between levels, are

of critical importance in achieving sustainable development.37

72. By 2009, despite their great potential, the field projects are a weak mechanism for

discovering, managing and communicating knowledge about how to conserve ecosystems and

biodiversity to key stakeholders38. Enough attention should also be paid to the above

mentioned situation that the conservation agreements households rebuilding the fencing.

73. The Visibility and Awareness Component (VOC) was conducted during 2007 to 2010.

Its communication strategy was based on the findings of a ‘Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices’

survey, and targets government decision makers and the general public, with a focus on

communities living around field project sites and on young people in general. The strategy

calls for a broad approach using all available media and points to the need for the small VAC

team to work in collaboration with a wide range of partners. The results have included

publication of four books, a quarterly newsletter, various brochures, leaflets and posters, and

numerous magazine articles, as well as audio‐visual productions. The web‐site was revised

and re‐launched in late 2008, and a photo‐library is maintained. In addition, training courses

have been delivered to field projects on how to improve communications, to media on

understanding and better reporting on biodiversity issues, and to journalism students on

environmental reporting. A toolkit was developed for teaching ‘biodiversity’ at schools, and a

number of public events have been organized, including an Olympics Youth Camp, three

annual student debates and a week‐long celebration of International Biodiversity Day (22 May)

2009.39

74. One issue is that the VAC does not work closely with the MEP’s Division of

Communications and Education, which would be desirable even if the broad purpose of ECBP

requires VAC activity across a larger canvas than MEP concerns itself with.40

7 Proposed Pilot Villages for the CPAR3 Interventions

7.1 Criteria for Selection of the Pilot villages

75. Assessment of communities/villages for implementation of project interventions was

37 Final Report of Mid‐Term Evaluation of The EU‐China Biodiversity Programme, July 2009. 38 ibid. 39 ibid. 40 Final Report of Mid‐Term Evaluation of The EU‐China Biodiversity Programme, July 2009.

23

based on extensive stakeholder consultations and field visits. The following selection criteria

were applied:

Location (e.g., proximity to priority areas and/or KBAs)

Threats (e.g., significant and/or increasing)

Preparedness (e.g., existing community groups, local NGOs, etc.)

Socioeconomic circumstances (e.g., higher priority to low income communities)

Gender opportunities (e.g., activities where women have equal or more

opportunities to participate in decision making)

Minority communities (e.g., higher priority to disadvantaged ethnic communities)

Logistical considerations (e.g., travel costs, accessibility)

Stakeholder advocacy (e.g., promoted by governmental and/or non‐governmental

stakeholders)

Readiness (e.g., previous international project experience)

Advocacy (e.g., local champions who are actively involved and advocating for

engagement with activities associated with the protected area)

Willingness and Enthusiasm (e.g., based on feedback from community meetings and

subsequent communications)

7.2 Proposed Pilot Villages in the Qinghai Lake Area

76. The first three villages recommended by the Qinghai Lake NNR and the local

supervision department in Haiyan County for CPAR3 project interventions in the Qinghai Lake

area are Reshui, E’r and Dayu villages. The first three villages recommended by the Qinghai

Lake NNR and the local supervision department in Gangcha County for the CPAR3

interventions are Gonggongma, Yaxiuma and Tangqu villages. The assessment results of the

villages for CPAR3 project interventions are summarized in Table 18. Detailed information is

presented in A‐Table 1.

Table 18: Scoring of Villages for CPAR3 Project Intervention in Qinghai Lake Area

Project prefecture

Haibei

Project County

Haiyan

Gangcha

Recommended village Reshui E’ri Dayu Gonggongma Yaxiuma Tangqu

Location 5 5 5 4 4 5

Threats 3 3 4 3 2 2

Socioeconomic circumstance

2.5 2.5 3 3 3 3

Gender opportunities 3 3 3 3 3 3

Minority community 4 4 4 5 5 2

Preparedness 3.5 3.5 4 2 2 2

Logistical consideration 4 4 4 4 4 4

Stakeholder advocacy 3 3 4 4 4 4

Willingness and Enthusiasm 4 4 4.5 4 4 4

Readiness 3 3 4 3 3 3

Total 34 34 39.5 35 34 32

Scoring standards: 1‐5, 5 is the highest.

24

77. Based on the assessment, Dayu Village ranked first, and Gonggongma Village second.

In addition of the information presented in A‐Table 1, it is know that (i) there is a key habitat

area in Dayu village where the gazelle mate and deliver young gazelle every year; (ii) over

grazing is still a threat to the gazelle, especially in winter time; (iii) the villagers have high

willingness to protect the gazelle; and (iv) the village has experience in carrying out

international and domestic projects. EU‐China Biodiversity Project was implemented in the

village during 2008‐1010. Major activities were lowering down the fencing and took out of

the wire barbs. The project had a small scale with about 10 households’ participation.

There was a national project of lowering down fencing to 1.1 m high and taking off the wire

barbs. However, the fencing of 1.1 m high is still a threat to young gazelle.

78. Similar to Dayu Village, many gazelle go to grassland area of Gonggongma Village every

July when giving birth to young gazelle. Fencing in the key habitat in Gonggongma Village

has been removed away. However, the rights of use of the grasslands are still contracted to

individual households. There is currently no eco‐compensation to the herdsmen for offering

the grasslands to the gazelle. Threat from herdsmen’s grazing still exists.

79. The other four villages are all located in the habitat area of the gazelle. herdsmen’s

awareness of protecting the gazelle and other wild animals has been increased a lot in the past

several years. However, knowledge on protecting the gazelle still needs be improved. For

example, some farmers rescued the gazelle in ways of keeping sheep. Therefore, it is necessary

to conduct public education/campaigns there.41

7.3 Proposed Pilot Management Stations in the Qilian Mountains PNR

80. The Qinghai Provincial Forestry Department suggests that CAPR3 project to build

capacity of the management stations in steady of communities in Qilian PNR, because the life

habit of the snow leopard, the flagship animal in Qilian Mountains PNR, is largely different

from the gazelle, the flagship animal in the Qinghai Lake NNR. Range of the snow leopards

is huge. Results of management station‐based conservation‐related activities should be

much better than that of the community‐based activities. Moreover, the Qilian Mountains

PNR is upgraded as Qilian Mountains NP Pilot. Specific implementation scheme is under

formulation. Households living within the core conservation area of the Qilian Mountains

NP pilot possibly would be resettled physically and/or economically voluntarily.

81. Two management stations are recommended by the Qinghai Forestry Department

(QFD) in November 2017. One is Laohugou management Station, and the other is

Liuhuanggou Management Station. The major reason of selecting these two stations for the

CPAR3 intervention is that area of community activities overlaps distribution area of the snow

leopard more than the other management stations in the Qilian Mountains PNR.

Table 19: Management Stations Recommended by QFD in November 2017

Unit Liuhuanggou Laohugou

Number of Staff member Person 5 (M) 8 (M)

41 It was known from Mr. Lianbang Li in November 2017. Mr. Li is a staff member of Forestry Department of Gangcha County.

25

Management scope Ha 2,850 2,035

Permanent household # 7 042

Permanent herdsmen person 24 0 Source: Qinghai Provincial Forestry Department in November 2017

8 Proposed Strategies for Biodiversity Conservation

8.1 For the Qinghai Lake NNR

8.1.1 Innovative conservation financing mechanisms

82. Implementation of innovative conservation financing mechanisms, e.g., through

conservation easements / renting grassland from herdsmen, in the Qinghai Lake NNR area as

a means to remove and/or lower fences.

83. Rent grasslands in key habitats of the gazelle from herdsmen for being used by the

gazelle. The renter is better to be the Qinghai Government. County governments can also be

a potential renter. Other renters should be encouraged. It should be viable. First, not all

households next to the Qinghai Lake currently are economically replying on the grasslands.

Some are engaged in non‐farm businesses, such as restaurants, shops, etc. Some have already

rented out their grasslands. Secondly, the Haibei Prefecture has been designated as hometown

of Przewalski’s gazelle by the China Wildlife Conservation Association (CWCA) on 14 July 2017.

Thirdly, Qinghai Province has intention to establish a provincial protected area for the

Przewalski’s gazelle, and relevant researches have been going on.43 Renting grasslands from

herdsmen will take a step toward PAs. After renting the grasslands, the fences can be

removed, which will increase the connectivity of the habitats.

84. Key point should be paid attention to is the rental rate of the grasslands. The rental

rate increased a lot in the recent years. For example, the rent rate of grasslands in one village

was CNY 15 per mu (USD 34 per ha) during 2006‐2008, which increased to CNY 50 per mu

(USD 114 per ha) in 201744. However, as ecological conservation is non‐profit activity, the

rent rate of the grasslands cannot be high.

85. The Dayu Village in Haiyang County is proposed as the pilot village for this strategy.

One area in the village is a key habitat where the gazelle mate and delivering young gazella

every year. The area is about 100,000 mu (6,666 ha). The area consists of 40,000 mu (2,666

ha) of desertification land and 60,000 mu (4,000 ha) of grasslands. Unlike other grasslands,

rights to use of the land are still collectively held by the village, and do not contracted to

individual households.

86. After being rented, the grasslands will be conserved by the community themselves by

signing entrustment conservation agreements between the renter and the community.

87. The Global Environmental Institute (GEI) is currently communicating with the Paradise

42 The grasslands are summer grassland, where the herdsmen graze their livestock from one place to another. The herdsmen live in tents, not in fixed houses.

43 http://www.qhlyt.gov.cn/index.aspx?lanmuid=83&sublanmuid=616&id=2628 44 Interview of Mr. Jianmucuo, a Tibetan guy in Dayu Village of Haiyan County.

26

International about funds for renting the key habitat in the Dayu Village. The Paradise

International is an ecological conservation foundation, aiming at conserve the Earth using

scientific methods and economical mechanisms. The Paradise International has very high

willingness to the innovative management, that is, entrustment conservation of the grasslands,

and likes to pay the conservation expenses. The CAPR3 will introduce innovative financing

mechanism into the villages, and will make the communities capacitated to perform the

conservation function.

8.1.2 Business Capacity Building

88. With grasslands being rented out, herdsmen are or will be engaged in non‐farm

activities. The CPAR3 project can provide skill training to technically facilitate herdsmen’s

self‐employment or employed by others. Business capacity building can enhance quality of

existing households businesses, such as family enterprises, or village enterprises, etc.

89. The Dayu village is proposed as the pilot village for implementing this strategy. The

village has established a poverty reduction and economic development park in 2015. The

park was financially supported by Haiyan County Tourism Bureau with CNY 4.68 million (USD

71 million) of initial investment in construction of houses, roads, and introduction of water

system and other utilities. Several poor households have already worked there for processing

yoghourt, beef jerky, making Tibetan clothing etc. in 2016. However, the park only worked for

about two months in 2016, because the products could not been sold out. The village

committee currently45 plans to rent out the park to an outside company. The committee

thinks that company can better operate the park. It might be an opportunity for the CPAR3

project to pilot business capacity building in this village by building capacity of the village in

operating the park, including planning alternative livelihoods, marketing etc. The business

capacity building can be combined with above mentioned innovative conservation financing

mechanism / grassland renting mechanism in the village. Certain percent of the income from

the industry park will be used for protection of the gazelle.

90. Combined with the above mentioned technical and/or skill training, the project can

provide trainings targeting at women for them to develop, brand and market their products

on the internet, or on Wechat. Wechat is now a very popular communication channel in

China. Almost all adults including Tibetan people, women and men, can access to and able

to use Wechat. Wechat‐marketing is now a common way for many people sell their products.

The specific products will be assessed using participatory approaches. The products might

be traditional handcrafts, local foods, local featured agricultural products etc.

91. GEI, a domestic CSO, has a lot of experience in working with women group in Qinghai.

The GEI can help the project in piloting this action, technically and managerially.

8.1.3 Community Co‐management with Eco‐compensation

92. The Dayu Village is also proposed as the pilot village for implementing this strategy.

Besides grassland area where to pilot innovative conservation financing mechanism /

grassland renting mechanism, there are still other grassland areas contracted to individual

45 The information is the latest. I got from talking with one villager through phone call on 19 October 2017.

27

households in the village where can pilot community co‐management aiming to reduce the

overgrazing. The user households can establish a user management group. All households

involved will discuss and set up a mechanism to reduce number of domestic livestock, and to

keep size of the domestic livestock within the grassland carry capacity. The CAPR3 will

provide technical assistance to the village to set up a mechanism and regulations on the co‐

management. The CPAR3 need to provide a budget as compensation for the households who

reduced their livestock or mobilize the compensation funds from other sources. The

community co‐management pilot can also be combined with the above mentioned innovative

conservation financing mechanism / grassland renting mechanism, and the business capacity

building activities.

93. The Gonggongma Village is another proposed pilot village for implementing this

strategy. As stated in previous sections, many gazelle range in the grasslands belong to

Gonggongma Village for delivering young gazelle every July. Currently, fencing in the

grasslands of the village has already been either lowered or removed. However, currently no

any eco‐compensation for the herdsmen’s gazelle‐friendly practices. The herdsmen asked

for eco‐compensation for the gazelle’s range in their grasslands. They do not understand that

losses caused by other wildlife in the village are compensated, why not compensation for the

gazelle’s range in the herdsmen’s grasslands, which is competing with their own livestock.

94. The CPAR3 can pilot community co‐management with eco‐compensation in the village

which will minimize threat to the gazelle from the village. The CPAR3 project can make a

budget or mobilize compensation funds from Qinghai governments at provincial, prefecture,

or county levels, and the Paradise International. The Gonggongma Village is situated in the

Gangcha County special protected area which was established over 10 years. The county

government mobilized a large amount of funds for the protected area in the past years.

8.1.4 Establishment of ecological corridors in the vicinity of the Qinghai Lake NNR

95. Establishment of ecological corridors in the vicinity of the Qinghai Lake NNR will

involve further participation of local communities, which are possibly in the following areas:

(i) free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC); (ii) remove off or reduce fencing; (iii) restoration

of ecological function of the corridor; and (iv) capacity building of patrolling, monitoring and

so on.

8.2 For Qilian Mountains PNR

8.2.1 Collaborative pasture management within high altitude grasslands

96. The CPAR3 project will pilot collaborative management of pasture at high altitude of

the Qilian Mountains PNR to minimize seasonal fragmentation of wildlife migration. The

pilot collaborative management pasture will be within the management scope of Liuhuanggou

and Laohugou stations of Qilian Mountains PNR. Co‐management mechanism involving the

stations and the relevant communities will be introduced.

8.2.2 Community Participation in Grassland Restoration

97. In cooperation with the Provincial Animal Husbandry sector, the CPAR3 will provide

28

technical support to grassland restoration including the ecological corridor establishment in

the Qilian Mountains area. Local herder groups will be actively engaged in grassland

restoration, with limited or no use of fencing46. Capacity of the herdsmen will be built up to

be community rangers for protection of the restored grasslands.

8.2.3 Capacity Building of the Management Stations

98. With the pilot of the Qilian Mountains National Park going ahead, community patrols

will be employed as community rangers working for the management stations in Qilian

Mountains NP pilot. Responsibilities of the community rangers will include and integrate

various tasks previously belonging to individual departments, either forest department, or

agricultural and husbandry department, or environmental department, or other departments.

The multiple‐functional responsibilities require high capacity of the community rangers which

is beyond just guarding, and will also include monitoring, recognizing, recording and taking

photos of rare animals and plants, and so on.

99. The CPAR3 project builds capacity of the community rangers in the management

stations will increase effectiveness of the NP’s management. The Liuhuanggou and

Laohugou management stations of Qilian Mountains PNR are proposed as two pilot

management stations.

8.3 Estimated Direct Beneficiaries of Proposed Community Activities

100. It is estimated that over 3,000 people will directly get benefits from the proposed

community activities will be piloted by the CPAR3 project.

101. Villagers in the Dayu Village and the Gonggongma Village will be the direct

beneficiaries of the proposed community activities. There will be 3,074 direct beneficiaries

from 753 households. Of the total beneficiaries, 50.1% will be women and 49.9% are men.

102. The 12 staff members in the two management stations of Qilian Mountains PNR and

the herdsmen within the management scope of the stations will also directly get benefits from

the CPAR3 project interventions.

103. In addition, herdsmen participation in the grassland restoration will also be trained and

they are also the direct beneficiaries. Specific figures of the herdsmen cannot be estimated

so far.

Table 20: estimated Project Direct Beneficiaries

Benefit area Beneficiary households (#)

Direct beneficiaries (person)

Female beneficiaries (%)

The pilot villages 753 3,075 50.1

The pilot management stations and residents residing in territories

n/a 200 32.347

46 Usual way to restore grasslands in Qinghai is using fencing to prevent the grasses from damaged by wildlife or human activities. However, fencing would segregate habitats of the wildlife. In order to keep the grasses in safe environment while will not segregate the habitats, the grassland restoration will engage community rangers instead of fencing to protect the newly restored grasslands. 47 Of the 13 rangers in the two management stations are all male. Of the 24 permanent villagers within the

29

covered by proposed project interventions

Total 953 3,275 About 50 Source: estimated by the community specialist in December 2017

8.4 Principles Proposed for Implementing the Strategies

104. The following principles are recommended for CPAR3 to implement the strategies.

For the innovative conservation financing mechanisms /renting grassland mechanism

Mobilize compensation funds from the Qinghai Provincial Government, the Gangcha

and Haiyan county governments, the Paradise International, and other possible

sources

The CPAR3 provide a small budget in case no compensation funds will be mobilized.

If it is the case, the CPAR3 will pilots in small and key habitat in the Dayu Village,

where the collectively held land has not been contracted to individual households.

Negotiate an acceptable rent rate with consulting both men and women.

For the community co‐management

Establish a co‐management committee, with at least 30% of female members and

adequate ethnic minority members proportional to the total population. The

existing village committee should be fully considered. The CAPR3 project provides

necessary overhead expenses to the co‐management committee, and some

subsidies for one or two key members of the committee;

Develop community co‐management plans using participatory approaches. At least

50% of the participants will be female;

Equal participation and beneficiaries of women villagers in the activities of the co‐

management, at least 40% of women participants and beneficiaries

Proportional ethnic minority participants and beneficiaries

For the capacity building

First to conduct needs assessment. Based on the assessment to develop capacity

building plans, and then implement, and monitor and evaluate the plans.

The assessment and plan making and implementation will be conducted using

participatory approaches. Ensure equal involvement of women and men in the

needs assessment

Ensure equal participation of minority people and women in the capacity building

activiites

Conduct women‐targeted training or capacity building whenever necessary

8.5 Necessary Expertise

105. The following specialists are needed:

One to three NGOs to facilitate activities in the pilot Villages, which will need to

management scope of the two management station, about 50% are female.

30

mobilize at least capacity building specialist for community rangers, public education

specialist, and business development specialist for development of the industry park.

Total budget is estimated at USD 300,000.

A community co‐management specialist for activities in the Qilian Mountains PNR to

facilitate the activities, with inputs of about three person‐months.

8.6 Stakeholder Analysis

106. The following agencies and individuals will be involved in the community activities.

Their roles and responsibilities are presented in the Table 21.

Table 21: Stakeholders associated with the Pilot Community Activities

Name of stakeholders Roles and responsibilities

The CPAR3 project management office Daily coordination of the project activities

Local governments Coordination of all stakeholders, supervise over the community activities, and financially support the community activities if necessary

The project target nature reserves and management stations

Participation in planning, implementation and monitoring and evaluation of the community activities, public education, etc.

The project target villages/communities, and the residents

Beneficiaries of the project, participants of the project activities, including planning, implementation and monitoring and evaluation

Dayu Village project management committee/Gonggongma Village management committee

Coordination of the villagers’ genuine participation in the project activities; communication with the relevant nature reserves on behalf of the villagers;

Local students Participation in the project public education

Individual technical specialists Provision of technical support to plan, implement and monitor and evaluate the community activities

Local NGOs Involvement in community activities, provide technical support, consultancies, training and monitoring.

UNDP Overall coordination of the project

9 Risk Analysis

107. Risks related to the CAPR3 project is mainly the possibly physical or economic

resettlement in the Qilian Mountains NP pilot. There were 7,602 people from 1,805

households living within the Qilian Mountains PNR in 2016. The Qilian Mountains NPP

expanded the protected area of the Qilian Mountains PNR. The implementation scheme of

the Qilian Mountains NPP is under formulation. The villagers living in the core zones of the

NPP will possibly be faced with risk of physically and/or economic displacements. If

involuntary resettlement is required during the project implementation phase, then, free,

prior and informed consent (FPIC) of the affected households and people have to be ensured.

31

10 Annex

A‐Table 1: Information on Villages for Project Intervention in Qinghai Lake NNR (2016)

Name of the administrative village Reshui E’ri Dayu Gonggongma Yaxiu Yanqu

Prefecture located Haibei

County located Haiyan Gangcha

Township located Ganzihe Haergai

1 Number of households # 270 284 294 459 366 285

2 Location of the village #

Households located in core zone of the Qinghai NNR # 78 56 53 79 53 115

Households located in buffer zone of the Qinghai NNR # 192 228 241 20 16 73

Households located in experimental zone of the Qinghai NNR # 8 12 97

Households located outside of but adjacent to the Qinghai NNR # 352 285 0

3 Population of the village in total person 930 1,061 986 2,089 1, 560 888

Women % 48.1 48.7 51.6 50 50 50

Ethnic minority people % 100 100 20

Tibetan people % 83% 90% 91% 100 100 1248

4 Number of male labor person 270 387 310 273 208 182

Of which, migration‐out % 5 5 24 10 10 10

Able to read Tibetan language % 80 95 85 100 100 50

Able to read Standard Chinese Character % 30 10 20 100 100 100

Able to speak Mandarin % 60 90 72 100 100 100

5 Number of female labor person 250 340 330 186 158 103

Of which, migration‐out % 5 5 18 2% 2 2

Able to read Tibetan language % 80 90 90 10 10 10

Able to read Standard Chinese Character % 4 10 6 100 100 100

Able to speak Mandarin % 60 80 65 100 100 100

48 The others are Hui people, etc.

32

Name of the administrative village Reshui E’ri Dayu Gonggongma Yaxiu Yanqu

6 Net income per capita CNY/person 8,200 7,000 7,460

Income from crop cultivation % 0 0 72

Income from animal husbandry % 92 92 20

Income from tourism % 0 0 0

Income from migrant workers % 8 8 8

Income from other sources % 0 0 0

7 Poverty incidence % 10%

8 Major threats resulted from human‐related activities to the gazelle

Fencing, grassland degradation, lack of water sources

threat related to human activities is low

Score of the threats (1‐5, 5‐the highest threat) 3.5 3.5 4 1

9 Group/association for public benefits yes yes 0 0 0

Name of the group/association Community ranger team

Voluntary rangers

0 0 0

10 CSO possibly be involved in the implementation of pilot community activity

yes 0 0 0

11 Traffic and road condition

Distance to the county capital km 65 65 60 30 30 30

Road condition to the county capital Good Good Good Good Good Good

Public transport services yes yes yes No No yes

12 Stakeholders advocacy (1‐5，5‐the highest) 3 3 4 3 3 3

13 Village willingness to be a pilot community

(1‐5，5‐the highest)

3.5 3.5 4 4 4 4

14 Previous international projects

Name of the project ECBP ECBP Micro‐credit

Main project activities

Major achievements Increased enthusiasm in protecting the gazelle

Reasons for further being a UNDP‐GEF6 pilot community Having experience Keep the enthusiasm

15 Recommended activities for UNDP‐GEF6 CPAR3 project

Provision of special area for gazelle, building watering facilities

Public education, keep the enthusiasm in protection of the gazelle

Source:Mr. Lvbei Yi, staff of Qinghai Provincial Forestry Deprtment in October and November 2017

Annex L

Profile of the Qilian Mountains‐Qinghai Lake Landscape C‐PAR3 (Qinghai)

Prepared by:

Dr. Fan Longqing


Program:



Project:

Strengthening the PA system in the Qilian Mountains‐Qinghai Lake landscape project (C‐PAR3)




15 Sept. 2017 02 Second draft J. Lenoci

26 Sept. 2017 03 Third draft J. Lenoci

6 Oct. 2017 04 Forth draft J. Lenoci

10 Dec. 2017 05 Fifth draft J. Lenoci

10 Dec. 2017 06 Sixth draft J. Lenoci

28 Dec. 2017 07 Seventh draft J. Lenoci

12 Mar 2018 08 Eighth draft J. Lenoci

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The scope of the project covers Qilian Mountains‐Qinghai Lake landscape. This profile of PAs provides multi‐aspect information related Przewalskii’s gazelle and snow leopard conservation and includes main part below.

Introduction of location, natural condition, wild animal and plans and issues in the project scope.

Natural condition describes location and scope, Climate context, Hydrological context, Biodiversity context of Qinghai Lake National Nature Reserve and Qilian Mountains Provincial Nature reserve.

Social‐economic context provides administration and demographic information, land use and tenure, Institutional and Personnel of Qinghai Lake National Nature Reserve and Qilian Mountains Provincial Nature reserve.

Baseline PA description includes parameter of two nature reserves, History/Timeline of Qinghai Lake National Nature Reserve and Qilian Mountains Provincial Nature reserve.

Threats and barriers describes respectively threats on Przewalskii’s gazelle and snow leopard in Qinghai Lake National Nature Reserve and Qilian Mountains Provincial Nature reserve, barriers of Qinghai Lake National Nature Reserve and Qilian Mountains Provincial Nature reserve.

Recommended strategies respectively address threats and barriers to Przewalskii’s gazelle in Qinghai Lake National Nature Reserve and and snow leopard in Qilian Mountains Provincial Nature reserve.

ABBREV IAT IONS AND ACRONYMS



BD Biodiversity

BSAP Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan

CAS Chinese Academy of Science

CBD Convention on Biological Diversity

CBPF China Biodiversity Partnership and Framework for Action

CCICED China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development

CDR Combined Delivery Report

CHM Clearing House Mechanism (under CBD)


CITES Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species

CNY Chinese yuan

CPAP Country Programme Action Plan



DG Director General

DPC Direct Project Cost

EA Executing Agency



EU European Union

FECO Foreign Economic Cooperation Office

FAO Food and Agriculture Organization of United Nations



GIS Geographic Information System


IAS Invasive alien species

IUCN International Union for the Conservation of Nature


LOA Letter of Agreement

LPAC Local Project Appraisal Committee


MEP Ministry of Environmental Protection


MoA Ministry of Agriculture

MoF Ministry of Finance

MoU Memorandum of Understanding

MTR Midterm Review


NIM National Implementation Modality



NPD National Project Director

NR Nature Reserve

PA Protected Area





PM Project Manager




QPR Quarterly Progress Report


SFA State Forestry Administration

SBAA Standard Basic Assistance Agreement

SMART Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time‐bound

SOA State Oceanic Administration


STAR System for Transparent Allocation of Resources (GEF)





TRAC Target for Resource Assignment from the Core(UNDP)

UNCCD United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification


UNDP CO UNDP Country Office

UNFCCC United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

UNCBD United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity

UNDAF United Nations Development Assistance Framework

UNEP United Nations Environment Programme



TABLE OF CONTENTS

Executive Summary ....................................................................................................................... ii

Abbreviations and Acronyms ........................................................................................................ iii

Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 1

1. Natural Condition ....................................................................................................................... 4

3. Baseline PA description ............................................................................................................ 20

4. Threats and barriers to przewalski’sgazelles ............................................................................. 21

5. Recommended Strategy ........................................................................................................... 23

Appendix 1: Zoning map of Qinghai Lake National Nature Reserve .............................................. 26

Appendix 2: Zoning map of Qilian Mountains Provincial Nature Reserve ...................................... 27

18‐Annex L_Profile of the Qilian Mountains‐Qinghai Lake Landscape_PIMS 5690 CPAR3_5Apr2018.docx

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INTRODUCTION

The Qilian Mountains‐Qinghai Lake landscape lies in the northeast corner of the Tibet‐Qinghai Plateau. Qilian Mountains are the natural border between Qinghai and Gansu Province, and rise to a maximum elevation of 5,547m. Qinghai Lake nestles to the south of Qilian Mountains. This landscape is significant for the globally important biodiversity it harbours, including the rare snow leopard (Panthera uncia) and Przewalski’s gazelle (Procapra przewalskii); both listed as globally Endangered in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Other key species occurring here include wild yak (Bos mutus), white‐lipped deer (Cervus albirostris) (both globally Vulnerable), Tibetan gazelle (Procapra picticaudata), blue sheep (Pseudois nayaur) and Sichuan blue sheep (Pseudois nayaur szechuanensis). More than 243 species of vertebrates are found in the Qinghai Lake area alone, including 41 species of animals, 189 species of birds, 3 amphibians and 8 species of fish. The Lake is a major breeding site for Brown‐headed Gull (Larus brunnicephalus) and several important endemic fish. Qinghai Lake is listed as Ramsar Sites. Qilian mountains harbours 616 species of higher plants and Qinghai Lake 445 species.

(Source: Qinghai lake NR Masterplan 2015‐2024)

Vegetation in Qilian Mountains includes warm valley grasslands, coniferous forest (such as Qinghai spruce) and broad leaved coniferous mixed forest, with elevations above 3,000m supporting extensive alpine meadows and scrub vegetation on a landscape of rolling hills against a backdrop of rocky scree slopes and glaciated peaks. Qinghai Province has only 6% total forest cover and most of this is restricted to small scattered blocks on the western slopes of the Qilian Mountains. Around Qinghai Lake, vegetation types include temperate grasslands, coniferous forest, alpine and sandy scrub, alpine grasslands and meadows and marsh meadows.

Przewalski’s gazelle was formerly widely distributed in China, occurring from Qinghai Lake in western China through Gansu to Ningxia and Ordos, but has been extirpated across much of its range and is now confined to a

handful of isolated sub‐populations distributed in the northeast, north and northwest and south of Qinghai Lake

(in Gangcha, Haiyan， Tianjun and Gonghe counties). The total global population plummeted to about 300 in the 1990s, causing the species to be listed as Critically Endangered. Population numbers have since grown somewhat, with the latest survey of 2016 indicating that they have now reached 1,468 in total (44 in Shengge


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and 104 in Kuaierma area of Tianjun county, 684 in Haergai, 240 in Ganzihe, 23 in Talixuanguo, 92 in Sandy island, 47 in Ketu of Haiyan county, 29 in Bird Island of Gangcha county, 38 in Yuanzhe, 4 in Qinghai Lake breeding farm of Gonghe county). However, these areas are the species last natural remaining distribution and the sub‐populations remain isolated.

(Source: Qilian Mountains Provincial Nature Reserve Masterplan 2017‐2026)

Snow leopard and their ecosystems are declining throughout their range. The largest share of the snow leopard’s distributional range is located in the Tibetan plateau of China, and the International Snow Leopard Fund estimates that 2,000‐2,500 of the 3,500‐7,000 total estimated global population of snow leopards are in China. In China, snow leopards are thought to be concentrated in Qilian Mountains, Sangjiangyuan National Nature Reserve, Kunlun Mountains and other regions. The largest areas of snow leopard habitat are in northern Qinghai Province, and the area between South Shule Mountain and Toledo Mountain in the

middle part of the Qilian Mountains is considered important.


A snow leopard research team from Chinese Academy of Forestry （CAF) have conducted infra‐trigger camera

survey in 2017. 152 cameras between June and September detected 50 independent evidence of snow leopard presence. This species is listed on Appendix I of CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Fauna and Flora), which prohibits international trade in the animal and its parts and products except under exceptional, non‐commercial circumstances, and was listed as a “First‐class protected species” by the Chinese government in 1989. Extinction of the snow leopard would have profound impacts on the Asian alpine ecosystem. The species plays an important ecological role in controlling the populations and health of wild ungulate species and is an important indicator species of healthy mountain ecosystems. Without the snow leopard, there would be too many herbivores, which would overgraze the habitat, leaving no food for other wildlife. The snow leopard’s habitat also provides important resources for local communities – from food and medicine to wood for shelter, heat and fuel.

Sustainable management of this landscape and conservation of wildlife habitat is fundamental not only for survival of the endangered species it harbours, but also to sustain development and the lives, society and economy of people living in this region. Various Han, Tibetan, Hui, Mongolian and other ethnic groups live in this region.

Qinghai province has an extensive PA system, covering about 30.2% of the Province’s land surface, and harbouring important habitats for endangered species. There are currently two protected areas (PAs) within the Qilian Mountains‐Qinghai Lake landscape, however the habitat still encounters threats and challenge.

Habitat and ecosystem degradation and loss: Over‐grazing, construction of roads, dams and other development infrastructure and mining all pose direct and indirect threats to biodiversity. Most of the habitat of Przewalski’s gazelle has already been lost to increasing human population, farming activities, and desertification. Many pastures show evidence of severe degradation as a result of over‐grazing. Construction, mining and climate change have degraded grassland habitats.

Figure 2: Location of Qilian Mountains Provincial Nature Reserve


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Habitat fragmentation: Human activities, including fencing of areas, have fragmented grassland habitats limiting the area over which Przewalski’s gazelle can roam (they are not able to jump over high fences and can get caught and killed attempting to jump barbed wire fences). As a result, populations are isolated, inbreed and are more prone to attacks by wolves.

Over‐grazing: With herder populations growing, the number of livestock has increased, placing pressure on grasslands, especially when herders drive their livestock to the pasture in the high mountains. This process interferes considerably with Przewalski’s gazelle feeding habits. There is also competition for resources between livestock and wild sheep, a key prey of snow leopard.

Human‐snow leopard conflict: The major prey of snow leopard are wild sheep (blue sheep, Sichuan blue sheep and argali), marmot, ground squirrel, pika and wooly hare, as well as domestic yaks, goats and sheep, which leads some herders to lose their livestock without sufficient compensation.

The objective of the project is: to strengthen the effectiveness of the protected area system in the Qilian Mountains‐Qinghai Lake landscape to conserve globally significant biodiversity, including snow leopard and Przewalski’s gazelle. The project will remove the above mentioned barriers through three mutually supportive components.

Component 1: Protected area system consolidation and institutional strengthening

This component will support consolidation of the PA system for Qilian Mountains‐Qinghai Lake landscape through development of a package of strategies, tools and action plans designed to fully consolidate the PA system, increase the resilience of this landscape and reduce threats to globally significant biodiversity it harbours.

A landscape‐level management plan will be developed through stakeholder engagement, including a corridor operationalization plan, along with county‐level action plans and co‐management agreements for each county authority to operationalize the management plan at the local level. A landscape‐level coordination mechanism linked to local authorities will be established to facilitate integration and alignment of these action plans into local development planning processes. In tandem with the landscape level management plan, the project will also support development of a landscape‐level sustainable and responsible nature‐based tourism and livelihood development plan (linked to incentives) and mainstreaming of this into local development plans to support sustainable community livelihoods at the systemic level. Species protection and restoration plans for snow leopard and Przewalski’s gazelle, including thorough assessment of current status, distribution, populations and threats and action plan to address, will be formulated, approved and implemented. The project will also support review and assessment of the Provincial laws and enforcement framework on endangered species, and formulate, propose and approve/enact policies and regulations to address gaps and threats.

Component 2: Emplacement of effective PA management and incentivizing participatory conservation

This component will support operationalisation of the consolidated PA system, community support and incentives for conservation and piloting of innovative management mechanisms with local communities in order to strengthen effective management and conservation across the landscape. The project will scale up work with local communities to reduce threats to biodiversity across the whole landscape and among all PAs. Operationalisation of consolidated PA system will include: i) gazettement of PAs and infrastructure emplaced (including clear boundary demarcation) , ii) management plans developed and in place for each existing and new PA, iii) institutionalization of clear reporting structure and methods (including possible establishment of community ranger system), iv) training programmes for staff and community members institutionalised, v) development of financing plans and support for operationalization, (vi) establishment of law enforcement and habitat/biodiversity monitoring protocols, (vii) develop clear capacity enhancement strategies and action plans for increasing management effectiveness of the PAs, (viii) necessary equipment.

Component 3: Enabling conditions strengthened through improved monitoring & evaluation and reporting, knowledge management, and social inclusion

This component will assess knowledge, practices, and attitudes of decision makers and the public regarding the value of the landscape PA system and develop a knowledge management strategy and action plan for the Qilian Mountains‐Qinghai Lake landscape. Then, the project will initiate the implementation of the landscape level knowledge management action plan, including increasing public access and contribution, uptake of best practices, and facilitating improved public education, awareness, online training, and social inclusion.


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Meanwhile, staff related the project will participate in programme level knowledge management initiatives, including but not limited to technical workshops, cross visits, 15th COP of CBD, etc. to share knowledge generated through dissemination and participation in provincial and regional fora, including but not limited to the Qinghai‐Tibetan Plateau Biodiversity Conservation Network and the Global Snow Leopard & Ecosystem Protection Program (GSLEP).

The project is also required to administer and interpret an end‐of‐project KAP survey compared to begin‐of‐project KAP survey, documenting changes in knowledge, practices, and attitudes of decision makers and the public.

1. NATURAL CONDITION

1.1 Location and Scope

1.1.1. Qinghai Lake National Nature Reserve

The Qinghai Lake National Natural Reserve has the area of 495,200 hectare and is located at N97°53’‐101°13’E, N36°28’‐38°25’, northeast of Tibet Plateau, which includes the whole area of Qinghai Lake, 5 islands and peninsulas which are Egg Island, Haixi Island, Haixin hill island, Sand Island, Sankuaishi Island and the lakeside wetland (Figure 3). The Bird Island section of the NNR was entered in the List of Ramsar wetlands of international importance.

Figure 3: Vegetation Map of Qinghai Lake National Nature Reserve in 2016

(Source: Qinghai lake NR Masterplan<2015‐2024>)

1.1.2 Qilian Mountains Provincial Nature Reserve

The Qilian Mountain Provincial Nature Reserve is located at E 96°39’24’’‐ 102°36’22’’, N 37°8’45’’‐39°5’20’’, near border on the northeast of Jiuquan, Zhangye and Weiwu prefecture of Gansu Province, on Wulan County of Haixi Mongolian and Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture on its west, on Haiyan County and Gangcha County of Haibei Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture on the south, on Huzhu Tu People Autonomous County of Haidong Prefecture and Datong County of Xining City on its east. There are 8 blocks including Heyuan, Tuanjiefeng, Sanheyuan, Youhulu, Heiheyuan, Huangzang Temple‐ Mangza, Shiyangheyuan and Xianmi of Qilian Mountains Provincial Nature Reserve, which covers an area of 775,400 hectare including the core zone of 230,100 hectare, the buffer zone of 220,800 hectare, the experiment zone of 324,500 hectare and the ratio of three


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zones is 30: 28: 42. The area of Qilian Mountains Provincial Nature Reserve is related to Delingha city, Tianjun county of Haixi Autonomous Prefecture and Qilian County, Menyuan County of Haibei Autonomous Prefecture.

The Qilian Mountains National Park pilot site, which includes the Qilian Mountain Provincial Nature Reserve together with the national nature reserve in adjacent Gansu Province, was approved by the State Council on 1September 2017. According to the proved theme, the total area of Qilian National Park will be 50,200 km2. Qinghai Part of the NP will be 15,800 km2 which will be double size of the current Qilian Mountains Provincial Nature Reserve and Gansu Part of the NP will be 34,400 km2. The NP will connect all blocks of Qilian Mountains Provincial Nature Reserve and keep the integrity of ecosystem.

Figure 4: Vegetation Map of Qilian Mountains Provincial Nature Reserve (Source: Qilian Mountains Provincial Nature Reserve Masterplan 2017‐2026)

1.2 Climate context

1.2.1 Qinghai Lake National Nature Reserve

Qinghai Lake National Nature Reserve is located within the convergence area of Tibetan Plateau and the Chinese northwest arid area and the eastern monsoon areas of China. There is no clear four seasons in the area, little rainfall, strong solar radiation and large temperature difference in a day. The area is located in semi‐arid high‐cold climate plateau. It has the average temperature between‐1.0‐ 1.5 in a year, the highest average monthly temperature between 16.0‐ 20.0 , the highest absolute temperature is 26 , the lowest average monthly temperature between ‐18.0‐ 23.0 and the lowest absolute temperature is ‐35.8 . The average rainfall is between 300‐ 400mm yearly, though it approaches to 500mm in a few years. (Source: Qilian Mountains Provincial Nature Reserve Masterplan (2017‐2026).


Qilian Mountains Provincial Nature Reserve has a high altitude and cold climate, with long winters and short summers. Rainfall is mainly in summer, though it has little rainfall in winter, and it is windy all year around. There is strong solar radiation and sufficient sunshine, which is beneficial for supporting high altitude pastures. The main extreme weather includes frost damage, hail, spring drought, sand storms and snow storms.


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Laohu valley has a lower temperature than other areas, and has ‐10.9 in average yearly tempoarture, and Xianmi area has higher temperature which is ‐4.8 in average yearly. The highest average monthly temperature is 12.8 (Qilian station) while the lowest monthly average temperature is ‐24.9 (Yeniuji Mountain Area). The average temperature in the Nature Reserve goes lower from southeast to northwest. (Source: Qilian Mountains Provincial Nature Reserve Masterplan 2017‐2026).

The rainfall is reduced from the eastern area to the west, which keeps 364‐597mm in average.

Table 1: Yearly precipitation of blocks of Qilian Mountains Provincial Nature Reserve（mm）（1971‐2015 Year）

Station Xianmi Laohu valley Lenglongling Nazixiagou Mangzha Huanzang monastery

Youhulu valley

Rainfall 534 597 583 536 456 408 459

Station Datongheyuantou Tuoleheyuantou Shuleheyuantou Heiheyuantou Hala Lake Suligahe Yeniujishan

Rainfall 432 423 428 373 364 365 377

(Source: Qilian Mountains Provincial Nature Reserve 2017‐2026)

1.3 Hydrological context


There are more than 40 rivers within the Qinghai Lake inland closed watershed. Buha river, Quanji river, Shaliu river, Haergai river and Heima river are the main streams around Qinghai Lake. Those 5 river catchments cover a cumulative area of 17, 878 km2, and runoff volume of the rivers is 1.3385 billion m3, which contributes 83% of the whole volume around the lake. According to the survey of Qinghai Lake’s aquatic environment in 2016, the water is alkaline, with pH value ranging from 8.1‐8.9. Most of the river water has density under 1g/cm3 and mineralization lower than 1 g/l, which signifies a state of low nutritive salt and oligotrophic. (Source: Qinghai lake NR Monitoring Report in 2016)


The Qilian Mountains water system of Qinghai Province consists of 4 inland rivers, including the Hei River, Shule River, Shiyang River, Datong River and covers the area of 2.51×104 km2, which has a watershed surface water of 98.97×108 m3 in total. In Qinghai province, Shule River watershed area has the surface water of 15.03×108 m3, Heihe watershed area has the surface water of 14.14×108m3, Shiyang River watershed area has the surface water of 5.43×108 m3, Datong River watershed area has the surface water of 25.60×108m3. The modern glacier, bred in Qilian Mountain, covers the area of 1334.75 km2, which has 615.49×108m3 in storage. 53.8% area of the glacier in Qilian Mountain in Qinghai Province covers 717.43km2, meanwhile, 57.7% storage of the glacier in Qilian Mountain is in Qinghai province, containing 355.02×108m3 of glacier (Source: Qilian Mountains Provincial Nature Reserve Masterplan 2017‐2026).

1.4 Biodiversity context

1.4.1 Key Biodiversity Areas

Table 2: Key Biodiversity Areas

Protected Area(s) Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs)

Site ID Name Code Area, ha Latitude Longitude

Qinghai Lake National Nature Reserve 15569 Qinghai Hu (Koko Nor) CN156 495,200 37.00 100.83

Qilian Mountains Nature Reserve (Gansu and Qinghai provinces)

15510 Eastern Qilian Shan mountains CN161 4,284,000 38.25 101.00

Source of information: KBA Partnership database


It is recorded that there are 53 bird species in 6 orders and 13 families, including 1 1st class national protected species, 4 2nd class national protected species, 2 E class and 1 V class species on China Red Data Book of Endangered Animals. Two 1st class and Two 2nd class species on CITES Category (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) annex and 1 V class species on IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) list. (Source: Qinghai lake NR Monitoring Report in 2016)


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Table 3: Globally Threatened Species in Qinghai Lake NR

Species/Latin name Red List / Endemic status

CITES Appendix for illegally traded / hunted species

Notes on species status and associated local conservation challenges

Horned Grebe (Podiceps auritus) VU

Population is small and distributes in temperate fresh water area and breeding in the west of Tianshan Mountains and migrates to the southeast of China in Winter time.

White poonbill(Platalea leucorodia) LC II

The species has wide distribution and there is about 30,000 globally and 900 in China.

Whooper Swan (Cygnus cygnus) LC

There are about 100,000 globally. Since hunting and wetland shrink in the past years, the population of the species decline dramatically. Qinghai lake is one of winter habitat. Due to protection effort of Qinghai Lake NR, the population of the species in Qinghai Lake keep stable and increase.

Black‐necked Crane (Grus nigricollis) EN I

There are about 10,000 globally. Most of which distributes in Qinghai‐Tibetan plateau. According to monitoring in 2016, there are 80‐100 in Qinghai lake. Qinghai lake is one of breeding habitats. The population keep stable with a trend of increase.

Coot(Fulica atra) LC II The species has wide distribution and there are large populations. It is common bird in China.

Black‐tailed Godwit (Limosa limosa) NT I

The species has wide distribution, however, the population is small.

Przewalski's Gazelle (Procapra przewalskii) EN I

This species used to distribute plateau meadow and grassland about 3400 meters above sea level in inner‐mongolia, NIngxia, Qinghai, Gansu, Xinjiang and Tibet. Now, its habitat shrank around Qinghai lake area.

*Globally threatened species (CR, EN, V), endemic and restricted range species

There were 1,468 Przewalski’s Gazelles in 2016 and population structure is that male population accounts for 28% and female population accounts for 48% and young population accounts for 24%. See Table 4 below. (Source: Qinghai Lake NR Monitoring Report in 2016).

Table 4: Przewalski’s Gazelles population and distribution in 2016

Distribution Area Population Male Female Young

Population Proportion Population Proportion Population Proportion

Shengge 79 31 39% 33 42% 15 19%

Kuaierma 47 18 38% 21 45% 8 17%

Yuanzhe 59 9 15% 31 53% 19 32%

Hudong 4 1 25% 3 75%

Ketu 58 10 17% 30 52% 18 31%

Sand Island 159 25 16% 86 54% 48 30%

South of Ganzihe Railway

64 18 28% 27 42% 19 30%

North of Ganzihe Railway

178 45 25% 82 46% 51 29%


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Distribution Area Population Male Female Young

Population Proportion Population Proportion Population Proportion

South of Haergai Railway

241 69 29% 112 46% 60 25%

North of Haergai Railway

407 107 26% 205 50% 95 23%

Qinghai Lake breeding farm

101 42 42% 40 40% 19 19%

Talixuanguo 30 21 70% 5 17% 4 13%

Bird Island 41 11 27% 23 56% 7 17%

Total 1468 407 28% 698 48% 363 25%


Most of wild animals are terrestrial vertebrates in the Qilian Mountains Provincial Nature Reserve which accounts for 97.4% of total wild animal species. Aquatic animal species accounts for 2.6% of total wild animal species. Specifically, there are 7 species of aquatic animal species, 3 species amphibious and reptile, 120 species of birds. Those species belong to 12 orders, 30 families. There are 39 species of mammals which belong to 6 orders, 15 families. Among which, 10 species are national 1st class protected animals such as snow leopard, wild ass, wild yak, golden eagle, black necked‐crane etc. 24 species are 2nd class national protected animals. The Qilian Mountains Provincial Nature Reserve Administration contracted Chinese Academy of Forestry (CAF) to have conducted infra‐trigger camera survey in 2017. The feedback from CAF team is that data from 152 cameras between June and September indicates only 50 independent detections on snow leopards identified (detection rate of 0.082 individuals/camera/month). The Qilian Mountains Provincial Nature Reserve Administration will expand the infra‐trigger camera survey in the large scope in April 2018 and continue to conduct infra‐trigger camera monitoring as regular monitoring work. This monitoring will be good method to verify the health of ecosystem and management effectiveness of the Qilian Mountains Provincial Nature Reserve. See Table 5 below.

Table 5: Status of globally significant species* in Qilian Mountain Provincial Nature Reserve

Species Red List / Endemic status



Snow leopard (Panthera uncia) VU I

The species is on the top of food chain in plateau and critical indicator of ecosystem health. Due to illegal hunting and retaliatory kill as well as habitat shrink, the population is threatened. China have the biggest population and habitat of snow leopard. The government takes big efforts to protection this species.

Tibetan Ass (Equus kiang) LC I

Due to protection efforts, the population of the species increase steadily and it is estimated that there are more than 100,000. New conflict is to compete pastureland with livestock.

Wild Yak (Bos mutus) VU

Due to human activities, the habitat of wild yak shrank to 140 million km2 area of the upper reach of the Yalu Tsangpo River, Kunlun Mountains, Arjin Mountains and Qilian Mountains. It is estimated that there are 30,000‐50,000 wild yaks in China. In Qinghai Province, wild yak mainly distributes in the south of Qaidam Basin and the east of Qinghai‐Tibetan road.

Golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) LC II The species has wide distribution and the population is stable.

Pallas's Fish Eagle (Haliaeetus leucoryphus)

VU II Due to beautiful tail feather, this species is often hunted, it is rare in China and distributes in Qinghai Lake and the three‐river source area. Main threats are grassland pikas control and habitat degradation.

Black‐necked crane (Grus nigricollis) VU I

There are about 10,000 globally. Most of which distributes in Qinghai‐Tibetan plateau. According to monitoring in 2016, there are 80‐100 in Qinghai lake. Qinghai lake is one of breeding habitats. The population keep stable with a trend of increase.

Lammergeier (Gypaetus barbatus）

LC This species has wide distribution and the population is stable.


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Species Red List / Endemic status



Chinese Grouse(Bonasa sewerzowi)

NT This bird is China endemic species and distributes in small area of Qinghai, Gansu and Sichuan Province and it is estimated that the population is 13,000. Habitat degradation and hunting are main threats.

Tibetan Snowcock (Tetraogallus tibetanus)

LC This species has wide distribution and the population is stable.

Verreaux's Monal‐Partridge(Tetraophasis obscurus)

LC This is endemic species and common to be seen in Minshan and Qionglai Mountains and Qilian Mountains about 4600 meters above sea level.

Stone marten(Martes foina)

LC This species is rare in China and mainly distributes in the eastern and southern Qinghai‐Tibetan Plateau and has population of 4000.

Chinese mountain cat(Felis bieti) II

This is China endemic species and mainly distributes in northwest of China and its preys are rats. Therefore, pika control is one of threats to the species.

Lynx(Lynx lynx) LC II This species widely distributes in European and Asian forest, shrub and rocky areas and there are about 70,000 population. Reduction and fragmentation of its habitat is main threats to the species.

Manul(Felis manul) NT II

This species mainly distributes in Qinghai‐Tibetan plateau and there are no population data available. Before 1980's, due to hunting, the population decreased. Since its habitat is not suitable for human, hunting is main threat to the species.

Blown bear（Ursus

arctos） LC II

The blown bear was threatened by trade due to its paws and gall bladder are one of traditional medicine. It is estimated that there are 100,000 population in 2012. its habitat overlaps with human activities, it often kills livestock and sneak on herdsmen' house in the summer time.

Alpine musk deer (Moschus chrysogaster)

EN This species distributes in Qinghai, Gansu, Sichuan Province and Tibet AR and had about 28,000 population in 2012. Since musk is one of precious traditional medicine, illegal hunting is biggest threat to the species.

Red deer(Cervus elaphus) LC

This species has wide distribution and There are big population with about 100,000 in the Northeast of China. Since musk is one of precious traditional medicine, illegal hunting and capture from wild are main threats to the species.

White‐lipped dear (Gervus albirostris) EN I

This species is typical high‐elevation distribution animal and its habitat is located in alpine meadow areas of Qinghai‐Tibet Plateau about 3000‐5000

above sea level，such as Qinghai, Gansu, Western Sichuan, Tibet and northern Yunnan. Competing habitat with livestock and fragmentation of habitat are main threats to the species.

Tibetan Gazelle（ Procapra picticaudata）

NT This species widely distributes in Qinghai‐Tibetan Plateau and are stable in population. Main threat is habitat degradation.

Blue sheep (Pseudois nayaur) LC

This species widely distributes in Qinghai‐Tibetan Plateau and western Inner Mongolia, northern Gansu and Ningxia and southern Xinjiang and Shaanxi Provinces and are stable in population. It is main prey of snow leopard.

Blue Eared Pheasant (Crossoptilon auritum)

LC This species widely distributes in the eastern edge of Qinghai‐Tibetan Plateau and the population is stable.

Eurasian Eagle‐Owl (Bubo bubo) LC II This is wide distribution species and the population is stable.

Little Owl (Athene noctua) II This is wide distribution species

Long‐eared Owl

(Asio otus） LC II

This species is wide distribution and migration bird. Main threat is preys. Now, the population is stable.

*Globally threatened species (CR, EN, V), endemic and restricted range species 2. SOCIO‐ECONOMIC CONTEXT


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2.1 Administration and Demographic information


The Qinghai Lake National Nature Reserve extends across 2 autonomous prefectures and 3 counties administratively, in which the south area of the lake belongs to Gonghe County, Hainan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, and the north and east of the lake belongs to Haiyan and Gangcha County, Haibei Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. The watershed covers 4 counties, 25 townships in which 3 townships belong to Haiyan County; 6 townships belong to Gangcha County; 4 townships belong to Gonghe County; and 12 townships belong to Tianjun County).

There are large numbers of ethnic minority residents in Qinghai Lake area. The Nature Reserve involves 3 counties and 8 townships, 5 state‐owned institutions including East Lake Breeding Sheep Farm, Qinghai Lake Farm, Huangyu Farm, Qinghai Lake Fishery. 12 ethnic minorities residents living around the area that is made up of 85,600 people are Tibetans, Hans, Mongolians, Huis, Monguors, Salar peoples, Manchus. The number of minorities make up 70% of the whole population, and 68.61% of them are Tibetans. Less than 3000 residents live within the Nature Reserve.

Around the lake, local economies mostly rely on animal husbandry, tourism, and, to a lesser degree, crop cultivation. People lived on raising livestock by generations until 1960s when they started diversifying with crop production. In the recent 10 years, they started individual transport service, retail business, catering service, tourist industry and labour export, etc. The value of livestock husbandry accounts for 70% of total agricultural production value. Most workers are farmers or shepherds and the number of them is 34,000. Labour accounts for 48% of people in village. Grain to Green Programme started in 2000. After that, a number of farmers and shepherd left the farmland. By 2005, 24,320.2 ha (about 364,800 mu) of farmland had been return to forest while farmland of 171,912 hectare (about 268,700 mu) of plantation had left (Source: Qinghai Lake NR Monitoring Report in 2016).

Wheat, highland barley, broad bean, rape seed are mostly grown up in this area, while a small number of potato and pea are planted. The output of cereal crops is 1730‐ 3000 kg/ha in average and rapeseed is 1100‐ 1500 kg/ha. The production value of plantation is estimated by CNY 25,795,000 (approx. USD 3.8 million). Shepherds in Qinghai Lake currently operate pastureland of 1.9 million ha, supporting 4 million units of sheep. On average, each shepherd possesses pastureland of 26.8 hectare and 56.7 units of sheep. (Source: Qinghai Lake NR Masterplan 2015‐2024)


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Table 6: Basic information of related communities surrounding Qinghai Lake NR

Prefecture County Township Village Households Population Ethnicity Income per capita

(CNY) Zones

Haibei Gangcha

Quanji

Niannaisuoma 404 1600 Tibetan 13582 Core Buffer Experimental

Zhasuhe 220 920 Tibetan 12426 Experimental

Yhemao 339 1565 Tibetan 13425 Experimental

Qieji 177 710 Tibetan 12996 Experimental

Shaliuhe

Guoluozanggongma 527 2570 Tibetan 12656 Experimental

Xinhai 173 718 Tibetan 14125 Experimental

Panbao 249 913 Tibetan 12554 Experimental

Yikewulan

Gangchagongma 437 1732 Tibetan 9260 Experimental

Jiaoshikexuema 316 1187 Tibetan 9314 Experimental

Jiaoshikegongma 201 847 Tibetan 9314 Experimental

Yaxue 224 744 Tibetan 9240 Experimental

Yagongma 127 537 Tibetan 9015 Experimental

Shangmuduo 81 349 Tibetan 8178 Experimental

Haergai

Guoluozangxuema 338 1670 Tibetan 12773 Experimental

Huancangxuem 370 1854 Tibetan 12571 Core Buffer Experimental

Yaxuema 288 1407 Tibetan 10673 Core Buffer Experimental


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(CNY) Zones

Gonggongma 383 1939 Tibetan 13541 Core Buffer Experimental

Qiecha 107 509 Tibetan 10844 Core Buffer Experimental

Chala 113 535 Tibetan 14426 Core Buffer Experimental

Sanjiaocheng Sheep Breeding center

972 2705 Han 14000 Core Buffer Experimental

1st sub‐farm of Qinghaihu Farm

227 526 Han 12500 Core Buffer Experimental

Haibei Haiyan

Qinghaihu

Tongbai 301 1070 Tu,Han,Tibetan,

Mongolian 7000 Core Buffer Experimental

Dayuwugu 260 810 Han, Tibetan, Mongolian

11000 Core Buffer Experimental

Ganzihe

Eri 274 1068 Tibetan, Han 7900 Core Buffer Experimental

Dayu 296 983 Tibetan,Han, Huis 6000 Core Buffer Experimental

Reshui 250 930 Tibetan,Han, Mongolian


Gahai 283 993 Tibetan,Han, Mongolian


Dezhou 230 831 Mongolian,Huis 7100 Core Buffer Experimental

Tuohua 180 660 Mongolian, Han, Huis 7000 Core Buffer Experimental

Wendu 123 370 Tu，Han, Tibetan, Mongolian, Huis


Hainan Gonghe

Daotanghe Jiayi 553 1965 Tibetan, Han 8252.56 Experimental

Jiangxigou Dacang 509 1668 Tibetan, Han 7529.31 Experimental


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(CNY) Zones

More 724 2655 Tibetan, Han 12136 Experimental

Yuanzhe 561 2003 Tibetan, Han 9218.23 Experimental

Heimahe

Wenba 502 1617 Tibetan 4500 Buffer Experimental

Zhengquehu 458 1619 Tibetan 4500 Buffer Experimental

Jialong 320 1148 Tibetan 4500 Core Buffer Experimental

Ranque 87 325 Han 4500 Buffer Experimental

Shinaihai

Luse 294 1945 Tibetan, Han 6700 Experimental

Garila 305 1124 Tibetan, Han 6275.6 Experimental

Qieji 385 1278 Tibetan, Han 6700 Core Buffer Experimental

Xianggong 357 1268 Tibetan, Han 7800 Core Buffer Experimental

Eastern Lake Breeding Farm

802 2546 Han, Tibetan,Huis,

Tu， Mongolian 2600 Core Buffer Experimental

Source: Poverty investigation in 2015


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The Qilian Mountains Provincial Nature Reserve has 8 blocks and extends across 2 autonomous prefectures and 4 counties as well as 13 townships. Due to scattered residential settlements and nomadic Tibetans, there are no highly populated residential villages. The nature reserve is engaged with 1805 families and 7602 residents in 25 villages of 13 townships living nearby and herdsmen graze and set up tents in the nature reserve. The nature Reserve is remote and has weak telephone network signal that people cannot make a phone call in most of areas (Source: Survey of Qilian Mountains Provincial Nature Reserve in 2017).

Table 7: Demographic information of Townships and Villages in Qilian Mountains Provincial Nature Reserve

Zone Blocks Township Villages Households Population Livestock

Core Zone

Huangzangshi Ebo Mangzha 140 840 15789

Dangheyuan Keluke Taoshengnuoer 122 389 41433

Kelunuoer 108 362 36678

Sub‐total 370 1591 93900

Buffer zone Xianmi Zhugu Chumayuan 51 194 2524

Yuanshu 112 451 4886

Sub‐total 163 645 7410

Experimental Zone

Youhulu Yeniugou

Dalang Group‐1 38 162 4287

Dalang Group‐2 21 101 2473

Sanheyuan

Dayu 201 1032 22713

Longmen Longmen group 2 115 352 7719

Muli Muli Group 4 83 285 6045

Suli Suli Group‐1 91 332 6473

Suli Group‐2 74 268 4660

Tuanjiefeng Suli

Suli Group‐3 72 336 4960

Suli Group‐4 88 315 5952

Suli Group‐5 51 195 3548

Huangzangshi Babao Jiamu 34 161 3843

Arou Rixu 80 471 9070

Shiyanghe

Xitan Jindong 25 53 8779

Qingshizui Diaogou 8 14 2792

Qingshizui 7 11 2436

Suji Sujiwan 10 21 3484

Beishan Daquan 8 8 3020

Xitan Ximachang 5 8 2489

Xianmi Zhugu Dongxu 100 575 4452

Jiefang 161 666 4165

Sub‐total 1272 5366 113360

Grand Total 13 25 1805 7602 214670

2.2 Land use and tenure


There are 2 forms of land in the Qinghai Lake National Nature Reserve: state and collective tenure. Most of the land is of which are contracted to households through collective tenure arrangements and the other are under


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state‐owned ownership. The nature reserve manages 68,800 ha land which take up 13.8% of the total nature reserve area. Water area is 462,400 ha in which, the nature reserve takes the ownership of 1100 ha area that are around the Bird Island and the right of management for the other places (Source: Qinghai lake NR Masterplan 2015‐2024).

Figure 5: Land Use Map of Qinghai Lake National Nature Reserve in 2016

There are 11 land use types within the Qinghai Lake National Nature Reserve: urban land, wetland, low density grassland, medium density grassland, high density grassland, cropland, bare land, desert, saline and alkaline land, water, grain to green land. (Figure 5: Land Use Map of Qinghai National Nature Reserve).

Table 8: Land use of Qinghai Lake National Nature Reserve in 2016

No. Type Area（ha） Proportion（%）

1 Urban land 61.4 0.01%

2 Wetland(Water Body) 454,077.40 79.47%

3 Low density grassland 39,464.40 6.91%

4 Medium density grassland 18,429.00 3.23%

5 High density grassland 18,638.30 3.26%

6 Cropland 4,816.90 0.84%

7 Bare land 1,620.70 0.28%


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No. Type Area（ha） Proportion（%）

8 Desert 25,775.00 4.51%

9 Saline and alkaline land 2,400.90 0.42%

10 Water body ? ?

11 Grain to green land 6,130.20 1.07%

Total 571,414.20

Note: This total area is actual area of Qinghai Lake National Nature Reserve. 495,200 ha is official size of the nature reserve.

2.2.2. Qilian Mountains Provincial Nature Reserve

Figure 4: Land Use Map of Qilian Mountains Provincial Nature Reserve in 2016

There are 14 types of lands in Qilian Mountains Provincial Nature Reserve, including:

Glacier: 44,189 ha

Grassland: 267,328 ha

Shrub forest: 54,685 ha

Stream (Riparian): 9,806 ha

Lakes: 1,596 ha

Mixed forest: 12 ha

Broad‐leaf forest: 123 ha

Barren land: 308,889 ha

Sand land: 9,035 ha

Marshland: 70,052 ha

Coniferous forest: 9,676 ha

Artificial land: 26 ha including road of 22 ha, dryland of 3 ha, irrigated land of 1 ha

Total: 775,417 ha



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2.3 Institutional and Personnel


Qinghai National Nature Reserve Administration of Qinghai Province, being led by Qinghai Forestry Department and Qinghai Lake Tour Administration is at the divisional level, and the Tour Administration manages the personnel. The programme of essential construction of the reserve and scientific research funds, materials, device and labour cost is made and organized by Qinghai Lake Tour Administration. Qinghai Forestry Department and Qinghai Lake Tour Administration working together in the administration.

There are 2 levels in the management system of the reserve department: office and the site station. Offices in the Administration are nature reserve section office, information and publicity section and forest police station etc. Site stations consist of the station and birds rescue centre in Bird island, Quanwan, Heimahe, Hudong, Haergai and Jiangxigou.

Figure5: Organizational Structure of Qinghai Lake NNR


In September 2014, Qilian Mountains Provincial Nature Reserve of Qinghai Province Management and forest police station were made up formally, including the substation in Delingha City, Tianjun County, Qilian County and Menyuan County. So far, the system of administration, forest police station, 4 management substations,4 forest police substations, 9 local police stations, and 22 management and maintaining stations have been built up.

Office

Forestry Police

Protection

Research

Com

municat

Com

munit

y

Qinghai Lake NNR Administration

Haerg

ai

Protection

Bird

Rescue

Ct

Bird

Island PS

Heim

ahe PS

JIangxig

ou PS

HU

dong

PS

Quanw

an PS


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Figure 6：Organizational Structure of Qinghai Qilian Mountain NR

The Qilian Mountains Provincial Nature Reserve (PNR) Administration is directly managed by the Qinghai Forestry Department. The PNR headquarters has 10 staff and 8 forestry policemen.

Currently, 4 management sub‐bureaus have 70 staff including forestry policemen of which, Delingha Management Sub‐Bureau has 18 staff; Tianjun Management Sub‐Bureau has 12 staff; Qilian Management Sub‐Bureau has 24 staff; and Menyuan Management Sub‐Bureau has 16 staff. Further details are provided in Table 9 below.

Table 9: Qilian Mountain NR Staff Education and Profession Information in 2016

Division and Staff Sub‐total

Education Profession

University Graduates and

above

College and lower

Mid‐class and above

Technician Others

Qilian Mountains Provincial Nature Reserve Administration

Managerial Staff

3 3 2 1

Technical Staff

7 5 2 1 6

Forestry Policemen

8 5 3 8

Sub‐total 18 14 3 3 6 8

Qilian

Mou

ntain

NR

Ad

min

istration

Forestry Police

Haixi P

refecture M

anagem

ent Su

b-B

ureau H

aibei P

refecture M

anagem

ent Su

b-B

ureau

Qilian Management Sub-Bureau

Menyuan Management Sub-

Delingha Management Sub-

Tianjun Management Sub-

12 Protection

Stations

Fire Prevention

Administratio

n Office

Plan and Finanicial

Protection Mgt.

Research and Monitoring

Communications

Community Mgt.

Tourism Mgt.


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Division and Staff Sub‐total

Education Profession

University Graduates and

above

College and lower

Mid‐class and above

Technician Others

Delingha Management Sub‐Bureau 18 15 3 1 1 16

Tianjun Management Sub‐Bureau 12 9 3 12

Qilian Management Sub‐Bureau 24 16 8 2 22

Menyuan Management Sub‐Bureau 16 7 9 16

Total 88 61 26 4 9 74

(Source: Qilian Mountains Provincial Nature Reserve Masterplan <2017‐2026>).

The 22 protection stations cumulatively hire 140 eco‐positions among which, Delingha Management Sub‐Bureau has 13 eco‐positions; Tianjun Management Sub‐Bureau has 15 eco‐positions; Qilian Management Sub‐Bureau has 82 eco‐positions; and Menyuan Management Sub‐Bureau has 30 eco‐positions. Further details are provided in Table 10 below.

Table 10: Eco‐position Educational Information of Qilian Mountain NR in 2016

Sub‐Bureau Name of Station Sub‐total

（Person）

Education Background

Illiterate Primary Middle High Vocational College University

Delingha Management Sub‐

Bureau

Yikela 4 1 3

Banshan 4 3 1

Xueshanmuchang 5 2 3

Tianjun Management Sub‐

Bureau

Muli 3 2 1

Suli 3 3

Wasihu 3 2 1

Huaerdi 3 2 1

Longkou 3 2 1

Qilian Management Sub‐

Bureau

Qingyanggou 12 1 6 2 3

Jiamugou 10 5 1 2 1 1

Tuoleheyuan 11 5 4 2

Huangzangshi 8 4 3 1

Zhamashi 10 4 3 2 1

Yeniugou 10 1 3 4 1 1

Youhulu 11 1 5 2 1 1

Huangzangshi‐Mangzha

10 6 1 1 2

Menyuan Management Sub‐

Bureau

Liuhuanggou 6 3 2 1

Yikeshu 5 3 2

Laohugou 5 2 2 1


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Sub‐Bureau Name of Station Sub‐total

（Person）

Education Background

Illiterate Primary Middle High Vocational College University

Jindonggou 4 2 1 1

Shigou 6 2 3 1

Chumayuan 4 3 1

Total 140 6 45 39 27 3 15 4

(Source: Qilian Mountains Provincial Nature Reserve Masterplan 2017‐2026).

3. BASELINE PA DESCRIPTION

3.1 Defining the PA

Name: Qinghai Lake National Nature Reserve WDPA site code: 96078 International Designation: Ramsar Site in 1992, Niaodao (Bird Island), Site No. 552, 53,600 ha Status: Established in 1975

Location: N 3628′‐3825′ and E 9753′—10113′ Province: 100% in Qinghai District / City / County: Haibei Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture/Gonghe, Haibei Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture/Haiyan, Gangcha Counties Area: 495,200 ha Elevation Range: 3,193 m above sea level (Lake water level) Name: Qilian Mountains Provincial Nature Reserve WDPA site code: 95806 Status: Established in 2005 Location: N 37°8′45″‐39°5′20″ and E 96°39′24″‐102°36′22″ Province: 100% in Qinghai District / City / County: Haixi Mongolian Autonomous Prefecture/Delingha,Tianjun Counties,

Haibei, Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture/Qilian, Menyuan Counties Area: 775,400 ha Elevation Range: 2850‐5826.8 m above sea level

3.2 History/Timeline


Qinghai Lake National Nature Reserve was gazetted in 1975, was the first provincial level nature reserve, the Bird Island section as recorded in List of Ramsar wetlands of international importance in 1992, and the protected area became a national level nature reserve. In 2007, Qinghai Lake Scenic Spot Administration was built by Qinghai Provincial Party Committee and government for better protecting the source utilization and for facilitating increasing numbers of tourists. It is a division level administrative department leading by the forestry department and the scenic spot department together, and the lake Administration manages the personnel.


In December 2005, the Qilian Mountains Provincial Nature Reserve was gazetted by the agreement of Qinghai People’s Provincial Government. The total area is 834,400 ha, which included 8 blocks.

In 2013, Boundary of Qilian Mountain PNR was adjusted out 40,000 ha from the total area of 834,400 ha, the total area of Qilian Mountain reserve became 794,400 ha by managed by the government.


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In August 2014, Qilian Mountains Provincial Nature Reserve Administration was promoted to the leading role of county level mastered by Qinghai Forestry Department. Meanwhile, the forest police station was built up, mastered by the reserve Administration and organized by Qinghai Forest Police Station.

In October 2014, Fushan area (Estimated: 7,817 ha) of Muli Township of Tianjun County was integrated to the experimental zone of Qilian Mountains Provincial Nature Reserve. The total area was increased to 802,200 ha. After confirmed, the actual area of the nature reserve is 808,000 ha.

In January 2015, Delingha, Tianjun, Qilian and Menyuan Forestry Police Bureaus were officially established through combing with Delingha, Tianjun, Qilian and Menyuan Forestry Police Bureaus.

In April 2015, Delingha, Tianjun, Qilian and Menyuan sub‐management bureaus were officially established through combing with Delingha, Tianjun, Qilian and Menyuan environment and forest Bureaus.

Qilian Mountains is one of 25 national key ecological functional areas. In June 2017, a pilot plan of cross‐provincial Qilian Mountains National Park was approved by the State Council. The national park pilot is about 50,200 km2 (5,020,000 ha) and encompasses 34,400 km2 (3,440,000 ha) area on the Qilian Mountains National Nature Reserve in Gansu Province and 15,800 km2 (1,580,000 ha) area on the Qinghai Province side, including the Qilian Mountains Provincial Reserve and corridors connecting the 8 non‐contiguous PNR blocks. The two provinces respectively occupy 68.5% and 31.5% of the total area of Qilian Mountains National Park. In principle, core conservation and ecological restoration areas are less than 70% of the total area and traditional utilization area is no more than 25% of the total area and scientific publicity and recreational area is no more than 5% of the total area.

4. THREATS AND BARRIERS TO PRZEWALSKI’SGAZELLES

4.1 Threats

4.2.1 Threats in Qinghai Lake National Nature Reserve

Fragmentation of habitats: Because grassland was contracted to individual households since 1980's, iron fences demarcated boundary of rangeland's tenure of households which extremely fragmented Przewalskii’s gazelles' habitats into 10 populations. Some populations are small which indicates genetic degradation problem.

Injury due to metal perimeter fencing: Due to high fence and barbed wire, Przewalskii’s gazelles can hardly jump over and they are often hanged up until dead. There have been many death cases in the past.

Grassland competition between livestock and Przewalskii’s gazelles.

Lack of drink water, particularly in winter.

Lack of fodder, particularly in winter

Przewalskii’s gazelles eat garbage from tourists and locals.

Diseases to Przewalskii’s gazelles.

5.2.1 Threats in Qilian Mountains Provincial Nature Reserve

Conflicts between livestock and wild animals: Local herdsmen's pasturelands are within and surrounding of Qilian Mountains Provincial Nature Reserve. Definitely there is competition between livestock and wildlife herbivores which may be snow leopard's preys. The number of livestock within Qilian Mountains Provincial Nature Reserve (Or Qilian Mountains NP‐Qinghai Part) may be monitored and change of number may reflect threat from livestock.

Illegal poaching: Though the government made lots of efforts in protection, there were still two cases of poaching snow leopards using iron‐clamper in 2014. We are not sure what interest incentive illegal hunters. Perhaps for snow leopard skins or skeleton. It can be monitored with the number of enforcement incidents recorded by the forestry police. It may be considered as indirect indicator for illegal poaching. But it depends upon consistent enforcement.

Fragmentation: Though Qilian Mountains Provincial Nature Reserve has been officially established, the nature reserve has 8 blocks which are separate with each other. There is no connection(corridor)


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between the blocks. Reason is that there are potential mining sites or Human settlements or individual household pasturelands in Qilian Mountains. The government keeps some areas more flexible or avoid tenure conflict.

4.2 Barriers

4.2.1 Common Barriers

Barriers Elaboration

Barrier 1: Under‐representation of important habitats in the NR system and insufficient systemic capacity for integrated PA planning and management and protection of endangered species.

There are still many gaps in the PA system in this landscape. Important ecosystems and habitats such as sub‐alpine meadows and conifer forests of the Qilian Mountains remain under‐represented in the PA system. Przewalski’s gazelle is distributed in small populations around Qinghai Lake, but has little remaining natural habitat protected in a nature reserve. Furthermore, PAs are currently isolated from one another with little connectivity among them. Given the importance of this landscape in terms of the Endangered species and under‐represented ecosystem types it harbours, there is a need to build on current efforts under the UNDP supported GEF financed Qinghai Province project to comprehensively consolidate the PA system in this particular landscape to ensure effective conservation of these species and improve connectivity among habitats. Current institutional and individual capacities for PA management and integrated landscape planning are weak and there is a need for focused efforts to build capacities for effective PA planning and management across this landscape. There is a lack of clarity on institutional mandates and responsibilities for law enforcement, particularly in relation to endangered species.

Barrier 2: Lack of operationalisation of PA system and weak institutional and individual capacity for management of NRs and buffer zones.

The Qilian Mountains Provincial Nature Reserve was gazetted on paper in 2005, however the reserve has not been operationalised and has no boundary or management structure. There is an urgent need to fully operationalise this PA with staff and appropriate training and supporting management and financing plans. While there have been several initiatives on the ground in various areas of Qinghai Province to increase community participation and support for conservation, there is no clear over‐arching strategy for reducing threats to PAs in this landscape. There is a need to build on and scale up community support and incentives to reduce threats to PAs and critical species in a strategic manner. New PAs need to be created and operationalized within the landscape in collaboration with local communities to increase the connectivity within the system. While the baseline work includes programmes with local communities that have been successful at incentivizing their participation in conservation and reducing the impacts of fences on Przewalskii’s gazelle around Qinghai lake, this work needs to be scaled up and institutionalized to sustain the populations and prevent their return to a declining trend. A consistent approach across the existing and new PAs in the landscape to improve management effectiveness and scale up community participation is needed to effectively conserve the habitat of flagship species such as snow leopard and Przewalskii’s gazelle and increase landscape resilience for the local people dependent on it.

4.2.2 Barriers in Qinghai Lake National Nature Reserve

Lack of designated authority to take the responsibility: Since Przewalskii’s gazelles' habitats are out of Qinghai Lake National Nature Reserve, frankly speaking, protecting Przewalskii’s gazelle is beyond the responsibility of Qinghai Lake National Nature Reserve Management Bureau. The responsibility of protecting Przewalskii’s gazelle are dispersed the counties where Przewalskii’s gazelle distributes. Therefore, there is no leading authority to take overall responsibility of protecting Przewalskii’s gazelle and coordinate protection efforts in the field cross Przewalskii’s gazelle habitat.

Overlap of Przewalskii gazelles' habitats and pastureland: Since pastureland was contracted to herdsmen in 1984, Przewalskii gazelles' habitats locate herdsmen's pastureland. Definitely, there is competition between Przewalskii’s gazelle and livestock. Herdsmen don't have any compensation for their pastureland contribution. Due to good conservation awareness, most of herdsmen don't complain about this situation and hardly drive Przewalskii’s gazelle away from their pastureland.

Lack of systematic approach to protect Przewalski’s gazelles: Though there was a National Przewalskii’s Gazelle Protection Project in 2003, there still lack of systematic protection strategy and approach. Protection actions only limited in removing barbed wire, providing fodder in winter, digging well for drinking water etc. at site level.

Lack of regular and stable fund to protect Przewalskii’s gazelles: In the past, Przewalskii’s gazelle protection mostly depend on projects, there is no regular and stable fund from government. The project


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fund is more reaction rather than pre‐action. Therefore, when the project expires, protection action won't sustain in a long run.

Lack of local capacity: Only a few staff of Qinghai Lake National Nature Reserve Management Bureau have good knowledge and skill in rescuing Przewalskii’s Gazelle in particular staff in rescue centre. Staff in 4 counties have limited knowledge of Przewalskii’s gazelle.

4.2.3 Barriers in Qilian Mountains Provincial Nature Reserve

Limited biodiversity baseline information: Though the nature reserve was established in 2005, it is unclear of biodiversity especially, number and distribution of key species. It constrains to develop a scientific protection strategy and management plan.

Unclear threats to biodiversity: Though we may get demographic data from the government, a socio‐economic assessment has never been conducted yet. Therefore, we don't know what is exact threats are to the nature reserve? What is severe threat to the nature reserve?

Weak staff capacity: There are 18 nature reserve staff in place at headquarters; however, most of them do not have biodiversity conservation and nature reserve management backgrounds and experience in management of nature reserve. Community wardens do not have the requisite skills in monitoring and patrolling. Though the manager of the nature reserve wants to promote monitoring and patrolling, their efforts are limited to recording what they see and how many they see in log book. They do not have a database to record vector data. They need to establish a GIS platform and database and train their staff to adopt scientific monitoring technologies.

5. RECOMMENDED STRATEGY

5.1 Recommended strategy for Qinghai Lake National Nature Reserve

Update Przewalskii’s gazelles strategic protection plan

Though there was a protection plan for Przewalskii’s gazelles, there were no systematic approach and budget to address the threats. Thus, it is time to update the protection plan through integrating new idea and approach. The GEF project may support the development of a systemic and strategic protection plan.

Establish protected areas for Przewalskii’s gazelles:

Due to unchanged threats, the population growth of Przewalskii Gazelle has been encountering a bottleneck. It is urgent to establish a protected area or key protected areas for Przewalskii gazelle in Tianjun, Gangcha, Haiyan and Gonghe counties.Option one is to set up a PA for Przewalskii gazelle and one administration takes a leading role to manage the PA and meanwhile, protection stations will be set up in key counties. As it is difficult to increase staff quota, I would recommend that Qinghai Lake National Nature Reserve Management Bureau take overall responsibility and establish 4 protection stations in 4 counties. Meanwhile, regular fund should be specifically arranged for protection Przewalskii gazelles. Probably, it will be a big challenge to be approved by the provincial government and coordinate among different prefecture and counties. Other option is to establish several PAs based on distribution and habitat of Przewalskii’s gazelles. According to review workshop on 14 November 2017, it would probably be more feasible that new PAs are respectively managed by individual counties. This approach will encounter a challenge in coordination among different county PA authorities and might also not address the fragmentation problem.

Reduce fragmentation via grazing collectives, rent grassland from herdsmen, establish easement:

Since habitat fragmentation is a significant threat to the Przewalskii’s gazelle, the GEF project should encourage individual herders to form collectives via shareholder manner. Then, fences could be removed, but remain property boundary markers indicating boundary of individual pastureland (there are successful cases in Ganda Village, Yushu City, Qinghai) which is facilitated by Sanjiangyuan Ecological Environment Protection Association during 2016‐ 2017. In addition, the government may rent pastureland from herdsmen which is Przewalskii’s gazelle's core habitat. The rented pastureland may be provided to Przewalskii’s gazelles. Thirdly, an easement approach may be negotiated with herders. In order to encourage herders providing pastureland for Przewalskii’s gazelle in particular in fodder shortage period, regular monitoring data may be used for compensation. In other words, the compensation would depend on the average number of Przewalskii’s


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gazelles during January‐April, when access to food is limited due to weather conditions (I guess it is hard time to Przewalskii’s gazelle).

Lower fence and remove barbed wire:

High fence and barbed wire are threats to Przewalskii’s gazelle. Due to several Przewalskii’s gazelle accidents in 2016, media and NGOs (Chinese Foundation for Biodiversity and Green Development) raised this issue in public. Qinghai Agro‐husbandry Department officially responded to NGOs request by issuing a public letter to the NGO) on the fencing issue to Przewalskii’s gazelle on 9 March 9 2016. The department committed to investigating issues and then to lower fence and remove barbed wire. Secondly, fence will not be constructed in Przewalskii’s gazelle's core distribution area in future. However, it was not requirement for herders to lower fence and remove barbed wire. It must be compensated appropriately and agreed by herders.

In the long run, it will be necessary to develop a fencing standard in key wild animal habitats especially in Przewalskii’s gazelles' habitats, and stipulating where fencing should be lowered and barbed wire removed. GEF project should engage with Agro‐husbandry department in developing such a standard. Urgently, the GEF project should help facilitate lowering fences and removing barbed wire.

Establish Corridors:

Due to land tenure, removing fences of pasturelands is problematic for many herders. Establishing ecologic corridors could be a mutually beneficial solution. The GEF could support research and trial project for different ecological corridors through scientific based support. Evaluation of these trials would provide important information regarding which types of corridors are most effective. Ecological corridors could then be scaled up across other P. gazelle habitats.

Provide fodder and drinking water:

During winter time, due to shortage of fodder and frozen conditions, it is needed to provide fodder and

drinking water for Przewalskii’s gazelles.

Capacity building

In the past years, Przewalskii’s gazelles were often injured. Except the staff from Przewalskii’s gazelles rescue centre, the other staff lack of knowledge and skills in Przewalskii’s gazelle. A system training in Przewalskii’s gazelle protection and rescue is necessary for the staff and community wardens.

Strengthen monitoring and patrolling for rescue:

Based on experience, Przewalskii’s gazelles often are weak in winter time, some young Przewalskii’s gazelles are fatally injured by trying to jump over barbed wire fences and drown in streams where banks are constructed in smooth concrete. Monitoring and patrolling staff may find Przewalskii’s gazelles hung on barbed wire and drowned in streams, and it is important that these people are capacitated to take corrective actions.

5.2 Recommended strategy for Qilian Mountains Provincial Nature Reserve

Fill information gap:

Though Qilian Mountains Provincial Nature Reserve Management was officially established in 2014, the nature reserve lacks biodiversity baseline information, particularly regarding the population and distribution of snow leopard. Snow leopard is a flagship species in Qilian Mountains which may indicate the integrity and health of Qilian Mountains ecosystem, and Chinese government is paying close attention to the species. The Qilian Mountains Provincial Nature Reserve Administration invested USD 300,000 in research and monitoring field in 2017 in Qilian Mountains. Some of which was contracted to Chinese Academy of Forestry (CAF) to conduct an infra‐trigger camera survey in 2017. The feedback from CAF team is that data from 152 cameras between June and September were only 50 independent detections on snow leopards identified. It is still unclear how many snow leopards are in Qilian Mountains Provincial Nature Reserve. The Qilian Mountains Provincial Nature Reserve will expand the infra‐trigger camera survey in the large scope in April 2018. There will be more meaningful data available in 2018. This monitoring will be regularly carried out in the future, including during the implementation phase of the C‐PAR3 project.


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Considering that follow‐up snow leopard surveys are planned, as suggested, the number of snow leopard or “detection rate" may be considered as indicator of snow leopard population when repeated survey is annually conducted. In addition, blue sheep is the main prey of snow leopard and easy to be seen. Therefore, the number of blue sheep may a proxy indicator of snow leopard. Besides, the social and economic information in surrounding areas of blocks of Qilian Mountains are also important for NR management, especially, to identify threats to biodiversity conservation in Qilian Mountains Provincial Nature Reserve.

Promote National Park:

It is critical to take this synergy to promote Qilian Mountains national park (NP). As a result, it solves the integrity of Qilian Mountain Landscape and establishes ecological corridors among the blocks of Qilian Mountains Provincial Nature Reserve. The area of the proposed NP is nearly twice as large as the current PNR.. Supporting the development of a management regulation for the NP. Facilitating inter‐provincial collaboration, e.g., through a Memorandum of Understanding with the Gansu PA management agency, and joint training and monitoring activities.

Co‐management in surrounding areas:

There are several ecologically important areas outside of the blocks of Qilian Mountains Provincial Nature Reserve. These areas could be buffer zones or ecological corridors for wild animals. It is necessary to adopt a collaborative management approach through the GEF project. Different co‐management modalities could be demonstrated among the various ecosystem types in the landscape. The co‐management approaches could, for example, establish network to address illegal poaching cases.

Compensation to wild animals' damage:

Carnivores like snow leopard may kill livestock, resulting in economic loss for local herders. An effective compensation mechanism may protect herders’ aspirations and avoid retaliatory killing. GEF‐4 conducted post‐assessment on the implementation effectiveness of Qinghai Provincial Regulation and Operational Guideline of damage and compensation from key terrestrial wild animals and proposed for regulation revision. Qinghai provincial Office of Legislative Affairs is planning to propose it approved by the standing committee of Provincial People's Congress. But it still needs to continue to promote this policy improvement. GEF‐6 may help facilitate to put it forward, and also advocate for a broader human‐wildlife conflict policy that does not only focus on compensation but also on prevention, for example, through improved communication and land use planning.


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APPENDIX 1: ZONING MAP OF QINGHAI LAKE NATIONAL NATURE RESERVE

(Source: Qinghai Lake National Nature Reserve Masterplan, 2015‐2024).

Zoning map of Qinghai Lake National Nature Reserve

Core Zone Buffer Zone

Experimental Zone


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APPENDIX 2: ZONING MAP OF QIL IAN MOUNTAINS PROVINC IAL NATURE RESERVE

(Source: Qilian Mountains Provincial Nature Reserve Masterplan, 2017‐2026)

Zoning map of Qilian Mountains Provincial Nature Reserve

Annex M

A GIS based analysis of protected areas within the Qinghai Lake and Qilian Mountains Landscape for conserving globally significant biodiversity

C‐PAR3 (Qinghai)

Prepared by:

Dr. Xu Ming


Program:



Project:


project (C‐PAR3)



04 Nov2017 01 First draft J. Lenoci

12 Dec2017 02 Provided more details on baseline conditions and expanded recommendations

J. Lenoci

19 Jan 2018 03 Revised according to comments J. Lenoci

12 Mar 2018 04 Miscellaneous formatting J. Lenoci

24 Mar 2018 05 Added details on the proposed ecological corridor J. Lenoci

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

1. Based on a provincial level gap analysis 6 conservation areas (CAs) are identified in the project area and

those CAs are the potential areas for establishing new PAs within the Qilian Mountains‐Qinghai Lake

landscape.

2. The total habitat area of the Przewalski’s gazelle is 109,707.5 ha with 31,378.5 ha located in the Qinghai

Lake National Nature Reserve. This means only 28.6% of the habitats are currently protected for this

critically endangered species.

3. The current habitats of the Przewalski’s gazelle are highly fragmented. New potential habitats of 79,729 ha

are proposed to connect the current habitats in addition to meet the demands of increasing Przewalski’s

gazelle populations. One option for the project is establishing an ecological corridor adjacent to the north

side of Qinghai Lake NNR, within Gangcha and Haiyan Counties; the current and potential Przewalski’s

gazelle habitats in these areas tally up to approximately 29,350 ha.

4. A new ecological park and special community PAs were proposed for enhancing the protection of the

Przewalski’s gazelle and its habitats

5. Fencing is a big threat to the Przewalski’s gazelle, thus de‐fencing or reducing fence height is proposed as

an important measure, also a component of the C‐PAR project which targets at least a 30% reduction of

fence density in the project pilot areas.

6. Monitoring the snow leopard population, distribution, and habitats is critical to the success of the

conservation of this species. The C‐PAR project could provide monitoring and patrolling equipment (e.g.

cameras and telescopes) to local communities and assist them to mitigate competitive grazing with wild

herbivores by supplementing fodders in winter and improve the field patrolling effectiveness of two pilot

stations in the Qilian Mountains.

7. As evidenced in many recent studies, climate change is emerging as a big threat to the snow leopard,

especially its habitats. Therefore, a conservation and adaptation plan to climate change was proposed to

guide long‐term conservation in the Qilian Mountains‐Qinghai Lake landscape.

8. Mitigating human wildlife conflicts (HWC) is necessary to promoting community‐participated conservation,

especially for the snow leopards. The C‐PAR project can contribute to mitigating the HWC by making

compensation standards and procedures.

Page i

ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS

BD Biodiversity






CNY Chinese yuan












NR Nature Reserve

PA Protected Area













TABLE OF CONTENTS

Executive Summary .........................................................................................................................

Abbreviations and Acronyms .......................................................................................................... i

1. Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 1

2. Methodology .......................................................................................................................... 1

3. Gap analysis for Qinghai Province ........................................................................................... 2

4. Protection and Restoration Plan for the Przewalski’s gazelle .................................................. 2

5. Protection and restoration plan for snow leopards in the Qilian Mountains ........................... 4

6. Project baseline, indicators, and targets ................................................................................. 7

7. Increasing coverage of KBAs and critical threatened species habitat ....................................... 8

8. Improving habitat quality and management of flagship species .............................................. 8

References ................................................................................................................................... 10

Appendices .................................................................................................................................. 11

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1: Conservation targets (Li et al. 2017) for regional endemic or endemic ecosystems to China in Qinghai

Province.

Table 2: Summary of species data source, the proposed conservation goal (Li et al. 2017) of each species

according to their current conservation status, spatial distribution size and endemic status, and species

representation (percentage protected) in the current nature reserve network of Qinghai Province

based on the conservation goals defined in this study.

Table 3: Baseline NPP for the three nature reserves in the Qinghai Lake – Qilian Mountain landscape.

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1: the Qilian Mountains‐Qinghai Lake landscape in Qinghai Province.

Figure 2: Spatial distribution of proposed priority conservation areas (including high, medium and low priorities)

inside and outside the existing nature reserves for Qinghai Province.

Figure 3: Current and potential habitats for the Przewalski’s gazelle. Some of the potential habitats could play

the role of ecological corridors.

Figure 4: KBAs in the expanded PAs (mostly in the new national park) in the Qinghai Lake – Qilian Mountain

landscape

Figure 5: Annual mean NPP in protected areas (PAs) and the Qinghai Lake – Qilian Mountain landscape

Figure 6: Annual mean grassland NPP in protected areas (PAs) and the Qinghai Lake – Qilian Mountain landscape

1. INTRODUCTION

Qinghai Province, located on the Qinghai‐Tibet Plateau, is one of the most biodiversity regions among the high

altitudes in the world and has been listed as one of the most important conservation areas in China by the

Chinese government. To date, Qinghai Province has established 11 nature reserves (NRs), with a total area of

218,000 km2, covering 30.2% of the province's land area (The People’s Government of Qinghai Province 2017).

However, many rare and endangered species and ecosystems remain unprotected due mainly to the biased

spatial layout of the NRs (Li et al., 2018). The Qinghai provincial government has a list of 79 rare and endangered

species including Przewalski’s gazelle (Procapra przewalskii) and snow leopard (Panthera uncia) (Li et al. 2017),

which are listed as globally endangered and vulnerable, respectively, by the IUCN. The Przewalski’s gazelle is

currently distributed around the Qinghai Lake area and the snow leopard is mostly found in the peaks and ridges

in the Qilian Mountains.

Hunting is prohibited in China and thus poaching of those species has been rarely reported in recent years.

The population of both species has gradually recovered since the early 2000s in Qinghai Province (Zhang et al.

2013). To date, the key threats to the Przewalski’s gazelle include habitat degradation and fragmentation,

competition with livestock for grazing, pasture fencing, and human disturbances, such as eco‐tourism. For snow

leopard, the major threats are habitat fragmentation, habitat loss through mining, and climate change. The goal

of this report is to propose GIS‐based habitat protection and restoration plans mainly for the two species by

consolidating the current and new PAs and promoting habitat connectivity in the Qinghai Lake‐Qilian Mountain

landscape (Figure 1).

2. METHODOLOGY

To develop the habitat protection and restoration plans for the two species at landscape scale we need to

investigate the current status of the species and their habitats, identify key threats, and assess the effectiveness

of current PAs in the region. A provincial level gap analysis is needed to identify current conservation gaps for

the species, which is also the basis for adding new PAs, increasing the coverage of KBAs in PAs, and enhancing

landscape connectivity to assist species movement.

Efficient expansion of PAs requires simultaneous planning for species and ecosystems (Polak et al., 2015).

Eleven endemic ecosystem types (Table 1) and 72 endangered species (Table 2) were thus selected as a

surrogate of biodiversity in Qinghai Province. Species distribution model was combined with a systematic

conservation planning tool, MARXAN to identify new conservation areas (CAs) in this province. The C‐PAR project

will focus on some important endangered species (e.g. Przewalski's Gazelle, and snow leopard), but some

endemic ecosystems will also be covered by the project area (Table 2).

Three impact factors, including selection frequency, human disturbance and species richness, were

integrated for prioritizing the new CAs outside the existing NRs. We used the widely‐adopted Maxent model to

map habitats of 59 protected species with presence data. For 13 species whose presence data have less than 15

data points, we used the expert range maps which were downloaded from the IUCN website (Table 2).

3. GAP ANALYSIS FOR QINGHAI PROVINCE

A total of 57 CAs (273,872 km2) was identified in Qinghai, covering 39.3 % of the provincial area. Twenty‐eight

of the CAs are located outside of the current 11 NRs (Figure 1). Of the 28 new CAs, 6 are located in the Qinghai

Lake – Qilian Mountain region. These 6 CAs are potential sites for adding new PAs or establishing ecological

corridors, especially CA #3 which connects the habitat of the Przewalski’s gazelle in northeast part of the Qinghai

Lake to the habitat of snow leopards in the eastern reaches of the Qilian Mountains (Figure 2).

4. PROTECTION AND RESTORATION PLAN FOR THE PRZEWALSKI ’S GAZELLE

Przewalski’s gazelle (Procapra przewalskii), a globally endangered gazelle species, is also a flagship species for

the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau. The species was widely distributed in western China, ranging from Qinghai to

Gansu, Ningxia and Inner Mongolia, but is now confined to the Qinghai Lake region with 10 populations in 6

patches (Figure 3), due to the increase in human activities in the second half of the 20th century. Surveys during

the 1990s revealed surviving populations only in Qinghai Province, most of which were located along the margin

of the Qinghai Lake Basin (Zhang et al. 2013). By 1986, fewer than 200 gazelles were thought to survive in several

fragmented subpopulations and by the 1990s, numerical estimates varied from about 200 to 300 animals (Zhang

et al. 2013). Recent demographic analysis suggested that the gazelle population had a genetic bottleneck,

probably within a few dozen generations, and the ancestral effective population size had been reduced to <1 %

of its original size (Yang and Jiang, 2011; Zhang et al., 2013).

More recent work has revealed that the status of the species is less precarious than earlier reports indicated.

Przewalski’s gazelle population has gradually recovered in recent years with the most recent estimates of

approximately 1161‐1460 (seasonal variation) individuals in 2016 according to the field survey of the Qinghai

Lake National Nature Reserve. However, this gazelle species still faces many threats. Fencing of grasslands

induces devastating effects on gazelle populations; for example, by impairing the ability of individuals to escape

predators, fencing may cause direct mortality. Increasing numbers of domestic livestock within the gazelle’s

range has intensified food competition, especially in the winter. Road networks that have fragmented the

gazelle’s habitat have changed the diurnal activity patterns of the gazelles. Przewalski’s gazelle may have limited

ability to adapt to these and other environmental changes, since the genetic diversity of the known

subpopulations is very low. Climate change would also likely increase Przewalski’s gazelle’s extinction risk. To

further assist the population recovery a protection and restoration plan is proposed as follows:

(1) Protecting current habitats

According to the latest survey by the Qinghai Lake National Nature Reserve (QLNNR) in 2016, the current habitat

area is 109707.5 ha with 31378.5 ha located in the QLNNR (the green colour in Figure 2), accounting for only

28.6% of the total current habitats. This means 71.4% of the habitats of this critically endangered species are

currently not protected by any means. Expanding the current nature reserve, establishing new PAs, or

establishing ecological corridors are urgently needed to protect current habitats as indicated by green colour in

Figure 2.

(2) Enhancing habitat connectivity

Enhancing genetic diversity is critical to the conservation of species with very small population size. The current

habitats the Przewalski’s gazelle are poorly connected, scattering in multiple patches, especially to the east of

the Qinghai Lake (Figure3). Although the home range of the species is quite large the habitat fragmentation has

severely hindered the gene flow among populations due mainly to the landscape barriers. Natural barriers, such

as streams and sand dunes, have minimal resistance to the movement of the species. The key barriers are

human‐induced, including highways, railways, farms, pastures, and residential areas. In the future, wildlife

crossing structures should be required in this area when new roads are constructed (Xia et al. 2011, Yang et al.

2011). Building corridors between habitat patches is the most effective way in promoting gene flow among

populations. Several corridors have been proposed in this report to connect current habitats, such as b2, b3, and

b11 as shown in Figure 3. One option for the project is establishing an ecological corridor adjacent to the north

side of Qinghai Lake NNR, within Gangcha and Haiyan Counties, including current and potential habitats a1 a2,

a6, b2, b4 and b5; the current and potential Przewalski’s gazelle habitats in these areas tally to 29,359.5 ha, as

broken down below.

Habitat (see Figure 3) Area (ha)

a1 2918.7

a2 10171.3

A6 6592.1

b2 outside NNR 2197.3

b4 outside NNR 1292.6

b5 6187.4

Total: 29,359.5

(3) Expanding the total habitat area to meet the demands of increasing population size

New potential habitats need to be identified and protected considering the increasing demands of habitats with

continuous population growth. Based on a habitat model (Maxent model) output and consulting with local

experts we have identified new potential habitats of 79728.6 ha (pink colour in Figure 3). Most of the potential

habitats are currently rarely used by the Przewalski’s gazelle, as they are mostly used for domestic livestock

pastures. These potential habitat areas have the highest suitability for Przewalski’s gazelle and thus need to be

protected for further expanding of the population size. In addition, some of the new habitats may also function

as corridors, bridging the isolated patches into larger pieces of habitats. As a result, the new habitat map has 4

large sections which will facilitate gene flow within each section.

(4) Establishing a new ecological park or special PAs for protecting the Przewalski’s gazelle

Given the difficulties in expanding the current Qinghai Lake National Nature Reserve, a new ecological park

focusing on protecting the Przewalski’s gazelle is urgently needed to effectively protect the current and potential

habitats of the species. This park may start protecting all the habitats to the east of the Qinghai Lake and the

long‐term goal is to protect all the habitats (current and potential) of the species (Figure3). This eco‐park should

be managed by the local government in accordance with the QLNNR. The C‐PAR project can make contributions

to establishing the eco‐park by providing technical assistance in habitat modelling and selecting and population

monitoring techniques and management skills, such as training park rangers and technicians. Alternatively,

special PAs at county level are also proposed to enhance the protection of the Przewalski’s gazelle. The C‐PAR

project can help establish the special PAs and improve the management of the PAs in Gangcha and Haiyan

counties.

(5) De‐fencing or reducing fence height in the habitat areas

Fences not only confine the movement of the Przewalski’s gazelles but also greatly facilitate the killing and

wounding of the animals from predators such as wolves and foxes. Fences have caused a lot of wounds and

deaths of the Przewalski's gazelle in the past years. Fences are also barriers to gene flow among and within

populations of the P. gazelle. Therefore, it is urgent to remove the fences, or lower the fence height if de‐fencing

is not viable at present. Reducing fence height from 1.5 m to 1.1 m or 1.2 m can allow the Przewalski's gazelles

to cross the fences while stopping livestock from crossing (Ma, 2014). The C‐PAR project can have a pilot project

to demonstrate the effectiveness of de‐fencing or reducing fence height on decreasing the mortality of the

Przewalski's gazelles in areas where the population and fence densities are high, such as to the northeast part

of the Qinghai Lake.

5. PROTECTION AND RESTORATION PLAN FOR SNOW LEOPARDS IN THE QILIAN MOUNTAINS

The snow leopard (Panthera uncia) now inhabits alpine and subalpine zones in the remote and rugged

mountains on the Tibetan Plateau and its surrounding mountain ranges. Snow leopards mainly prey on mountain

ungulates like blue sheep and ibex, but sometimes also prey on marmots and livestock. As an apex predator and

keystone species, they play an important role in maintaining the stability of the unique mountain ecosystem

they inhabit.

As a keystone species, its status can reflect the condition of the fragile alpine ecosystems. It is estimated that

the wild population of snow leopard is only about 4,000‐7,000 individuals. With the threats of habitat loss,

depletion of wild prey and poaching, the snow leopard was listed as Endangered and downgraded in 2017 to

Vulnerable by International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and was included in Appendix I of

Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in 1975. Snow leopards

in China, which account for about 60% of the global snow leopard habitat (McCarthy et al. 2017), are mainly

distributed in Qinghai Province, Tibet, and Xinjiang Autonomous Regions, and also discovered in Gansu, Sichuan

and Yunnan Provinces, and Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. The Qilian Mountains is one of the areas with

high population density.

In the past two decades, China has made big improvements in the conservation of snow leopards. Although

poaching is currently a minor threat to snow leopards there are still many challenges in conserving this species

and its habitats. In addition to natural disturbances, human activities remain the major factors in preventing the

recovery of the snow leopard population. With the rapid economic development since the 1980s, China

launched mass infrastructure construction of railways, highways, hydropower, and urbanization in many parts

of the snow leopard distribution areas, including the Qilian Mountains. These construction projects have

severely fragmented the habitats and landscape, which have limited the movement and thus the gene flow of

the species. Farming activities are relatively less in the Qilian Mountains, but mining activities have damaged

many of the habitats in the region. Improved transportation system has also brought more people to the area

through tourism and the mining related business. Moreover, overgrazing has led to the degradation of the

grasslands in this region for many years. Overgrazing driven by the fast‐growing livestock industry in the past

decades not only caused grassland degradation but also reduced the food sources, the herbivores, of snow

leopards due to more competitive grazing with livestock. All together, these human activities have been a huge

burden on the fragile ecosystems in the snow leopard habitat areas. In addition to human disturbances, climate

change is emerging as another key challenge to the snow leopard conservation. Global warming has seen a much

greater rate in the Tibetan Plateau region and will continue to lead the warming trend by the end of the century

(IPCC 2013). Given the fact that most of the snow leopard populations are currently distributed in the high

altitudes, mountain peaks and ridges, there is little room for the species to adapt to a warmer climate by moving

to higher elevations. Global warming can also affect snow leopards indirectly. For example, snow coverage,

depth, and duration in the high altitudes is projected to continue to decrease in the Qilian Mountains. Reduced

snow regimes will make it more difficult for snow leopards to succeed in chasing their preys. Brown bear is one

of the major competitors with snow leopards for foods and climate change has changed the hibernation of the

brown bear, emerging from hibernation about 2 months earlier than decades ago. This may result in a more

intense competition with snow leopards for food sources.

Recommended activities:

(1) Enhancing monitoring of snow leopard population, distribution, and habitats

The lack of sufficient data, especially the spatial distribution data, has severely limited our ability to map the

habitats of snow leopards with high resolution. Thus, it further limits our ability to make wise decisions and take

effective actions to protect the species. Therefore, field surveys and continuous monitoring with new

technologies, such as infrared cameras, unmanned aircrafts, and Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR), are

necessary to the establishment of information systems for snow leopards and further to the improvement of

conservation effectiveness of the species and critical ecosystems in the Qinghai Lake – Qilian Mountain region.

This can be done through the collaboration with nature reserves and their sub‐units by providing monitoring

facilities and training personnel.

(2) Supporting demonstration projects on community development and ecological compensation

Effectively conserving snow leopards and their habitats depends on the participation of the local communities.

Most of the pressures and damages come from the local communities, but the solutions also rely on the local

communities. Protecting snow leopards and their habitats inevitably affect the development and well‐beings of

the local communities. This C‐PAR project will benefit the local communities by improving the current ecological

compensation programs in the Qilian Mountain region. Ecological compensation activities have been conducted

in the Qilian Mountains for years through various programs, such as the Grain for Green Program, the Natural

Forest Protection Program, and the grassland compensation program for curbing overgrazing by subsidizing

herders. Compensations have also been given to herders for supplementing fodders to animals in winter when

livestocks produce most of the damages on the vegetation in a year. The matching funds of the C‐PAR can be

used to support such activities in pilot areas (e.g. Liuhuanggou and Laohugou) with snow leopard habitats. The

compensation standards can be established according to the ecosystem services added through the

conservation of snow leopards, such as carbon sequestration, soil erosion reduction, fresh water production,

and pollution reduction. The C‐PAR can also support activities on valuation of these ecosystem services to

explore the co‐benefits of snow leopard conservation. In addition, alternative livelihoods to improve the living

conditions of local people should be emphasized in the region for sustainable conservation of the snow leopard

and its habitats.

(3) Making a conservation and adaptation plan to climate change in the Qilian Mountains

Previous studies found that climate change could cause a loss of up to 30 percent of snow leopard habitats in

the Himalayan mountains due to treeline shifts (Forrest et al. 2012, WWF 2015). A recent study shows that the

Qilian Mountain is one the three climate refugia for snow leopards under future climate change (Li et al. 2016).

Climate change in combination with human disturbances, such as landscape fragmentation, over‐grazing, road

construction, and mining, will be a major threat to the populations in the Qilian Mountains. Therefore, a

comprehensive conservation and adaptation plan in response to climate change and human disturbances are

timely needed to protect the snow leopards in the Qilian Mountains. High‐resolution climate and land use data

are required to model the habitats of snow leopards and thus assess the impacts of climate change on the

species. The model and assessment accuracy can be improved with increasing monitoring efforts in the Qilian

Mountains. Based on the impact and vulnerability assessment an adaptation plan to climate change and human

disturbances can be made for long‐term conservation of the snow leopard and its habitats. This assessment can

also inform the landscape connectivity and corridor analyses for protecting the snow leopard and other

threatened species and ecosystems in the landscape.

(4) Mitigating human wildlife conflicts (HWC)

With increasing conservation efforts wildlife population has been recovering in many places in China and in some

cases rapid population growth has been observed, including predators like the snow leopard. Farmers and

herders have suffered huge losses of properties, mostly crops and livestock, due to the damages from wildlife.

Human wildlife conflicts are of increasing concern in many areas and the growing complains from local

communities have also discouraged the local people from participating in conservation activities. More than 200

cases were reported in the Qilian Mountain nature reserve alone in 2016 based on the statistics collected by the

Qinghai Qilian Mountain Provincial Nature Reserve, most of which are related to the killing of goats by snow

leopards. The C‐PAR project can contribute to mitigating the HWC by making compensation standards and

procedures. Then a demonstration site, such as a sub‐unit of the Qilian Mountain nature reserve, can be chosen

to practice and improve the standards. New technologies, such as smart phone based APPs, 3‐D laser scanners,

and unmanned aircrafts, can be used to collect on‐site data and evidences for reducing the costs of evidence

collections and speeding up the compensation process.

(5) Integrated PA system and landscape management

In the Qinghai Lake‐Qilian Mountain landscape there are currently 3 nature reserves, namely the Qinghai Lake

National Nature Reserve, the Datong National Nature Reserve, and the Qilian Mountain Provincial Nature

Reserve, in place and one national park under construction. It is critical to strengthen the effectiveness of the

PA system on protecting snow leopards through institutional and management integration. This includes the

integration of current government agencies and relevant laws and regulations. Identifying and conserving

corridors is necessary to boost landscape connectivity and reduce habitat fragmentation and population

isolation.

(6) Strengthening collaborations and improving transboundary conservation of snow leopards

Snow leopard research in China is recently active and relatively weak. Therefore, it is necessary to strengthen

international cooperation, especially with neighbouring countries. Given the large home range of the snow

leopard, transboundary conservation is required. For the Qilian Mountains, a large portion of the habitats of

snow leopards share boundaries with Gansu Province. The most recently approved Qilian Mountain National

Park is to solve the transboundary issues. The C‐PAR can make contributions by proposing a PA network for snow

leopards and sharing information on monitoring and enforcement.

The snow leopard habitat areas also inhabit many minorities, such as the Tibetan and Mongolian peoples. The

ethnic culture and tradition need to be protected with the protection of snow leopards and their habitats.

Meanwhile, the local communities have harmonically lived with wildlife, including snow leopards, for hundreds

of years if not longer. Their local and traditional knowledge may provide critical information to protect snow

leopards more effectively. Therefore, enhancing the participation of local communities in snow leopard

conservation is important and thus a good topic of the C‐PAR project. Community‐participating conservation can

be demonstrated as a model in the region with the support of the C‐PAR project.

6. PROJECT BASELINE, INDICATORS, AND TARGETS

Przewalski’s gazelle

(1) Baselines: The most recent survey (2016) by the Qinghai Lake National Nature Reserve show: (a)

population size of 1161‐1464 individuals based on the four field surveys in 2016， conducted by

Qinghai Lake NNR; (b) protected habitat area of 31378.5 ha in PAs in 2016, accounting for only 28.6%

of the current habitats; (c) above‐ground biomass of 1259.5 kg/ha averaged over the current habitat

area and annual mean grassland net primary productivity (NPP) of 315.9 gC/m2/yr in the Qinghai Lake

National Nature Reserve (calculated through MODIS 1km data).

(2) Indicators: (a) population size of the Przewalski’s gazelle; (b) habitat area in PAs; (c) above‐ground

biomass or annual mean NPP in the habitat area; (d) average fence density, measured in fence length

per hectare; (e) habitat connectivity index

(3) Targets: (a) stabilizing or increasing P. G. population through the implementation of the C‐PAR project;

(b) increasing protected habitat area by at least 50%; (c) stopping or reversing the declining trend of

above‐ground biomass production or NPP; (d) decreasing fence density by at least 30% at the pilot sites;

e) reversing habitat fragmentation by adding PAs or ecological corridors, restoring degraded habitats,

and improving the management of habitat.

Snow leopard

(1) Baselines: (a) PA area of 775,400 ha (Figure 4); (b) annual mean NPP in PAs in the Qilian Mountains is

120.4 gC/m2/year (Figure 5); (c) annual mean NPP of grasslands in the project area is 122.1 gC/m2/year

(Figure 6, Table 3); (d) camera‐based detection rate is 0.082 individuals/camera/month.

(2) Indicators: (a) area of PAs in the project area; (b) annual mean NPP in PAs and at landscape scale; (c)

annual mean NPP of grasslands in the project area; (d) detection rate.

(3) Targets: (a) increase PA area by at least 120,000 ha; (b) stabilizing NPP (stopping vegetation

degradation) in the project area; (c) stabilizing grassland NPP by mitigating over‐grazing; (d) (e)

increasing snow leopard population as measured by the detection rate.

7. INCREASING COVERAGE OF KBAS AND CRIT ICAL THREATENED SPECIES HABITAT

The C‐PAR PFD has proposed an increase of 120,000 ha habitats in PAs As indicated in chapter 6, the Qilian

Mountain National Park alone will add 780,000 ha to the PA area. A large portion of the added area is expected

to be habitats of snow leopards with a conservative estimation of at least 110,000 ha. With an addition of at

least 16,000 ha habitats for the Przewalski’s gazelle the total expanded habitats will reach 126,000 ha. The Qilian

Mountain National Park will cover 528,077 ha of KBAs, of which 241,448.5 ha KBAs are not covered by the

current Qilian Mountain National Nature Reserve. In other words, 241,448.5 ha KBAs will be protected in the

new national park.

8. IMPROVING HABITAT QUALITY AND MANAGEMENT OF FLAGSHIP SPECIES

In addition to expanding habitats, the C‐PAR project will also contribute to habitat improvements of the

Przewalski’s gazelle and snow leopard. Specific activities and goals include:

(1) Degraded habitat restoration of 20,000 ha.

The degradation of habitats of the Przewalski’s gazelle is caused by multiple factors, such as grassland

desertification, rodent damage, and over‐grazing. The C‐PAR3 project is targeting a restoration of 20,000 ha

degraded grasslands in Gangcha and Haiyan counties where most of the Przewalski’s gazelles are inhabited. The

restoration measures include replanting grasses, controlling rodents, and supplementing fodders for

Przewalski’s gazelles and livestock in winter when the grasslands stop growing. Fencing has been widely used to

restore degraded grasslands, but fencing also creates a lot of problems to the Przewalski’s gazelle, such as

reducing gene flow and increasing the mortality of overpassing fences. Non‐fencing grassland restoration

techniques will also be explored by collaborating with the Qinghai Department of Agriculture and Animal

Husbandry.

(2) Fully protect 30,000 ha of critical habitats of the Przewalski’s gazelle and/or snow leopard

To enhance the protection of the Przewalski’s gazelle critical habitats have to be fully protected in the core areas

of the species range. The C‐PAR3 project will provide technical assistance to fully protect 30,000 ha high‐quality

habitats in the Haergai township, Gangcha county, where most of the populations are currently inhabited. This

will be done through the establishment of community conserved areas (CCAs). Activities and measures, such as

removing/lowering fences and supplementing fodders in winter to protect grasslands, will be conducted in the

CCAs.

The project will also provide technical assistance to the QFD in the ecological design of the Qilian Mountains NP,

ensuring that critical habitats of snow leopards currently not protected are included in the core conservation

area of the NP.

(3) Improving habitat management of 60,000 ha for snow leopards

The snow leopard in the Qilian Mountains usually inhabit mountain ridges and peaks where the climate is severe

and vegetation coverage is low. The poor vegetation productivity has limited the growth of herbivore

populations, the food source for snow leopards. With the growing livestock industry herders need to move their

animals to the high‐elevation areas where the snow leopard inhabits. This has inevitably increased the human‐

wildlife conflicts and the competition with wild herbivores for grazing, and thus further limited the rebound of

snow leopard populations. Therefore, the C‐PAR project has proposed activities in the Laohugou and

Liuhuanggou areas to supplement fodders especially in the winter to livestock to reduce competition with the

wild herbivores. In addition to food sources, the habitat of snow leopards also features shrubs and forests.

Protecting those vegetation from wildfires and human disturbances is also critical to the improvement of the

habitats of snow leopards. Therefore, enhancing field patrol is urgently needed in the Qilian Mountain area. The

C‐PAR project has selected 2 field patrol and management stations, the Laohugou and Liuhuanggou stations, for

improving the habitat management practices. Specific activities include providing monitoring and patrolling

equipment (e.g. cameras and telescopes) and training technical and management staff.

References

Forrest et al. 2012. Conservation and climate change: Assessing the vulnerability of snow leopard habitat to

treeline shift in the Himalaya, Biological Conservation 150: 129–135

Li et al. 2016. Climate refugia of snow leopards in High Asia, Biological Conservation 203: 188–196

Li R, Xu M, et al., 2018. Proposed biodiversity conservation areas: gap analysis and spatial prioritization on the

inadequately studied Qinghai Plateau, China. Nature Conservation 24: 1–20.

Ma YM, 2014. Reducing the height of fence and recovering Przewalski's Gazelle population significantly

(http://news.hangzhou.com.cn/shxw/content/2014‐01/03/content_5026353.htm).

McCarthy, T., Mallon, D., Jackson, R., Zahler, P. & McCarthy, K. 2017. Panthera uncia. The IUCN Red List of

Threatened Species 2017: e.T22732A50664030. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017‐

2.RLTS.T22732A50664030.en.

McCarthy et al. 2017, Defenders of Wildlife ( https://defenders.org/snow‐leopard/basic‐facts).

The People’s Government of Qinghai Province 2017

(http://www.qh.gov.cn/ztzl/system/2013/09/13/010074008.shtml)

WWF 2015. Fragile Connections: Snow Leopards, People, Water and the Global Climate,

https://d2ouvy59p0dg6k.cloudfront.net/downloads/wwf_fragile_connections_report_1.pdf

Xia, L. et al. 2011. The effect of the Qinghai‐Tibet railway on the migration of Tibetan antelope Pantholops

hodgsonii in Hoh‐xil National Nature Reserve, China, Oryx 41:352‐357

Yang, J., Jiang, Z., Zeng, Y., Turghan, M., Fang, H., Li, C., 2011. Effect of anthropogenic landscape features on

population genetic differentiation of Przewalski’s gazelle: main role of human settlement. PLoS ONE 6, e20144.

Yang, J. and Z. Jiang. 2011. Genetic diversity, population genetic structure and demographic history of Przewalski

’ s gazelle (Procapra przewalskii): implications for conservation. Conserv. Genet. 12: 1457 – 1468.

Zhang L, Liu JZ, Wang DJ , Schaller GB, Wu YL, et al., 2013. Distribution and population status of Przewalski’ s

gazelle, Procapra przewalskii (Cetartiodactyla, Bovidae). Mammalia, 77(1), 31–40.

Zhang et al. 2013, IUCN (https://tieba.baidu.com/p/2224476051?red_tag=3228614080&traceid=).

APPENDICES

Table 1. Conservation targets (Li et al. 2017) for regional endemic or endemic ecosystems to China in Qinghai

Province.

Ecosystem type Endemism

Conservation

target（%）

Protected by C‐PAR

Carex moorcroftii Steppe Regional endemic 15

Kobresia humilis Alpine meadow Regional endemic 15 √

Alpine Kobresia Meadow Regional endemic 15 √

Kobresia capillifolia Alpine meadow Regional endemic 15

Populus euphratica Forest Regional endemic 10

Picea balfouriana Forest Endemic to China 10

Picea purpurea Mast Forest Endemic to China 10

Picea asperata var. ponderosa Forest Endemic to China 10 √

Abies fabri （Mast.）Craib Endemic to China 10 √

S Convallium forest Endemic to China 10

Qinghai Spruce Forest Endemic to China 10 √

Table 2. Summary of species data source, the proposed conservation goal (Li et al. 2017) of each species according to their current conservation status, spatial distribution

size and endemic status, and species representation (percentage protected) in the current nature reserve network of Qinghai Province based on the conservation goals

defined in this study.

Scientific name Points Target (%) Percentage protected (%) Scientific name Points Target (%)

Percentage protected (%)

Pseudois nayaur 183 5 40 Accipiter nisus 297 35 27

Gypaetus barbatus 52 5 36 Lophophorus lhuysii 47 39 30

Ithaginis cruentus 85 5 35 Aquila nipalensis 105 21 11

Tetraogallus tibetanus 55 15 41 Gazella subgutturosa 94 16 4

Aquila heliaca 34 20 44 Cygnus cygnus 128 18 6

Otocolobus manul 144 5 29 Falco peregrinus 77 23 9

Moschus chrysogaster 116 15 33 Cervus elaphus 246 39 25

Mustela altaica 171 10 26 Lutra lutra 552 28 14

Crossoptilon auritum 72 10 25 Falco subbuteo 91 25 11

Lynx lynx 269 7 22 Ciconia nigra 277 24 9

Martes foina 140 5 19 Milvus lineatus 344 23 6

Tetraogallus himalayensis 43 6 19 Falco tinnunculus 248 25 8

Gervus albirostris 195 20 32 Otis tarda 122 24 5

Grus nigricollis 111 20 32 Cuon alpinus 207 31 11

Marmota himalayana 95 5 17 Chrysolophus pictus 503 28 8

Buteo hemilasius 179 13 21 Pelecanus onocrotalus 16 23 3

Haliaeetus leucoryphus 75 15 23 Mustela sibirica 573 25 4

Bos mutus 104 25 32 Vulpes vulpes 718 25 3

Equus kiang 79 25 32 Macaca mulatta 653 30 5

Pantholops hodgsonii 133 25 32 Panthera pardus 425 49 21

Ailurus fulgens 319 34 37 Neofelis nebulosa 292 35 0

Falco cherrug 48 29 32 Andrias davidianus 185 54 1

Pandion haliaetus 77 24 26 Strix uralensis Range map 25 100

Procapra picticaudata 123 33 33 Circus cyaneus Range map 5 32

Scientific name Points Target (%) Percentage protected (%) Scientific name Points Target (%)

Percentage protected (%)

Ovis ammon 130 17 17 Bubo bubo Range map 5 32

Aegypius monachus 225 16 15 Athene noctua Range map 5 32

Canis lupus 506 23 22 Ursus arctos Range map 5 31

Panthera uncia 161 30 28 Accipiter nisus Range map 7 25

Bonasa sewerzowi 31 27 25 Aquila chrysaetos Range map 12 29

Gyps himalayensis 96 19 17 Procapra przewalskii Range map 60 68

Antropoides virgo 105 11 8 Moschus berezovskii Range map 29 33

Cygnus olor 41 13 10 Haliaeetus albicilla Range map 18 13

Capricornis rubidus 504 28 24 Asio otus Range map 23 14

Ursus thibetanus 225 29 24 Felis bieti Range map 29 19

Grus grus 110 14 9 Platalea leucorodia Range map 24 0

Cervus unicolor 318 31 25 ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐

Table 3. Baseline NPP for the three nature reserves in the Qinghai Lake – Qilian Mountain landscape

Annual mean NPP Annual mean grassland NPP

Region (gC/m2/yr) (gC/m2/yr)

Qinghai Lake NNR 266.6 351.9

Qilian Mountain PNR 120.4 122.1

Datong NNR 266.2 269.4

Qinghai Lake ‐ Qilian Mountain Landscape 217.7 212.3

NPP: Net primary productivity

Figure 1． Land use and protected areas in the Qilian Mountains‐Qinghai Lake landscape in Qinghai Province

Figure 2. Spatial distribution of proposed priority conservation areas (including high, medium and low priorities)

inside and outside the existing nature reserves for Qinghai Province.

Figure 3. Current and potential habitats for the Przewalski’s gazelle. Some of the potential habitats could play

the role of ecological corridors.

Figure 4. KBAs in the expanded PAs (mostly in the new national park) in the Qinghai Lake – Qilian Mountain

landscape

Figure 5. Annual mean NPP in protected areas (PAs) and the Qinghai Lake – Qilian Mountain landscape

Figure 6. Annual mean grassland NPP in protected areas (PAs) and the Qinghai Lake – Qilian Mountain landscape

Annex N1

Institutional Capacity Needs Assessment and Capacity Development Scorecards

CPAR3 (Qinghai)

Prepared by:

Dr. YU Xiubo


Program:



Project:


project (C‐PAR3)



31 Oct 2017 01 First draft J. Lenoci

01 Feb 2018 02 Second draft J. Lenoci

12 Mar 2018 03 Third draft J. Lenoci

24 Mar 2018 04 Fourth draft, adjusted the training distribution J. Lenoci

20‐Annex N1_Institutional Capacity Needs Assessment and Capacity Development Scorecards_PIMS 5690 CPAR3_5Apr2018.docx

Page i

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

As of end 2016, nine pilot sites have been approved by the Leading Group for Comprehensively

Deepening Reform to be national parks: Sanjiangyuan, Qinghai; Shennongjia, Hubei; Wuyi Mountain,

Fujian; Qianjiang River Source, Zhejiang; Nanshan, Hunan; the Great Wall, Beijing; Potatso, Shangri‐la,

Yunnan; National Park for Amur Tiger and Amur Leopard in northeast China; and Giant Panda National

Park in Sichuan, Shaanxi and Gansu. In the pilot sites, Qilian Mountain NP is half located in Qinghai

Province, which provides a good opportunity for the CPAR 3 to demonstrate the NP development and

management.

PA staff Training needs are clearly state from top level, According to Overall Plan of Development and Management of National Park (issued by the Office of State Council on 26 Sept 2017), “Based on the colleges and universities, enterprises and institutions to build a series of education and training bases for NPs”(Article 19). In order to promote competence standards at the province level, there

needs to be a central level policy or strategy in place. Just like the protected area management

program, the competence standards have not gained support of national policies and standards.

According to the general practice of issuing policies and standards in China, it is necessary to select

pilot sites at first. So, Qinghai Lake NNR is proposed to develop the Manuals of competence and

performance standards developed for PAs. So, such a call provides a new opportunity to develop

some training modules for the PA system, especially based on the competence standards and

training needs of Qinghai Lake NNR for the PA management.

In the Report of the 19th Congress of CPC delivered in October 2017, the task of “developing

ecological corridors and biodiversity protection networks so as to strengthen the quality and stability

of our ecosystems” has been clearly stated on PA system. So, Qinghai‐Tibetan Plateau Biodiversity

Conservation Network is fully functioned to promote the biodiversity conservation at landscape

scale with joint efforts of the C‐PAR program. “Ecological Corridor and Biodiversity Conservation

Network Plan in Qilian Mountains‐Qinghai Lake Landscape”in the CPAR 3 an important output to

match the national government call. Furthermore, Qilian Mountains‐Qinghai Lake landscape is a part

of the Gansu‐Tibetan Plateau Biodiversity Conservation Network. So, I suggest that CPAR3 Qinghai

Project may share the knowledge in the broader Qinghai‐Tibetan Plateau, by supporting the

International Symposium on Gansu‐Tibetan Plateau Biodiversity Conservation Network in 2018 (in

Tibet) and in 2020 (in Gansu, such as Wudu) and hosting the symposium in 2022 (in Qinghai, such as

Haiyan or Qilian Country)

Some training modules of NP management tested in Yuhe NNR of Great Panda NP is proposed to

include in the project, and more 7 training programme including international and domestic study

tour, Training of Trainers, E‐learning, community‐based training are designed for Gansu Province. At

least 750 PA staff, stakeholders and community‐based eco‐workers need to be trained within CPAR 3

Qinghai Project.


Page ii

ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS

ADB Asian Development Bank



BD Biodiversity






CDR Combined Delivery Report

CHM Clearing House Mechanism (under CBD)



CNY Chinese yuan

CPAP Country Programme Action Plan

CPAR China’s Protected Area System Reform


DG Director General

DPC Direct Project Cost

EA Executing Agency



EU European Union

FECO Foreign Economic Cooperation Office






IAS Invasive alien species



LOA Letter of Agreement

LPAC Local Project Appraisal Committee






MoU Memorandum of Understanding

MTR Midterm Review


Page iii


NIM National Implementation Modality



NPD National Project Director

NR Nature Reserve

PA Protected Area





PM Project Manager




QPR Quarterly Progress Report



SBAA Standard Basic Assistance Agreement

SMART Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time‐bound








TRAC Target for Resource Assignment from the Core (UNDP)

UNCCD United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification










TABLE OF CONTENTS

Executive Summary ....................................................................................................................................... i

Abbreviations and Acronyms ....................................................................................................................... ii

1. Chapter 1 Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 1

1.1 PA SYSTEM IN CHINA .............................................................................................................................................. 1

1.2 CURRENT PA SYSTEM IN QINGHAI PROVINCE .............................................................................................................. 2

1.3 INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCES ESPECIALLY US NATIONAL PARK SYSTEM ............................................................................ 2

1.4 TRAINING NEEDS FROM TOP LEVEL ............................................................................................................................ 3

1.5 GAPS IN TRAINING AND CAPACITY BUILDING DESIGN ..................................................................................................... 3

1.6 BEST PRACTICES AND LESSONS LEARNED OF TRAINING ................................................................................................... 3

2. Chapter 2 Situation analysis of PA instituational arrangement and capacity building ............................. 4

2.1 CURRENT STATUS AND PROBLEMS OF PA SYSTEM AT NATIONAL LEVEL .............................................................................. 4

2.2 NR REGULATION ENFORCEMENT AND SUPERVISION ARE ON THE TOP OF GOVERNMENT AGENDA ........................................... 5

2.3 NEW POLICIES FOR NP AND PA SYSTEM AT NATIONAL LEVEL .......................................................................................... 6

2.4 SITUATION AND PROBLEMS OF PA SYSTEM OF QINGHAI FORESTRY DEPARTMENT (SUMMARY OF SCORECARD) ......................... 6

3. Chapter 3 Competence and Performance Standards ............................................................................. 8

3.1 EXPERIENCE OF COMPETENCE STANDARDS IN IN SOUTH EAST ASIA .................................................................................. 8

3.2 PROTECTED AREA COMPETENCES IN 14 CATEGORIES .................................................................................................... 9

3.3 PROBLEMS IN PROMOTING PA COMPETENCE STANDARDS IN CHINA ................................................................................. 9

4. Chapter 4 Training Need Analysis ......................................................................................................... 9

4.1 BASIC INFORMATION ABOUT THE QUESTIONNAIRE ...................................................................................................... 10

4.2 PA COMPETENCE RATING OF THE SURVEY ................................................................................................................. 12

4.3 TRAINING NEEDS RATING OF THE SURVEY .................................................................................................................. 13

4.4 TRAINING APPROACHES RATING OF THE SURVEY ......................................................................................................... 16

5. Chapter 5 PA Institutional Development and Capacity Building (project design) .................................. 18

5.1 MANUALS OF COMPETENCE AND PERFORMANCE STANDARDS ....................................................................................... 18

5.2 BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION NETWORK .................................................................................................................. 18

6. Chapter 6 PA Capacity building and Training (Project design) .............................................................. 19

6.1 TRAINING MODULES FOR PAS ................................................................................................................................ 20

6.2 TRAINING PROGRAMME DESIGN FOR CPAR 3 QINGHAI CHILD PROJECT ......................................................................... 20

6.3 MONITORING AND EVALUATION OF THE TRAINING ACTIVITIES ....................................................................................... 23

Appendices ................................................................................................................................................ 25

APPENDIX 1 PROTECTED AREA ADMINISTRATION CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT SCORECARD (IN BOTH ENGLISH AND CHINESE) ........... 25

APPENDIX 2 CPAR TRAINING NEED QUESTIONNAIRE (IN BOTH ENGLISH AND CHINESE) .......................................................... 26


LIST OF TABLES

Table 1: PA system in 2016 according to conservation targets

Table 2: Comparison of approaches to training and learning

Table 3 Basic information about the survey samples

Table 4 Structure of specific posts in the survey

Table 5 PA competence rating of the survey

Table 6 Score of Top 5 competence necessary for different posts

Table 7 Overall average scores for training needs

Table 8 Training needs of different posts

Table 9 Training needs of different child projects

Table 10 Training Programme and number of training staff for CPAR 3

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1 Basic information about the survey samples

Figure 2 Structure of specific posts

Figure 3: Expected training approaches (only one choices).

Figure 4: Expected training approaches (multiple choices)

LIST OF BOXES

Box 1 China punishes officials over environmental violations in Qilian Mountain National Nature Reserves

Box 2 Qinghai‐Tibetan Plateau Biodiversity Conservation Network


Page 1

1. CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION

The statistics of World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA) indicates that there are over 200,000 protected areas in terrestrial areas and inland water bodies including lakes and rivers. They cover a total area of approximately 20 million km2, accounting for 15% of terrestrial area worldwide. In addition, there are nearly 15,000 marine PAs, covering a total area of approximately 18.50 million km2, which represents 13% of territorial sea areas and over 5% of marine areas globally.

1.1 PA system in China

According to China State of the Environment (2017), up to the end of 2016, 2,750 nature reserves of various kinds at different administrative levels had been established across the country with total area of about 147.33 million ha of which 142.88 million ha were land, taking up 14.88% of total land area. There were 446 national nature reserves with a total area of 96.95 million ha., taking up about 9.97% of total land area (Table 1).

Table 1. PA system in 2016 according to conservation targets

PA Type Amount Area (ha.)

Forest 1,427 31,728,927

Grassland and meadow 41 1,654,155

Desert 31 40,054,288

Inland wetland 383 31,105,732

Sea coast 68 716,828

Wild animals 529 38,770,689

Wild plants 153 1,769,717

Geological relics 85 982,564

Ancient biological relics 33 549,557

Total 2,750 147,332,457

Sources: China State of the Environment (2017).

China established 10 trial national parks as pilot projects in 2013, with a combined area of over 170,000 km2 involving 13 provincial regions such as Qinghai, Sichuan and Gansu. These parks are expected to undergo assessments in the coming years and could be named national parks.

Aims of national park system

As for the development of national park system, the central government issued a document requiring " to build a model on national park protection and management focusing on ecological protection, unifying and standardizing management, defining resource ownership, and creating innovative operation practice.”

According to CCTV interview of Yang Weimin (in charge of eco‐civilization institutional reform in China) in October 2017, the three river source NP (123,100 km2), Northeast Tiger and Leopard NP (14,600 km2), giant panda NP (27,100 km2), Qilian Mountains (50,200km2) are selected as system pilot program, for the protection of authenticity, integrity of the natural ecological system, the purpose is to put a total area of 215,000 km2 of land, 2% of the country's land space to the Siberian tiger, giant panda, Tibetan antelope, more land for future generations.


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1.2 Current PA system in Qinghai Province

The protected area system has been initially put in place in Qinghai, including Sanjiangyuan National Park, Sanjiangyuan NR, and Qinghai Lake NR. The system covers many wildlife such as snow leopard, Tibetan antelope, Przevalski's gazelle and black‐necked crane, as well as diverse ecosystems including wetland. In August 2017, Kekexili, as part of Sanjiangyuan National Park, was successfully inscribed as a World Natural Heritage. In addition, Qinghai Lake NR and Zhaling Lake‐Eling Lake NR were listed as Ramsar sites. However, according to the research findings of GEF 4 Sanjiangyuan Biodiversity Conservation Project, Qinghai Province still has some gaps in NRs at geographical scale, and there exists the situation in which the same protected area is administered by several agencies.

Changes of PA system of Qinghai Province after the NP established

According to James Lenoci and Jiao Li (2017) in Terminal Evaluation Report of UNDP‐GEF Qinghai Biodiversity Conservation Project, the establishment of the Three Rivers Source NP pilot enhances the sustainability of the project results, as funding, staffing, and other resources are likely to increase in coming years. The QFD’s portfolio of PA’s has expanded during the lifespan of the project, with 10 newly established wetland parks and 4 desert parts. Moreover, there remain 8 nature reserves under QFD management, and the Qilian Mountains provincial nature reserve has recently (June 2017) been approved as a cross‐provincial NP pilot, together with neighboring Gansu Province. Although management arrangements are unclear at this time for the Qilian Mountains NP, it is likely that the State Forestry Administration (SFA) will be the lead agency at the central government level; both the QFD and Gansu Forestry Department report directly to the SFA; thus, it seems probable that management responsibility will remain within the QFD, although this is uncertain.

The significant changes to the institutional landscape in Qinghai Province have resulted in certain transitional uncertainties. For instance, the institutional capacity and influence of the QFD have been partly diminished, with the two largest nature reserves formerly under their management, SNNR and Kekexili NR, shifted into the Three Rivers Source NP Administration. It will likely take a few years before the institutional arrangements among the agencies responsible for PA management will be sorted out.

1.3 International experiences especially US National Park system

In 1872, the world’s first NP‐Yellowstone National Park‐was established in the USA, initiating the NP movement worldwide. During the last 140 years, more than 1,200 national parks have been founded in 100 countries globally.

In the USA, the National Park Service (NPS) under the Department of the Interior (DoI) exercises unified management over NPs. DoI, as a key function in US federal government, is responsible for protecting and developing land resources under federal government. As for NPs, national standards have been clearly defined, with integrated planning and design and with budget from federal funding.

NPS has set up two NP training centers at Grand Canyon and Harvard University to provide uniform training on basic professional skills for new staff. The training program will consist of three sessions annually, with each session lasting for five weeks. It also targets international students. The Training needs cover: history of NP, psychology of tourists, protection of natural and cultural resources, rescuing and protection of tourists, ecology, archaeology, instrument use, discipline and laws and tour guide interpretation. Each year, staff of all the NPs will undergo short‐term training within their NPs.

The national parks at the grassroots level, including the Grand Canyon National Park, generally consist of five offices: Publicity Service, Maintenance Office, Visitor Reception and Security Service, Resource Protection Office, and International Exchange Office. Publicity Office is responsible for preparing various materials in the park, publishing various science education materials, answering various inquiries, and employing sites, pictures, slides, movies, and museums to carry out a variety of science education activities, managing libraries, and organizing various short‐term training courses. The tour guides of the NP also serve as security personnel.

The educational projects are designed to protect the resource heritages of the Yellowstone National Park through education, dialogue and inspiration. The NP's 13 visitor centers, museums, contact stations, and forest rangers in climate warming huts will help visitors find the right routes, answer inquiries about the NP and disseminate knowledge about the NP. Workers will also visit the local communities to share knowledge on the NP's geological, historical conditions and wildlife, as well as their importance to the surrounding ecology.


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The Youth Program encourages families and young people to take part in outdoor activities while trying to understand the importance of protecting the Yellowstone NP. Visitors who have entered the NP can participate in the Juvenile Rangers Program and the Young Scientists Program, which are composed of classroom visits, exchanges with aboriginal American communities, virtual adventures, and distance learning. All these are part of the carefully‐designed "Next‐generation Education" program. The Office is also responsible for managing and coordinating the Yellowstone National Park Volunteer Program.

1.4 Training needs from top level

According to Overall Plan of Development and Management of National Park (issued by the Office of State Council on 26 Sept 2017), “Based on the colleges and universities, enterprises and institutions to build a series of education and training bases for NPs”(Article 19).

In the C‐PAR program Framework Document (PFD), a range of training sessions delivered to at least 5,000 people on PA management fundamentals and importance of the PA system in the country’s economy and sustainable development. The training and capacity building also needs to be integrated with the competence standards of the PA staff.

Some training modules of PA management tested in Qinghai Lake NNR is proposed to include in the project, and more 7 training programme including international and domestic study tour, Training of Trainers, E‐learning, community‐based training are designed for Gansu Province. At least 750 PA staff, stakeholders and community‐based eco‐workers need to be trained within CPAR 3 Qinghai Project.

1.5 Gaps in Training and capacity building design

The governments and authorities at different levels organize various training courses for PA system, which have promote the capacity of PA staff in various levels, however, due the shortcoming in training course design, there are still big gaps in the capacity building.

The training courses organized by the governmental authorities are usually sector‐based, short‐term, in‐class lectures with many trainees of management level, with narrow focus of short‐term follow‐up actions. For example, a training course organized by State Oceanographic Administration, the trainees are the national PA leaders (director and senior technical staff), 150‐170 trainees.

The training courses are rarely directly related to the competence of PA staff, and the general staff, technical staff and low‐level management staff are not sufficient trained in sector‐base training programme.

The co‐management of PAs, including NPs are important issues, but the community‐based training are rarely conducted except some international programmes and NOGs.

As to some government funded projects and international projects (including GEF projects), the project management staff are not sufficiently trained and usually lack of project cycle management skills.

The training bases are rarely formally established with qualified trainers, good facility, professional curriculum and training materials

1.6 Best practices and lessons learned of training

Training needs will be assessed based on (1) Skills: The specific activities in which an individual worker should be able to demonstrate competence at work; (2) Scope and Context: Competence in the same skill may be demonstrated in a range of ways, depending on the local conditions; and (3) Knowledge: Competence is not just about skills. There is also a requirement for knowledge and understanding (Table 2).

Table 2 Comparison of approaches to training and learning

Element of learning and assessment Conventional approach Competence approach (additional)

Identication of learning needs and targets

● Educational policies ● Educational institutions

● Experts

● Projects

● Employment sector ● Practitioners ● Employers

Learning programme ● Full/part time courses ● Continuous learning


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● Short courses ● On the job learning ● Modular programmes (day‐ and block‐release from work)

Learning methods

● Teaching

● Training ● Practical instruction ● Pedagogy

●‘Adult learning’ ● Self‐directed learning ● E‐learning ● Communities of practice

Delivery of learning ● Educational institutions

● Teachers and trainers

● Self‐directed ● Colleagues and peers ● Mentors

Assessment and certi cation ● Exams and tests ● Attendance at courses

● Seniority

Competence assessment and verication ● Por olios of evidence

Access to learning ● Prequali ed individuals

● Selected employees

Potentially anyone

Source: Appleton, M.R. (2016). A Global Register of Competences for Protected Area Practitioners. Gland, Switzerland: IUCN

Guide tour operated by PA authorities

Special guide tour activities can be arranged in NPs. For instance, in the NPs in the USA and Mai Po NR in Hong Kong, the guide tour activities have become very mature and frequent. Online registration and reservation are generally adopted. Fixed routes and professional guide tour interpreters are often provided (staff of NP or PAs or well‐trained volunteers). As additional services including interpretation and/or vehicles are provided in guide tours, these services will be charged by NPs or PAs.

2. CHAPTER 2 SITUATION ANALYSIS OF PA INSTITUATIONAL ARRANGEMENT AND CAPACITY

BUILDING

2.1 Current status and problems of PA system at national level

Several different agencies are involved in the establishment and management of PAs. Coordination between the different agencies needs to be improved. Also standards of management are generally poor. The PA system has grown so fast, most PAs are under‐staffed. Staffs are lack of any specialist training, there are no accepted competence or performance standards, often inadequate operational budget, little supervision and lack of flexible regulations.

Individual PAs in China have dual reporting lines – to the national government and the provincial government. The project will build the supervisory capacity of the provincial Forestry Department for planning and monitoring wetlands PAs strengthened through strategic training activities and development and adoption of a set of professional competency standards for wetland PA management staff as a basis for enhanced performance, in‐service training and career structure.

Depending on powers, NPs are managed by the central government or provincial governments. Legislation is very important for NP. The existing regulations include Regulations on Nature Reserves, and Regulations on Scenic Spots (or Regulations on National Parks).

The development of NPs is, indeed, an issue concerning the people. It is stipulated that NPs in China are mainly to address cross‐sectoral and cross‐regional issues, protect the integrity and authenticity of NPs, and restore them if some NPs are damaged. Strict management means to relocate the local people if possible, and keep the most fundamental living and production styles of local people if they cannot be relocated.

Within NDRC, an NP Leading Group/Commission involving 13 agencies has been established. A cross‐sectoral coordination mechanism has also been made available. In the future, when NP administration is founded, the organization may have some changes. The cross‐regional NP organization will be managed at national level, rather than being managed by provincial government, this is the direction of policy reform.

PAs and NPs vary significantly in terms of institutional design. The PAs are applied with a bottom‐up approach; if the local governments at lower level do not apply, the provincial NRs cannot be upgraded to NNRs. The NPs


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are deployed with a top‐down approach. The top‐level design at national level shall define which NPs and where to establish and how to management these NPs.

As of end 2016, nine pilot sites have been approved by the Leading Group for Comprehensively Deepening Reform to be national parks: Sanjiangyuan, Qinghai; Shennongjia, Hubei; Wuyi Mountain, Fujian; Qianjiang River Source, Zhejiang; Nanshan, Hunan; the Great Wall, Beijing; Potatso, Shangri‐la, Yunnan; National Park for Amur Tiger and Amur Leopard in northeast China; and Giant Panda National Park in Sichuan, Shaanxi and Gansu.

The Yellowstone National Park in the USA covers a total area of 8,983.17 km2. Sanjiangyuan, the Giant Panda and other NPs in China are much larger than the Yellowstone NP. How to manage these NPs and balance conservation and development poses a major challenge for these NPs. For instance, Sanjiangyuan, located in the hinterland of Qinghai‐Tibetan Plateau, is known as the source area of three rivers in China: Yangtze, Yellow and Lancang rivers. According to the plan, Three River Sources NP will consist of several NRs, covering a total area of 123,000 km2. The Giant Panda NP, stretching across Sichuan, Shaanxi, and Gansu, covers a total area of over 27,000 km2 to address the habitat fragmentation facing the giant panda.

2.2 NR Regulation enforcement and supervision are on the top of government agenda

On July 20,2017, the general offices of Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council jointly released a document to punished senior officials in northwest China's Gansu Province over environmental violations in the Qilian Mountains national nature reserve, which will have fundamental impacts on PA system of Gansu Provincial and whole country in next a few years (See Box 1 for details).

It marks the NR Regulation enforcement and supervision are on the top of government agenda.

Box 1

China punishes officials over environmental violations in Qilian Mountain National Nature Reserves

BEIJING, July 20 (Xinhua) ‐‐ China has punished senior officials in northwest China's Gansu Province over environmental violations in the Qilian Mountains national nature reserve, showing the country's resolve for green development.

An inspection team has found various irregularities in the area, including over‐exploitation of mineral resources, illegal construction and operation of hydropower facilities, excessive emissions by local enterprises, as well as the failure of local officials to rectify existing environmental issues, according to a document jointly released by the general offices of Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council on July 20.

Senior officials, including Yang Zixing, vice governor of Gansu Province together with other 2 former vice governors, were held accountable for their failure to prevent and look into the environmental issues, and were punished with administrative sanctions. Provincial department heads (Director General of Forestry Department, Director General of Qilian Mountain NNR) city officials were punished with administrative sanctions , while some were given warnings.

The violations were fundamentally a result of a lack of environmental awareness by local officials and their failure to implement environmental protection policies. For example, despite a ban on the continued operation of a mine inside the nature reserve, the province's safety watchdog approved its production capacity and renewed its operation.

Local officials also failed to realize the importance of a sustainable growth pattern, rolling out regulations that were not conducive to environmental protection. Provincial officials as well as authorities at the nature reserve failed to undertake their duties or have been accused of malpractice, leaving many illegal projects unobstructed. "Many management provisions at the nature reserve exist in name only," the document said.

Environmental violations in the Qilian Mountains national nature reserve have been a long‐standing issue. As a nature reserve standing on the border of Gansu and Qinghai provinces, Qilian Mountains was designated a national protected site in 1988, but hundreds of mines in the area, and many kinds of construction projects, have continued to take a toll on the environment.

Excessive and disorderly development since the 1960s had left the area in a deep crisis, with water sources contaminated and grassland degraded, until officials moved to tackle the environmental problems. While some efforts have been made to rectify issues found in local inspections, the situation has barely improved.


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From 2013 to 2016, Gansu Province has basically held no one accountable for dereliction of duty or misconduct, according to the document. While many problems were found during inspections, local officials often just released documents to rectify the problems rather than actually dealing with them.

The decision marked the latest efforts by Chinese authorities to shift to a green development model, vowing to rectify practices that boost economic growth at the cost of the environment.

(Source: Xinhua NEWS| 2017‐07‐20, with modifications)

2.3 New policies for NP and PA system at national level

In October 2017, 19th CPC conference was held in Beijing, and an important document was released by President Xi Jinping on 18 October 2017, which will be guide the national policy at least in next five years. There are two important policies would be very closely link with CPAR.

PA system with NP as the main body.

“National PA system with national parks as the main body”, which means the NP’s leading role in the PA system in China. Translation of the para is as follows: “The state land spatial development and protection should be established, the supporting policy of main functional zones should be improved, and the national PA system with national parks as the main body should be established. Resolutely stop and punish the destruction of the ecological environment behavior.”

Ecological Corridor and Biodiversity Conservation Network as main approaches for nature conservation.

In the 19th CPC document, following policy is also released “Implement key ecosystem protection and rehabilitation projects, optimize ecological security shelter system, build ecological corridors and biodiversity conservation network, improve the quality and stability of ecosystem.” So, it is very important for us to use the biodiversity conservation network in CPAR design.

Amendment of NR regulation

There is emerging opportunity to coordinate and develop management plan of the visit and tourist in the experimental zone of NNR. Amendment of Nature Reserve Regulation issued by the Premier Li Keqiang on 7th October 2017.

Article 29： "The nature reserve management agencies need to make the management plan for the visit and tourism activities, such a plan should comply with the nature reserve conservation objectives. The nature reserve management agencies need strictly follow the management plan for arrangement of visit and tourism activities with strengthen the management of visitors and tourists; Anybody units and individuals who enter the nature reserves should obey the policies of nature reserve management agencies.”

This regulation lays a sound foundation for the NR management planning, and it is new policy that was not in place before.

National Park training base

On 26 Sept 2017, Overall Plan of Development and Management of National Park released by the Office of State Council. Within this document, it is clear requested to setup training base for NPs. “Based on the colleges & universities, enterprises & public institutions to build a series of education and training bases for NPs”(Article 19).

2.4 Situation and problems of PA system of Qinghai Forestry Department (summary of scorecard)

Qinghai Forestry Department (QFD) is the competent authority of nature reserves (NRs) in Qinghai Province, while Wildlife and Nature Reserve Conservation Bureau of Qinghai Forestry Department (WNRCB) is responsible for the specific management of NRs under QFD. Given the important and unique position of Qinghai in China's conservation efforts, all the NRs within the province have been included the agenda of Qinghai Province.


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There is a clear legal mandate for the establishment and management of protected areas: Law of Wildlife Protection and Regulations on Nature Reserves at national level; Qinghai Biodiversity Conservation Strategy and Action Plan, and Regulations on Sanjiangyuan National Park, etc. at provincial level. A reasonable legal framework on protected areas has been put in place in Qinghai Province. However, the mining activities in Qilian Mountains NR and other incidents indicate that there are still some weakness and gaps in terms of protected area‐related legislation."

Qinghai Environmental Protection Department (QEPD) is responsible for the selection of provincial nature reserves. QEPD and QFD, together with other agencies, jointly developed Qinghai Biodiversity Conservation Strategy and Action Plan. WNRCB and other administrations are in charge of guiding and reviewing the master plans and annual plans developed by protected areas under their jurisdiction. In general, these plans can be implemented. Most of the master plans for the protected areas are entrusted to professional organizations with relevant qualifications to develop. These plans are developed in a largely top‐down fashion, with high participation of the protected areas but low participation of other relevant agencies and local communities.

The master plans of NNRs and PNRs are mostly entrusted by competent authorities to the professional institutions with planning qualification for development. These professional institutions have basic skills of NR planning and management. However, as for many wildlife and diverse ecosystems in Qinghai, including the protection of snow leopard in Qilian Mountains, the skills of these institutions in planning still need to be improved.

A reasonable oversight mechanism has been put in place by the protected area institutions, which can provide effective oversight and regular review of the protected areas.

According to the national policy of defining responsibilities, internal organizations and staffing, the protected area institutions can effectively lead the protected areas in general, although there exist some differences. Despite the fact that NNR and PNR institutions have strong leadership, there are some gaps. For instance, the boundary lines of Qilian Mountains NR are not clear; Longbao NR institution is weak, and is temporarily administered by Yushu Municipal Forestry Bureau. WNRCB needs to enhance its leadership and management of the protected areas.

Although no requirement has been made at the national level on the development of management plans for nature reserves, 11 NRs including Sanjiangyuan, Qinghai Lake NRs under QFD have developed their management plans through participatory approach with the help of GEF Qinghai Sanjiangyuan Biodiversity Conservation Project. Nontheless, these management plans still need to be regularly updated.

Human resources qualification of the protected areas is spotty. As for Qinghai Lake NR and Sanjiangyuan NR, their staff are recruited through open sources, and are well motivated. However, staff of many protected areas (including Qilian Mountains NR) are transferred from workers in original state forest farms, and lack basic skills such as management and monitoring capacities.

Management plans are poorly implemented and some objectives can hardly be met due to lack of requirement on the development and implementation of protected area management plans at national and provincial levels, and due to lack of financial support. It is necessary to define more clearly the management objectives of the protected areas, and provide the protected areas with more self‐management rights so as to improve the effectiveness of implementing the protected area management plans.

The protected areas vary greatly in terms of funding, human and material resources. Sanjiangyuan National Park, which is being built, is directly under the management of Qinghai Provincial Government, and its budget is included in the state and provincial financial budget plan; therefore, it has adequate funding. Qinghai Lake NR has a strong capacity to mobilize funding, human and material resources. However, Longbao NR and other NRs, which are managed by local forestry authorities, have inadequate funding and are weak in mobilizing funding, human and material resources.

Funding, human and material resources of the protected areas are well managed. The policies of the central and provincial governments on financial funds are strictly implemented, and no incidents of voilating financial policies in funding use have occurred. However, the efficiency of funding use needs to be improved.

The protected area institutions are transparent, and are audited annually. Specific audit is conducted on national ecological conservation projects, and audit is conducted on officials before they leave their posts.


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The protected areas have clear lead agencies. While most NRs are under the management of forestry authorities, other NRs are managed by environmental protection or agricultural authorities. In some areas, one protected area is jointly managed by several agencies. For instance, Zhaling Lake‐Eling Lake wetland nature reserve and fish protected area is jointly managed by the forestry and agricultural/fishery agencies.

Some enforcement of regulations but largely ineffective. External threats including over‐grazing, mining and digging of Cordyceps sinensis remain active, which negatively affect the effectiveness of protected area management.

3. CHAPTER 3 COMPETENCE AND PERFORMANCE STANDARDS

In order to promote competence standards at the province level, there needs to be a central level policy or strategy in place. During the PPG phase of the CPAR, the team consulted with some key stakeholders at national, provincial and PA levels, and there is sufficient institutional buy‐in for designing competence standards into the CPAR projects. The national level stakeholders include NDRC, SFA, MEP, SOA.

Many of the PA staff have only completed high school and have no formal training in PAM. These NR staff require basic training in computing, word processing, report writing, spreadsheet manipulation, data management and environmental information management. Administration and finance staff also need basic training in new office software management systems.

3.1 Experience of competence standards in in South East Asia

Concept of competence

According to Competence Standards for Protected Area Jobs in South East Asia, the competence consists of three parts:

(1) Skills: The specific activities in which an individual worker should be able to demonstrate competence at work. Some competences are divided into ‘General Skills’ for management and supervision of work and ‘Specialist Skills’ for specialised technical work. Some of the specialist skills may not be relevant to or required for all workers (e.g. skills associated with marine protected areas work);

(2) Scope and Context: Competence in the same skill may be demonstrated in a range of ways, depending on the local conditions. For example the basic skills of animal surveying could be demonstrated through surveying

tigers or monkeys. The ‘range statements’ included here provide guidance for the variety of situations and contexts in which the skills might be demonstrated and the more specific components of the skills;

(3) Knowledge: Competence is not just about skills. There is also a requirement for knowledge and understanding. The knowledge statements suggest what someone would need to know in order to be

competent at the relevant level.

ASEAN Protected Area Competences in 17 Categories

According to Competence Standards for Protected Area Jobs in South East Asia, ASEAN Protected Area Competences in 17 Categories as follows:

General Personal and Work Skills

Financial and Physical Resources Management

Human Resources Management

Staff Development and Training

Communication

Technology and Information

Project Development and Management

Field Craft Natural Resources Assessment

Conservation Management of Ecosystems, Habitats and Species


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Socio‐Economic and Cultural Assessment

Sustainable Development and Communities

Protected Areas Policy, Planning and Management

Site Management

Enforcement

Recreation and Tourism

Awareness Education and Public Relations

3.2 Protected Area Competences in 14 Categories

Referring to the Competence Standards for Protected Area Jobs in South East Asia and consultation of key stakeholders and PA staff during the CPAR PPG stage, the consultant of institutional arrangement and capacity building identified 14 categories of China PA competences:

Policies and regulations related to protected area management

Protected area resources protection and management

Protected area development plan and annual plan

Training on Human resources management and team building

Publicity, education and public awareness

Biodiversity monitoring and survey

Application, implementation and management of conservation projects

Basic knowledge on biodiversity conservation

Institutional development, operation and sector cooperation（Partnerships）

Law enforcement patrol and community co‐management

Asset and Financial Management (Budget Management and Financial Analysis)

File management and report preparation

Application of office software and equipment

Visitor management and tourist guide

3.3 Problems in promoting PA competence standards in China

The competence standards have not gained support of national policies and standards. According to the general practice of issuing policies and standards in China, it is necessary to select pilot sites at first (The pilot sites often need the mandate at some level. For instance, the mandate at least from provincial competent authority (e.g., forestry department) is needed to conduct a pilot project at national PA. Otherwise, the national PA dare not break through the existing policy limit without permission).

I would like to propose that the PA competence standards could be piloted in one or more pilot NRs in the Qinghai Lake NNR(as one output of Component 2), and explore more opportunities to adopt them in Qinghai Province.

4. CHAPTER 4 TRAINING NEED ANALYSIS

Based on the situation analysis and competence standards of PAs, with consultation of key stakeholders at the central level (e.g., SFA, MEP, SOA, etc.) and at the local level, the consultant of institutional arrangement and capacity building design the PA Training Needs Questionnaires and carry out the survey of the key stakeholders, especially the PA staff at different levels.


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This report was developed to provide reference for the UNDP to prepare Project Document on Implementing Protected Areas Reform in China. The targets of the survey are partners implementing the project, including the Ministry of Environmental Protection, State Oceanic Administration, the Forestry Department of Gansu Province, and the Forestry Department of Qinghai Province. The survey is entirely anonymous, and the questionnaire was sent via e‐mail, or conducted on the spot.

As of September 20, 2017, a total of 215 questionnaires were received. To control the quality of the survey, the questionnaires which have not been filled out according to requirements or more than 40% of information have been lost in the Training Needs Questionnaire were deemed as invalid. At last, only 193 copies were regarded as valid. When analyzing the valid questionnaires, the contents that have not been filled out were deemed as Not Available. Therefore, there must be some data missing if the total number of one item was less than 193.

4.1 Basic information about the questionnaire

Among all the valid questionnaires in the survey, there were 37 copies from the National Park Child project, 21 copies from Qinghai Child project, 50 copies from Gansu Child project, 44 copies from Chinese White Dolphin Child project and 41 copies from other sources. By the types of protected area (multiple choice), there were 76 respondents from national parks, 76 from national nature reserves, 56 from provincial nature reserves, four from protected micro‐areas, and 10 from other types of protected area, including local governments, and wetland protection and management centers. By the competent authorities of protected area, there were 54.0% respondents under forestry authorities, 18.1% under marine authorities, 6.3% under environmental protection authorities, 2.1% under agricultural authorities, and 19.0% under other authorities (water resources, local governments).

Among the survey samples, there were 153 men, accounting for 80.1%; and 38 women, or 19.9%. Most of the respondents were aged between 31‐50, representing 69.4%. In terms of educational background, 97.4% of the respondents have college degree or above, among whom 62.2% have bachelor degree (university) and 14.5% master degree.

In terms of nature of posts, 55.5% respondents were in management posts, while 33.5% in technical posts. In

management posts, 7.9% respondents failed to choose specific posts, and were, therefore, listed as other kinds of personnel. As for specific posts, the posts whose percentage exceeded 10.0% of total sample include: main leaders (14.7%), staff engaged in resource conservation and management (11.0%) and scientific researchers and monitoring technicians (19.4%). As for the distribution of duration engaged in posts, the percentage of respondents who have worked for not more than 3 years, 3‐5 years, 5‐10 years and more than 10 years all exceeded 20.0% (See Figure 1 &2 and Table 3 & 4).

Figure 1 Basic information about the survey samples

80.1%

19.9%15.1%

39.9%

29.5%

15.0%

3.6%

14.5%

62.2%

16.6%

2.1%0.5%

55.5%

33.5%

11.0%

21.5%25.7%24.3%

28.5%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

Male

Female

Under 30 years old

31‐40 years old

41‐50 years old

More than

50 years old

PhD

Master

Bachelor

Technical college

High school

Others

Managerial post

Technical

Ordinary posts

Less than

3 years

3‐5 years

5‐10 years

10 years or more

Gender Age Education Nature ofposts

Duration ofworking in the post

Percentage


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Table 3 Basic information about the survey samples Category Types Percentage of questionnaires

Gender Male 80.1%

Female 19.9%

Age Under 30 years old 15.1%

31‐40 years old 39.9%

41‐50 years old 29.5%

More than 50 years old 15.0%

Education PhD 3.6%

Master 14.5%

Bachelor 62.2%

Technical college 16.6%

High school 2.1%

Others 0.5%

Post Managerial post 55.5%

Technical 33.5%

General posts 11.0%

Duration of working in the post

Less than 3 years 21.5%

3‐5 years 25.7%

5‐10 years 24.3%

10 years or more 28.5%

Figure 2 Structure of specific posts

Table 4 Structure of specific posts in the survey

Post category Specific posts Percentage of questionnaires

Managerial post

Main leaders 14.7%

Legislation and policy 6.3%

Planning and finance 2.6%

Resource protection and management 11.0%

Wildlife conservation and natural reserve management 7.3%

Human resources management 0.5%

Public education 3.1%

Protection station management 1.0%

Other personnel 9.5%

Technical post

Scientific research and monitoring staff 19.4%

Law enforcement patrolling staff 4.7%

Public education staff 6.8%

14.7%

6.3%

2.6%

11.0%

7.3%

0.5%3.1%

1.0%

9.5%

19.4%

4.7%6.8%

0.0%2.6%

1.0%2.1%2.6%2.6%2.1%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

Main leaders

Legislation and policy

Planning and finance

Resource protection and…

Wildlife conservation and…

Human

resources…

Public education

Protection station…

Other personnel

Scientific research and…

Law enforcem

ent…

Public education staff

Eco‐tourism

manager

Other staff

Internal office worker

Financial staff

Managem

ent staff at…

Ecological public service post

Other staff

Managerial post Technical Ordinary post

Percentage


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Eco‐tourism manager 0.0%

Other staff 2.6%

Ordinary post

Internal office worker 1.0%

Financial staff 2.1%

Management staff at grassroot level (section member) 2.6%

Ecological public service post 2.6%

Other staff 2.1%

4.2 PA competence rating of the survey

As different work posts have different requirements on competence, the survey on competence needed for the posts was conducted in the questionnaire. For easy statistics and analysis, in the table on competence for specific posts, “Very important” is calculated to be 3 points, “Important” 1 point and “Not important” 0 point. The average value is defined to be the score for the assessment of competence for the post.

The top 7 categories of PA competence (average score >1.5) according to the questionnaire survey are(Table 5):

Policies and regulations related to protected area management Protected area resources protection and management Protected area development plan and annual plan Training on Human resources management and team building Publicity, education and public awareness Biodiversity monitoring and survey Application, implementation and management of conservation projects

Table 5 PA competence rating of the survey

No. Competence necessary for the post No. of respondents

Average score Very

important Important Not important

1 Policies and regulations related to protected area management

123 66 1 2.29

2 Protected area resources protection and management

83 97 4 1.88

3 Protected area development plan and annual plan

69 110 7 1.70

4 Training on Human resources management and team building

68 105 12 1.67

5 Publicity, education and public awareness 65 111 8 1.66

6 Biodiversity monitoring and survey 64 111 8 1.66

7 Application, implementation and management of conservation projects

59 120 4 1.62

8 Basic knowledge on biodiversity conservation 51 121 10 1.51

9 Institutional development, operation and

sector cooperation（Partnerships）

50 117 16 1.46

10 Law enforcement patrol and community co‐management

41 127 13 1.38

11 Asset and Financial Management (Budget Management and Financial Analysis)

34 119 25 1.24

12 File management and report preparation 24 132 23 1.14

13 Application of office software and equipment 25 129 25 1.14

14 Visitor management and tourist guide 7 116 57 0.76

As the PA competence is closely link with the post of PA staff and related governmental staff, Managerial posts, Technical posts, and General posts shared same competence standards, such as “Policies and regulations related


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to protected area management” (top 1 in three kind posts); “Protected area resources protection and management” (top 2 in managerial and technical posts). The PA competence of different post is also quite different, such as “Protected area development plan and annual plan” only rating as top 5 in managerial posts, and “Asset and Financial Management (Budget Management and Financial Analysis)” and “Basic knowledge on biodiversity conservation” only rating as top 5 in general post (see Table 6)

Table 6 Score of Top 5 competence necessary for different posts Post Competence necessary for the post Average score

Managerial posts

Policies and regulations related to protected area management 2.36

Protected area resources protection and management 1.95

Protected area development plan and annual plan 1.79

Training on Human resources management and team building 1.74

Application, implementation and management of conservation projects

1.68

Technical posts


Protected area resources protection and management 1.90

Biodiversity monitoring and survey 1.80

Training on Human resources management and team building 1.78

Publicity, education and public awareness 1.72

General posts


Publicity, education and public awareness 1.76

Biodiversity monitoring and survey 1.75

Asset and Financial Management (Budget Management and Financial Analysis)

1.65

Basic knowledge on biodiversity conservation 1.60

4.3 Training needs rating of the survey

A total of 18 Training needs were defined according to the abilities necessary for different posts. The training needs were classified into three classes: “Very necessary”, “Necessary” and “Not necessary”. For easy comparison in questionnaire analysis, “Very necessary” is calculated to be 3 points, “Necessary” 1 point and “Not necessary” 0 point. The item that has not been checked was deemed to be missing. The degree and effective score of training needs in 193 valid questionnaires are shown in Table 5.

There is only one item whose average score of training needs exceeded 2.00 points: national policies and regulations related to protected area. The items whose average scores are ranked Top 5 include:

National policies and regulations related to protected area Wildlife field monitoring and survey methods; Protected area resources management and sustainable use; Basic theoretical knowledge on biodiversity conservation; Application, implementation and management of protected area conservation projects.

There are three items whose average score of training needs was less than 1.00 point: protected area eco‐tourism management and tourists guide; and file management.

Overall average scores for training needs are shown in Table 7.

Table 7 Overall average scores for training needs

Rank Training needs No. of respondents

Average score Very

necessary Necessary

Not necessary

1 National policies and regulations related to protected area

101 39 12 2.04

2 Wildlife field monitoring and survey methods

67 103 10 1.69

3 Protected area resources management and sustainable use

58 109 11 1.59

4 Basic theoretical knowledge on biodiversity conservation

57 108 13 1.57


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5 Application, implementation and management of protected area conservation projects

54 114 9 1.56

6 Human resources management and staff training

58 99 19 1.55

7 Project development and application, project cycle management

55 107 15 1.54

8 Preparation of protected area development plan, management plan and financing plan

57 108 16 1.54

9 Application of new technologies (UAV, thermal infrared camera) in wetland conservation

50 104 20 1.46

10 Protected area patrolling, law enforcement procedures and approaches

45 121 10 1.45

11 Publicity and nature education on protected area

43 119 16 1.39

12 Community participation and community co‐management approaches on protected area

34 132 12 1.31

13 Technologies and models on habitats restoration and rehabilitation

26 138 11 1.23

14 Preparation of report on protected area monitoring and patrolling

21 141 11 1.18

15 Protected area assets and financial management

29 114 29 1.17

16 Application of computer office software 15 127 30 1.00

17 Protected area eco‐tourism and tourist guide

16 110 46 0.92

18 File documentation (and management) 4 132 34 0.85

Top 5 training needs of different posts

The training needs of different posts vary according to the functions and competence of posts. To be specific, training on policies, regulations and management is more needed for the managerial posts; training on wildlife survey and sustainable use of resources is more needed for the technical posts; while training on human resources management and staff training is mainly needed for General posts.

Tope 5 training needs of the PA leaders/management staff The top 5 training needs of PA leaders or management staff are closely link with their competence and mainly concentrated on policy, plan, and management

National policies and regulations related to protected area Application, implementation and management of protected area conservation projects Project development and application, project cycle management Preparation of protected area development plan, management plan and financing plan Protected area resources management and sustainable use

Tope 5 training needs of technical staff The top 5 training needs of PA technical staff are closely link with their competence and mainly concentrated on policy, monitoring, knowledge, and training:

National policies and regulations related to protected area Wildlife field monitoring and survey methods Protected area resources management and sustainable use Basic theoretical knowledge on biodiversity conservation Human resources management and staff training

Tope 5 training needs of general staff The top 5 training needs of PA general staff are closely link with their competence and mainly concentrated on policy, monitoring, knowledge and technical skill:


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National policies and regulations related to protected area Wildlife field monitoring and survey methods Application of new technologies (UAV, thermal infrared camera) in wetland conservation Basic theoretical knowledge on biodiversity conservation Human resources management and staff training

The ranking of training needs of different posts are shown in Table 8.

Table 8 Training needs of different posts

No. Training needs Managerial

posts Technical posts

General posts

1 National policies and regulations related to protected area 2.15 1.88 1.90

2 Project development and application, project cycle management 1.7 1.39 1.21


1.62 1.41 1.45


1.74 1.40 1.15

5 Protected area assets and financial management 1.16 1.10 1.40

6 Human resources management and staff training 1.56 1.58 1.50

7 Protected area resources management and sustainable use 1.62 1.60 1.37

8 Basic theoretical knowledge on biodiversity conservation 1.57 1.59 1.55

9 Wildlife field monitoring and survey methods 1.62 1.85 1.63


1.48 1.40 1.45

11 Preparation of report on protected area monitoring and patrolling 1.21 1.19 1.00

12 Technologies and models on habitats restoration and rehabilitation 1.25 1.33 0.89


1.32 1.38 1.11

14 Protected area eco‐tourism and tourist guide 0.94 0.91 0.84


1.44 1.43 1.58

16 Publicity and nature education on protected area 1.44 1.42 1.15

17 File documentation (and management) 0.88 0.78 0.84

18 Application of computer office software 0.97 1.02 1.11

Training need ranking of CARP 3 Qinghai Child Project Different child projects share some similarity and difference in term of training need ranking of the survey. Wildlife field monitoring and survey methods Human resources management and staff training Protected area resources management and sustainable use National policies and regulations related to protected area Application, implementation and management of protected area conservation projects

The ranking of training needs of different child projects are shown in Table 9.

Table 9 Training needs of different child projects

No. Training needs National Park

Gansu Qinghai Chinese White Dolphin

Other sources


2.06 2.16 1.72 2.16 2.30

2 Project development and application, project cycle management

1.39 2.12 1.52 1.44 1.56


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No. Training needs National Park

Gansu Qinghai Chinese White Dolphin

Other sources


1.56 1.56 1.46 1.42 1.79


1.49 1.82 1.58 1.51 1.53


1.56 1.18 1.28 0.86 0.93


1.78 1.82 1.92 0.78 1.58


1.39 1.75 1.78 1.36 1.74


1.50 1.76 1.56 1.58 1.53


1.30 1.59 2.04 1.58 1.79


1.25 1.56 1.56 1.23 1.77


1.17 1.12 1.1 1.1 1.48


1.11 1.56 1.04 1.36 1.37


1.35 1.4 1.18 1.14 1.67


1.11 1.00 1.52 0.86 1.43


1.76 1.81 1.32 1.19 1.54


1.50 1.24 1.10 1.40 1.81

17 File documentation (and management) 1.17 1.00 0.74 0.64 0.85

18 Application of computer office software 1.25 0.94 1.08 0.60 1.18

4.4 Training approaches rating of the survey

Of all the expected training approaches, more than 77% of the respondents expect the training duration to be 3‐5 days (one week) or 10 days (two weeks). A majority of the respondents expect the number of trainees to range between 10 and 30. As for certification of training experience, 60.6% of the respondents chose training certificate (Figure 3). The expected training form is of multiple choice. Most of the respondents chose inviting experts to give lectures, transfer of technical know‐how in field practice, together with domestic study tour (Figure 4 ).


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Figure 3 Expected training approaches (only one choices)

Figure 4 Expected training approaches (multiple choices)

Notes for the survey: 69.4% of the respondents indicated a training approach of inviting experts to give lectures, which is very common approach in current training activities; only 8.7% of the respondents indicated a training approach of e‐learning (on‐line learning and remote education), which is still very new and not familiar with the respondents. Needless to emphasize, the training should be more systematic and institutionalized, the training programme need more systematic design with innovative approaches.

31.6

45.8

18.4

4.2

10.5

24.2

32.6

16.8 15.8

29.3

60.6

7.42.7

.0

10.0

20.0

30.0

40.0

50.0

60.0

70.0

3‐5 days

10 days

1 m

onth

4‐6 m

onths (online schools)

<10人

10‐20

20‐30

30‐50

No restriction on the number

Certificate of completion

Certificate of training

Diploma of online schools

Others

Expected training duration Expected number of trainees Certification of trainingexperience

Percentage（%）

74.3%

23.0%

73.2%

17.5%

32.8%

49.7%

4.4%8.7%

0.5%0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

Percentage


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5. CHAPTER 5 PA INSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND CAPACITY BUILDING (PROJECT

DESIGN)

Efforts will be made to strengthen a variety of systems in selected national parks in the CPAR 3 Qinghai Child Project, such as the planning, policy, institution, standards, organization operation, human resources, funding, scientific support, monitoring, assessment and examination, ecological protection, public education systems. These efforts are made to ensure that all the work in the pilot NP can be successfully implemented and achieve good results.

The following 2 components are suggested to be included into the CPAR 3 Qinghai Child Project from the viewpoints of the institutional development and capacity building.

5.1 Manuals of competence and performance standards

On the basis of summarizing the experience from the pilot site, relevant policies (document) will be developed in accordance with the procedure of provincial competent authority; and local technical standards will be developed according to the procedure of local (provincial) authority in charge of technical standards. If the local policies or technical standards want to be upgraded to national ones, central ministries and commissions (e.g., NDRC, MEP or SFA) are needed to carry out relevant procedures. One key part is to integrate the policies or technical standards into the work plan of relevant government authorities or technical supervision institutions. As for provincial technical standards, it often takes more than two years for them to be approved from their initiation, as the technical supervision institutions have to organize several times of review on these technical standards.

Proposed output of CPAR 3 Qinghai Child Project is Manuals of competence and performance standards developed for national parks. Qinghai Lake NNR can be selected as the pilot sites for PAs. Qinghai Forestry Department can authorize the pilot plan on competence standard. Adoption of agreed competence standards for PA management that can then serve as a basis for in‐service training, up grading and career development.

5.2 Biodiversity conservation network

In the Report of the 19th Congress of CPC delivered in October 2017, the task of “developing ecological corridors and biodiversity protection networks so as to strengthen the quality and stability of our ecosystems” has been clearly stated on PA system. The task will become the focus area of government in terms of conservation at least in the next five years (during the period of GEF project implementation).

As for C‐PAR program, a key cut‐point is to further enhance biodiversity conservation network in Qinghai‐Tibetan Plateau, and jointly promote the bi‐annual conference, conduct data and information sharing, training and other activities by consolidating four child projects of NP, Qinghai, Gansu and Sichuan (Box 2). Qilan Mountains‐Qinghai Lake Landscape is a part of the Qinghai‐Tibetan Plateau Biodiversity Conservation Network.

Box 2 Qinghai‐Tibetan Plateau Biodiversity Conservation Network

The Network was launched at the International Conference on Biodiversity Conservation in Qinghai‐Tibetan Plateau, which was held in Yushu, Qinghai on July 14, 2016. Yushu Declaration, published at the Conference, covers the background, necessity, composition of the members, and means of activities of the Network. Founding of the Network is one of the results of GEF4 Qinghai Sanjiangyuan Biodiversity Project.

Relevant government authorities, PAs, research institutions, foundations for public interest, and environmental protection NGOs, jointly established the Network, and the forestry departments (bureaus) in Qinghai, Tibet, Gansu, Sichuan, Xinjiang and Yunnan as key members of the Network.

The goals of the Network are to: share experiences and strategies on biodiversity monitoring, assessment, research and protection; conduct cross‐sectoral and cross‐regional coordination and cooperation; and work together to protect the integrity and biodiversity of ecosystems in Qinghai‐Tibetan Plateau.

The paradigm of activities of the Network includes: to organize the Working Meeting and Academic Symposium on Biodiversity Conservation in Qinghai‐Tibetan Plateau, which will be held bi‐


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annually and sponsored by forestry departments of six provinces /autonomous regions in Qinghai‐Tibetan Plateau in turns; to conduct academic exchange, experiences sharing, technical training and public awareness activities.

As a region at high altitude that contains the richest biodiversity worldwide, Qinghai‐Tibetan Plateau is home to a wide range of flagship species, such as snow leopard, Tibetan antelope, Equus kiang, Przewalski's gazelle, black‐necked crane, Tibetan gazelle, bharal and naked carp. Many of these species have been included in IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. A series of PAs, including Qiangtang, Sanjiangyuan, Aerjin Mountain, Kekexili, Qilian Mountains and Qinghai Lake, have formed the largest group of PAs in the world. For this reason, effectively protecting biodiversity in Qinghai‐Tibetan Plateau plays a crucial role in helping maintain eco‐safety in China.

Proposed out of the CPAR CPAR 3 Qinghai Child Project is: Qinghai‐Tibetan Plateau Biodiversity Conservation Network is fully functioned to promote the biodiversity conservation at landscape scale with joint efforts of the C‐PAR program.

Specific activities that CPAR 3 plans to conduct by leveraging the Network include but are not limited to: To support the International Conference of Qinghai‐Tibetan Biodiversity Conservation Network in

2018 and 2020 and host the conference in 2022 . The Symposium 2018 will be held in Linzhi, Tibet, and be jointly sponsored by Tibetan government and WSC; CPAR National Park Project and Qinghai Child Project are proposed to be co‐organizers and provide some financial support for the Conference; the Conference 2020 is proposed Gansu (such as Wudu), and be jointly sponsored by Gansu Forestry Department. It is proposed that CPAR 3 Qinghai Project may host the conference in 2022 in Qinghai Province (such as Haiyan or Qilian county).

To develop technical standards/protocols on biodiversity monitoring in Qinghai‐Tibetan Plateau, the at least 10 key flag species will be effectively and regularly monitored.

To organize training workshop(s) on biodiversity conservation in Qinghai‐Tibetan Plateau by using the some modules developed through CPAR 3 especially best management practices of Qinghai Lake NNR and Qilian Mountains NNR for the PA managers, technical staff and general staff.

6. CHAPTER 6 PA CAPACITY BUILDING AND TRAINING (PROJECT DESIGN)

Necessary and aims of training and Capacity Building

The problems related to PA conservation that need to be urgently addressed include: poor coordination among various sectors on PA administration, poor capacity in PA management, poor awareness of the policy‐makers, managers and users on PA conservation, and poor capacity in terms of S&T support on PA conservation. All these problems are directly associated with the poor capacity in PA conservation and management. Under such context, enhancing the management capacity of PA conservation is defined to be a primary task for PA conservation, and a key measure to ensure the GEF project implementation and achieve its expected objectives.

PA‐related training and capacity building is mainly aimed to:

Enhance the awareness of policy‐makers and managers and update their knowledge and ideas on PA conservation;

Improve the management approaches on PA conservation, such as nature reserve management plan, community co‐management, nature reserve fund‐raising and law enforcement capacity;

Improve the skills of the PA managers in terms of monitoring, survey, patrolling, etc.

Each training course or study tour needs to address the following key questions:.

What kinds of knowledge and skills do staff need to fulfill their functions and responsibilities?

What accreditation process do we need (e.g. university degree, short course (internal and external), secondment, etc. for the staff?

How village level accreditation, provincial level accreditation, national level accreditation could be addressed in the C‐PAR program?

In the C‐PAR program, it is clearly stated that 5000 persons need to be trained. At least 750 persons need to be trained by CPAR3. Proposed numbers are as Table 10:


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Table 10: Suggested training programme and number of staff in CPAR 3 Qinghai Project

Training programme Persons to be trained in the project

International training 10

Domestic knowledge transfer 25

Training of trainers (ToT) 25

Site level training 160

Social inclusion, gender, community development 160

E‐learning 360

Training of PMO staff and consultants 10

TOTAL 750

6.1 Training modules for PAs

Generally, the training on governmental officials, PA manager, technical staff and general staff should combine study‐ tours with short‐term training and workshops courses, nevertheless, the training for research and monitoring staff, patrolling staff, and public and environmental practitioner should give priority to short‐term training courses and supplement with field‐trips or study –tours and workshops.

The training target group and trainees should well balance the gender, ages, and competence with fair equity. As to the trainees, the training should be regarded as additional errands without self‐motivation for learning. The selection of trainees should fully consider the PA staff competence and training needs of the specific training topics with clear selection criteria.

According to Overall Plan of Development and Management of National Park (issued by the Office of State Council on 26 Sept 2017), “Based on the colleges and universities, enterprises and institutions to build a series of education and training bases for NPs”(Article 19).

The training base would have at least 4 pillars, a qualified training team, up‐to‐date training materials (training manuals or guide books), good facility including classroom, dormitory, and field excursion, and training procedures including recruitment of trainers and trainees, evaluation, certificates and training summary reports. Training summary report needs to include training itinerary, training materials (slides, photos, training result survey forms, inspection tour reports, investigation results and information feedback forms, training evaluation report).

The good training course would include (1) class activities, such as lectures, individual and group assignments/exercises, discussions, role plays/games, and case studies; (2) Field Activities for staff exposure to various PA management techniques and to foster mutual learning, such as exercises on PA values and wise use models, stakeholder interviews, and test of technical approaches for monitoring and restoration; (3) End outputs of the training should be also clearly defined at the beginning of the training course, such as a work plan, fundraising proposal or a monitoring report.

A proposed output of the CPAR 3 Qinghai Child Project is：At least 4 t training modules could be developed through summarizing the best management practices of Qinghai Lake NNR and Qilian Mountains NNR with 4 above‐mentioned pillars and provide training modules to whole PAs in Qinghai, and Qinghai‐Tibetan Plateau Biodiversity Conservation Network. The training modules may cover PA competence standards, TOT on biodiversity monitoring and application of new techniques, knowledge related to prevention of wildlife damage. The training base could be jointly established with some key potential partners, such as Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Beijing Forest University, Qinghai University, Chinese Academy of Environmental Sciences for to deliver trainings, available courses and certification programmes.

6.2 Training programme design for CPAR 3 Qinghai Child Project

Capacity building for TRS NP Bureau on project management, knowledge management system improvement, staff and eco‐position competency standard development, public communication and volunteer management


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etc, Especially international project coordination and management. a manager position based in TRS NP Bureau for GEF‐UNDP project will need to be supported by CPAR during project implementation period.

Based on the agreed competency standards, a training programme will be developed with implementation of a series of training workshops and/or courses supported. Several different training targets have already been identified including biodiversity monitoring, law enforcement techniques, community‐based conservation and co‐management approaches to conservation.

Training program and related curriculum development including two types. One is professionalized NP staff training curriculum and the other is that community eco‐position training curriculum via video curriculum approach content including Monitoring and patrolling, comprehensive law enforcement,

Public engagement and environment education, eg. establishing related communications and education platform including audiences in Qinghai and China and the world.

(1) INTERNATIONAL TRAINING AND STUDY TOURS (AT NATIONAL AND PROVINCIAL LEVELS)

These training activities generally involve high level officials and managers from national and provincial authorities, and in some cases, leaders from NPs or PAs take part in such activities. Due to state policy restrictions on officials’ travelling abroad, these international training and study tours do not involve various sectors. If various regions are involved, these activities are conducted within a province as much as possible, and within the framework of a child project. The reason behind this is that the foreign affairs authorities have strict requirement on the management of international training and study tours that involve various sectors and regions.

The training programme is delivered by means of training courses and/or symposiums, for technical and management staff from national and provincial management‐related agencies, local forestry management‐related agencies and the PAs. The training activities is targeted on management staff at the provincial and site levels, as a basis for enhanced performance. In Gansu Province, the target countries of the international tour may include US, European, Australia and South East Asia countries.

In order to achieve the goals and objectives of the project and given actual situations, the training will be conducted in both overseas and domestic by emphasizing on case study and best practices rather than intensive theoretical study.

(2) FACE‐TO‐FACE ON‐JOB SHORT‐TERM TRAINING COURSES

At present, the training activities are generally organized by environmental protection, forestry or marine agencies, targeting local institutions or PAs under their jurisdiction. In general, they do not target trainees outside their systems. Most of the trainers are senior staff from its system or university teachers who have close relationship with this system. Topics of the training activities are often focused on the near‐term work or missions. While the benefit of this kind of training mechanism is that it is very relevant and practical, the disadvantage is that the training duration is too short (generally no more than three days). Most of these training activities just focus on short‐term objectives (short‐term work, within the year), and are rather closed (lack of interaction with other sectors), making it difficult for trainees to acquire knowledge in a systematic manner and to improve their skills. Moreover, most of the trainees are managers, while technicians and ordinary staff often do not have opportunities of attending such training activities.

(3) TRAINING OF TRAINERS (TOT)

Training of trainers: According to community work needs of PAs, the trainees can be PA staff responsible for publicity and education activities, or other staff who can conduct training activities in NP and NRs (e.g. staff from local colleges and universities or staff from training providers). These trainees can conduct professional training activities for the communities around NPs. They include PA Rangers, NP tour guides and community leaders. The training needs can cover PA management regulation, guide tour and interpretation, biodiversity monitoring and wildlife rescue, among others.


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A dozen of training methods were effectively used, including lectures, group discussion, role play, games, energize, pair presentation, group presentation, one‐week evaluation, group evaluation. The final output is a group presentation of a training design on wetland management in selected area.

(4) TRAINING OF PMO STAFF

There is frequently an assumption in projects that project personnel (the PMO) should not benefit from any training and capacity building provided by the project. However, investment in human resources is almost always cost‐effective and it is unreasonable to assume that the PMO will necessarily have the requisite set of skills to prosecute a project. Assessing the PMOs skills and tools for facilitation and provide a targeted training programme introducing a range of tools, methodologies and approaches to participatory problem‐solving and planning and facilitation.

Capacity building of PMO(s) at the provincial level: Use the opportunity to build the capacity of the project management officers at the provincial level (such as Qinghai, Gansu, Sichuan) and other sectors can also be included. Based upon the training received by the PMO and their existing skills there is an opportunity to multiply the effect across a larger area either by including them in the training (recommendation 5) or by providing a programme of training to the provincial PMOs.

(5) TRAINING FOR COMMUNITY RANGERS

Introducing co‐management scheme for local Tibet communities in Qinghai Province, and promote alternative livelihoods program to reduce the grazing pressure and maintain biodiversity patterns and processes, while addressing the socio economic needs of PA residents and adjacent communities through sustainable pastoralism, ecotourism promotion and training for local community benefit, wetland conservation and healthy economies.

Community co-management operational manual was developed by national co-management specialists

Community co-management monitoring and patrolling manual was developed by national co-management specialists and was reviewed in a panel meeting on Dec. 19th. Then, the comments and suggestions were sent to the specialist for revision.

Community training target group may includes community rangers in pilot sites, community leaders, NGO, farmer cooperatives, women's association etc. According to the NP management needs, the training topics at least including participatory community development planning, participatory monitoring, marketing, eco‐tourism and tour guide.

(5) E‐LEARNING

E‐Learning is an effective model of training. Taking into account of time and budget constraints of the C‐PAR program, it would likely be more reasonable to identify existing national (and international) online learning modules and to develop a system that links these to a competence based professional development approach. It is necessary to develop on‐line learning module in Chinese for PA managers, technical staff and general staff with certification system for various skill grades of PA management;

However, this training model is not familiar to NPs or PAs. For this reason, it is important to design a series of E‐Learning training activities and conduct some administrative innovation. For instance, according to the NP competence and needs of training skills, NPs should develop specific requirement on competence s, E‐Learning training time and training assessment (including training programs as part of annual personnel performance assessment) , etc. E‐Learning training program lasting for 4‐6 months can be implemented (referring to the practice of NPs in the USA), and the E‐Learning training certificates can be recognized by NPs.

E‐learning is characterized as following:

Distance education, which can provide training for more PA practitioners Trainers (teachers) are not subject to the restrictions of time and place. Famous experts and PA

senior practitioners can be invited to give lectures Design of training needs can be more systematic and comprehensive, which can produce a practical


Page 23

effect Can be integrated with face‐to‐face training activities for face‐to‐face instruction and on‐site

practice Should be closely linked with competence /conditions Assignments and examinations after the training, and post‐training assessment should be followed The training certificates issued should be recognized by the government authorities for the trainees’

qualification and post/technical title promotion The teaching materials for systematic training can be updated in time with the changes of conditions

and missions

Proposed Output : Development of e‐learning and academic training courses to deliver these best practices to PA managers.

Based on accepted competence standards, best practices and training needs assessments of the other child projects, develop a series of training modules for use is e‐learning programmes and more formal training centres. Based on the identification of training needs and determination of competence standards, the e‐learning modules could be developed for professional development programmes and training modules.

Please note that the online learning is not enough in itself, and would need to be supported by onsite training, which could be coordinated and make use of materials developed at the national/programme level).

(6) FORMAL EDUCATION AND OTHER SMALL GROUP TRAINING

Support for further development of post‐graduate training opportunities in the province is also encouraged. When institutional capacity is sufficiently developed (e.g., at Qinghai University) to deliver relevant workshops, courses and other learning opportunities in conservation, wildlife management, community development, local governance, etc., the forestry department and other relevant government departments would send PA and other staff for upgrading and/or they would target graduates from this [Training] Project for recruitment. The short courses and advanced courses developed for PA Management Training could be used in the development of a master’s degree offered by a local university.

Capacity building of PMO(s) at the provincial level: Use the opportunity to build the capacity of the project management officers at the provincial level (such as Gansu) and other sectors can also be included. Based upon the training received by the PMO and their existing skills there is an opportunity to multiply the effect across a larger area either by including them in the training or by providing a programme of training to the provincial PMOs.

In the long term a Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) programme could be started with some government funding that supports research in National Parks.

On‐the‐job training workshop on research methods and models could be organized with targeting young scientists and post‐docs working on the project.

Nature school need to be developed and well‐functioned with primary school to promote the students’ awareness of ecological conservation.

6.3 Monitoring and Evaluation of the training activities

The following monitoring and evaluation approaches will be used:

Pre‐course Evaluation Determination of learning expectations through informal discussions using card clustering

Issuing of questionnaires to participants for daily assessment of course delivery and materials

On‐course Evaluation Weekly assessment of questionnaires filled in by participants

Informal discussion of learning expectations met and those not yet met

Observation of participant response and recommendations

Post‐course Evaluation Informal discussion of achievement of learning expectations

A test to check levels of understanding of the key aspects of the course


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Follow‐up Evaluation Follow up questionnaire to check on wetland values and wise use models

Maintain contact for feedback on improvement of the course

Employer based competence assessment

20‐Annex N1_Institutional Capacity Needs Assessment and Capacity Development Scorecards_PIMS 5690

CPAR3_5Apr2018.docx Page 25

APPENDICES

Appendix 1 Protected Area Administration Capacity Development Scorecard ( in both

English and Chinese)

See separate Excel file


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Appendix 2 CPAR Training need questionnaire ( in both English and Chinese)

UNDP‐GEF China Protected Area Reform Programme

Training need questionnaire

The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) is organizing experts at home and abroad in the preparation of the Project Document, the Ministry of Environmental Protection, the State Oceanic Administration, the Gansu Provincial Forestry Department and the Forestry Department of Qinghai Province. Implementation partner. Institutional and capacity development, as an integral part of the project, is critical to ensuring the achievement of project objectives. In order to better design the training activities related to the project, we initiate the training needs questionnaire (See list of institutions for investigation). We hope to reflect the training needs of the upper management institutions and the protected areas. The questionnaire was conducted by anonymous.

Please fill in the form or send an email to Prof. Xiubo Yu. (Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural

Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, E‐mail：[email protected])。

Part 1. Basic information（Please note“√”in □）

1 Gender： □Male □Female

2 Age：

□Under 30 years old □31‐40 years old □41‐50 years old □More than 50 years old

3 Education： □PhD □Master □Bachelor □Technical college □High school □Others

4 Type of protection（

multiple choices）

□National park □NNR □PNR □community Protect Area□Others（please

note）：

5 Authorities of protected area

□State Forestry Administration □Ministry of Environmental Protection □State Oceanic Administration □Ministry of Agriculture □others

6 Expected training duration

□3‐5 days（1week） □10 days（2weeks） □1 month □4‐6months（

online schools）□Others

7

Expected training approaches (multiple choices, not more than

3）

□Inviting experts to give lectures

□Producing multi‐media lectures

□Transferring technical know‐how in field practice

□Workshops □International study tours

□Domestic study tours □Study for academic degree

□ Learning of online and distance education programs □Others

8 Expected number of trainees

□<10人 □10‐20 □20‐30 □30‐50 □No restriction on the number

9 Certification of training experience

□Certificate of completion □Certificate of training □Diploma of online

schools □Others：

10 Child project

□National Park Child project □Gansu Child project □Qinghai Child project □Chinese White Dolphin Child project □ others Child project

Part 2. competence necessary（Please note“√”in □）

11 Nature of posts □Managerial post（going to 12）□Technical （going to 13）□General

posts （going to 14）

12 Managerial post □Main leaders □Middle cadre（□Legislation and policy □Planning and finance □Resource protection and management □Wildlife conservation and natural reserve management □Human resources management □Public


Page 27

education □Protection station management □Other personnel（please note

））

13 Technical □Scientific research and monitoring staff □Law enforcement patrolling staff

□Public education staff □Eco‐tourism manager □Other staff（please note）

14 General posts

□Internal office worker □Financial staff □Management staff at grassroot

level (section member) □Ecological public service post □Other staff（please

note）

15 Duration of working

in the post □Less than 3 years □3‐5 years □5‐10 years □10 years or more

What competence are necessary for the post? Please “√” in this op on, and the very important should not more than 5.

Part 3. training needs Questionnaire

Please “√” in this op on, and the Very necessary should not more than 5.

No. Competence necessary for the post Very important

important Unimport

ant

16 policies and regulations related to protected area management

17 Protected area development plan and annual plan

18 Institutional development, operation and sector

cooperation（Partnerships）

19 Application, implementation and management of conservation projects

20 Training on Human resources management and team building

11 Asset and Financial Management (Budget Management and Financial Analysis)

22 Protected area resources protection and management

23 File management and report preparation

24 Publicity, education and public awareness

24 Basic knowledge on biodiversity conservation

26 Biodiversity monitoring and survey

27 Law enforcement patrol and community co‐management

28 Visitor management and tourist guide

29 Application of office software and equipment

30 Others（please note）

No. Training needs Very necessary

Necessary Not necessary



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Any Comments and suggestions for training plans of UNDP‐GEF China Protected Area Reform Programme：

Please write down your email address, if you would like to receive the training need analysis report from the questionnaire survey. .

Thanks a lot！

Attached Table Tasks for training need questionnaire survey
















47 File documentation (and management)

48 Application of computer office software




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Name of Child projects

The main demonstration areas of the child project

Category of staff for the survey

National parks

Sanjiangyuan National Park Bureau: Bureau of leadership, director, general staff

Yangtze River source, the Yellow River source and the Lancang River source parks: Park leadership, middle‐level cadres, general staff

Ecological Public Service Personnel

Panda National Park Sichuan Forestry Department: Bureau of leadership, director, general staff

Demonstration protected areas: Protected area leaders, middle‐level cadres, general staff


Xianju National Park Bureau: Bureau of leadership, director, general staff

Qinghai

Qinghai lake NNR

Qilianshan PNR

Qinghai Forestry Department: Bureau of leadership, director, officers

County Forestry Bureau (Qilian County and other counties): county bureau leadership, staff



Gansu

Yuhe NNR

Axia PNR

Chagangliang PNR

Duoer PNR

Gansu Provincial Forestry Department: Bureau of leadership, director, officers

Bailongjiang Forestry Administration: resource office, office and other personnel

Gansu Endangered Animal Protection Center: Center Leader and general taff



Chinese White Dolphin

Pearl River Estuary Chinese White Dolphin NNR

Jiangmen Chinese White Dolphin NR

Rugong NNR

Sanjiangkou Mangrove NNR

Beihai Marine Fishery Bureau, Qinzhou Marine Fishery Bureau and Zhuhai Marine Fishery Bureau: Bureau leaders and employees


（Note：The number of questionnaires marked in parentheses is the minimum number of requests, the more

the better!）


Page 30

Appendix 2 CPAR Training need questionnaire (in Chinese)

UNDP-GEF中国保护地改革项目（China Protected Area Reform Programme）

培训需求调查问卷

联合国开发计划署（UNDP）正组织国内外专家在编写“中国保护地改革项目实施文件”

（Project Document），环保部、国家海洋局、甘肃省林业厅、青海省林业厅等为本项目的国

内实施伙伴。作为该项目的组成部分，机构与能力发展对确保实现项目目标至关重要。为了更

好地设计本项目培训相关活动，特组织本次培训需求调查问卷（调查的机构名单见附件），希

望更真实地反映保护地上级管理机构及保护地从业人员的培训需求。本问卷调查采用无记名方

式。调查问卷请现场填写或发邮件给于秀波研究员（单位：中国科学院地理科学与资源研究

所，邮箱地址：[email protected]）。

一、基本信息（请在所选内容的□中划“√”） 1 性别： □男 □女 2 年龄： □30岁以下 □31－40岁 □41－50岁 □51岁以上 3 学历： □博士 □硕士 □本科 □大专 □高中 □其他 4 所涉及的保护地类

型（可多选） □国家公园 □国家级自然保护区 □省级自然保护区 □保护小区 □其它（请注明）：

5 保护地主管部门 □林业 □环保 □海洋 □农业 □其他 6

期望培训时长 □3-5天（1周以内） □10天（2周） □1个月 □4-6个月（限网校

）□其他 7

培训方式（不超过3项）

□邀请专家讲课 □制作多媒体讲义 □野外实践传授技术 □研

讨会 □国外考察学习 □国内考察学习 □学位学习 □ 网校远程

课程学习 □其他 8 参加培训人数 □<10人 □10-20人 □20-30人 □30-50人 □人数不限 9 培训经历证书 □结业证 □培训证书 □网校学历证明 □其它： 10 所涉及的GEF子项

目 □国家公园子项目 □甘肃子项目 □青海子项目 □ 中华白海豚子

项目 □ 其他项目

二、岗位能力与技能（请在所选内容的□中划“√”）

11 岗位性质 □管理岗位（填写第12项）□技术岗位（填写第13项）□普通岗位（填写第14项）

12 管理岗位 □主要领导 □中层干部（□法规与政策 □规划、计划与财务 □资源保护与管理 □野生动物保护与保护区管理 □人事管理 □ 法规与政策 □宣传教育 □管护站管理 □其他人员（请注明）

13 技术岗位 □科研监测人员 □执法巡护人员 □公众宣教人员 □生态旅游管

理 □其他人员（请注明）

14 普通岗位 □办公室内勤 □财务人员 □ 基层管理人员（科员）□生态公益

岗位 □其他人员（请注明） 15 从事该岗位时间 □3年一下 □3-5年 □5-10年 □10年以上

为了做好本岗位工作，你认为应具备哪些技能？请根据按重要程度划“√”，其中非常

重要的不超过5项。

序号应具备的岗位能力与技能非常重要重要不重要 16 保护地管理政策、法规

17 保护地发展规划与年度计划


Page 31

三、培训需求调查表请在您认为需要培训的内容后按需求程度划“√”，其中“非常需要”不超过5个。

您对GEF中国保护地改革项目可开展培训的建议：如果你同意，可以留下您的电子邮箱。非常感谢您的支持！

附表培训任职条件与培训需求调查要求一栏表

18 机构发展、运作与部门合作（伙伴关系）

19 保护工程项目申报、实施与管理

20 人力资源管理与团队建设培训

11 资产与财务管理（包括预算管理与财务分析）

22 保护地资源保护与管理

23 档案管理与报告编写

24 宣传、教育与公众意识

24 生物多样性保护的基础知识

26 生物多样性监测与调查

27 执法巡护与社区共管

28 游客管理与导览

29 办公软件与仪器设备使用

30 其他技能（请注明）

序号培训内容非常需要需要不需要 31 国家保护地政策及有关的法律法规

32 项目开发与申报、项目周期管理

33 保护地发展规划、管理计划与筹资计划编制

34 保护地保护工程项目申报、实施与管理

35 保护地资产与财务管理

36 人力资源管理与员工培训

37 保护地资源管理与可持续利用

38 生物多样性保护的理论基础知识

39 野生动物野外监测与野外调查方法

40 保护地巡护、执法程序与技巧

41 保护地监测巡护报告编写

42 栖息地修复与重建技术与模式

43 保护地社区参与和社区共管方法

44 保护地生态旅游管理与游客导览

45 新技术在湿地保护中的应用（无人机、热红外相

机）

46 保护地宣传与自然教育

47 档案管理

48 计算机办公软件的应用

49 其他（请注明）

50 其他（请注明）


Page 32

子项目名称项目的主要示范区填表对象

国家公园子

项目

三江源国家公园局机关：局领导、处领导、科员长江源、黄河源和澜沧江源等三个园区（每个园

区 8 份）：园区领导、、中层干部、普通员工生态公益岗位人员

大熊猫国家公园四川省林业厅：局领导、处领导、科员示范保护区（每个保护区 8 份）：保护区领导、

中层干部、普通员工生态公益岗位人员（10 份）

仙居国家公园局机关：局领导、中层干部、科员

青海子项目

青海湖国家级自然保护

区祁连山自然保护区

青海省林业厅：局领导、处领导、科员县林业局（祁连县等项目县）：县局领导、员工示范保护区：保护区领导、中层干部、普通员工生态公益岗位人员

甘肃子项目

裕河自然保护区阿夏自然保护区插岗梁自然保护区多尔自然保护区

甘肃省林业厅：局领导、处领导、科员白龙江林业管理局：资源处、办公室等人员甘肃濒危动物保护中心：中心领导及员工示范保护区：保护区领导、中层干部、普通员工公益林管护员

中华白海豚

子项目

珠江口中华白海豚保护

区江门中华白海豚自然保

护区儒艮国家级保护区三口红树林国家级自然

保护区

北海海洋渔业局、钦州海洋渔业局和珠海海洋渔

业局：局领导与员工示范保护区：保护区领导、中层干部、普通员工

（注释：括号内所标注的问卷份数数是最低份数需求，多多益善！）

附件Appendix 1 to

Annex N

评估单位：Assessment Unit: 青海省林业厅动管局 Wildlife and Nature Reserve Conservation Bureau of Qinghai Forest Department (WNRCB)

评估日期：Date of Assessment: 7/31/2017 31 Jul 2017

战略支持领域Strategic Area of

Support问题Issue

成果指标Outcome Indicators

目标得分Target Score

得分的评估意见Evaluative Comments for the Score

基本上没有保护区的实施日程；There is essentially no protected area agenda;

0

部分人员或机构积极地寻求制定保护区议程，但他们的影响力太小；There are some persons or institutions actively pursuing a protected area agenda but they have little effect or influence;

1

目前已有很多的保护区支持者推动保护区议程，但还需要更多的支持者；There are a number of protected area champions that drive the protected area agenda, but more is needed;

2

目前有足够数量的有能力的“支持者”和“领导者”，他们能够有效地推动保护区议程。There are an adequate number of able "champions" and "leaders" effectively driving forwards a protected area agenda.

3

没有建立保护区的法律框架；There is no legal framework for protected areas;

0

部分建立了保护区的法律框架，但仍存在许多不足；There is a partial legal framework for protected areas but it has many inadequacies;

1

建立了一个合理的保护区法律框架，但存在部分缺陷和不足；There is a reasonable legal framework for protected areas but it has a few weaknesses and gaps;

2

针对保护区的建立和管理拥有明确、强有力的法律授权。There is a strong and clear legal mandate for the establishment and management of protected areas.

3

保护区管理机构没有制定规划或战略；Protected area institutions have no plans or strategies;

0

保护区管理机构制定了战略和规划，但这些战略和规划是在以前很早时间制定的，不再进行更新，或者纯粹按照从上至下的方式编制的；Protected area institutions do have strategies and plans, but these are old and no longer up to date or were prepared in a totally top-down fashion; 1

青海省林业厅是青海省自然保护区的主要管理部门，野生动物与自然保护区管理局具体负责林业厅所属的自然保护区的管理。鉴于青海省在中国自然保护中的所处于的重要且独特的位置，境内的自然保护区已纳入青海省管理的议事日程。Qinghai Forestry Department (QFD) is the

competent authority of nature reserves (NRs) in Qinghai

Province, while Wildlife and Nature Reserve Conservation

Bureau of Qinghai Forestry Department (WNRCB) is

responsible for the specific management of NRs under QFD.

Given the important and unique position of Qinghai in China's

conservation efforts, all the NRs within the province have

been included the agenda of Qinghai Province.

2.针对保护区的建立和管理有明确和强有力的法律授权There is a strong and clear legal mandate for the establishment and management of protected areas 2

国家对自然保护区建立与管理已有明确的法律授权，国家层面有《野生动植物保护法》和《自然保护区管理条例》；省级层面有《青海省生物多样性保护战略与行动计划》、《三江源国家公园条例》等。青海省已建立了一个合理的保护区法律框架。祁连山保护区出现的开矿等事件说明，青海省保护区在立法方面还存在部分缺陷和不足。There is a clear legal mandate for the establishment and

management of protected areas: Law of Wildlife Protection

and Regulations on Nature Reserves at national level; Qinghai

Biodiversity Conservation Strategy and Action Plan, and

3

3

青海省环保厅负责省级自然保护区的评选，环保厅、林业厅等部门共同制定了《青海省生物多样性保护区战略和行动计划》，林业厅野生动物管理局等负责指导并审核所主管的保护区制定总体规划和年度计划，这些计划总体可以得到实践。当然，保护区总体规划等多委托专业资质机构制定，多采用自上而下的方式制定，保护区参与性较高，但其他相关部门和周边社区参与程度较低。Qinghai

( )

评估人员：张毓范隆庆于秀波 Yu Zhang, Longqing Fan， Xiubo YuAssessors:

基准得分：Baseline Score:

1. 法规、战略和计划的能力设计和制定各种政策Capacity to conceptualize and formulate policies, legislations, strategies and programmes

1. 保护区的实施议程得到有效的支持/推动The protected area agenda is being effectively championed / driven forward

2

3.有一家或多家机构负责保护区的战略制定和规划。There is an institution or institutions responsible for protected areas able to strategize and plan.

保护地管理机构能力发展记分卡Protected Area Administration Capacity Development Scorecard

21‐Copy of Annex N2_Protected Area Administration Capacity Development Scorecard _PIMS 5690 CPAR3_5Apr2018.xlsx Page 1 of 10


Support问题Issue





多家保护区管理机构制定了更新其战略和规划的部分机制，但不是经常性的，或者是按照从上至下方式制定的，未开展恰当的磋商；Protected area institutions have some sort of mechanism to update their strategies and plans, but this is irregular or is done in a largely top-down fashion without proper consultation; 2

保护区管理机构拥有相关、通过参与式方式编制并且定期得到更新的战略和规划。Protected area institutions have relevant, participatorially prepared, regularly updated strategies and plans.

3

Sub-total Area 1: 9 5 8

56% 89%

总体缺乏保护区规划管理技能；There is a general lack of planning and management skills;

0

拥有部分技能，但数量总体不足，无法确保保护区的有效规划管理；Some skills exist but in largely insufficient quantities to guarantee effective planning and management;

1

拥有用于保护区有效规划管理的必要技能，但数量不够，难以获取；Necessary skills for effective protected area management and planning do exist but are stretched and not easily available;

2

用于保护区有效规划管理的所有必要技能数量足够，且可以方便地获取到。Adequate quantities of the full range of skills necessary for effective protected area planning and management are easily available

3

保护区没有或者很少，且仅仅覆盖了很小部分的栖息地和生态系统；No or very few protected area exist and they cover only a small portion of the habitats and ecosystems;

0

保护区系统的数量和地域覆盖都分布不均衡，在代表性方面存在许多缺口；Protected area system is patchy both in number and geographical coverage and has many gaps in terms of representativeness;

1

保护区系统覆盖了具有合理代表性的主要栖息地和生态系统，但仍存在部分缺口，并非所有组成部分的面积都足够大；Protected area system is covering a reasonably representative sample of the major habitats and ecosystems, but still presents some gaps and not all elements are of viable size; 2

保护区包括所有适宜空间尺度上具有代表性的主要栖息地和生态系统。The protected areas includes viable representative examples of all the major habitats and ecosystems of appropriate geographical scale.

3

1

Environmental Protection Department (QEPD) is responsible

for the selection of provincial nature reserves. QEPD and QFD,

together with other agencies, jointly developed Qinghai

Biodiversity Conservation Strategy and Action Plan. WNRCB

and other administrations are in charge of guiding and

reviewing the master plans and annual plans developed by

protected areas under their jurisdiction. In general, these

plans can be implemented. Most of the master plans for the

protected areas are entrusted to professional organizations

with relevant qualifications to develop. These plans are

developed in a largely top‐down fashion, with high

2

5.建立了保护区体系There are protected area systems

1

2.实施各种政策、法规、战略和计划的能力Capacity to implement policies, legislation, strategies and programmes

4. 具有充足的保护区规划管理技能There are adequate skills for protected area planning and management

2

国家级自然保护区和省级自然保护区总体规划多由主管部门委托具有规划资质的专业技术机构制定，这些专业技术机构具有规划管理的基本技能。但针对青海省众多的野生动物和多样化的生态系统，例如祁连山等地的雪豹保护，这些机构在规划上的技能仍需要提高。The master plans of

NNRs and PNRs are mostly entrusted by competent

authorities to the professional institutions with planning

qualification for development. These professional institutions

have basic skills of NR planning and management. However,

as for many wildlife and diverse ecosystems in Qinghai,

including the protection of snow leopard in Qilian Mountains,

the skills of these institutions in planning still need to be

improved.

2

青海省初步建立了保护区体系，其中包括三江源国家公园、三江源自然保护区、青海湖自然保护区等，涵盖了雪豹、藏羚羊、普氏羚羊、黑颈鹤等保护动物及湿地等生态系统类型。2017年8月，作为三江源国家公园的一部分，可可西里成功申报世界自然遗产。另外，青海湖、扎陵湖‐

鄂陵湖等被列入国际重要湿地名录。根据GEF5三江源生物多样性保护项目的研究结果，青海省在自然保护区空间布局上仍存在一定的空缺，也存在着同一块保护地由多个部门在管理等情况。The protected area system has been

initially put in place in Qinghai, including Sanjiangyuan

National Park, Sanjiangyuan NR, and Qinghai Lake NR. The

system covers many wildlife such as snow leopard, Tibetan

antelope, Przevalski's gazelle and black‐necked crane, as well

as diverse ecosystems including wetland. In August 2017,

Kekexili, as part of Sanjiangyuan National Park, was

successfully inscribed as a world natural heritage site. In

addition, Qinghai Lake NR and Zhaling Lake‐Eling Lake NR

were listed as Ramsar sites. However, according to the

3



Support问题Issue





保护区管理机构没有监管权；There is no oversight at all of protected area institutions;

0

有部分监管，但仅是间接的监管，并且不透明；There is some oversight, but only indirectly and in a non-transparent manner;

1

建立了合理的监管机制，可以提供定期的审查，但缺乏透明度（非独立，或者是内部的监管机制）There is a reasonable oversight mechanism in place providing for regular review but lacks in transparency (e.g. is not independent or is internalized) ;

2

保护区管理机构拥有完全透明的监管权。There is a fully transparent oversight authority for the protected areas institutions.

3

保护区管理完全缺乏领导力；Protected area institutions have a total lack of leadership;

0

保护区管理机构存在，但领导力薄弱，且提供的指导很少；Protected area institutions exist but leadership is weak and provides little guidance;

1

部分保护区管理机构拥有较为强有力的领导力，但仍需进一步得到增强；Some protected area institutions have reasonably strong leadership but there is still need for improvement;

2

保护区管理机构得到有效领导。Protected area institutions are effectively led.

3

保护区未制定管理计划；Protected areas have no management plans;

0

部分保护区建立了最新的管理计划，但这些管理计划通常并不全面，并且未通过参与式方法进行编制；Some protected areas have up-to-date management plans but they are typically not comprehensive and were not participatorially prepared;

1

绝大多数的保护区建立了管理计划，不过部分管理计划时间太久，未通过参与式方法编制，或者不够全面；Most Protected Areas have management plans though some are old, not participatorially prepared or are less than comprehensive;

2

每个保护区都已建立了定期更新，通过参与式方式编制了综合全面的管理计划。Every protected area has a regularly updated, participatorially prepared, comprehensive management plan.

3

人力资源不合格并且未得到激励；Human resources are poorly qualified and unmotivated;

0

人力资源合格状况参差不齐，部分人员非常合格，但许多人员不合格，并且总体未得到激励；Human resources qualification is spotty, with some well qualified, but many only poorly and in general unmotivated;

1

9. 人力资源合格并受到良好的激励Human resources are well qualified and motivated

1

保护区人力资源状况参差不齐，青海湖保护区、三江源保护区等人员均通过公开招聘等渠道入职，而且得到良好激励。但仍有许多保护区（如祁连山保护区）等人员由国有林场工人转岗成为保护区人员，尚缺乏管理能力和监测等基本技能。Human resources qualification of the protected

areas is spotty. As for Qinghai Lake NR and Sanjiangyuan NR,

th i t ff it d th h d ll2

6.保护区管理机构拥有完全透明的监管权There is a fully transparent oversight authority (there are fully transparent oversight authorities) for the protected areas institutions 1

保护区管理机构，已建立了合理的监管机制，可以对保护区进行有效监管，基本可以提供定期审查。A reasonable

oversight mechanism has been put in place by the protected

area institutions, which can provide effective oversight and

regular review of the protected areas.

2

7. 保护区管理机构得到有效的领导Protected area institutions are effectively led

2

按照国家机构“三定”方案，保护区管理机构总体可以有效领导保护区，但仍存在差异。国家级和省级自然保护区的领导力较强，但也不平衡，例如，祁连山自然保护区的边界上不清楚，隆宝自然保护区管理机构薄弱，由玉树市林业局代管。动管局仍需要进一步加强对保护区的有效领导与管理。According to the national policy of defining

responsibilities, internal organizations and staffing, the

protected area institutions can effectively lead the protected

areas in general, although there exist some differences.

Despite the fact that NNR and PNR institutions have strong

leadership, there are some gaps. For instance, the boundary

3

8. 保护区定期更新和通过参与式方式编制综合全面的管理计划Protected areas have regularly updated, participatorially prepared, comprehensive management plans

2

国家层面对自然保护区管理没有制定自然保护区管理计划的要求，但在GEF青海三江源生物多样性项目的支持下，林业厅所属的三江源保护区、青海湖保护区等11个自然保护区均采用参与式方法制定自然保护区管理计划。这些管理计划仍需要定期更新。Although no requirement has been

made at the national level on the development of

management plans for nature reserves, 11 NRs including

Sanjiangyuan, Qinghai Lake NRs under QFD have developed

their management plans through participatory approach with

the help of GEF Qinghai Sanjiangyuan Biodiversity

Conservation Project. Nontheless, these management plans

still need to be regularly updated.

3



Support问题Issue





人力资源总体合格，但许多人员缺乏激励，或者受到激励的人员并不完全合格；HR in general reasonably qualified, but many lack in motivation, or those that are motivated are not sufficiently qualified;

2

人力资源合格并且得到良好的激励。Human resources are well qualified and motivated.

3

管理计划很少得到实施；There is very little implementation of management plans;

0

管理计划实施状况不佳，其目标很少得以实现；Management plans are poorly implemented and their objectives are rarely met;

1

管理计划常常得到及时的实施，但也时常出现拖延，部分目标未得以实现；Management plans are usually implemented in a timely manner, though delays typically occur and some objectives are not met;

2

管理计划得到及时实施，可有效实现其目标。Management plans are implemented in a timely manner effectively achieving their objectives.

3

保护区管理机构通常资金严重不足，没有能力调动足够的资源；Protected area institutions typically are severely underfunded and have no capacity to mobilize sufficient resources;

0

保护区管理机构拥有部分资金，能够调动部分人力资源和物资，但不足以有效履行其职责；Protected area institutions have some funding and are able to mobilize some human and material resources but not enough to effectively implement their mandate;

1

保护区管理机构有适当的能力调动资金或其他资源，但这些资源的数量通常不足以令其完全有效地履行其职责；Protected area institutions have reasonable capacity to mobilize funding or other resources but not always in sufficient quantities for fully effective implementation of their mandate;

2

保护区管理机构能够充分调动足够数量的人、财、物资源，可以有效履行其职责。Protected area institutions are able to adequately mobilize sufficient quantity of funding, human and material resources to effectively implement their mandate. 3

保护区管理机构存在，但缺乏管理；While the protected area institution exists it has no management;

0

保护区管理机构的管理总体效率低下，未有效部署其可以利用的资源；Institutional management is largely ineffective and does not deploy efficiently the resources at its disposal;

1

保护区管理机构得到合理的管理，但并非总是得到完全有效的管理，有时无法非常有效地部署其各种资源；The institution(s) is (are) reasonably managed, but not always in a fully effective manner and at times does not deploy its resources in the most efficient way;

2

1 their staff are recruited through open sources, and are well

motivated. However, staff of many protected areas (including

Qilian Mountains NR) are transferred from workers in original

state forest farms, and lack basic skills such as management

and monitoring capacities.

2

10. 管理计划得到及时实施，可有效实现其目标Management plans are implemented in a timely manner effectively achieving their objectives

1

由于缺少国家和省级层面对保护区管理计划制定和实施的要求，保护区也缺少经费保障，管理计划的实施情况不佳，部分管理目标难以实现。通过进一步明确保护区的管理目标，给保护区更多的自主管理权，可以提高保护区管理计划实施的有效性。Management plans are poorly

implemented and some objectives can hardly be met due to

lack of requirement on the development and implementation

of protected area management plans at national and

provincial levels, and due to lack of financial support. It is

necessary to define more clearly the management objectives

of the protected areas, and provide the protected areas with

more self‐management rights so as to improve the

2

11.保护区管理机构能够充分调动足够数量的人、财、物资源，可以有效履行其职责Protected area institutions are able to adequately mobilize sufficient quantity of funding, human and material resources to effectively implement their mandate

1

保护区在人财物等资源方面具有明显的差异。目前正在建立的三江源国家公园由青海省政府直接管理，经费纳入到国家与省财政预算管理，经费相对来说比较充足。青海湖自然保护区调动人财物的能力较强。而隆宝自然保护区等由自治州林业部门等管理，经费不足，调动人财物的能力相对较弱。The protected areas vary greatly in terms of

funding, human and material resources. Sanjiangyuan

National Park, which is being built, is directly under the

management of Qinghai Provincial Government, and its

budget is included in the state and provincial financial budget

plan; therefore, it has adequate funding. Qinghai Lake NR has

a strong capacity to mobilize funding, human and material

resources. However, Longbao NR and other NRs, which are

managed by local forestry authorities, have inadequate

funding and are weak in mobilizing funding, human and

material resources.

2

12.保护区管理机构得到有效管理，能够有效部署其人力、资金和其它资源，并将这些资源发挥最佳效果 Protected area institutions are effectively managed, efficiently deploying their human, financial and other resources to the best effect

2

保护区对人财物等资源管理良好，国家和省对财政资金等管理政策严格，资金使用没有出现过违反财政政策的事件。但资金效率有待提高。Funding, human and material

resources of the protected areas are well managed. The

policies of the central and provincial governments on financial

funds are strictly implemented, and no incidents of voilating

financial policies in funding use have occurred. However, the

efficiency of funding use needs to be improved.3



Support问题Issue





保护区管理机构得到有效管理，能够有效部署其人力、资金和其它资源，并将这些资源发挥最佳效果。The protected area institution is effectively managed, efficiently deploying its human, financial and other resources to the best effect

3

保护区管理机构完全不透明，不对公众负责，并且未得到审计；Protected area institutions totally untransparent, not being held accountable and not audited;

0

保护区管理机构不透明，不是定期得到审计，也不对公众负责；Protected area institutions are not transparent but are occasionally audited without being held publicly accountable;

1

保护区管理机构定期得到审计，在相当程度上对公众负责，但管理体系并不完全透明；Protected area institutions are regularly audited and there is a fair degree of public accountability but the system is not fully transparent;

2

保护区管理机构高度透明，得到充分的审计，并且对公众负责。The Protected area institutions are highly transparent, fully audited, and publicly accountable.

3

保护区没有设立有明确管理权限或职责的牵头管理机构；There is no lead institution or agency with a clear mandate or responsibility for protected areas;

0

有一到多个管理机构负责保护区的管理，但其角色和责任不明确，机制安排存在缺口和重叠现象；There are one or more institutions or agencies dealing with protected areas but roles and responsibilities are unclear and there are gaps and overlaps in the arrangements; 1

有一到多个管理机构负责保护区的管理，其职责比较明确，但仍存在部分缺口和重叠现象；There are one or more institutions or agencies dealing with protected areas, the responsibilities of each are fairly clearly defined, but there are still some gaps and overlaps; 2

保护区管理机构有明确的合法授权以及履行此授权的必要权力。Protected Area institutions have clear legal and institutional mandates and the necessary authority to carry this out.

3

管理法规未得到执行；No enforcement of regulations is taking place;

0

管理法规部分得到执行，但总体没有效果，外部威胁因素仍然存在；Some enforcement of regulations but largely ineffective and external threats remain active;

1

保护区管理法规定期得到执行，但并不完全有效，外部威胁因素有所减少，但并未得到完全消除；Protected area regulations are regularly enforced but are not fully effective and external threats are reduced but not eliminated;

2

保护区管理法规得到高效执行，所有外部威胁因素都已消除。Protected Area regulations are highly effectively enforced and all external threats are negated.

3

13.保护区管理机构高度透明，得到充分的审计，并且对公众负责Protected area institutions are highly transparent, fully audited, and publicly accountable

1

保护区管理透明，每年都要进行年度审计，对国家生态保护项目等有专项审计，领带干部任免进行离任审计。The

protected area institutions are transparent, and are audited

annually. Specific audit is conducted on national ecological

conservation projects, and audit is conducted on officials

before they leave their posts.

2

14. 成立了合法设立，有权履行其职责的保护区管理机构 There are legally designated protected area institutions with the authority to carry out their mandate

1

保护区具有明确的管理部门，多数自然保护区由林业部门主管，部分保护区由环保和农业部门主管。但在部分地区存在多个部门共同管理一个保护地的情况，例如，林业部门和农业水产部门均在扎陵湖‐

鄂陵湖建立的湿地自然保护区和鱼类保护区。The

protected areas have clear lead agencies. While most NRs are

under the management of forestry authorities, other NRs are

managed by environmental protection or agricultural

authorities. In some areas, one protected area is jointly

managed by several agencies. For instance, Zhaling Lake‐Eling

Lake wetland nature reserve and fish protected area is jointly

managed by the forestry and agricultural/fishery agencies.

3

15. Protected areas are effectively protected 保护区得到有效的保护

1

管理法规部分得到执行，但总体没有效果，过牧、开矿和挖虫草等外部威胁因素仍然存在，影响了保护区管理的有效性；Some enforcement of regulations but largely ineffective.

External threats including over‐grazing, mining and digging of

Cordyceps sinensis remain active, which negatively affect the

effectiveness of protected area management.3



Support问题Issue





未制定职业发展轨迹，未提供培训机会；No career tracks are developed and no training opportunities are provided;

0

职业发展轨迹不明确，培训机会很少，未得到透明的管理；Career tracks are weak and training possibilities are few and not managed transparently;

1

制定了明确的职业发展轨迹，并提供了相应的培训；不过，人力资源管理部门的绩效测评体系不够充分；Clear career tracks developed and training available; HR management however has inadequate performance measurement system;

2

个人能够在职业上得到发展。Individuals are able to advance and develop professionally.

3

个人的技能与其职位要求不匹配；Skills of individuals do not match job requirements;

0

个人拥有从事其职位的部分技能，或者技能较差；Individuals have some or poor skills for their jobs;

1

个人拥有合理的技能，但还可以得到进一步的改善，才能与其职位要求达到最佳匹配；Individuals are reasonably skilled but could further improve for optimum match with job requirement;

2

个人拥有胜任其职位的恰当技能。Individuals are appropriately skilled for their jobs.

3

完全没有激励；No motivation at all;

0

激励情况参差不齐，部分人员得到激励，但绝大多数人员未能如此；Motivation uneven, some are but most are not;

1

许多人员得到激励，但并非所有人都是如此；Many individuals are motivated but not all;

2

个人得到高度的激励。Individuals are highly motivated.

3

没有建立相应的机制；No mechanisms exist;

0

建立了部分机制，但无法得到充分的实施，无法提供全部必要的技能培训；Some mechanisms exist but unable to develop enough and unable to provide the full range of skills needed;

1

总体建立了此类机制，但其数量不足，或者无法涵盖所有必要的技能培训；Mechanisms generally exist to develop skilled professionals, but either not enough of them or unable to cover the full range of skills required;

2

建立了相应的机制，可发展足够数量的各种高素质保护区专业人员。There are mechanisms for developing adequate numbers of the full range of highly skilled protected area professionals.

3


42% 79%

17. 个人拥有胜任其职位的恰当技能Individuals are appropriately skilled for their jobs

1

个人技能有待改善，希望通过培训提升个人技能。特别是由国有林场等转岗的人员和生态公益岗位人员，技能较差。即使通过该项目，也难以在项目期能达到“人人都胜任”

的目标。Skills of individuals need to be improved through

training. In particular, the skills of staff who are transferred

from state forest farms and who work for ecological public

interests are poor. Even their skills can be improved through

the training program under this project, it is difficult to meet

the objective that "Everyone can be qualified for his/her post"

2

18. 个人得到高度的激励Individuals are highly motivated

1

缺乏针对性的激励政策，有待改善。Lack of motivation

policies that can meet individuals' specific needs. This

situation needs to be improved.

2

16. 个人能够在职业上得到发展Individuals are able to advance and develop professionally

1

省级保护区管理部门定期开展培训，GEF三江源生物多样性项目也开展了由林业部门所管理的保护区所参加的各类培训活动。但多数培训没有直接不同岗位需求培训，培训的人员还有待进一步增加。Competent authorities of PNRs

organize training activities on a regular basis. As for GEF

Sanjiangyuan Biodiversity Conservation Project, various

training activities have been organized, involving the

protected areas under the management of forestry

authorities. However, most of the training activities do not

focus on the specific needs of different posts, and the number

of trainees still needs to be increased.

希望通过本项目加强保护区员工及生态公益岗位人员的技术培训 It is expected to enhance the technical training for

2

19.建立了恰当的培训、指导和学习体系，可以保持新员工的不断引入There are appropriate systems of training, mentoring, and learning in place to maintain a continuous flow of new staff

1

目前，有岗位在职培训机制和安排，但培训机制较为随机，无法满足保护区发展需要，需要系统地培训和学习机制。On‐job training mechanism and arrangement exists. At

present, the training mechanism is too random to meet the

protected area's development needs. A systematic training

and learning mechanism is required.

2



Support问题Issue





保护区根本没有政治意愿，或者更为糟糕的是，主要的政治意愿与保护区的利益背道而驰；There is no political will at all, or worse, the prevailing political will runs counter to the interests of protected areas;

0

拥有部分政治意愿，但并不足以产生显著的影响力；Some political will exists, but is not strong enough to make a difference;

1

拥有合理的政治意愿，但并非总是能足以为保护区的管理提供充分的支持；Reasonable political will exists, but is not always strong enough to fully support protected areas;

2

拥有相当高的为保护区提供支持的政治意愿。There are very high levels of political will to support protected areas.

3

公众对保护区的关注度很小，缺乏为支持保护区工作而开展的游说；The public has little interest in protected areas and there is no significant lobby for protected areas;

0

公众对保护区的支持有限；There is limited support for protected areas;

1

公众总体支持保护区的管理，并且有各种游说组织（如环保非政府组织）强力推动；There is general public support for protected areas and there are various lobby groups such as environmental NGO's strongly pushing them;

2

本国公众对保护区的支持力度很大There is tremendous public support in the country for protected areas

3

管理机构的任务不明确；Institutional mission not defined;

0

管理机构的任务不明确，未能公开，并且未在各种层级上得以内化；Institutional mission poorly defined and generally not known and internalized at all levels;

1

管理机构的任务明确并内化，但未得到充分的支持；Institutional mission well defined and internalized but not fully embraced;

2

管理机构的任务完全内化，并得到充分的支持.Institutional missions are fully internalized and embraced.

3

保护区管理机构彼此孤立运行；Protected area institutions operate in isolation;

0

建立了部分合作伙伴关系，但仍存在很大的缺口，现有的合作伙伴关系无法充分实现其目标；Some partnerships in place but significant gaps and existing partnerships achieve little;

1

21. 保护区得到了必要的公共支持Protected areas have the public support they require

1

有许多环保公益组织（如山水、三江源保护协会、三江源保护基金会等）参与和参与保护区的宣传、教育、培训等社区工作，但仍需要更多的环保组织和公众的支持。Man

y environmental protection NGOs (e.g., Shanshui

Conservation Center, Sanjiangyuan Protection Association,

and Sanjiangyuan Protection Foundation) have been engaged

in the publicity, education and training activities of the

protected areas, although the protected areas require support

from more environmental protection NGOs and the general

public.

2

22.保护区管理机构以任务为导向Protected area institutions are mission oriented

1

省政府和省林业厅有明确的“三定”方案，明确地规定了动管局及保护区的任务（mission)。Clear plan of defining

responsibilities, organizations and staffing is developed by

provincial government and forestry department.

2

3.让所有利益相关方参与并建立共识的能力Capacity to engage and build consensus among all stakeholders

20.保护区拥有必要的政治责任感Protected areas have the political commitment they require

2

通过政策影响经济发展，实现政治意愿和保护区利益的统一。拥有合理的政治意愿，但并非总是能足以为保护区的管理提供充分的支持。Reasonable political will exists, but is not always strong

enough to fully support protected areas;Policies are used to

influence economic growth and integrate political will and

interests of protected areas.2

23. 保护区管理机构能够建立必要的合作伙伴关系来实现其目标Protected area institutions can establish the partnerships needed to achieve their

与野生动物保护协会、相关厅局、科院院所、高校、NGO

等建立了初步的合作伙伴关系，但还需要进一步加强。Ini

tial partnership has been established with wildlife protection

associations, relevant departments/bureaus, scientific

research institutions, colleges and universities and NGOs,

although it still needs to be enhanced



Support问题Issue





与各种机构、非政府组织等建立了许多合作伙伴关系，但仍存在部分缺口，合作伙伴关系并不总是有效，无法总是有效地实现其目标；Many partnerships in place with a wide range of agencies, NGOs etc, but there are some gaps, partnerships are not always effective and do not always enable efficient achievement of objectives; 2

保护区管理机构与包括省政府和地方政府、非政府组织和私营部门在内的其它机构和组织建立了有效的合作伙伴关系，能够有效地实现其各种目标。Protected area institutions establish effective partnerships with other agencies and institutions, including provincial and local governments, NGO's and the private sector to enable achievement of objectives in an efficient and effective manner

3

个人态度消极；Individuals carry negative attitude;

0

少部分人员拥有积极向上的态度，并表现正直诚信，但绝大多数的人并非如此；Some individuals have notion of appropriate attitudes and display integrity, but most don't;

1

很多人员拥有积极向上的价值观，并且正直诚信，但并非所有人员都是如此；Many individuals carry appropriate values and integrity, but not all;

2

个人拥有积极向上的价值观和态度，并且正直诚信。Individuals carry appropriate values, integrity and attitudes.

3


40% 67%

几乎缺乏所有必要的信息；Information is virtually lacking;

0

部分信息存在，但质量较差，可以利用的程度有限，或者非常难以获取到；Some information exists, but is of poor quality, is of limited usefulness, or is very difficult to access;

1

许多信息可以轻松地获取到，绝大多数的信息质量高，但在信息的质量、覆盖范围和可获取性方面仍存在部分不足；Much information is easily available and mostly of good quality, but there remain some gaps in quality, coverage and availability;

2

保护区管理机构拥有为制定和监测保护区发展战略和行动计划，开展保护区系统管理所必要的信息。Protected area institutions have the information they need to develop and monitor strategies and action plans for the management of the protected area system

3

几乎缺乏所有必要的信息；Information is virtually lacking;

0

部分信息存在，但质量较差，可以利用的程度有限，或者难以获取到；Some information exists, but is of poor quality and of limited usefulness and difficult to access;

1

24. 个人拥有积极向上的价值观和态度，并且正直诚信Individuals carry appropriate values, integrity and attitudes

1

少部分人员拥有积极向上的态度，并表现正直诚信，但绝大多数的人并非如此；Some individuals have notion of appropriate attitudes and

display integrity, but most don't;

2

GEF三江源生物多样性保护区项目建立了知识管理系统（K

nowledge management

system)，已有部分数据，但这些数据仍不够，且需要不断更新，以支持保护区更方便地获取数据和信息。Knowledg

e management system has been put in place by GEF

Sanjiangyuan Biodiversity Conservation Project and some

4. 调用信息和知识的能力Capacity to mobilize information and knowledge

25. 保护区管理机构拥有为制定和监测保护区发展战略和行动计划，开展保护区系统管理所必要的信息Protected area institutions have the information they need to develop and monitor strategies and action plans for the management of the protected area system

1

保护区定期向管理部门提交报告，但需扩大信息收集范围，信息上报流程规范化。Protected areas submit reports to

authorities on a regular basis, although scope of information

collection needs to be expanded, and the process of reporting

information needs to be standardized

2

needed to achieve their objectives

1

although it still needs to be enhanced.

2

26.保护区管理机构拥有开展工作所必要的信息Protected area institutions have the information needed to do their work



Support问题Issue





许多信息可以轻而易举地获取到，绝大多数的信息质量高，但在信息的质量和数量方面仍存在部分不足；Much information is readily available, mostly of good quality, but there remain some gaps both in quality and quantity;

2

有关保护区规划、管理和监测的最新、高质量和足够数量的信息可以广泛、方便地获取到。Adequate quantities of high quality up to date information for protected area planning, management and monitoring is widely and easily available

3

所有人员彼此孤立工作，从不合作；Individuals work in isolation and don't interact;

0

所有人员合作的程度有限，有时开展团队协作，但很少能产生预期效果和发挥作用；Individuals interact in limited way and sometimes in teams but this is rarely effective and functional;

1

所有人员定期合作和组建团队，但并不总是完全有效或能充分发挥作用；Individuals interact regularly and form teams, but this is not always fully effective or functional;

2

所有人员能够开展有效的合作，并组建有效的团队Individuals interact effectively and form functional teams

3

Sub-total Area 4 9 4 8

44% 89%

未制定相关的政策，或者政策时间太久，未得到定期的审核；There is no policy or it is old and not reviewed regularly;

0

政策仅偶尔得到审核；Policy is only reviewed at irregular intervals;

1

政策定期得到审核，但并非每年得到审核；Policy is reviewed regularly but not annually;

2

全国保护区管理政策每年得到审核。National protected areas policy is reviewed annually.

3

根本没有与全社会的对话；There is no dialogue at all;

0

拥有部分对话，但并未在全社会范围内开展对话，仅限于部分特殊群体；There is some dialogue going on, but not in the wider public and restricted to specialized circles;

1

持续开展合理的公开对话，但某些话题仍是忌讳的话题；There is a reasonably open public dialogue going on but certain issues remain taboo;

2

针对保护区的状况拥有公开透明的对话。There is an open and transparent public dialogue about the state of the protected areas.

3

管理体制拒绝变化；Institutions resist change;

0

管理机构确实有改变，但改变的进度很慢；Institutions do change but only very slowly;

1

Sanjiangyuan Biodiversity Conservation Project, and some

data have been acquired. However, these data are not

sufficient and need to be updated to enable the protected

areas to access data and information more easily.

3

1

环保部门定期公布保护区名称、范围、新建保护区会公示，国家开展对保护区的督察，对违规行为进行整改，并没有完全公开。例如，对祁连山自然保护区的整改已在接受全社会的监督。Environmental protection authorities publish

the names, coverage of existing and new protected areas on a

regular basis, the state supervises and inspect the protected

areas,the illegal activities are asked to rectify, but not made

known to the public. For instance, rectification of Qilian

Mountains NR is now subject to the supervision of the whole

society.

有固定的团队和人员，需进一步加强团队合作。Full‐time

team and staff have been formed, although teamwork needs

to be enhanced

5.

监测、评估、报告和学习的能力Capacity to monitor,

evaluate, report and learn

28. 保护区的管理政策经常得到审核和更新Protected area policy is continually reviewed and updated 2

青海省林业部门等根据需要，会制定和更新保护区管理政策，但这些政策是否有效，缺少必要的评估。QFD and

other agencies develop and update the protected area

management policies according to needs. However, the

effectiveness of these policies is not reviewed regularly.

3

1

能够督促保护区进行整改，受制于客观因素，无法保证一定进行整改。2017年国家加大了环保督查，特别是对在保护区开矿、违规建设旅游等基础设施等进行重点督查，整改的力度和进度明显提高 Institutions can supervise the

2

29. 全社会监测保护区的状况Society monitors the state of protected areas

3

27. 在保护区工作的所有人员作为一个团队开展高效的合作Individuals working with protected areas work effectively together as a team

2

30. 管理机构具有高度的灵活性，可以针对变化及时、有效地做出响应Institutions are highly



Support问题Issue





管理机构往往能够针对变化做出调整，但并不总是非常有效或者存在部分拖延；Institutions tend to adapt in response to change but not always very effectively or with some delay;

2

管理机构具有高度的灵活性，可以针对变化及时、有效地做出响应。Institutions are highly adaptive, responding effectively and immediately to change.

3

未建立有关监测、评估、报告或学习的机制；There are no mechanisms for monitoring, evaluation, reporting or learning;

0

建立了部分有关监测、评估、报告或学习的机制，但这些机制数量有限、效果不大；There are some mechanisms for monitoring, evaluation, reporting and learning but they are limited and weak;

1

建立了有关监测、评估、报告和学习的合理机制，但这些机制并不足够充分或全面；Reasonable mechanisms for monitoring, evaluation, reporting and learning are in place but are not as strong or comprehensive as they could be;

2

管理机构建立了有效的监测、评估、报告和学习内部机制。Institutions have effective internal mechanisms for monitoring, evaluation, reporting and learning.

3

没有对人员绩效的测评或灵活的反馈机制；There is no measurement of performance or adaptive feedback;

0

人员绩效未能定期得到有效的测评，很少提供反馈；Performance is irregularly and poorly measured and there is little use of feedback;

1

对人员绩效有大量的测评和部分反馈，但并不足够详尽和全面；There is significant measurement of performance and some feedback but this is not as thorough or comprehensive as it might be;

2

人员绩效得到有效的测评，并有效利用灵活的反馈。Performance is effectively measured and adaptive feedback utilized.

3

Sub-total Area 5 15 7 12

47% 80%

96 42 76

44% 79%

林业厅及动管局等有内部学习、内部审计，重大项目会接受外部审计，省林业厅动管局会召集保护区召开会议进行工作总结汇报。Internal learning and audit mechanism

exists, key projects are subject to external audit. The

provincial forestry department organize protected areas to

hold meeting and report work

每人有年度绩效考核，可通过岗位培训，提高个人绩效。Performance of individuals is assessed annually. In general,

personal performance can be improved through post training

2

2

改的力度和进度明显提高。Institutions can supervise the

protected areas to rectify. However, due to objective factors,

they cannot ensure the protected areas will rectify as

requested. In 2017, as the central government has enhanced

supervision and inspection of environmental protection

efforts, in particular mining and illegal construction of tourism

infrastructure within the protected areas. The extent and

progress of rectification have been significantly increased and

3

31. 管理机构建立了有效的监测、评估、报告和学习内部机制Institutions have effective internal mechanisms for monitoring, evaluation, reporting and learning

1

32. 个人具有良好的适应能力，并不断学习Individuals are adaptive and continue to learn

1

总得分TOTAL SCORE

Institutions are highly adaptive, responding effectively and immediately to change 2


Annex O

Baseline Report: Protected Area Legal Reform with respect to the Qilian Mountains-Qinghai Lake Landscape

CPAR3 (Qinghai)

Prepared by:

Prof. Qin Tianbao, Environmental Law and Enforcement Specialist


Programme: China's Protected Area System Reform (C-PAR)


Project:

Strengthening the PA system in the Qilian Mountains-Qinghai Lake landscape




9 Sep 2017 02

Transformed this report into the consultant report template; according to the PFD and feedback, updated the baseline information and recommendations.

J. Lenoci

19 Oct 2017 03 Gave more specific elaboration of existing laws, policies, address the weakness and gaps, and modified the recommendations.

J. Lenoci

28 Oct 2017 04 Made the recommendations more specific. J. Lenoci

18 Dec 2017 05 Final edits. J. Lenoci

12 Mar 2018 06 Minor edits and formatting. J. Lenoci

22-Annex O_Legal and Governance Baseline Assessment_PIMS 5690 CPAR3_5Apr2018.docx

Page i

Executive Summary

The purpose of this report is to review existing laws, policies and practices policy for safeguarding threatened species, PAs, identify gaps and weakness of current system, and provide recommendations on the protected areas reform to support local consultant in developing project strategy and activities.

This report summarises the nature conditions in Qinghai Province, esp. the Qilian Mountains-Qinghai Lake landscape which is of great biodiversity significance.

Apart from the legislation and institutional arrangements associated with the PA system and biodiversity conservation at national level, there are some special local laws and policies considering the local characteristics of Qinghai Province. Among them, the Thirteen Five‐year Plan of Qinghai Provinces (2016‐2020) , the Regulations on the Promotion of Ecological Civilization Construction in Qinghai Province(2015) the Rules on Management of Nature Reserves for Forest and Wildlife in Qinghai Province (1994), the Regulations of Ecological Environment Protection in Qinghai Lake Basin (2003), and the Regulations on Qinghai Lake Scenic Area (2015) are very important, besides national provisions on lawful rights and interests of the minority nationalities. Currently, the Qinghai Qilian Mountains Nature Reserve has been incorporated into the 10th pilot NP, and a new system is under developing. The Management Board of Qinghai Lake National Nature Reserve in Qinghai is led by Qinghai Forestry Department and Qinghai Lake Scenic Area Administration.

There are four gaps and weakness of biodiversity conservation in Qinghai province, namely: (1) outdated legislation and insufficient enforcement: (2) complex but inefficient management system; (3) degradation, fragmentation, under-representation of habitats; and (4) weak coordination of conservation and livelihood.

Correspondingly, this report puts forward the following recommendations:

1. to improve legislation (such as enact new regulations for Qilian Mountain NP and revise the Regulations on Ecological Environment Protection in Qinghai Lake Basin) recognizing Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs), financial mechanism, ethnic minorities, and to improve the enforcement through concrete measures and transboundary and inter-departmental coordination mechanisms.

2. to improve tourism management by supporting the Qinghai Lake Scenic Areas Administration Design Guidelines for Environmental Friendly Recreation or Tourism.

3. to protect habitats of globally threatened wildlife, e.g., through a KBA assessment, introduction of conservation easements, and the special rules on removing or lowering fences affecting the population exchange of P. gazelle.

4. to increase coordination and livelihoods among local communities, e.g., through collaborative management agreements that provide higher levels of participation and benefit sharing than previous practices and increased intensity and coverage of compensation for personal injury and property damage caused by wildlife.


Page ii


BD Biodiversity



C I Conservation International

CNY Chinese yuan

CPAR China’s Protected Area System Reform


ECBP EU-China Biodiversity Programme




NGO Non-Governmental Organization

NDRC National Development and Reform Commission


NPSPR National Park System Pilot Reform in China

NR Nature Reserve

PA Protected Area

PFA Provincial Forestry Agency







Page iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Executive Summary ....................................................................................................................................... i

Abbreviations and Acronyms ....................................................................................................................... ii

1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................................. 1

2. Nature Conditions .................................................................................................................................... 1

3. Laws, Policies and Practices ...................................................................................................................... 1

3.1. Local Laws and Policies .................................................................................................................................... 1

3.2. Projects of Conservation and PAs .................................................................................................................... 3

3.3. Management Status in Pilot Areas .................................................................................................................. 4

4.Gaps and Weakness .................................................................................................................................. 8

4.1. Outdated Legislation and Insufficient enforcement ........................................................................................ 8

4.2.Complex but Inefficient Institutional Arrangements ........................................................................................ 8

4.3.Degradation, fragmentation, under-representation of Habitats ...................................................................... 8

4.4. Weak Coordination of Conservation and Livelihood ..................................................................................... 10

5.Recommendations .................................................................................................................................. 10

5.1. To Improve Legislation and Enforcement ...................................................................................................... 10

5.2. To improve tourism management ................................................................................................................. 11

5.3. To protect the habitats of globally threatened animals ................................................................................ 11

5.4.To Increasing Coordination of Conservation and Livelihood .......................................................................... 11

Annexes ..................................................................................................................................................... 13


Page 1

1. Introduction

Protected areas system in this programme context refers to a comprehensive national system of protected

areas which contains funding, monitoring, supervision, reporting and coordination mechanisms at national,

provincial and local levels. The project focuses on consolidation of PA system in Qilian Mountains-Qinghai Lake

landscape, with supporting strategies, management in place. It also targets improving management effectiveness

of existing PAs, operationalizing new PAs, community participation, as well as critical habitat protection and

restoration.

2. Nature Conditions

Qinghai province is of great biodiversity significance. The Qilian Mountains-Qinghai Lake landscape lies in the

northeast corner of the Tibet-Qinghai Plateau. Qilian Mountains (Qilianshan, the two terms will be interchanged

in following part of the report) are the natural border between Qinghai and Gansu Provinces. There are 120

species of birds in the nature reserve, accounting for 49% of the birds in Qinghai Province, 39 species of mammals,

616 species of higher plants and 605 species of seed plants, and the species is rich and varied. It is recorded that

there are 53 bird species in 6 orders and 13 families, including 1 Class International protected species, 4 Class II

national protected species on China Red Data Book of Endangered Animals. There were 1,369 Przewalski’s

Gazelles in 2016 and population structure is that male population accounts for 28% and female population

accounts for 48% and young population accounts for 24%. China's Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and the Pamirs are the

main distribution areas of the snow leopard. In Qinghai, the total number of snow leopards is about 650, plus

the northwest of Qinghai Kunlun Mountains and the Hoh Xil area, and it is estimated that Qinghai snow leopard

population is not less than 1,000.1 In accordance with the provisions of the Technical Standards on National Wetland Resources Survey and Monitoring, Qilian Mountain Nature Reserve has five provincial key wetlands.

Qinghai Lake nestles to the south of Qilian Mountains. This landscape is significant for the globally important

biodiversity.2

3. Laws, Policies and Practices

3.1. Local Laws and Policies Apart from the legislation and institutional arrangements associated with the PA system and biodiversity

conservation at national level which have been elaborated for the national project (CPAR1) under the C-PAR

programme, there are some special elements considering the local characteristics of Qinghai Province. Local laws

and policies in Qinghai Province include, but not limited to, the following:

The Thirteen Five‐year Plan of Qinghai Provinces (2016‐2020) mainly aims to arrange key construction

projects, manage the distribution of productive forces and individual sector’s contributions to the national

economy, map the direction of future development, and set targets. Particularly, it calls for strengthening

ecological construction of this key region.

Regarding the Qilian Mountains water conservation area, the government is to implement fully the

ecological protection and construction, through the projects of forest grassland, wetland protection

1 The introduction of Snow leopard is from the website of Yunnan Academy of Biodiversity. http://www.yabchina.org/kxpj/1363.aspx.

Last visited on December 7, 2017.

2 Qinghai Qilianshan PNR website. http://www.qhqls.com/. Last visited on November 7, 2017.


Page 2

and construction, soil and water conservation, glacier environmental protection to protect and

improve the forest and grass vegetation of Heihe River, Shule River, Shiyang River, Datong River and

other water resources, and to strengthen the comprehensive management of mining sites. Regarding the Qinghai Lake area, the government is to promote the projects of ecological protection

and environmental management around the lake, to promote biodiversity ecosystems, to strengthen

naked carp, birds and other rare wildlife protection, to increase desertification land management

efforts. The Regulations on the Promotion of Ecological Civilization Construction in Qinghai Province (2015) is a framework legislation at provincial level, aiming at protecting important ecological security barriers, promoting

pilot area of ecologic civilization, and realizing comprehensive, coordinated and sustainable economic and social

development. The Regulations obligates provincial government to develop planning of protected areas and

national parks and to explore mechanisms of protection and management of national parks. And the Regulations

obligates provincial government to implement the Planning of National Pilot Area for Ecological Conservation in

Sanjiangyuan (three-river source, the two terms will be interchanged in following part of the report), the

Comprehensive Control Planning of Ecological Conservation and Construction in Qilian Mountains, the Planning

of Ecological-Environment Protection and Comprehensive Control in Qinghai Lake Basin, the Planning of

Ecological Conservation and Comprehensive Control in Chadamu, and the Planning of Ecological-Environment

Comprehensive Control in Loess Plateau and Dry Mountain Area in Easter Qinghai. Governments at all levels shall

draw up an ecological protection redline in key ecological functional zones, ecological environmental sensitive

zones and vulnerable zones. In addition, Governments at all levels shall balance the relationship between

ecological civilization conservation and protection of inhabitants' interests.

The Rules on Management of Nature Reserves for Forest and Wildlife in Qinghai Province (1994) is one of the most important local laws for protected areas. It provides for establishment and management of, and

restrictions in nature reserves for forest and wildlife in Qinghai Province.

The Regulations on Wetland Protection in Qinghai Province (2013) includes general rules, planning, wetland protection, supervision and management, to protect wetland ecosystems and to maintain ecological

functions of wetland and biodiversity.

The Regulations of Ecological Environment Protection in Qinghai Lake Basin (2003) stipulates that Qinghai Lake National Nature Reserve is a key area of ecological environmental protection of Qinghai Lake Basin. And the

aim of the ecological environmental protection of Qinghai Lake Basin to maintain biodiversity and conserve the

natural ecosystem, and focuses shall be on water, wetlands, plants and wildlife. The balance between ecological

environment protection, economic development and farmers/herders interests shall be achieved. The

Regulations forbid any unit or individual to destroy the habitats of precious and endangered terrestrial wildlife

and aquatic wildlife. Governments at prefecture and county levels and nature reserve management agencies

shall take measures to limit and reduce man-made activities, which are harmful for the habitats of P. gazelle,

black-necked cranes, swans and other precious and endangered terrestrial wildlife. Governments at prefecture

and county levels shall demarcate zones and take other measures to protect P. gazelle based on their habits and

distribution. And the Provincial Government shall make rules to dispose fences affecting the population exchange

of P. gazelle.

The Regulations on Qinghai Lake Scenic Area (2015) is a very important local law for Qinghai Lake Nature

Reserve because the Reserve is also a part of the Scenic Area. The Regulations is applied to planning, construction,

protection, utilization, and management of Qinghai Lake Scenic Area. The regulations include provisions for

protecting wildlife within the Scenic Area and for illegally hunting or otherwise taking wildlife that are under

national and local protection.


Page 3

The Rules on Management of Protection of Geological Environment in Qinghai Province (2009) provides for the List of Protected Geological Heritage Sites to protect six type of geological heritage sites. For those sites

with typical international, national and regional significances, nature reserves or parks for geological heritage

sites could be established.

The Regulations on the Protection of Hoh Xil Natural Heritage in Qinghai Province (2016) is to regulate the planning, conservation, management and utilization in Hoh Xil Natural Heritage and its buffer zones.

In addition, the Interim Rules on the Administration of Emission Permits in Qinghai Province (2005), the Regulations on Prevention and Control of Water Pollution in Huangshui River Basin in Qinghai Province (2014)3, the Rules on Compensation for Ecological Functions of National Public Welfare Forests in Qinghai Province (2010), and the Rules on Compensation for Personal Injury and Property Damage caused by Terrestrial Wildlife Protected in Qinghai Province (2011) also provide legal grounds for biodiversity and PAs protection from various aspects.

Qinghai has a total of 2 cities and 6 autonomous prefectures. Among them, Yushu, Haibei, Hainan,

Huangnan and Guoluo are 5 Tibetan autonomous prefectures, and Haixi Prefecture is Mongolian and

Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. Chinese law gives equal rights and obligations to ethnic minorities，and

gives more autonomy (legislation and enforcement) to ethnic minority areas. According to the Constitution and the Law of on Regional National Autonomy (2001), the State protects the lawful rights and interests of the minority nationalities and upholds and develops a relationship of equality, unity and mutual

assistance among all of China’s nationalities. In exploiting natural resources and building enterprises in the

national autonomous areas, the State shall give due consideration to the interests of those areas. And the

people's congresses of the national autonomous areas are entitled to formulate autonomous regulations

and separate regulations based on the political, economic and cultural characteristics of the local

nationality (nationalities). Where certain provisions of the laws and administrative regulations are

concerned, adaptation based on the characteristics of the local nationality (nationalities) may be made in

autonomous regulations and separate regulations, but such adaptation may not contradict the basic

principles of the laws and administrative regulation.

For example, the Regulations on Wildlife Protection of Golog Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture (1998) prescribe the areas (such as Zaling Lake in Maduo County) and period (March 1 to October 31 every year) closed

to hunting. The Regulations on Ecological Environment Protection of Golog Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture (2000) oblige governments at all levels to accelerate the construction of NRs in Zaling Lake, Eling Lake etc., to

protect the wetland and rare wildlife species and conserve biodiversity in river sources area.

It is notable to mention the newly passed Three‐River‐Source National Park Regulations (Trial) (2017), which is the very first regulations on China's new national park system, aimed at better protecting the

headwaters of three rivers. And the Master Plan on Three‐River‐Source National Park was released officially by Qinghai Provincial Government in November 2017. The (successful) experiences in Three-River-Source National

Park provides valuable insight for the establishment of the Qilian Mountains National Park.

3.2. Projects of Conservation and PAs

Since 2000, Qinghai started its provincial project on returning farmland to forests (and grassland). After 15

years, the forest coverage was raised to 6.1% in 2015 from 3.1% in 1999; 10 million mu (666,667 ha) of forest

land was increased, soil erosion was controlled effectively.4

On August 19, 2000, the Three-River-Source Nature Reserve was established by Qinghai Provincial

3 Qinghai Provincial Environmental Protection Office. http://www.qhepb.gov.cn/. Last visit on August 30, 2017.

4 http://qh.people.com.cn/n/2015/0925/c182775-26525429.html. Last visit on November 30, 2017.


Page 4

Government. The reserve covers an area of more than 150,000 square kilometers which is larger than England

and Wales combined. Its goals are to protect the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau ecosystem, with a focus on alpine

wetlands and the natural wildlife habitat in the Three-River-Source area. It was upgraded to a National Nature

Reserve in 2003 in January, the Master Plan on Ecological Conservation and Construction in Three‐River‐Source of Qinghai (hereinafter referred to as Three‐River‐Source Master Plan), and in 2013, the Three‐River‐Source Master Plan (2nd Phase) was approved by the State Council. The practices in Three-River-Source provided valuable experiences to Qinghai Lake and Qilian Mountains.

In December 2007, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) formally approved the

Master Plan on Ecological Environment Protection and Integrated Control in Qinghai Lake Basin (hereinafter referred to as Qinghai Lake Master Plan). The Qinghai Lake Master Plan mainly targets on Qinghai Lake Basin

including Gangcha, Haiyan, Tianjun, Gonghe counties. The Qinghai Lake Master Plan contains wetland conservation, degradation of grassland control, grassland insect pest control, desertification land control,

ecological protection forest construction, soil and water conservation projects.5

On 28 December 2012, the NDRC approved the Master Plan on Ecological Conservation and Integrated Control in Qilian Mountains (2012‐2020) (hereinafter referred to as Qilian Mountains Master Plan). The scope of the Qilian Mountains Master Plan includes south slope (Qinghai) and north slope (Gansu) of Qilian Mountains.

The south slope involves Qilian Mountains PNR, Tianjun, Qilian, Menyuan, Minhe, Huzhu and other 6 counties

with 63,125 km2. The main contents of the master plan include forest, grassland, wetland protection and

construction, soil and water conservation, glacier environmental protection, ecological protection support

project, its investment in Qinghai province amounts to CNY 3.5 billion (approx. USD 0.54 billion).6

By the end of 2016, Qinghai Province had established 11 nature reserves at national and provincial level, 10

of which are managed by Qinghai Forestry Department (QFD)7 and 1 of which is managed by Provincial

Environmental Protection Department of Qinghai province8. The total area of nature reserves has 21.8 million

km2, accounting for 30.24% of the province's land area.

3.3. Management Status in Pilot Areas

The Qinghai Qilian Mountains Nature Reserve was established in 2005. In September 2014, The

Management Board of Qinghai Qilian Mountains Nature Reserve and Its Forest Public Security Bureau were set

up formally, including the four forest police stations in Delingha City, Tianjun County, Qilian County and Menyuan

County. So far, a management system with three levels including 1 Board, 4 Sub-boards and 22 protection stations

have been built up.9

The Qilian Mountains Board developed and implemented the Measures on Performance Evaluation of Qinghai Qilian Mountains Nature Reserve in 2016, which gives more detailed provisions from the institutional

security, law enforcement patrol, publicity and education, community co-management, scientific research and

monitoring, funding protection of seven aspects.

In 2016, the Board and Sub-boards also signed the "Responsibility Document for the Performance Evaluation implementation", to further clarify the specific tasks and related requirements of the Management Sub-stations

5 http://www.qhnews.com/2012zt/system/2012/07/05/010818532.shtml. Last visit on September 9th,2017.

6Qinghai People’s Government. http://www.qh.gov.cn/zwgk/system/2013/01/09/010025913.shtml. Last visit on September 9th,2017.

7Qinghai Forestry Department. http://www.qhlyt.gov.cn/index.aspx?lanmuid=61&sublanmuid=593. Last visit on September 9th,2017.

8 Qinghai Provincial Environmental Protection Department. http://www.qhepb.gov.cn/. Last visit on July 29th,2017.

9 Qinghai Qilianshan NR. http://www.qhqls.com/about/?128.html/. Last visit on Oct19th,2017.


Page 5

in the institution construction, law enforcement, publicity and education, community co-management, scientific

research monitoring, and other aspects.

Regarding the enforcement of laws and regulations, the Forest Public Security Bureau of Qilian Mountains

Nature Reserve organize four forest police stations to take the joint law enforcement activities, mainly inspecting

the mining (sand) points, road construction and hydropower stations.

As to the community co-management, in 2015, the Qilian Mountains Nature Reserve Patrol Enforcement Inspection Special Action Program requires the special team to carry out community co-management work, to

let the people living surrounding NR know relevant policies and regulations. The Province's Forest Public Security Bureau Work Plan of 2016 requires promote the publicity of the law and regulations.

There are also some other projects. Qinghai Qilian Mountains Ecological Environment Protection and Comprehensive Management Project started in 2015, including forest protection and construction projects, grassland protection and construction projects and other seven categories, its total investment is about CNY 3.5

billion (approx. USD 0.54 billion).

In beginning of 2016, Qinghai Government decided to upgrade the Qilian Mountains NR to a National NR.

In July of 2016, scientific survey necessary for the upgrade has been completed. And in April 2017, Qinghai

Government has approved the Master Plan for Upgrading Qilian Mountains Provincial NR to National NR, which is a necessary and essential step for the national approval.

On 26 June 2017, the Central Leading Groupon Comprehensively Deepening Reforms (CLGCDR)10 adopted

the Qilian Mountains National Park System Pilot Program. According to the approved program, the total area

of Qilian Mountains National Park will be 50,200 km2. Qinghai Part of the NP will be 15,800 km2 which will be

double size of the current Qilian Mountains Nature Reserve, and Gansu Part of the NP will be 34,400 km2. On

the Qinghai Province side, the NP will connect the current 8 blocks of Qilian Mountains Nature Reserve and keep

the integrity of ecosystem. The NP shall pay attention to integrated protection of ecosystem and system recovery,

solve transboundary and trans-departmental problems, promote coordinated development between ecological

conservation and livelihood improvement, and accelerate the phase out of illegal mining and other projects.11

Correspondingly, the Implementation Program for Carrying out 13th 5‐year plan (FYP) on Western Development in Qinghai Province released in November 2017 requests to carry out ecological restoration of

mountains, water, trees, fields and lakes in Qilian Mountains, and to promote the development of Qilian

Mountain National Park Pilot.12

As Qilian Mountain NR and NP is a transboundary protected area, and both Qinghai Province and Gansu

Province have realized the importance of cooperation. In April 2016, the Qilian Mountains Nature Reserve

Administrations from Qinghai and Gansu provinces formulated the Joint Charter on Protection and Management of Qilian Mountains Nature Reserve in Gansu and Qinghai. According to the Charter, two provinces set up a joint protection committee and a joint law enforcement group. The joint law enforcement group conduct the field

inspection on the supervision of activities such as mine sites and road construction. In addition, Forest Public

Security Bureaus from two provinces signed the Agreement on Transboundary Police Cooperation.

10 It is a policy formulation and implementation body set up under the Politburo of the Communist Party of China in charge of

"Comprehensively Deepening Reforms". The Leading Group's main task is to determine policy guidelines for reforming the economic,

political, cultural, social, ethical and party-building systems to address long-term reform issues, as well as to guide reform-related bodies

of the CPC at central and local level, and supervise the implementation of reform plans.

11 http://www.gov.cn/xinwen/2017-06/26/content_5205603.htm. Last visited on November 30, 2017.

12http://www.ledu.gov.cn/html/10297/272178.html. Last visit on November 30, 2017


Page 6

In late April to early May 2017, Gansu and Qinghai province held the Qilian Mountain National Park System

Pilot Plan Coordination Committee, discussed on the pilot program, reached a consensus, compiled the Qilian Mountain National Park System Pilot Plan (2017), and jointly reported to National Development Reform

Committee. On 26 June 2017, the Leading Group the Pilot Plan (2017). The Qinghai Lake Nature Reserve was built in 1975 and upgraded to a National Nature Reserve in 1997. It

was the first protected area in China to be listed on Ramsar Convention. The Qinghai Lake Nature Reserve extends across 2 autonomous prefectures and 3 counties administratively, in which the south area of the lake belongs to

Gonghe County, Hainan Autonomous Prefecture, and the north and east of the lake belongs to Haiyan and

Gangcha County, Haibei Autonomous Prefecture. The watershed covers 4 counties, 25 townships in which 3

townships belong to Haiyan County; 6 townships belong to Gangcha County; 4 townships belong to Gonghe

County; and 12 townships belong to Tianjun County.

The Implementation Program for Carrying out 13th FYP on Western Development in Qinghai Province release in November 2017 requests to initiate a project of ecological conservation and comprehensive

environmental control, to promote virtuous cycle of river basin, forest land, grassland, wetland ecosystems and

biodiversity ecosystem and to strengthen wildlife protection.13

The Management Board of Qinghai Lake National Nature Reserve in Qinghai is led by Qinghai Forestry

Department and Qinghai Lake Scenic Area Administration. The essential construction of the Reserve and

scientific research funds, materials, device and labor cost are managed by Qinghai Lake Tourism Administration.

There are 2 levels in the management system of The Management Board of Qinghai Lake National Nature Reserve:

administrative offices and protection stations. Administrative offices include general office, natural conservation

office, information and communication office, and forest police station; and protection stations include North

Shore Station, South Shore Station, a bird rescue center in Bird Island, and stations in Quanwan, Heimahe,

Hudong, Haergai and Jiangxigou. Besides, two other agencies under the Qinghai Lake Tourism Administration,

Qinghai Lake Maritime Safety Board (also named as Qinghai Lake Water Transportation Board) and Qinghai Lake

Market Supervisory Board play important roles in this regard.14 The three agencies are responsible for the

specific issues as follows:

13http://www.ledu.gov.cn/html/10297/272178.html. Last visit on November 30, 2017

14Qinghai National Nature Reserve Administration of Qinghai Province. http://www.qhh.gov.cn/jgsz.html. Last visit on July 29th,2017.

22-Annex O_Legal and Governance Baseline Assessment_PIMS 5690 CPAR3_5Apr2018.docx Page 7

Table 1:The Responsibilities of the Three Agencies in Qinghai Lake


Qinghai Lake Tourism Administration is the main competent authority under the Provincial Government exercising unified authorities over Qinghai Lake Scenic Area,

undertakes the responsibilities of managing scenic area construction, planning, ecological protection, and promoting tourism development. Its related

responsibilities include:

1. To organize the drafting of local laws, regulations on the management of Qinghai Lake Scenic Area and supervising the implementation;

2. To formulate the development plan of Qinghai Lake Scenic Area and organize the implementation;

3. To manage the tourism within this area;

4. To draw up and organize the implementation of the ecological environment protection plan for the Qinghai Lake scenic area, to approve EIA report, and to

protect wildlife

5. To manage maritime shipping;

Qinghai Lake Maritime Safety Board (also named as

Qinghai Lake Water Transportation Board)

1. to implement national policies, regulations,

norms, and standards on water safety;

2. to prevent water pollution.

Management Board of Qinghai Lake National Nature Reserve

1. to protect natural resources and ecological environment

in the Lake;

2. to organize survey, dynamic monitoring and evaluation of

animals, plants, wetlands and desert;

3. to protect wildlife resources and habitats;

4. to supervise natural resources utilization;

5. to supervise and inspect activities which have an impact

on the ecological environment.

Qinghai Lake Market Supervisory Board

1. to exercise comprehensive law

enforcement


Page 8

4. Gaps and Weakness

Based upon a legal review made as part of the project preparation phase, the major gaps and weakness to

the globally important ecosystems and biodiversity of this landscape include:

4.1. Outdated Legislation and Insufficient enforcement

The Regulations of Ecological Environment Protection in Qinghai Lake Basin (2003), the Regulations on Qinghai Lake Scenic Area (2015), Qinghai Lake National Scenic Area Master Plan (2012‐2025), Qinghai Lake Scenic Tourism Master Plan consider less on environment protection and biodiversity conservation, and many

provisions might not meet the new requirements of PAs and NPs construction. And the liability and punishment

for illegal behaviors in these regulations are inadequate. Enforcement is not efficient. In practice, tourism development is regarded as one key point when

implementing those regulations and plans. For example, the number of tourists exceeded 1 million in 2012,

which has led to an increase in the infrastructure footprint, e.g., including land for transport, towns and tourism

facilities. From 1977 to 2010, the land development in the lake area increased by 448%, more than quadruple,

mainly distributed in the Qinghai Lake lakeshore plain with relatively flat elevation.15 The relaxed enforcement

resulted in partially weak protection of the globally important ecosystems and biodiversity.

4.2. Complex but Inefficient Institutional Arrangements

Take the Qinghai Lake as an example. It is a National Nature Reserve and a Scenic area as well. The

provincial government leads the task of Qinghai Lake Basin ecological environment protection, the prefecture

and county governments are responsible for the protection of the ecological environment in the Qinghai Lake

Basin in their respective administrative areas, the departments of environmental protection, water conservancy,

construction, grassland, forestry, fishery and tourism of the people's governments of provinces, prefectures and

counties shall be responsible for the ecological and environmental protection of the Qinghai Lake Basin according

to their respective responsibilities, the nature reserve management organization is responsible for the specific

management of the nature reserve. On the other hand, the Qinghai Lake Scenic Area Administration under the

Provincial Government (with its Management Board of Qinghai Lake National Nature Reserve, Maritime Safety

Board and Market Supervision Board) is responsible for the planning, construction, protection, utilization

supervision and tourism development of the Qinghai Lake Scenic Area, as illustrated in Table 1.

We can see that provincial, prefecture, county governments and many departments are involved in the

management of Qinghai Lake Scenic Area. Due to the lack of communication and cooperation between these

local governments, departments and units, many problems have been left over in the development of tourism

in Qinghai Lake and the management efficiency is low.

4.3. Degradation, fragmentation, under-representation of Habitats

Degradation of Habitats. Solid waste pollution, grassland degradation and desertification, over-grazing,

construction of roads, dams, tourist industry and other development infrastructure and mining pose direct and

indirect threats to biodiversity in general and habitats in particular. Although there is a solid waste collection

station, there is no waste sorting device. The station is unable to load a large number of concentrated waste

collection work because of its small size and poor facilities. Many pastures show evidence of severe degradation

15 Zhang Jinlong, Chen Ying, Ge Jinsong, NieXuemin. The Change of Land Use / Coverage and Land Resource Management in Qinghai Lake

Area from 1977 to 2010. Journal of Desert Research. July 2013, Vol. 33.


Page 9

because of over-grazing. As grasslands have deteriorated, the yield has declined, leading to the further

exhaustion of Przewalski’s gazelle food resources. Mineral exploration in Qilian Mountains also has negative

impacts on the natural environment, including the snow leopard’s habitat and its prey.16

Fragmentation of Habitats. Human activities, including fencing of areas, have fragmented grassland

habitats. The fencing restricts the area over which Przewalski’s gazelle can roam (they are unable to jump over

high fences and can get caught and killed when attempting to jump barbed wire fences). As a result, populations

are isolated, inbreed and are more prone to attacks by wolves. In 1991, the Eighth Plenary Session of the 13th

CPC Central Committee adopted the Decision of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on Further Strengthening the Work of Agriculture and Rural Areas. And the Decision put forward the two-level management system consisting of the household contract responsibility system and the unified management

system as a basic system of China's rural collective economic organization, and would constantly enrich and

perfect it. This reform allocated land to every herder, but it also resulting in fence increasing. In Qinghai Lake,

there are six separate Przewalski's populations: Hudong-Ketu population, Yuanzhe population, Gangcha

population, Kuaierma population, Bird Island population and Shadao population. Before the grassland fence was

built in the early 1990s, Hudong-Ketu population and Yuan population were originally one population. Studies

on two small populations show that the genes of Hudong-Ketu and Yuanzhe population is becoming different

after the establishment of grassland fence and Przewalski's gazelle habitat is significantly reduced.17

Under-representation of habitats. The representation of important habitats in the PA system is low.

Important ecosystems and habitats such as sub-alpine meadows and conifer forests of the Qilian Mountains

remain under-represented in the PA system. Although PAs cover a significant area of Qinghai Province, they did

not cover most important ecosystems, particularly in this landscape. For example, 2 of the 10 WWF Ecoregions

(PA1015 Qilian Mountains sub-alpine meadows18 , PA0517 Qilian Mountains conifer forests19 ) found in the

Province, are not yet represented in the existing PAs (see Table 2).

Table 1：List of PAs in Qilian Mountain-Qinghai Lake Landscape20

No. Name of Nature

Reserve

NR Area

(ha)

Key habitats / Species

Protected

Supervision

agency

Annual operating

budget in 2016

(USD)

Number of

Permanent

Staff

Counties

1 Qilian Mt Provincial

Nature Reserve

802,000 Alpine forest, shrub

and meadow; Snow

leopard

Qinghai Forestry

Department

177,000 18 Menyuan,

Tianjun, and

Qilian (and

Delingha City)

2 Qinghai Lake

Nature Reserve

495,200 Przewalski’s gazelle,

many important bird

species

Government of

Qinghai Province

688,000 20 Gangcha,

Gonghe and

Haiyan

16 Cairenzhuoma, Study on Laws of Ecological System Protection of Wetlands of Qinghai Lake.

17 You Zhangqiang, Jiang Zhigang, Li Chunwang, MALLON David. The Influence of Prairie Fence on Przewalski 's Gazelles and Habitat Area.

Chinese Science Bulletin. Vol. 58, No. 16, 2013: 1557 ~ 1564.

18 https://www.worldwildlife.org/ecoregions/pa1015. Last visited on June 17, 2017.

19 https://www.worldwildlife.org/ecoregions/pa0517. Last visited on June 17, 2017.

20 GEF-6 C-PAR PROGRAM FRAMEWORK DOCUMENT (pfd)


Page 10

No. Name of Nature

Reserve

NR Area

(ha)

Key habitats / Species

Protected

Supervision

agency

Annual operating

budget in 2016

(USD)

Number of

Permanent

Staff

Counties

3 Datong Beichuan

National Nature

Reserve

107,900 Forest, important bird

species

Datong County Not available

(N/A)

N/A Datong

Total 1,405,100

4.4. Weak Coordination of Conservation and Livelihood

Most areas of Qinghai Province are economically underdeveloped, with residents mainly comprised of

Tibetan ethnic minorities. These areas are the focus of the national poverty alleviation and development work

counties. Their economic structures are singular, with traditional animal husbandry industry still the main

industry. The infrastructure is in debt and the public service capacity is lagging, which both affect the ecological

protection and improvement of people's livelihood. 21 Although most residents have basic and primary

knowledge of environment protection and biodiversity conservation based on their daily life, they (and the local

governments) face much pressure of poverty alleviation. In addition, there is no sound and systematic

mechanism for public participation, like co-management, village agreements. Therefore, solutions to the

dilemma are urgently needed.

5.Recommendations

5.1. To Improve Legislation and Enforcement

5.1.1. Legislation

It is suggested to support Qinghai Provincial Government to formulate specific regulations for the newly

approved Qilian Mountain National Park (Qinghai Part), in case it is listed into its 13 Five Year Legislative Plan

which is currently under development.

It is also suggested to support Qinghai Provincial Congress to review the Regulations on Ecological Environment Protection in Qinghai Lake Basin (2003) and the Regulations on Qinghai Lake Scenic Area (2015) and other legal documents related to Qilian Mountains-Qinghai Lake landscape.

It is very important to note that both the newly enacted regulations and the revised regulations shall reflect

new developments of concepts, strategies and approaches concerning NRs, for example, by incorporating

ecological corridors and recognizing Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) into the scope of protection; and shall open

doors for innovative conservation financing mechanisms, such as regarding fencing and the P. gazelle through

conservation easements and other ways, and for co-management and alternative livelihoods when conserving

the PAs. Furthermore, these legislations are also expected, through the engagement of the project, to reiterate

the importance of protection of rights of ethnic minorities and, desirably, to specify operational rules of

resettlement of local communities residing in the core conservation areas of the national park, and operational

rules of transfer of collectively held land to the state.

5.1.2. Enforcement

A law and enforcement task force is recommended for the duration of the project. This task force could

21 Zhang Ming, Ouyang, Wang Wei. Research on biodiversity evaluation of Qinghai Lake basin based on remote sensing data, Environment

and Sustainable Development, 2017, No. 2.


Page 11

submit its recommendations to the relevant municipalities, departments of Qinghai and the Advisory Group of

the CPAR1 national project, for follow-up.

And the project is suggested to support the governments at prefecture and county levels and nature reserve

management agencies to take concrete measures to enforce the requirements of local legislation, esp. the

Regulations of Ecological Environment Protection in Qinghai Lake Basin (2003), including measures to limit and

reduce man-made activities harmful for the habitats of P. gazelle, black-necked cranes, swans and other precious

and endangered terrestrial wildlife, and demarcating zones and other measures to protect P. gazelle based on

their habits and distribution.

As the transboundary Qilian Mountains National Park will be established jointly by Qinghai and Gansu, it is

necessary to strengthen and upgrade the existing cross-provincial collaborative governance mechanisms. And

we have similar suggestions for an inter-departmental coordination mechanism for Qinghai Lake, which is

situated fully within Qinghai Province.

5.2. To improve tourism management

There are many tourism areas within or near Qilian Mountains-Qinghai Lake landscape, but they need

reasonable and scientific development plans. Excessive exploitation of tourism resources will cause damage to

the ecological environment; human activities that are harmful to the environment shall be restricted and banned.

It is suggested to support the Qinghai Lake Scenic Areas Administration design guidelines for environmental

friendly recreation or tourism.

5.3. To protect the habitats of globally threatened animals

A KBA assessment is suggested to assess the Qilian Mountains-Qinghai Lake landscape based on key species

and habitat distributions that goes well beyond the current rather inadequate KBA mapping, as a basis for

ecological corridor network. And a Force Task could be set out to support the application of targeted protected

area for the acceptance of KBA database in international level.

In addition, it is suggested to support an assessment for the PA representativeness to check which important

ecosystems and habitats of endangered animals have not been protected under the existing PA system.

It is well known that the fencing in existing form is harmful for habitats protection and gene exchange of

globally threaten wild animals. According to the Regulations on Ecological Environment Protection in Qinghai Lake Basin (2003), the special rules disposing fences affecting the population exchange of P. gazelle shall be enacted as early as possible. The project is suggested to support removal and/or lowering of fencing within

protected areas as much as possible, and, for example to use soil wall instead of barbed wire to build fence where

necessary. Innovative conservation legal and financing arrangements will be considered, e.g., through

introduction of conservation easements.

5.4. To Increasing Coordination of Conservation and Livelihood

Community support and co-management are the opportunities for biodiversity conservation. It is proposed

to formulate rules and agreement on co-management and eco-compensation to involve herders in management

of PAs and to provide incentives to herdsmen. In this regard, it is necessary to increase the intensity and coverage

of compensation when revising the Rules on Compensation for Ecological Functions of National Public Welfare Forests in Qinghai Province (2010) and the Rules on Compensation for Personal Injury and Property Damage caused by Terrestrial Wildlife Protected in Qinghai Province (2011), and to clarify the subjects and objects of compensation for damages caused by the wildlife when reviewing the Rules on Management of Nature Reserves for Forest and Wildlife in Qinghai Province (1994). In addition, co-management model should also be trialed by pilots. And the project should formulate


Page 12

guidelines and develop training courses for PAs Agency staff and local citizens. It will be helpful to develop online

and offline training courses about how to enforce the laws and regulations. In addition, biodiversity conservation

guideline should be enacted for local citizens, which focus on how to conserve the endangered animal habitats

and food chain in their daily life.


Page 13

Annexes

Annex 1: Summary of stakeholder's consultation

Stakeholders Date of

Consultation Person(s) Consulted Summary of Consultation

Qinghai Lake NR

Management

Board

10 May 2017

Mr. Wu Yongling

Mr. Sun Jianqing

Mr. Jian Mucuo

1). Management staff structure.

2). The status of herdsmen and Gazelles’ habitat.

QFD, Qinghai Lake

NR Management

Board

11 May Staff of two nature

reserves and PMO 1). Information of Qinghai Lake NR.

Qinghai Lake NR

Management

Board

4 June Mr. Li Fuyuan

Mr. Hou Yuansheng

1). land use data status.

2). Gazelles' distribution of Qinghai Lake Nature

Reserve.

Qilian Mountain

Management

Board

4 June Mr. Pu Yongguo

Mr. Zhou Jie

1). Final version of masterplan and scientific

investigation Report and Biodiversity monitoring

report (2015) of Qilian Mountain Nature Reserve.

Qinghai Lake NR

Management

Board and Qilian

Mountain

Management

Board

6 July

Mr. Sun Jianqing

Mr. Zhou Jie

Mr. Cai Ping

1). Gaps in the legislative and enforcement

arrangements.

2). What specific activities could the CPAR3

project support etc.

Three-River-Source

National Park 7 July

Mr. Yang Yeqing

Mr. Zhang Dehai

1). What is needed for NP from GEF such as

regulations, monitoring, capacity building,

environmental education and so on.

2). Human and wildlife conflicts.

Qinghai Lake NR

Management

Board

29 September Mr. HouYuansheng 1). The status of neighbouring communities

around Qinghai Lake.

Three-River-Source

National Park 16 November Mr. Tian Junliang 1) law and enforcement improvement.

Annex P

BaslineReport on Protected Area Financing in Qinghai province People’s Republic of China

CPAR3 (Qinghai)

Prepared by:

Dr. Wen Yali


Program: China's Protected Area System Reform (C-PAR)


Project:

Strengthening the PA system in the Qilian Mountains-Qinghai Lake landscape

project (C-PAR3)




02 Nov 2017 02 Second draft J. Lenoci

05 Feb 2018 03 Third draft J. Lenoci

12 Mar 2018 04 Fourth draft J. Lenoci

31 Mar 2018 05 Fifth draft J. Lenoci

23-Annex P_Protected Area Financing in Qinghai Province Baseline Report_PIMS 5690 CPAR3_5Apr2018.docx

Page i

EXECU T IV E SUM M ARY

Qinghai province plays a crucial role in national biodiversity protection, the territory has a unique plateau

meadow, mountain, desert, wetland and forest ecological system, is the main regulator of about 3 billion

population of Asian monsoon ecosystem, is the birthplace of major Asian rivers -- the Yangtze River, the Yellow

River River and Mekong (Lancang) River, known as the "Sanjiang source".

At present, the central government, ministries and finance in Qinghai province incorporate the protected

area system and its conservation objectives into provincial development and sector planning frameworks to

support biodiversity-sensitive decisions in sectoral activities and planning and management of protected areas;

The legal framework, incentive mechanisms and participatory mechanisms, continued to increase capital

investment to support the expansion and effective management of protected areas in Qinghai province.

The financial funds are mainly used to strengthen institutional and human resource capacity building, to

establish and maintain a system of protected areas that are managed in a long-term and effective manner, and

to support the nature reserve by establishing practical operational capacity, increasing investment in the

protection of biodiversity threats at the protected area level Cost-effective and sustainable management.

In 2016, according to the direct input and indirect input of the project team, Qinghai province invested CNY

65.85 million (approx. USD 10.39 million) to the protected area. However, according to the different standards

of each country, there was still a large gap in the capital investment in Qinghai province. In addition to increasing

financial investment, Qinghai province should also absorb social capital and international funds to strengthen

the province's natural reserve network capacity building, so that the biodiversity of Qinghai province has been

effectively protected, to promote and enhance the construction of Sanjiangyuan National Park. Enhance co-

ownership and sustainable use of natural resources and develop appropriate compensation programs to sustain

or strengthen the provision of ecological services and support to improve the effectiveness of nature reserves.


Page ii

AB B R EV I ATI O NS A ND ACRON YM S


BD Biodiversity



CNY Chinese yuan






NR Nature Reserve

PA Protected Area







1 USD = CNY 6.1428 (2014) ; 1 USD = CNY 6.2284 (2015) ; 1 USD = CNY 6.6423 (2016)


Page iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS EX E CU T I VE S U M MA RY ........................................................................................................................ i

1. Q I N G H AI P RO VI N C E ’S P R OT E CT E D ARE AS S I T UAT I O N A N D F I N AN C I N G C AT E G O RY SY ST E M ........ 1

1.1 QINGHAI PROVINCE’S PROTECTED AREAS SITUATION .................................................................................. 1 1.2 QINGHAI PROVINCE’S PROTECTED AREA FINANCING SITUATION ................................................................... 1

2 . Q I N G H AI P RO VI N C E ’S NATU RE R ES E R VE S I N V E ST M E N T S I T UAT I O N AN D T RE N D A N ALY S I S .......... 2

2.1 OVERALL PA FINANCING AND TRENDS AT THE PROVINCIAL LEVEL FROM 2014 TO 2016 ..................................... 2 2.2 SPECIAL PA FINANCING AT THE PROVINCIAL LEVEL FROM 2014 TO 2016 ........................................................ 4 2.3 CHANGES AND TRENDS OF ALL DEPARTMENTAL INVESTMENTS IN THE NATURE RESERVES ..................................... 7

2.4 CHANGES AND TRENDS OF THE INVESTMENTS MADE BY INTERNATIONAL AND PRIVATE FUNDS IN THE NATURE RESERVES 10 3. AN ALY S I S O N T H E D E MA ND AN D SH O RTAG E O F C AP I TA L S I N Q I NG H A I ’S N ATU RE R ES E R VES ..... 11

3.1 ESTIMATIONS BASED ON THE AVERAGE INVESTMENT LEVEL OF THE MIDDLE EAST IN ITS NATURE RESERVES ............ 13 3.2 ESTIMATIONS BASED ON THE AVERAGE INVESTMENT LEVEL OF BRAZIL IN ITS NATURE RESERVESERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

3.3 ESTIMATIONS BASED ON THE AVERAGE INVESTMENT LEVEL OF EASTERN EUROPE IN ITS NATURE RESERVESERROR! BOOKMARK

NOT DEFINED. 3.4 ESTIMATIONS BASED ON THE AVERAGE INVESTMENT LEVEL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION IN ITS NATURE RESERVES ERROR!

BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED. 4. Analysis on the investments in typical nature reserves in Qinghai ............................................... 13

4.1 SANJIANGYUAN NATIONAL PARK ........................................................................................................ 13 4.2 QINGHAI LAKE NATIONAL NATURE RESERVE .......................................................................................... 14

4.3 THE COMPREHENSIVE MANAGEMENT PROJECT OF QILIAN MOUNTAIN’S ECOLOGICAL CONSERVATION AND CONSTRUCTION 16 5. Qinghai province utilize civil society and international capital towards protected areas .............. 16

5.1 SOURCE OF LOAN CAPITAL AND FINANCING METHODS .............................................................................. 16 5.2 FUNDING SOURCE AND APPLICATION METHODS OF INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATION ........................................ 17

6. Main conclusion and policy proposals to further improve nature reserves investments .............. 18

6.1 MAIN CONCLUSION ......................................................................................................................... 18 6.2 POLICY PROPOSALS FOR FUTURE INVESTMENTS IN QINGHAI’S NATURE RESERVES ............................................ 18


Page iv

LIST OF TABLES Table 1.1: Investment system and amount for the Qinghai province-wide nature reserves (CNY 0.001 million)

Table 2.1: Qinghai’s province-wide reserves investment situation (CNY million)

Table 2.2: Qinghai’s provincial-level reserves investment situation (CNY million)

Table 2.3: Qinghai’s local-level reserves investment situation (CNY million)

Table 2.4: Qinghai’s indirect reserves investment ratio (%)

Table 2.5: Qinghai’s direct reserves investment ratio (%)

Table 2.6: Investment system and amount of Qinghai Environmental Protection Department for the nature

reserves (CNY million)

Table 2.7: Nature reserves investment situation of the Qinghai Environmental Protection Department (CNY

million)

Table 2.8: Investment system and amount of the Qinghai Forestry Department for nature reserves (CNY million)

Table 2.9: Nature reserves investment Situation of the Qinghai Forestry Department (CNY million)

Table 3.1: Investment system and amount for the Qinghai province-wide nature reserves (CNY million)

Table 3.2: Qinghai province conservation reserves investment needs based on standards in different countries

and regions

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1: Qinghai province’s reserves investment and its changing trend

Figure 2: Compilation of Qinghai’s fiscal investment in nature conservation (2014-2016)

Figure 3: Compilation of Qinghai’s provincial-level fiscal investment in nature conservation (2014-2016)

Figure 4: Compilation of Qinghai’s local-level fiscal investment in nature conservation (2014-2016) (unit: CNY

million)

Figure 5: Compilation of the fiscal investment in nature conservation by Qinghai Environmental Protection

Department (2014-2016)

Figure 6: Compilation of the fiscal investment in nature conservation by Qinghai Forestry Department (2015-

2016)


Page 1

1. Q I NG H AI PROV INC E ’S PROT EC TE D AR EAS S IT UAT ION A N D F IN AN CIN G C AT EG O RY SYSTEM

The Qinghai province nurtures the world’s unique plateau ecological system known as the “source of rivers” and

“PRC water tower”, it is a fragile area in the context of global warming, as well as a region of sensitive ecological

environment. As the PRC enters the developmental stage of ecological civilization construction, the country has

continuously increased investment inputs for Qinghai’s ecological conservation and projects. From 1998 to 2012,

the cumulative investment amount in Qinghai’s main ecological constructions reached CNY 23.835 billion (approx.

USD 3.5 billion); in January 2014, the second phase of Sanjiangyuan conservation kick started with total

investments reaching CNY 16 billion (approx. USD 2.35 billion), the Sanjiangyuan region, the Qinghai Lake basin,

and the Qilian mountain water source conservation area have become the three main project sites in Qinghai

province. Nowadays, Qinghai has implemented a series of national-level ecological conservation and

conservation projects, such as the Grain for Green, the Natural Forest Conservation, the “Three-North” Shelter

Forest Programme (TNSFP), the Return of Grazing land to Grassland, the Sanjiangyuan nature reserves

conservation and construction, and the Environmental Protection and Comprehensive Management of the

Qinghai Lake Basin Ecology.

1.1 Qinghai province’s protected areas situation

In May 2016, experts from institutions such as the Chinese Academy of Sciences evaluated and approved an

ecological assessment and research which states that Qinghai has become the province with the highest number

of ecological conservation projects in the PRC. Ecologists have discovered through the comparison of ecological

project investments and the service value changes in ecological systems that the investment return rate of

Qinghai’s ecological construction project reached 137.25%1, of which the investment return rate of Sanjiangyuan

region is as high as 204.26%2.

As of the end of last century, factors such as the increased human-livestock activities and climate change have

deterioated the ecological system of the grassland, lakes, and glaciers in this region. To counter the situation, the

PRC established the Sanjiangyuan nature reserve in 2005 and has invested close to CNY 9 billion (approx. USD

1.3 billion) in 10 years, and nearly 100,000 herders have been resettled away from the grassland, on top of the

more than 700,000 herders who initiated to lower the number of their livestocks. Qinghai province has

established 7 national-level nature reserves and 4 provincal-level nature reserves, (1 of the 11 nature reserves is

managed by the Provincial Environmental Protection Department), with a total area of 21.8 million hectare,

making up 30.24% of the total land area in the province. There are 7 national-level reserves with a total area of

20.7 million hectare, and 4 provincial-level reserves of 1.1 million hectare. The total area of Sanjiangyuan

National Park is 12.31 million hectare.

1.2 Qinghai province’s Protected Area Financing Situation

From the situation of provincial-level reserves investment, we can see that the provincial-level fiscal budgetary

system has not established a special account for reserves investments, and the public fiscal investments linked

to nature reserves are dispersed in various ecological environment conservation accounts. In the present

provincial-level fiscal budgetary system, the three types of accounts related to nature reserves mainly comprise

the energy conservation and environmental protection expenditure, the agriculture and water expenditure, the

land, water, and meteorology expenditure, details are shown in the Table 1.1 below:

1-2 http://www.qh.xinhuanet.com/20160601/3177549_c.html


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Table 1.1 Financing for the nature reserves of Qinghai province (CNY million) 2014 2015 2016

Dire

ct Re

serv

es

Inv

estm

en

t

Energy conservation and

environmental protection

expenditure

Nature Reserves 1.03 0.20 2.16

Organisms & Species

Resource Conservation 3.82 - -

agriculture, forestry, and water

expenditure

Forestry Nature Reserves 33.37 23.98 36.16

Fauna & Flora Conservation 11.09 14.02 10.86

Sub-total 49.31 38.20 49.18

Ind

irect

Re

serv

es

agricultare, forestry and water

expenditure

Natural Forest Conservation 321.72 315.82 306.86

Forest Ecological Benefit

Compensation 282.63 261.83 314.23

Sub-total 604.35 577.65 621.09

Data source: the Qinghai Finance Department

From Table 1.1, we can see that more than 5 accounts in the provincial-level fiscal system are linked to protected

area financing, 4 of them are directly and closely related to protected area financing, which are: the nature

reserves investment and the organismes & species resource conservation investment of the Energy Conservation

& Environmental Protection account, and the forestry nature reserve, the fauna & flora conservation of the

Agriculture, forestry and water expenditure account. 1 account is indirectly related to protected area financing,

which including natural forest conservation and forest ecological benefit compensation expenditure.

2. Q IN G HA I PROV IN CE ’S N ATU RE R ESE RV ES IN VEST M EN T S IT UAT ION A N D TR EN D A NALYS I S

The Qinghai province has consistently made supporting the conservation and improvement of ecological

environments an important responsibility for protecting and developing productivity, and it has adequately

executed the guiding effect of fiscal investment. In 2014, the province established a diversified investment

mechanism centered on fiscal input for ecological conservation, and fully supported the actions of implementing

and constructing the forerunner of national ecological civilization.

2.1 Overall PA financing and trends at the provincial level from 2014 to 2016

(1). Overall province-wide PA financing and trends from 2014 to 2016

Through sorting out direct and the indirect PA financing at the provincial level from 2014 to 2016, an analysis is

conducted on the total input amount in the past three years, as shown in Table 2.1.

Table 2.1 Qinghai’s province-wide PA financing situation (CNY million)

Year 2014 2015 2016

Direct conservation financing 49.31 38.20 49.18

Indirect conservation financing 604.35 577.65 621.09

Note:

1. Direct conservation financing refers to: ∑Nature reserves + organisms & species resourece conservation +

forestry nature reserves + fauna & flora conservation expenditure (As listed in the Table 1.1 above).

2. Indirect conservation financing refers to: ∑Natural forest conservation + forest ecological benefit

compensation expenditure.


Page 3

3. The present study estimate the fisical spending indirectly invested into the PA system based on the area

ratios of forest, natural forests and wetlands between those located with nature reserves and those of the

entire province.

From Table 2.1, we can see that, in terms of direct PA financing, the highest amount in the past three years was

in 2014 reaching CNY 49.31 million (approx. USD 8.03 million). However the direct investment dropped in 2015

compared to 2014. In terms of indirect investment, it peaked in 2016 with an amount reaching CNY 621.09

million (approx. USD 93.50 million).

Figure 1 Qinghai province’s PA Financing, 2014-2016 (CNY million)

The trends of Qinghai’s PA financing in the past three years are shown in Table 2-1. In 2015, though the direct

investments slightly decreased, the surge of indirect investments gave the year’s total provincial reserves

investments a significant increase from the previous year.

(2). Overall PA financing at the provincial level from 2014 to 2016

Table 2.2 Qinghai’s provincial-level reserves investment situation (CNY million)

Year 2014 2015 2016

Direct conservation financing 7.40 4.58 38.36

Indirect conservation financing 69.46 138.11 53.84

Note:

1. Province-wide financing input=∑provincial-level’s input+city-level’s input+county-level’s input (As shown in

Table2.1 above).

2. Provincial-leves financing input=Qinghai’s provincial-level’s financing input merely, not including city-level’s

input and county- level’s input (As shown in Table 2.2).

From Table 2.2, we can see that, the direct PA financing reached CNY 7.40 million (approx. USD 1.21 million) in

2014, and the funding inputs in 2016 increased 837% compared to the previous year, making the 2016 direct

input in nature reserves CNY 38.36 million (approx. USD 5.78 million). In terms of indirect investment, the input

amount for nature reserves reached CNY 138.11 million (approx. USD 22.17 million) in 2015, but a decline was

seen in 2016 due mainly to the decrease of expenditures in forest resource management, forest resource

supervision, and forest ecological benefit compensations.

(3). Overall PA financing at the local level from 2014 to 2016

Table 2.3 Qinghai’s city-level and county-level PA financing situation (CNY million)

49.31 38.2 49.18

604.35577.65 621.09

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

2014 2015 2016

Direct

Indirect


Page 4

Year 2014 2015 2016

Direct conservation fundings 41.91 33.61 10.81

Indirect conservation fundings 1319.71 1834.97 1740.70

From Table 2.3, we know that in terms of direct investments, it was the lowest in year 2016, amounting to only

CNY 10.81 million (approx. USD 1.63 million), and this is due to the decrease of direct PA financing in wild fauna

& flora conservation and wetland conservation. In terms of indirect investment, a moderate drop was seen in

2016, but the increase in 2015 is significant, which added indirect investments for the compensation of forest

ecological benefit and the Coordinated Management of the River, Lake, and Reservoir Water System.

2.2 Special PA financing at the provincial level from 2014 to 2016

(1). Overall province-wide special PA financing from 2014 to 2016

Figure 2 Compilation of Qinghai’s fiscal investment in nature conservation (2014-2016)

The fundings focus on “Nature Reserves” from 2014 to 2016 saw noticeable changes in the investment amount,

there had been a clear drop in 2015 and a significant growth in 2016, amounting to a 980% growth rate compared

to the investment input of the previous year. The ratio of this special funding shows the same downward-upward

trait in all special conservation fundings.

The special funding for “Forestry Nature Reserves” showed a moderate level of decline from 2014 to 2015, and

a clear growth in 2016, reaching a 50% growth rate compared to the investment input of the previous year. Its

ratio in all special conservation fundings shows the same downward-upward trait.

The special funding for “Fauna & Flora Conservation” showed a stable trend from 2014 to 2016, with CNY 14.02

million (approx. USD 2.25 million) of investments in 2015, an investment input increase of 26% compared to the

previous year.

The special funding for “Wetland Conservation” from 2014 to 2016 made total investment amounts of CNY 81.11

million (approx. USD 13.20 million) , CNY 96.29 million (approx. USD 15.46 million) , and CNY 27.97 million

(approx. USD 4.21 million) respectively. The special funding for “Wetland Conservation” reached its peack in

2015, with a growth rate of 18.7% from the previous year. The input ratio of the special funding for “Wetland

Conservation” from 2014 to 2016 amounts to 60%, 71.6%, and 36% of the total investment, showing the interest

and emphasis of wetland conservation by the Qinghai province.

(2). Overall special investments and its changing trends at the provincial level from 2014 to 2016

9.17 0.2 2.1633.37 23.98 36.1611.09 14.02 10.8681.11 96.29

27.97134.74 134.49 77.15

020406080100120140160

2014 2015 2016Unit：CNY million Nature Reserve ZonesForestry Nature ReserveZonesFauna & Flora ProtectionWetland ProtectionTotal


Page 5

Figure 3 Compilation of Qinghai’s provincial-level financing in nature conservation (2014-2016)

The special funding for “Nature Reserves” shows noticeable changes from 2014 to 2016, with a rather large

decline at the beginning followed by a steady trend. Its yearly ratio in all special conservation fundings

corresponds to 5%, 1.2%, and 1.1%, with the same situation of a rather large decline at the beginning followed

by a steady trend. Nevertheless, its input is relatively low compared to other special conservation fundings, the

provincial-level input needs to be further increased for this special funding.

The special funding for “Forestry Nature Reserves” shows a remarkable growth from 2014 to 2015, and a large-

scale decline in 2016, its ratio in all special conservation fundings shows the same upward-downward trait. The

proportions of the special funding for “Forestry Nature Reserves” in all special conservation fundings amount to

29.9%, 59%, and 28.7% from 2014 to 2016.

The special funding for “Fauna & Flora Conservation” shows a gradual decline from 2014 to 2016, its ratio in all

special conservation fundings amounts to 20%, 19%, and 5.7% respectively, showing the trait of gradual annual

decline. With the continuous increase in the PRC’s support for wildlife conservation, particularly since the PRC’s

implementation of construction projects for Natural Forest Resource Conservation, Return Farmland to Forest,

Wild Fauna & Flora Conservation, and Nature Reserves, wildlife population throughout the country shows a

steady growth, with a constantly expanded activity area and some instances of over-population in certain areas.

Currently, the Qinghai province has established the “Compensation Guidelines for Wildlife Damages”3 with

concrete compensation standard and special fundings allocated by the Rescue & Breeding account of the State

Forestry Administration. As shown by Figures 2 and 3, other than relying on the national fiscal input, the low

investment inputs targeting Fauna & Flora Conservation must be brought to the forefront at the provincial level.

The special funding for “Wetland Conservation” saw rather clear changes, showing a downward-upward trait in

the investment amounts in recent years. The provincial-level special conservation fundings for “Wetland

Conservation” invested CNY 5.73 million (approx. USD 0.93 million), CNY 3.20 million (approx. USD 0.51 million),

and CNY 5.22 million (approx. USD 0.78 million) respectively from 2014 to 2016. Its ratio in all special

conservation fundings in 2014 is 28% and 19% at its lowest in 2015, followed by a surge of 30% in 2016. It can

be seen that the provincial level administration has realized the importance of wetland conservation.

(3). Overall special investments and its changing trends at the local level from 2014 to 2016

The special conservation funding for “Nature Reserves Areas” made no inputs in 2014 and 2015, and in 2016

3 http://www.guoluo.gov.cn/html/73/179681.html

1.030.2 0.2

6.07

9.91

4.924.12

3.3

0.98

5.73

3.2

5.22

16.9516.61

11.32

024681012141618

2014 2015 2016Unit: CNY million Nature Reserve ZonesForestry Nature ReserveZonesFauna & Flora ProtectionWetland ProtectionTotal


Page 6

made an investment of CNY 1.96 million (approx. USD 0.29 million). It can be seen that the city-level and county-

level administration of Qinghai province has realized the importance of Nature Reserves for the promotion of

the ecological conservation cause.

Figure 4 Compilation of Qinghai’s local-level fiscal investment in nature conservation (2014-2016) (CNY million)

The investment input by the special funding for “Forestry Nature Reserves” shows the downward-upward trait

in recent years, its yearly ratio in all special conservation fundings are consecutively 24%, 11.9%, and 34.5%.

The special funding for “Fauna & Flora Conservation” shows a downward-upward trend at the lower level, and

its yearly ratio in all special conservation fundings are 6.3%, 9%, and 15%, showing an overall upward trait, but

still with a rather low overall percentage.

The yearly input amount by the special funding for “Wetland Conservation” from 2014 to 2016 are CNY 75.38

million, CNY 93.09 million, and CNY 22.75 million respectively. This special funding takes up the highest

proportions in all special conservation fundings from 2014 to 2015. In 2016, though the Qinghai local-level input

in the special funding for “Wetland Conservation” showed a slower pace, it still makes up 34% of all investment

inputs. It can be seen that the local level administration in the Qinghai province attaches great importance to

the special funding for “Wetland Conservation”.

(4). Provincial and local-level fiscal investment ratio from 2014 to 2016

In the past three years, the ratio of direct conservation fundings in the Qinghai province shows a wider

fluctuation, as indicated in Table 2.5, from which we can see the ratio of the local-level input in the direct

conservation fundings declined significantly in 2016, from 85% in 2014 to 22% in 2016, while the ratio of

provincial-level input in direct conservation fundings grew from 15% in 2014 to 78% in 2016. The provincial fiscal

authority invested in a series of projects and infrastructure constructions for the Sanjiangyuan National Park,

while the local authority lowered its direct conservation fundings for wetland and wild fauna & flora.

Table 2.4 Qinghai’s direct PA financing ratio (%)

Year 2014 2015 2016

Local-level direct conservation financing 85 88 22

Provincial-level direct conservation financing 15 12 78

In 2016, the ratio of the provincial-level input in direct conservation fundings far surpassed that of the local level

administration, and it shows a significant increase as well compared to the inputs of the same period. Therefore,

0 0 1.96

27.3

14.07

31.24

6.97 10.72 9.88

75.38

93.09

22.75

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

2014 2015 2016

Nature Reserve Areas

Forestry Nature Reserve

Areas

Fauna & Flora Protection

Wetland Conservation


Page 7

reserves construction and conservation can not rely only on the direct fundings from the local level, the provincial

level adminstartion should also increase its inputs in direct conservation fundings, forming the suitable situation

of joint reserves construction from the provincial and local levels.

(5). Provincial and local-level PA financing from 2014 to 2016

Table 2.5 Qinghai’s indirect PA financing ratio (%)

Year 2014 2015 2016

Local-level indirect conservation financing 95 93 97

Provincial-level indirect conservation financing 5 7 3

The local-level indirect conservation financing in Qinghai show a steady growth during the past three years.

The indirect input ratio is shown in table 2.4, the input ratios of the provincial and local-level indirect

conservation fundings are of minor difference in 2014 and 2015, with the provincial-level indirect conservation

fundings occupying a lower proportion. In the past three years, the local-level indirect conservation fundings

amounts to more than 93% of the total input, thus the local investments are the important sources of indirect

funding support for the reserves. In 2016, while the proportion of local indirect reserves input declined, that of

the provincial-level increased, this is mainly due to the addition of the local indirect input in the Coordinated

Management of the River, Lake and Reservoir Water System, which did not exist in the previous two years.

2.3 Changes and trends of all departmental investments in the nature reserves

(1). Changes and trends of investments made by the Environmental Protection Department in nature reserves

①Investment system and amount of the Qinghai Environmental Protection Department for nature reserves

Through sorting out the final fiscal report of the Qinghai Environmental Protection Department from 2014 to

2016, the directly and indirectly related inputs in the reserves are calculated to make the further analysis on the

total input amount in the past three years, as shown in Table 2.6.

Table 2.6 Investment system and amount of Qinghai Environmental Protection Department for the nature

reserves (CNY million)

Reserves

investment by

the fiscal

system of

Qinghai

Environmental

Protection

Department

2014 2015 2016

Indirect

Conservation

Fundings

Energy

conservation &

environmental

protection

expenditure

69.70 173.33 164.74

Natural ecology

conservation 2.83 4.12 19.86

Environmental

Protection

Awareness

Campaign

0.53 0.70 0.86

Nevertheless direct financing input related to PA system of Qinghai from the Qinghai Environmental Protection

Department remains unavailable, we still can see from Table 2.6 that the Qinghai Environmental Protection

Department currently has three indirect accounts related to nature reserves investments, including the energy


Page 8

conservation & environmental protection expenditures and the natural ecological conservation expenditures in

the direct fundings, and the environmental protection awareness campaign.

②Changes and trends of investments made by the Qinghai Environmental Protection Department in nature

reserves

Figure 5 Compilation of the fiscal investment in nature conservation by Qinghai Environmental Protection Department (2014-2016)

From 2014 to 2016, the total input amount in the special fundings by the Qinghai Environmental Protection

Department presents a downward-upward trait, amongst which the special funding for “Natural Ecology

Conservation” shows an overall upward trend, and its ratios in all special conservation fundings increase annually

from 3.9%, 2.3%, to 10%. The input amount in the special funding for “Energy Conservation & Environmental

Protection” showed a significant growth in 2015, but a moderate decline in 2016; in all special conservation

fundings, it still occupies a rather important proportion. The Qinghai Environmental Protection Department

should take a step further to strengthen its emphasis on natural ecology conservation, and better coordinate

the input ratio of investments in energy conservation & environmental protection, and ecological conservation.

③Qinghai Environmental Protection Department’s investment distribution in the nature reserves

Table 2.7 Nature reserves investment situation of the Qinghai Environmental Protection Department

(CNY million)

Year 2014 2015 2016

Direct Conservation Financing 72.53 177.45 19.86

Indirect Conservation Financing 0.53 0.70 0.86

During the past three years, the total investment of Qinghai Environmental Protection Department for nature

reserves has significantly decreased, showing a 71% drop in 2016 from 2014, and 88% from 2015 — a higher

intensity of decline. We can see from table 2.7, in terms of direct conservation fundings, the investment amount

for nature reserves in 2015 increased 45% compared to the previous year, but the amount in 2016 decreased

72% compared to 2014. In terms of indirect conservation fundings, the investment amount for nature reserves

is relatively stable. In order to better construct nature reserves, the Environmental Protection Department

should attach importance to the steady reserves input, to further stablize the total investment amount.

(2). Changes and trends of the investments made by the Forestry Department in nature reserves

①Investment system and amount of the Qinghai Forestry Department for nature reserves

Table 2.8 Investment system and amount of the Qinghai Forestry Department for nature reserves (CNY

69.7

173.33

164.73

2.82 4.12

19.86

72.52

177.45 184.59

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

180

200

2014 2015 2016

Uni: CNY million

Energy Conservation &

Environment Protection

Natural Ecology Protection

Total


Page 9

million)

Forestry Departm

ent’s Fiscal System Report on Reserves Investm

ent

2014 2015 2016

Direct

Conservation

Fundings

Agriculture,

Forestry &

Water

Expenditures

Forestry Nature Reserves 2.07 44.63 11.57

Fauna & Flora Conservation 3.52 2.76 3.81

Wetland Conservation 0.25 1.67 3.49

Sub-Total, Direct: 5.84 49.06 18.87

Indirect

Conservation

Fundings

Energy

Conservation &

Environmental

Protection

Expenditures

Natural Forest Conservation 25.07 616.72 16.24

Return Farmland to Forest 2.52 1.35 3.40

Agriculture,

Forestry &

Water

Expenditures

Forest Cultivvation 24.13 142.33 47.57

Forest Resource

Management 6.00 0.20 6.23

Forest Resource Monitor 1.61 4.09 1.80


Compensation 24.12 113.79 36.19

Forestry Inspection &

Examination 0.10 0.03 0

Information Management 0.15 0.32 1.40

Sub-Total, Indirect: 83.70 878.83 112.83 Note: Data source, the Qinghai Forestry Department

We can see from Table 2.8 that the provincial-level fiscal system currently has more than 10 accounts linked to

reserves investments, but only three of them are directly and closely related to such investments, which are the

Forestry Nature Reserves investments, the Fauna & Flora Conservation investments, and the Wetland

Conservation in the Agriculture, Forestry & Water expenditure account. Eight accounts are indirectly related to

reserves investments, including the Natural Forest Conservation and the Return Farmland to Forest in the Energy

Conservation & Environmental Protection expenditures, and the Forest Cultivation in the Agriculture, Forestry &

Water expenditures, etc.

②Changes and trends of the investments made by the Qinghai Forestry Department in nature reserves

The financing change in the special funding for “Forestry Nature Reserves” shows a wide fluctuation. 2015 saw

an increase of 2052% from 2014, and 2016 a decrease of 74% from 2015. To a certain extent, this is linked to

the decrease in overall investment, as well as the investment flow into other projects. However, the investment

input of this single funding still takes up the largest proportion in all special funding, we can therefore see the

importance attached to this funding by the Forestry Department.


Page 10

Figure 6 Compilation of nature conservation financig by Qinghai Forestry Department (2014-2016)

The special funding for “Fauna & Flora Conservation” declined somewhat in 2015, and rose moderately in 2016,

but its ratios in all special conservation fundings are decreasing gradually. The Forestry Department should take

a step further to stress the importance of increasing the investment input in this special funding.

The special funding for “Wetland Conservation” reached CNY 0.34 million in 2016, a 108.9% growth rate from

the previous year. During the recent years, the investment input ratios of this special funding went from 0%, to

3.4%, and to 18.5% in Qinghai Forestry Department’s Nature Conservation Fiscal System, such realization of a

growth from scratch indicates the interest and emphasis of Qinghai Forestry Department in “Wetland

Conservation”.

③Qinghai Forestry Department’s investment distribution in nature reserves

Table 2.9 Nature reserves investment Situation of the Qinghai Forestry Department (CNY million)

Year 2014 2015 2016

Direct Conservation Fundings 5.84 49.06 18.87

Indirect Conservation Fundings 83.70 878.83 112.83

In 2016, Qinghai Forestry Department’s total investment in nature reserves increased 47% from 2015. We can

see from table Table 2.10 that direct conservation fundings in 2015 had a significant growth, showing an increase

of 838% from Qinghai Forestry Department’s inputs in the direct conservation fundings for nature reserves in

2014. The indirect conservation fundings have increased annually, in 2016, the indirect conservation fundings

for nature reserves rose 2.8% from 2015. In addition, the Qinghai province can continue to increase the

investment input in Wetland Conservation for the accounts of Wetland Ecological Benefit Compensation, Return

Farmland to Wetland, Wetland Conservation Reward, Wetland Conservation & Restorations, etc.

2.4 Changes and trends of the investments made by international and private funds in the nature reserves

The Sanjiangyuan foundation was officially established in 2012, through its efforts over the past 4 years, the

foundation increased its original capital by CNY 10 million: by hiring proper financial institutions to manage its

capital in accordance with laws and regualtions. In just over 4 years, the original capital has increased from the

initial CNY 10 million to CNY 27 million, an actual increase of CNY 17 million. As of 2017, the original capital and

2.07

44.63

1157.71

3.52 2.76 3.810.25 1.67

3.49

5.84

49.06

18.87

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

2014 2015 2016

Unit: CNY million

Forestry Nature Reserve

Zones

Fauna & Flora Protection

Wetland Protection

Total


Page 11

fixed capital combined to be more than CNY 30 million. At present, the foundation has collected monetary &

material donations totalling CNY 11.16 million in value. The foundation has taken the initiative to strengthen its

communications with the provincial development & reform commission, provincial environmental protection

agency, provincial Sanjiangyuan office and other relevant departments, and completed a cumulative

expenditure of CNY 10.84 million in Sanjiangyuan ecological conservation public welfare projects.

While it was successfully undertaking the forestry program of the Sanjiangyuan ecological project, the Qinghai

province Forestry Administration utilized the Sanjiangyuan ecological brand to actively pursue external

cooperation. One after another, it has cooperated with international financial institutions and NGOs such as the

GEF、CI、WWF and Sanshui (Beijing landscape nature conservation center) to solicit international funding,

technology and projects, as well as bring in new international conservation concepts, methods and technologies.

In providing funding support for conservation undertakings centered around communities by ways of small

donations and contractual conservation, the traditional situation where biodiversity conservation relied solely

State investment and lacked private sector participation has been changed, the insufficient government

investment in conservation has been compensated. In turn, the ecological conservation efficiency has increased

and its results became more sustainable.

In 2012, the project “PRC biodiversity partnership frameworks—strengthen the effectiveness of Qinghai

province and PRC’s conservation reserves systems in order to protect the biodiversity of key global species” is

set to begin. This project has a total investment of USD 24.5 million and an implementation period of 5 years.

The key objective of this project is to strengthen the effectiveness of Qinghai province and PRC’s conservation

reserves systems in order to protect the biodiversity of key global species, and to increase the management

standards of Qinghai province’s conservation reserves system.

3. AN A LYSI S O N TH E DE MAN D A N D SH O RTAG E OF C A PITA LS IN Q IN GH A I ’S NATURE R ESE RV ES

In recent years, the PRC has increased its overall investment intensity towards conservation. The Qinghai

province has responded to the country’s comprehensive development policy by devoting increasing attention on

the establishment and protection of protected areas, and its funding input towards these PA’s is also seeing an

overall growth. In calculating the current financing needs of Qinghai province’s protected aeras, we must first

understand the present finanncing situation of the province. Since the provincial funding input includes the

Central government transfer payments, this study considers the provincial level input as the total input received

by the Qinghai province protected aeras. However, there is no item in the provincial level budget system

specifically devoted to funding inputs towards protected areas. This study has sorted out directly related and

indirectly related investments, and it became clear that if we only calculate direct investments within the budget

that are related to protected areas, then the funding is evidently insufficient. Two rather important financing

items are obviously missing, one being the forest ecological benefits compensation and natural forest

conservation compensation, and the other the operational & management costs such as personnel salaries and

operating expenses. In the budget system, it is very difficult to single out those costs directly related to protected

areas. For this reason, we have divided fiscal budget items into directly related and indirectly related when

calculating the inputs. Qinghai province’s protected areas are mainly those of forestry and environmental

protection, and there are rather significant indirect forestry related funding inputs. During actual calculations,

since we lack data for the amount of forest resources within conservation reserves at the provincial level, our

calculations are based on the national ratio.

The present study estimate the fisical spending indirectly invested into the PA system based on the area ratios of


Page 12

forest, natural forests and wetlands between those located with nature reserves and those of the entire province.

Specifically, the natural forest area of natural reserve accounts for 28.7% of the total area of natural forest in

China. Forest area accounts for 33.2% of the country's forest area and wetland area accounts for 37.3% of the

total wetland area in China. The ratio of specific subjects to the protected areas is shown in the table below.

Furthermore, some indirect related subjects are listed in table 1.1 and are not included in the calculation, such

as rural environmental protection and environmental protection publicity which can be ignored because of little

investment into nature reserves and hard to calculate. Due to the lacking of specific data, the research estimate

the fisical spending indirectly invested into the PA system of Qinghai province based on the various ratios of the

country shown above.The current total area of Qinghai province’s nature reserves is 21.8 million hectares, and

Table 3.1 below shows the estimated financing needs of these reserves based funding input standards of other

countries and regions in the world:

Table 3.1 Investment system and amount for the Qinghai province-wide nature reserves (CNY million) 2014 2015 2016

Dire

ct

Re

serve

s

Inve

stme

nt

Energy conservation

and environmental

protection

expenditure

Nature Reserves 34.40 24.18 38.32

Organisms & Species

Resource Conservation 3.82 - -

Ind

irect R

ese

rve

s

inve

stme

nt

Agriculture, forestry,

and water

expenditure

Nature Forest

Conservation Project 15.31 15.71 15.51


Compensation 10.81 10.02 12.02

Total 64.34 49.91 65.85

Data source: the Qinghai province department of finance

Acording to these numers, we calculate the 2014-2016 Qinghai province protected areas funding input levels to

be at CNY 64.34 million, CNY 49.91 million and CNY 65.85 million respectively (approx. USD 10.15 million, USD

7.88 million and USD 10.39 million). However, the current conservation reserves investments are still on the

short side, the personnel salaries and operating expenses for these reserves are missing. It is rather difficult for

these costs to be represented in the fiscal budget, but by comparing the various standards, we can see that the

investments are comparatively lower. This may have to do with the fact that Qinghai province is located in the

north-western region with lower economic development levels, hence lack sufficient fiscal budget expenditure

to meet the needs of conservation reserves establishment.

Table 3.2 Qinghai province protected areas financing needs based on standards in different countries and

regions Based on the Middle

East Region Based on Brazil

Based on Eastern

Europe

Based on the

European Union

Qinghai

PA financing needs USD 1.170 million USD 1.733 million USD 2.426 million USD 9.316 million

Note: USD average exchange rate at 2014, 1 USD =CNY 6.1428; USD average exchange rate at 2015, 1 USD =CNY 6.2284; USD


Page 13

average exchange rate at 2016, 1 USD =CNY 6.6423

We obtained the per hectare investment standard from UNDP (2010)1. Based on the existing calculation results

and comparing the investment standards of the reserves in different countries and regions, it can be found that

although the investment in the reserves of Qinghai province is slightly higher than that of eastern European

countries, yet with the European Union as the standard, there is still a large funding gap. Qinghai province is in

the northwest region of China, with low economic development level and insufficient financial fund expenditure

to meet the needs of the construction of the reserve.

There is no effective source of funds, and government investment accounts for the vast majority. The national

nature reserves are mainly reflected in the lack of personnel salary, limited equipment and vehicles and lack of

operational budgetary support. The ecological compensation funds such as natural forests and public welfare

forests compensation funds are low and their coverage is not high. In addition, provincial natural reserves lack

funds in the staff salaries, operating expenses, infrastructure construction, patrol monitoring and other funds

Most of funds sources are obvious deficiencies.

Second, According to the research teams design a survey program based on the MEP's investigation of the basic

financial data of nature reserves in China and the report of forestry development planning and forestry key

project planning. From 2015 to 2016, a survey of the input and use of funds in 50 nature reserves in Shaanxi,

Sichuan, Yunnan, Jiangxi, Hubei, Guangdong and Liaoning provinces was conducted. The survey mainly focused

on the personnel salary, operational budgetary, central project funds, provincial project funds, Project funds,

natural forest protection project funds, other project funds and return of funds from tourism receipts and other

subjects to conduct surveys, they mainly estimate the basic management needs and optimal management needs

through the focus forums and personnel questionnaires combined form.

Finally, we find that there is still a large gap in the current investment in nature reserves in China. Based on the

funds invested in the nature reserves in 2016, the current funding gap for national nature reserves to meet the

basic management should increase 30% -50%, although the state-level nature reserves have special financial

funds invested by the central government, their input is small and they can only maintain routine management

of nature reserves. Provincial-level nature reserves are generally large in funding gap. Provincial-level nature

reserves can only guarantee daily personnel and business expenditures, but few projects input cannot effectively

carry out basic activities such as patrolling, monitoring and propaganda. To meet basic management needs, the

fund input should increase 150% -200% of the existing investment. On the whole, at present, the funds required

to achieve basic management in China's nature reserves should increase 150% of the current investment. The

optimal management of the funding needs of national nature reserves requires an increase of 200% -250% of

current investment.

4. Analysis on the investments in typical nature reserves in Qinghai

In order to further promote the ecological civilization system reform, the Third Plenary Session of the 18th

Central Committee of the CPC has made clear demands to establish the National Park System. On March 5th

2016, the General Office of the CPC Central Committee jointly with the General Office of the State Council

published the “Sanjiangyuan National Park System Pilot Project”. The Sanjiangyuan National Park is the first of

its kind in the PRC, it has received much attention from the moment of its inception, and the Party and the State

have also continuously increased investment inputs to the construction of this national park. In 2017, the Qinghai

province will invest 75 million RMB to protect 3 key international wetlands covering a wetland conservation area

of 154,188 hectares. Qinghai province’s applications for the “Qinghai province Qinghai Lake key international

wetland conservation & restoration project” and “Qinghai province Zaling Lake—Eling Lake key international

wetland conservation & restoration projects” have received project establishment approvals and have been

included into the investment planning. The Qinghai province typical conservation reserves include the

Sanjiangyuan national park and Qinghai lake national nature reserve.

4.1 Sanjiangyuan National Park

As the “PRC water tower”, the Sanjiangyuan region nurtures and conserves the world’s natural great-area high


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frigid ecosytems. Since 2005, the PRC government has invested roughly CNY 7.5 billion (approx. USD 1.1 billion)

and initiated the first phase of the Sanjiangyuan ecological conservation & construction project that includes 3

major projects such as the ecological conservation & construction project, the famers and herdsmen production

& livelihood infrastructure construction project and the support project, all of which comprise a total of 22 sub-

projects. In 2014, the second phase of the Sanjiangyuan ecological conservation & construction project followed,

with an estimated overall investment of CNY 16 billion. By 2016 an actual investment of CNY 1.13 billion has

been realized for the second phase of the Sanjiangyuan ecological conservation & construction project including

0.7 billion RMB from the Central government budget items, CNY 0.3 billion from the provincial government fiscal

project investment advances, CNY 50.38 million from 2015 Central government special project investment

transfers, and CNY 88.4 million from existing grazingland to grassland project investment transfers. The projects

involved include fencing off deserts for grassification, fencing off mountainous ares for afforestation, artificial

afforestation, tree planting base construction, wetland conservation, black soil patches treatment, grassland pest

prevention & control, ecological animal husbandry infrastructure construction, forest pest prevention & control,

rural energy construction ecological supervison, awareness campaign, education and training.

While the government ceaselessly promotes the Sanjiangyuan conservation and development, some

international organizations and private sector forces have also joined this field, creating a situation of positive

interaction between the government and the private sector. In January 2013, the Sanjiangyuan biodiversity

conservation project jointly financed by the GEF and Qinghai provincial government has been officially launched.

The total investment for this project was USD 23.855 million, which included USD 5.355 million from GEF funding

support, USD 18.5 million from Qinghai provincial government supporting investment, and technological support

from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The construction includes project area development

planning, community development, ecological construction, capacity building, conservation model, supervision

& assessment, climate change countermeasures and other fields.

In 2016, CNY 140 million (USD 21.2 million) has been allocated to projects such as the Sanjiangyuan national park

exhibition center, satellite network, patrol transportation vehicles, wilderness patrol equipments, major

ecological data center, forests, grasslands and wetlands background survey, technological standards system

construction and personnel training; a special funding of CNY 35.298 million has been allocated for the labor

remunerations of 2016 ecological management & conservation public welfare positions. At the same time, to

intergrate the second phase Sanjiangyuan construction, wetland conservation, biodiversity conservation,

infrastructure, public service, countryside beautification and other construction fundings, and assign an annual

inverstment plan of close to CNY 500 million.

4.2 Qinghai Lake National Nature Reserve

The Qinghai Lake national nature reserve is one of the five major national nature reserves in the Qinghai province,

its area covers 4,952 square kilometers. The 40 plus rivers and numerous streams surrounding the lake form a

great area of plateau wetland. The vast amount of vegetation in this area provides food for aquatic organisms

and birds. This bird island has become a living & breading haven for birds.

The Qinghai lake scenic area conservation, utilization and management administration’s 2016 initial budget

expenditure was CNY 99.7123 million and its final budget expenditure was CNY 188.4275 million, realizing 188.97%

of the initial budget. The main reason for the final budget to be higher than the initial budget was due to the

increase in budget adjustments of the general public budget’s fiscal allocations. Among them, the agriculture,

forestry and water expenditure was CNY 2.3929 million, accounting for 1.26%, which was mainly devoted to the


Page 15

public expenditure of nature reserves management administration.

The Qinghai lake scenic area conservation, utilization and management administration’s 2015 final account of

revenue and expenditure was CNY 341.66 million, an increase of CNY 165.98 million compared to that of 2014.

This was due mainly to the CNY 12.84 million of paid resource utilization in 2015. Among which, the agriculture,

forestry and water expenditure was CNY 5.36 million, an amount devoted mostly to the 2015 national nature

reserves project subsidies and the salvation of extremely small wild fauna & flora populations, as well as the

2014 wetland ecological benefits compensation pilot program subsidies and forestry technology innovation

platform operation subsidies, etc.

Grazing returning to natural grassland and enclosure has been implemented in Qinghai Lake since 2012, and its

area will cover 8,547,000 hectares, besides, wetland-protected area will cover 2,766,000 hectares. 915,000

hectares of severe sandy degraded grassland, 3,386,000 hectares of poisonous weeds area, 13,024,000 hectares

of grassland pets and mice area and 394,000 hectares of desertification land will be combated. Furthermore,

911,000 hectares of vegetation of black soil degraded grassland and 344,000 hectares of ecological projects,

ecological forest construction, for instance, will be restored and carried out. Main channels of financing for

protected areas includes following aspects:

1 Subsidy fund for wetland protection

This fund refers to a kind of special fund which is used for protecting and recovering related expenses of

international crucial wetland, wetland nature reserves and national wetland park, which are governed by forestry

system. Subsidy fund for wetland protection is mainly used for wetland monitoring, monitoring equipment

purchasing, wetland ecologic recovering and salary of administrative staffs. This fund will cover several expenses

shown as follows: 1. Monitoring, maintaining monitor facilities and purchasing equipment namely specifically

including necessary fees for material, purchase, labour cost and fuel etc., such as maintaining relevant facilities

of monitoring pots and patrol road, building fencing, purchasing tiny monitoring equipment and operation

maintenance. 2. Expenses for recovering degraded wetland, specifically including necessary fees for designing,

building, material and assessment etc., such as recovering vegetation and habitat, combating harmful organism

in wetland, ecological water compensation and dredging. 3. Administrative expenses. Wetland-related expenses

of forestry subsidy funds which are supported by central finances were achieved by CNY 1594 million, 331

projects were carried out to support wetland protection and recovering, set up converting croplands to wetlands

project and wetland ecological compensation pilot and encourage wetland protection. (1) Expenses for

converting croplands to wetland pilot. Expenses for converting croplands to wetland pilot are used for

international crucial wetland and returning farmlands within and around national level nature reserves to

wetland. Based on planning areas of converting croplands to wetland verified and reported by every province,

central finances will calculate general expenses then earmark funds to provinces according to established

standards - CNY 1 thousand will be subsidised for per mu (roughly 0.67 hectares). (2) Expenses for wetland

ecological compensation pilot. Expenses for wetland ecological compensation pilot are used for losses

compensation of important wetlands located on the routes of migratory birds due to wildlife protection.

Compensation beneficiaries are those people who own the right to contract cultivated lands within the areas of

basic farmlands and the second round land contract and fulfil wetland protection obligations. Expenses of

wetland ecological compensation pilot can also be used for wetland surrounding social communities (village,

group) which are suffered from loses or negative effect due to wetland protection to carry out ecology recovering

and environmental improvement. (3) Expenses for rewarding wetland protection. Expenses for rewarding

wetland protection are used for rewarding relevant departments of county level governments who achieve


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verified remarkable results in wetland protection. According to the established standard, central finances

earmark CNY 5 million rewarding funds to every county.

2 Ecological protection projects

The Central Committee of the CPC and the State Council have always attached great importance to ecological

improvement, and relevant departments have also carried out enormous amount of work. Focus on ecological

protection and recovering construction, increase investment in R&D, publicity, administration, training and law

enforcement, improve exchange communication and international cooperation, strengthen support to social

communities, regulate the use of nature resources, maintain ecosystem function in general, service for

implementing sustainable development strategy.

4.3 The comprehensive management project of Qilian mountain’s ecological conservation and construction

The Qinghai province Qilian mountain nature reserve management administration is a provincial public

institution under the jurisdiction of the provincial forestry department, it undertakes the natural environment

and natural resources conservation & management tasks in the Qilian mountain nature reserve. In 2005, the

provincial government approved the establishment of Qilian mountain provincial nature reserve, by 2014 the

culmulative investment input has reached CNY 1.34 billion (approx. USD 0.20 billion), and forestry ecological

construction projects such as the Three-North shelter forest program, natural forest conservation, as well as the

farmland to forest & grasslands have been implemented.

The Qinghai province Qilian mountain ecological conservation & construction comprehensive treatment project

began its overall implementation in 2014. Following the Sanjiangyuan and Qinghai lake major ecological project

constructions, this is yet another major ecological environment comprehensive treatment project in the Qinghai

province.

The Central committee of the CPC and the State Council both placed great importance on the Qilian mountain

ecological environment conservation & construction. In December 2012, the National Development and Reform

Commission officially approved the “Qilian Mountains ecological conservation & construction comprehensive

treatment planning (2012-2020)”. The areas covered by which include the Qilian Moutain’s southern hills

(Qinghai) and northern hills (Gansu), and the administrative regions involved include 23 counties (cities, districts,

ranches, executive committees) in the Qinghai and Gansu provinces, covering a total area of 159,468.8 square

kilometers. Among these, 10 counties (cities, executive committees), 60 villages and 1 agriculture & hearding

ranch are located in the Qinghai province, with an area of 63,125.2 square kilometers. The planning includes the

following 7 fields, the forest, grassland and wetland conservation & construction projects, water & soil

conservation projects, glacier environment conservation projects, ecological conservation supporting projects

and technological support projects. Total investment for the plan is estimated at CNY 7.9 billion (approx. USD

1.19 billion), of which close to CNY 3.5 billion (approx. USD 0.53 billion) would be used in Qinghai province, and

the planning construction period is set at 8 years.

Since 2013, the PRC has given preferential support to the Qilian Mountains ecological conservation &

construction through investments in shelter forest and natural forest conservation constructions. Qinghai

province has arranged a fiscal investment of CNY 100 million (approx. USD 15.10 million) to implement projects

such as sealing off mountainous ares for afforestation, sealing off deserts for afforestation & grassification,

wetland conservation & construction, water & soil conservation, grass consuming husbandry development,

forest & grassland fire prevention and forest pest prevention & treatment.

5. Qinghai province utilize civil society and international capital towards protected areas

5.1 Source of loan capital and financing methods

There are not only daily maintenance projects, recovering projects and R&D propaganda and education but also

catering, retail and entertainment zone in Qinghai province protected areas. In addition to government public

infrastructures are supported by finance input, enormous amount of facilities and capital for projects


Page 17

development are also needed. For such a mega project, solely rely on government’s finance input is far from

enough. Loan capital and financing methods can be approached, furthermore, contact with local bank and

project development bank and then organise syndicated loan will be helpful. Due to the protected areas of

Qinghai province have several characters, such as long building period and long operating time, credit period and

interest rate of protected areas’ credit financing scenario will be strictly required. Credit financing of protected

areas of Qinghai province are facing with the mainly challenges from credit application and approval link.

Influenced by prudent monetary policy, bank credit line is tenser in recent years.

5.2 Funding source and application methods of international organisation

Protection funds in China set up by International organisation make effort on encouraging all sectors of society

to protect biodiversity jointly. Up to now, amounts of protection projects have been supported national wide.

(1) Protect biodiversity of China, particular emphasis on content improvement, manage ecological environment

of habitat. (2) Environment education and publicity. (3) Social community co-management and set up protected

areas and protecting mechanism. (4) Carry out background investigation of the protection methods shown above

and analysis of threatening factors of rare and endangered species. Encourage the participation of all sectors of

society. The enforcement of key supporting projects will greatly improve local protection ability. Emphasis on

environment education and environment publicity, such as training, materials making for publicity, explain and

publicize protection ability of demonstration community and set up and manage protection units (protected

zone in community).

5.3 Eco-tourism project financing plan of protected areas

The development of ecotourism in nature reserves in China satisfies the need of sustainable development of

nature protection and tourism. It can increase income to ease the shortage of funds and the welfare of staff and

workers. At the same time, the development of ecotourism can expand the publicity of protected areas and

conduct a wide range of ecological education.

With the improvement of people's material and cultural life, the requirements for cultural life are getting higher

and higher. Ecotourism has gradually become one of the mainstream tourist industries. Rich eco-tourism

resources are consisted of rich wildlife resources, unique virgin forest, beautiful rivers and lakes, and swamps in

protected areas.It is necessary to carry out eco-tourism with restrictions by selecting typical area of Qinghai Lake

Scenic Area.

The planning and construction of tourism franchising projects are as follows:

- Sightseeing Area: The sightseeing area is located in Bird Island in Qinghai Lake Scenic Area which owns rich

visual image.

- Water entertainment area: fishing area can be considered to choose a water marsh as a fish pond, design

50 standard level Diaoyutai for visitors to use.

- Public Education Area of Wetland Ecosystem: The Public Education Area of Wetland Ecosystem is located

at the bank of Qinghai Lake. This area highlights the theme of popular science education in lakes and wetlands.

It opens up tourist routes and is equipped with different vegetation on both sides. The main purpose is to

introduce three-dimensional wetland ecology, the composition and the zonality of vegetation. At the same time,

some simple scientific measurement areas and tools are laid out so that visitors can observe the ecological

functions of the lake area through direct observation. The project can be combined with public education

projects.

Specific financing plan is as follows:

Qinghai Lake Scenic Area can choose to build - operate - transfer of PPP financing model.It is difficult to obtain

market financing of PPP projects to provide financial support for Qinghai Lake Scenic Area financing project with

characteristcs of high initial cost and long payback period. After the successful development of financing project

in Qinghai Lake, the investor compensated the expenses advanced in the previous period and returned to the

capital pool, equivalent to the capital being recycled. Protected areas and Scenic Area Administration jointly

served as the main financing project and ultilizing corporate or social funds to participate in the construction and

management of franchise projects.Meanwhile, the project has the full regulatory responsibility for the operation.

Protected areas and Scenic Area Administration are not only the party performing the contract, but also the

regulator,who regulates the profits of the non-governmental participants involved in the financing, represents

the public interest and ensures the non-governmental actors can obtain reasonable benefits at the same time.


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6. Main conclusion and policy proposals to further improve nature reserves investments

6.1 Main conclusion

Qinghai holds a highly strategic position in ecological conservation and its ecological situation not only affects

the nation’s ecological security but also that of the world. Protected areas are a central element in ecological

conservation undertakings; hence they deserve more attention from the central, provincial and local

governments when making investment decisions. While we fully acknowledge the outstanding results achieved

by Qinghai province nature reserves, we shall also recognize the current problems in Qinghai province’s

ecological conservation undertakings and conservation reserves development plannings, they include:

(1). Funding sources not diversified

Constrained by local financing abilities, Qinghai provinceprovincial PA financing relies mainly on Central

government input, it has relatively few other funding channels. The Central government’s fiscal investment

mainly focuses on ecological conservation funding with very little individual ecological conservation fundings are

used for ecological protection, this may create the unfavorable situation of “focusing on construction and

neglecting conservation”.

(2). Project conclusion

According to the needs of the project, and based on the estimation of a 12.6% increase in PA financing in 2016

from 2015, it is expected to achieve the goal of a 30% investment growth within the 5-year project period, of

which a large scale fiscal allocation will be reflected mainly through the input for national park constructions.

With the increasing importance attached to ecological conservation by the PRC, the construction of national

parks, and the functional adjustment of nature reserves, the conservation capacity, such as policies, laws &

regulations, and administrative managements, shall also see improvements.

6.2 Policy proposals for future investments in Qinghai’s nature reserves

Provincial financial investment in nature reserves in Qinghai province maintains its continued growth trend, at

present. In energy conservation and environment protection expenditure, agriculture, forestry, and water

expenditure, there are investment subjects specially targeted at the nature reserves showing a steady investment

to ensure the operation and management of the nature reserves of Qinghai province.It was seen from the 13th

Five-Year Plan of forestry development in Qinghai province and the 13th Five-Year Plan of national social-

economic development, in the future, Qinghai province will further invest in ecological conservation in protected

areas, and gradually promote ecological restoration projects and strengthen ecological protection in protected

areas, water conservation areas, river source areas and wetland. Nevertheless, the current investment in nature

reserves in Qinghai still has the following shortcomings:

(1) At present, the legal system of China’s protected areas has been established. However, the relevant

regulations merely focus on exploration and limitation of resources and the legislation lack on financing except

for Central budget remains. There are 2 (two) lines of “income” and “expenditure” for management of use of

tourism and other franchise projects’ income. In the future, the flexibility of capital use should be increased in

tourism and other aspects. Set up funds raising regulation that suit status of every reserve in Qinghai province

and develop business plan to reduce dependency on fiscal budget.

(2) Total financing investment in insufficient, and the investment is directly related to the nature reserves is less

than CNY 34 million (approx. USD 5.30 million) each year, and the average total input is only about CNY 60.03

million (approx. 9.47 million), there is still a big gap from the developed countries, the investment of some

provincial and county nature reserves has a serious shortage. The investment of Qinghai province for protected

areas is consistently increasing year by year but Sanjiangyuan National Park accounts for most of it. Currently,

total investment for other nature reserves at different level has not grown and financing investment is still

insufficient. Along with the protected areas increase, the funding for investment will be further diluted. In

future’s central financing investment budget, the needs of other protected zones and Sanjiangyuan National Park

should be balanced. In order to improve level of protected areas’ management, investment for infrastructure


Page 19

construction and capacity building of other national level nature reserves such as Qilian Mountains need to be

raised.

(3) Today, financing input for protected areas in Qinghai province still depend heavily on financial investment

from central government. Specifically, because of different administrative department, tourism income of

Qinghai protected areas is unable to adversely affect environment protection. Furthermore, Tourism resources

of Qinghai protected areas are so rarely explored that revenue it brings in today is relatively small. Local finance

is limited, Qinghai province is located in the western region, the economic development level is weak, reserve

construction restricts the local social economic development on the use of natural resources, therefore, further

strengthening the transfer payments of the central committee, and at the same time striving for NGO, social

donations and other funds, further broadening the sources of funds should be done. We need to combine with

different types of protected zones, such as forest, wildlife, wetland and so on, bring the community nearby nature

reserves to develop ecotourism, increase income for local people, reducing dependence on nature reserves and

ease off the funding pressure of administration.

(4) The total financing investment in nature reserves is not stable, most of which are basic expenditures such

as staff salaries and operating expenditures. It reflects that the current emphasis on constructing reserves in

Qinghai province is not enough, the current reserve construction can only meet the needs of daily operation,

unable to carry out effective construction, scientific research projects and so on which restricts the promotion

of the reserves’ management capacity and the successful accomplishment of scientifically determined

biodiversity conservation goals. Due to the shortage of total funding investment, many activities have yet to be

carried out, such as building field patrol road, carry out habitat restoration optimization and ecological

improvement projects for species and ecosystem, and strengthening public education and community

development projects. Given this situation, the development of protected areas at all levels and the

comprehensive functions of scientific research, public education in the nature reserves are still far from full

develop. The nature reserves of Qinghai Province are scattered, with a wide range of points and weak

infrastructure. Many monitoring data of nature reserves are scatteredly managed. The biological species

resources are not well-established and the tasks of investigation and cataloging are heavy. At the same time,

Qinghai Provincial Protected Area also urgently needs to expand the breadth and depth of publicity and

education of nature reserves, enhance public awareness of ecological environment protection and promote the

healthy development of natural resources protection. Qinghai Province, the financial sector should set up special

funds for information technology in protected areas, used to support the construction of Qinghai Provincial

Nature Reserve Information Platform.

The UNDP/GEF 6 project aims to alleviate the shortage of financing investment in nature reserves of Qinghai

province, which, in particular, has great significance for the infrastructure development and capacity building of

some provincial reserves. However, how to sustainably bring financial investment to the reserves through the

UNDP/GEF 6 project intervention, that is, realizing the transition from “blood transfusion” to “haematopoiesis”

(blood cell generation) function is a difficult problem to be considered in the project design process. On the one

hand, while the UNDP/GEF 6 project is building infrastructure and capacity in the reserves, publicity on the

importance and functionality of reserves also needs to be increased so as to inform key stakeholders and the

wider public realize the importance of the development of the protected areas. At the same time, it should also

facilitate the effective financing of the reserves, assist the effectiveness of applications for special protection

funds of various ministries and commissions, realize PPP financing and guide the integration of commercial

financing, etc. A list of recommendations for project intervention in order to increase the financial sustainability

of the provincial PA system is as follows:

1) The construction of pilot national parks will be the financial input focus of Qinghai province. The central

government will increase its financial inputs to the pilot national parks in Qinghai. However, the process for

constructing, managing financial inputs and setting up new institutions is not yet clear. The UNDP/GEF 6 project

can introduce advanced experience to guide pilot building of Qinghai’s national park, which can help to ensure

that financial inputs are reasonable and sustainable.

2) Qinghai province will increase its financial inputs towards ecological compensation for PAs distributed in the

main construction areas such as Sanjiangyuan, Qinghai Lake, Qilian Mountains and so on, then consistently

promote effective implementations of the policies on the transfer payment of key eco-function zones, the

environmental supervision of key eco-function zones, the daily management and conservation of grassland, and

the subsidies and rewards for grassland eco-conservation. The UNDP/GEF 6 project should help to improve the


Page 20

ecological compensation system and increase ecological compensation finance inputs.

3) Conflicts between conservation and development are extremely serious in Qinghai’s Pas, especially in Qinghai

Lake and Qilian Mountains. The construction of PAs was not taken seriously in the past, which has restricted the

financial inputs from local government. Thus, the UNDP/GEF 6 project can explore effective methods to

coordinate local economic development and biodiversity conservation, which can help the PAs to develop

ecotourism and green industries to promote local economic development. Furthermore, Resource management

plans and monitoring plans should be considered as key part for ecological tourism development plan of PAs in

Qinghai Lake and Qilian Mountains. Therefore, the UNDP/GEF 6 project can help to set up resource management

regulations and resource monitoring regulations, strictly monitor ecological change of protected areas and

provide feedback to resource management department on time and link the resource management regulations

and monitoring regulations effectively.

4) the UNDP/GEF 6 project should design a provincial level strategic plan to guide the development of sustainable

financing for the PA system in Qinghai, which would also specify actions for improving the ecological

compensation system and supporting sustainable economic development in environmentally sensitive areas and

propose financing projects for typical PAs or the Forestry Department through the development of projects. This

plan should aim to address the policy, regulatory and fiscal barriers currently constraining the development and

effective management of Qinghai’s PA system and also considers the welfare and benefit of local rural household.

5) The protected land system in Qinghai province is made up of different types. The specific situation of

Sanjiangyuan National Park and other nature reserves is slightly different. In the future the UNDP/GEF 6 should

design the project content according to the different types when designing the fund investment project. Because

the Qilian Mountains protection area is connected to Gansu Province, the UNDP/GEF 6 can refer to the Gansu

project adjustment when designing the Qilian Mountains protection area project. The UNDP/GEF 6 can increase

the financing plan and franchise projects, which can promote the establishment of the Qinghai protection fund

and support the development of weak protected areas. The foundation can help the reserve to reduce the

dependence of the government budget and improve the level of operation management and financial

management.

6) The UNDP/GEF 6 project can design community development projects，rely on the clean green environment

of nature reserves in Qinghai Province，the project can organize residents to grow high quality green vegetables

and other agricultural products through sustainable agriculture projects so as to reduce the use of pesticides and

fertilizers ,and increase the selling price of farmers Income. Through such projects, it is possible to reduce the

grazing of community residents in protected areas, reduce the damage to the ecological environment, and

enhance the protection efficiency and ecological quality.

24-Annex Q_ Framework for Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices _KAP_ Survey_PIMS 5690 CPAR3_5Apr2018.docx

Annex Q

Framework for Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices (KAP) Survey

CPAR3 (Qinghai)

Prepared by:

Xuemei Zhang


Programme:

China's Protected Area System Reform (C-PAR)


Project:

Strengthening the PA system in the Qilian Mountains-Qinghai Lake

landscape project (CPAR3)




28 Feb 2018 02 Second draft J. Lenoci

24 Mar 2018 03 Third draft J. Lenoci

04 Apr 2018 04 Fourth draft J. Lenoci


CONTENTS

1 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................... 1

1.1 The Project.............................................................................................................. 1

1.2 Main Threats to Biodiversity in the Project Area ................................................... 1

1.3 Key Barriers to Conserve Biodiversity in the Project Area ...................................... 2

1.4 The Project Outcomes and Outputs ....................................................................... 2

1.5 Key Stakeholders of the Project .............................................................................. 3

2 KAP FRAMEWORK ....................................................................................................... 4

2.1 Objectives and Functions of the KAP Survey .......................................................... 4

2.2 Principles of the KAP Survey ................................................................................... 4

2.3 Scope of the KAP Survey ......................................................................................... 4

2.4 Target Groups of the Survey ................................................................................... 5

2.5 Survey Methodology .............................................................................................. 6

2.6 Coordination with Local Communities ................................................................... 7

2.7 Conduct of the Survey ............................................................................................ 7

2.8 Data Entry ............................................................................................................... 7

2.9 Data Analysis and Major Findings........................................................................... 7

2.10 Conclusions and Recommendations....................................................................... 8

2.11 Outline of the KAP Survey Report .......................................................................... 8

3 APPENDIX ................................................................................................................... 8

24-Annex Q_ Framework for Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices _KAP_ Survey_PIMS 5690 CPAR3_5Apr2018.docx Page 1

1 Introduction

1.1 The Project

The “Strengthening the PA system in the Qilian Mountains-Qinghai Lake landscape Project”

(CPAR3) is the third child project of GEF “China's Protected Area System Reform (C-PAR)

Program”. UNDP is the GEF Agency. Objective of CPAR3 is to strengthen the effectiveness of

the protected area system in the Qilian Mountains-Qinghai Lake landscape to conserve

globally significant biodiversity, including snow leopard and Przewalski’s gazelle.

The stakeholders’ Knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) related to globally significant

biodiversity are crucial for effectively and efficiently design and implement the project. To

maximize the improvement of KAP of the stakeholders toward globally significant biodiversity,

KAP survey of the stakeholders should be executed in the project onset, mid-term and project

end as a monitoring and evaluation tool. To successfully conduct the KAP survey, a KAP

framework has been developed based on situation analysis.

1.2 Main Threats to Biodiversity in the Project Area

Main threats in Qinghai Lake region include Przewalski’s gazelle habitat degradation and

fragmentation: Although the numbers of Przewalski’s gazelle in the Qinghai Lake region have

rebounded in recent years, this gazelle species still faces many threats. Fencing of grasslands

induces devastating effects on gazelle populations; for example, by impairing the ability of

individuals to escape predators, fencing may cause direct mortality. Increasing numbers of

domestic livestock within the gazelle’s range has intensified food competition, especially in the

winter. Road networks that have fragmented the gazelle’s habitat have changed the diurnal

activity patterns of the gazelles. Przewalski’s gazelle may have limited ability to adapt to these

and other environmental changes, since the genetic diversity of the known subpopulations is

very low. Climate change would also likely increase Przewalski’s gazelle’s extinction risk.

Notwithstanding the home range of the species is quite large the habitat fragmentation has

severely hindered the gene flow among populations due mainly to the landscape barriers.

Natural barriers, such as streams and sand dunes, have minimal resistance to the movement

of the species. The key threats are human-induced, including fencing, highways, railways,

farms, pastures, and residential areas. Fences not only confine the movement of the

Przewalski’s gazelles but also greatly facilitate the killing and wounding of the animals from

predators such as wolves and foxes. Fences have caused a lot of wounds and deaths of the

Przewalski's gazelle in the past years. Fences are also barriers to gene flow among and within

populations of the gazelle.

Main threats in Qilian Mountains region include snow leopard habitat degradation and

conflicts: In the past two decades, China has made big improvements in the conservation of

snow leopards. Although poaching is currently a minor threat to snow leopards there are still

many challenges in conserving this species and its habitats. In addition to natural disturbances,

human activities remain the major factors in preventing the recovery of the snow leopard

population. With the rapid economic development since the 1980s, China launched mass

infrastructure construction of railways, highways, hydropower, and urbanization in many parts


of the snow leopard distribution areas, including the Qilian Mountains. These construction

projects have severely fragmented the habitats and landscape, which have limited the

movement and thus the gene flow of the species. Farming activities are relatively less in the

Qilian Mountains, but mining activities have damaged many of the habitats in the region.

Improved transportation system has also brought more people to the area through tourism

and the mining related business. Moreover, overgrazing has led to the degradation of the

grasslands in this region for many years. Overgrazing driven by the fast-growing livestock

industry in the past decades not only caused grassland degradation but also reduced the food

sources, the herbivores, of snow leopards due to more competitive grazing with livestock. All

together, these human activities have been a huge burden on the fragile ecosystems in the

snow leopard habitat areas. In addition to human disturbances, climate change is emerging as

another key challenge to the snow leopard conservation. Global warming has seen a much

greater rate in the Tibetan Plateau region and will continue to lead the warming trend by the

end of the century1. Given the fact that most of the snow leopard populations are currently

distributed in the high altitudes, mountain peaks and ridges, there is little room for the species

to adapt to a warmer climate by moving to higher elevations. A recent study shows that the

Qilian Mountain is one of the three climate refugia for snow leopards under future climate

change.2

1.3 Key Barriers to Conserve Biodiversity in the Project Area

The long-term vision is to achieve a protected area system in the Qilian Mountains-Qinghai

Lake landscape that effectively conserves globally significant biodiversity, including snow

leopard and Przewalski’s gazelle. There are two key barriers to implementing this solution.

Barrier 1: Under-representation of important habitats in the PA system and insufficient

systemic capacity for integrated PA planning and management and protection of endangered

species and Barrier 2: Lack of operationalisation of PA system and weak institutional and

individual capacity for management of PAs and buffer zones

1.4 The Project Outcomes and Outputs

The project outcomes and outputs are presented in Table 1.

Table 1: The Project Outcomes and Outputs

Outcomes Outputs

Outcome 1: Consolidated PA sub-system recognizing connectivity and KBAs and mainstreamed into provincial planning

Output 1.1: Consolidated landscape strategic planning and strengthened legislative and institutional frameworks underpin a representative PA sub-system for the Qilian Mountains-Qinghai Lake landscape

Output 1.2: Sustainability of PA financing enhanced through advancing policies and guidelines aimed at facilitating value-based allocations of eco-compensation funds, broader participation of the enterprise sector, and innovative financing mechanisms at the community level

Output 1.3: Institutional enabling environment strengthened through introduction of PA competency-based professional development and joint capacity building for collaborative PA governance

Outcome 2: Strengthened Output 2.1: Operationalisation and expansion of the PA sub-system according

1 IPPC 2013. 2 Li et al. 2016. Climate refugia of snow leopards in High Asia, Biological Conservation 203: 188–196.


and more participatory management of expanded PA sub-system in the Qilian Mountains-Qinghai Lake landscape

the consolidated landscape strategy

Output 2.2: Management effectiveness of the operationalized PA sub-system improved through strengthening implementation capacities and partnerships


Output 2.4: Community benefits improved through promoting sustainable livelihoods, incentivizing enterprise sector involvement and piloting conservation financing mechanisms


Output 3.1: Effective project management supported by proactive steering committee functions and inclusive monitoring & evaluation

Output 3.2: Project results effectively shared through implementation of a targeted knowledge management action plan

Output 3.3: Inclusive participation of local communities, including women and ethnic minorities facilitated through effective implementation of environmental and social management framework and improvements in knowledge, attitudes and practices

1.5 Key Stakeholders of the Project

The project implementation will involve extensive engagement with stakeholders at all levels, and

particularly in the demonstration landscape pilot sites. Key stakeholders are shown in Table 2.

Detailed roles and responsibilities for various project stakeholders at all levels during project

implementation are presented in A-table 1.

Table 2: Key Stakeholders of the Project

Stakeholders Name of the stakeholders

National level stakeholders

• Ministry of Finance (MoF) • State Forestry Administration (SFA) • Ministry of Environment Protection (MEP)

GEF agency • United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) – China Country Office

Provincial level stakeholders

• Qinghai Forestry Department • Qinghai Provincial Department of Finance • Qinghai Provincial Department of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry • Qinghai Department of Water Resources • Qinghai Provincial Department of Environmental Protection • Qinghai Tourism Bureau • Legislative Office of Qinghai Provincial Government

Local level stakeholders

• Pilot PAs: Qinghai Lake NNR, Qilian Mountains PNR • Local governments, including prefecture, county and township levels • Qinghai Endangered Animals Protection Centre (EAPC) • WWF-China • Local NGOs • Universities and research organizations • Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences • Private sector • Donors • Media sector • Local Communities


2 KAP Framework

2.1 Objectives and Functions of the KAP Survey

2.1.1 Objectives

Overall objective of the KAP survey could be to understand various stakeholders’ knowledge,

attitude and practices related to biodiversity conservation, and to monitor and evaluate the

project’s impacts on the stakeholders’ KAP. Specific objectives include but are not limited to

the following:

• Perception of decision makers and the public on issues related to biodiversity

conservation, PA’s and their role among local communities.

• Current level of knowledge, attitudes and practices (behavior, social, cultural and

traditional) of target villages with respect to biodiversity conservation.

• Knowledge of PA’s and their benefits.

• Attitudes and practices of key target groups towards proposed/existing PA’s and the

proposed expansions.

• Range of existing household livelihood activities.

• Willingness of households to try out alternative livelihood options.

• The means of communication for promoting management of natural resources.

2.1.2 Function

The KAP survey in the project onset serves double functions: (i) as the baseline for impact-

oriented monitoring; and (ii) as a departure point for development of the project

communication strategy in the specific context of the project area. Specifically speaking, the

KAP survey in the project onset will enable the project to

• Establish the baseline information for monitoring the project impacts on the

stakeholders’ KAP

• identify knowledge gaps, factors affecting practices and attitudes toward coastal

biodiversity, especially Przewalski’s gazelle and snow leopard

• figure out specific target groups who need more communication attention

• set communication priorities to address the most common problems, and

• select effective communication channels, media and messages preferred and

appropriate to specific target groups

2.2 Principles of the KAP Survey

The survey should follow the principles:

Survey samples should be consistent with the project activities

The survey will collect sex-disaggregated data and information

2.3 Scope of the KAP Survey

Geographical scope of the survey is the project area. Thematic scope of the survey will cover

knowledge, attitudes, practices and information needs related to coastal biodiversity.


2.4 Target Groups of the Survey

According to main objectives of the KAP survey, the project stakeholders are classified into

several target groups for the KAP survey, which is presented in Table 3.

Table 3: Target Groups of the KAP Survey

Stakeholder groups

Stakeholders Main objectives of the KAP survey

Project managers

• Qinghai Forestry Department (project executing agency)

• Understanding of conservation and development

• Means of communication for improving management of natural resources

Decision makers on finance, laws, and regulations related to biodiversity conservation

• Ministry of Finance (MoF) • Qinghai Provincial Department of Finance

• Qinghai Development and Reform Commission

• Qinghai Provincial Department of Environmental Protection

• Legislative Office of Qinghai Provincial Government

• Perception and knowledge on biodiversity conservation

• Perceived seriousness of problem in the conservation

• Benefits of biodiversity • Attitudes and practices towards improvement of laws and regulations related to conservation

Technical supporters of the project implementation

• State Forestry Administration (SFA) • Qinghai Provincial Department of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry

• Qinghai Department of Water Resources

• Qinghai Tourism Bureau

• Awareness of value of biodiversity conservation • Knowledge on key factors damaging biodiversity • Understanding of conservation and development

• Attitudes and practices towards integration of biodiversity conservation into sector planning

Pilot PAs The Qinghai Lake National Nature Reserve, the Qilian Provincial Nature Reserve

• Knowledge on key factors damaging biodiversity • Understanding on conservation and development

• Roles in the conservation • Benefits from the conservation

Local governments

Local governments at the project county and township levels

• Awareness of value of biodiversity conservation • Knowledge on key factors damaging biodiversity • Perceived seriousness of problem in the conservation


• Attitudes and practices towards proposed/existing PA’s and the proposed expansions

CSO, Universities and research organizations, donors

• WWF-China • Local NGOs

• understanding on conservation and development

• Participation in the conservation • Measures used for conserving biodiversity

Media sector • Qinghai Provincial TV Station, etc. • Knowledge on key factors damaging biodiversity • Perceived seriousness of problem in the conservation


• Attitude and practices towards communications for improving biodiversity conservation

Local communities

• the proposed pilot villages • other relevant local communities

• awareness of value of biodiversity conservation • Range of existing household livelihood activities. • Willingness of households to try out alternative livelihood options, co-management

• Participation of households in alternative livelihood options, co-management activities, public education etc.


2.5 Survey Methodology

2.5.1 Survey Methods and Tools

The general methodology of the KAP survey will be guided by two principles: (i) quantitative

approach combined with qualitative approach; (ii) state-of-the-art methods and tools in line

with a pragmatic approach accommodating the specific local conditions.

State specifically, both qualitative interview and quantitative questionnaire survey should be

used. The quantitative questionnaires survey will be applied to collect data from the target

groups. Qualitative interview guide should be developed to take in-depth discussions with key

informants of the above-mentioned target groups, focusing on understanding the information

needs and the preferred information channels, so as to develop the communication strategy.

Different methods and tools will be applied to different target groups. For the local

communities, the main survey methods and tools will be face to face survey, which will be

complemented by telephone, Wechat, etc. because most local villagers can only speak in

Tibetan.

2.5.2 Questionnaire Design

The survey questionnaire should cover the survey thematic scope, that is, should include four

components: knowledge, attitude, practices, and Information needs. Each component should

include topic related to Przewalski’s gazelle, snow leopard, and other resources.

2.5.3 Qualitative Survey Guide

As the questionnaire, the guide should cover the four components, and at least topics related

to the gazelle and snow leopard. It is better to develop the guide as a semi-structure interview,

but not open questions. Semi-structure interview requires certain skills and arts of the

interviewers, while open questions require the interviewers with highest skills and arts to

reach the survey objectives.

2.5.4 Mobilization of the Surveyors

Not all people are qualified as surveyors. The surveyors should be able to speak in Tibetan, be

interesting in the survey, and have time to do the survey. It is better if the surveyors have

received certain school education and have certain experience related to biodiversity

conservation. The surveyors should have knowledge on local culture, especially taboo of local

culture and religion, or will be trained on local culture before conducting the survey. Adequate

surveyors are required.

2.5.5 Training Workshop on the KAP Survey

After mobilizing the survey team, all surveyors should be trained on the survey including the

project background, project activities, the survey objectives, survey methods, questionnaire,

survey attitudes, survey skills, etc. The survey team leader should well develop and prepare

the training materials.


2.5.6 Sampling and Sample Size

Stratified sampling method should be used. Number of the stratum depends on the

heterogeneity of the target groups.

Total size of the sample will depend on the budget and the timeframe. Sample size of each

stratum can be proportional allocation or optimum allocation which should be based on the

variability of the same group.

2.5.7 Survey Plans

Draft survey plan including survey time and other logistical arrangement should be developed

first, then communicate with the project management offices (PMOs) and local communities

to revise the plan to satisfy relevant stakeholders as much as possible.

2.6 Coordination with Local Communities

To conduct the survey needs coordination of the target population in terms of time, interesting,

etc. Before conducting the survey, coordination with the local communities is very important.

The project PMOs will be responsible for the coordination.

2.7 Conduct of the Survey

After good preparation of above mentioned things, the survey can be carried out. To appoint

filed survey team leader, and vice team leaders is necessary. The team leaders will well keep

all questionnaire answered, will communicate with relevant people to clarify questions and/or

solve problems whenever needed

2.8 Data Entry

The data will be entered using the format of Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS),

or Excel, or any other forms the survey team prefer. Key points are (i) the data entry template

should be developed in detail and (ii) the data should be entered carefully, and with crosscheck.

Wrong entry of data means not only waste of time of himself/herself, also waste of time and

efforts of the survey. More important is that wrong entry of data will lead to incorrect results

of the survey, and further mislead the communication strategies and activities.

2.9 Data Analysis and Major Findings

The data should be analysed in total, for each target group, and sub-groups or socioeconomic

groups. The major findings will be presented accordingly.

2.9.1 Social Profiles of the Respondent

Major segments of the social profiles of the respondents will include the respondents’ age,

nationality, education, location, financial situation, etc. which will be useful when addressing

specific target audiences before and during the project implementation.

2.9.2 Major Findings

The major findings will be stated in total, and by group, or by topic, which will be decided

based on the specific situation.


2.10 Conclusions and Recommendations

Conclusions drawn from the analysis and the findings are basis for developing

recommendations to the project communication strategies and activities. Conclusions will also

be stated in total and by group or by topic.

Recommendations should be provided by communication area, such as communication topics,

communication message, communication methods and tools, communication targets,

2.11 Outline of the KAP Survey Report

The outline of the KAP survey report is proposed as the follows.

Executive Summary

1. Background and Survey Context

2. Objectives of the Survey

3. Scope of the Survey

4. Target groups

5. Survey methodology

a) Survey approaches

b) Sampling methods

c) Sample size

d) Surveyor team

e) Training Workshop on KAP Methodology and Tool

f) Data entry and analysis methods

6. Preliminary Findings

a) respondent Profile

b) Survey Results

- Knowledge

- Attitudes

- Practices

- Information needs

7. Conclusions and Recommendations

3 Appendix

A-table 1: Stakeholder summary indicating mandates and roles in project

Stakeholders Mandate Role in Project

Implementing Partner:

Qinghai Forestry Department The Qinghai Forestry Department (QFD) is

mandated to implement State principles, policies,

laws and rules concerning the improvement of

forest resources of Qinghai Province. The QFD

also drafts forestry regulations and is responsible

for enforcement. The QFD is responsible for

The QFD is the implementing partner for

the project, will designate a National

Project Director, who will chair the project

steering committee. QFD will also set up a

Project Management Office (PMO) and

recruit PMO staff.



establishing and managing nature reserves, forest

parks and wetland parks for protection of forest

and wetland ecosystems.

Involved on all outputs.

GEF Agency:

United Nations Development

Programme (UNDP)

The UNDP has had a resident office in China for

many years, providing a broad spectrum of

development assistance, including sustainable

management of natural resources, governance,

gender equality, and the rule of law.

The UNDP is the GEF Agency for the

project and the C-PAR Program

Coordination Agency. UNDP will be the

Senior Supplier on the Project and Program

Steering Committees. The UNDP Country

Office will provide administrative and

strategic guidance to the project, and

support procurement processes, including

for international sourced goods and

services. The UNDP-GEF Regional Technical

Advisor based at the Regional Hub for Asia

and the Pacific will provide strategic

technical assistance and project assurance.

UNDP is also one of the cofinancing

partners on the project.

All outputs.

Key Provincial Agencies and Governmental Stakeholders:

Qinghai Provincial

Development and Reform

Commission

Responsible for coordination and

implementation of Qinghai’s

Development Plan and matters related

to domestic engineering

A key project stakeholder; will be invited

to be a member of the C-PAR3 advisory

group.

Outputs 1.1, 3.1.

Qinghai Provincial Finance

Bureau

The Qinghai Provincial Department of Finance is

responsible for allocation and control of

provincial finances for Qinghai Province.

The Qinghai Provincial Department of

Finance is the main cofinancing partner on

the project and will provide an oversight

function for financial management and

control of GEF funds dispersed.

Outputs 1.2, 2.43, 3.1.

Qinghai Agriculture and Animal

and Husbandry Department

Responsible for pasture use, aquatic products,

livestock health and management, grasslands

pest control, aquatic management (including

fisheries), etc.

The Agriculture and Animal Husbandry

Department will play a key role in the

project’s work with local communities and

herders relevant to livestock and grassland

management and restoration. A senior

official from the Department will be a

member of the project steering

committee, and professional staff

members will be invited to be members of

the C-PAR3 advisory group.

All outputs.



Qinghai Lake NNR

Management Bureau

Responsible for protection and management of

the Qinghai Lake NNR.

The Qinghai Lake NNR will be a key partner

on the project, hosting a PA Coordination

Team, assigning a PA focal point, and

designating a senior official on the project

steering committee.

All outputs.

Qilian Mountain NR

Management Bureau

Responsible for protection and management of

the Qilian Mountains NR.

The Qilian Mountains NR will be a key

partner on the project, hosting a PA

Coordination Team, assigning a PA focal

point, and designating a senior official on

the project steering committee.

All outputs.

Qinghai Lake Scenic Area

Administration

The Qinghai Lake NNR reports to the Qinghai

Lake Scenic Area Administration.

The Qinghai Lake Scenic Area

Administration will be an important

stakeholder on the project, particularly

with respect to activities aimed at

improving collaborative governance and

enhancing the sustainability of PA

financing. Management and professional

staff will be invited to be members of the

C-PAR3 advisory group.

All outputs under Components 1 and 2,

and Outputs 3.1 and 3.2.

Qinghai Environmental

Protection Bureau

Coordination of environmental issues,

participation in environmental assessment and

implementation of the Convention on Biological

Diversity.

They are a key partner for the project,

particularly in coordination and outreach

activities, and professional staff will be

invited to be members of the C-PAR3

advisory group.

Outputs 1.3, 3.1, 3.2.

Qinghai Department of Land

and Resources

Responsible for supervision and management of

land development and utilization of resources in

the project area, implementation of wildlife

habitat protection laws and regulations and

conservation planning.

They are a key partner for the project, and

professional staff will be invited to be

members of the C-PAR3 advisory group.

Outputs 1.1, 1.3, 3.1, 3.2.

Nature Reserve Management

Stations within the Qilian

Mountains-Qinghai Lake

landscape

They are key partners and beneficiaries of the

project.

Representatives of the NR management

stations will receive training, participate in

activities and provide support for project

implementation.

All outputs.

Three-River Source National

Park Management Agency

The Three-River Source National Park (TRS NP)

Management Agency has been established under

the Qinghai Provincial Government as the agency

The TRS NP Management Agency will be

responsible for implementation of project

activities on the C-PAR1 (national) project



responsible for management of the Three-River

Source NP.

at the TRS NP, which will include

establishing a training centre within the

agency. The TRS NP Management Agency

will be an important partner on the C-PAR3

project, invited to be a member of the

advisory group.

Outputs 1.1, 1.2, 2.2, 3.1, 3.2, 3.3.

Qinghai Lake Farm, and

Qinghai Lake Hudong Breeding

Sheep Farm

Research farms supporting the conservation and

livestock management activities in the Qinghai

Lake region.

These stakeholders will be engaged in th

development of the landscape

conservation strategy and will be involved

in development and implementation of

pasture management plans.

Outputs 1.1, 1.3, 2.3

Key National Agencies and Central Governmental Stakeholders (to be revised during inception phase based on allocation of

functions to new Ministry of Ecological Environment and Ministry of Natural Resources):

Ministry of Finance The Ministry of Finance is responsible for

allocating government funding and coordinating

extra budgetary donor financing. The GEF

Operational Focal Point is also based in the

Ministry of Finance.

The Ministry of Finance will be a key

member of the C-PAR Program Steering

Committee.

Output 3.1.

Ministry of Ecology and

Environment (MEE) /

Ministry of Environmental

Protection (MEP)3

In March 2018, the functions of the Ministry of

Environmental Protection (MEP) were absorbed

into the newly established Ministry of Ecology

and Environment (MEE), which has also been

mandated with the duties of overseeing river,

marine and soil pollution, as well as climate

change issues previously held by other ministries

and departments.

The MEE was created during the latter

stages of the PPG phase. Prior to the

institutional restructuring in March 2018,

MEP was the agreed implementing partner

for the C-PAR national project, which has a

coordination role for the C-PAR program.

The role of the MEE in the C-PAR program

and this project will be reviewed during

the inception phase.

Output 3.1.

National Development and

Reform Commission (NDRC)20

NDRC is the competent authority responsible for

national macroeconomic policy and

management, leading coordination among

related sectors, reporting to state council by

consolidating related suggestions from ministries.

NDRC is leading the National Park (NP) pilot

NDRC will be a member of the C-PAR

Program Steering Committee.

Outputs 1.1, 3.1.

3 The government of China is currently undergoing a process of reform for its national Ministries aiming to bring together currently fragmented environmental roles and responsibilities. The National People’s Congress recently (17 March) passed the creation of the new Ministry of Ecological Environment (taking on MEP functions, among others) and the new Ministry of Natural Resources (taking on functions from SFA, SOA and zoning functions from NDRC, among others). It is not yet clear how individual PA-related functions will be represented in the new Ministries. The stakeholder engagement plan, particularly the involvement of national agencies, will be revised during inception phase as the structure of the new Ministries and the allocation of functions becomes clearer.



program.

The NDRC is also responsible for mainstreaming

biodiversity conservation into socio-economic

development plan and annual plan; examines and

approve major ecological rehabilitation

programs/projects; and for promotion of the

strategy of sustainable development.

State Forestry Administration

(SFA)20

SFA is the competent authority for forestry under

the State Council, responsible for supervising the

establishment and management of nature

reserves of forests, terrestrial wild animals and

wetlands. SFA manages roughly 80% of the

terrestrial PA system in China. SFA is one of

agencies responsible for managing the NP pilots

under the NP pilot program led by NDRC.

SFA is a key stakeholder in the C-PAR

program and will be a member of the

Program Steering Committee. SFA is also

the governing authority for the Qilian

Mountains NP, through the two provincial

forestry departments.

Outputs 1.1, 1.3, 2.1, 2.2, 3.1.

Subnational Governmental Stakeholders:

Local governments and

forestry administrations where

proposed project interventions

are located including the

Haiyan Forestry Bureau,

Gangcha Forestry and Forestry

Police Bureau, and the Haibei

Autonomous Prefecture

Forestry Bureau

A thorough socioeconomic study was made of

the Qilian Mountains-Qinghai Lake landscape.

The subnational government agencies in these

jurisdictions will be responsible to administer the

expansion of the protected areas, including

drafting and managing possible resettlement and

dislocation plans.

Provincial, county, township and village

government units will be key partners

during project implementation.

Representative subnational officials are

proposed to be members of the project

steering committee. Project activities will

be closely coordinated with local

government units, starting with the

preparation of the environmental and

social impact assessment and the

associated consultations.

All outputs under Component 2, and

Outputs 3.2 and 3.3.

Gansu Forestry Department The Gansu Forestry Department is mandated to

implement State principles, policies, laws and

rules concerning the improvement of forest

resources of Gansu Province. The Qilian

Mountains National Park, which is currently

under pilot implementation, is partly situated in

Gansu Province.

The project will promote improved inter-

provincial collaborative governance of the

Qilian Mountains NP. Gansu Forestry

Department management and staff

officials will also be invited to participate in

joint training and field interventions.

Outputs 1.1, 1.3, 2.2.

Local communities where project interventions are planned:

Local communities Local communities where project interventions

are planned are among the key beneficiaries of

the project. Target villages/communities were

selected based upon stakeholder consultations

and a common set of criteria.

Local communities will participate in

collaborative PA management

arrangements, receive specific training, be

involved in sustainable alternative

livelihoods demonstrations, etc.



All outputs under Component 2, and

Outputs 3.2 and 3.3.

Non-governmental Organisations:

International and domestic

NGOs, including but not limited

to WWF, CI, IUCN, WCS, TNC,

China Biodiversity

Conservation and Green

Development Foundation,

Sanjiangyuan Ecological

Protection Foundation, Qinghai

Environmental Education

Association, Global

Environment Institute, Friends

of Nature, Shanshui

Partnership, etc.

There are several international and domestic

NGOs operating in Qinghai Province, promoting

and advocating for improved and more

participatory biodiversity conservation.

The project will develop partnerships with

NGOs and community-based organisations

for supporting the planned interventions.

Representatives of NGOs will also be

advocated for membership of the C-PAR3

Advisory Group.

All outputs.

Scientific and Research Institutions:

Scientific and research

institutes and universities, and

the broader professional

community

Responsible for delivering technical assistance,

carrying out field surveys, development of

knowledge management systems, etc.: including

the Northwest Institute of Plateau Biology (an

institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences

(CAS)), as well as other institutes, universities,

and consultancies.

Scientific and research institutes,

universities, and consultancies will be

invited to bid on procurements under the

project for technical assistance, e.g.,

carrying out biodiversity assessments on

Przewalski’s gazelle and snow leopard, and

provide technical guidance for

conservation actions under the project.

All outputs.

Chinese Research Academy of

Environmental Sciences

Chinese Research Academy of Environmental

Sciences (CRAES) was formally established in

1978, under the Ministry of Environmental

Protection as a national not-for-profit

environmental scientific research institution, to

carry out innovative and basic scientific research,

serving the engineering and consulting needs of

major environmental issues in economic and

social development and playing an important role

in the country's strategy of sustainable

development and environmental protection.

CRAES will be involved with capacity

development aspects of the C-PAR

program, e.g., development of PA

competency standards, etc. As executing

agency for the C-PAR6 project, CRAES will

be a member of the Program Steering

Committee.

Outputs 1.3, 2.2, 3.1.

Private and Business Sector:

Enterprise sector There has been increasing levels of participation

by the enterprise sector in biodiversity

conservation in China, including establishment of

private reserves, donating funds through

Partnerships with the enterprise sector will

be developed, as part of the interventions

aimed at diversifying PA financing, tourism

partnerships and concessions, scaling up



corporate social responsibility initiatives, scaling

up local cooperatives that are sustainably utilising

ecosystem goods and services, etc.

sustainable livelihood initiatives for local

communities, etc.

Outputs 1.2, 2.4, 3.2.

Annex R

Baseline Report on Biodiversity Knowledge Management Systems

Qilian Mountains-Qinghai Lake Landscape

C-PAR3 (Qinghai)

Prepared by:

Dr. Kang Mengzhen


Program:

China's Protected Area System Reform (C-PAR)


Project:

Strengthening the PA system in the Qilian Mountains-Qinghai Lake landscape project (C-

PAR3)




10 Nov 2017 02 Second draft J. Lenoci

25-Annex R_Baseline Report on Biodiversity Knowledge Management Systems_PIMS 5690 CPAR3_5Apr2018.docx

Page i

EX EC U TIV E SU M MA RY

THE AIM OF THIS REPORT:

The aim of this report is to review and report on linking the Qinghai information management system

with the national and subnational platforms proposed under the C-PAR program.

THE ASSESSMENTS ON CURRENT MONITORING INFORMATION SYSTEMS:

The knowledge management system developed for the Qinghai Forestry Department with support

from the GEF-4 project was launched recently, in 2017, thus it is early to tell the effect of the system

in long term. Although three types of users are envisaged for the system, namely the administrators

from the Qinghai Forestry Department and the Project Management Office, the protected area staff,

and the public, such implementation has not been fully made yet, and for the moment the system is

more oriented towards the first two types of users. A domain name of system is missing, as the system

is hosted in a dedicated computer room in the Qinghai Forestry Department office in Xining, but not

commercial service. The data security parameters essentially make the system 'internal' although it is

web-accessible. Promotion and training is needed to encourage the usage in PAs. Monitoring APP in

mobile phone is to be further developed in future.

THE MAIN RECOMMENDATIONS:

Training and promotion the current system is important for the lifetime and value of current system.

This could be promoted in GEF-6 C-PAR3 project. The monitoring APP need to be further developed,

which is a desirable tool for most protected area staff. This is a way of encouraging the use of systems

by protected areas.

The public participating system can be a main output of the C-PAR3 project, and the system itself

could have a more open way of management, both in database storage and management.

A few other issues to consider:

• Collaborating with the Three Rivers Source National Park pilot in their development of a

knowledge management system.

• Inter-provincial collaboration with the Gansu Forestry Department in relation to the Qilian

Mountains National Park pilot.


Page 2

INTROD UCTI ON

The report summarizes a review of the existing biodiversity information systems developed for

Qinghai Province, and provides recommendations for activities to include under the C-PAR3 project

to enhance stakeholder collaboration and extend access to the public.

ASS ES S MEN T ON Q INGHAI KN OWL ED GE/ INFOR M ATIO N MA NAG EMENT SYSTEMS

According to Mr. Fan Longqing, from 2014, a provincial level information system started to develop

with the support of GEF-4 project, which contains 10 databases, including the name and distribution

of wild animals, climate, etc. The system became online in 2017. It is accessible from the internet,

however, currently through an Internet Protocol (IP) address. The system is installed physically in an

independent computer room at the QFD office in Xining which host the servers. The hardware cost

about half the total investment of the information system; in total >CNY 300 million (approx. USD 45

million).

Currently there are several provincial level information systems under direction of the Qinghai

Forestry Department, others including system for forestry resource management, forestry coverage,

returning the grain plots to forestry, etc. Recently, the Department plan to integrate all the different

information systems, the managing bureau being the information centre of the Qinghai Forestry

Department. Physically, the computer rooms will merge. Moving of the project office is going on.

Biodiversity information is also managed through an information management system developed and

operated by the Qinghai Provincial Environmental Protection Department, and the Administration for

the Three Rivers Source National Park pilot is currently developing a system for the national park.

Regarding to the knowledge management system developed with support from the GEF-4 project,

training has been organized recently. The users of this system include: (1) the administrators, staff

from the Wildlife Protection Division of the Qinghai Forestry Department and the Project Management

Office; (2) users from PAs, for data uploading or downloading; and (3) the public. Training has been

delivered for the first two types of users. Since the system was launched recently, in 2017, until now

no monitoring data have been uploaded yet. For the end users, visiting the system is not convenient

without a domain name of system. This could be solved by using a DNS service.

An App (application for mobile phone) has been developed. It is bilingual: Chinese and Tibetan. Animal

types are expressed in figures, in order to make it easy for local herdsmen to recognize and upload

the information. The data fields fit those of database in servers, so that the input data can be uploaded

into the server directly. This App is for PAs, and is not open for public.

In long term the App has two applications: for community monitoring and for PA technicians. The

former is relatively simple and has been developed, as mentioned. The latter is more sophisticated.

The positive aspect is that the provincial level standards for monitoring techniques have been setup,

so that basically all PAs can follow the same standards in uploading the data. Moreover, although the

App for the monitoring of PA by technicians has not been developed yet, the database has been

developed with expected data field, which prepares for the future data interface between database

and App. This work is to be supported by other projects of the Qinghai Forestry Department.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Under the C-PAR3 project, new users of PA will join. Theoretically speaking, it concerns simply the

training and allocation of account to the new users. However, the account management system is not

mature, and some refinement work may need to be done further.


Page 3

Regarding to monitoring, snow leopard is mainly monitored with infrared camera, and dedicated

monitoring standard need to be defined.

Regarding to the linkage of the Qinghai information management system with the national and sub-

national platforms, a key issue is data classification and data closure. Some of the original data are

confidential, e.g., the spatial data. That's a main reason that usually hardware facilities are built for a

certain system, which sometimes causes repeated construction of computer room. Service and

stability of such facilities are generally better in professional suppliers like Aliyun (the name of a

biggest service in China), where name domain service is easily accessible. However, for security

reason, such service is often not chosen. Another reason is the service cost. Annual fees need to be

paid for service, while for a project, once it finishes, usually there is no more funding support.

A 'secure' management of the system means the inaccessibility to external users. To link with national

platform, only part of selected reported data can be shared. There is also institutional reason, when

it is not the same department that manage the national and provincial information system. Moreover,

cost has been paid in the collection of the original data. A possible way of sharing (non-confidential)

data, as done by some national and international organizations, is to share the data in receiving valid

registration form.

A relevant consideration is the aim of the information system itself. Are the main users for government

and protected area staff, or the public, to encourage public participation and education? These are

two different orientations that are not enough compatible for the moment. According to the aim of

the project, the focus is more oriented to capacity building of governmental staff. Public participation

is secondary. Therefore, effort should be paid more on the training, experience exchange and

promotion of the information system for the protected area staff and government. For participating

monitoring application can be developed based on the current mobile application for herders, and be

managed in a different way, with more participation of NGO and volunteers.

26‐Annex S_5690_CPAR3_key_approvals_1st‐resubmission.docx

Annex S: Expected approvals during project implementation Several key approvals, summarised below are expected over the course of the project implementation phase, enabling achievement of the envisaged results.

No. Approval Expected Level Type Output Est. Date

1. Species conservation and restoration plans Provincial Decision, QFD 1.1 Y3

2. PA system consolidation strategy and action plan for the Qilian Mountains‐Qinghai Lake landscape

Provincial Decision, QFD 1.1 Y4

3. Strengthened and/or new policies and/or regulations for wildlife conservation and PA management recognizing KBAs in law and addressing gaps and emerging threats

Provincial Regulation(s): Qinghai Provincial government

1.1 Y4

4. Landscape conservation strategy included in 14th FYP Provincial Approval Plan,

Provincial Government 1.1 Y5

5. Sustainable financing plan for the Qilian Mountains‐Qinghai Lake landscape


6. Pilot implementation plan for tourism concessions Provincial Decision, QFD 1.2 Y2

7. Project capacity development plan Project Decision, QFD 1.3 Y2

8. Ecological corridors for Przewalski’s gazelle, Qinghai Lake NNR Provincial Decision, QFD 2.1 Y4

9. Updated management plan for Qinghai Lake NNR Provincial Decision, QFD 2.1 Y4

10. Qinghai National Park Central Gazettement, State

Council 2.1 Y5

11. Village committees establishment and annual work plans, Qinghai Lake

Local Village committee

management, project 2.2 Y1

12. Herder groups establishment and annual work plans, Qilian Mountains

Local Herder group

management, project 2.2 Y1

13. Pasture management plans Local Village

committees/herder groups, project

2.3 Y2

14. Project micro‐financing program Project Decision, PSC 2.4 Y2

15. Design of knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) survey Project Decision:

Project Advisory Group

3.2 Y1

16. Knowledge management action plan for Qilian Mountains‐Qinghai Lake landscape


17. Community ranger M&E and reporting system Provincial Decision, QFD 3.3 Y3

18. Environmental and social management plan (ESMP) Project Approval, PSC 3.3 Y1

27‐Annex U_List of Stakeholders Contracted during PPG Consultations _PIMS 5690 CPAR3_5Apr2018.docx Page 1

Annex U: List of Stakeholders Contracted during PPG Consultations

C‐PAR Program Inception Workshop Date of Meeting: 3 May 2017 Location: UNDP Office, Beijing

No. Name Institution Title Gender

1 Mr.Yang Lirong Foreign Economic Cooperation Office, MEP Division Director Male

2 Mrs. Du Jinmei Foreign Economic Cooperation Office, MEP Deputy Division Director Female

3 Mr. Liu Yanqing Foreign Economic Cooperation Office, MEP Project Manager Male

4 Ms. Lu Yiqing Foreign Economic Cooperation Office, MEP Project Manager Female

5 Mr. Liu Kun Foreign Economic Cooperation Office, MEP Project Officer Male

6 Mr.FengJun State Oceanic Administration Deputy Division Director Male

7 Mr.Wang Jun State Oceanic Administration Engineer Male

8 Mr. Han Xiangdong Cooperation and Foreign Affairs Division of Gansu Forestry Department

Division Director Male

9 Mr. Wang Peng Cooperation and Foreign Affairs Division of Gansu Forestry Department

Engineer Male

10 Mr. Zhang Xueyuan Qinghai Forestry Department Division Director Male

11 Mr. Yi Lubei Qinghai Forestry Department Engineer Male

12 Ms. Feng Jiexi Conservation International Program Development Manager Female

13 Ms. Xie Yan Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences Associate Research Professor Female

14 Mr. John MacKinnon PPG Team (MEP‐FECO) International Consultant Male

15 Ms. Lisa Farroway UNDP Regional Technical Advisor Female

16 Mr. James Lenoci PPG Team (UNDP) International Consultant, Team Leader C1/C3

Male

17 Mr. Crawford Prentice PPG Team (UNDP) International Consultant, Team Leader C2 Male

18 Mr. Michael Moser PPG Team (UNDP) International Consultant, Team Leader C4 Male

19 Mrs. Zhang Xuemei China Agricultural University National Consultant, PPG Team Female

20 Mr. Yu Xiubo Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences

National Consultant, PPG Team Male

21 Ms. Kang Mengzhen Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences

National Consultant, PPG Team Female

22 Mr. Wen Yali School of Economics and Management, Beijing Forestry University


23 Mr. Xu Ming Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences


24 Mr. Qin Tianbao Wuhan University National Consultant, PPG Team Male

25 Mr. Patrick Haverman UNDP China Deputy Country Director Male

26 Mr. Carsten Germer UNDP China, Energy & Environment team Assistant Country Director/EE Team Leader

Male

27 Mr. Ma Chaode UNDP China, Energy & Environment team Programme Manager Male

28 Ms. Zhao Xinhua UNDP China, Energy & Environment team Programme Associate Female

29 Ms. Xue Lin UNDP China, Energy & Environment team Programme Assistant Female


C‐PAR3 Inception Workshop and Field Visits Date of Meeting: 7 May; ‐12 May 2017 Location: Qinghai Forestry Department, Xining (7 May); Qinghai Lake NR, Bird Island Przewalski’s gazelle Rescue Centre; Qinghai Lake NR, Haiyan County, Ganzihe Township; Qilian Mountains NR, Shiyanghe Block; Qilian Mounains NR, Xianmi Block

No Name Institution Position Gender

1. Mr. Gao Jingyu Qinghai Forestry Department Deputy Director M

2. Mr. Zhang Xueyuan Qinghai Forestry Department Director of Wildlife Management Bureau M

3. Mr. Li Yande Qinghai Forestry Department Deputy director of project office M

4. Mr. Yi Lvbei Qinghai Forestry Department Engineer M

5. Mr. Zhuang Yu Qinghai Forestry Department Senior Engineer of Wildlife Management Bureau

M

6. Sun Jianqing Qinghai Lake Nature Reserve Department Head M

7. Zhou Jie Qilian Mountains Nature Reserve Department Head M

8. Luo Shenglian Qinghai Finance Dept. F

9. Mrs. Du Jinmei Foreign Economic Cooperation Office, MEP

Division Chief F

10. Mr. Liu Yanqing Foreign Economic Cooperation Office, MEP

Project Manager M

11. Mr. Zhong Xiaodong Foreign Economic Cooperation Office, MEP

Senior Advisor M

12. Ms. Lisa Farroway UNDP Regional Technical Advisor F

13. Mr. Xu Ming Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Science

Professor, National PPG Consultant M

14. Mr. Qin Tianbao Wuhan University Professor, National PPG Consultant M

15. Mr. Yu Xiubo Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences

Professor, National PPG Consultant

M

16. Mrs. Zhang Xuemei China Agricultural University National PPG Consultant F

17. Fan Longqing Local Consultant C‐PAR 3PPG Consultant M

18. Mr. James Lenoci International Consultant C‐PAR3 PPG Team Leader M

C‐PAR3 Stakeholder PPG Meetings Date of Meeting: 4‐6 June 2017 Location: Qinghai Forestry Department, Xining


1. Mr. Wang Enguang Qinghai Forestry Department Deputy Director General M

2. Mr. Zhang Xueyuan Qinghai Forestry Department Director of Wildlife Management Bureau M

3. Mr. Li Yande Qinghai Forestry Department Deputy director of project office M

4. Fan Longqing Local Consultant PPG Consultant M

5. Mr. Zhuang Yu Qinghai Forestry Department Senior Engineer of Wildlife Management Bureau M

6. Mr. Cai Ping Qinghai Wildlife Protection Association

Chief Secretary M

7. Mr. Li Zhiqing Qinghai Ecological Environmental Remote Sensing Monitoring Centre

Deputy director M

8. Sun Jianqing Qinghai Lake Nature Reserve Department Head M



9. Zhou Jie Qilian Mountains Nature Reserve Department Head M

10. Mr. James Lenoci International Consultant PPG Team Leader M

11. Ms. Wang Lei UNDP, PPG National Coordinator F

12. Mrs. Zhang Xuemei China Agricultural University National PPG Consultant F

C‐PAR3, Assessment of Capacity Development Scorecard Date of Meeting: 31 July 2017 Location: Xining


1. Mr. Zhuang Yu Qinghai Forestry Department Senior Engineer of Wildlife Management Bureau

M

2. Mr. Yu Xiubo Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences

Professor, National PPG Consultant

M


C‐PAR3, Assessment of Management Effectiveness Date of Meeting: 22 September 2017 Location: Xining


1. Mr. Cai Jinlong Qinghai Lake NNR Administration Administrative office head M

2. Mr. Hou Yuansheng Qinghai Lake NNR Administration Education and communications Division Head M

3. Mr. Li Yande Qilian Mountains NR Administration Deputy Director M


C‐PAR3 Validation Workshop Date of Meeting: 14 November 2017 Location: Qinghai Forestry Department, Xining

No Name Institution Gender

1. Gao Jingyu Qinghai Forestry Department M

2. Liu Yanlin Chinese Academy of Forestry M

3. Liu Wei Chinese Academy of Sciences M

4. Fan Longqing UNDP, PPG Consultant M

5. Peng Kui GEI NGO M

6. Luo Shenglian Qinghai Finance Dept. F

7. Li Liangping Qinghai Land Resource Dept. M

8. Shi Fantao Qinghai Agri‐Animal Husbandry Dept. M

9. Zhang Meiting Qinghai Environmental Dept. F

10. Pu Yongguo Qilian Mountains Nature Reserve M

11. Su Peng Qilian Mountains Nature Reserve M

12. Zhou Jie Qilian Mountains Nature Reserve M

13. Cai Jinlong Qinghai Lake Nature Reserve M


No Name Institution Gender

14. He Yubang Qinghai Lake Nature Reserve M

15. Sun Jianqing Qinghai Lake Nature Reserve M

16. Liu Quan Haiyan County Forestry Bureau M

17. JianMuCuo Ganzihe Town of Haiyan County M

18. YangShiying NGO Xuelian F

19. Lilianbang Gangcha County Forestry Police Bureau M

20. Lishizhen Haergai Town Forestry Police Station of Gangcha County M

21. DanKe Community Rep. M

22. WangWei Gangcha County Forestry Bureau M

23. Ma Haiyuan Shanshui NGO M

24. Yinhang NGO Xuejing F

25. Yuanfengkun Haiyan County Forestry Police Bureau F

26. Hezhuaxicairang Community Rep. M

27. Lidongliang PMO of QFD M

28. Lijihua PMO of QFD F

29. Wenqingqing PMO of QFD F

30. Mr. Yi Lvbei Qinghai Forestry Department M

31. Mr. James Lenoci International Consultant, C‐PAR3 PPG Team Leader M

32. Mrs. Zhang Xuemei China Agricultural University—National PPG Consultant F

C‐PAR Program Validation Workshop Date of Meeting: 17 November 2017 Location: UNDP Office, Beijing

No Name Institution Title Gender

1. Mr. Zhang Yunyi State Forestry Administration Division Chief M

2. Ms. Chen Junzhi State Forestry Administration Deputy Division Chief F

3. Mr. FengJun State Oceanic Administration Deputy Division Chief M

4. Ms. Huo Rui State Oceanic Administration Engineer F

5. Mr.Yang Lirong Foreign Economic Cooperation Office, MEP Division Chief M

6. Mrs. Du Jinmei Foreign Economic Cooperation Office, MEP Division Chief F

7. Mr. Liu Yanqing Foreign Economic Cooperation Office, MEP Project Manager M

8. Mr. Zhong Xiaodong Foreign Economic Cooperation Office, MEP Senior Advisor M

9. Mr. Liu Kun Foreign Economic Cooperation Office, MEP Project Officer M

10. Mr. Liu Haiou Foreign Economic Cooperation Office, MEP Project Manager M

11. Ms. Yan Wei Foreign Economic Cooperation Office, MEP Project Manager F

12. Mr. Zhang Fengchun CRAES（CPAR‐6） Researcher M

13. Ms. Song Wenjuan CRAES（CPAR‐6） Researcher F

14. Ms. Xie Yan National Consultant （CPAR‐6） Professor F

15. Ms. Feng Jiexi Conservation International Program Development Manager F


No Name Institution Title Gender

16. Mr. Tian Junliang Three River Sources NP Deputy Director General M

17. Mr. Yang Yeqing Three River Sources NP Division Chief M

18. Ms. Wang Xueyan Three River Sources NP Engneer F

19. Ms. Wang Guifang Three River Sources NP Engneer F

20. Mr. Fei Yuxiang Giant Panda NP Engneer M

21. Mr. Li Zaibing Management Committee of Xianju NP Deputy Director M

22. Ms. Liu Can Management Committee of Xianju NP Dept. head of resources protection F

23. Mr. Han Xiangdong Cooperation and Foreign Affairs Division of Gansu Forestry Department

Division Chief M

24. Mr. Yi Lvbei Qinghai Forestry Department Engineer M

25. Mr. James Lenoci International Consultant C‐PAR1/C‐PAR3 PPG Team Leader M

26. Mr. Crawford Prentice International Consultant C‐PAR2 PPG Team Leader M

27. Mr. Michael Moser International Consultant C‐PAR4 PPG Team Leader M

28. Mrs. Zhang Xuemei China Agricultural University—National Consultant Professor F

29. Mr. Yu Xiubo Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences—National Consultant

Professor

M

30. Ms. Kang Mengzhen Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences—National Consultant

Researcher, Associate Professor F

31. Mr. Wen Yali School of Economics and Management, Beijing Forestry University—National Consultant

Professor, Associate Dean M

32. Mr. Xu Ming (Skype) Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences—National Consultant

Professor M

33. Mr. Qin Tianbao Wuhan University—National Consultant Professor M

34. Mr. Wang Yaolin Gansu Forestry Foreign Funded Management Office‐‐Local Consultant

Deputy Director M

35. Mr. Fan Longqing Local Consultant, C‐PAR3 and C‐PAR5 Project Manager M

36. Mr. Liu Zhenghua Third Institute of Oceanography, State Oceanic Administration‐‐Local Consultant

Professor M

37. Mr. Wang Xianyan Third Institute of Oceanography, State Oceanic Administration‐‐Local Consultant

Associate Professor M

38. Ms. Yang Xue Pro. Qin Tianbao's assistant PhD student F

39. Mr. Ma Ben Pro. Wen Yali's assistant PhD student M

40. Mr. Tian Dexin Fundation of Protected Area Friend Secretary General M

41. Ms. Lisa Farroway UNDP Regional Technical Advisor F

42. Mr. Carsten Germer UNDP China, Energy & Environment team Assistant Country Director/EE Team leader

M

43. Mr. Ma Chaode UNDP China, Energy & Environment team Programme Manager M

44. Ms. Zhao Xinhua UNDP China, Energy & Environment team Programme Associate F

45. Ms. Wang Lei UNDP China, Energy & Environment team Coordinator F

46. Ms. Xue Lin UNDP China, Energy & Environment team Programme Assistant F

GEF-6 REQUEST FOR PROJECT ENDORSEMENT/APPROVAL

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Transcript of GEF-6 REQUEST FOR PROJECT ENDORSEMENT/APPROVAL