The impact will be achievement of (i) green and circular economic development in Shanxi Province, and (ii) transformation from narrow-based industrial structure to a balanced and diversified one in Shanxi Province. The outcome will be improved strategic planning for the regionally balanced green transformation of resource-based regions in Shanxi Province. The TA will have the following four outputs: (i) identification of international and national best practices of the regionally balanced green transformation of resource-based regions; (ii) analysis of socioeconomic status of the typical resource-based regions in Shanxi Province; (iii) development of methodologies and indicators for planning the regionally balanced green transformation of resource-based regions; and (iv) formulation of two green transformation pilot studies for Liulin County' and Xiaoyi City.

Output 1 will include (i) review and analysis of international and national experiences, and draw lessons from the resource-based region's green transformation; (ii) review and analysis of key issues and constraints; (iii) documentation of successful cases summarizing good practices of green transformation; and (iv) dissemination of the findings at the workshops.

Output 2 will support the (i) collection and analysis of key issues and constraints of the social and economic development, environmental protection, and natural resource utilization in Shanxi Province, taking into consideration the provincial role as one of the national strategic energy bases; (ii) conduct of surveys and assessments of the cases of industrial transformation, ecological rehabilitation, integrated urban and rural development, and livelihood improvement in several selected typical regions in Shanxi Province; (iii) assessment of key constraints and features in industrial transformation, ecological and environmental protection, and institutional and policy mechanism for resource-based regions in Shanxi Province; (iv) economic analysis for environmental loss; and (v) preparation of an evaluation report based on the above reviews and analyses.

Output 3 will support the (i) definition of the regionally balanced green transformation of resource-based regions, and development of a strategic direction and priorities; (ii) development of a set of performance targets and indicators for evaluating the performance and impact of the regionally balanced green transformation of resource-based regions; and (iii) development of technical methodologies and guidelines for planning the regionally balanced green transformation of resource-based regions.

Output 4 will include (i) conduct of detailed studies on social and economic conditions, natural resources development, environmental carrying capacity, and industrial structure in Liulin County and Xiaoyi City of Shanxi Province; (ii) an assessment or evaluation of the environmental carrying capacity and industrial structure improvement each for Liulin County and Xiaoyi City; (iii) preparation of a policy note for regionally balanced green transformation of resource-based Liulin County and Xiaoyi City; and (iv) development of regionally balanced green transformation zoning and a pilot plan each for resource-based Liulin County and Xiaoyi City by applying the indicators and guide developed under output 3.

The TA will take into account the relevant findings of previous ADB-funded studies and relevant work from other donors. It will attach importance to case studies to learn best practices worldwide. The TA will assume that (i) relevant officials from Shanxi Provincial Government will actively participate in the discussions on the development of the technical guidelines and indicators, (ii) inter-sector cooperation and data sharing among key sectors are adequate, and (iii) Liulin County and Xiaoyi City governments fully support the pilot studies.

The TA will be implemented from 15 January 2016 to 30 June 2017. SPEPD will be the executing agency. A TA management office will be established in SPEPD and will be responsible for day-to-day operations with ADB, consultants, and related government agencies. An expert panel will be set up to obtain experts' opinions, as required, on the work of the TA consultants and counterpart team. The panel will consist of national experts from various agencies. The panel will collaborate with the counterpart team to organize at least two panel meetings during the TA implementation.

IMPACT

(i) Green and circular economic development in Shanxi Province achieved; and (ii) transformation from narrow-based industrial structure to a balanced and diversified one in Shanxi Province achieved. (Shanxi Provincial Government's forthcoming 13th Five-Year Social and Economic Development Plan, 2016-2020)

CONSULTING SERVICES

The technical assistance (TA) is estimated to require 7 person-months of international and 30 person-months of national consulting services. Four international consultants (environmental planning specialist, environmental economist, industry planning specialist, energy and climate change specialist) and nine national specialists (in environmental planning, environmental policy, climate change, air quality, water environment, water resources, macroeconomics, industry planning, and land use planning) will be required for the TA. The specialists will be engaged through a firm in accordance with the Guidelines on the Use of Consultants (2013, as amended from time to time) of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) using the quality- and cost-based selection method, with a quality- cost weighting ratio of 90:10 given the high technical complexity. The simplified technical proposal approach will be used.

PROCUREMENT

Equipment will be procured following ADB's Procurement Guidelines (2015, as amended from time to time) and will be handed over to SPEPD upon completion of the TA.

Shanxi Environmental Protection Bureau
No. 10 Xijihuying, Taiyuan
Shanxi 030009, People's Rep of China

ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM OF ADB
The Accountability Mechanism is an independent complaint mechanism and fact-finding body for people who believe they are likely to be, or have been, adversely affected by an Asian Development Bank-financed project. If you submit a complaint to the Accountability Mechanism, they may investigate to assess whether the Asian Development Bank is following its own policies and procedures for preventing harm to people or the environment. You can learn more about the Accountability Mechanism and how to file a complaint at: http://www.adb.org/site/accountability-mechanism/main