South Dongting Lake Wetland Ecological Restoration and Sustainable Development Project (ADB-56216-001)

Regions
  • East Asia and Pacific
Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.
Countries
  • China
Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.
Specific Location
Dongting Lake in the Yangtze River Basin, Yuanjiang city, Hunan province
Whenever identified, the area within countries where the impacts of the investment may be experienced. Exact locations of projects may not be identified fully or at all in project documents. Please review updated project documents and community-led assessments.
Financial Institutions
  • Asian Development Bank (ADB)
International, regional and national development finance institutions. Many of these banks have a public interest mission, such as poverty reduction.
Project Status
Proposed
Stage of the project cycle. Stages vary by development bank and can include: pending, approval, implementation, and closed or completed.
Bank Risk Rating
A
Environmental and social categorization assessed by the development bank as a measure of the planned project’s environmental and social impacts. A higher risk rating may require more due diligence to limit or avoid harm to people and the environment. For example, "A" or "B" are risk categories where "A" represents the highest amount of risk. Results will include projects that specifically recorded a rating, all other projects are marked ‘U’ for "Undisclosed."
Borrower
Government of China
A public entity (government or state-owned) provided with funds or financial support to manage and/or implement a project.
Sectors
  • Agriculture and Forestry
  • Climate and Environment
  • Water and Sanitation
The service or industry focus of the investment. A project can have several sectors.
Investment Type(s)
Loan
The categories of the bank investment: loan, grant, guarantee, technical assistance, advisory services, equity and fund.
Investment Amount (USD)
$ 150.00 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Loan Amount (USD)
$ 150.00 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Bank Documents
Primary Source

Original disclosure @ ADB website

Updated in EWS Feb 5, 2024

Disclosed by Bank Jan 30, 2024

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Project Description
If provided by the financial institution, the Early Warning System Team writes a short summary describing the purported development objective of the project and project components. Review the complete project documentation for a detailed description.

As stated by the ADB, Dongting Lake with its wetland ecosystems is the second-largest freshwater lake in the People's Republic of China (PRC) (2,652 km2). Situated entirely within Hunan Province in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River basin, it was classified by World Wildlife Fund as one of the 200 global key ecozones. The wetlands are divided into three administrative areas (municipalities) containing four nature reserves. Located in the southwest part of Dongting Lake downstream of the Three Gorges Dam, South Dongting Lake (SDL) was established as a nature reserve in 1991. In 2002, it was accredited as a Ramsar site (with an area of 168,000 hectares) and it became a provincial nature reserve in 2018. About 90% of SDL is located in Yuanjiang city, accounting for 40% of its municipal land area.

Restoring wetland and freshwater ecosystems while building long-term climate resilience is the proposed project's approach. Identified project measures will enhance resilience by reducing exposure and sensitivity to climate risks and strengthening the adaptive capacity in the SDL basin. The project will be focused to improving the protection and sustainable management of SDL and the species it supports and it will be the first major investment project for the RFI and significantly contribute to ADBs nature positive agenda.

The project will incorporate lessons from ADB-financed projects on ecological protection and lake environmental protection in PRC's Hunan province. Lessons from other ADB-financed projects on biodiversity conservation and green financing mechanisms in other PRC provinces will also inform the project design. Past experiences and lessons include (i) eco-compensation programs to incentivize local farmers and households to adopt eco-farming and wetland-friendly farming practices; (ii) institutional strengthening and interagency coordination for effective and basin-wide wetland and freshwater ecosystem protection; (iii) use of nature-based solutions (NBS) to improve conservation and restoration practices; (iv) design of incentive mechanisms to promote private sector investment in low-carbon and climate-resilient solutions.

Early Warning System Project Analysis
For a project with severe or irreversible impacts to local community and natural resources, the Early Warning System Team may conduct a thorough analysis regarding its potential impacts to human and environmental rights.

The ADB categorized the project E&S risks as follows:

Environment A
Involuntary Resettlement B
Indigenous Peoples C
Investment Description
Here you can find a list of individual development financial institutions that finance the project.

Contact Information
This section aims to support the local communities and local CSO to get to know which stakeholders are involved in a project with their roles and responsibilities. If available, there may be a complaint office for the respective bank which operates independently to receive and determine violations in policy and practice. Independent Accountability Mechanisms receive and respond to complaints. Most Independent Accountability Mechanisms offer two functions for addressing complaints: dispute resolution and compliance review.

ADB Team Leader:

Silvia Cardascia - Water Resources Specialist

No contacts provided at the time of disclosure.

Executing Agency - Yuanjiang Municipal Government:

Website: http://www.yuanjiang.gov.cn/index.htm

ACCESS TO INFORMATION

You can submit an information request for project information at: https://www.adb.org/forms/request-information-form

ADB has a two-stage appeals process for requesters who believe that ADB has denied their request for information in violation of its Access to Information Policy. You can learn more about filing an appeal at: https://www.adb.org/site/disclosure/appeals

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.

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How it works