The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors have approved a US$200 million loan to enhance ecological protection and reduce water pollution along China’s Yangtze River basin in Hubei Province. This financing will strengthen ecosystem management, reduce water pollution from plastics and animal manure, and improve wastewater treatment
The Yangtze River basin covers 19 provinces in China and provides the primary water source for almost 600 million people. Due to increased human and industrial activity, the basin conveys plastic and other pollutants to the world’s oceans. It is also home to a third of China’s endangered species and 40 per cent of its rare or endangered plants.
The Yangtze River Protection and Ecological Restoration Program (Hubei) complements a companion World Bank-financed program supporting Hunan and Jiangxi Provinces. That program was approved in December 2021. It expands the geographical coverage of World Bank support for ecological protection and water pollution control to the entire middle reaches of the river basin. Together the two programs will support the implementation of China’s Yangtze River Protection Law. This law aims at improving the management of water resources in the basin. It includes better coordination across line agencies and levels of government.
“It is an excellent example of how our support to China can address some of the most pressing challenges. That includes plastic waste, climate change and biodiversity loss,” said Mara Warwick, World Bank Country Director for China, Mongolia and Korea. “This program will help China achieve real impacts in pollution reduction in the Yangtze basin at scale. We are supporting cross-sectoral coordination, cooperation across provincial jurisdictions, and innovation in managing water resources.”
What does the new funding program do?
The program focuses on improving coordination, data collection and sharing, and water management planning and allocation across the river basin. The program will also support activities to protect land-based ecosystems through soil and water conservation within selected demonstration counties. It will also prevent plastics from entering water bodies by collecting and recycling agricultural plastic film and other plastic wastes. There will also be improvements in wastewater management systems, and reduce nutrient runoff through improved animal manure management.
Total program financing over the five-year period is expected to be US$1.1 billion. World Bank financing will complement $874 million of China’s resources. Provincial-level activities will focus on strengthening the policy and institutional responses. At the sub-basin level, integrated water management planning and operations will be carried out in the Qing River and Hong Lake basins.
The project aligns with the World Bank’s Country Partnership Framework (CPF) for China for FY2020 to 2025. It aims to help China address its development challenges, particularly in global public goods, such as environmentally sustainable growth.
The World Bank Group supports efforts to address China’s interrelated climate and development challenges. This was highlighted in the recent China Country and Climate Development Report, as well as ecosystem degradation and marine plastic pollution.
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