The Hai River discharges into the Bohai Sea which adjoins the Yellow Sea. Both seas contain globally important ecological resources that provide significant fishery benefits to China, North and South Korea and Japan. The Hai River is also a major source of irrigation and drinking water for tens of millions of people who live in its basin. However, the river and its tributaries are severely polluted (most above Class V, the worst category), and the basin’s groundwater resources are in some cases polluted and being rapidly depleted. Addressing the river basin’s twin problems of water pollution and depletion is critical to the health and well-being of its inhabitants and to the environmental sustainability of the Bohai and Yellow Seas and the livelihoods of the many people who depend on their natural resources. One of the major barriers to tackling these problems is the lack of sectorally and institutionally integrated actions to address them. The project’s overall objective is to catalyze an integrated approach to water resource management and pollution control in the Hai River Basin in order to improve the Bohai Sea and Yellow Sea environments. Specifically, the Project will (i) improve integrated water and environment planning and management in the Hai Basin, (ii) promote institutionally-coordinated and effective local, municipal/provincial, and basin-wide water and environment planning and management, (iii) enhance local capacity in water and environment knowledge management and implementation, and (iv) reduce wastewater discharges from small cities along the rim of the Bohai Sea. The project is intended to demonstrate new technologies and management approaches and to apply the lessons learned throughout the Hai Basin and in other basins boarding the Bohai and Yellow Seas. The project will also complement and strengthen two related and on-going World Bank-financed water and environmental operations in the Hai Basin: the Second Tianjin Urban Environment and Development Project (TUDEP2 - FY03) and the Water Conservation Project (WCP - FY01).
Project Details
GEF Project ID
1323
Country
China
Implementing Agencies
The World Bank
Approval FY
Status
Completed
Region
Asia
Executing Agencies
Ministry of Water Resources(MWR); State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA); Municipalities of Beijing and Tianjin; Province of Hebei
GEF Period
GEF - 3
Project Type
Full-size Project
Focal Areas
Funding Source
GEF Trust Fund
Project Documents
Financials
USDCo-financing Total
112,991,800
GEF Project Grant
17,000,000
GEF Agency Fees
1,629,000
Timeline
Received by GEF
Concept Approved
Project Approved for Implementation
Project Closed