Loess Plateau Watershed Rehabilitation Project (World Bank, China), 1994 to 2005
Nature's voice · report
'Total investment costs amounted to US$ 550 million' 550 million US dollars were spent in my name. No one has measured what reached me.
Not on record
- The record does not name which of my species, waters, soils or forests were harmed.
What the record lacks: 2 none on record · 2 self-reported only · 1 not measured · 1 disputed · 2 unclear See the gaps
Accounts of the harm differ
Tree survival in the project area
- International bodies Case study published by the World Bank (Chen, Wang and Wang, 2004): Severe droughts caused low survival rates requiring replanting, in some cases several times; shrubs on wasteland often had low survival rates and the component was cut back. World Bank (Public Disclosure Authorized)
- International bodies CSD-8 success-story page (World Bank InfoShop contact): Tree survival was generally high, except in drought-affected areas. United Nations (contact: World Bank InfoShop)
A World Bank-financed project in four Chinese provinces and regions built terraces, planted trees, shrubs and grass and constructed sediment dams on the Loess Plateau from 1994 to 2005. World Bank documents state a total investment of US$550 million for both phases and report erosion reductions of 57 million tons a year (first phase) and 107 million tons (both phases); the sources read contain no independent evaluation.
US$550 millionTotal investment in the two phases of the project, 1994-2005, as stated in a World Bank document
World Bank China Country Office Project Summary Note (undated); IBRD and IDA funding stated as US$300 million of the total. The first phase alone is stated as US$250 million in a World Bank case study.
World Bank China Country Office Project Summary Note (undated); IBRD and IDA funding stated as US$300 million of the total. The first phase alone is stated as US$250 million in a World Bank case study.
Status As of the documents read (2004 case study; undated summary note; 2012 brief): the project ended in 2005; the figures on erosion, income and vegetation cover are those of the project and the World Bank; no independent evaluation was read.
What?
A World Bank-financed project to raise farm output and incomes and reduce sediment inflow to the Yellow River through terraces, tree, shrub and grass planting and sediment dams on the Loess Plateau. World Bank (Public Disclosure Authorized)
Where?
Loess Plateau in Gansu, Shaanxi and Shanxi provinces and Inner Mongolia, within the Yellow River basin. United Nations (contact: World Bank InfoShop)
When?
First phase 1994 to 2002; two phases 1994 to 2005. World Bank
Who?
Gained
- Farmers in the project area — Grain output from 427,000 to 700,000 tons and net income per capita from Yuan 360 to Yuan 1,263 (case study); 2.5 million people lifted out of poverty (summary note) World Bank (Public Disclosure Authorized)
Lost
None on recordHarmed
None on recordWhy?
To increase agricultural production and incomes and, secondarily, reduce sediment inflows to the Yellow River. World Bank (Public Disclosure Authorized)
How?
IDA credit and IBRD funding with Chinese counterpart funds; terraces, afforestation, grazing bans, land contracts to farmers and sediment dams. World Bank
6 of 6 questions answered from the record
What happened
The record, in order.
The Loess Plateau Watershed Rehabilitation Project was financed by the World Bank's International Development Association (IDA) and carried out by the People's Republic of China, through its Ministry of Water Resources and the provinces of Gansu, Shaanxi and Shanxi and the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. A World Bank-published case study presented at a Shanghai conference in May 2004 (by Chen Shaojun, Wang Yue and Wang Yijie, who state that the findings are their own) records that the first phase was launched in 1994 and completed in 2002, covered 1,560,000 hectares in 21 counties, and cost US$250 million, of which an IDA credit of US$150 million covered 60 percent; it also states a total investment of Yuan 2.1 billion. A World Bank China Country Office summary note states that the project ran in two phases from 1994 to 2005 across 48 counties, about 30,000 km2, with "Total investment costs amounted to US$ 550 million" and IBRD and IDA funding of US$300 million.
The case study lists components of the first phase: terraces (90,500 ha), forestation (90,900 ha), shrubs (136,000 ha), economic forestation (26,700 ha), orchards (30,890 ha), grasslands (100,140 ha), irrigation (7,100 ha) and sediment control dams (149 key dams, 1,140 warping dams and 1,956 check dams). It records that local authorities restricted free grazing of sheep and goats in the project areas and beyond, and that land was contracted to farmers, with land-use rights of 30 to 50 years according to the summary note.
The case study reports, from the project's own side, that annual grain output rose from 427,000 tons to 700,000 tons, fruit output from 80,000 to 345,000 tons and net income per capita from Yuan 360 to Yuan 1,263, that "soil erosion from Loess Plateau area has been reduced by annual 57 million tons", and that the economic rate of return was 29 percent with environmental and downstream benefits and 19 percent with on-site benefits only. It records that the population below the poverty line in the project area fell from 59 percent in 1993 to 27 percent in 2001. The summary note reports vegetation cover rising from 17% to 33%, annual soil erosion down by more than 107 million tons, 920,000 ha rehabilitated and 2.5 million people lifted out of poverty.
On trees, the case study states that "Severe droughts caused low survival rates requiring replanting, in some cases several times" and that "Shrubs planted on wasteland often had low survival rates and this component was cut back". A UN success-story page whose contact is the World Bank InfoShop states that "Tree survival was generally high, except in drought-affected areas". Feng and colleagues (Nature Climate Change, 2016), writing about revegetation across the Loess Plateau under the Grain to Green programme rather than about this project, reported that net primary productivity was already close to an estimated water-supply limit.
- 1994First phase launched (October, per the case study); IDA credit of US$150 million
- 2002First phase completed (case study)
- 2004World Bank-published case study presented at the Shanghai conference on scaling up poverty reduction (May)
- 2005Second phase ends; two phases ran 1994 to 2005 across 48 counties (summary note)
- 2012IFPRI Focus brief describes the project as having benefited more than 3 million farmers
- 2016Feng et al. publish a Nature Climate Change study of Loess Plateau revegetation and water limits
What was said
Claims, in the words of those who made them.
“one of the largest and most successful erosion control programs in the world”
“exceed expectations in most respects”
“Severe droughts caused low survival rates requiring replanting, in some cases several times”
“a thriving, lush ecosystem providing improved livelihoods for more than 3 million farmers and their families”
“NPP in this region is found to be already close to this limit.”
Where accounts differ
Each party's account, side by side, with its source. The record does not settle these points; it shows them.
Tree survival in the project area
International bodies
Case study published by the World Bank (Chen, Wang and Wang, 2004)
Severe droughts caused low survival rates requiring replanting, in some cases several times; shrubs on wasteland often had low survival rates and the component was cut back.
World Bank (Public Disclosure Authorized)International bodies
CSD-8 success-story page (World Bank InfoShop contact)
Tree survival was generally high, except in drought-affected areas.
United Nations (contact: World Bank InfoShop)How it looked
What was shown, beside what was recorded.
Shown
- Project described as "one of the largest and most successful erosion control programs in the world", with 2.5 million people lifted out of poverty and vegetation cover up from 17% to 33%.World Bank China Country Office, Project Summary Note · World Bank
- Project described as "the largest and most successful water and soil conservancy project in the world" with an economic rate of return of 29 percent including environmental and downstream benefits.Case study published by the World Bank (Chen, Wang and Wang) · World Bank (Public Disclosure Authorized)
Recorded
- Total project cost US$250 million for the first phase with an IDA credit of US$150 million; total investment US$550 million for both phases (World Bank documents).
- Outputs of the first phase against the appraisal projection: 149 key dams (236 projected), 1,140 warping dams (2,208 projected), 1,956 check dams (3,417 projected); terraces 90,446 ha (83,200 projected); grassland 100,411 ha (155,000 projected).
- First-phase case study: low tree survival in drought, shrub component cut back; UN success-story page: tree survival generally high except in drought-affected areas.
- No independent evaluation of the project was read; the figures on erosion, income and vegetation cover are those of the project's implementers and the World Bank.
In nature's name
What was promised in nature's name, the money that moved, and what was measured.
Promised
- “The primary objective of the project was to increase agricultural production and incomes on 1,560,000 hectares of land in the Loess Plateau in nine tributary watersheds of the Yellow River.” — Case study published by the World Bank (Chen, Wang and Wang) (May 2004) World Bank (Public Disclosure Authorized)
Money moved in nature's name
| What | Kind | Amount | Period |
|---|---|---|---|
| IDA credit for the first phase World Bank (IDA) World Bank (Public Disclosure Authorized) | Pledged | $150m | 1994-2002 |
| Total project cost, first phase World Bank and Government of China World Bank (Public Disclosure Authorized) | Budget | $250m | 1994-2002 |
| Total investment of the first phase, stated separately in yuan World Bank and Government of China World Bank (Public Disclosure Authorized) | Budget | ¥2.1bn | 1994-2002 |
| IBRD and IDA funding, both phases World Bank (IBRD and IDA) World Bank | Paid out | $300m | 1994-2005 |
| Total investment costs, both phases World Bank and Government of China World Bank | Spent | $550m | 1994-2005 |
What was measured
Not measured
The erosion, vegetation and income figures in the documents read are those of the project and the World Bank (a case study published by the Bank and a Bank summary note); they are not an independent measurement. The World Bank's Independent Evaluation Group report on the second phase was not available. Feng et al. (2016) measured revegetation across the Loess Plateau but do not evaluate this project.
Soil erosion reduction, first phase
57 million tons a year
Case study published by the World Bank; the project's own figure World Bank (Public Disclosure Authorized)
Soil erosion reduction, both phases
more than 107 million tons a year
World Bank summary note; the project's own figure World Bank
Vegetation cover in project area
17% to 33%
World Bank summary note; the project's own figure World Bank
Tree survival
low in drought with replanting; shrub component cut back
Case study published by the World Bank World Bank (Public Disclosure Authorized)
Operation Ended · First phase completed in 2002; the two phases ran 1994 to 2005. World Bank
Findings on record
- Own admission Case study published by the World Bank (Chen, Wang and Wang) (2004-05) · The Loess Plateau Watershed Rehabilitation Project, Scaling Up Poverty Reduction conference case study: “Severe droughts caused low survival rates requiring replanting, in some cases several times” World Bank (Public Disclosure Authorized)
- Peer-reviewed study Feng et al. (Nature Climate Change) (2016) · Revegetation in China's Loess Plateau is approaching sustainable water resource limits (plateau-wide revegetation, not an evaluation of this project): “NPP in this region is found to be already close to this limit.” Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Who gained
Money that reached nature, beside money that stayed elsewhere.
Reached nature or the ground
Not published
No figure published.
Gained elsewhere
Not totalled
Currency: USD · Window: 1994-2005. All figures cover the same period. * Estimate built from cited figures.
Responses on record
- World Bank (May 2004; undated): Published a case study and a summary note describing the project as among the largest and most successful erosion control programmes in the world, with an economic rate of return of 29 percent including environmental and downstream benefits. · World Bank (Public Disclosure Authorized)
- Ministry of Water Resources (China): The case study names the Ministry's Water Conservation Department as the implementing agency contact; no statement of its own is recorded in the sources read.
In court and with insurers
Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.
Lawsuits and rulings
No court case on record. No court has ruled on this case.
Insurers
No insurer decision on record.
What nature saw
Outcomes measured on the ground, and nature's note.
Nature's report opens this page. Below: further outcomes measured on the ground.
Soil erosion reduction, first phase
57 million tons a year
World Bank-published case study; the project's own figure
Soil erosion reduction, both phases
more than 107 million tons a year
World Bank China Country Office summary note; the project's own figure
Vegetation cover in project area
17% to 33%
World Bank summary note; the project's own figure
Tree survival
low in drought, with replanting; shrub component cut back
Case study published by the World Bank
What we don't know
Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.
Nature
- Not measured Harm to nature: No independent ecological evaluation is on record.
- Disputed Tree survival in the project area
Figures
- Self-reported only Soil erosion reduction tons per year: Case study; the project's own figure.
- Self-reported only Soil erosion reduction tons per year: Summary note; the project's own figure.
Record
- None on record None on record: an independent evaluation of the project's ecological results in the sources read. The World Bank's Independent Evaluation Group listed a Project Performance Assessment Report (No. 41122, 4 October 2007) covering the Second Loess Plateau Watershed Rehabilitation Project; its text was not available.
- None on record None on record: the date of the World Bank China Country Office summary note; the page gives no date.
- Unclear Unclear: the number of counties and the area covered. The case study gives 21 counties and 1,560,000 hectares for the first phase; the summary note gives 48 counties and about 30,000 km2 for both phases and 35,080 km2 over which results were measured.
- Unclear Unclear: the first-phase cost. The case study states US$250 million with an IDA credit of US$150 million and, separately, Yuan 2.1 billion; the sources do not reconcile the currencies.
Did the harm stop?
Who paid?
IDA credit of US$150 million for the first phase and IBRD and IDA funding of US$300 million for both phases, with the balance of the stated total investment (US$250 million first phase; US$550 million both phases) borne by China; the split of the balance is not stated in the documents read.
Sources
Voices on record: — Company or project✓ Government and regulators— Courts— Press and investigations— Communities and civil society✓ Researchers✓ International bodies
Government and regulators
- The Loess Plateau Watershed Rehabilitation Project (case study; Chen Shaojun, Wang Yue, Wang Yijie), Scaling Up Poverty Reduction conference, ShanghaiWorld Bank (Public Disclosure Authorized) · 2004-05
Researchers
- Rehabilitating China's loess plateau (John Mackedon), IFPRI Focus 19, Brief 5International Food Policy Research Institute via CGSpace · 2012-06
- Revegetation in China's Loess Plateau is approaching sustainable water resource limits (Feng et al.), Nature Climate Change 6(11): 1019-1022 (abstract reprinted)Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences · 2016
International bodies
- Loess Plateau Watershed Rehabilitation Project, CSD-8 Sustainable Development Success StoriesUnited Nations (contact: World Bank InfoShop) ·
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