The United Nations system in China is today launching on behalf of the Chinese Government an Appeal for US$46 million for Disaster Mitigation and Post-Flood Relief in China. The UN Appeal calls on foreign governmental, inter-governmental, non-governmental and private donors to make their contributions to consolidate the relief and rehabilitation efforts in partnership with the Chinese government.
The objective of this UN Inter-Agency Appeal is to facilitate the co-ordination of international assistance to the Chinese Government in its efforts to provide disaster mitigation and post-flood relief to areas devastated by the catastrophic floods that occurred last summer. This assistance will act as a catalyst to:
- Consolidate the results of flood relief efforts to date;
- Rehabilitate essential human settlements, education and production facilities;
- Implement integrated flood management and information systems to mitigate flood risk in the future.
The first UN Appeal issued on 23 September 1998 was for emergency relief and initial rehabilitation for flood victims. This first appeal which ended on 31 January 1999 successfully raised close to US$73 million. These emergency funds were used both by the Government and the UN to provide relief in the form of shelters, food, water supplies, sanitation facilities, disease control services, seeds and fertilizers and construction materials for rehabilitation of schools.
Now there is a danger that this emergency relief and initial rehabilitation achievement may not be sustainable if additional relief aid and essential medium-term rehabilitation and longer-term disaster mitigation assistance are not forthcoming. UN agency fact-finding missions to the flood ravaged South Central China and Northeast China carried out after flood waters had receded showed that the winter freeze has masked many flood related dangers. With spring coming, water-borne diseases, food and environmental problems will again be faced by the flood displaced population that is still without proper water, sanitation or seeds and fertilizer needed for planting on time.
UNITED NATIONSINTER-AGENCY APPEAL DISASTER MITIGATION AND POST-FLOOD RELIEF IN CHINA
1. Annual Impact of Natural Disasters in China
China is one of the most natural hazard prone countries in the world. On average economic loss from natural disasters is from three to four percent of Gross Domestic Product annually as shown in Figure 1. The economic damage of the 1998 summer floods in the center and in the north of China was equivalent to almost four percent of the Gross Domestic Product of the country and one-third of the annual Government fiscal revenue. Unless disaster mitigation is incorporated into development planning, the economic losses arising from natural disasters will continue to increase proportionally to the economic growth of the country.
2. Objective of Relief and Rehabilitation Appeal
The objective of this United Nations Inter-Agency Appeal is to facilitate the co-ordination of international assistance to the Chinese Government in its efforts to provide post-flood relief, and to rehabilitate and mitigate areas devastated by the catastrophic floods that occurred in the summer of 1998. This assistance will act as a catalyst to:
- Consolidate the results of flood relief efforts to reduce the possibility of prolonged dependency on food relief and the risk of epidemic disease outbreaks;
- Rehabilitate essential human settlements, education and production facilities;
- Implement integrated flood management and information systems to address root causing flooding and to mitigate flood risk in the future.
This Appeal for Disaster Mitigation and Post-Flood Relief is not limited to a specific time period. The objective of this appeal is to identify a set of cost-effective disaster rehabilitation and mitigation measures to be funded by the international community as part of its disaster relief or regular official development co-operation with China. These funds can be channeled either through the United Nations system or through concerned international, bilateral or NGO organizations and agencies.
3. Background to the Appeal
The Problem and Response to Date
During the summer of 1998, China experienced its worst flooding in over 40 years. According to Government estimates (China Disaster Situation Report issued on 28 January 1998), over 180 million people were affected by flooding in both the center and the northern provinces of the country. More than 4,100 people died and more that 18 million people were evacuated from their homes and villages. The floods completely destroyed more than 6.8 million homes and damaged more than 13 million more. More than 13.8 million hectares of crops were badly damaged and 5.3 million hectares of ready to harvest crops were completely lost. Essential facilities such as health centres, schools and water supply systems were seriously damaged or destroyed. So far, direct economic losses have exceeded RMB 255 billion (US$ 31 billion), not taking into account the long-term social impact to people living for long periods of time without homes and without employment.
Following an unprecedented emergency mobilization of Chinese national resources to assist those affected by the floods, a United Nations Disaster Assessment and Co-ordination Mission was fielded in response to a government request for UN assistance. Based on the mission’s findings, the UN system in China launched an International Appeal for Flood Emergency Relief and Immediate Rehabilitation on 23 September 1998. The appeal ended on 31 January 1999. The international community provided US$ 72, 712,400 in response to the appeal.
With these financial contributions from the International donor community, the Government of China and UN Agencies together provided emergency relief in the form of shelters, food, water supplies, sanitation facilities, disease control services, seeds and fertilizer. This relief was directed to the most vulnerable segments of the population in the worst flood-affected provinces. In addition to this emergency relief, rehabilitation of schools was also initiated.
Among other agencies, the United Nations Development Programme has delivered more than 6,000 tents to 30,000 flood victims and has provided construction materials to more than 15,000 people in five provinces for emergency housing and house repairs. The World Food Programme has distributed 141,500 metric tons of rice in 320 townships, through its Food-For-Work Programme, contributing to the rehabilitation of land, irrigation ditches and wells. UNICEF, in close cooperation with provincial governments in Hunan, Hubei and Jiangxi provinces, has carried out an extensive disease control and water purification programme benefiting over 2.7 million people in over 2,400 villages with clean water and protection against disease. The Food and Agriculture Organization FAO has provided two emergency projects under its regular programme to aid farmers in seven flooded provinces. WHO is implementing disease prevention activities in 6 provinces.
However, several key flood relief and essential rehabilitation needs could not be incorporated into the first appeal as it was necessary to wait for the floodwaters to recede in many of the most badly damaged central provinces. This included the assessment of the assistance required for rehabilitation of agricultural and production facilities. Similarly, flood relief efforts could not be completed before the winter freeze in the remote northern regions and provinces; and relief efforts will have to resume with the spring thaw.
The Problem and Needs for the Future
The efforts of the International Community played a positive role in providing emergency relief and immediate rehabilitation assistance to the most vulnerable flood victims. However, there is a danger that this emergency relief and immediate rehabilitation achievement may not be sustained if additional relief aid, essential medium-term rehabilitation and longer-term disaster mitigation assistance is not forthcoming in support of the Chinese government need.
Millions of people may remain dependent on food relief if a lack of seeds and fertilizer prevent farmers from planting on time. Epidemic diseases are likely to break out in the coming spring if clean up from the floods is not continued and if adequate water and sewage systems are not put in place in affected and rebuilt villages. Agricultural production recovery will be limited if essential township-owned enterprises such as fertilizer plants, mills and water companies are not rapidly rehabilitated. Future catastrophic flooding will again be experienced if the root causes of the 1998 floods including deforestation, soil erosion and wetlands reclamation, are not addressed. Future disasters will continue to cause catastrophic damage without better disaster management decision making tools for use by government
Based on these concerns, the Chinese government requested the assistance of the United Nations system to issue a disaster and post-flood appeal to provide critical assistance to consolidate flood relief efforts and to mitigate flood risks in the future. This UN Agency response to the Chinese government request was designed and is being coordinated with the disaster relief and rehabilitation efforts of multi-lateral and bi-lateral donors.
For example, the World Bank, in response to the initial request of the Government, provided an emergency recovery loan of US$ 80 million to finance part of the cost of rehabilitation and reconstruction work for roads, water supply systems, schools, health centers and clinics, irrigation facilities, and technical studies to strengthen the existing flood control and management systems in Hubei, Hunan and Jiangxi Provinces. The World Bank is considering directing its follow-up flood rehabilitation programme to the strengthening of critical dikes on the Yangze River. The Japanese Government is directing its flood aid to the strengthening of flood control structures to protect urban areas such as the City of Wuhan. The Asian Development Bank will support infrastructure, including rehabilitation of flood control structures in the three northern areas of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Jilin Province and Heilongjiang Province.
4. Summary of the Appeal
The United Nations Disaster Management Team in China has prepared this appeal under the leadership of the United Nations Resident Co-ordinator. This appeal is based on joint and individual assessment missions undertaken by the individual UN Agencies and the World Bank since the end of the 1998 summer flooding. Several of these missions had to wait until well after the height of the flooding, to allow floodwaters to recede to be able to assess the full impact of the flooding.
This new United Nations Appeal is designed to continue to provide the flood ravaged population with emergency aid that they will need when the cold winter ends and the hot summer begins. Needed is relief support for more flood cleanup in the northern flood damaged areas of China. Further, this appeal is designed to provide rehabilitation in all flood impacted areas to allow displaced people to return to their new or repaired homes, and to plant food crops or to engage in their previous livelihood.
By focusing on essential capacity development needs for flood rehabilitation, the appeal will build on infrastructure reconstruction initiatives now being carried out for non-flood related projects by the Government of China and by international financing institutions.
The focus of this appeal is for continued relief aid for northern flooded areas where the 1998 winter freeze has masked disease threats to the population that will appear again starting with the 1999 spring thaw. The focus of this appeal is also on capacity development for essential rehabilitation of human resettlement, agriculture and income generating township-owned enterprises. The focus of the appeal will also be on Technical Assistance for implementing disaster mitigation information systems, integrated watershed management and flood plane restoration to address the root causes of the flood. The sectors to be assisted are divided based on the development mandate of the concerned United Nations office or agency responsible as shown in Table 1:
Summary of Development Sectors to Be Assisted by UN Agencies Through this Appeal
Sector
|
UN Coordinating Agency
|
Appeal Amount (US$)
|
Agricultural rehabilitation |
FAO
|
$ 18,550,000
|
Disease prevention relief |
UNICEF
|
$ 2,700,000
|
Human settlement rehabilitation |
UNDP & Habitat
|
$ 5,500,000
|
Township enterprise rehabilitation |
UNIDO
|
$ 5,700,000
|
Education rehabilitation |
UNESCO
|
$ 4,400,000
|
Restoration of flood absorbing areas |
UNDP
|
$ 3,500,000
|
Integrated disaster prevention |
UNESCO
|
$ 4,100,000
|
Disaster Information Unit |
UNDP
|
$1,700,000
|
GRAND TOTAL |
$46,150,000
|
Given the magnitude of the 1998 floods, this financial appeal can only provide a small fraction of the total flood rehabilitation needs in China. However, the international experience to be transferred and the essential national capacities to be developed through this appeal are expected act as a catalyst for sustainable medium and long-term rehabilitation of flood affected areas. Importantly, activities identified in this appeal will be substantially cost-shared by the Chinese Government.
5. Regions of China that will Benefit from this Appeal
This relief appeal will benefit two regions of China that were devastated by floods in the summer of 1998 as shown in Figure 2. The flooding was severe and well documented by the press in the populous center of China including the Provinces of Hubei, Hunan, Anhui and Jiangxi. Also hard hit but less reported on were the more remote north of China including the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and the provinces of Heilongjieng and Jilin.
This appeal will provide ongoing flood relief support to the northern area of China; and additional flood rehabilitation support to the central area of China.
6. Implementation Arrangements for this Appeal
For this relief appeal, donors can make their contributions directly to the Government of the People’s Republic of China as part of their on-going cooperation programmes or through the co-ordinating United Nations Agency. For funds channeled through the United Nations system, appropriate UN Agencies will be responsible for monitoring, coordinating, and reporting on the effort to the donor. A summary report on the progress of work will also be prepared as a coordinated effort by the United Nations Disaster Management Team in China working together. The entire relief and rehabilitation effort will be formally reviewed with the attendance of the donors at the end of one year of implementation of the programme.
7. Description of UN Appeal Projects
A short summary of each UN agency component is given below. A brief description of each component of this appeal is given in annex. Detailed project information may be requested from each respective UN Agency.
Agricultural Rehabilitation is being undertaken by the FAO. The programme will address the urgent need for new agricultural, livestock and fishery inputs. The programme will also continue flood rehabilitation efforts in the areas of soil improvement, agricultural infrastructure and adjustment of production patterns.
Safe Water and Sanitation for Emergency Epidemic Relief is being managed by UNICEF. This programme will organize flood-affected communities for major environmental clean-up and public education campaigns and strengthen disease surveillance and response at village levels in these countries. The project will also establish appropriate safe water and sanitation standards for primary schools and provide support to ensure that safe water and safe sanitary latrines plus refuse disposal arrangements are put in place. In addition, the project will implement preventive education on health and hygiene for the school children and their families.
Human Settlement rehabilitation is being implemented by UNDP and by Habitat. The objective for human settlement rehabilitation is to support, through a demonstration programme, the installation of the basic infrastructure needed to render the reconstructed human settlements viable. Accordingly, relocated and reconstructed villages will be financially assisted to install basic water and sewage systems and to establish all weather roads linking the communities with the network of other settlements in their respective areas.
Township-owned Enterprises Rehabilitation will be coordinated by UNIDO. The objective of the programme is to assist the government in the proper rehabilitation of enterprises seriously affected by the floods, and thus to assist both agro-industrial and other industries in three selected counties in Hunan Province. Problems of contamination of soil and water bodies by toxic and persistent chemicals due to damage to industries will be addressed and action will be taken or recommended based on severity of the situation.
Education Rehabilitation will be managed by UNESCO. This appeal will rehabilitate schools damaged by floods and ensure the continuation of classes in safe school building in Heilongjiang Province.
Restoring Flood Absorbing Areas will be coordinated by UNDP. The programme will support the State forestry Administration in reestablishing flood absorbing areas through the restoration of important lakes and floodplain wetlands. It will also support education and public awareness to ensure strong support for this new land-use approach, both from the public and from affected communities, and provide guidance on enhancement of biodiversity in restored wetland areas.
Integrated Flood Disaster Prevention will be organized by UNESCO. Here, a sound expert assessment of the 1998 flood disaster in comparison with past disasters will be made in collaboration with international experts. The objective is to significantly improve knowledge on the causative environmental factors leading up to the recent flooding. This knowledge will be sued to prepare recommendations for Government decision-making in relation to land use and watershed management to minimize future flood risk.
A Disaster Information Unit will be installed within the Ministry of Civil Affairs by UNDP. This Unit will support the Ministry of Civil Affairs in its task of coordination all disaster reporting and disaster management in China. The objective is to provide technical assistance to establish a repository for all disaster management related data in cooperation with other Ministries and Research Institutes; and to develop a disaster decision making support system.
Annex 1: AGRICULTURE REHABILITATION
- Development Sector: Agriculture
- Co-ordinating Agency: United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization-FAO
- Government Counterpart: Ministry of Agriculture and State Forestry Bureau
- Location of Initiative: Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi, Anhui, Jilin and Heilongjiang Provinces ; Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.
A: Background and Context of the Appeal
The UN inter-agency appeal for emergency relief included a FAO proposal to field a mission to assess damage to the agricultural sector and to formulate an agriculture rehabilitation programme. The government of Sweden pledged US$ 90,000 for the FAO mission, which was fielded from 28 November to 13 December 1998. The results of this assessment demonstrate the immense impact of the floods on agriculture.
Most of the people affected by the floods depend on agriculture for their livelihood. More than 15 million hectares of cropland were affected to varying degrees by flooding. Total losses in farm output are estimated at some 37 million tonnes of grain and 19 million tonnes of vegetables. Total loss of crop output is estimated at US$ 11 billion. Losses of livestock are estimated at US$ 1.8 billion. Loss of destroyed farm installations and equipment is estimated at US$ 400 million; and loss from damaged fishponds, breeding farms and aquatic products is estimated at US$ 3 billion.
Despite measures already taken by the government, assistance for initial rehabilitation of the agriculture sector is urgently needed. Donor support will assist farmers to resume agricultural production in the flood-affected areas in the 1999 growing season. Prolonged dependence on food assistance and increased household debt, as most food assistance is provided on a loan basis, will thereby be minimized.
B: Objective of the Appeal
The programme for agricultural rehabilitation will address the urgent need for new agricultural, livestock and fishery inputs. The programme will also continue flood rehabilitation efforts in the areas of soil improvement, agricultural infrastructure and adjustment of production patterns.
C: Strategy for Implementation
The programme is based on the field visits of the FAO mission and was prepared in consultation with provincial governments of the flood-affected areas. Given the extent of damage to the agriculture sector, full-scale rehabilitation will take years. The programme does not cover the magnitude of the needs; but targets the most vulnerable sectors of the population and supplements the initiatives of the central and provincial governments.
In view of the magnitude of the programme, a Technical Assistance project to co-ordinate emergency rehabilitation assistance in the agricultural, livestock and fisheries sectors has been included.
D: Budget for Appeal Implementation
Agriculture Sub-sectors
|
No. of Projects
|
Budget (US$)
|
Farming sector |
8
|
$ 9,266,000
|
Livestock sector |
3
|
$ 3,500,000
|
Fisheries sector |
3
|
$ 2,754,000
|
Forestry sector |
2
|
$ 1,500,000
|
Technical Assistance and co-ordination |
1
|
$ 620,000
|
Environmental rehabilitation of farmland |
2
|
$ 910,000
|
Total |
19
|
$ 18,550,000
|
Annex 2: SAFE WATER AND SANITATION FOR EMERGENCY EPIDEMIC PREVENTION RELIEF
- Development Sector: Health Care
- Co-ordinating agency: UNICEF
- Government Co-operating Agency: Ministry of Foreign Trade and EconomicCo-operation / Ministry of Health / Ministry of Education
- Location of initiative: Northern China Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region; Heilongjiang and Jilin Provinces
A: Background and Context of the Appeal
First priorities for flood emergency response in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Heilongjiang and Jilin Provinces last September, addressed life-threatening needs of shelter and food, before the onset of the area's severe winter weather. Immediate risk of disease outbreak due to environmental contamination was reduced by the early winter freeze.
However, a UNICEF follow-up assessment in January, 1999 found looming risks of serious epidemic disease outbreak in the north. In many of the communities cut off by floodwaters and mud last summer, frozen rivers and mud now allow delivery of relief supplies. Also, the spread of diseases including typhoid, hepatitis A, and epidemic hemorrhagic fever is also temporarily frozen. Serious risks of epidemics will reemerge with the spring thaw.
Environmental conditions in the flood affected northern areas are also very poor. Frozen water and mud contain tens of thousands of animals drowned in the floods. Widespread surface contamination threatens rural drinking water drawn from raised water tables where families rely for water largely from shallow wells and from suction hand pumps. Children in particular tend to drink water that has not been boiled. Children's compromised nutritional status, such as limited vitamin A intake in their diet, increases their risks of greater severity of diarrhea and respiratory infections.
Many of the flood areas are poverty counties that had been affected in previous years by drought and environmental degradation. These counties have limited financial and human resources to address challenges of health education, environmental clean up, and disease prevention. In particular, the lowest tier of the health system was significantly deteriorated even before the disaster, and overall capacity of the health system to manage public health initiatives has atrophied with the focus in recent years on curative medicine.
Health education on sanitation and hygiene practices has not reached many rural families. Overcrowded schools reopening in March, some still in tents, also provide potential sites for disease transmission in the absence of health education for the children, and provision for safe water and appropriate sanitation arrangements for the schools.
B: Objective of this Appeal
The objectives of this appeal are to:
- Organize flood-affected communities for major environmental clean-up and public education campaigns in 18 severely affected counties in three northern provinces: and to strengthen disease surveillance and response at village levels in these counties.
- Establish appropriate safe water and sanitation standards for primary schools in the 18 project counties: and to provide support to ensure that safe water and safe sanitary latrines plus refuse disposal arrangements are put in place during repair or rebuilding of schools affected by the floods.
- Implement preventive education on health and hygiene for the school children and their families.
C: Strategy for Implementation
The strategy of this appeal is to build on experiences and approaches developed in successfully completed emergency activities in Hunan, Hubei, and Jiangxi Provinces. UNICEF will provide support for village-level teams of leaders, health workers and women's cadres to organize environmental clean up and purification of wells. These teams will also provide first level surveillance for epidemic diseases, and immediate preventive activities such as vitamin A administration to children under five, and provision of oral rehydration salts for treatment of dehydration in communities cut off from health services. Clear specification of duties and work-plans at all levels will be linked to frequent supervision from each higher level to ensure effective implementation.
The provision of material support to provide safe water and sanitation in schools will be linked to training of teachers who will carry out health education of children and their families. The work in schools will complement that of the health teams, to focus community attention and preventive action regarding the special risks to children. School children will be mobilized in health education and protection activities for the younger children in the community.
Funds received will focus on severely affected counties, up to six counties per province, with initial focus on the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Additional provinces and counties may be supported as funds become available. The support for safe water and sanitation in the schools will complement the Government's large-scale school rehabilitation efforts. However, as the proposed support to schools forms part of a coordinated emergency strategy to prevent disease outbreaks this spring, UNICEF seeks urgent commitment of donor funds for this strategy.
D: Budget for the Relief Effort
Sectors Needing Rehabilitation In Each County |
Budget (US$)
|
Health and disease surveillance: |
US$ 47,500
|
Education interventions: |
US$ 95,000
|
Programme support costs: |
US$ 7,500
|
Total per county: |
US$ 150,000
|
Provinces Needing Rehabilitation |
Budget (US$)
|
6 counties in the Inner Mongolia Region |
$900,000
|
6 counties in Heilongjiang Province |
$900,000
|
6 counties in Jilin Province |
$900,000
|
Grand Total |
$2,700,000
|
Annex 3: HUMAN SETTLEMENT REHABILITATION
- Development Sector: Human Settlements
- UN Co-ordinating Agency: United Nations Development Programme-UNDP and the United Nations Center for Human Settlements-Habitat
- Government Co-operating Agency: Ministry of Foreign Trade and EconomicCo-operation / Ministry of Construction
- Location of Initiative: Central China Hubei and Jiangxi Provinces
A: Background and Context of the Appeal
During the summer of 1998, more than 1.5 million families in China lost their homes to floods. Initially the flood victims were accommodated in the homes of friends or relatives, or in temporary shelters set up by the government. To resume their economic activities, the displaced people must be permanently accommodated as quickly as possible.
The Government is well aware that the encroachment into flood plains and lakes by agriculture and other development activities had significantly constructed the natural hydrology in many parts of the country. Realizing that this would continue to exacerbate the impact of floods, the Government has adopted a policy to clear flood channels and to increase lake capacities, thereby reestablishing the potential of hydrological systems to accommodate water surges.
This policy, however, necessitates the relocation of human settlements situated in flood areas. In some cases the population of villages that have to be abandoned will be integrated into existing villages or town, expanding the settlement area and upgrading services such as schools and clinics. In other cases the villages will be relocated to a new site. Whatever the case, villages where the inhabitants are expected to continue working their original farm land must be relocated within a comfortable distance from the new village to its fields. Comfortable distance is considered to be a maximum of five kilometers.
A UN Habitat Mission was requested by the Government to assess the ongoing relocation programme and to offer recommendations to make the effort more viable. This mission concluded that the Government criteria for relocating villages are valid. However, the major deficiencies in the new villages are lack of adequate water and sanitation schemes, and better road access.
The need for housing is vast. The replacement or reconstruction of the homes destroyed or damaged by flooding amounts to replacing housing stock accumulated over generations. This is an enormous burden for the government and the people to bear in a single year; particularly when substantial resources are also needed to repair dikes and to re-establish agricultural production.
The government has proven itself committed, efficient, and effective in dealing with the demands of post-flood housing rehabilitation. Its performance in planning, designing, and implementing village resettlement and rehabilitation programs has been exemplary. However, given the cost of creating sufficient shelter for massive numbers of flood victims, the government does not have the resources necessary to install supporting infrastructure including village access roads, water supply, and sanitation systems for the new housing. Similarly, poor communities have no resources to contribute to the cost of the needed roads and water supplies. Indeed, most households in poor communities are already in debt or overextended as they try to meet their portion of the costs of house construction or repair.
Without assistance to install basic infrastructure, the new villages may become seriously dysfunctional or uninhabitable. Without adequate water and sewage systems, and without adequate linkages to existing networks in other settlements, the new villages, despite the massive investment in housing, are not likely to be viable as communities.
B: Objective of the Appeal
The objective for human settlement rehabilitation is to support, through a demonstration programme, the installation of the basic infrastructure needed to render the reconstructed human settlements viable. Areas carrying the heaviest financial burden from the flood are least likely to be able to meet their infrastructure needs on their own. Accordingly, relocated and reconstructed villages in Hubei Province and Jiangxi Province will be financially assisted to install basic water and sewage systems and to establish all weather roads linking the communities with the network of other settlements in their respective areas.
C: Strategy for Implementation
The strategy to be followed for this rehabilitation effort is to support the installation and upgrading of basic services and roads in villages that are being rehabilitated or relocated.
The provision of basic services and roads is almost as urgent as the provision of shelter. However, time being less critical, in-depth community involvement in the process of providing services and roads is possible and preferable. Therefore, a programme of providing basic services in support to village rehabilitation and relocation will reflect the following principles for strengthening community participation:
The Government will provide access to water, land or other resources that the villages cannot provide. The Government and the affected villages together will provide implementation of the planning and construction using the following methodology:
- The community will prioritize what services they want and will be involved in the infrastructure planning process;
- The community will contribute labor in exchange for the building materials required;
- The Government and UNDP/Habitat will provide Technical Assistance during the entire planning and construction processes;
- The community will set up a system for maintenance of the facilities.
The Ministry of Construction will manage resources in coordination with the Ministry of Finance, the State Planning Commission, the Ministry of Civil Affairs, provincial governments, and local governments.
The programme will be coordinated with the appropriate county-level government offices to ensure efficient procurement of local materials. The programme will work closely with the communities and their leaders to ensure appropriate design and effective implementation. Individual families will be responsible for installation of sinks, drains, toilets and showers within their respective housing units.
In future, the ability of communities to improve themselves will depend in good measure on the quality and skills of their leaders. It is therefore important to improve the leadership qualifications and skills of village leaders and council members. In conjunction with an ongoing UNDP project to train elected officials, this new training program will aimed at increasing the skills of village leaders to deal with village development and disaster issues.
D: Budget for Implementation
The major deficiencies in the new villages being constructed by the Government above the high water line are the lack of adequate water supply and sanitation schemes; and better roads. On average, less than $75,000 is needed per village to provide these three basic infrastructure services. Given this basic level of funding, international assistance can contribute to turn a new village into a model village.
Village Infrastructure Components
|
No. of Project
|
Budget(US$)
|
Water systems |
47 villages
|
$ 3,000,000
|
Sewage systems |
47 villages
|
$ 1,600,000
|
Roads (compacted gravel with drainage) |
27 villages
|
$ 850,000
|
Training of village leaders |
47 villages
|
$ 50,000
|
Total |
$ 5,500,000
|
Annex 4: TOWNSHIP-OWNED ENTERPRISE REHABILITATION
- Development Sector: Township-owned Enterprises
- UN Co-ordinating Agency: United Nations Industrial Development Organization -UNIDO
- Government Co-operating Agency: Ministry of Foreign Trade and EconomicCo-operation
- Location of Initiative: Central China Hunan Province
A: Background and Context of the Appeal
Among flood-affected sectors in 1998, small-scale industries were affected heavily. At the request of the Government of China and in consultation with the United Nations Disaster Management Team, UNIDO fielded an industry rehabilitation mission from 24 to 27 November 1998 to assess the industries most seriously affected by the floods. The mission found that most of the worst affected enterprises are small-scale industries using locally available raw materials. These industries are very important for local economies and for the livelihoods of thousands of people. These enterprises are mostly concerned with textiles, building materials, water supply, waste treatment and rice processing. While some enterprises have resumed operation, many enterprises were totally destroyed. Hundreds of workers suffered a double tragedy: they lost both their homes and their livelihoods.
B: Objective of the Appeal
The objective of the programme is to assist the government in rehabilitating essential enterprises seriously affected by the floods, and thus to assist both agro-industral and other industry in three selected countries in Hunan Province. Problems of contamination of soil and water bodies by toxic and persistent chemicals due to damage to industries will be addressed and action will be taken or recommended based on the severity of the situation. The programme will also create or speed up employment opportunities for those who lost their jobs as a consequence of flood damage.
C: Strategy for Implementation
UNIDO will work closely with the central and provincial governments in ensuring the efficient and effective rehabilitation of township-owned enterprises. A cost-sharing approach will be applied to these enterprise rehabilitation projects. UNIDO will be responsible for Technical Assistance for these rehabilitation projects and will be in charge of the management of resources. Project activities will be closely coordinated among all parties involved in the programme.
D: Budget for Implementation
Township-Owned Enterprise Sector
|
No. of Project
|
Budget(US$)
|
Agriculture Enterprises (Cotton, rice, fertilizer, land) |
6
|
$ 2,190,000
|
Water Enterprises |
2
|
$ 600,000
|
Textile Enterprises |
2
|
$ 2,100,000
|
Building material Enterprises |
3
|
$ 750,000
|
Paper mill Enterprises |
1
|
$ 60,000
|
Total |
14
|
$ 5,700,000
|
Annex 5: EDUCATION REHABILITATION
- Development Sector: Education
- Co-ordinating Agency: UNESCO
- Government Co-operating Agency: Ministry of Education
- Location of initiative: Northern China Heilongjiang Province
A: Background and Context of the Appeal
Flooding in the summer of 1998 caused heavy losses and enormous damage to the educational infrastructure in the inundated areas of China. According to Government statistics, the floods affected 44,850 schools and 8.5 million students. The floods in total collapsed over 3 million square meters of school buildings.
To date, in many areas affected by the floods, adequate schooling facilities are still urgently needed. This is particularly true in northern China. Consequently, the Chinese Government has renewed its request to UNESCO to assist in flood rehabilitation activities in the education sector.
During a UNESCO assessment and project identification mission to Heilongjiang Province, it became obvious that children were continuing their education in hazardous conditions. Thus, funding needs to be provided to replace and rehabilitate schools as soon as possible.
B: Objective of the Appeal
The objective of this appeal is to rehabilitate and reconstruct schools and ensure the continuation of classes and the regular attendance of children in schools.
C: Strategy for Implementation
This appeal for funds will be used for school construction for the poorest of the poor people located in remote disadvantaged areas of northern China. The basic principle, in co-operation with Chinese authorities will be cost-sharing; this means that the government will support the project with in-kind contributions. To further achieve its school rehabilitation goals, the UNESCO Beijing Office will continue its close collaboration with the Chinese National Commission for UNESCO and the Ministry of Education as well as with the Education Commissions in the respective Provinces.
UNESCO in collaboration with its partners will identify construction sites, implement and monitor the projects.
C: Budget for Implementation
In the first Emergency UN Appeal, UNESCO asked for donors' contributions of US$ 4.6 million, of which only 0.2 million has been received to the end of the timing of the first Appeal. In this second Appeal, UNESCO is requesting the remaining US$ 4.4 million to construct schools in badly affected flood areas and to supply these schools with learning materials and equipment, textbooks, desks and chairs, housing for teachers, and other education components. In addition, scholarships will be given to needy students to enable them to attend classes in the new schools.
Education Rehabilitation Components
|
Budget(US$)
|
Construction of new schools |
$ 3,360,000
|
School furniture |
$ 126,000
|
Learning materials, books and equipment |
$ 74,000
|
School scholarships |
$ 336,000
|
Housing for teachers |
$ 504,000
|
Total |
$ 4,400,000
|
Annex 6: RESTORATION OF FLOOD ABSORBING AREAS
- Development Sector: Disaster Mitigation
- Co-ordinating Agency: United Nations Development Programme-UNDP
- Government Co-operating Agency: State Forestry Administration / Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Co-operation
- Location of initiative: Yangtze River Basin
A: Background and Context of the Appeal
In the aftermath of the 1998 catastrophic floods, China formulated a new policy framework to promote Ecological Watershed Management. This approach stresses the need to integrate land use planning and water resources management in each river basin on a basin wide approach. It recognizes that forest and wetlands conservation is the most efficient and cost-effective flood control measure on a regional scale.
The State Forestry Administration has been entrusted with the implementation of the new policy framework for ecological management of river basins. As a result of this Government mandate, the State Forestry Administration is initiating a massive plan to re-direct land use management in river basins, especially in the Yangtze River Basin and the Yellow River Basin. One of the fundamental activities of this initiative is the restoration of wetlands and lakes in the flood planes of major rivers to restore the natural flood absorption capacity of the river channels.
B: Objectives of this Appeal
To support the State Forestry Administration in its task of restoration of wetlands along important rivers, the UNDP project objective is to provide the following technical assistance:
- Development of a Strategy and Action Plan for the restoration of important lakes and floodplain wetlands;
- Education and public awareness to ensure strong support for this new land-use approach, both from the public and from affected communities.
- Guidance on enhancement of biodiversity in restored wetland areas.
C: Strategy for Implementation
The project was prepared by Wetlands International, The Global Environment Network and UNDP at the request of the State Forestry Administration. The project will be implemented in a co-ordinated manner by the Ministry of Water Resources, State Forest Administration, provincial forestry departments, international wetland organisations, global environment networks, and selected centres of technical expertise in river basin management.
The project will be executed with the assistance of the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Co-operation. The project will build on a new Global Environmental Fund/UNDP programme to conserve wetland bio-diversity in China. As part of this programme, approximately US$ 56 million are expected to be invested jointly by the Government of China and about US$ 1.7 million by GEF/UNDP to restore Dongting Lake in the Yangtze River Basin. This initiative is expected to start in July 1999.
The importance of wetlands restoration as a non-structural measure for flood mitigation must not be overlooked for all river basins. Therefore, complementary activities are needed to introduce this flood mitigation method to other parts of China. Important in the introduction of flood plain restoration is education and public awareness training that will instruct local people on the importance of wetlands in natural disaster protection so that the initiative for wetlands restoration becomes a community driven priority.
D: Budget for Implementation
In addition to the funds to be mobilized by the Government and GEF\UNDP, US$ 3.5 million will be required to implement the following complementary activities:
Integrated Watershed Management Activities
|
Budget(US$)
|
SAP for restoration of flood absorbing areas in the Yangtze River Basin |
$ 1,000,000
|
Development of pilot non-structural flood control strategies |
$ 1,000,000
|
Community participation and public awareness |
$ 1,500,000
|
Total |
$ 3,500,000
|
Annex 7: INTEGRATED FLOOD PREVENTION AND MITIGATION
- Development Sector: Disaster Mitigation
- UN Co-ordinating agency: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization - UNESCO
- Government Co-operating Agency: Ministry of Water Resources; Chinese Academy of Sciences
- Location of Initiative: Central China Yangtze River Basin
A: Background and Context of the Appeal
UNESCO with its Natural Disaster Reduction Unit attaches great importance to the use of precautionary measures to mitigate natural disasters. This approach is by far more cost-effective than the cure of a disaster; while not forgetting the impact of disasters on the people and households affected.
Excessive rainfall was an important but not the sole cause for the disastrous 1998 summer floods in China. A major reason why the flood stage in the middle Yangtze River in the 1998 flood was considerably higher than the flood stage in the previous catastrophic 1954 flood is the particularly high accumulation of sediment in the middle reaches of the River. This accumulation of sediment is mainly due to local conditions such as inappropriate land use with resulting soil erosion and sediment transport into the river system. Advice on the readjustment of land use patterns therefore is urgently needed. Also contributing to the flooding are this century's major changes to the hydrological regime of the Yangtze River.
B: Objectives of this Appeal
A sound expert assessment of the 1998 flood disaster in comparison with past disasters will be made in collaboration with foreign experts. The objective is to improve knowledge on the causative environmental factors for the recent flooding. This knowledge shall be used to prepare recommendations for Government decision-making in relation to land use.
C: Strategy for Implementation
The UNESCO Beijing office in collaboration with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Ministry of Water Resources affiliated International Research & Training Center for Erosion and Sedimentation, the Yangtze River Conservancy Commission and other relevant institutions will jointly carry out this project.
Expected outcome of the project will be scenarios for flood control strategies, land use plans, demonstration projects on town and rural development and demonstration projects on environmental improvements including soil and water conservation practices. For this, a decision support system for flood control with an emphasis on sediment erosion and siltation processes in the Yangtze River Basin shall be developed as well as integrated land use plans for the Yangtze River Basin in Hubei, Hunan and Jianxi Provinces. Land use planning will be based on data processing with Geographical Information Systems. The projects will primarily draw upon already existing information sources, including data and knowledge gained through pilot studies in the immediate aftermath of the flood.
Communication between scientists and decision-makers will be facilitated in this project through invitation of decision-makers to meetings with scientists, as well as by training courses on land use planning and integrated watershed management. Equally important will be the dissemination of project results to the local population through three demonstration projects; one project per Province.
D: Budget the Implementation
Integrated Disaster Prevention Activities
|
Budget(US$)
|
Development of a flood control decision support system |
$ 500,000
|
Development of land use plans |
$ 1,900,000
|
Demonstration projects on town and rural development and environmental improvement at three sites (3 projects at US$ 400,000 each) |
$ 1,200,000
|
Training in land use planning and integrated disaster prevention for decision makers |
$ 300,000
|
Co-ordination of the programme |
$ 200,000
|
Total |
$ 4,100,000
|
Annex 8: DISASTER INFORMATION UNIT FOR EFFECTIVE FLOOD FIGHTING MITIGATION
- Development Sector: Disaster Management
- Co-ordinating Agency: United Nations Development Programme-UNDP
- Government Co-operating Agency: Ministry of Civil Affairs
- Location of initiative: Central China and Northern China
A: Background and Context of the Appeal
The catastrophic Chinese floods during the summer of 1998 took place over several months and in widespread and unconnected parts of the country. It was quickly found by Government decision makers that the responsibility for the collection, analysis and distribution of flood related data and information was spread over many Ministries and research institutes; and that this diffuse responsibility was not up to the task of providing the real time information needed to effectively fight the floods.
Based on this severe breakdown in information technology during the 1998 flooding, the Ministry of Civil Affairs has been given the responsibility of collecting information needed to mitigate and respond to natural disasters. The Government has provided new state of the art computer hardware and software to the Ministry to begin to prepare an information technology based strategy and methodology to provide real time information on the form and severity of natural disasters as they develop.
Now what is needed is a vision on the form and content of the information required by decision makers to make important assessments on how best to protect lives, property and food supplies both during and after the natural disaster. This disaster mitigation information must be delivered within the cultural framework of the Chinese people and within the decision making experience of officials charged with the task of fighting the disaster.
B: Objectives of this Appeal
To support the Ministry of Civil Affairs in its task of coordinating all disaster reporting and disaster management in China, the objective of this assistance is to provide the following Technical Assistance for development of a Disaster Information Unit within the Ministry:
- Development of a repository for all disaster management related data in cooperation with other Ministries and Research Institutes;
- Enhancement of data presentation capabilities; including but not limited to thematic mapping;
- Development of a disaster decision making support system,
- Ability to access the data through GIS functionality using web browser technology.
The development of a disaster decision-making support system requires an accurate user needs assessment and a data needs assessment. Also required is data collection, and system design. Equally important is user training so that disaster mitigation decision makers are familiar with the decision support tools before they are actually needed in an actual disaster situation.
Some of the disaster mitigation support tools that will be developed by the Disaster Information Unit are hazard mapping, vulnerability assessment and risk assessment. Additional tools include damage forecasting and reporting, disaster needs inventorying and relief center location and accessibility.
C: Strategy for Implementation
The project was prepared to assist the Ministry of Civil Affairs to respond to natural disasters with accurate real time data on the magnitude and severity of the disaster as it develops. The project will be implemented in a co-ordinated manner with all Ministries and research institutes currently collecting data useful for disaster mitigation, relief and response. These organisations include but are not limited to the Hydro-meteorology Department, Ministry of Water Resources, State Forest Administration, provincial departments and many centres of technical expertise in natural resources management.
An important source of information technology and experience will be the UNDP sponsored China Centre for Agenda 21. This Centre is currently managing a meta data base of natural resources and geopolitical data which will form the basis of a disaster information strategy.
D: Budget for Implementation
Disaster Information Unit Activities |
Budget(US$)
|
Development of integrated methodologies for receiving and processing disaster information in real time |
$ 700,000
|
Development of linkages with Ministries and institutes to collect and to provide disaster information |
$ 200,000
|
Development of non-structural disaster mitigation strategies based on information technologies |
$ 300,000
|
Education and awareness of disaster response decision makers on the use of disaster related information |
$ 200,000
|
Training in integrated disaster mitigation management using information technologies |
$ 300,000
|
Total |
$ 1,700,000
|
United Nations Development Programme, (C) Copy right reserved 1998-1999