International Waters learning Exchange & Resource Network

Environmental Protection and Sustainable Integrated Management of the Guarani Aquifer - Results

GEF IDS: 2758 , 396 , 2979 , 587 , 3309

Scale
National

Country
China

Information sources
#396: IWC6 Results Note (2011), #587: IWC6 Results Note (2011), #2758 GEF3 IW Tracking Tool (2010), #2758: IWC6 Results Note (2011), #2979: GEF3 IW Tracking Tool (2010) #974: GEF3 IW Tracking Tool (2010), #974: IWC6 Results Note (2011), #3309: GEF4 IW Tracking Tool (2010), #3309: GEF5 Tracking Tool (2012), #3309: UNEP Terminal Evaluation (2012)

Key Basin Project Results
1.The GEF grant was approved in June 2010 and became effective in December 2010. A Project Launch mission was undertaken in January 2011. It is still too early to report on results for this project. (#396, Shanghai Agriculture)

"1. Construction and commissioning of wastewater facilities in six ports.
2. Treatment of Chemically Contaminated Wastewaters. To meet the requirements of treating wastewater, the Port Authorities required a system that was robust and simple to operate but could deal with a variety of chemically contaminated wastewater. A detailed study was conducted and the recommended system was adopted by the ports constructing facilities for such wastewater.
3. Oil Spill Response and Contingency Plan. A generic Tier 1 plan (port level spill) was developed and refined for each of the six project ports and the plan was adopted for all ports in China. The study included several scoping workshops and an oil spill response training exercise and the success of this
exercise has led to making this an annual exercise hosted by different ports.
4. Cost Recovery and Port Fee Schedule Changes. A unified national fee schedule, representing costs of new and existing waste reception facilities, was implemented and provided for sufficient funds to cover expenses.
5. Ship Waste Tracking System (SEATRAC). A software was developed and installed to provide a database linking the six ports and Ministry of Communications (MOC). The database for (a) a means of tracking waste and ship traffic; (b) inventory of wastes processed by type and location and (c) a database of environmental data generated by the routine water and air quality monitoring programs.
6. Large Marine Ecosystem (LME) Multilateral Study. An LME study was conducted to provide a baseline of conditions for areas which include territorial waters of more than one country and associated international waters." (#597, China Ship Waste)

"1.Restored wetlands
2.Improved biodiversity and attracted a large number of migratory and resident bird species
3.Construction of Wetland Center" (#2758, Ningbo Wetlands)

"1. Consultant services support (under Grant assistance) to develop: septic tank management system and operating rules; design of the septage treatment facility; specifications for vehicles and equipment; and database for development of the information system
2. Completion of procurement of the fleet of 11 vehicles comprising: two 2-ton tankers, six 6-ton tankers, two 10-ton tankers and one sewer jetting unit.
3. Septic tank Management Office set up under the Yantai Municipal Government" (#974, Shandong Environment)

Catalytic Impacts
The rating for “Catalytic Role and Replication”:  this issue is considered to be “Satisfactory”for the following reasons: - The Project has instigated a number of behavioral changes amongst stakeholders, developed incentives by linking ecosystem processes to economic activities, developed a number of regulatory instruments, improved the financial position SIW protected areas and provided a significant champion for wetland conservation in Zhongshan University (#3309, Shantou Intertidal Wetland)

Results data
Municipal wastewater pollution reduction
Year: N/A - Value: BOD: 300T/yr, N: 400T/yr; P: 25T/yr
"INDICATOR#2 Average volume of rural household wastewater treated at wetland wastewater treatment systems in participating villages (m3/d).
Results to date: Project is still in early stages of implementation" (#396, Shanghai Agriculture)

"INDICATOR#1 Reduction of BOD and nutrients for two wastewater treatment plants and nitrogen removal in the Wetland Center [Target: Both WWTPs: BOD: 10,000 T Nitrogen: 2,000 T; Phosphorous: 200 of which North Constructed Wetland BOD: 300 T Nitrogen; 400 T; Phosphorous: 25; Enhanced Wetland plot A1: T-Nitrogen: 175]
Results to date: Not known. The efficiency of treatment in the wetlands is not known because testing has not yet been completed for the constructed wetland in Plot 1A. Testing has not yet began for the Norther WWTP constructed wetland." (#2758, Ningbo Wetlands)

"The technical assistance consultant services helped complete: (i) septic tank management policy and regulations; (ii) technical specifications for vehicles and equipment and septic tank emptying vehicles; (iii) design of a joint septage collection and joint treatment facility; and (iv) development of a database and information system to monitor and evaluate program. The vehicle fleet comprises vacuum suction tankers and a sewer jetting unit have been procured. Three vacuum tankers have been used as a trial. The septic tank emptying program has not started because the joint septage mixing facility has not been constructed yet. A Septic Tank Management Office, along with staff, has been formally established in the Yantai Municipal Government. The number of septic tanks under the program has been reduced from the originally planned 1,900 to 1000. A decision has been made not to levy a charge for empting
septic tanks, which will be financed by the Yantai Municipal Government.

INDICATOR#1: Pollution discharge to Bohai Sea reduced [Target 1,700 tons/year of BOD] No results are available; the join sewage-septage mixing facility has not been constructed yet.
INDICATOR#1: Volume of septage collected in Yantai [Target 1,000 m3/year]
No results available yet.
INDICATOR#2: Volume of septage jointly treated with wastewater in Yantai [Target 1,000m3/year]
No results available yet.

History of IW Results
• Consultant services for the Yantai Septic Tank Management Demonstration have progressed well, and most of the key outputs have been delivered.
• The area covered by the pilot is smaller, and contains 1,080 septic tanks, compared to the 1,900 estimated at project appraisal.
• The vacuum tanker vehicles, imported in March 2010, have not received certification and license to operate in China. Currently, a temporary permit has been granted to enable their use, until permanent licenses are granted.
• Three (out of ten) septic tank (ST) vacuum tankers have started trial operations on March 15, 2011. The vehicle fleet comprises two 2-ton tankers, six 6-ton tankers, two 10-ton tankers and one sewer jetting unit. Present plans are to put all tankers into service by the end of 2011.
• The 100 m3 tank and associated grit chambers and screens, to receive septage, are still under design. Meanwhile, septage from trial operation is emptied temporarily into a 25 m3 tank with screens, from which the septage is pumped to sewers leading to the Xinanhe wastewater treatment plant (WWTP), at a controlled rate (one ton/10 minutes) to avoid complications at the WWTP. A special design requirement is to incorporate odor control because of the location of this facility in the hi-tech zone.
• The regulations for operation are pending approval by the Legal Department.
• Three manuals have been prepared: Operation and Maintenance Manual on Septic Tank, Standard Operation Procedures of Septic Tank Sector Service, and Operation and Maintenance Manual on Septage Collection Station.
• The Yantai Municipal Government (YMG) has decided to finance the septic tank emptying for the time being.
• The Septic Tank (ST) Management Office has been established in the Yantai Drainage Administration Bureau, to perform the regulatory functions, Based on the organizational chart, eleven staff has been deployed.
• Emptying of septic tanks will be contracted to a company engaged by the Septic Tank Management Office.
• The information system database has been set up, and the ST identification coding has been completed. Data entry will be done when operations commence
• The expenditure from the GEF grant is about US$3.5 million; the same figure reported in December 2010. Expenditures are being made with own funds, and the incremental operating cost category is not being utilized. Pending Matters. The following matters were pending as of May 2011:
• Completion of the construction of the septage receiving facility
• Full utilization of the suction tanker vehicles to cover the 1,080 septic tanks in the pilot area;
• Completion of the septic tank management information system" (#974, Shandong Environment)

[Shantou Intertidal Wetland]
In Sanyuwei, the aquaculture areas are improved with controlled wastewater system and utilized for silvo-fishery activity. (#3309, Shantou Intertidal Wetland)
Industrial wastewater pollution reduction
Year: N/A - Value: 6,300,000 tons/yr
INDICATOR#1 Reduction of pollution of international waters [The SAR provided an estimate of approximately 1.1 million tons of waste that would be treated per year rather than being discharged to international and Chinese coastal waters. ]
Results: Actual shipping traffic was much higher so an estimated 6.3 million tons of waste will be diverted annually by 1998. Assuming a “working life” of 20 years for the treatment systems and no further increase from the 1996 traffic figures, at least 126 million tons of waste will not be dumped into the oceans (46 million tons of oil contaminated wastes, 76 million tons of sanitary sewerage and 20 million tons of garbage).

INDICATOR#2 Construction of port facilities to receive and treat/dispose of wastes from shipping.
Results: The ports component was successfully completed and fully commissioned. (#597, China Ship Waste)
Agriculture pollution reduction practices
Year: N/A - Value: [see desc]
INDICATOR#1 Average quantity of livestock solid and liquid waste treated at livestock farms in Jinshan, Shenye and Qianwei (ton/d).
Results to date: Project is still in early stages of implementation.

INDICATOR#3 Increased replication farms area using demonstrated technologies (cumulative)
Results to date: Project is still in early stages of implementation (#396, Shanghai Agriculture)
Restored habitat, including wetlands
Year: N/A - Value: [see desc]
INDICATOR#2 Constructed Wetland completed and WWTP meets Class 1A discharge standards [Targets: 2008: Design completed; 2009: Wetland treatment system constructed; 2010: Compliance with Class 1A standards]
Results to date: Wetland construction for Plot 1A has been completed; Constructed wetland at the Northern WWTP has been completed but not yet operating. Testing of constructed wetland in Plot 1A has started but not for the Northern WWTP. (#2758, Ningbo Wetlands)
Conserved/protected wetland, MPAs, and fish refugia habitat
Year: N/A - Value: 378.35
INDICATOR#4 Increased abundance of benthic fauna in tidal wetlands and mudflats [25% increase in benthic fauna productivity over baseline]
Results to date: Not possible to measure in percentage terms but appreciable increase in fauna is clear. (#2758, Ningbo Wetlands)

[Shantou Intertidal Wetland]
A total wetland area of 378.35 ha was strictly protected and physically enclosed at Suaiwan, whereas another area of 2,041.77 ha was enclosed with boundary marks. Mangrove rehabilitation was completed in the Waisha and Suaiwan demonstration sites. (#3309, Shantou Intertidal Wetland)

GEF IDS: 974

Ecosystem
Groundwater

Scale
Regional

Information sources
IWC6 Results Note (2011)

Key Basin Project Results
1. One of the main outcomes of the Project is the establishment of the institutional mechanism to coordinate the activities of the four countries in the management of Guarani Aquifer System (GAS) that did not exist before the Project. The Project also extended this new culture of cooperation among specialists, universities and institutions in the four countries.
2. Technical and scientific studies conducted through the Project concluded that lateral movement of groundwater in the GAS is very slow and impacts from over pumping and pollution are highly localized. Therefore, management of the aquifer is essentially a local set of activities. The four countries now have a good understanding and feel much more confident to develop and manage the aquifer individually without worrying about wide-ranging regional/transboundary impacts. It would have been very difficult to get to this point and to have this shared understanding without having a regional project.
3. As a preventive project, the key performance indicators basically targeted the reduction of future risks:
(i) pollution risks diminished or controlled;
(ii) overdraft risks diminished or stabilized;
(iii) future inter-country groundwater conflicts risk diminished; and
(iv) future mitigation and stabilization costs reduced.

Results data
Aquifer pumping reduction
Year: N/A - Value: [see desc]
INDICATOR#3 – In the Concordia-Salto area, studies indicated that there is a potential for overexploiting geothermal water resources and measures were designed for limiting groundwater competitive extraction through well spacing and other relevant measures for new geothermal development.
Regional legal agreements and cooperation frameworks
Year: 2003 - Value: YES
May 2003. All four basin states signed the "Environmental Protection and Sustainable Development of the Guarani Aquifer System" agreement
Regional Management Institutions
Year: N/A - Value: NO
INDICATOR#1 – Establishment of an institutional framework: The countries, through the Steering Committee (at multi-country level), the National Project Execution Units (one per country), and the Regional Coordination Unit, has established the institutional framework.

The Project successfully defined the institutional framework necessary for the management of the GAS. With the support from the Project, different institutional frameworks at all levels (regional, national and local) remained operational and the countries have committed to continue with activities and institutional nucleus created through the Project beyond the project duration. The approval of the SAP that defines the future sustainable management framework of the GAS also testifies to the commitment by the governments and attests the success of the Project.
Transboundary Diagnostic Analysis: Agreement on transboundary priorities and root causes
Year: N/A - Value: YES
-
Development of Strategic Action Program (SAP)
Year: N/A - Value: YES
INDICATOR#2 – Existence of SAP: The SAP was finalized and approved by the SC. The SAP has now become a living document to lead the joint and individual actions of the countries