China - Western Provinces Rural Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene Promotion Project

Page 1 PROJECT INFORMATION DOCUMENT (PID) APPRAISAL STAGE Report No.: AB2628 Project Name Western Provinces Rural Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene Promotion Project Region EAST ASIA AND PACIFIC Sector Water supply (63%); Sanitation (26%); Hygiene Promotion (6%); Sub-national government administration (4%) Project ID P095315 Borrower(s) PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA Implementing Agency Foreign Loan Support Project Management Office of Shaanxi Province, Tel: +86-29-87294627; WB/DFID Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Project Management Office of Sichuan Province, Tel: +86-28-86647004. Environment Category [ ] A [X] B [ ] C [ ] FI [ ] TBD (to be determined) Date PID Prepared December 1, 2006 Date of Appraisal Authorization November 28, 2006 Date of Board Approval June 7, 2007 1. Country and Sector Background China has made significant progress in increasing water supply and sanitation coverage over the years and appears to be generally on track for achieving the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) targets. However, the broad national water supply and sanitation coverage statistics mask significant regional and rural/urban disparities, with the situation being most acute in the poorer provinces in western China. Vulnerable groups, including women, the disabled and ethnic minorities, are disproportionately affected by the lack of access. Improving equitable and sustainable access to safe water and adequate sanitation and hygiene promotion for the poor in rural parts of western China is therefore an important national development objective. By the end of 2005, there were about 312 million rural people reported to be without access to safe water supply and 790 million rural residents without improved sanitation, many of whom live in western provinces. Although the central government has given high priority to the development of western China, given the region's relative under-development, dispersed and remote poverty distribution and limited experience in adopting community participation approaches, it is a challenge to develop equitable and sustainable rural water supply and sanitation programs which can address the scale of the problem. Poor integration of water, sanitation and hygiene promotion activities and limited cooperation between the relevant sector agencies is a key barrier to achieving sustainable investments but also to maximizing their impact on health and productivity. Many parts of western China are also plagued by water source contamination as a result of agricultural and industrial pollution and/or high natural arsenic, fluoride or salinity levels. Water resources are scarce and are worsened by increased demand from industry and urban centers, combined with inefficient irrigation systems. This makes the identification and collection of Page 2 adequate water supply a difficult and time consuming task for rural households. The government has begun to address water quality problems and to support moves towards more efficient and sustainable water use. However, the lack of access to safe water supply and improved sanitation, together with poor hygiene practices, continues to limit the productivity of rural households and presents the risk of incidents of poor health which can force those just above the poverty line back below it. The Government's Eleventh Five Year Plan (FYP) for Rural Safe Drinking Water Supply and Sanitation (2006-2010) sets a target of providing safe drinking water to 160 million people. The plan emphasizes that poorer western regions, areas with serious water scarcity and quality problems, ethnic minority areas and rural schools will be a focus for funding and other assistance. It also intends to introduce a new approach to the whole life cycle of safe drinking water programs, including integration of sanitation and hygiene promotion activities together with water supply and innovative approaches for scheme selection, institutional arrangements and monitoring and evaluation (M&E) systems. In addition, the plan sets out favorable conditions for private sector participation in rural water supply schemes and for labor contributions from beneficiaries. Even with the successes to date, it should be recognized that there are a number of serious constraints and challenges facing the rural water supply, sanitation and hygiene promotion (RWSSH) sectors and thus the attainment of national targets. Firstly, while there are a range of national policies and targets for the sector, there is no comprehensive national policy framework to set uniform policies and practices as well as to coordinate the many agencies involved in the sector. Secondly, financing still remains a problem, especially in rural areas with limited fiscal transfers from the center to provinces for rural water supply, sanitation and hygiene promotion. Thirdly, even once the facilities are built, the long term sustainability of water supply plants and latrines is adversely impacted by in-appropriate designs, poor construction and insufficient maintenance. Despite significant user financing of both water supply and sanitation, the sustainability of facilities is often negatively affected by a lack of community participation in the planning, design and management of facilities. The Bank, in partnership with the UK Department for International Development (DFID) and the Unit ed Nation Children