China - Alternatives to Chlordane and Mirex in Termite Control Project

Page 1 PROJECT INFORMATION DOCUMENT (PID) CONCEPT STAGE Report No.: AB255 Project Name China - Alternatives to Chlordane and Mirex in Termite Control Region EAST ASIA AND PACIFIC Sector Other industry (100%) Project ID P082992 Borrower(s) PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA Implementing Agency State Environmental Protection Administration 115 Xizhimennei Nanxiaojie Beijing 100035, CHINA Environment Category [ ] A [X] B [ ] C [ ] FI [ ] TBD (to be determined) Safeguard Classification [ ] S 1 [X] S 2 [ ] S 3 [ ] S F [ ] TBD (to be determined) Date PID Prepared September 1, 2003 Estimated Date of Appraisal Authorization December 13, 2004 Estimated Date of Board Approval May 12, 2005 I. Key development issues and rationale for Bank involvement 1. Background. There are approximately 2,000 species of termites known to exist globally, of which 480 have been found to inhabit more than 40% of the total land area in China, generally in area of more intense human settlement and activities. This area accounted for over 70% of the gross domestic product in 1999. So far, 26 provinces (see map) are affected by termite infestation. While termites are important contributors to recycling of dead and decaying wood in natural systems, they attack wooden structures and tree plantations, and threaten critical infrastructure including housing, building structures, communications facilities and dams used in watershed management. 2. The Chinese Government has supported centrally coordinated termite control strategies since the mid-1980s to protect wood-construction buildings, dams, communication facilities, forestry, and orchard operations. At present there are more than 800 termite control stations and 10,000 operators involved in termite control. The need to control these pests is driven by Page 2 possible direct impacts on human health and on economic well being, as well as increased compensatory capital expenditures that are estimated at tens of millions of dollars annually. 3. The main termiticides used in China are chlordane, predominantly used as chemical barrier to prevent termite damage by limiting early stages of colonization into wood structures, and mirex used mainly for the control of termite damage once infestations are discovered. Chlordane and mirex are included in the list of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) to be eliminated under the 2001 Stockholm Convention. Given the widely recognized health and environmental problems caused by the release of chlordane and mirex to the environment,