Sanjiang Plain Wetlands Protection Project

The project would assist the Government of China and the Heilongjiang Province to establish mechanisms for restoring and protecting biodiversity and natural resources at the watershed scale while integrating the needs of all key stakeholders. Project objectives are 1) Enhancement flood mitigation role of the wetland, and 2) Conservation of the globally unique environment and biodiversity of Sanjiang plain. The project will (a) increase tree cover in fragile uplands to protect soil, slopes and watersheds, while providing profitable crops and alternative employment opportunities to low-income farmers; (b) promote increased ecosystem and economic productivity through better land use, enabling local, national, regional and global stakeholders to derive benefits from the recovery of lost ecosystem functions; (c) provide models for wetland restoration (including maintaining local livelihoods), watershed level water resources management, and species and habitat recovery and management; and (d) enhance knowledge and awareness of conservation issues and a significant human and institutional capacity for sustainable management wetlands. The project include the following components: (i) Watershed management improved for Nature Reserves (NR); (ii) Biodiversity protection enhancement; (iii) Provision of sustainable alternative livelihoods, (iv) Conservation awareness and increased management capacity for conservation in key wetland NRs; (v) project management.