YANGTZE RIVER BASIN FOREST PROTECTION

The operation is to finance a programme of investments in Jiangxi and Anhui Provinces, China, for the 2019-2023 period, covering about 107 000 hectares (ha) and focusing on establishing new forests (about 32 000 ha) and improving quality of existing forests (about 75 000 ha) through sustainable forest management. The operation is part of a broader three-province investment programme including Sichuan province, which will be separately financed by the World Bank. The main purpose of the investments is to protect biodiversity and enhance resilience and adaptation to the negative impacts of climate change.

This project is fully in line with the EU's policy, as defined in the EU Strategy on China, which was adopted in 2016 and calls for an increased cooperation on climate change, and in the EU-China 2020 Strategic Agenda for Cooperation, of which one of the main themes is sustainable development, including explicitly climate change adaptation and mitigation and environmental protection. This commitment was also highlighted in the joint statement on climate change at the 2015 EU-China summit, where both sides expressed their commitment to low-carbon development and to cooperating in the context of the United Nations climate conventions. The project is also in line with China's 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-2020), which includes green growth as a primary target. The components to be financed by the EIB are expected to cover some 107 000 ha of land across the two EIB-financed provinces. The project will support afforestation, reforestation, forest rehabilitation, biodiversity conservation and forest protection. The project may also include necessary investments in forest infrastructure and protection of special habitats, as well as a capacity building component.

The forestry activities in the proposed project are considered to fall under Annex II of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Directive. The Bank will require that the project complies with the EIB's environmental and social (E&S) requirements. The E&S aspects and permitting situation as well as the demands of the competent local environmental authorities will be part of the usual Bank's project due diligence.

The Bank will require the promoter to ensure that implementation of the project will be done in accordance with the Bank's Guide to Procurement.