The workshop on the spot

The platform

Director Liu Zhen addressed the meeting

Director Gao Bo made a speech

Mr. Ede Ijjasz addressed the meeting

Mr. John Warburton addressed the meeting

Mr. Nicholas Costello made a speech

Director General Yu Xingjun introduced the audience CWMP

Workshop on Sustainable Watershed Management was held by CWMP Project Steering Committee in Beijing on December 17, 2008. Mr. Gao Bo, Director of the dept. of International Cooperation, Science and Technology, MWR, was present and addressed the meeting, which was presided over by Mr. Liu Zhen, Director of the dept. of Soil and Water Conservation. Representatives from WB, DFID and EU also attended the meeting and addressed it. Mr. Yu Xingjun , Director General of the International Economic & Technical Cooperation and Exchange Center, on the opening ceremony intruded audience implementation of CWMP.
Mr. Gao Bo recognized the meeting of positive role in promoting global cooperation in soil and water conservation. He said, to reasonably use and effectively protect soil and water resources is prerequisite of maintain benign development of eco-system, and it is the basic security of eco-society’s sustainable development, as well as a effective mean in coordinating the relationship among population, resources, the environment and the development of eco-society. And through long term practices, experiences in soil and water conservation with Chinese characteristics had been formed, and it was a common subject for all human beings to maintain sustainable development in economy and society. Then, to protect soil and water resources and the eco-environment, governments’ untiring strive would be needed, as well as participation from all walks of the society and international cooperation.
WB Country Vice Director for China and Mongolia(in the East Asia and Pacific Region) Mr. Ede Ijjas appreciated in his speech the effective guidance and organization of MWR. He said, China had rich experiences in soil and water conservation, and in the past 15 years, five watershed projects had been carried out by WB and China. There were innovations in monitoring and evaluation, participatory watershed planning and implementation and community-driven development of CWMP, besides, there were also valuable achievements in policy research and visible effects in dissemination. He wished further promotion and application and cooperation between China and other developing countries.
Mr. John Warburton, first sectary of DFID in China, said congratulations to CWMP, and he appreciated the hard work done by every side. He noted that DFID would go on be supportive in popularizing China’s successful experience in soil and water conservation to Africa.
Diplomatic officer of the EU delegation in China Mr. Nicholas Costello regarded CWMP as an important public welfare, which would play important in securing river health and maintain society development. He said that CWMP’s experiences would be a valuable reference to China-EU River Basin Management Project.
Director General Yu Xingjun introduced the project in its background, M & E, pilot construction, policy research and dissemination, etc. He said, CWMP offered references of watershed management policy in macroscopic view, and it was a successful case of watershed sustainable management in microscopic view. The models it summed up was a combination of international concepts and practices in China, with the facts of society, economic and ecology taking into account. They also further checked the utility of the comprehensive models that China had been insisting on for years, and showed the positive role in increasing management effects of participatory methods, monitoring and evaluation, and capacity building.
The workshop was aimed at further disseminating the project’s achievements and communicating on sustainable watershed management experiences, and it also was a basis for cooperation between China and Africa. There were more than 80 attendances, mainly from MWR, river basin agencies, relevant provinces, project relevant departments, benefited villages, main aiding agencies, and missions of Kenya and Malawi.