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August 30, 2007
Alcoa Foundation Grant Supports Freshwater Conservation in China
The mountains of southwest China are a critical watershed for almost half of the world's population, and particularly important to a country in which two-thirds of the 660 cities suffer from water shortages.
A US$250,000 Alcoa Foundation grant is helping Conservation International (CI)—a nonprofit organization dedicated to conserving global biodiversity—preserve this threatened area and help ensure a healthier water supply for its citizens.
Growth Threatens Water Supply
The mountains, along with the adjacent Tibetan Plateau, form the source of the major rivers in Asia and provide habitat for many rare and endangered animals, including the giant panda and the elusive clouded leopard. This area is a designated "biodiversity hotspot," with some 29% of its 12,000-plus plant species found nowhere else on Earth.
"The fate of this 'water tower' and the area's abundant biological wealth impacts three billion people in China and south and southeast Asia," said Dr. Lü Zhi, a world-renowned conservationist and director of the CI China program. "Due to China's expanding population and rapid development in the past half-century, deforestation, overgrazing, and agricultural conversion have caused serious degradation of the ecosystem, and have resulted in increased flooding, drought, and the silting of lakes and drainage channels."
The freshwater situation in China is grave. Glaciers on the Tibetan Plateau already have shrunk by one-fifth, endangering water supplies for a quarter billion Chinese. The country's water problems are so acute that the government sees water scarcity as one of the major impediments to sustaining economic growth.
"As Alcoa's presence in China increases, so, too, does Alcoa Foundation's community investment in the Asia Pacific region," said Meg McDonald, president of Alcoa Foundation. "Freshwater has been highlighted as one of the critical issues for sustainable development in China, and we are pleased to be able to partner with CI to contribute to an understanding of the issues and actions that will be needed to address this challenge. We are also assisting in this effort through research we are funding as part of Alcoa Foundation's Conservation & Sustainability Fellowship Program."
Setting Conservation Priorities
With grants and investments from Alcoa Foundation and some major corporations, CI is setting clear priorities and working with a network of partners to address freshwater conservation and management in China. These efforts are focusing on three activities:
- Assessing and prioritizing freshwater conservation opportunities;
- The China Freshwater Funding mechanism; and
- Raising conservation awareness in China.
CI has begun by studying the key watersheds within the mountains of southwest China and the Tibetan Plateau, investigating freshwater species and the complex interconnection of the water systems. This is the first analysis of its kind in the region.
Next, CI will determine methodology and criteria for conservation targets and apply a science-based approach for monitoring and reversing current trends of water-related ecosystem degradation. The organization will also assess the human impacts and benefits received from freshwater and develop a protection model. The assessment results will be used to inform and influence government policy and implement market mechanisms, such as payments for ecosystem services (PES), which provide financial reward to landowners for services like watershed protection.
The second major activity is the establishment of the China Freshwater Fund or similar funding mechanism, which will focus financial resources on maintaining and restoring the health of key watersheds through improved natural resource management by local communities. The fund will also be used to provide incentive agreements that engage local communities on natural resource management while providing an economic alternative to resource exploitation. Pilot projects on payment for ecosystem services through watershed protection will be demonstrated.
To raise conservation awareness among China's citizens, CI will launch an environmental education campaign called "China: For Our Natural Splendor" in tandem with the official Beijing 2008 Olympic efforts. The campaign aims to instill pride in the Chinese public of both the country's natural heritage and the global leadership opportunity to protect its natural resources.
In addition, CI is working closely with the Yunnan Forestry Department and local community groups through the Forest Restoration for Climate, Community, and Biodiversity (FCCB) project to support sustainable development, conserve or restore biodiversity, and combat climate change through natural regeneration. The FCCB project has identified multiple sites in four counties to restore with native tree species. At the Lijiang-Jizi demonstration site, CI is working with the World Bank to expand the FCCB initiative to include payments for water ecosystem services. CI has been helping develop the capacity of civil society in Yunnan and the hotspot by directly financing conservation through the US$6.5 million Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund between 2002 and 2007.
"These issues, while recognized by government and society, take early support from organizations like Alcoa Foundation to help us examine and create solutions," said Dr. Lü. "Organizations and companies that exhibit good corporate behavior are critical for CI, which relies on the generosity and recognition of concerned citizens, corporations, and others to do our work."
Learn More
For more information on Alcoa's community investments around the world, visit the Alcoa Foundation community on MyAlcoa. To learn more about Conservation International, visit www.conservation.org.
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