1. EU-CHINA ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY PROGRAMME (ESP)
1.1 BACKGROUND
China has made remarkable progress in sustaining high economic growth, however, it is facing major
domestic environmental challenges. Water pollution, mainly caused by extensive pollutants discharged from
industrial, domestic and agricultural sources, is a severe problem and has increased despite efforts to control
it, aggravating even further the water scarcity the country is facing. Provision of safe drinking water and
sufficient water resources for agriculture and industry is identified as an important priority in the 12th 5-year
plan. Moreover, high levels of heavy-metal pollution have become a major public health hazard, with
repeated reports of children with high levels of lead in the blood and villagers suffering from long-term
exposure to heavy metals. There are also widespread concerns about contamination of food, particularly of
rice. Five key industries have been identified as major causes of heavy metal pollution1. Adequate waste
management also represents an increasingly important challenge in the country. Many cities and
municipalities largely rely on landfills and waste separation and recycling are not carried out effectively.
Management of hazardous waste is another pressing issue that the government considers a priority. Episodes
of land or water contaminated from inadequate disposal practices or chemical spills continue to be frequent.
While the legislative framework in China is relatively comprehensive, problems remain with the
implementation and enforcement of environmental regulations. The newly released 12th 5-year Plan has
placed great importance on improving pollution control and moving towards a green economy. In this
connection, it stresses the significance of "building a resource-saving and environment-friendly society". It
also notes the importance to "develop circular economy and accelerate environmental conservation". It sets
reduction targets for major pollutants (such as SO2, ammonia nitrogen, nitrogen oxide, etc)2. It also sets
targets for recycling of industrial waste, municipal sewage and municipal solid waste treatment (72%, 85%
and 80% respectively) and it identifies among other national priorities the provision of safe drinking water
and the reduction of heavy metal pollution3.
The EU has been implementing water, pollution control and sustainable waste policies for decades and is
recognised in many policy areas as world leader. In the past China has sought inspiration from European
legislation and policy experiences when designing its policies, for instance concerning vehicle emissions,
chemicals registration, and the EU Water Framework Directive.
In its Country Strategy Paper (2007-2013), the European Commission (EC) has pledged to assist China in its
efforts to address global concerns over the environment, energy and climate change. This priority of
cooperation has been confirmed in the Multi-annual Indicative Programme (MIP) for 2011-2013, which
states that projects should be developed to promote in China environmental sustainability. The China Europe
Water Platform (CEWP), launched in March 2012, is aiming at promoting policy dialogue on water sector
reforms, encouraging capacity-building, technical and business cooperation in the water sector.
The proposed project is to support China in its efforts of achieving the environmental targets defined in its
12th 5 Year Plan by reducing water and heavy metal pollution and implementing sustainable waste policies.
Design of the Programme
The Environmental Sustainability Programme (ESP) will include four complementary components:
(1) Improvement of water quality;
(2) Sustainable solid waste management;
(3) Heavy metal pollution prevention and control; and
(4) A horizontal policy support and networking mechanism to synthesize results for policy support and
dissemination.
The pollution issues addressed by component 1, 2 and 3 have been given high priorities in the 12th Five Year
Plan and it has therefore been requested by the beneficiary assistance in attaining these important goals. The
horizontal component 4 is designed to maximize project impact through synthesizing results, feeding into
policy framework, networking and dissemination.
The proposed action will enhance exchange of experience, know-how and best practice between the EU and
China in the fields of water, waste and heavy metal pollution prevention and control.
The programme contributes directly to environmental sustainability through its focus on water, waste and
heavy metal pollution. Moreover, it will impinge on other sectors including climate change mitigation
through reduction of pollutants, poverty alleviation through improvement of drinking water quality in poor
areas, good governance through public awareness and access to information on pollution issues and gender
equality by addressing needs and rights equally for both men and women.
1.2 OBJECTIVES OF THE PROGRAMME AND PRIORITY ISSUES
The global objective of this Call for Proposals is to support China in its effort of meeting the environmental
and climate change targets defined in the 12th Five Year Development Plan.
The specific objective of this Call for Proposals is to support the Chinese authorities in their efforts of
achieving environmental sustainability by reducing water and heavy metal pollution and implementing
sustainable waste policies.
Individual grant projects are expected to practically contribute to the achievement of one or several of the
following four results:
1. The improvement of the surface water, groundwater and drinking water quality in pilot areas through
pollution discharge management.
2. Improvement of waste management in pilot areas through integrated sustainable waste management
approach to achieve more waste reduction, reuse, recycling and recovery, thus minimizing the
amount of waste to be disposed.
3. Heavy metal pollution is reduced through support to national and local policy and institutional
capacity and pilots on policy implementation at local level.
4. An appropriate policy support and networking mechanism to synthesize results from above 1, 2 and
3 for policy support, networking and dissemination.