China

Ratings for the Forestry Development in Poor Areas Project for China were as follows: outcomes were satisfactory, the risk to development outcome was negligible or low,... Show More + the Bank performance was satisfactory, and the Borrower performance was satisfactory. Ratings for the Sustainable Forestry Development Project for China were as follows: outcomes were moderately satisfactory, the risk to development outcome was moderate, the Bank performance was moderately satisfactory, and the Borrower performance was also moderately satisfactory. Some lessons learned included: even if poverty reduction is not an objective of the project, there is a sound case for monitoring and evaluation to measure project-driven changes in the incomes of beneficiaries because these are likely to influence the incentives for beneficiaries to consolidate project achievements. Until recently, the scope for the Bank to broaden its operational engagement with forest issues in China was limited by government's insistence that, where International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) funds are on-lent, producers and local governments must repay them with interest; central and provincial governments now recognize the public good nature of forests and are more willing to assume direct responsibility for repaying Bank loans that provide forest environmental services. Parallel financing by another donor is difficult to supervise if it is applied to a single component of a Bank-supported project, and may be best dealt with as a separate operation. Show Less -

Ratings for the Renewable Energy Scale-up Program Project for China were as follows: outcomes were highly satisfactory; Global Environmental Objective (GEO) outcomes... Show More + were highly satisfactory; risk to development outcome was low; risk to GEO outcome was low; Bank performance was satisfactory; and borrower performance was also satisfactory. Some lessons learned includes: long-term engagement with the government through the partnership program has paid off: the China Renewable Energy Scale-up Program (CRESP) program is the only window in the Bank's China energy portfolio that engages long-term RE policy dialogues and partnership with the National Energy Administration (NEA). A programmatic approach, which blends policy dialogue, technical assistance, and investments through International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/ Global Environment Facility (IBRD/GEF) funding, is the best conduit for scaling up RE in client countries. Combining policy support and technical assistance through a GEF grant with large-scale long-term financing for RE investments through IBRD loans in one package is the most effective and powerful tool to enable transformational changes to scale up renewable energy. Flexible approach to adapt to government's priorities and changing environment is required: This is because RE policies require frequent adjustments as Renewable energy (RE) technologies evolve and make progress towards competitiveness. Improving manufacturing quality is essential for the transition to a world-class manufacturing industry: the key to the success of the wind technology improvement component was to simultaneously address wind turbine standards, testing, and certification, and to support wind manufacturers in developing megawatt-scale wind turbines. The piecemeal approach and fragmentation of policy study contracts resulted in lengthy delays and weakened policy impacts: during project implementation, the Project Management Office (PMO) issued a large number of small contracts. Programmatic approach needs intensive supervision from the Bank team: CRESP required intensive supervision to provide guidance and advice to the PMO in implementing the large number of activities under CRESP. Show Less -

Ratings for the Hubei Hydropower Development in Poor Areas Project for China were as follows: outcomes were satisfactory, the risk to development outcome was negligible... Show More + to low, the Bank performance was satisfactory, and the Borrower performance was moderately satisfactory. Some lessons learned included: small to medium hydropower projects located in poor counties can be designed as holistic county development projects. Strong support from government (local and provincial) to the project, and full commitment to the implementation arrangements agreed with the Bank at appraisal. An assessment of the implementing agency's capacity on these three points at the appraisal stage is crucial. Financial capacity and interest in the project alone are not sufficient. If a new component is to be carried out by an implementing agency with weak technical and managerial capacity, a Technical Assistance (TA) program should be included to address these weaknesses. Sufficient geological investigations should be carried out during the preparation stage not only at the location of the dam, but also at the site of the reservoir. Show Less -