Strengthening Participatory Irrigation Management and Project Management Capacity in Qinghai Province

During the 2009 country programming mission, the Government of the People's Republic of China (PRC) requested technical assistance (TA) from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to strengthen participatory irrigation management (PIM) and project management capacity in Qinghai Province. The TA will complement the proposed Qinghai Rural Water Resources Management Project, which is scheduled for Board consideration in 2011. The TA is expected to play a crucial role in expediting irrigation management reforms and promoting monitoring and evaluation capacity development in Qinghai Province. The TA has three components: program design and training for PIM implementation and support to help farmers adopt advanced irrigation and farming technology, capacity development for effective project implementation and management, and support for the establishment of a project performance M&E system. The TA will review the current national and provincial policy and framework on PIM and irrigation reform in the PRC and Qinghai, assess the comprehensiveness of the policy and framework in meeting the needs of existing regulatory requirements in Qinghai, propose a comprehensive institutional framework for PIM and the WUAs in the province; develop a plan to implement PIM in the proposed loan project area; improve the institutional capacity for project management and implementation; and assist the executing agency in establishing a computer-based information system to monitor and evaluate the impacts, outcomes, and outputs of the investment projects in the sector.  The Social Development specialist will assist in strengthening the capacity of the PPMO and CPMOs for handling the social dimensions of the proposed Qinghai Rural Water Resources Management Project that the TA will complement and, in particular, help them establish and empower the WUAs and SDOs; prepare, in close liaison with the national social development specialist, awareness-building materials and manuals for use in the PPMO and CPMOs on gender and ethnic minority development matters; identify indicators relating to gender, ethnic minority development, and resettlements, and help design a computer-based performance monitoring system; design a participation and consultant strategy for the PPMO, the CPMOs, and the WUAs; assist in preparing the standardized contract outlining management responsibilities for the SDOs and the WUAs and help develop bylaws for the WUAs and their members; and undertake other tasks relating to the social dimensions, as required.