Preparation of a Strategic Action Programme (SAP) and Transboundary Diagnostic Analysis (TDA) for the Tumen River area, its coastal regions and related northeast Asian environs (Also known as TumenNeT)

SELECTED PROJECT ACTIVITIES/RESULTS

Component activities in the preparation of the Strategic Action Plan included:

Environmental Information System (Lead agency: Jilin Provincial Institute for Environmental Protection, China

• The overall goal of the Environmental Information System (EIS) component was to create an Internet-based system of interconnected websites in English and in local languages to manage regional information on biodiversity and international waters.

These websites were aimed at different users/sectors such as the education sector (kindergarten to primary/secondary schools to university), the government sector (from regulatory bodies to policy setting), research institutions, NGOs, the private sector, local communities with computer access and the international community.

• A series of 36 environmental maps and an interactive Geographic Information System (GIS) on CD-ROM were also produced, widely distributed and made available on the Internet. Finally, a TumenNeT Environmental Atlas was prepared to complement the information available in the TDA and SAP.
• A series of meetings were organized to encourage cross-border compatibility and mutual acceptance of Environmental Impact Assessment by building capacity among local experts and raising awareness among government officials. The meetings focused on EIA issues in offshore oil and gas development and transboundary pipelines, the mining industry and other areas and were supported by EIA experts from Australia and Russia

Transboundary Diagnostic Analysis: Lead agent: The Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Vladivostok

• The large and diverse project area covered by the TDA straddles five economies at different levels of development, ranging from centrally planned to market oriented socialist economies as well as those in transition and OECD level economies. It spans more than 2,500km from east to west and 1500 km from South to North and encompasses steppe, mountain/river and coastal ecosystems. Inhabitants range from nomadic herders to highly urbanized societies and there is no common language.

To be as location-specific as possible in the preparation of the TDA and to maximise its impact and long-term sustainability, four zones were identified - the Tumen River Basin Zone, the Mongolian Plateau Zone, the Daurian Steppe Zone and the Supra-Regional Zone

• Production of the TDA began at a planning workshop in November 2000, followed by the preparation of National Reports and an outline regional TDA in August 2001. A final TDA was produced in early 2002 and translated into Chinese, Korean, Mongolian and Russian.

AWARE (Lead agent: Mongolia Nature and Environment Consortium (MNEC), Mongolia)

• The Awareness Raising Program conducted under the AWARE component supported the TDA-SAP process by reaching out and educating people on broad environmental issues, biodiversity protection and new and sustainable approaches to income generation. A parallel activity provided a feedback mechanism.
• A number of initiatives were run. National mass media campaigns used local newspapers, talk-back radio and TV shows as well as more traditional means such as posters, pamphlets and brochures distributed at local schools, community centres and through local NGOs.
• The TumenNeT Green School initiative, launched in late 2001, aimed to bring environmental awareness to kindergarten and primary schools. A total of 17 schools in four countries were able to qualify for the Green Schools Award. Paintings produced during a primary school painting competition in late 2001 were included in the 2002 TumenNeT calendar, produced in five languages.
• TumenNeT Clean Up Day was launched in 2002, to coincide with World Environment Day (June 5) in all five countries. Patterned after the Clean up Australia program it proved very successful with more than 60,000 people helping clean up 110 tones of garbage from local waterways at 30 locations. Businesses, local government, schools and community organizations all supported the Clean Up Day.
• The Small Grants Programme, also organized under the AWARE component, was targeted at village-level initiatives that showcased examples of hands-on and practical village self-help projects - projects that reduce environmental pollution while at the same time contribute to rising living standards. Two tranches of the SGP were funded under the TumenNeT initiative. A total of 29 community projects were funded under tranche I with more than 5,000 people directly or indirectly benefiting from project activities. Tranche II, launched in spring 2002, involved 37 projects.

• Strategic Action Plan (Lead agency: Ministry of Environment, Republic of Korea)
  
  The Strategic Action Programme (SAP) was the ultimate outcome of the project. Using the completed TDA as its scientific foundation, the SAP was prepared by countries in early 2002, translated into local languages and scrutinized by local stakeholders in each of the project areas. National SAP task forces were established in each country to lead the national SAP process and several bilateral MOUs were signed between participating countries as well as MOUs between provincial governors during its preparation.

The main points of the final SAP were to:

i) Rehabilitate and construct the basic communications infrastructure to facilitate the movement of goods through the Tumen ports (East coast ports of the DPRK and the Russian ports in the South of the Primorsky Region) to and from the Tumen River area of the GTI and the industrial areas of Jilin and Heilongjiang;

ii) Increase the movement of goods from the GTR and in particular from Northeast China through Tumen ports by ten to fifteen per cent per year by achieving more competitive costs for freight than through the port of Dalian;

iii) Increase the deregulation of border crossing procedures for goods and passengers in the Tumen River area;

iv) Achieve an annual increase of ten to fifteen per cent in cross-border crossings of tourists in the Tumen River area;

v) Establish a high-level institutional mechanism for energy policy support and reduce non-physical barriers to energy transmission and trade in the GTR;

vi) Increase private sector investment, including foreign direct investment, in the Greater Tumen Region in general and the special economic zones in particular;

vii) Improve access to international financial institutions for both public and private sector investment;

SURVEY (Regional Water Monitoring) Lead agency: National Coordinating Committee for Environment (NCCE), Pyongyang, DPRK

• A strategy to implement a water survey in the Tumen River basin was prepared in April 2001. It was designed so that a similar approach could also be used for Eastern Mongolian rivers and lakes. The survey goals were: 1) to fill the information gap regarding priority pollutants; and 2) to identify major sources of these priority pollutants in the Tumen river area. Because of political sensitivity in the region approaching proper authorities for clearance was critical.

A number of other studies were undertaken alongside development of the SAP under the TumenNeT programme.

• TumenNeT also conducted a pollution survey at the Musan Iron Ore Mine Complex in the DPRK, a significant industrial source of pollution and one of the major pollution hotspots on the North Korean side of the Tumen River Basin. Large amounts (3-4 million tons per year) of ultra-fine iron ore tailings have been discharged at the site since at least 2000 into the Songchonsu river, barely a kilometer from its confluence with the Tumen River.
• TumenNeT sought to reduce pollution from mining through a comprehensive approach that addressed tailings (waste products) management as an integral part of increasing overall mine efficiency. In June 2001 a consortium of Clough Engineering, Australia and MINDECO, Japan was commissioned to study the problem and Finish company Jaakko Pöyry- Soil and Water undertook a full one-year pre-feasibility study in 2002. Long-term monitoring of environmental and meteorological data related to tailings continued through to December 2003.
• A study on Building Science and Technology Infrastructure in and around the Tumen River Area  was conducted from May 2002- November 2003)
• Training workshops on Quality Assurance and Quality Control in Water Analysis were held in participating countries in the second half of  2002 with the objective of (i) building country capacity to conduct water quality monitor, assess, and manage water quality and (ii) to facilitate the implementation of water quality objectives of the SAP.
• A feasibility study on establishing a Lower Tumen River Area Transboundary Biosphere Reserve was made.
• A feasibility study was undertaken to identify the best recipients for approximately US$ 40 million worth of wastewater treatment chemicals donated by Hankook Titanium of Korea.

Communications

In addition to the communications activities conducted under the AWARE component of the project around 23 project documents and an equal number of technical and scientific publications were produced. A series of tools and materials were also created for community and schools awareness-raising initiatives as well as flyers and brochures about project activities, many in national languages.

Partners etc

Jilin Provincial Institute for Environmental Protection, China;: Mongolian Nature and Environment Consortium; Ministry of Environment, Republic of Korea; National Coordinating Committee for Environment, DPRK

Dedicated website: http://www.tumennet.org/ (TumenNet)

http://www.tumenprogramme.org/tumen/programme Tumen River Area Development Programme)

Newsletter: No

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