The China Environmental Technology Support Project, with the aid of World Bank loans, was implemented in November 1993. The original implementation period was five years, but for various reasons the project was only completed at the end of 2002. It is jointly processed by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and the State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA).
CAS was in charge of Part A, which is divided into two subsections: A-1 (China Ecosystem Research Network Construction) and A-2 (Biodiversities Research Information Management), with loans of US$4.5 million and US$15.5 million respectively. The project completion discussion was held in Beijing in December 2002 attended by experts from the WB, CAS and SEPA. The final report was recently completed by the bank.
Through the implementation of A-1, the China Ecosystem Research Network (CERN) has bought instruments and equipment used for computer networks, field and laboratory tests; established an information and technological system in its preliminary form; and trained a large group of scientific and technological personnel. This has enhanced CERN's abilities to research, monitor, and optimize the management and demonstration of an ecosystem, playing an important role in its construction and sustainable development.
The workers who attended the project included nearly 1,000 scientific, technological and managerial personnel from 21 scientific institutes of CAS in the fields of resource environments and biology. They did their bit for the project and were highly praised by WB experts.
(China.org.cn by Li Jingrong June 14, 2003)
