The Romania Integrated Nutrient Pollution Control Project

      Category:  Price-Based Instruments; Institutions & Capacity
      Policy Type:  Subsidies, Grants & Incentive Payments; Frameworks & Guidance
      Sector:  Mixed
      Region:  Europe
      Country:  Romania
      Description: The Romania Integrated Nutrient Pollution Control Project aims to support the Government of Romania to meet the EU Nitrates Directive requirements by reducing nutrient discharges to water bodies, promoting behavioral change at the communal level, and strengthening institutional and regulatory capacity. It is a World Bank sponsored project.
      Outcome: 

      Reference:  The Romania Integrated Nutrient Pollution Control Project

      The Rural Development Program

      Category:  Price-Based Instruments; Environmental Outreach & Education
      Policy Type:  Subsidies, Grants & Incentive Payments; Technical Assistance; Public Awareness
      Sector:  Agriculture
      Region:  Asia
      Country:  Japan
      Description: Japan's Rural Development Program was introduced in 2007. It encourages community initiatives aimed at conserving the quality of common resources such as land and water, as well as improving the environment with a view to sustainable rural development. It has two tiers: the first tier supports community activities in which local farmers and non-farmers work together to conserve the quality of rural resources. The second supports environmentally friendly farming activities that reduce the application of chemical fertilizer and pesticide by more than half compared to conventional farming practice in the region. This program provides payments, trainings, and soil analysis to communities and farmers who participate. A fixed payment of JPY 100,000 is made to eligible communities.
      Outcome:  By mid-2007, 17,065 community organizations participated in the program and the payments covered approximately a quarter of total farmland (1.1 million ha of land). Among these communities, 2,039 groups of farmers, cultivating 44,000 ha of land, joined the second tier program, which compensates for the additional cost of implementing environmentally friendly farming practices.

      Reference:  The Rural Development Program

      The Sustainable Dairying: Water Accord (SDWA)

      Category:  Ecosystem Restoration & Protection
      Policy Type:  Stewardship Agreements
      Sector:  Agriculture
      Region:  Oceania
      Country:  New Zealand
      Description: New Zealand's Sustainable Dairying: Water Accord (SDWA) is an agreement between industry body DairyNZ, Dairy Companies Association of New Zealand, New Zealand dairy companies, regionalcouncils and government agencies. It includes commitments to targeted riparian planting plans, effluent management, comprehensive standards for new dairy farms and measures to improve the efficiency of water and nutrient use on farms. As to the nutrient management, farms are required to supply their dairy company with information that will allow for the modelling of Nitrogen loss and Nitrogen conversion efficiency. Companies will report comparative performance back to farmers to drive continuous improvement in nutrient management.
      Outcome:  The stock exclusion, effluent management and stock crossing commitments made under this Water Accord will contribute to reducing nutrient loss to waterways.

      Reference:  The Sustainable Dairying: Water Accord (New Zealand)

      The Trilateral Cooperation on the Protection of the Wadden Sea

      Category:  Ecosystem Restoration & Protection; Institutions and Capacity; Environmental Outreach & Education
      Policy Type:  Protected Areas; Partnerships; Public Awareness
      Sector:  Mixed
      Region:  Europe
      Country:  Netherlands; Germany; Denmark
      Description: Since 1978, the Netherlands, Germany and Denmark have cooperated to protect the Wadden Sea as an ecological entity. The Trilateral Wadden Sea Cooperation monitors and assesses the quality of the Wadden Sea ecosystem in collaboration with national and regional authorities and scientific institutions as a basis for effective protection and management. It also engages the public in the protection of the Wadden Sea through awareness-raising activities and environmental education.
      Outcome:  The Trilateral Wadden Sea Cooperation aims to maintain the natural ecosystem of Wadden Sea and gain public support for the protection.

      Reference:  The Trilateral Cooperation on the Protection of the Wadden Sea

      The World Bank's CN-Second Guangdong Pearl River Delta Urban Environment Project

      Category:  Price-Based Instruments
      Policy Type:  Low-Interest Loans
      Sector:  Mixed
      Region:  Asia
      Country:  China
      Description: The World Bank provided low-interest loans of $96 million to the People's Republic of China to help finance the Second Guangdong Pearl River Delta Urban Environment Project (2007-2013). The project helps reduce water pollution in the Pearl River system in Guangdong province through wastewater treatment, industrial pollution control, water quality monitoring, etc.
      Outcome:  These loans have directly increased wastewater treatment capacity, thereby increasing the amount of sewage that can be treated. By the end of this project, the Zhen'an Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) in Foshan will be expanded to increase its wastewater collection and treatment from 50% to 88%. In Jiangmen, pollution reduction works have been completed with the Wenchengsha WWTP and the associated network of sewers and pumping stations.

      Reference:  The World Bank's CN-Second Guangdong Pearl River Delta Urban Environment Project (China)