Evaluation Summary
I. Outline of the ProjectCountry: People's Republic of China
Issue/Sector: Environmental protection
Division in Charge: Environmental Management Team I, Group II, Global Environment
Department
Period of Cooperation(R/D): 25 January 2002
4 years(1 April 2002 - 31 March 2006)
Project Title: The Sino-Japan Friendship Center for Environmental Protection Project Phase 3
Cooperation Scheme: Technical Cooperation Project (formally known as “Project-type
Technical Cooperation)
Total Cost (at the time of evaluation): 680 million yen
Partner Country’s Implementing Organization(s): Sino-Japan Friendship Center for
Environmental Protection
Supporting Organization(s) in Japan: Ministry of Environment; Ministry of Economy, Tradeand Industry; National Institute for Environmental Studies; Overseas Environmental
Cooperation Center, Japan, etc.
Related Cooperation:• Grant aid for establishing the Sino-Japan Friendship Center for Environmental Protection(1990 - 1995; approx. 6 billion yen for the construction of the building of the Center, andapprox. 4 billion yen for equipment provision)• The Sino-Japan Friendship Center for Environmental Protection Project - Phase I (19921995; technical guidance to technical personnel at the Center); the Sino-Japan FriendshipCenter for Environmental Protection Project - Phase II (1996-2001; strengthening theCenter’s major functions: research, training, and monitoring functions); follow-up of the
Project (1 February 2001 - 31 March 2002).

1. Background to the Project
Rapid economic growth in the People's Republic of China (“China”) is causing a range ofenvironmental problems in many parts of the country and their effects are spreading even to
Japan. At the request of the Chinese government, Japan supported the establishment of the
Sino-Japan Friendship Center for Environmental Protection (the “Center”) as shown in“Related Cooperation” above. Phase II of this large project was completed in 2001. As aresult, the Center has gained the basic capacity to play a leadership role in China’s
1environmental protection. The Center had to address the emergence of new environmental
problems as highlighted by the health hazards caused by dioxins and endocrine disrupters, andthe escalation of the existing problems such as acid rain and DSS (dust and sandstorm). It
was also under growing pressure to serve as a coordinator for environmental cooperation
projects by the Japanese ministries, local governments, NGOs and businesses. These
circumstances prompted the Chinese government to request for Phase III (the “Project”) forthe purpose of strengthening the functions of the Center. In response, JICA sent a series ofthree preparatory study missions to China. After signing R/D in January 2002, JICA launched
the Project in April 2002 for a period of four years. Every year, the joint coordinationcommittee held consultations to flexibly address a wide range of major environmental issues
resulting from economic development, revising the PDM as many as five times. The first halfof the Project addressed four issues: (i) regional air pollution; (ii) the improvement ofenvironmental management; (iii) the emergence of hazardous chemicals; and (iv)environmental protection in the Western Development Regions. The second half of the
Project (since June 2004) has focused on three aspects: (i) policy and institutional support(circular economy and the system of corporate environmental supervisors); (ii) technology
transfer (dioxins, persistent organic pollutants [POPs], DSS, and acid rain); and (iii) general
cooperation.

2. Project Overview
The Overall Goal and the Project Purpose shown below have remained unchanged since theproject’s launch in April 2002. The PDM, on the other hand, was revised four times,
adjusting the target issues and project activities in response to the changing circumstances.
The project summary shown below is based on the PDM for the terminal evaluation, which
has drawn on the PDM for the second half of the Project that was agreed upon in the joint
coordination committee on June 25, 2005 and covered this large project, taking into
considerations the outcomes of the first half of the Project.
(1) Overall Goal
To enable the Center to contribute to the achievement of the environmental plan in the
National Tenth Five-Year Plan
(2) Project Purpose
To enable the Center to exercise leadership in addressing issues of strategic importance forenvironmental protection in China and extend the outcomes of this activity nationwide,
contributing to the mitigation of environmental problems in every part of the country.

(3) Outputs:
I. Priority Cooperation (cooperation in addressing issues of strategic importance forenvironmental protection in China)
1. Policy and institutional support(1) Circular economy (recycling-oriented society) will be promoted.
21) The Center will improve its capacity to research on circular economy.
2) The State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA) and other agencies that
promote circular economy will improve their capacity to formulate and implement policies
and systems for circular economy.
(2) The system of corporate environmental supervisors will be promoted.
1) Issues and solutions the legislation of the system will be clearly defined.
2) Municipal environmental protection bureaus and corporate environmental supervisors in
the pilot cities will improve their environmental management capacity.
(3) A framework of the Basic Law of the Environment that is suitable for China will be laid
down.
(4) The Center and other agencies concerned will support SEPA in developing administrative
instructions for the Law on Environmental Impact Assessment.
(5) The wetland information service system will be made available toward formulating an
ecological protection policy for the central and western regions in China.
(6) The Environment Model City Plan will be promoted.
2. Technology transfer(1) Progress will be made in technology transfer in dioxin analysis.
1) The dioxin analysis laboratory at the Center will be put into operation.
2) Analytical techniques for dioxins will be improved at the Center and elsewhere.
3) Training participants will improve their analytical techniques for dioxins.
(2) Progress will be made in technology transfer in POPs analysis.
1) The Center will improve its analytical techniques for POPs.
2) The analytical capacity for POPs across the country will be identified and assessed.
3) POP pollution of the environment will be identified and assessed in some parts of China.
4) Training participants will improve their analytical techniques for POPs.
(3) Analytical research into the sources of particle matter (PM), including DDS, in the urban
air will be promoted.
1) The Center will improve its techniques for sampling PM as well as its analysis and source
identification.
2) Source identification will be conducted in some parts of China, roughly identifying somepollution sources.
3) Source identification for DSS will be promoted.
4) Training participants will improve their analytical techniques for PM in the urban air.
5) Quality control of PM analysis in the urban air will be improved.
6) Coordination with other cooperation schemes will be improved in addressing DSS.
(4) Research on the recycling of solid waste will be promoted.

II. General Cooperation

31. Follow-up on priority cooperation activities in the first half of the Project(1) China’s capacity for acid rain monitoring will continue to be improved.
(2) Coordination with the Acid Deposition Monitoring Network in East Asia will be promoted.
(3) Leaders at regional environmental protection bureaus will improve their environmental
capacity.
2. Coordination with and support for cooperation activities under other JICA schemes(1) The following cooperation activities under other JICA schemes will be implemented, andthey will be implemented smoothly and effectively in coordination with the Project:(i) In-County Training: Monitoring and Control Techniques of Acid Rain and SOx (2000 2004)(ii) Country-Focused Group Training for China: System of Pollution Control Manager (2000 2004)(iii) Development Study: Study on the Master Plan for Air Pollution Control in Guiyang
Municipality (January 2003 - August 2004).
(2) The Third Country Training “Capacity development for environmental protection in Asia”(2003 - 2005) will be implemented smoothly.
(3) Coordination will be ensured with the individual expert for “improving coordination offinancial assistance in the environmental sector” (March 2003 - March 2006), so that the
Project and the experts will perform effectively.

3. Other general cooperation activities(1) The outcomes of the cooperation activities will be implemented smoothly.
(2) The Sino-Japan Friendship Center for Environmental Protection will gain fame as a hub or
a focal point for environmental cooperation between the two countries.

4. Items that were included as outputs in the PDM for the first half of the Project but are notincluded in the PDM for the second half.
(1) Training in developing and implementing measures to promote ISO14000(2) Research on indoor environmental pollution(3) In the process of addressing individual issues, the framework of coordination with theregions will be established, and the outcomes of the process will be disseminated to theregions through this framework.
(4) Progress will be made in solving issues of strategic importance identified in the TenthFive-Year Plan.
(5) Inputs (by the time of evaluation; including inputs to be provided by the end of March
2006)
Japanese side:
Long-term Experts: 12 experts
249.4M/M Equipment: approx. 69,396,000 yen
Short-term Experts: 81 experts
Others (operating costs): approx. 125,951,000 yen
4Trainees received: 46 persons
Chinese side:
Personnel at the Center: 319 persons
Operating cost of the Center: O&M costs of facilities and equipment, labor costs, and researchcosts

II. Evaluation Team
Members of Evaluation Team
Role/responsibility
Name
Position
Team Leader: Ikufumi TOMIMOTO Director General, Global Environment Department,
JICA
Sub Leader & Policy and Institutional Support:
Masaharu YAGISHITA
Professor,
Graduate School of Global Environmental Studies, Sophia University
Technology transfer: Hiroyasu ITO Senior Researcher, Analytical Quality Assurance
Section, Environmental Chemistry Division, National Institute for Environmental Studies
General and Horizontal Cooperation:
Hiromi CHIHARA JICA Senior Advisor
Cooperation Planning: Miwa HIASA Environmental Management Team I, Group II,
Global Environment Department, JICA
Evaluation Analysis: Michiyuki KENMOTSU
International Project Department, Chuo
Kaihatsu Corporation
Period of Evaluation
11 - 29 September 2005
Type of Evaluation: Terminal Evaluation

III. Results of Evaluation
3-1 Achievement Level
Building on Phase I and Phase II, the Project (Phase III) was designed to improve thesustainability of the Center and its capacity to address environmental problems. The Projectadjusted the PDM as appropriate to cope with fast-changing environmental problems in atimely manner amid rapid socioeconomic development. It addressed key policy issues that
had been agreed upon at the joint coordination committee, by providing experts from Japan,
organizing seminars and through other means. The Evaluation Team has confirmed that the
project has produced many outputs that have contributed to the attainment of the Project
Purpose. For example, personnel at central and regional environmental protection bureaus
who play a pivotal role in developing and implementing the policy of promoting circular
economy have improved their capacity through training in Japan and the process of drafting
administrative instructions (regarding community participation) for the Law on
Environmental Impact Assessment. Another example is that the open laboratory at the Centerhas demonstrated excellent performance in analyzing DSS, dioxins, and POPs. The
Evaluation Team has also confirmed that the Chinese government is set to seriously consider
the full-fledged introduction of the system of corporate environmental supervisors that JICA
has long been supporting on a pilot basis. The Project is likely to achieve a measure of5

success by its completion, although the construction of a laboratory for dioxin analysis wasdelayed due in part to the spread of SARS.

3-2 Summary of Evaluation Results(1) Relevance
The Project is highly relevant. It is consistent with Japan’s ODA policy, China’s
environmental policy, and related regional and global commitments, especially in light of (i)the national development plan and the National Tenth Five-Year Plan of Environmental
Protection of China; (ii) the economic cooperation program for China and the new ODA
Charter of Japan; (iii) the Record of Commitments/Partnership at the World Summit on
Sustainable Development in 2002; (iv) the adoption of an international project on DSS by
ADB/GEF; and (v) reports at the Ministerial Conference on the 3R Initiative. In addition, it isincreasingly important and significant to respond promptly to environmental challenges
facing China in the context of addressing regional environmental problems in East Asia,
which is experiencing remarkable economic development.

(2) Effectiveness
The Evaluation Team concludes that the Project is effective. Most of the project activities
that have been described in the PDM are nearing their completion, except in the field ofdioxins, where the construction of the relevant laboratory was behind schedule. Assistance inpromoting ISO14010, drafting administrative instructions on EIA, and promoting circular
economy has helped the Chinese government at the project, policy, and institutional levels.
Training regarding the system of corporate environmental supervisors and circular economy,
through such schemes as In-Country Training, Training in Japan and Dispatch of Experts to
the regions has played a certain role in disseminating the project outcomes to the regions.
The assistance since 1992, from Phase I through Phase III, has helped China to control theworsening of air pollution in some major cities and strengthen its framework forenvironmental management. The Evaluation Team has confirmed that the Project, incooperation with other donor agencies of Japan and other countries, has effectively
contributed to the efforts to solve key environmental problems in China.

(3) Efficiency
The Project as a whole has been appropriately managed and implemented according to plan.
It has provided reasonable inputs and produced expected outputs. Flexibility in implementing
the Project is worth mentioning. The adjustment of the activity plan by the joint coordinationcommittee and the pursuit of effective coordination with other environmental cooperation
activities have made it possible to respond to the changes in the important environmental
issues in a timely manner and produce successful outcomes. The equipment provided by the
Project has been put to effective and efficient use in the project activities.

(4) Impact
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The project activities have contributed to the efforts to solve environmental issues of strategic
importance that have been identified in the National Tenth Five-Year Plan. Initial steps havealready been taken to promote circular economy, a likely issue of strategic importance in the
National Eleventh Five-Year Plan. The system of corporate environmental supervisors,which is designed to establish a voluntary framework of environmental management at
industrial establishments, will possibly have a major impact depending on how the central
government introduces the system. The Evaluation Team concludes that no major negative
effects will become present unless the Important Assumptions in the PDM undergo a majorchange.

(5) Sustainability
The building and development of personal and organizational capacities since the launch of
Phase I in 1992 have provided essential conditions for the sustainability of the Center. The
Center has begun to have a positive impact on the regions mainly through the training it
provides for newly appointed chiefs of regional environmental protection bureaus. Throughits cooperation activities, the Center has established itself as a platform for international
cooperation in environmental protection. All these factors point to the high sustainability of
the Center. This sustainability will be further enhanced if SEPA provides the Center withadequate human and financial resources and clearly defined roles and responsibilities so that
the Center will develop its institutional capacity as a key organization under its directsupervision.

3-3 Contributing Factors(1) Project planning
The Project ultimately aims to “enable the Center to contribute to the achievement of theenvironmental plan in the National Tenth Five-Year Plan [Overall Goal]” by “enabling theCenter to exercise leadership in addressing issues of strategic importance for environmental
protection in China [Project Purpose].” The Project responded to the changes to the key
issues in China’s environmental policy and to the corresponding changes in China’s requests
as flexibly as possible. This was done by reviewing the project plan and the PDM every year-or twice a year in 2003 as a result of the spread of SARS---so that activities to address issuesof strategic importance for environmental protection in China would be incorporated into theproject activities and outputs in the PDM. As a result, individual project activities haveproduced positive outcomes.

(2) Implementation process
With regard to the implementation process, two major factors have produced positive results
or have contributed to the achievement of the project objectives. The first factor is that the
project stakeholders flexibly adjusted the Outputs and Activities in the PDM to cope
appropriately with the changing circumstances without changing the Overall Goal or the
Project Purpose. For this purpose, they took advantage of the joint coordination committee, aforum for consultation between Japan and China. The other is that the project stakeholders
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provided necessary inputs to address technical issues in a timely manner. Among the inputs,
the long-term experts played a pivotal role, with short-term experts, seminars, and other
inputs playing complementary roles.

3-4 Obstacles(1) Project planningIn early 2003, the project activities were suspended due to the spread of SARS. After the
epidemic was brought under control, the joint coordination committee held an extraordinary
meeting and approved of the changes to the project plan. These changes delayed a few
activities (those concerning dioxin analysis techniques) but did not pose as a major obstacle tothe project’s process.

3-5 Conclusion
The Evaluation Team has been examining the achievements, outputs and the implementation
process since the launch of the project based on the PDM that had been agreed upon between
the Japanese and Chinese sides. The team has concluded that although the Project Purpose
has been largely implemented according to plan, there is room for improvement in the field ofdioxins where the construction of the planned laboratory fell behind schedule. The Chinese
government is set to consider officially promoting the circular economy and introducing thesystem of corporate environmental supervisors. The Evaluation Team has confirmed thatthese two issues might have a great impact if additional assistance is provided. Among thefive evaluation criteria, the Project scores high in relevance, effectiveness and efficiency. It
has had a positive impact and built a foundation for sustainability. The Project has also
contributed to important policy issues for China and had some positive effects on the local
governments’ efforts toward environmental improvement.

3-6 Recommendations(1) Activities and outputs to be achieved by the end of the project period
Some project activities have yet to produce sufficient outputs, including those related todioxins. It is important that they generate certain levels of outputs by the completion of the
Project. To that end, JICA should provide short-term experts for the issues that need to beaddressed during this fiscal year (e.g., infrastructure development, including the constructionof the dioxin laboratory). However, both the Japanese and Chinese sides should commit
themselves to identifying the issues to be addressed in and after the next fiscal year and toformulating necessary activity plans. Because the circular econmy, for which its support
started during the second half of the project period, will likely become an important issue fora bilateral environmental cooperation, it is advisable that both the Japanese and Chinese side
make the necessary preparations during the remainder of the project period.
(2) Measures and activities to be implemented by the Chinese side after the completion of the
Project

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The Chinese side should maintain and capitalize on the outputs and outcomes of theassistance to the Center from Phase I through Phase III. To that end, it should stick to theProject Purpose of “enabling the Center to exercise leadership in addressing issues of strategic
importance for environmental protection in China and extend the outcomes of this activity
nationwide, contributing to the mitigation of environmental problems in every part of thecountry.” SEPA should provide the Center with adequate human and financial resources andclearly defined roles and responsibilities so that the Center will develop its institutional
capacity as a key organization under its direct supervision.
(3) Measures and activities to be implemented by the Japanese side after the completion of the
Project
The Evaluation Team has found that a few issues, including the issue of dioxins, that have notyet been addressed appropriately by the planned project activities. It has also identified a few
fields on which the Project might have a major impact if additional activities are conducted.
These fields include the circular economy and the system of corporate environmental
supervisors. The Japanese side should consult with the Japanese and Chinese agencies
concerned to decide whether such additional activities are needed to attain the Project Purpose,with consideration given to the value of the function of the Center as a platform forenvironmental cooperation between the two countries. The Japanese side should work closelywith the Chinese side to disseminate the major achievements of Phases I, II and III to thepeoples of both countries. It should deepen mutual understanding of the importance ofbilateral economic cooperation in various forms, including cooperation in regional
environmental protection, in a wider context of promoting bilateral friendship.
The National Eleventh Five-Year Plan, due the first half of 2006, is expected to place astrategic focus on the circular economy. It is time to study integrated assistance in this fieldthat involves not only the Japanese and Chinese governments but also universities, research
institutions, private enterprises and NGOs, with a focus on its objectives, expected outputs
and activity plans. Such assistance should also be designed to enhance the functions of theCenter as a platform for international cooperation in environmental protection.
China still faces a myriad of environmental challenges. The importance of addressing thesechallenges is increasing in East Asia and the international community. Assistance to China inthis sector represents a great contribution not only for China and Japan but also for theinternational community. It is important to design policy and institutional support, inparticular, to maximize the positive effects. To that end, the Japanese government should
hold policy consultations with their Chinese counterparts to identify priority issues. It is also
important to promptly address emerging environmental problems as a result of rapidsocioeconomic development by taking advantage of the platform function of the Center.

3-7 Lessons Learned
Building on Phase I and Phase II, the Project (Phase III) was designed to improve thesustainability of the Center and its capacity to address environmental problems. The Projectadjusted the PDM appropriately to cope with the fast-changing environmental problems in atimely manner amid rapid socioeconomic development. It addressed key policy issues that
had been agreed upon at the joint coordination committee. As a result, the Project achieved
successful outputs as described in the Overall Evaluation section. The Project can provide a9good case study for other countries where rapid economic development changes theassumptions for cooperation projects. At any rate, it is important to develop a mechanism thatmanages the progress of activities and outputs in relation to each objective.
China still faces a myriad of environmental challenges. The importance of addressing thesechallenges is increasing in East Asia and the international community. Assistance to China inthis sector represents a great contribution not only for China and Japan but also for theinternational community. It is important to design policy and institutional support, inparticular, to maximize the positive effects. To that end, the Japanese government should
hold policy consultations with their Chinese counterparts to identify priority issues. It is also
important to promptly address emerging environmental problems as a result of rapidsocioeconomic development by taking advantage of the platform function of the Center.
The Project is not limited to the framework of a traditional technical cooperation project or to
the PDM framework. It is more or less like a “Program” in which several projects with
common objectives are implemented concurrently. In some aspects, the Project defies
qualitative assessment of outputs and empirical study of positive and negative effects. It is
expected that program-type assistance that features policy and institutional support will be on
the rise. It is time to discuss evaluation techniques not only for individual projects but also
for program-type assistance. In designing a program-type assistance, it is important to takethe following steps: (i) consider consistency with other cooperation schemes (loan aid, grant
aid, etc.) and with activities of other donors, NGOs, private enterprises and organizations,research institutions, and universities; (ii) identify opportunities for synergy with the activitiesof the partner country; and (iii) hold consultations with the partner country and other donors
wherever possible to produce maximum outputs with minimum inputs.

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