World Bank approves loan to China for Yangtze River protection

The World Bank has approved a loan of US$200 million to enhance ecological protection and reduce water pollution along the Yangtze River basin in central China's Hubei Province, the bank's Beijing office said Friday.

The Yangtze River Protection and Ecological Restoration Program (Hubei) focuses on improving coordination, data collection and sharing, as well as water management planning and allocation across the river basin, said the World Bank.

Within selected demonstration counties, the program will also support activities to protect land-based ecosystems through soil and water conservation, prevent plastic from entering water bodies through collection and recycling of agricultural plastic film and other plastic waste, improve wastewater management systems, and reduce nutrient runoff through improved management of animal manure.

"By supporting cross-sectoral coordination, cooperation across provincial jurisdictions in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, and innovation in the management of water resources, this program will help China achieve a real impact in pollution reduction in the Yangtze basin at scale," said Mara Warwick, World Bank country director for China, Mongolia and Korea.

"The program is an excellent example of how the World Bank's support for China helps to address some of today's most pressing local and global challenges, including plastic waste, climate change and biodiversity loss," she said.