The €51 million EU-China Biodiversity Programme (ECBP) is EU’s largest overseas biodiversity conservation programme. It is a joint initiative between the European Union (EU), the Chinese Ministry of the Commerce (MOFCOM), the United Nation Development Programme (UNDP) and the Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP). ECBP was launched in June 2005 and after an extension of 18 months, will run until September 2011. It aims to conserve specific ecosystems in China by strengthening biodiversity management. It helps develop the capacity of MEP, as secretariat of the China Steering Committee for implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity, and establishing effective systems of monitoring and feed-back, and seeks to strengthen the effectiveness of the Steering Committee itself.

€21 million of the EU’s programme contribution of €30 million is earmarked for 18 field projects, selected from a call for proposals process completed during 2006 and with matching funds put up be project executants. Innovative and replicable mechanisms will be developed to integrate and strengthen institutional mechanisms for implementing policy from provincial to local level in a variety of institutional and ecological local settings throughout west, central and southern China. Through these field projects, the programme will support the development of multiple partnerships between international, national and local governmental and non-governmental agencies. The Field Projects are designed to become agents of change; supporting and initiating appropriate changes to laws, policies, plans, emphasize environmental awareness and establish a common platform for environmental communication and visibility.