PROJECT BRIEF

1. Identifiers

Project Number: [Implementing Agency Project Number not yet assigned]

Project Title: Determination of priority actions for the further elaboration and implementation of the Strategic Action Programme for the Mediterranean Sea.

GEF Implementing Agency: United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)

Executing Agencies: Secretariat for the Barcelona Convention

Co-ordinating Unit for the Mediterranean Action Plan (MEDU-MAP) and its associated Regional Activity Centres (RACs): Cleaner Production (CP RAC); Specially Protected Areas (SPA RAC); Priority Actions Programme (PAP RAC) and other regional entities as appropriate.

Food & Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO)

General Fisheries Council of the Mediterranean (GFCM)

World Health Organisation (WHO)

Requesting Countries: Regional: Mediterranean (12 countries): Albania, Algeria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Egypt, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Slovenia, Syria, Tunisia, and Turkey ¹.

Eligibility: The countries are eligible under paragraph 9(b) of the GEF Instrument. The SAP MED is consistent with the relevant provisions of regional and global Conventions relating to International Waters and was developed within the Framework of the Barcelona Convention².

GEF Focal Areas: International Waters with relevance to Biological Diversity

GEF Programming Framework: Waterbody-based Operational Program # 8

2. Summary:

The Strategic Action Programme to Address Pollution from Land-Based Activities in the Mediterranean Region (SAP MED) provides a broad framework and timetable for the implementation of mechanisms and measures that will lead to the protection of the marine environment, including its biological resources and diversity, from the effects of harmful land-based activities. The present project includes preparatory actions leading to the adoption and implementation of regional guidelines and plans; investment in the elimination of regionally prioritised pollution hot spots; development and implementation of management plans for selected sensitive areas; development of a costed and targeted, strategic action plan for biodiversity; enhancement of public participation and institutional capacity in the region; development and implementation of economic instruments for the sustainable implementation of the SAP MED; and development and implementation of National Action Plans (NAPs) for the implementation of the SAP MED.

3. Costs and Financing (Million US $)

GEF: Project : 5.950

PDF : 0.340

Subtotal GEF : 6.290

Co-financing: MAP-MEDU in cash : 0.920

MAP-MEDU/UNEP in kind : 0.225

Governments in cash & kind : 3.040

FAO in kind : t.b.d.

Total Project Cost: : 10.475

4. Associated Financing (Million US $)

MAP : 12.800

5. Operational Focal Point Endorsement(s)

The draft document was despatched to GEF Operational Focal Points and in their absence to GEF Political Focal Points between 19 and 23 December 1997.As of 26th January endorsements had been received from all countries (see Annex VIII)

6. IA Contact:

Mr Ahmed Djoghlaf, Executive Co-ordinator, UNEP/GEF Co-ordination Office, UNEP, Nairobi, Tel: 254 2 624153; Fax: 254 2 520825; Email: ahmed.djoghlaf@unep.org

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

1. Background and Context (Baseline course of action)

Background

1.1 The Mediterranean semi-enclosed sea occupies a major portion of the total basin area, with large rivers such as the Ebro, Rhone, Po and Nile draining to it. The Mediterranean Sea is itself divided into sub-basins and semi-enclosed areas such as the Adriatic, the physical and geographical features of which determine the relative importance of land-based activities in the degradation of marine and coastal waters on a sub-regional basis.

1.2 The GEF Operational Strategy lists the “degradation of the quality of transboundary water resources, caused mainly by pollution from land-based activities; physical habitat degradation of coastal and near-shore marine areas, lakes, and watercourses as a result of inappropriate management; introduction of nonindigenous species; and excessive exploitation of living and nonliving resources” as the four major global environmental concerns relating to international waters that will be addressed by the GEF. The present proposal addresses directly two of these concerns and in the process seeks to address biodiversity issues relating to sensitive areas thus conforming to the Operational Strategy which recognises that “GEF projects integrating several focal areas have the potential to multiply global benefits from GEF interventions”.

1.3 As a result of international efforts to protect the Mediterranean Sea, twenty Mediterranean countries and the European Union are Contracting Parties to the Convention for the Protection of the Mediterranean Sea against Pollution (Barcelona Convention) and to the Protocol for the Protection of the Mediterranean Sea against Pollution from Land-based Sources (LBS Protocol) and to the Mediterranean Action Plan (MAP)³. UNEP, through the Co-ordinating Unit for the Mediterranean Action Plan has served as the Secretariat to the Action Plan and the Convention since their adoption. The Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention in partnership with UNEP have therefore extensive experience in regional co-operation at both the operational and policy levels in the Mediterranean region, thus providing a sound basis on which to undertake the activities presented in this Project Brief. The present proposal aims to build on past experience in the region including the data and information collected during the last twenty years.

1.4 The revisions of the Barcelona Convention, its related protocols (1995) and the associated Action Plan directed the whole system towards development and implementation of strategic actions designed to address inter alia problems of pollution resulting from land-based activities in the framework of overall plans for the sustainable development of the Mediterranean Sea and its coastal region. Past experience together with the findings of the draft Transboundary Diagnostic Analysis⁴ prepared with a GEF Project Development Facility Grant suggest that a major constraint to the protection of the marine and coastal environment results from inappropriate management of the coastal zone. The root causes of this problem result from a lack of adequate coastal zone planning and management; inadequate national legislation and its effective enforcement; weak institutional structures at national and regional levels; inadequate human resources allocated for these types of activities; and lack of mobilisation of adequate financial resources to address the identified issues and problems.

1.5 Due to financial and temporal constraints it was not possible during the PDF-B phase to develop and adopt an holistic Strategic Action Programme (SAP) for the Mediterranean encompassing all environmental issues as envisaged in the GEF Operational Strategy. Given the priority accorded by governments to the issues of land-based activities and their impacts in the Marine Environment a more restricted SAP addressing Land Based Activities has been developed and adopted by the governments. Preparatory actions relating to biodiversity have been undertaken and in the light of the expected entry into force during the course of 1998, of the recently revised Protocol on Specially Protected Areas and Biodiversity it is proposed to extend these preparatory activities and complete a more holistic strategic approach through the development and adoption of a SAP for Biodiversity.

1.6 Through their endorsement of the LBS Protocol and the Protocol on Specially Protected Areas and Biodiversity, the riparian countries of the Mediterranean have demonstrated a desire to address the environmental problems of the Mediterranean Sea through a concerted and co-ordinated programme of action. The Strategic Action Programme to Address Pollution from Land-Based Activities in the Mediterranean Region (SAP MED), developed during the PDF phase, and adopted during a meeting of Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention held in Tunis, November 1997, will assist countries in meeting their obligations under Article 5 of the LBS Protocol that states:

“The Contracting Parties to the LBS Protocol undertake to eliminate pollution deriving from land-based sources and activities and to this end, they shall elaborate and implement, individually or jointly, as appropriate, national and regional action plans and programmes, containing measures and timetables for their implementation.”

Context (Baseline course of action)

1.7 The initial focus of action under the Mediterranean Action Plan was on assessment and later control of marine pollution, an obvious subject of high priority requiring harmonised regional and national policies and strategies. Experience showed however that protection of the Mediterranean is inseparably linked with social and economic development. The focus of the action plan has therefore gradually shifted from a sectorial approach to pollution control towards its inclusion in the framework of integrated coastal zone planning and management.

1.8 As a natural development resulting from this gradual shift from assessment of problems towards their solution the need for a costed and targeted programme of actions became apparent. The SAP MED was therefore prepared through a GEF PDF-B grant to provide a targeted and costed framework for action at national and regional levels to address pollution from land-based activities. This represents one component of the holistic approach advocated by the GEF Council in the adoption of a broad based Strategic Action Programme addressing all environmental issues and concerns relating to a single shared waterbody.

1.9 The SAP MED is based on the preliminary findings of the regionally prepared draft Transboundary Diagnostic Analysis (TDA MED) that represents a regional synthesis of issues and problems surrounding the protection of the Mediterranean marine environment from land-based activities. As outlined in the PDF-B document the SAP MED will enable countries to meet agreed objectives: to protect the marine environment and coastal zones through prevention of pollution, and by reduction and, as far as possible, elimination of pollutant inputs, whether chronic or accidental; and to develop and implement national programmes of action for the protection of the marine environment from land-based activities.

1.10 A key component of the SAP MED is the identification of elements for the formulation of national action plans, consistent and co-ordinated with regional strategies and guidelines. The central framework of the SAP MED involves the strengthening of regional co-operative arrangements for the development and implementation of pragmatic and comprehensive management approaches to mitigate and remedy land-based sources of degradation of the coastal and marine environment. The SAP MED identifies those areas requiring national intervention and distinguishes them from those requiring joint regional action.

1.11 In view of the unequal starting point and of the different levels of socio-economic development, progress at the national level has not been homogeneous. However, the Mediterranean countries have all created competent institutions charged with protection of the environment, often at a very high political level, and have adopted legislative measures and regulations. The present proposal seeks not only to strengthen such national institutions in recipient countries but to provide a National Action Plan that is consistent with both the regional agreements outlined above and individual national sustainable development policies and programmes.

1.12 The Contracting Parties to the Mediterranean Action Plan adopted, at their Tenth Ordinary Meeting (Tunis, November 1997) a 1998-1999 biennial work programme and budget of 12.8 million US $ for MAP with the following main objectives:

• to secure the entry into force of the new legal provisions and MED POL Phase III (to focus on activities aiming at pollution control);

• to develop the activities of the Mediterranean Commission on Sustainable Development;

• strengthen international co-operation in the Mediterranean, in particular within the framework of Euro-Mediterranean co-operation;

• to implement at national and local levels the policies of environmental protection and sustainable development defined on a regional scale; and

• develop information on the state of the environment in the Mediterranean region and the policies pursued for its improvement.

0. The activities in this proposal have been designed to complement and build upon these baseline activities of the MAP.

1.13 In the implementation of the Mediterranean Action Plan during the 1998-1999 biennium high priority is accorded to actions designed to:

• implement the MAP legal instruments, and provide assistance to countries in the implementation of those instruments, in particular the Land-Based Sources and Specially Protected Areas Protocols; and

• fully implement the Global Programme of Action for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-Based Activities, through the implementation of the SAP MED and the development of National Programmes of Action as envisaged in the amended LBS Protocol and the SAP MED.

1.14 The Mediterranean Environmental Technical Assistance Programme (METAP) launched at the end of the 80’s through an agreement between the World Bank, the United Nations Development Programme, the European Commission and the European Investment Bank is now in its third phase of implementation (1996-2000). Reduction of pollution hotspots and capacity building in environmental management are the main elements that link this programme with the Mediterranean Action Plan. In order to create the necessary synergy a co-operation plan will be prepared with METAP regarding collaboration in the implementation of activities relating to Hot Spots. In particular common targets will be identified especially in relation to the pre-investment studies foreseen in this project and the planned interventions of METAP based on the country portfolios.

0. 2. Project Rationale, Objectives (Alternative)

0. Project Rationale

2.1 The present proposal addresses the transboundary environmental concerns of the Mediterranean Sea and as such contributes directly to the Waterbody-based Operational Programme of the GEF Operational Strategy, and to assisting countries in meeting their obligations under: the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (Article 207⁵); the Convention on Biological Diversity (Annex I of Decision 11/10 of the Contracting Parties⁶); Agenda 21 (Chapter 17⁷); the Convention for the Protection of the Marine environment and the Coastal Region of the Mediterranean (Barcelona Convention); the Protocol for the Protection of the Mediterranean Sea against Pollution from Land-based Sources and Activities (LBS Protocol); the Protocol concerning Specially Protected Areas and Biological Diversity in the Mediterranean (SPA Protocol); and the Action Plan for the Protection of the Marine Environment and the Sustainable Development of the Coastal Areas of the Mediterranean (MAP).

2.2 Regional and subregional co-operation is crucial for the development and implementation of successful actions to protect the transboundary marine environment from land-based activities. Such international co-operation allows for more accurate identification and assessment of transboundary problems and more appropriate determination of priorities for joint action in particular areas, than does unco-ordinated, isolated national action. In addition, regional co-operation strengthens mechanisms and institutions at both regional and national level and offers an important avenue for harmonising and adjusting measures according to national, environmental, institutional and socio-economic circumstances.

2.3 The SAP MED provides a broad framework and timetable for the implementation of mechanisms and measures that will lead to the protection of the marine environment, including its biodiversity, from harmful land-based activities in particular through the development of an investment portfolio to address the most acute environmental problems resulting from land-based activities. Of the large number of activities contained in the SAP MED, this project will address a selection of the most urgent priorities of GEF Recipient countries, those that are likely to ensure the adoption of long term solutions to identified problems and those which are likely to be socially and environmentally sustainable. Priorities for intervention determined during this project will be based on the principle of maximising regional and global environmental benefits.

0. Project Objectives

2.4 The overall goal of the project is to improve the quality of the marine environment in the Mediterranean Region by better shared-management of land-based pollution through improved international co-operation in the management of land-based pollution of transboundary and regional significance. The objectives of the SAP MED are to facilitate the implementation of the LBS Protocol to the Barcelona Convention by the Contracting Parties and to contribute to the maintenance and where appropriate, restoration of the productive capacity and biodiversity of the marine environment, ensuring the protection of human health, as well as promoting the conservation and sustainable use of marine living resources.

2.5 The specific objectives of this project are to implement the following components of the SAP MED to address pollution from land-based sources, to:

• complete an analysis of the transboundary importance of the 103 hot spots identified in the TDA MED and SAP MED and finalise the priority list for intervention and investments (“Investment portfolio”)(pre-investment studies will be conducted only in GEF eligible countries);

• to formulate and adopt principles, approaches, measures, timetables and priorities for action, that address each major land-based source of pollution and assist countries in the implementation of such actions;

• conduct pre-investment analysis of expected baseline and additional actions needed to address the selected hot spots, and secure recipient country agreement to baseline investments;

• prepare and adopt at the regional level, detailed, operational guidelines for the formulation of National Action Plans (NAPs) for the protection of the marine environment from land-based activities;

• assist countries to prepare, adopt at the highest level, and implement, country specific National Action Plans based on the regionally prepared and adopted guidelines;

• identify roles for, and ensure effective participation of non-governmental organisations in the implementation of components of the SAP MED, and where appropriate incorporate these into the National Action Plans;

0. and to address other transboundary issues as follows:

• finalise and adopt a comprehensive and holistic Transboundary Diagnostic Analysis; and,

• develop and adopt a strategic action plan for biodiversity in the Mediterranean in conformity with the provisions of the protocol on Specially Protected Areas and Biodiversity.

2.6 The SAP MED is addressed to, and has been endorsed by, all Contracting Parties. It proposes common objectives for all countries, however, it is evident that the implementation of the proposed activities should take into account the state of the environment of each country. The timing for achievement of targets and for activities may also differ between recipient countries, taking into account their present capacity to adapt and reconvert existing installations, the economic conditions and the development needs of individual countries.

2.7 GEF non-recipient countries that are party to the Convention and which have endorsed the Strategic Action Plan will be encouraged to participate in regional activities and to address regionally identified priorities through appropriate national action. Participation in regional activities of representatives and experts from these countries will be supported by the trust funds available to the Mediterranean Action Plan. Approved national actions that are consistent with and in support of the implementation of the SAP MED will be, subsequently listed as associated financing to this project.

0. 3. Project Activities/Components and Expected Results

0. Project Activities/Components

3.1 The proposed activities are based on the analysis of root causes (Annex IV), the contents of the Strategic Action Programme as endorsed by the 10th Ordinary Meeting of the Contracting Parties and technical reports on pollution “hot spots”, “critical habitats” and “sensitive areas” (areas of concern) taking into account the LBS Protocol, which in Annex 1 states:

0. “In preparing action plans, programmes and measures, the Parties, in accordance with the Global Programme of Action, will give priority to substances that are toxic, persistent and liable to bioaccumulate, in particular persistent organic pollutants (POPs), as well as to wastewater treatment and management”.

3.2 In general, priority actions for the prevention, reduction and elimination of pollution have been established taking into account four pollution-related factors:

• degradation of the marine environment;

• perturbation of aquatic biological diversity;

• land-based origin; and

• transboundary nature (causes or effects).

3.3 The workplan and timetable is presented in Table 1, which indicates the activities for each quarter. There are 33 major activities proposed in this project, grouped into nine components:

• Establishment and co-ordination of the project;

• Regional co-operative actions (preparation and adoption of 9 sets of regional guidelines; and preparation and adoption of 8 regional plans);

• Hot spots;

• Sensitive areas;

• Preparation of a strategic action plan for biodiversity;

• Sustainability of SAP MED;

• Capacity building (7 training courses);

• Public participation; and

• National Action Plans (NAPs).

3.4 Activities under the Establishment and Co-ordination of the Project include the hiring of the project manager and support staff to be located in the MAP-MEDU Athens, and to function within the MAP structure; establishment of the Interagency Steering and Co-ordination Committees; convening of three meetings of the Interagency Steering Committee; two consultations with donors (one re-phased from the PDF-B phase); and regular reporting to GEF and to the Contracting Parties of the Barcelona Convention and the LBS Protocol. During the project appraisal phase extensive consultations will be undertaken with UNDP, the World Bank, METAP and other appropriate regional programmes to determine and agree upon the precise modalities for execution of this project and co-ordination of its activities with those of other regional programmes. Timely execution of this component should ensure smooth operation of project activities, regular contacts with recipient countries and GEF, consultations with potential donors, in particular regarding the pre-investment studies and Investment portfolio, and mandatory reporting of the results to participating governments.

3.5 The Interagency Steering Committee is vital to the success of inter agency collaboration particularly as a means of involving METAP and the World Bank in the envisaged development of investment opportunities. The Interagency Committee will be chaired by the lead Implementing Agency UNEP in accordance with the agreed procedures for GEF International Waters Projects, and will include representatives from the Implementing Agency GEF Co-ordination Offices the MEDU and other regional programmes as determined under 3.4 above. National Co-ordinators will be nominated by the recipient countries and will be expected to convene regular meetings of inter-ministry committees at the national level to oversee the planning and execution of national activities. National Co-ordinators from GEF eligible countries may be invited to participate in the meetings of the Interagency Steering Committee. In addition a Co-ordination Committee will be established, consisting of the nationally nominated co-ordinators for activities undertaken in the framework of this project.

3.6 Activities under the Regional Co-operative Actions include the preparation and adoption of nine sets of regional guidelines for:

• sewage treatment and disposal;

• disposal of urban solid waste;

• industrial wastewater treatment and disposal;

• application of BAT, BEP and clean technologies in industries;

• application of BAT and BEP in industrial installations which are sources of BOD, nutrients and suspended solids;

• application of BEP for the rational use of fertilisers and the reduction of losses of nutrients from agriculture;

• environmental inspection system;

• development of ecological status and stress reduction indicators; and

• river (including estuaries) pollution monitoring programme;

0. and the preparation and adoption of eight regional plans concerning:

• collection and disposal of all PCB waste;

• reduction of input of BOD by 50% by 2007;

• reduction by 20% by 2007 of the generation of hazardous waste from industrial installations;

• management of hazardous waste;

• regional inventory of quantities and uses of nine pesticides and PCBs, as well of industries which manufacture or condition them;

• establishment of regional pollution monitoring, reporting, and data quality assurance programmes for rivers;

• establishment of regional pollution monitoring, reporting, and data quality assurance programmes for the marine environment; and,

• collection of information on levels, trends and loads of pollution reaching the Mediterranean.

3.7 Preparation and adoption of regional guidelines and plans will establish the administrative, legal and technical basis for the implementation of the SAP MED at the level of participating countries and will be based on data and information collected and assembled through the MED POL programme. Preparation and adoption of these plans and guidelines will be carried out in consultation with country representatives, relevant international organisations and with the assistance of experts. Periodic consultations will be convened as required to finalise the documents prior to their submission to meetings of the Contracting Parties for adoption. These activities will be closely co-ordinated with MAP funded activities on monitoring and reporting and data quality assurance.

3.8 Activities under Hot Spots include the preparation of an analysis of the main causes and impacts in the areas of the 103 hot spots identified during the SAP MED preparation and their transboundary and regional importance. Of these 103 hot spots 51 are located in GEF recipient countries. Criteria and methods for determining the regional and transboundary significance of these hot spots will be developed, priorities determined and a selection made of the most important from a regional perspective. Following regional and national agreement on the selection, pre-investment studies will be executed for those occuring in GEF eligible countries, leading to investment by countries and donors in the elimination or reduction of transboundary pollution from these hot spots.

3.9 This component is extremely important, if not the most important package of actions in the SAP MED that should lead directly to a reduction in pollution of the Mediterranean Sea. Activities will be carried-out in co-operation with relevant international organisations and international financial institutions. Regarding pre-investment studies (point 4.4 of the budget – Table 3) GEF funds will be used only in recipient countries. It is expected that donors will assist in the financing of the pre-investment studies (which should be carried-out by competent international institutions) and in financing of relevant investments in the countries. Also, it is expected that countries will actively participate in, and cofinance the preparation of the pre-investment studies.

3.10 Activities under Sensitive Areas include the preparation of a detailed analysis of the major threats and an environmental audit of the 51 sensitive areas identified during the SAP MED preparation in order to determine their regional and global significance and likely risks from future development activities. Of the 51 sensitive areas 32 are located in GEF recipient countries. Criteria and methods for determining the regional and transboundary significance of these sensitive areas will be developed in order to identify priority areas in GEF eligible countries for investment in environmental protection and the preparation of comprehensive integrated management plans. Sensitive areas, at risk of becoming future pollution hot spots, require special attention from the international community and respective countries in order to prevent their future degradation.

3.11 Activities under Preparation of a Strategic Action Plan for Biodiversity include an analysis of: the relationships between pollution (including enhanced nutrient inputs), primary production and biodiversity; problems of non-indigenous species; the causes of human induced changes to populations and communities of organisms, in particular threatened species of global significance; the regional and global significance of sensitive areas and critical habitats; and preparation of a listing of areas of concern encompassing pollution hot spots, critical habitats for threatened and endangered species and sensitive areas threatened by future land-based activities including pollution. This Strategic Action Plan will be prepared to enable countries to fully implement the Protocol on Specially Protected Areas and Biodiversity. To ensure appropriate co-ordination of these activities with the actions of other regional bodies this component of the project will be executed by the Specially Protected Areas Regional Activity Centre of MAP in close collaboration with FAO and the General Fisheries Council of the Mediterranean (GFCM). Activities will be designed to enhance communication amongst the various stakeholders involved with living marine organisms and biodiversity in the Mediterranean Sea with a view to developing regionally agreed strategies for action. As appropriate joint technical meetings of the MAP and GFCM will be convened.

3.12 Activities under Sustainability of SAP MED include identification of economic instruments that will assist in developing a sustainable financial platform for the continued implementation of the SAP MED in the longer term and incorporation of such economic instruments at the national level in the National Action Plans. These activities will develop administrative, legal and fiscal mechanisms for the sustainable financing of the implementation of SAP MED at country level. These activities will be undertaken in close co-operation with country partners, relevant international organisations and institutions and appropriate regional experts.

3.13 Activities under Capacity Building include the preparation and implementation of seven regional training programmes. Participants in the training courses will be selected with the intention to improve the competence of the national administrative and technical experts in the implementation of the SAP MED. The following training programmes will be undertaken:

• environmental auditing and management;

• environmental education;

• pollution monitoring and inspection;

• cleaner production techniques and practices;

• operation and maintenance of waste water treatment plants;

• river pollution monitoring; and

• Integrated Coastal Zone Management.

3.14 Activities to be executed under Public Participation include the development and implementation of a regional programme of public participation in the implementation of the SAP MED that will include provision of information to the general public on the state of the environment and the measures taken to improve it; facilitation of public access to activities for the protection and management of the environment; and identification of the potential role of NGOs in the implementation of the SAP MED.

Table 1. Workplan, Timetable and GEF disbursement schedule (in US $ thousands) for the implementation of the components and activities.

3.15 Activities envisaged under National Action Plans (NAPs) include assistance to the inter-ministerial committees of the twelve recipient countries in the development and implementation of individual NAPs. Development of NAPs should include consideration of all the above-mentioned components of the SAP MED and SAP for Biodiversity and should be executed in close partnership with country authorities, international organisations, international institutions, and experts from the region..

3.16 Execution of these activities will be undertaken by the relevant national authorities in close collaboration with the regional entities established under the Barcelona Convention and Mediterranean Action Plan including the Mediterranean Co-ordinating Unit, MED POL and the Regional Activity Centres for Priority Actions Plan, Specially Protected Areas, and Cleaner Production. Specialised international organisations will be responsible for Co-ordinating the work undertaken in relation to components on hot spots and sensitive areas (WHO) and SAP for biodiversity (FAO) while the World Bank is expected to assist in the design and execution of the pre-investment studies.

0. Expected Results

3.17 Expected results of the project are:

• improved quality of the environment in the Mediterranean region;

• 9 regional guidelines for implementation of components of the SAP MED, published and adopted by the Contracting Parties that will be implemented at the national level;

• 8 regional plans for implementation of components of the SAP MED, published and adopted by the Contracting Parties that will be implemented at the national level;

• a revised Transboundary Diagnostic Analysis approved by the governments;

• Investment portfolio of selected pollution hot spots for which pre-investment studies will be conducted;

• management plans for selected sensitive areas;

• agreed actions for joint implementation by FAO, the GFCM and MAP;

• a strategic action plan for biodiversity in the Mediterranean, linked with and complementary to the SAP MED for land based activities;

• development and implementation of economic instruments which will assist governments in developing a sustainable financial basis for the long-term operation of the SAP MED;

• improved capacity of national administrators and technicians to deal with environmental problems and to enforce adopted legal instruments and regulations;

• development and implementation of National Action Plans for the implementation of SAP MED;

• agreed indicators for process, stress reduction and environmental status; and

• improved administrative, legal and technical basis for the implementation of the SAP MED and LBS Protocol.

4. Risks and Sustainability

4.1 A logical framework matrix is appended as Annex II to this document which outlines a number of the critical assumptions and associated risks inherent in this project. The adoption of the SAP MED by the 10th meeting of Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention would suggest that risks associated with government commitments to the implementation of this project are small. Nevertheless the possibility exists that at individual government level, other national priorities will result in the inability of some governments to invest in the required remedial actions where these involve substantial capital investment.

4.2 At a technical level it is assumed that regional guidelines and plans can be drafted and agreed by technical experts from the region and that these will be approved by the Contracting Parties. Since such plans and guidelines are envisaged both within the framework of the LBS protocol and the SAP MED, governments have already endorsed the principle of their development hence the risk of non-delivery is small.

4.3 The issue of sustainability is more complex, at one level the existing activities of the Mediterranean Action Plan are fully self-sustaining relying as they do on government and other contributions to the Mediterranean Trust Fund and the Mediterranean Co-ordinating Unit has enjoyed continued support from the regional governments for more than twenty years. However activities fostered through the Mediterranean Action Plan are not financially self-sustaining at a national level where shortages of funds often prevent successful implementation of actions agreed regionally. Component 7 of this project seeks to explore mechanisms for making such actions self-financing at the national level through revenue generation and demonstration of the economic benefits of more integrated approaches to management.

5. Stakeholder Participation and Implementation Arrangements

5.1 The implementation of this project will take place through a network of executing agencies responsible for various components, operating according to a common timetable and workplan. The primary Executing Agency will be the Secretariat to the Barcelona Convention and its associated Mediterranean Co-ordinating Unit that will provide overall co-ordination. Some individual components will be operated through joint implementation agreements with the Food and Agriculture Organisation (component 6 – Preparation of a SAP for Biodiversity) and the World Health Organisation (component 3 – preparation of three regional guidelines; component 4 – hot spots; component 5 – Sensitive Areas; and component 8 – two training programmes) both of whom participated in the Preparatory Phase activities. Other regional organisations and programmes such as METAP and Euromed will be involved as appropriate.

5.2 In addition to the MAP-MEDU a network of six Regional Activity Centres have been established by participating governments, charged with particular responsibilities under the Action Plan. Of these centres the Cleaner Production Regional Activity Centre in Spain will take responsibility under the direction of MAP for the preparation of three regional guidelines, one regional plan and one regional training programme; the Specially Protected Areas Regional Activity Centre will in collaboration with the FAO and GFCM take responsibility for the development of the Biodiversity SAP (component 6); and the Priority Action Programmes Regional Activity Centre will be responsible for the implementation of the component on Sustainability of SAP MED (component 7) and preparation of one regional training programme (component 8).

5.3 The primary stakeholders in the execution of this project are the governments, although a role for regional and international NGOs such as IUCN is foreseen in the context of their effective participation in specific components of the overall programme. A Public Involvement Plan is appended as Annex V to this document. Governments will be directly involved in the regionally co-ordinated activities via the participation of government nominated experts in regional meetings convened under this project document. Where they are engaged, consultants will be drawn from the countries of the Mediterranean Basin and the periodic meetings of the Contracting Parties will have oversight of activities on a regular basis throughout the period of project execution.

5.4 In a broader context the entire coastal population of the Mediterranean Basin and the 100 million tourists visiting the Mediterranean annually may be seen as stakeholders that would benefit from an improvement in the environmental quality of the Mediterranean Sea and the coastal zone. Whilst the resident populations in the environs of the hot spots and sensitive areas will be directly consulted during the pre-investment activities envisaged under this project.

6. Incremental Costs and Project Financing

6.1 Table 2 presents an incremental cost table based on the component costs presented in Table 3 and the discussion contained in Annex I. As noted in that Annex benefits under this project accrue at both regional (global) and national level. However given the nature of the proposed activities benefits may also be viewed as being of two distinct types. Those that result in direct environmental benefits within the life of the project (3 years) and those which provide longer term environmental benefits through enhancing the capacity of participating countries to manage their environment in a regionally harmonised manner.

6.2 The benefits of regional approaches are outlined in section two of this document, but adopting such an approach places an added financial burden on the countries concerned beyond those associated with achieving purely national environmental benefits. Through their ratification of the Barcelona Convention and its associated LBS protocol and through their adoption of the SAP MED, participating countries have recognised their obligations at a regional level hence there is a significant component of baseline financing via the participation of countries in the regionally co-ordinated activities proposed in this project document and via the commitment of Mediterranean Environment Trust Fund monies to the execution of components of the SAP MED that complement the existing MAP work programme (Annex VIII).

Table 2. Incremental Cost Analysis (US $ thousands)

6.3 Through their adoption of the biennial budget (1998-1999) for the MED POL programme and their agreement regarding financing of the SAP-MED the contracting parties have agreed to a regional baseline contribution during the biennium 1998-1999 of 840,000 US $ in cash and 200,000 US $ in kind to the present project. It is anticipated that this level of financing will continue to be provided during the third year of the project.

6.4 Table 3 presents the project budget and component financing by activity. The total cost of the project (including the PDF-B phase) is 10.475 million US $ of which 3.04 million is the anticipated costs in cash and in-kind to participating countries and 1.12 million is the cost to the Mediterranean Trust Fund¹² established by the Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention.

6.5 A significant proportion of the GEF funds (38%) are allocated to addressing hot spots resulting from land-based activities in the Mediterranean. The Strategic Action Programme, prepared under the PDF-B phase of this project identified 103 hot spots and 51 sensitive areas in the Mediterranean basin. Although these were prioritized in a preliminary manner a fuller analysis of the impacts and the extent to which these may be considered national and transboundary, is required prior to decisions concerning the appropriateness of committing GEF resources to their solution.

Table 3. Project budget and component financing (in US $ thousands). Figures in Italics in the MAP column represent in-kind support from the MAP-MEDU, WHO, and participating Regional Activity Centres.

WHO – World Health Organization; MAP – Mediterranean Action Plan; MAP-MED POL – Mediterranean Pollution Programme of MAP; MAP-CP RAC – Cleaner Production Regional Activity Centre of MAP; MAP-MEDU – Co-ordinating Unit of MAP; FAO – Food and Agricultural Organization of the UN; MAP-SPA RAC – Specially Protected Areas Regional Activity Centre of MAP; MAP-PAP RAC – Priority Action Programme Regional Activity Centre of MAP

6.6 The first phase of activities (Table 1) to address regional hot spots therefore involves the development of regionally acceptable criteria for the selection of priority hot spots and identification of related stress reduction and ecological status indicators. Priority hot spots of transboundary concern, once identified will be addressed through the conduct of full pre-investment studies concerning the costs and possible alternative actions required to alleviate these problems. Investment by the countries in such studies will occur only following this phase and only following a full analysis of baseline and incremental costs in each case. It is envisaged that the incremental component of the resultant national investment portfolios will be rather small, hence it is planned to actively engage the wider donor community in this analysis with a view to their subsequent support for actions designed to reduce pollution from land-based activities.

6.7 The second component that represents a significant proportion (23%) of the GEF resources involves the development of National Action Plans to implement the regional SAP MED in the GEF eligible countries. Such an investment is considered largely incremental since it involves the design of national standards that meet the regionally adopted criteria. In many instances such standards have greater regional than domestic benefit, particularly in open coastlines where land-based discharges are rapidly dispersed or transported beyond territorial waters.

7. Monitoring, Evaluation and Dissemination of Results

7.1 Monitoring of the progress in executing the components and activities will be undertaken via UNEP’s normal procedures that require regular quarterly reports on substantive and financial matters. In addition the GEF Co-ordination Office in consultation with the Mediterranean Co-ordination Unit will develop process indicators during the initial phase of the project that will serve as evaluation benchmarks during project execution. The MAP will also develop stress reduction and environmental status indicators as integral components of activities within the project.The Interagency Steering Committee will review progress and advise the Project Manager and Executing Agencies on the overall progress and any necessary adjustments to the workplan and timetable that may arise through unforeseen contingencies. Regular reporting by the Project Manager and the Mediterranean Co-ordinating Unit will be undertaken to all meetings of the Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention and to the Bureau that meets between ordinary meetings of the Contracting Parties.

7.2 A terminal desk evaluation will be undertaken by UNEP as the lead Implementing Agency in accordance with internal agency procedures. In addition an independent evaluation will be commissioned during the final 6 months to provide a substantive evaluation of the project management, execution and outcomes.

7.3 Dissemination of results to the public will take place through various media including inter alia the quarterly newsletter of the Mediterranean Action Plan MedWaves, through the public participation plan to be developed during the project and through ad hoc press releases and conferences as required. Substantive results at the national level will be communicated to other national experts through periodic regional expert group meetings and through the documents presented to the meetings of the Contracting Parties. In addition it is intended to involve the National Co-ordinators in recipient countries in the periodic meetings of the Interagency Committee thereby enhancing information flow and strengthening country involvement in the regional components of the project.

List of Annexes

Annex I Incremental costs and benefits of the Project “Determination of priority actions for the further elaboration and implementation of the Strategic Action Programme for the Mediterranean Sea”

Annex II Logical Framework Matrix

Annex III STAP Roster Expert Review

Annex IV Root Cause Analysis for the Mediterranean Based on the Results of the Transboundary Diagnostic Analysis

Annex V Public Involvement Plan Summary

Annex VI Available Reference Documents

Annex VII List of Country Endorsements

Annex VIII The relationship between the 1998-1999 workplan of MAP and the present project.

ANNEX I

Incremental costs and benefits of the Project

“Determination of priority actions for the further elaboration and implementation of the Strategic Action Programme for the Mediterranean Sea”

Background

The GEF Incremental Costs analysis requires a consideration of baseline and incremental costs associated with achieving ‘domestic’ and global environmental benefits (see Table 2). The regional scope of the present proposal presents methodological difficulties in assessing the baseline and incremental costs of the project which are normally calculated in a purely national context. In the present case the benefits resulting from this project are seen as accruing at global, regional and national scales.

National & Regional Benefits

National benefits resulting from this activity are of two distinct types: those that relate to improvement in the condition of the environment under national jurisdiction and those that relate to improvement in the national capacity to manage and control adverse environmental impacts. Regional benefits resulting from this activity are also of two distinct types: those relating to the abatement or mitigation of transboundary environmental impacts occurring either in the ‘global commons’ or that are of a transboundary nature and those that result from adoption of a harmonised regional approach to action. This duality of benefits at both levels reflects the nature of the project that includes activities designed to harmonise national actions on a regional basis and actions designed to concretely address hot spots of land based pollution and sensitive areas that have been identified as being of regional concern and/or importance.

Whilst an individual country could be expected to pay as part of the baseline, for actions designed to improve the conditions of its marine and coastal environment such actions in many cases are inadequate when considered in a wider regional context. Although the majority of impacts of land-based activities occur within the territorial waters of the countries generating the contaminant or pollutant, the national incentive to reduce pollution is conditioned by the time taken to remove or flush the contaminant or pollutant from national to extra-national waters. The faster the flushing time the less the incentive for national action, and the greater the transboundary component.

It is important to recognise in this context that the Mediterranean littoral countries have not declared or agreed upon the delineation of Exclusive Economic Zones hence most of the Mediterranean sea surface falls within the ‘global commons’. For some littoral states territorial waters extend only some 6 miles from the coast.

It is important to state at the outset that no direct measurable environmental benefit will result from actions proposed during the three years of this project. It is anticipated that as a result of the activities proposed, pre-investment studies will be completed for around 15 ‘hot-spots’ of regional and transboundary importance that will enable countries to seek donor or loan support to actions directed towards remedial and mitigatory action, i.e. the project will lead to significant national investment. More importantly, the project as a whole will lead to a regionally agreed set of targets and management plans thus providing the framework for national action that will be implemented outside the framework of this project, but under the umbrella of the LBS Protocol of the Barcelona Convention.

National & Regional Actions

Through their ratification of the Barcelona Convention and its associated Land Based Sources Protocol the riparian states of the Mediterranean have recognised their collective responsibilities at a regional level for the sound management of the Marine Environment. Over a twenty year period the governments, with the support of UNEP have financed various regional activities designed to facilitate the acceptance of common environmental goals, culminating in the recent adoption of the Strategic Action Programme to address Pollution from Land-Based Activities in the Mediterranean by the Contracting Parties at their 10th ordinary meeting in Tunis, November 1997. The recently signed Protocol on Specially Protected Areas and Biodiversity which is anticipated to enter into force in 1998 provides an internationally agreed legal basis on which to develop a strategic action programme for biodiversity.

This SAP MED, the development of which was funded during the PDF-B phase represents a significant departure from previous actions in that it recognises the obligations of states to contribute financially to the solution of common Mediterranean problems that are also of national concern. The preliminary estimates of addressing all components of the SAP MED between 1998 and the year 2007 are estimated at around 8 billion US $. Section 11.6 of the SAP MED states:

“However, it is important to clearly state that most of the resources should be national and that it is the polluters, the consumers, the users and the governments which should provide the resources necessary for application of the Programme, knowing that the benefits obtained could be greater than the costs involved.” [UNEP(OCA)/MED IG.11/9 p.65]

Baseline Actions

Section 2 of this document outlines the present baseline actions taken by states collectively regarding the implementation at regional level of actions designed to promote the further development and implementation of actions contained in the SAP MED.

The Mediterranean countries have been conducting a pollution assessment programme, MEDPOL, within the framework of the Mediterranean Action Plan (MAP) of the Barcelona Convention since 1976. The estimated cost of this assessment to the Mediterranean Trust Fund and the co-operating UN Agencies is US $ 35 million. This cost does not include the contribution of the countries for implementing national monitoring programmes and research projects. The full cost of MEDPOL, including national and individual contributions, is estimated as US $ 180 million¹⁸. A socio-economic study, designated the Blue Plan, has also been conducted within the framework of MAP and the Barcelona Convention. The estimated cost to the Mediterranean Trust Fund and the Government of France is US $ 9 million for the 1978-1996 period. The corresponding costs of developing national scenarios elevate this figure to some US $ 20 millions, which does not include the costs of socio-economic assessments conducted in the framework of the coastal area management plans and other activities of the Priority Areas Programme of the MAP. The entire budget for the 1998-99 biennium as approved by the 10th meeting of the Contracting Parties is US $ 12.8 million encompassing actions not directly related to pollution but to all areas of action in the protection and sustainable management of the Mediterranean environment (see Annex VIII).

At a national level all contracting parties have sought over the last twenty years to strengthen their national capacity for sound and sustainable management of the marine and coastal environment of the Mediterranean. Following the past emphasis on assessment of problems and potential solutions the base of information and data required for management decisions regarding mitigatory and remedial actions is now extensive for many countries in the region. In some instances however GEF eligible countries have been unable to devote sufficient resources internally to developing such mechanisms and hence the stage of development varies widely from country to country. Assessing the national baseline for all 20 countries is therefore a task requiring more extensive analysis of current investment patterns than has been possible in the past twelve months. The national baseline investment in regional co-ordination of pollution related actions has been of the order of 7 million US $ annually for all riparian states, this is additional to the true national baseline associated with national investment in management for national environmental benefit.

Incremental Actions

The present proposal adds significantly to this ‘regional baseline’ enabling the countries to accelerate the timeline for Implementation of the SAP MED. The question arises therefore as to whether or not the costs of the regional activities proposed in this project (Components 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, and 9 in full; and components 4 and 7 in part) represent additional baseline or truly incremental costs. In that these proposed regional components build on existing national and regional level actions both past and ongoing, they may be considered complementary and therefore from a GEF perspective entirely incremental.

Components 4 and 10 include actions at the national level and it is for these components that the largest national contributions in terms of co-financing are expected since these actions are anticipated to bring significant national benefits. However in the case of the pre-investment studies (Activity 4.4) the selection will be based on a combination of national and regional priorities and only those hot spots considered of regional significance will be funded for full pre-investment analysis from the GEF funds. Developing countries will be encouraged and assisted via donor consultations to seek alternative sources of funding for similar studies of hot spots considered of high national but low regional priority, and non-GEF eligible countries in the region will be encouraged to invest in remedial and mitigatory actions in the case of regionally significant hot spots occurring within their territorial waters.

The development of National Action Plans for the implementation of the SAP MED will involve significant co-financing from participating countries in terms of the commitment of inter-ministry teams to their development, and the required detailed analysis of current government investment and spending patterns. The financing of the development of such Action Plans for the twelve GEF eligible countries in the region is seen as a legitimate incremental cost in that they must be developed in such a manner as to conform to the regional requirements of the SAP MED.

ANNEX II

LOGICAL FRAMEWORK MATRIX

LOGICAL FRAMEWORK MATRIX (Cont.)

LOGICAL FRAMEWORK MATRIX (Cont.)

ANNEX III

STAP ROSTER EXPERT REVIEW

Ray C. Griffiths

Marine Scientific and Environmental Consultant

IMPLEMENTATION OF THE STRATEGIC ACTION PROGRAMME TO ADDRESS POLLUTION FROM LAND-BASED ACTIVITIES IN THE MEDITERRANEAN REGION

Mr Griffiths states