2.SECTION 2: BACKGROUND AND PROJECT CONTRIBUTION TO THE OVERALL SUB-PROGRAMME IMPLEMENTATION

OVERALL SUB-PROGRAMME IMPLEMENTATION

2.1 Background and Context (Baseline Course of Action)

1. The watersheds and coastal areas of the Caribbean contain some of the world’s most diverse and productive habitats and encompass extensive areas of complex and unique eco-systems. The coastal areas include mangroves, coral reefs, sea grass beds and river deltas, which are an important source of food production and support a variety of economic activities such as fisheries, tourism and the related uses of recreation and transportation. Over 13 percent of the world’s coral reefs are found in the Caribbean region. Many Caribbean species are endemic only to this region. Some 30% of these are now considered to be either destroyed, or at extreme risk from anthropogenic threats[1]. Another 20% or more are expected to be lost from the Caribbean over the next 10-30 years if significant action is not taken to manage and protect them over and beyond existing activities. Mangroves are the most poorly supported (funding-wise) of all the globally-significant habitat types throughout the entire Latin America and Caribbean region and are also the least well-managed and are disappearing fast under development pressures. Seagrass beds are poorly mapped and badly managed. The Caribbean also has extensive wetlands of global significance. A Ramsar Mission to the Caribbean in September 2002 noted the vulnerability of these wetlands, and the urgent need for efforts toward their conservation and sustainable use.

2. As all terrestrial areas in the 13 Caribbean small island developing states - SIDS (see Figure 1 in Annexes) fall within a watershed, their protection and integrated management is critical to the protection of terrestrial biodiversity. A recent survey of the world’s biodiversity hotspots[2] has ranked these terrestrial areas as among the three highest priorities in any global strategy for biodiversity conservation and sustainable management. As a result of their isolation, the Caribbean islands have developed a high level of endemism amongst their flora and fauna. Scientific estimates support evidence that up to 40 percent of the plant life in Caribbean forests is found nowhere else on the planet, and the entire area is renowned as a migratory route for birds moving between North and South America. Endemism and its resultant highly significant biodiversity is the key to the importance of natural habitats in the terrestrial, watershed and coastal environs of these Caribbean Islands, and is directly linked to human health and well-being through priority ecosystem functions (such as clean water, agricultural capacity, availability of food, etc).

3. Clearly this region is of critical importance to global biodiversity from the point-of-view of the uniqueness of species and habitats. If this biodiversity is viewed in the context of the high degree of threat, along with the recognised inadequate coverage of protected areas, and the desperate need for more effective and sustainable resource planning and management, then the vital global significance of this project becomes apparent. The Caribbean has already lost nearly 90% of its original biological habitat (prior to human interference). The aforementioned survey² notes that “..some risk taking is justified; even if a top-priority project in one of these areas has some risk of failure, it probably should be attempted. It implies that special attention should be taken on strengthening local capacity as quickly as possible, but that outside technical assistance should also be provided if local capacity is not adequate; we simply cannot afford to wait until local capacity is fully developed… We simply are not likely to have a second chance in these areas if our investments over the next few years fail to produce results. Very little remains, and every piece of natural habitat that has managed to survive is both especially fragile and tremendously important in global terms.”

4. During the project preparation phase, supported by a GEF PDF-B grant, national reports were produced summarising the problems of integrated watershed and coastal area management in each country. These were drawn together in a regional synthesis from which a Root Cause Analysis was derived. In accordance with the aims and objectives of this project, it was found that the main problems transcend any differentiation across the coastal-watershed interface and, in reality, effect these SIDS from the highest points of their watersheds out into their coastal zone jurisdiction as delimited by their territorial waters. The national reports identified the country’s major concerns in relation to the integrity of natural resource protection and management, economic stability, and sustainable development within the Caribbean SIDS, to include inter alia:

· Diminishing Freshwater Supplies

· Degraded Freshwater and Coastal Water Quality

· Unsustainable Tourism

· Inappropriate Land Use

· Climate Change

· Natural Disasters

5. Clearly, the coastal and watershed environments of the Caribbean SIDS cannot be considered or managed separately or in isolation. There is a strong causal linkage between these two areas, which strongly advises their consideration under an integrated management approach. Furthermore, the aforementioned areas of concern are not mutually exclusive. In as much as watersheds and coastal ecosystems demand an integrated and holistic approach to their management, the threats must also be viewed in a similar manner. For example, the impacts of the deforestation of a watershed can range from erosion to reduced water retention of the soil. The increasing demands placed on freshwater supplies and other natural resources are likely to cause increasing conflicts over allocation and use in the foreseeable future. Clearly, there is a need to integrate freshwater and coastal waters management through multi-sectoral planning and management of island ecosystems.

Past and On-going IWCAM-related Initiatives within the Region

6. At the Caribbean national and regional level institutions and agencies have been working to improve institutional arrangements for natural resource management linked to long-term sustainable development. Since 1990, the Secretariat of the Convention for the Protection and Development of the Marine Environment of the Wider Caribbean Region (Cartagena Convention), through the Caribbean Environment Programme (CEP) and supported by the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA), has carried out several pilot studies in the coastal areas of large countries, as well as small island states (see UNEP-CAR/RCU, Integrated Coastal Planning and Management in the Wider Caribbean Region Pilot Projects of the Caribbean Environment Programme with support of the Swedish International Development Co-operation Agency. UNEP-SIDA, 1999). These have formed the basis for guidelines on coastal area management published by the Secretariat in 1995. CEP also maintains a project on management of marine protected areas, and has worked with the USAID on a sustainable tourism initiative focusing on coastal area and domestic wastewater management. CEP’s work with IDB has helped to increase the capacity of several Caribbean countries to improve environmental information systems management for coastal and marine areas. CIDA has also supported environmental capacity building (particularly in relation to policy and legislative reforms) in the Caribbean through its ENACT and ENCAPD projects. Since its establishment in 1989 by governments of the Caribbean Community, CEHI (the Caribbean Environmental Health Institute) has worked on environmental health improvements within the region through assistance to capacity building in the areas of water quality, water resources management, solid waste management, and sewage and liquid waste. Work has spanned policy and legislative reform, the development of standards and guidelines, technical interventions, institutional capacity building, public awareness and education in environmental management. This has laid a significant foundation for focused actions under IWCAM and points to the need for an integrated, cross-sectoral, participatory management approach. Other initiatives have focused on the strengthening of monitoring of coastal resources (coral reefs, seagrass beds and beaches), pesticides residue monitoring in agriculture; point and non-point sources of pollution, etc., with a view to determining best management practices. CEHI and the CEP have also worked together on sustainable tourism and on the development of effluent guidelines. Such environmental management initiatives have been heavily underpinned by public awareness and training activities. The OECS Natural Resource Management Unit (NRMU) has recently introduced the concept of Island Systems Management (ISM) within the Eastern Caribbean, based on the recognition of the interactions and interdependence of various systems on the island. ISM is an adaptive management strategy addressing issues of resource use conflicts and providing the necessary policy orientation to control the impacts of human intervention on the environment.

7. Within this current GEF Project, a specific emphasis will be placed on assisting the participating countries to develop and implement Integrated Water Resources Management plans in fulfilment of commitments made through the WSSD Plan of implementation. Within this context, several related initiatives are under development in parallel with the GEF IWCAM project.

8. One closely related project which is planned for the region is the ‘Strengthening Decision Support Systems for Integrated Water Resources Management in the Caribbean’. This is a 3 year project being implemented by CEHI and executed through the Caribbean Water Partnership and the Caribbean Centre for Climate Change. The goal of this Project is to contribute to the environmental, economic and social sustainability of SIDS in the Caribbean, through proper management of the hydrologic cycle. The objective of the Project is to assist in strengthening the quality and use of Decision Support Systems of Caribbean SIDS for climate change and climate variability within the broader context of an Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) and Water Use Efficiency strategy and the application of SIDS-specific IWRM techniques. There are clear areas of mutual interest between this initiative and the Gef-funded IWCAM Project and there is every intention that these two projects should collaborate and assist each other in achieving their related goals. The limited funds available to the CEHI project ($360,000 funding, $100,000 in-kind) would benefit from the additional support available through the GEF project. Furthermore, the fact that CEHI is implementing one project and jointly executing another will provide a valuable platform for coordination and networking between these two vital initiatives.

9. Another important planned joint initiative, which has implications for Caribbean IWCAM, is the Pacific and Caribbean Hydrological Cycle Observing System (HYCOS). This represent a partnership between the South Pacific Applied Geoscience Commission (SOPAC) on one side of the world, and the Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology along with the Caribbean Environmental Health Institute on the other side to undertake two geographically distinct but thematically linked projects. The participating Island countries aim to A) attain a common level of ability (capacity) to assess and monitor the status and trend of their water resources, and to provide the water-related information and hazard warnings needed to support national social and economic development and environmental management, B) have established databases and information archives, maintained to acceptable standards, that form the basis for sustained future data capture and information processing and dissemination. The partner Projects have three main purposes that contribute to achieving the above goal: 1.To assist the participating countries to establish the human and institutional capacity to assess the status and trend of national water resources and to provide adequate warnings of water-related hazards, 2. To establish basic hydrological monitoring and data capture systems, using technology that balances modernity, economy, robustness, and suitability for Pacific Island circumstances, and 3. To establish hydrological databases and information systems that provide users with the information they require, to the standards (including accuracy, timeliness, usability, etc.) they need, and that provide a secure repository of information for the indefinite future. Again, there are clear implications for the aims of this project and the objectives of the IWCAM project with regard to shared lessons and experiences, as well as shared efforts and economies of scale between the two projects. The South Pacific SIDS are currently developing an IWRM-focused project for submission to GEF. The opportunities for collaboration and mutual assistance are clear and should be encouraged.

10. Through the initiation of the Government of Brazil, and based on the interest expressed by Latin American and Caribbean countries, the Global Environmental Facility (GEF) approved funding to implement the DELTAmérica project to prepare and implement mechanisms to share experiences and lessons learned in trans-boundary integrated water resources management in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). It was agreed that GS/OAS would be the international Implementing Agency, through its Unit for Sustainable Development and Environment (USDE/OAS). The project’s objective is to promote linkages among the different trans-boundary integrated water resources management activities in LAC, based on activities carried out in the framework of projects funded by the GEF in its Operational Programs in International Waters, so that the experience gained may be studied and evaluated by key societal players and by each countries’ institutions responsible for water resources management. Based on best practices and lessons learned, the project seeks to support the development of integrated water resources management policy in the participating OAS member states. To that end, it utilizes the capacity for coordination and execution of the national focal points operating in the framework of the Inter-American Water Resources Network (IWRN) by strengthening it as an information and communications tool in support of inter-American water resources activities. The project has four components: (i) dialogue between GEF International Waters (trans-boundary) projects and other projects to identify experiences, best practices, and lessons learned; (ii) incorporation of best practices and lessons learned in integrated water resources management in the LAC countries; (iii) strengthening the IWRN as an information and communications tool for integrated water resources management; and (iv) project evaluation and follow-up. The GEF IWCAM project would cooperate closely with the DELTAmerica project and its partners in the transfer and sharing or relevant lessons pertinent to both IWCAM and to IWRM and Water Use Efficiency.

11. The Global Water Partnership in the Caribbean was launched in 2004 as a working partnership among all stakeholders in water management in the archipelagic states and overseas territories of the Caribbean region including the countries of Belize, Guyana and Suriname. It is a network of partners for achieving an integrated approach to water resources management at the community, national and regional levels and it is the regional arm of the Global Water Partnership (GWP). The GWP Caribbean is devoted to supporting Caribbean countries in the sustainable management of their water resources through the establishment of strategic alliances and the implementation of appropriate actions. The objectives of the partnership are:

· To promote IWRM and Water Use Efficiency as the approach to water resources management in the region and to obtain national commitments towards IWRM and Water Use Efficiency implementation.

· To establish proactive alliances in water resources management that are representative, gender sensitive, and participatory at the community.

· To promote public participation in the management of water resources through capacity building and information sharing at the regional, national and particularly the community level.

· To align the Caribbean Region with hemispheric and other global water initiatives in order to capitalize on international experiences and opportunities for regional capacity-building in IWRM and Water Use Efficiency .

· To improve water governance through the promotion, enhancement and effective implementation of legislation, policy, programmes and institutional regulatory and administrative frameworks.

· To collaborate with other organizations and institutions working in other areas of sustainable development.

12. The GWP is presently working on developing a Caribbean programme on Governance in IWRM and Water Use Efficiency. The proposed GEF IWCAM project would coordinate closely with the GWP programme to achieve mutual aims and provide cooperative assistance.

2.2 Legislative Authority and Project Contribution to Overall Sub-programme Implementation

13. The GEF Operational Strategy recognises the special conditions and needs of Small Island Developing States (SIDS). Specifically, the Strategy states the need for “more integrated approaches to land and water management as a mechanism to address threats to their water resources”, that “integrated freshwater basin-coastal area management is essential for a sustainable future for these island states,” and that “this approach can produce benefits in other GEF focal areas, especially biodiversity and climate change.” Since then, the GEF has added a new Land Degradation focal area. Clearly IWCAM will deliver benefits in this area as well.

14. All 13 countries are eligible for GEF assistance under paragraph 9b of the Instrument for the Restructured GEF. GEF’s Operational Programme No. 9 “Integrated Land and Water Multiple Focal Area” states that “the goal is to help groups of countries utilise the full range of technical, economic, financial, regulatory and institutional measures needed to operationalise the sustainable development strategies for international waters (para. 9.2)”. Further, this OP lists as an expected outcome “the reduction of stress to the international waters environment in selected parts of all 5 development regions across the globe through participating countries making change sin their sectoral policies, making critical investments, developing necessary programmes and collaborating jointly in implementing water resources protection measures (para 9.10)”.

15. The proposed project will help the riparian countries to overcome institutional and other barriers to collaboration. The proposed project coordinates among implementing agencies, regional development banks, countries, and other stakeholders, and generates programmatic benefits for the global environment that would not otherwise be achievable. GEF funds will support implementation of demonstration projects and the finalisation of the regional hotspots analysis. This process will involve international donors, national and local governmental institutions, industries, and other key stakeholders that have important actions to take in restoring and protecting the environment.

16. The proposal is also consistent with the recent International Waters Focal Area - Strategic Priorities in Support of WSSD Outcomes for FY 2003-2006: IW 3 – Undertake Innovative Demonstrations for Reducing Contaminants and Addressing Water Scarcity. Furthermore, within the context of WSSD and its Plan of Implementation, the project will directly assist the Caribbean SIDS in meeting the 2005 Goal to ‘Develop integrated water resources management and water efficiency plans by 2005, with support to developing countries, through actions at all levels…’.

Existing Regional Legislative Programmes related to IWCAM

17. The Cartagena Convention provides the only regional legal framework for environmental protection in the Caribbean. In addition to the Cartagena Convention, adopted in 1983, there are three protocols to the Convention:

· The Protocol Concerning Cooperation in Combating Oil Spills (adopted in 1983)

· The Protocol Concerning Specially Protected Areas and Wildlife (SPAW) to the Cartagena Convention (adopted in 1990)

· The Protocol Concerning Pollution from Land-Based Sources and Activities (LBS) (adopted in 1999).

18. The Caribbean Environment Programme (CEP) was set up in the region as part of the UNEP Regional Seas Programme. CEP is facilitated by the Caribbean Regional Coordinating Unit (CAR/RCU) in Jamaica, which serves as the Secretariat to CEP. The objectives of the Secretariat are to provide assistance to all countries in the region, strengthen national and sub-regional institutions, coordinate international assistance, and stimulate technical cooperation among countries. CAR/RCU also serves as the Secretariat to the Cartagena Convention and its Protocols.

19. The legal structure of the Cartagena Convention is such that it covers the various aspects of marine pollution for which the Contracting Parties must adopt measures. Thus the Convention requires the adoption of measures aimed at preventing, reducing and controlling pollution in the following areas:

· Pollution from ships

· Pollution caused by dumping

· Pollution for sea-bed activities

· Airborne pollution

· Pollution from land-based sources and activities

20. In addition, the Parties are required to take appropriate measures to protect and preserve rare or fragile ecosystems, as well as the habitat of depleted, threatened or endangered species, and to develop technical and other guidelines for the planning and environmental impact assessments of important development practices in order to prevent or reduce harmful impacts on the area of application. The Cartagena Convention is not the only Multilateral Environmental Agreement applicable in the region. However, its regional area of application makes it an important complement to other agreements, and to this current proposal. Many of the general requirements of the Convention will indeed be strengthened and implemented through the activities of this GEF proposal. Other applicable MEAs within the region include:

· The Cartagena Convention and Protocols

· Convention on Biological Diversity

· The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands

· The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD)

· United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC)

· Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal

· St. George’s Declaration of Principles for Environmental Sustainability in the OECS

21. The CEP programme is working closely with countries in the region to address many of the issues identified within the Cartagena Convention and its Protocols. One of CEP’s main sub-programmes is the Assessment and Management of Environmental Pollution (AMEP) programme. This provides regional coordination for the Land-Based Sources Protocol. AMEP supports the activities required for the establishment of necessary measures to prevent, reduce and control marine pollution and to assist in the development of integrated environmental planning and management of coastal and marine areas. This programme is responsible for the regional management and coordination of global agreements such as the Global Programme of Action for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-Based Activities (GPA), Agenda 21, and the Basel Convention.

22. Not all countries participating in the project are yet party to the Convention (though the majority are) and ratifications to the SPAW and LBS protocols (the two most relevant to this project) are still in progress. Despite the presence and ratification of these regional laws, however, implementation is variable and can fluctuate with the availability of national resources. As a result, national laws have, for the most part, not caught up with these accepted regional treaties nor have the national laws and regulations embraced a more holistic and targeted approach such as that promoted in the Cartagena Convention and its protocols. The LBS Protocol, for example, promotes integrated management of watershed and coastal areas and contains groundbreaking regionally-adopted effluent limitations for domestic wastewater, while providing a framework for limitations on other regionally significant industrial sources. Table 1 list the major IWCAM-related Conventions and Protocols applicable to the participating countries along with their status regarding signature and ratification.

TABLE 1: STATUS OF ADHERENCE TO CONVENTIONS AND PROTOCOLS

23. CEP, through its sub-programmes and activities, has attempted to assist the countries in addressing relevant issues noted above, which come under the mandate of the Cartagena Convention, and which relate to the current proposal. Such assistance includes projects addressing:

· Sewage Treatment Needs Assessments

· Strengthening Marine Protected Areas in the Wider Caribbean

· Reducing Pesticide Run-Off to the Caribbean Sea

· Demonstrations of Innovative Approaches to the Rehabilitation of Heavily Contaminated Bays in the Wider Caribbean

· International Coral Reef Action Network (ICRAN)

24. Furthermore, CEP, through the AMEP Programme, is committed to assisting the countries of the region in the development of guidelines regarding the application of regulations and economic steering instruments in the decision-making process toward the establishment and enforcement of measures necessary to prevent, reduce and control marine pollution and to provide them with relevant information (through workshops and coordination of databases). However, there is now a clear need for targeted assistance to institutional, legislative and policy strengthening and evolution and a very urgent requirement to develop best practices and lessons, through demonstrations, to support the overall concept of integrated planning and management within the national watersheds and coastal zones of the Caribbean SIDS.

25. To facilitate this assistance and the exchange of experience and information, the Caribbean Environment Programme is developing the Caribbean Node of the Global Programme of Action Clearinghouse Mechanism (GPA/CHM). The GPA/CHM is a data directory, with components organized by source-category, cross-referenced to economic sectors, containing information on current sources of information, practical experience and technical expertise. This tool is expected to become instrumental to the implementation of the LBS Protocol.

SECTION 3: 3: NEEDS AND RESULTS

3.1 Needs

26. Synthesis of the national reports undertaken during the PDF B phase identify the following primary impacts on the coastal and watershed environment within the Caribbean (taking into account that this project cannot, under GEF Criteria, directly address climate change issues or natural hazards)

· Aquifer Degradation mainly as a result of improper wastewater treatment, overuse of agricultural chemicals, increasing demand for water resources, and an inadequate knowledge of aquifer and groundwater dynamics and re-charging.

· Reduction in Surface Water Quality and Availability resulting from overuse of agricultural chemicals, demand for water resource exceeding supply, deforestation, overgrazing, and poorly planned and controlled construction.

· Loss of Watershed and Coastal Biodiversity primarily as result of land-use conversion, changes in catchment and stream flow, loss of habitat, and over-exploitation of resources coupled with limited and ineffective protection of sensitive areas.

· Land Degradation and Coastal Erosion causes by deforestation, overgrazing, soil erosion, inappropriate land-use practices, increasing demand for building materials, and inappropriate construction practices

27. The causes of these impacts can be listed as:

· Political support in favour of unsustainable resource exploitation for short-term economic growth

· Inadequate, inappropriate or poorly enforced laws, policies & regulations

· Lack of effective policies based on credible/verifiable justification

· Non-existent, inadequate, or unreliable data

· Lack of incentives for conservation and management (especially water resources)

· A fragmented and sectoral approach to environmental management coupled with limited communication and collaboration between various sectors

· Weak institutional arrangements, limited human resource availability and capacity

· Inadequate development planning

· Limited information on (and investment in) alternative or best practices

· Limited understanding of the environmental impacts and consequent economic losses

· Lack of public awareness and education

· Fiscal and regulatory systems that encourage unsustainable land practices and uncontrolled water exploitation

· Poor land-use planning and water resource management

· Inappropriate land tenure and ownership issues resulting in lack of accountability/responsibility

· Increasing demand for resources coupled with poor and unsustainable management and conservation practices

· Lack of stakeholder management, ownership and responsibility

· No understanding of the benefits of stakeholder participation

· Lack of knowledge about the participatory process

· Use of inappropriate technology leading to destruction of non-target species, non cost-effective use of the resource, destruction of habitat, and pollution of the environment

28. And all of the above causes effectively fit into one or more of the following overarching, governance-related root cause

· Ineffective Policy and Legislative Mechanisms

· Inadequate Knowledge, Information or Training in IWCAM-related issues

· Poor Management Approaches

· Inadequate Infrastructure or Capacity

29. Therefore, the overall conclusion arising from the national reviews of threats and root causes is that the existing watershed and coastal management practices are generally out-of-date and uncoordinated, there are few examples of effective practices that are practical within the Caribbean SIDS situation, that institutional arrangements and policy are in urgent need of reform, that there is a paucity of adequate (including historical trends) and up-to-date information on the status of the environment and linked socio-economic parameters, and that effective and sustainable management can only occur in the presence of evolving stakeholder support and participation, including critical input and support from beneficiaries such as the private sector).

30. Of critical concern in the region are the issues of freshwater supply and demand, and the absence of effective, implemented policy towards water resource management. This has various ‘knock-on’ effects within watersheds and coastal areas. Due to economic and demographic changes, demand for water resources within the region is increasing rapidly, and in some SIDS is exceeding supply. Exacerbating this issue is the poor structure or absence of water tariffs and rates. Generally, water is not treated as an economic good and consequently water rights, water markets and pricing are not used to improve management. For the most part, there is no incentive for consumers to use water efficiently. For example, in Barbados all metered customers must pay a minimum charge. Accordingly, customers within this category end up paying for water they may not have used. Fixed-rate (un-metered) customers also have no incentive to conserve because they pay the same amount, regardless of the volume of water used. Additionally, many countries have noted that the water charges generally do not cover the capital and maintenance costs of the necessary infrastructure. Essentially, the governments subsidise water use. This, in turn, creates unsustainable market conditions to the detriment to the environment. Clearly there is an urgent need for each of the Caribbean SIDS to develop and implement an IWRM and Water Use Efficiency plan consistent with the recommendations from WSSD, and in accordance with its Plan of Implementation.

31. Land use affects the health of freshwater ecosystems, watersheds and coastal areas in the region. As the proposed Land Policy document of Jamaica points out, there is a “direct relationship between the use of land for domestic, commercial, industrial or agricultural purposes, the generation of waste by these uses, and the impact on the quality of both surface and groundwater resources.” In most countries, unsustainable land-clearing practices, inefficient irrigation, and the use of agro-chemicals is a source of significant damage. Within the domestic sector, land clearing and construction on previously uninhabited land is producing sedimentation, deforestation, and pollution, on top of the obvious problem of biological habitat degradation and destruction. Furthermore, land use is a potentially conflictive issue since it involves issues of land tenure, traditional use, and economic livelihood. Many farmers are not using sustainable farming techniques. This may be due to insecurity regarding land tenure, limited economic resources, or lack of knowledge of different farming techniques. Overall, there is a need within the region to produce coherent and pragmatic guidelines for land-use planning policies, that are consistent with development plans and ecosystem management plans, for adoption at the national level.

32. The lack of an integrated environmental management approach is often compounded by institutional fragmentation, inadequate policies, lack of funding, and institutional constraints. Policies and laws cannot exist in isolation of social, economic and environmental realities and imperatives. Ideally, the policies and laws that emerge to support IWCAM should derive from the elaboration of national sustainable development plans, setting out national development goals and objectives, including the relative contribution which key environmental assets will be expected to make to the attainment of such goals and objectives. Policies and laws need to be dynamic instruments and therefore continuous environmental assessment is required to keep these laws and policies, relevant, sound and effective.

33. The lack of appropriate and enacted policy and legislation addressing threats represents a major barrier to successful IWCAM. There is a notable absence of appropriate national water quality standards and guidelines with respect to the use of coastal waters for recreational purposes, propagation and harvesting of marine life, protection of marine ecosystems and assimilation of waste. This deficiency means that Caribbean Governments have no basis for determining: (a) the physical, chemical and biological parameters that must be met for the intended uses; (b) the suitability of coastal waters for the intended uses; and (c) the effectiveness of controls on land-based sources of marine pollution. Further, national effluent limitations (consistent with regional law) and monitoring guidelines/procedures are necessary to establish individual source-specific controls on land-based, point sources of coastal pollution. Table 2 identifies the country deficiencies and needs with respect to legislative and policy requirements.

TABLE 2 : LEGAL AND POLICY STATUS FOR EACH COUNTRY IN IWCAM REGION

34. At the financial and socio-economic level, most Caribbean Governments are finding it increasingly difficult to reconcile the need for economic growth with rapidly expanding populations, and with the need to raise living standards for a large and growing number of the poor. Raising the consumption levels of both private and public goods and services requires large amounts of foreign exchange through foreign direct investment and increases in productivity by export-oriented industries. The resources needed by Governments for public investments and the regular provision of goods and services can only be made available by expanding national income. Against this background, Caribbean Governments are seeking to attain and maintain at least a 6% annual rate of economic growth to underpin the implementation of their sustainable human development programmes. Attempts at doing so continue to be challenged by a wide range of internal problems and externalities. Generally, many of the internal problems spring from the small size of the countries. These include: the narrow resource base; excessive dependence on international trade and hence vulnerability to global trends and market changes; overuse and premature depletion of resources; the restricted and threatened nature of freshwater resources; unreliable and restricted access to sustainable and stable power sources; costly administration and infrastructure, including transportation and communication; limited institutional capacities; small domestic markets which are too small to provide significant economies of scale, while their limited export volumes, often from remote locations, lead to high freight costs and reduced competitiveness.

35. An expanding range of externalities has dogged attempts at stimulating and sustaining reasonable rates of economic growth. Indigenous firms are often under-capitalised and constrained by obsolete technology and are therefore unable to meet the increasingly stringent importation standards set by the developed countries. Many countries are yet to recover from the spate of NAFTA-related factory closures that occurred in the early 1990s. Further, while WTO-led, trade liberalisation policies are promising a much deeper integration of Caribbean economies into the global economy, they are also causing a shift in production to areas in which the Caribbean countries have little or no comparative advantage. This means that as markets become the primary mechanism for resource allocation, economic production will increasingly rely on the exploitation of the region’s natural resources, which in turn in likely to increase pressure on the environment. At the same time, moderate to low growth and a low savings rate are also limiting the flow and size of funding required for the finance of environmentally sound development.

36. Another important financial mechanism requirement emerging from work under the PDF was the need to recognise the transfer of benefits, which has implications in both the socio-economic as well as stakeholder spectrum. There was a consensus that the main productive sectors do not meaningfully contribute to environmental maintenance and waste management costs, in proportion to their reliance on the natural resource base. At the same time, the general public and those representing community-based organisations, especially in the upper reaches of watersheds in economically depressed rural areas (whose practices are critical to the management of watersheds and downstream areas) are rarely the recipients of the benefits of integrated watershed management and healthy coastal waters.

37. Along with the restricted financial resources available in many small island states to address the problems of freshwater and coastal area management, the small size of populations generally results in manpower limitations in terms of qualified experts available to manage resources on a sustainable basis. Regional approaches that strengthen the sharing of experience and expertise are therefore of critical importance. Water utilities often lack adequate staffing levels with sufficient technical and financial management skills. This leads to poor management of supply and demand in the face of water shortages, and inadequate information gathering and analysis skills. Inadequate pricing and tariff policies and high levels of unaccounted-for-water increase the problem. Inappropriate water usage (potable water going to irrigation needs) along with leakages in the distribution systems account for much of the loss. All the islands have established some preserves to protect valuable habitat associated with ground and surface water supplies and well-fields, but the authorities lack the necessary manpower and funding to enforce the rules or to monitor the success of management approaches.

38. Significant progress has been made in the area of education and training over the past decade and the Caribbean region supports a number of institutions dedicated to education and training in resource management, including the UWI Centre for Environment and Development, and the Sustainable Development Unit of the UWI, based in Jamaica. Human resource development has, however, been hampered by the following issues and problems:

· The absence of a mechanism for technical cooperation among developing countries at the regional level;

· The dearth of trained personnel in critical areas, such as water resources management; environmental impact assessment; community-based resource management; marine law; physical planning policy analysis; remote sensing; and climatology and hydrology;

· The seeming inappropriateness of the curricula of national and regional educational institutions based on these deficiencies; and,

· The absence of policies, which aim to retain, within the wider Caribbean, expertise in various aspects of resource management and sustainable development.

39. Throughout the region there are reports of increased stakeholder participation in the decision-making process as well as increased awareness and education programmes for coastal area and watershed management. Government agencies are making a point to reach out to non-governmental organizations and community-based organizations through activities which other stakeholders; the establishment of local area management authorities; the involvement of stakeholders in monitoring, management, and conservation activities; media campaigns; public consultations; and training on sustainable tourism. However, this is a fairly recent development and, notwithstanding these laudable activities, many stakeholders in the participating countries still feel that there is insufficient public involvement in the decision making process. Although policies are moving slowly but surely toward more stakeholder participation in the management process, often there is an absence of working examples or effective case studies with which to guide policy makers and administrators.

40. The combination of these particular environmental, social and economic characteristics makes it imperative that issues of freshwater resources management and related coastal water quality and biodiversity are addressed in an integrated manner, and that sectoral policies and activities are modified to sustain and protect both freshwater supplies and coastal and marine aquatic resources.

41. Integrated Coastal Management (ICM) is a management framework, which has proven to be effective at enhancing the sustainable development of coastal resources and the marine environment at the local government level. ICM provides local government units with a mechanism and process to harmonize both the economic development and environmental management of marine and coastal resources. Watershed management has been developed and tested as a valuable mechanism in many countries that incorporates cross-sectoral linkages and coordination along with stakeholder involvement and community management approaches. In the small island situation there is a need to integrate these two approaches into an overall Watershed and Coastal Area Management strategy. Small islands cannot effectively separate these two areas as almost every activity within the watershed has an effect or impact in the coastal area, and frequently vice versa. The concept of Integrated Watershed and Coastal Area Management is not entirely a new one but it is relatively untested as yet and is very much in its infancy. There are few regionally successful examples of its application and sustainability. The current project aims to gather what lessons and best practices already exist and to substantially enhance these through on-the-ground demonstrations of active IWCAM approaches and techniques in order to develop transferable and replicable models and guidelines relevant to all SIDS.

Project Rationale & Objectives in the Context of Regional Needs

42. The overall objective of the proposed project will be to assist the 13 participating Small Island developing states of the Caribbean to improve their watershed and coastal zone management practices in support of sustainable development. The project will set out to strengthen institutional capacity at the national and regional level; provide assistance to countries in understanding the linkages between, and the requirement for integrating management of watershed and coastal zone environmental problems; and will meet national priorities within the regional context.

43. The World Summit on Sustainable Development (Johannesburg 2002) identified the special needs of SIDS within its Johannesburg Plan of Implementation. Section VII of this PoI addressed the issue of sustainable development of small-island developing states. The PoI recommended actions at all levels to:

· Accelerate national and regional implementation of the Barbados PoA, with adequate financial resources, including through the GEF focal areas, transfer of environmentally sound technologies and assistance for capacity-building from the international community.

· Assist small island developing states, including through the elaboration of specific initiatives, in delimiting and managing in a sustainable manner their coastal areas and exclusive economic Zones….

· Provide support, including for capacity-building, for the development and further implementation of (i) Small island developing States-specific components within programmes of work on marine and coastal biological diversity; (ii) Freshwater programmes for small island developing States, including through the Global Environmental Facility focal areas

· Effectively reduce, prevent and control waste and pollution and their health related impacts by undertaking initiatives by 2004 aimed at implementing the Global programme of Action for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-Based activities in small island developing States

· Support the finalisation and subsequent early operationalisation of economic, social and environmental vulnerability indices and related indicators as tools for the achievement of the sustainable development of small island developing States

· Provide support to small island developing States to develop capacity and strengthen efforts to reduce and manage waste and pollution and building capacity for maintaining and managing systems to deliver water and sanitation services in both rural and urban areas.

44. More specifically, the WSSD Plan of Implementation calls for all countries to develop IWRM (Integrated Water Resource Management) and Water Efficiency plans by 2005, with particular support to go to developing countries (Paragraph 26 of the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation).

45. The SIDS Barbados Conference and the resultant programme of action (SIDS/POA) highlighted the need to safeguard watershed areas and other sources of groundwater to address the problem of limited quantity of freshwater availability on small islands and to protect biodiversity. The SIDS/POA also highlighted the need to strengthen the development of integrated coastal zone management plans and strategies for coastal watersheds.

46. A10-year Review of the Barbados Programme of Action for SIDS (BPoA +10) is due to take place in 2005. As a lead up to this process, an Inter-Regional Preparatory Meeting was held in Nassau, The Bahamas from 26-30 January, 2004. The meeting adopted both the Nassau Declaration and the AOSIS Strategy Paper in preparation for the Mauritius Meeting on Small Island States in August 2004. Some of the primary concerns and needs of the SIDS arising from this preparatory meeting, and which relate directly to the Caribbean IWCAM project, are highlighted below:

A. Management of Wastes

· Insufficient progress in planning and implementing waste management policies;

· The international community should provide support to SIDS for the development, transfer and implementation of appropriate technologies;

· The international community should assist SIDS in: developing waste management systems and institutions; establishing national environmental trust funds; and promoting recycling and using waste as a resource;

· The quantity of waste disposed of in the sea should be reduced through regional cooperation;

· SIDS, with UNEP’s support, should implement the Global Programme of Action for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-based Activities;

B. Coastal and Marine Resources:

· The establishment of a financial mechanism to assist SIDS in their implementation of UNCLOS;

· SIDS, with the help of other States and using regional mechanisms, to adopt integrated management tools;

· relevant regional and international development partners to support SIDS in the development and implementation of regional initiatives.

C. Freshwater Resources:

· Provide assistance for capacity building for the development and further implementation of freshwater and sanitation programmes and the promotion of integrated water resources management.

· International, regional and private sector financial institutions to provide assistance in meeting the Millennium Declaration target of halving the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water by 2015;

· The WMO, supported by the international community, to continue to implement actions to strengthen national capacity.

D. Land Resources:

· Strengthening land tenure and management systems;

· Move from primary to tertiary agricultural production;

· Present funding proposals under the Convention to Combat Desertification and the Convention on Biological Diversity through the GEF, and request the GEF to facilitate SIDS’ access to GEF financial and technical resources for addressing land degradation.

· Practical support from the UN system to enhance efficient and sustainable agricultural production and ensure food security, and recommend the prioritisation by SIDS ministers of agriculture of actions for enhanced contribution of agriculture, forestry and fisheries to SIDS’ sustainable development policies;

· Facilitate legislation implementing sustainable logging and replanting, increase stakeholder participation regarding forest resources, safeguard rights of resources owners, develop and strengthen partnerships for sustainable forest management, and develop and implement action plans to reduce deforestation and promote sustainable forest management;

E. Sustainable Capacity Development and Education for Sustainable Development:

· Build capacity to monitor the state of environment;

· Develop core competencies to assist stakeholders in delivering sustainable development programmes;

· Create the skills base and techniques for use in decision-making.

· The international community to provide technological, institutional, physical and financial resources and to support SIDS in establishing national capacity development coordination mechanisms and centres of excellence for training and applied research.

F. Monitoring and Evaluation:

· enhanced international coordination related to SIDS through the UN, donor support, and reduced reporting burdens on SIDS;

· monitoring and periodic reporting on indicators on SIDS;

· strengthening of regional SIDS institutions for monitoring and coordination;

47. These recently agreed urgent requirements arising from this global review of SIDS have been taken carefully into consideration in developing the objectives, activities and outcomes of this IWCAM project. Attention is drawn to existing work already undertaken by UNEP to identify effective frameworks and guidelines for IWCAM, and available as ICARM Technical Report Series No. 1 (“Integrated Coastal Area and River Basin Management,” UNEP and Priority Actions Programme Regional Activity Centre, 1997) and No. 2 (“Report of the First Expert Working Group Meeting on the Concept and Development of Practical Guidelines for Integrated Coastal Area and River Basin Management,”1997). In addition, attention is drawn to the existing experiences and lessons with IWCAM and related issues by certain countries within or associated with the project regional boundary. Such countries include Barbados, Belize, Jamaica, the British Virgin Islands, and others. Significant lessons and best practices could and should be captured from these country’s experiences and knowledge.

48. The need for a more strategic regional approach to both IWCAM, and sustainable development itself, is indicated by the complexity of the issues in relation to the relatively poorly-developed state of the policy and institutional apparatus within the participating countries. Additional justification for development of a regional strategic approach is provided by evaluations of other GEF-funded interventions of similar scope and intensity, such as the Caribbean Planning for Adaptation to Climate Change (CPACC). These evaluations confirm that a flexible approach, which uses the results of continuous assessment of on-going and/or completed interventions, to inform the design/redesign of subsequent phases, are likely to yield the best long-term results. Consequently, the PDF B process has concluded that the full project should help to define and establish a strategic approach to IWCAM within the region based on an open and participatory partnership between the countries and the donor/lending agencies. The development of such a strategic approach and the necessary mechanisms to support it has been captured within the project components and will be implemented and established, as a project priority, under guidance from the Project Steering Committee.

49. Of particular concern to nearly all SIDS is the urgent issue of water resource management and conservation. The Caribbean SIDS are no exception to this area of concern. Freshwater resources are generally poorly managed with significant impacts to water quality and flow occurring within the watershed which has knock-on effects not only to the availability of good quality freshwater for human use, but also to the downstream environment and ecosystems. The need to maintain sufficient water quality and quantity so as to sustain dependent ecosystems within the watershed and coastal areas has now been captured within the Concept of Environmental Flow. Environmental flow is the water regime within a river, wetland or coastal zone that maintains ecosystems and their benefits where there are competing water uses and where flows are regulated (definition provided by IUCN). Environmental flows provide critical contributions to river health, economic development and poverty alleviation. They ensure the continued availability of the many benefits that healthy river and groundwater systems bring to society. It is becoming increasingly clear that, in the mid and long term, failure to meet environmental flow requirements within watersheds and associated coastal areas is having disastrous consequences for many river users. Addressing the water needs of aquatic ecosystems may often mean controlling and reducing the water use of one or more sectors. However, such difficult choices may be necessary to ensure the long-term health of the basin and the activities it encompasses. The WSSD Plan of Implementation’s directive calling for the development of IWRM plans by 2005 is directly related to these issues and concerns regarding sustainable water resource management and the conservation of dependent ecosystems.

3.2 Results

50. The project components, objectives, outputs and outcomes are intended to have the project reflect an integrated approach to IWCAM within the region. In so doing, it should also provide a framework for countries wishing to design and implement free-standing, national IWCAM projects. It is recognised that this regional initiative toward development and coordination of IWCAM policies and activities cannot cover every need and eventuality. With this in mind, countries are encouraged to work in parallel with this project to develop working and transferable examples of IWCAM within their boundaries, and in coordination and partnership with other SIDS in the region.

51. The project will address the need to provide realigned national standards and guidelines pertinent to IWCAM, via a revision and rationalisation of national legislation and policy, and the development of effective incentives and equitable cross-sectoral and stakeholder sharing of responsibilities. These will be addressed in the context of existing national commitments to relevant international conventions, treaties and accords including, inter alia, the Cartagena Convention and its Protocols; the Convention on Biological Diversity; and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Convention to Combat Desertification (taking into account the recommendations of the national enabling activities carried out under these Conventions); the OECS Declaration of Principles on Environmental Sustainability and other regional initiatives. Emphasis will be placed on ensuring that the process of revision and realignment is done with the full involvement of stakeholders at the national and regional level. Hence there will be a need for close linkages to project activities dealing with awareness and education, and strong project deliverables addressing community management and compliance strategies. The project will also assist in providing guidance and implementation on the equitable distribution of resource responsibilities through transferred benefit processes (e.g. transfer of tariffs from resource users to support resource management), and will assist the countries in exploring and adopting incentive-based, self-regulatory mechanisms for IWCAM at the national level.

52. Project Results can be summarised as follows:

a) Regional adoption of effective indicators for process, stress reduction and environmental status relative to effective integrated watershed and coastal area management. The purpose of these indicators would be to provide verifiable measurements of threat factors and mitigatory responses within a number of sectors. Indicators would address the resource sector and ecosystem level (biological, physicochemical, habitat-and-species, etc), the social sector, economic sector, the policy process (measuring improvements in policy and administration which would lead to improvements), stress reduction (concrete actions to reduce threats such as sewage treatment plants or incentives to reduce agro-chemicals). Based on these indicators, countries within the region would be able to report on their status on a regular basis. Most importantly, these indicators will provide verifiable foundations for policy and strategy within both the governmental and private sectors.

b) Prioritisation of Hotspots (geographical areas with specific thematic IW issues and impacts) within the region requiring early attention, and an active and effective mechanism(s) for threat-mitigation aimed at these hotspots.

c) Effective transfer and replication of best practices for mitigation/removal of impacts to watershed and coastal resources and communities (based on demonstrations of best practices for IWCAM at selected demonstration hotspots).

d) Effective and applicable guidelines and models for policy reform and legislative amendment in support of A. IWCAM as an overall concept, and in accordance with B. existing national commitments to regional IWCAM-related protocols and conventions.

e) Adoption of policy reforms and legislative amendments (particularly in relation to the development of effective IWRM and Water Use Efficiency plans during the project lifetime) throughout the region using incentives, incorporating support from the private sector, and recognising the need for a full participatory stakeholder approach and an effective role for communities in IWCAM.

f) Effective and sustainable coordination of IWCAM initiatives within the region (and beyond to other SIDS regional groups) through an interactive network of institutions coupled to an information and lessons/practices ‘clearing-house’ process.

g) Significantly improved sensitivity to IWCAM issues at the policy level (both governmental and private sector) coupled with a greater awareness at the community level.

h) Considerably enhanced capacity for IWCAM through training and education with an emphasis on sustainability and self-training within the region

53. Project beneficiaries will include:

A. Communities: Those communities living alongside rivers and within river basins as well as coastal communities will benefit from a greater management role over their resources and environment, while receiving greater support (particularly from resource-beneficiaries such as the private sector) in undertaking this new, enhanced responsibility.

B. Government sectors will benefit from enhanced coordination to improve their responsibility and accountability for better management of natural resources. This should further improve sustainability of those same resources in the long-term.

C. Senior, policy level government decision-makers will benefit from being able to demonstrate greatly improved management of coastal and watershed resources along with other benefits to communities (improved sanitation, reduced industrial and agricultural pollution, reduced flooding and soil erosion, greater conservation of important ecosystems critical to the tourism and fisheries sectors).

D. The private sector will benefit from closer working relationships with the communities, and from more sustainable practices thereby protecting their financial interests and their clients (particularly within the tourism sector).

E. NGOs concerned with conservation and protection of natural resources will benefit from a much stronger participation in the monitoring, evaluation and management process for coastal and watershed sustainability.

F. International waters and global biodiversity will benefit as a whole with improved management of coastal and watershed resources and sustainable conservation of critical biodiversity within a biologically unique area of the world.

G. Other island communities and other SIDS geographical groups will benefit from lessons learned and the development of transferable best practices.

3.3 Assumptions to Achieve Results and Associated Risks

54. The overall objectives of the project are highly dependent upon national political commitment to the necessary policy reforms and legislative amendments required to strengthen and enhance IWCAM. These reforms are central to the promotion and sustainability of effective IWCAM within the region and within each island’s system of governance. Countries have demonstrated some measure of commitment already through the development of co-financed demonstration projects. The real indicators of effective commitment will be the active implementation of policy reforms, amendments to legislation allowing full participatory management, and sustainable and effective compliance and enforcement.

55. There is a further assumption that the sense of urgency over critical watershed and coastal issues and threats that has been expounded by the various SIDS both at WSSD and in the lead-up to SIDS +10 will actually be translated into national actions and reforms in the presence of effective assistance, capacity building and the demonstration of applicable and sustainable mechanisms for stress reduction and overall IWCAM. The real test of political will and commitment will therefore be the translation of these urgent requests for assistance in to real reforms and sustainable actions through the initiatives provided in this project.

56. In order for political and legislative improvements to be credible, an on-going programme of national and regional assessment and monitoring of environmental status and socio-economic improvements will be necessary. Such a sustainable assessment process (the primary objective of which will be to drive policy and legislative amendments) will need commitment at many levels from policy-level government through the technical sectors and out into the communities. Donors and support Agencies within the region will also be called on to continue their commitments, particularly at the financial level, to develop and sustain such a programme of assessment and monitoring.

57. Private sector support and funding has already begun to flow into this project through commitments from various private sector interests. This needs to be further encouraged so that the relevant private sector interests which benefit from IWCAM can see the value of transferring some of those benefits into the management and assessment process. The project assumes that these benefits will be obvious or can be effectively demonstrated through awareness and sensitisation.

58. Realising the objectives of the project is somewhat dependent upon effective coordination and networking between countries and institutions. To some extent such networks do exist but they need to be better coordinated. Their end objectives need to be clarified so as to fine-tune inputs and delivery. It is important to note here that the differential in coastal and watershed management and potential for policy reform between more advanced countries in the region and those less developed islands (both in respect of IWCAM, and in their economic and social development) presents at least a challenge and at most a real risk to achieving the projects objectives. Certain countries within the project’s geographical scope already have substantial capacity and a firm foundation in watershed and coastal management. Other islands, particularly those with smaller populations, have very limited human resources and reduced capacity and will need a different level of training and assistance. In this respect it is intended that the project would foster inter-governmental assistance and secondments so that the more advanced countries could aid their less fortunate neighbours.

SECTION 4: 4. ACTIVITIES, OUTPUTS, WORKPLAN AND TIMETABLE, BUDGET AND FOLLOW-UP

AND FOLLOW-UP

4.1 Project Components, Activities and Outcomes

59. Based on the national reports and regional synthesis completed under the PDF-B, the regional priority needs for IWCAM for the Caribbean SIDS include:

· Direct action to address the more critical hotspots and issues, and to demonstrate effective mitigation mechanisms that are appropriate for the Caribbean SIDS;

· National and regional capture of lessons and best practices relating to IWCAM issues, coupled to a mechanism for transfer and replication of same;

· A detailed understanding of the policy and legislative constraints within national IWCAM-related issues, translated into policy and legislative reform models, and linked to a mechanism for transfer and replication of same

· An urgent need for the development and implementation of IWRM and Water Use Efficiency plans within each country which recognise the ecosystem approach (encompassing the concept of Environmental Flow) to Water Resources Management, and which aims to address the need both to conserve water resources through better control of usage, and to reduce wastage and leakage.

· The need for greater general awareness of the problems and more specific sensitisation of IWCAM needs and issues at the senior stakeholder and policy-maker level, as well as improved educational strategies and materials highlighting IWCAM

· A Hotspots Diagnostic Analysis (HDA) which compiles details on geographically distinct hotspots and sensitive areas within each country, building on the concept of the GIWA-style assessments undertaken in the PDF phase. This would be used to identify critical areas in need of further action, areas that urgently require IWCAM Impact Indicators and monitoring, and to assist in identifying the more urgent policy reforms necessary to resolve the identified issues.

· The need for efficient and focused collection of relevant information, environmental status indicators, and other measures of the effectiveness of the socio-economic or governance implications of IWCAM (process indicators). These would be used to evolve realistic and targeted policies, and to assess the impact of the IWCAM objectives inherent within the project.

· Improved training on IWCAM issues and technology at both the national and regional level

· Better networking and partnership within the region to A. ensure complementarity of actions related to IWCAM rather than overlap and duplication of efforts, and B. to develop more effective use of finances and manpower through stakeholder partnerships

60. In order to capture these needs, 5 major initiatives have been seen as necessary components of a GEF IWCAM project.

· Demonstration, Capture and Transfer of Best Practices

· Development Of IWCAM Process, Stress Reduction and Environmental Status Indicators Framework

· Policy, Legislation and Institutional Reforms

· Regional and National Capacity Building and Sustainability

· Project Management and Coordination

61. It should be noted here that the UNEP IWCAM project for the Caribbean is complemented by an associated UNDP IWCAM project and that the two project documents constitute one GEF initiative for IWCAM in the Caribbean. In this respect, UNDP will act as the Implementing Agency for Component 1 as identified above (Demonstration, Capture and Transfer of Best Practices), while UNEP will implement Components 2-5.

COMPONENT 1 (UNDP). DEMONSTRATION, CAPTURE AND TRANSFER OF BEST PRACTICES

62. A priority focus within the overall project is to deliver real global benefits within the participating countries through the selection and implementation of ‘on-the-ground’ activities. Component 1 activities will support the demonstration of actual working examples of IWCAM within a defined watershed and/or coastal system boundary. These demonstrations will target defined IWCAM national and regional hotspots, and will address OP 9 eligible priority issues as identified in the root cause analysis.

63. Component 1 represents the ground-level demonstration of activities that can mitigate or resolve barriers to IWCAM at specific hotspots. This component will further ensure that valuable information on lessons and best practices are collected and disseminated for review by the regional stakeholders, that models and guidelines are derived, and that countries are encouraged to implement these models and to adopt the guidelines (where appropriate). Emphasis in this component will therefore be on demonstration, capture, transfer and replication of lessons and best practices for IWCAM.

64. During the PDF B process, each participating country was requested to identify national hotspots and sensitive areas pertinent to IWCAM using the GIWA (Global International Waters Assessment) approach. Countries were then required to identify suitable demonstrations of IWCAM barrier removal within an identified national hotspot or sensitive area. Following this the countries were asked to submit brief concept papers identifying suitable demonstrations within a national hotspot area. Following a detailed and transparent selection process, 9 demonstrations were adopted and included in the Project Brief that was submitted to GEF. Full details of the adopted demonstration projects and the selection process can be found in the partner UNDP IWCAM project which addresses this particular component. It should be noted that some countries intend to develop closely linked and coordinated GEF Medium-Sized projects during the early stages of the proposed Regional IWCAM Project. These will also effectively act as IWCAM demonstrations and will address closely related issues and concerns. They will, however, operate over a wider thematic or geographical area. Consequently these intended initiatives will require a more complex project design with more detailed, ‘stand-alone’ funding mechanisms. These MSP initiatives will coordinate closely with the main project and the lessons and best practices will be captured, synthesised, transferred and replicated under the same mechanisms. The Project will also work closely with countries and with UNDP to try to identify useful and related initiatives under the GEF Small Grants Programme which has been so successful (particularly at the community level) both within the region and globally.

COMPONENT 1 ACTIVITIES:

1.1 Implementation and management of a selection of representative 9 demonstration projects in 8 countries, which address the priority regional IWCAM concerns within selected critical hotspots, and which have been chosen in a clear and participatory manner. Pre-implementation arrangements and preparations for these demonstrations will include a review and capture of relevant lessons and practices from previous and on-going global and regional projects and pilots that could benefit the demo activities and objectives. Demonstration project progress will be carefully monitored to ensure deliver of best practices and lessons for capture by other project components.

1.2 Coordination and collection of all lessons, best practices and alternative technologies and strategies arising from the Demonstration Projects which identify possible solutions and mitigations to the threats and root causes which are acting as barriers to IWCAM at a national and regional level;

1.3 Development of effective replication strategies and mechanisms for transferring and replicating the lessons and practices arising from the demonstration projects, both within and beyond the region, as well as from other pertinent pilots and initiatives outside of these specific GEF IWCAM demonstration projects (see Component 4 also).

COMPONENT 1 OUTCOMES:

65. Successful demonstration of concrete solutions and mitigations to specific threats to IWCAM. The capture, development and distribution of best lessons and practices arising from these and other demonstrations/pilots. Models and guidelines for policy, legislative and institutional reform available to countries. Best lessons and practices being effectively replicated in other hotspots and critical areas. Full stakeholder participation in the development, implementation and monitoring of national demonstration activities.

66. SEE UNDP GEF Complementary Project Document Integrating Watershed and Coastal Area Management (IWCAM) in the Small Island Developing States of the Caribbean for further details on Component 1.

COMPONENT 2. DEVELOPMENT OF IWCAM PROCESS, STRESS REDUCTION AND ENVIRONMENTAL STATUS INDICATORS FRAMEWORK

67. This Component will focus specifically on creating indicators framework to monitor the long-term progress and impact of the overall IWCAM strategy for SIDS in the context of process, stress reduction and environmental status indicators as recommended by the GEF. The intention is to identify an optimal indicator framework to monitor changes in the state of the watershed and coastal environments, monitor the trends in socio-economic pressures and conditions in watershed communities and coastal towns, and to assess the efficacy of IWCAM in addressing these issues and mitigating harmful impacts.

68. Although there is still a clear need for basic environmental and stress reduction indicators, there is also clearly an urgency to develop management–related (e.g. process) indicators to measure and assess the sustainability of current and planned land and sea usage. Furthermore, examples of socio-economic indicators which describe the social and economic conditions related to coastal and watershed communities are rare, yet such measurable parameters are vital if there is to be a true representation of the human component within IWCAM strategy and policy. Finally, the use of such indicators, which have been developed specifically for the measurement, and assessment of governance performance for IWCAM are almost unknown. Where this has been tried, difficulties have been encountered in linking such governance issues to on-the-ground changes.

69. In order to address this need at the Caribbean SIDS level the project will undertake to generally develop and test the efficacy of a suite of indicators addressing process, stress reduction and environmental status trends and impacts; link these measurable indicators to a policy and legislative feedback process; and drive that policy more toward a ‘beneficiary-pays’ environment where those gaining the greatest benefits from IWCAM are transferring a proportion of those benefits back into the system to support management at a multi-sectoral level, particularly focusing on the management-related activities of watershed and coastal communities.

COMPONENT 2 ACTIVITIES:

2.1 Review existing national and regional level environmental status, process and stress reduction indicator frameworks and identify weaknesses in IWCAM context;

2.2.Development of template for national level IWCAM environmental status, process and stress reduction indicators (harvesting experiences from best practices looking at Demo-level environmental status indicators, and taking into account results of Output 3.2 on IWCAM policy/legislative reform recommendations);

2.3 Conduct hotspot diagnostic analyses (HSDA) of each of the (non-demo) hotspots in each country, including identification of priority water-related issues/problems, immediate and root causes and required reforms. Prepare initial project concepts for follow-up/project preparation;

2.4 Establish a regional centre for storage of Indicator-related information and as a Centre of Excellence for Indicator Training. Provide Indicator training to appropriate stakeholder groups in application of IWCAM-oriented process, stress reduction and environmental status indicators;

2.5 Pilot establishment (including capacity building) of IWCAM process, stress reduction and environmental status indicator monitoring system in one country using templates from 2.2 and 2.3.

COMPONENT 2 OUTCOMES:

70. Process, stress-reduction, and environmental status indicators framework established and national and regional capacities for indicator monitoring enhanced.

COMPONENT 3: POLICY, LEGISLATIVE AND INSTITUTIONAL REFORM FOR IWCAM

71. This Component will address the urgent need for amendment and reform to policy, legislation and institutional arrangements pertinent to IWCAM. These needs have been clearly identified through the PDF B national reports. In particular, these national reports considered that the lack of appropriate and enacted policy and legislation addressing threats and their root causes represents a major barrier to successful IWCAM.

72. There is also concern for the effective sustainability of IWCAM concepts and objectives in the region in the absence of sufficient commitment to regional and international multilateral environmental agreements. The participating countries recognise a number of such MEAs and have undergone accession to such agreements (see Table 1 above). However, many of the countries have yet to ratify these agreements. Such ratification usually requires more specific commitments from the countries and frequently involves proof of adoption of the inherent concepts of an MEA through specific policy and legislative amendments and institutional realignment.

73. For IWCAM to achieve sustainability within the region it will now be necessary for the countries to reform their policy and legislation to capture IWCAM concepts, especially those inherent in the aforementioned MEAs. Institutional strengthening and rationalisation (especially integrated restructuring of the multisectoral stakeholder management approach) will also be a requirement linked closely to capacity building. Some of the policy, legislation and institutional reforms, identified by the countries in their National Reports are summarised in Table 3. By time of endorsement, specific indicators will be included for specific outcomes in terms of national reforms being sought.

73. To ensure that the impact of the project does not stop at the end of the project cycle and is well embedded within the country structure there is a need to explore new forms of partnerships, alternative financial mechanisms, enhanced cooperation between sectoral ministries and incorporation of the project elements into an overarching national policy framework, adopted by the relevant national/local authorities. This can be achieved amongst others through linking with the Global Programme of Action for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-Based Activities (GPA) and the 2^nd Intergovernmental Review in additional to the regional meetings.

Table 3: Policy, legislatives and institutional reforms identified by the countries

74. This component will act on best lessons and practices arising from Component 1 (Implemented by UNDP), as well as recognising the value of other IWCAM related approaches tested and adopted elsewhere. In this respect, the IWCAM project will need to coordinate closely with CIDA and with its project partners Such as USAID. A CIDA-funded project for environmental capacity building in the Caribbean has undertaken initiatives which are complementary to IWCAM’s activities. For example, the ENCAPD-funded Legislative and Institutional Review for St. Lucia has identified gaps and made recommendations for coordination and streamlining which the IWCAM project's component on Policy, Legislative and Institutional Reform for IWCAM should follow-up, rather than study anew. Furthermore, the Caribbean Development Bank has recently funded a survey and workshop on Strengthening Institutions for Environmental Management.

75. Within this Component, specific focus will be given to the needs identified from the Hotspot Diagnostic Analysis (Component 2.4 above). An incentive mechanism will be developed to encourage ratification of important MEAs and protocols such as the Cartagena Convention’s Protocol on Land Based Sources of Pollution, which is very pertinent to the problems of the Caribbean SIDS.

76. A further critical focus of this Component will be on the development of IWRM and Water Use Efficiency plans in accordance with the directives of the WSSD Plan of Implementation for 2005. GEF assistance will help countries to develop a standardised plan, and will then assist in identifying modalities for implementing these plans through policy, legal and institutional reforms, whilst recognising the inevitable need for capacity building and other financial assistance. To this effect, the Project will use its networking structure in conjunction with the Partnership Forum (see Component 4) in order to identify necessary support and co-funding for IWRM and Water Use Efficiency implementation.

COMPONENT 3 ACTIVITIES:

3.1 A comprehensive review of national policy, legislation and institutional structures identifying barriers to IWCAM and providing recommendations and guidelines for barrier removal;

3.2 A set of regional guidelines (including working examples from the Demonstration Projects) addressing national policy, legislative and institutional reform to support and promote IWCAM (taking into account also relevant regional conventions and treaties). These guidelines to be derived from national reviews, participatory regional stakeholder workshops, and the demonstration projects. Particular consideration in developing these guidelines will be given to the results of the Hotspots Diagnostic Analysis under Component 2.4;

3.3 An active regional programme for amendment of national legislation and policy and improvement and restructuring of institutional arrangements to capture IWCAM requirements. In parallel with this regional programme, develop a programme of incentives and awareness of the need for SIDS to ratify those IEAs, Conventions and Treaties pertinent to IWCAM. In particular countries will be encouraged to sign up to and adopt the protocols associated with the Cartagena Convention, which focuses specifically on the Wider Caribbean area, specifically the LBS Protocol. Signature and ratification to this and other relevant protocols and conventions will be one of the indicators established and measure under Component 2.

3.4 Development of IWRM and Water Use Efficiency plans for each participating country which can then be reviewed to identify the necessary further assistance required to implement these plans as part of the national policy, legislative and institutional reform package.

COMPONENT 3 OUTCOMES:

77. National policies, legislation and institutional structures reformed and realigned to reflect the objectives of IWCAM and to capture the requirements of the more pertinent regional and international MEAs. IWRM and Water Use Efficiency plans completed for each participating country and an associated regional Plan-of-Action adopted by the Project addressing their implementation.

COMPONENT 4. REGIONAL AND NATIONAL CAPACITY BUILDING AND SUSTAINABILITY FOR IWCAM

78. Component 4 addresses the need for regional integration and networking to develop active partnerships for IWCAM in the areas of, public awareness and stakeholders participation, policy-level sensitisation, evolution of educational materials and new curricula, training, secondment, and the development of a long-term strategy for sustainable IWCAM at the regional level.

79. Component 4 also addresses the need for effective community networking and involvement in project activities. There is a clear need to share and utilise regional knowledge and expertise at the local and community level. The project will explore the mechanisms for establishing MOoUs with local communities within the countries through the efforts of the project NFPs.

80. Effective IWCAM in the Caribbean SIDS requires planning, coordination, and knowledge-sharing among the wide range of agencies and programmes involved in IWCAM-related activities. The Caribbean has a long history of extensive but often poorly coordinated donor support to environmental programmes. The GEF and other donors working in the Caribbean recognise the need to co-ordinate their programmes in order to build on synergies and avoid duplication. Consequently, this component also aims to develop a more strategic approach to partnerships in the Caribbean through the review of existing and planned IWCAM related activities, development of partnership networking, promotion of knowledge sharing on existing and emerging Caribbean IWCAM initiatives among involved national, regional and international institutions; and development of an agreed strategic approach and work-plan for donor support and regional cooperation in the Caribbean SIDS. This component will also promote the development of a mechanism for coordination between regional agencies, linked to the development of a regional database to support such coordination. Of particular concern here is the need to coordinate with the White Water to Blue Water Initiative (WW2BW). Furthermore, it is important that the IWCAM project develops a working relationship and networking capacity with the Regional Activity Centre for the Implementation of the Protocol on Land-based Sources of Pollution. This centre is jointly shared between the Centre for Coastal and Marine Engineering and Management (CIMAB) in Cuba, and the Institute of Marine Affairs (IMA) in Trinidad and Tobago, and is part of the Caribbean Environment Programme’s implementation structure. Clearly there are many existing regional initiatives which are dealing with aspects of watershed and/or coastal management. In order to achieve a more integrated and coordinated approach, there is a clear need to strengthen existing regional mechanisms where appropriate (and where effective), rather than to invent new mechanisms.

81. To ensure that the impact of the project does not stop at the end of the project cycle and is well embedded within the country structure there is also a need to explore new forms of partnerships, alternative financial mechanisms, enhanced cooperation between sectoral ministries and incorporation of the project elements into an overarching national policy framework, adopted by the relevant national/local authorities. Ensuring the long term sustainability of the project has to start from the very beginning of the project, amongst others approaches, through improved cooperation between ongoing projects, agencies and programmes in the region, and through developing new partnerships and financial mechanisms, and amongst others building on lessons learned in other regions. OThis can ne method of promoting such an approach can bebe promoted, amongst others, through linking with the Global Programme of Action for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-Based Activities (GPA), taking into particular consideration , the 2^nd Intergovernmental Review, and through in additional to the regional meetings and the IW-learn programme.

82. The experience acquired through this project is of relevance to other GEF projects as well, and contributes to achieving the goals listed in the Millenium Declaration and the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation as it relates to sustainable development. Furthermore, many Several relevant programmes that are more, global in scope, can also contribute to the sustainability of this project, e.g. the Global Programme of Action for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-Based Activities (GPA). This programme focuses on creating new partnerships, developing innovative forms of financing and ensuring the national ownerships for sustainable action to protect natural resources from the watershedshilltops to the oceans, through the development of nNational programmes of Action. These nNational programmes of aActions provide a coherent policy framework for individual action and partnerships, and ensure that externally supported projects are embedded into the necessary national legislation, regulation and domestic resources allocation.

The purpose of this project component is to ensure relevant linkages, sharing of experiences and promoting synergies between global programmes, in addition to ensuring a continued coordinating mechanism of other actors and partners within the Wider Caribbean region. In the above context, the goal of the WW2BW initiative is to create partnerships to promote integrated watershed and marine ecosystem based management, as two key components of sustainable development. GPA is a key organising framework to pursue this goal. Globaly, land-based pollution causes 80% of marine pollution. Several Caribbean States are responding to the GPA by creation of national programmes of action and one key partnership in this regard is the UNEP-NOAA node, which has been working with Caribbean States to create such national programmes of action.

81.84. The Small Island Developing States have, at the global level, expressed strong concern about the need to strengthen capacities so as to assist national implementation of the numerous policies, strategies and management plans that already exist, and to improve coordination nationally and locally between all sectors and stakeholders so as to achieve more effective and integrated approaches to sustainable development. The IWCAM project will take account of this need to review and assist (through capacity building and resources mobilisation) existing, effective but currently non-implemented policies and management strategies. There is a requirement here, therefore, to strengthen implementation (and consequent institutions) at the national level where possible. In this regard, there are numerous existing national level projects and programmes that are already active in the field of watershed and coastal management. Where appropriate, and where such initiative and institutions have a track record of ownership and delivery, attempts should be made to provide or leverage additional resources for capacity building and improvements related to better management and policy development.

82.85. One of the project activities under Component 4 is the establishment of a Regional Clearing House mechanism which will capture inputs from all of the national and regional country Regional Project activities as well as the Demonstration Project activities. This Clearing House will also, in the earliest stages of the Project, identify and disseminate relevant lessons and practices from other related coastal and watershed initiatives which may be of value both to the national demonstrations and to the regional project activities as a whole. This set of activities will be linked to Component 1.3 where related activities are identified to develop mechanisms for the transfer of lessons and best practices and Component 5.8 where a regional information system will be established. In the context of Component 4, 4.5 addresses Project Networking that aims to develop working project linkages and partnerships through national and regional institutions, similar linkages to other IWCAM related projects, and the development of a Regional Partnership Forum. Although the specific outlets for such information dissemination have not as yet been identified, this would be a primary function and requirement of the overall integrated nature of the project, both at the national, regional and global level. Until the necessary IWCAM regional management structure has been established it would be difficult to propagate and develop any such linkages. Once the project is under implementation a high priority will be given to developing these critical linkages and relationships for information-sharing regionally through the stakeholder and partnership forums, and by active contact at the global level. Clearly, within the concepts of stakeholder participation which are an essential component of the overall fabric of the project, part of the success of this participation will rely on the effective sharing and dissemination of all project information to and between all parties. This sharing of information should also result in new partnerships.

83.86. Part of this component’s coordinating activities will also focus on capturing lessons and best practices from other countries in the region that have had successful achievements within the framework of IWCAM and in related thematic areas. This should link back directly to component 1, activity 1 which will aim to capture such lessons at the early implementation phase of each Demonstration Project. This approach will also be taken at the regional Project level.

84.87. COMPONENT 4 ACTIVITIES:

4.1 National workshops on awareness and multisectoral sensitisation to IWCAM issues, coupled to a dynamic long-term awareness campaign that targets all sectors and stakeholders, with particular focus on sensitisation at the policy level. This to include a feedback mechanism to assess improvements in the understanding and support for IWCAM mechanisms and concepts to allow for fine-tuning and targeting of further awareness activities. These workshops will specifically encourage community involvement as well as input from the private sector.

4.2 Identify, strengthen, and involve Stakeholders in IWCAM issues in the Region, including Monitoring and Evaluation, development of performance indicators. Again, communities will be targeted so as to encourage better community ownership and management of relevant resources, and community monitoring of threats and causes.

4.3 Training and education activities. Training and secondment (where applicable) of IWCAM staff throughout the region, including regional training networks supported through IW:LEARN and similar initiatives. The development and use of effective IWCAM educational materials in regional curricula;

4.4 A regional strategy for the sustainable promotion and implementation of IWCAM beyond the project lifetime, with mechanisms for regular review, evaluation and improvement. This should include specific post-project, stakeholder-sponsored evaluation mechanisms to assess the continuing effectiveness of the GEF project initiative. The development and implementation of the strategy will start at the very beginning of the project projects, amongst others through the promotion ofng new partnerships, the assessment of sing new forms of sustainable financing, and through support toing the development of national mechanisms that ensure the long term sustainability of the project. This strategy will also identify incentives to move national and regional institutions toward the establishment of an appropriate institutional framework for IWCAM.

4.5 Project nNetworking through an established network of IWCAM regional institutions and via two-way linkages with other IWCAM-related project within and outside the region. This would include networking with regional partners (donors, NGOs, private sector, etc) and development of an active partnership forum within the region (including countries external to project funding but directly linked to the Caribbean regional IWCAM and SIDS process). A primary objective of this forum would be more efficient and cost-effective use of financial and human resources in the development and sustainability of IWCAM and related environmental protection and sustainable development activities. To this end, partners and countries would work closely to develop a strategic approach to IWCAM within the Caribbean. The IWCAM Project, through UNEP and the Secretariat to the Cartagena Convention, will give a high priority to networking and coordination with all relevant agencies and programmes in the region, including the WW2BW Initiative, which shares many areas of interest and complementarity within the Caribbean as well as sustainability at the national and global level through and the GPA. The IWCAM Project will also work closely with both Implementing Agencies to encourage the development of related and mutually beneficially GEF Medium and Small Grant proposals, with a strong emphasis on NGO and community participation.

4.6 An established regional IWCAM Clearing House to capture and store all information, lessons and practices arising from this project and available from other projects. To this effect, the Clearing House will need to capture and transfer existing information on lessons and best practices at the very earliest stages of Project Implementation, especially as support to the Demonstration projects. This Clearing House will also act as a repository of linkages to more technical regional and IWCAM information. This IWCAM Clearing House system would need to be closely linked (if not amalgamated) to the GPA Clearing House Mechanism.

COMPONENT 4 OUTCOMES:

85.88. Improved sensitisation, awareness and capacity throughout all sectors with respect to IWCAM. An Aactive, long-term, sustainable sustainable national and regional mechanisms supporting IWCAM. Effective networking (both regional and global) to share information alongside a Partnership Forum acting to build working relationships within IWCAM, and to share information and experiences, also overall at the global levelsetting. An active Clearing House to sharing and dispersing information. Fully involved stakeholders and improved civil society participation.

COMPONENT 5. PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND COORDINATION

86.89. Component 5 addresses overall project management, steering, reporting and evaluation. Project management will be invested in the Project Coordination Unit, which will undertake the handling of day-to-day project issues and requirements. Overall project decision-making at the policy level will be the responsibility of the Project Steering Committee (PSC), which will function as the primary policy body for the participating countries in cooperation with the GEF Implementing Agencies and the Executing Agencies.

COMPONENT 5 ACTIVITIES:

5.1 Establish effective Project Management through timely implementation of activities and achievement of benchmark outputs;

5.2 Establish an all-country Regional Project Steering Committee working in unison with the implementing and executing agencies and their representatives to provide regional project ownership and oversight at the policy level;

5.3 Establish National Intersectoral Committees to capture IWCAM concepts from the project toat the national level;

5.4 Establish an Implementing Agency/Executing Agency Management Group to advise the Regional Project Steering Committee on UN GEF eligibility, procedural and policy issues.

5.5 Establish a Regional Technical Advisory Group that provides accurate and up-to-date technical advice and guidance to the Steering Committee on issues relating to IWCAM;

5.6 Undertake Project Reporting on activities and outputs to the PSC, along with accurate reviews of the project work-plan and budget;

5.7 Undertake Project Evaluation as a standard GEF requirement to ensure that indicators are measuring satisfactory and sustainable project success;

5.8 Develop a Comprehensive Information Management System for the project implementation.

COMPONENT 5 OUTCOMES:

87.90. Effective project management at the national and regional level. National Intersectoral Committees capturing and promoting IWCAM best practices. Project evaluations reflecting successful and sustainable project objectives. An active and effective sustainable regional information management system in place.

88.91. The time-line shown in the following Workplan (Table 4) addresses the need to use information from the Demonstration Projects to feed back into the other project components. For example, Component Two, Output 2, which addresses the development of National Indicator templates will use feedback from the Demos (after year one) to assist in the development of effective national templates for process, stress reduction and environmental status indicators. Lessons and best practices from the Demos will be collected on an annual basis to assist in the development of policy, legal and institutional reforms, and to provide guidance for regional and national capacity building.

89.92. Although the overall timescale for the project is only 5 years, this was deemed appropriate as A. there is an urgency within the region to address root causes through socio-economic and political reforms, B. Hotspots and thematic issues may alter over the course of 5 years, and C. The entire initiative should be seen as just the beginnings of an on-going dynamic process. 5 years should provide sufficient time in which to see whether the donor’s investments have been effective and in which to assess national and regional improvements and commitments. 5 years therefore represents a workable benchmark at which all stakeholders can review the worth of the project and its objectives. It should then be possible to use the examples and successes from this 5-year project to encourage sustainability and further funding at the national, regional and international level as appropriate.

4.2 Project Risks and Sustainability

90.93. Integrated planning and management are still not widely practiced within Caribbean SIDS, although there is a growing understanding of the concept and the need. A considerable amount of time and effort will therefore be required to foster a fresh philosophical and conceptual approach among the relevant decision-makers, as well as field personnel. The long-term success of the Project will ultimately rest on the political willingness of the participating countries to cooperate and to sustain the Project’s outputs well after its completion. To a large extent, the level of this risk will depend on the success of the proposed public education and awareness activities, and the extent to which the public is motivated to participate in the implementation of the project. This risk will be minimised by the deliberate inclusion of major stakeholders in the implementation of the project objectives, as well as through the national IWCAM demonstrations (all of which foster stakeholder participation, along with dissemination of information on the demonstration approach and objectives). Such stakeholder participation must be seen as a key theme and essential requirement throughout all of the components and activities of the project. By creating a higher level of awareness and support for IWCAM activities within such key stakeholders as the NGOs, and the general public, the intention would be to minimise the risk from political indifference by creating stakeholder/electorate pressure to ensure that political will and support is developed and sustained.

91.94. Specific note is made of the need to coordinate with other GEF-funded regional projects. These include Mainstreaming Adaptations to Climate Change (MACC), which builds on the work of the previous GEF-funded project Caribbean Planning for Adaptation to Climate Change (CPACC). In this respect, the current proposed project intends to develop a close relationship with the MACC project. This relationship may include developing agreements (e.g., Memoranda of Cooperation), as appropriate, for the coordination of selected activities of the IWCAM project with activities sponsored under the MACC project. Particular cooperation will be sought in the areas of water supply, land use, and climate change, where such coordination can lead to mutual benefits to both projects and the participating countries, and avoid unnecessary duplication of efforts and resources. It is intended that this relationship, to be facilitated by the GEF Implementing Agencies (UNEP, UNDP and the World Bank) and the various Co-Executing Agencies (CAR/RCU, CEHI and OAS) for each project (and include the participation of the respective Project Steering Committees), will identify the need to cooperate on the following issues:

· Identification of opportunities for specific cooperation

· Coordination (where appropriate) of requests for information from government and/or regional agencies

· Cooperation (where appropriate) in the use of regional human resources and institutional assets

· A general liaison function for all aspects that may be common for the successful implementation of both projects

· Information exchange on project implementation (reports on progress, barriers, options)

92.95. Another important GEF initiative under current development is the Caribbean Large Marine Ecosystem project. It is because of this particular project development that the current IWCAM project proposal does not directly address coastal fisheries and related offshore resources. However, clearly there are important linkages and much of what IWCAM will address relates to the welfare of Caribbean natural resources within the LME. Every effort will be made within both projects to ensure close coordination and complementarity and to share related lessons and best practices.

93.96. It is further intended that the managers of the project implementation/coordination units for all three of these GEF initiatives would closely liase for the purposes of implementing the provisions here outlined. Such a liaison may, however, become inherent within the IWCAM project’s overall sub-component target for closer regional coordination and participation between all countries and partners/donors.

94.97. The Caribbean region is particularly prone to natural hazards such as hurricanes, tropical storms, earthquakes and volcanic activity. Theses events, catastrophic in themselves, can further result in flooding and landslides. Owing to the frequency of these hazards, and the extensive damage, which they often cause, many countries have traditionally focused their efforts on post-disaster response rather than on mitigation. Most countries in the region are now beginning to develop early-warning systems and disaster management plans. The potential for such a natural disaster, which could (temporarily at least) close down project activities, should be recognised.

95.98. In recognition of the increased general vulnerability of people and property to natural disasters, the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted a resolution in the late 1980's designating the last decade of the twentieth century as the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction. This resolution stated: "The objective of the IDNDR is to reduce through concerted international action, especially in developing countries, the loss of life, property damage and social and economic disruption caused by natural disasters such as earthquakes, windstorms, tsunamis, floods, landslides, volcanic eruptions, wildfires, grasshopper and locust infestation, drought and desertification and other calamities of natural origin”. The United Nations called on all governments to:

· formulate natural disaster mitigation programmes

· participate in concerted international action to reduce the effects of natural disasters

· establish, as appropriate, national committees in co-operation with relevant scientific and technological communities

· encourage the provision of appropriate support from public and private sectors

· take measures to increase public awareness of damage risk potential and the value of preventative and mitigation measures.

96.99. The principle aim of the IDNDR is to capitalise on existing knowledge of ways whereby the impact of these natural events can be mitigated, and to foster the systematic transfer of this knowledge to those countries and communities recognisably most at risk. The project should consider part of its implementation of regional assistance to be a role in coordinating, where relevant and appropriate and within the context of IWCAM, with the Scientific and Technical Committee of IDNDR, and ensuring that the PCU has access to any scientific and technical outputs from this committee and makes such relevant outputs available to the participating countries.

97.100. The most likely risk to the sustainability of the Project would be caused by financial hardships, precipitated by the vulnerability of the national economies to downturns in the global economy. Not only is this likely to affect the ability of governments to sustain their respective counterpart contributions during the project’s implementation, but it is also likely to impair their ability to assume an increased financial burden, on completion of the GEF intervention. Further, it is feared that an exacerbation of unemployment and poverty will weaken the commitment of the public to change. Political changes and upheavals are also a risk that can affect commitment to the project. The various project components will aim to significantly reduce these risks by heightening awareness of IWCAM and sustainable development needs at the policy-making level, increasing awareness within the electorate and all public and private sectors, demonstrating the real benefits and value of resource management, and establishing a more linked, coordinated and integrated approach to management of watersheds and their associated coastal areas.

98.101. Legislative and policy reform at the national level is intended to underpin project objectives and IWCAM sustainability at the regional level. The activities and outputs to achieve such reform are expected to capture not only IWCAM concepts but also international and regional environmental and sustainable development agreements such as the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), Cartagena Convention, etc. This legislative and policy reform, coupled to the awareness and training component, should institutionalise the working practices and mechanisms for IWCAM throughout the region. Regional networking and the evolution of regional institutional linkages are intended to provide mainstreaming for IWCAM strategies and mechanisms throughout the countries. It is intended that the development of measurable indicators for the impact of IWCAM reforms, along with indicators of biodiversity and natural resource status and decline or improvement will provide a strong incentive for such policy reforms.

99.102. Project sustainability is inevitably dependent on the sustainability and stability of the executing agency(s) managing the project. In the case of this project there are two co-executing agencies, the Secretariat for the Cartagena Convention (established 1981) and the Caribbean Environmental Health Institute (CEHI, established 1989). Both of these agencies are well-established organisations with many years of experience and work within the region. Their continuing presence in the region and the institutionalisation of IWCAM principles and practices into their permanent programmes is expected to provide a high degree of regional programmatic and institutional sustainability. Additionally, insofar as IWCAM concepts and requirements are already established within the Cartagena Convention, contracting parties will be able to use the lessons learnt to assist them in national implementation of the Convention and its protocols and enabling more ratifications of these regional agreements.

100.103. The relative paucity to date of ratifications of the LBS protocol by the Caribbean states represents a long-term risk to successful application of IWCAM in the region. To address this risk, the project includes activities aimed at promoting awareness and ratification of the LBS protocol as well as other pertinent global and regional agreements such as the Convention on Biological Diversity, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Convention to Combat Desertification and others.

101.104. One major contribution to both project sustainability and the transferable sustainability of the GEF contribution must be the demonstration projects and their replicability throughout and beyond the region. One of the criteria for demonstration project funding has been a clear definition, within the demonstration project proposal, of the potential for replicability of the lessons and best practices developed and evolved from the demonstration. Only those projects that are able to identify a real potential for replication have been selected and the mechanisms for the transfer of lessons and the replication of mitigation and barrier removal activities for IWCAM will be developed through the relevant project components and activities.

4.3 Workplan and Timetable

The workplan for the entire project (UNEP and UNDP) is shown as Table 4 in the following pages.

Only Components 2-5 are part of the UNEP project.