PROJECT EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
GEF COUNCIL WORK PROGRAM SUBMISSION
AGENCY'S PROJECT ID:
FINANCING PLAN (US$)
COUNTRY: Regional: Belize, Guatemala, and
GEF PROJECT/COMPONENT
Honduras
Project
4,892,108
PROJECT TITLE: Environmental Protection and
PDF A
Maritime Transport Pollution Control in the Gulf of
PDF B
500,000
Honduras
GEF A
PDF C
GENCY: Interamerican Development Bank
O
Sub-Total GEF
5,392,108
THER EXECUTING AGENCY(IES):
D
C
URATION: Five years
O-FINANCING*
GEF F
OCAL AREA: International Waters
GEF OPERATIONAL PROGRAM: OP #10:
GEF Agency
Contaminant-based program
Others
6,595,635
GEF STRATEGIC PRIORITY: ·UNDERTAKE
Sub-Total Co-financing:
INNOVATIVE DEMONSTRATIONS FOR REDUCING
Total Project Financing:
11,987,743
CONTAMINANTS AND ADDRESSING WATER
FINANCING FOR ASSOCIATED
SCARCITY·
ACTIVITIES IF ANY:
EXPAND GLOBAL COVERAGE WITH CAPACITY
BUILDING FOUNDATIONAL WORK
LEVERAGED RESOURCES IF ANY:
ESTIMATED STARTING DATE: June 2004
IA FEE: IDB:
*Details provided under the Financial
Modality and Cost Effectiveness section
CONTRIBUTION TO KEY INDICATORS OF THE BUSINESS PLAN: This project addresses the issue of
increasing the number of transboundary projects where management frameworks will be
established. Although the Caribbean Sea has received management attention, the Gulf of
Honduras has not received such focused attention.
RECORD OF ENDORSEMENT ON BEHALF OF THE GOVERNMENT(S):
(Enter Name, Position, Ministry)
Date: (Month, day, year)
Approved on behalf of the (Enter accountable GEF Agency). This proposal has been prepared in
accordance with GEF policies and procedures and meets the standards of the GEF Project Review
Criteria for work program inclusion
Name & Signature
IA/ExA Coordinator
Project Contact Person
Date: (Month, Day, Year)
Tel. and email:
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1.
PROJECT RATIONALE, OBJECTIVES, OUTPUTS, AND ACTIVITIES
1.1.
This project proposal for the environmental management of the Gulf of Honduras
(Environmental Protection and Maritime Transport Pollution Control in the Gulf
of Honduras) has a primary focus of controlling human activities leading to the
degradation of the coastal and marine ecosystems in the Gulf of Honduras. At
risk are the extens ive barrier and patch reefs, sea grass meadows, mangrove
forests, and other sensitive ecosystems in the region. The project objectives
include: enhancing the control of maritime transport-related pollution in the major
ports and navigation lanes, improving navigational safety to avoid groundings and
spills, and reducing land-based inputs to the adjacent coastal and marine areas
within the Gulf of Honduras.
1.2.
In order to achieve its objectives over the five-year period of execution, the
project will implement four main components. Each component has its own
associated objectives, which were identified by the root cause analysis, and would
be carried out during the project preparation process:
Component 1) Building regional capacity for maritime and land-based pollution
control in Central America.
Objective: Create and consolidate a regional network for land-based and
maritime pollution control within the Gulf of Honduras, including the
formulation of institutional and economic arrangements that will assure
the sustainability of the action program.
Component 2) Creating, analyzing and distributing marine environmental
information and developing a strategic action plan for the Gulf of Honduras.
Objective: Fill technical gaps in understanding the state of the
environment, undertake strategic planning to reduce marine pollution in
the Gulf of Honduras, and develop the long-term capacity for gathering,
organizing, analyzing and disseminating marine environmental
information, as a complement to the Regional Environmental Information
System being developed by the Meso-American Barrier Reef System
(MBRS) project.
Component 3) Enhancing navigational safety in shipping lanes;
Objective: Enhance navigational safety in key ports and approaches with
the goal of reducing marine environmental pollution. This would be
accomplished by improving hydrographic capacity, through navigation
safety products and services, and by developing a coastal/oceanographic
GIS database for use in regional planning to prevent and contain oil and
chemical spills.
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Component 4) Improving environmental management in the regional network of
five ports within the Gulf of Honduras.
Objective: Improve environmental management in the regional network of
five ports within the Gulf of Honduras through preparation and
implementation of environmental management programs, including
demonstration pilot activities and the active involvement of the private
sector.
1.3.
These four principal components offer the greatest potential project benefits in
terms of environmental protection from both national and transboundary
perspectives over the interval of the next five years. Through these components,
the project will improve coordination and harmonize regional approaches in the
Gulf of Honduras, which is part of the overall Caribbean basin (covered by the
framework Cartagena Convention). In addition, this project will assist the region
to improve upon environmental management systems designed to mitigate
ongoing pollution and to help prevent potentially catastrophic maritime accidents.
1.4.
The activities to be undertaken will complement other projects in the region to
provide a strong foundation for the long-term sustainable environmental
management of the Gulf of Honduras. A preliminary Transboundary Diagnostic
Analysis (TDA) has been prepared and serves as the basis for the preparation of
this project proposal. The full Global Environment Facility (GEF) project will
update and expand the TDA, and will develop a regionally agreed Strategic
Action Plan (SAP), following clarification of some aspects of the environmental
status of the region. The present project is consistent with the GEF International
Waters Focal Area - Strategic Priorities in Support of the World Summit on
Sustainable Development (WSSD) Outcomes for FY 2003-2006.
1.5. Key indicators and assumptions for the project include: i) Updated TDA based on
improved and expanded data; ii) Regionally endorsed SAP; iii) approved National
Action Plans; iv) nine, completed demonstration projects; v) draft improvements
to policies, legislation, and regulation provided to appropriate Ministries in each
country; vi) fully functional Regional Coordinating Unit, Interministerial
Committees, and Steering Committee; vii) completed Public Participation Plan;
viii) operational Data and Information Management System for the Gulf of
Honduras; ix) agreed and implemented Sustainable Financing Plan.
1.6. Key risks for the project include: i) low socio-economic conditions in the region,
leading to weak civil and governmental support for the environment; ii)
sustainable financial mechanisms may not be identifiable in the time frame;
national and donor commitment to implement SAP may not be strong; iii)
governments may not be willing to address complex, inter-sectoral environmental
issues such as shipping and integrated coastal area management; and iv) if
stakeholders are not allowed to cooperate freely, the sustainability of project will
be at risk.
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2.
COUNTRY OWNERSHIP
A. COUNTRY ELIGIBILITY
2.1. The countries are eligible under paragraph 9(b) of the Global Environment
Facility (GEF) Instrument. The Strategic Action Programme is consistent with
the relevant provisions of regional and global Conventions relating to
International Waters to which the countries are signatories and/or contracting
parties.
B. COUNTRY DRIVENNESS
2.2.
The concept for this project began in the mid-1990's, as the Comisión
Centroamericana de Transporte Marítimo (COCATRAM), Trinational Alliance for
the Gulf of Honduras (TRIGOH), and other regional entities recognized the need to
focus on marine transport issues to protect the sensitive receptors-at-risk, such as
coral barrier reef, seagrass beds, mangroves, and sensitive species. Although the
present project has expanded to address land-based activities as well as marine-
based, elements of the original concept remain the same. Since the
conceptualization of the project, all countries have participated actively in the GEF
project preparation, seeing the possibility of their early ideas coming to fruition.
They have been actively involved in framing the project and participating in
various project development activities. They have held four regional technical
workshops (in San Pedro Sula and Tegucigalpa in Honduras, Guatemala City in
Guatemala, and Belize City in Belize), and have been actively involved in
demonstration project preparation, Project Brief development, finalization of the
Preliminary TDA, and other actions.
2.3.
Further evidence of the three countries' commitment to the protection of the
marine environment in the Gulf of Honduras comes from the investments these
countries are also making in order to reduce the degradation of the fragile
ecosystems in the Gulf of Honduras (see the Baseline Cost Analysis in Annex A).
However, despite these efforts, the poverty experienced in much of the Gulf's
watershed, compounded by relatively high population growth rates, has resulted
in the overuse and misuse of the region's terrestrial, coastal and marine resources.
The present project will strengthen the three countries' capacity to address
significant environmental problems in the Gulf of Honduras that have both local
and global importance.
2.4.
Finally, it should be noted that the countries in the region support reduction in
pollution from port operations and maritime transport, through their support of the
Cartagena Convention for the Protection and Development of the Marine
Environment of the Wider Caribbean Region and its Protocol Concerning Co-
operation in Combating Oil Spills in the Wider Caribbean Region.
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3.
PROGRAM AND POLICY CONFORMITY
A. PROJECT DESIGN
3.1.
FIT TO GEF OPERATIONAL PROGRAM AND STRATEGIC PRIORITY. This project is in
conformity with the GEF Operational Strategy and Operational Programmes, in
particular with OP #10 - International Waters: Contaminant-based Program.
Under the Contaminant-Based Operational Programme 10, several outputs from
the Ship-Related Contaminants Component projects are envisaged. This would
include the implementation "of measures to prevent the transfer of non-
indigenous species in ship ballast water, demonstration of new technology to help
ships avoid collisions in busy corridors and the implementation of measures to
prevent unauthorized releases of contaminants while leveraging private sector
investment. The new information technology may discourage releases of oil and
non-degradable waste, and provide a means of determining whether ballast water
was exchanged in accordance with best practices to prevent transfer of species
and to address MARPOL issues. Once barriers to use of the new technology are
overcome, efficiency gains and reduced insurance costs may raise the profits of
the private sector and some of these profits might contribute to financial
sustainability following the end of GEF involvement (para 10.16)."
3.2.
The present project also is consistent with the recent Draft GEF International
Waters Focal Area-Strategic Priorities in Support of WSSD Outcomes for FY
2003-2006. The document lists various priorities, including:
o Priority A. Catalyze financial resource mobilization for implementation of
reforms and stress reduction measures agreed through TDA-SAP or
equivalent processes for particular transboundary systems. This project will
develop a full TDA and a regionally endorsed SAP, with broad participation
from development banks, private sector, and other principal economic actors
to secure financial resources for implementation of reforms.
o Priority B. Expand global coverage of foundational capacity building
addressing the two key program gaps and support for targeted learning. This
project includes training and other capacity building measures to expand on
the foundational capacity of the Gulf of Honduras region, where capacity
issues are at the forefront.
o Priority C. Undertake innovative demonstrations for reducing contaminants
and addressing water scarcity issues. This project would develop replicable
demonstration projects to reduce contaminant loads to the marine environment
-- focusing on issues such as shipping safety, port and harbor operations,
watershed management, and integrated coastal planning and management.
3.3.
This project also is consistent with the "Action plan to respond to the
recommendations of the Second GEF Assembly, the policy recommendations of
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the Third Replenishment, the Second Overall Performance Study of the GEF and
the World Summit on Sustainable Development" as discussed and agreed at the
May 2003 GEF Council Meeting. It is also consistent with the document
"Strategic Business Planning: Direction and Targets," also discussed and agreed
at the May 2003 GEF Council Meeting. The following internal specific targets are
consistent with the Gulf of Honduras project:
o Under Strategic Priority IW-2:
(a) By 2006, GEF will have increased by at least one-third the global coverage of
representative waterbodies (an additional 9-10) with country-driven, science-
based, joint-management programs with GEF assistance. The Gulf of Honduras
represents one of the waterbodies that is of paramount global significance (note its
association with the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System) and that is under-
represented in terms of both subject matter (marine shipping threats) and
geographic scope.
B. SUSTAINABILITY (INCLUDING FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY)
3.4.
Good working examples of integrated planning and management among the three
Gulf of Honduras states are few, though there are numerous regional bodies and
cooperative efforts (see the Regional Programming Context in the Project Brief).
Considerable time and effort has already been spent to foster a new paradigm of
co-operation in the project preparation phase among the relevant decision makers.
The riparian countries have shown their determination to solve problems jointly
right from the beginning of the process. During the several regional workshops
and meetings held during the PDF-B process, the countries have shown a great
sense of commitment. During project implementation, this commitment would
need to be continued with a wider set of decision makers as well as the field
personnel. The incorporation of a project component into the overall design
would establish a more strategic regional coordination framework, and would
bolster existing weaknesses at various levels in the area of environmental
management and sustainable development. A key feature of an effective regional
coordination framework would be to reduce any duplication of efforts by projects
funded by various bi-lateral initiatives between the Gulf of Honduras countries
and donors.
3.5.
To ensure the financial sustainability of the Program, the Financial Sustainability
Plan (Annex K) has proposed a variety of funding sources from within the region
that are sufficient to keep the core SAP activities on a solid financial footing after
the five-year execution period planned for the program. These options include the
following:
· Fees for port services, such as treatment of oily bilge water and garbage
disposal.
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· Port fees directly levied to support SAP activities. This could be based on a
per boat basis, or, perhaps better, it could be based on cargo tonnage, with the
fee depending on the potential toxicity of the cargo.
· Fees collected from cruise ship tourists.
· Reimbursements in the event of accidents. Money not used in the spill
cleanup could be used for SAP activities, such as those related to spill
prevention.
· Partnerships with in-kind and monetary contributions from private, non-
governmental, and international entities.
· Money from the general fund of each country.
C. REPLICABILITY
3.5.
One key intervention contributing to project sustainability and the long-lasting
contribution of the GEF contribution is the demonstration projects and their
replicability throughout the basin. To be funded, the demonstration projects
would need to clearly show the potential for replicability of the lessons learned
and the best practices developed in the project. These demonstration projects are
consistent with the SAP development process.
D. STAKEHOLDER INVOLVEMENT
3.6.
Active Stakeholder involvement is envisioned throughout the project. The
various demonstration projects would all have activities designed to actively
engage stakeholders. The project itself has a Stakeholder component (1.2) of
nearly $700,000 focused on Stakeholder involvement and public participation.
Moreover, nearly each element of the project has specific stakeholder-oriented
activities, so the total value of the GEF support for direct Stakeholder
involvement exceeds the direct budget. Stakeholders will be involved in public
outreach, project activities, demonstration projects, Steering Committee meetings,
monitoring and evaluation, NAP, TDA and SAP development, and other phases
of the project.
E. MONITORING AND EVALUATION
3.7.
Monitoring and Evaluation include a series of linked activities, including a
complete Project Document, Project Implementation Review (PIR), Tripartite
Reviews (TPR), Annual and Quarterly Project Reports (and thence to the GEF
Project Implementation Re view Process), Work Plan, and independent mid-term
and final project Evaluations (see Table 7 in the ProBrief). Monitoring and
evaluation begins with preparation of the Project Document, complete with a
logical framework matrix (LogFrame) developed according to strict monitoring
and evaluation (M&E) procedures, including clear indicators of implementation
progress and means of verification. This Project Brief includes the required
LogFrame matrix with progress indicators and verifiers. Approximately
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US$80,000 will be allocated for M&E and TPRs, which will be undertaken by
independent experts and the IDB.
4.
FINANCIAL MODALITY AND COST EFFECTIVENESS
4.1.
Taking into account all contributions, the GEF alternative amounts to US$
57,603,084. The difference between the GEF alternative and the baseline amounts
to US$ 11,177,695 which represents the incremental cost of achieving sustainable
global benefits. The requested GEF grant contribution for the incremental cost is
US$4,892,108, excluding the PDF-B resources. Other institutions such as the
national governments, USAID, MACHC, or COCATRAM will provide the
remaining funds required to meet the incremental costs.
5.
INSTITUTIONAL COORDINATION AND SUPPORT
A. CORE COMMITMENTS AND LINKAGES
5.1.
IDB is providing a large range of support to Central America that complements
activities scheduled under this project. The Project Brief lists nearly two dozen
projects associated with the environment with which IDB has a central role in the
region. These provide direct linkages to the present project. In addition, U.S.
AID is providing nearly $10 million in funding for a major project in the
Mesoamerican Biological Corridor -- PROARCA. This project has made
linkages with these various projects to leverage the resources associated with this
request.
B. CONSULTATION, COORDINATION AND COLLABORATION BETWEEN IAS, AND
IAS AND EXAS, IF APPROPRIATE.
5.2.
IDB has had extensive consultation in the region for this project and others. Their
experience in the region has been enhanced by three IDB country offices, which
are providing strong coordination and consultation on the details of this project.
C. PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION ARRANGEMENT
5.3.
The project will be implemented by IDB. The Executing Age ncy for the project
will be a collaborative effort between Comisión Centroamericana sobre Medio
Ambiente y Desarrollo (CCAD) and COCATRAM. The project itself will be
governed by a Steering Committee consisting of the three riparian countries. A
Regional Coordination Unit under the Executing Agency will assist the project
with all administrative and technical aspects. Each Demonstration project will
have a small administrative function associated with it. Finally, each country will
have an Interministerial Coordination Unit, to assure broad intersectoral
coordination and broad government stakeholder participation.
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Required Annexes:
Annex A.
Incremental Cost Annex
Annex B.
Logframe Matrix
Annex C.
STAP Roster Technical Review
Annex C1.
Implementing Agency Response to STAP/IA Comments
Optional Annexes:
Annex D
Demonstration process selection and replicability
Annex E
Preliminary Transboundary Diagnostic Analysis
Preliminary analysis of the transboundary environmental issues facing the
Gulf of Honduras. (Separate document.)
Annex F
Public Involvement Plan Summary
Summary of how various Stakeholders will be involved in the Gulf of
Honduras, including governance, management, and implementation, along
with reference to the major Objectives/Components where their
participation is identified.
Annex G
Baseline Activities and Co-financing
Based on input from the countries, as well as the IADB, the baseline and
co-financing were identified to assist in the Incremental Cost Analysis.
Annex H
List of Publicatio ns Prepared During the PDF-B
Published materials available from the IADB describing the process and
steps taken to develop the Preliminary TDA and the Project Brief. (Not
used at this time.)
Annex I
Institutional Arrangements
Schematic of the Implementation Structure for the Gulf of Honduras,
including governance, management, regional activities, and national
activities.
Annex J
Copies of GEF Operational Focal Point Endorsement Letters
Annex K
Financial Sustainability Plan
Annex L
Projects Financed by the IADB
Annex M
Causal Chain Analysis
Annex N
Draft MOU COCATRAM-CCAD
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