OPERATIONAL PROGRAM NUMBER 8
WATERBODY-BASED OPERATIONAL PROGRAM
GUIDANCE
8.1
Guidance for this operational program (OP) comes from the GEF Council in the
Operational Strategy. Operational Programs in the International Waters focal area
provide a planning framework for the design, implementation, and coordination of
different sets of GEF International water projects that can achieve particular global
environmental benefits. Through different operational programs, emphasis is placed
on a variety of interventions and certain types of projects that can lead to
implementation of more comprehensive approaches for restoring and protecting the
international waters environment. Operational programs are established to ensure
systematic coordination among implementing agencies, countries, and other actors as
well as to generate programmatic benefits for the global environment that would not
otherwise be achievable.
8.2
In the Waterbody-Based operational program, the GEF will play a catalytic role
in assisting a group of countries seeking to leverage cofinancing in association with
national funding, development financing, agency regular programs, and private sector
action for necessary elements of a comprehensive approach for sustainably managing
the international waters environment. The goal is to assist countries in making changes
in the ways that human activities are conducted in a number of sectors so that the
particular waterbody and its multi-country drainage basin can sustainably support
human activities. GEF helps countries to utilize the full range of technical, economic,
financial, regulatory, and institutional measures that are necessary.
8.3
Projects in this operational program focus mainly on seriously threatened
waterbodies and the most imminent transboundary threats to their ecosystems as
described in the Operational Strategy1. Consequently, priority is placed on changing
sectoral policies and activities responsible for the most serious root causes or needed to
solve the top priority transboundary environmental concerns. GEF may fund the
transaction costs of neighboring countries collaborating on defining the priority
transboundary environmental concern of the waterbody and determining expected
baseline and additional actions needed to resolve each priority concern. Based on the
countries' commitments to change sectoral policies or activities and to fund expected
baseline investments, GEF may fund the agreed incremental cost of additional
measures.
1 Imminent transboundary concerns that seriously threaten waterbodies include, pollution, over-
exploitation of living and non-living resources, habitat degradation, and nonindigenous species.
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PROGRAM OBJECTIVES
8.4
The long-term objective of the program is to undertake a series of projects that
involve helping groups of countries to work collaboratively with the support of
implementing agencies in achieving changes in sectoral policies and activities so that
transboundary environmental concerns degrading specific waterbodies can be
resolved.
8.5
Short-term objectives of the program are to:
(a)
undertake a series of projects that utilize a spectrum of interventions for
addressing different transboundary environmental concerns in different
types of waterbodies that are representative of diverse geographic
settings across the world;
(b)
derive lessons learned from experiences in using various types of
institutional arrangements at the national and regional levels for
collaboration in addressing transboundary priority environmental
concerns; provisions will be included for periodic stock-taking and
review of lessons learned as projects are implemented;
(c)
assess the usefulness of Strategic Action Program formulation in
leveraging national/donor actions at the policy/investment levels, in
coordinating support of regular implementing agency programs, and in
serving as a logical framework for M&E;
(d)
initiate actions toward resolving transboundary environmental concerns
for a variety of waterbody settings with at least one freshwater basin
project and one large marine ecosystem project in each of the world's five
development regions;2 and
(e)
fully develop a GEF strategic approach to a specific, damaged Large
Marine Ecosystem (LME) so that significant investments are leveraged
and regular programs of implementing agencies are harnessed to address
priority transboundary environmental concerns in the highly damaged
large marine ecosystem.
PROGRAM SCOPE
2 The five development regions are Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, Latin America/Caribbean, Middle East/North
Africa, and Eastern Europe/Former Soviet Union.
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8.6
The operational program consists of projects that utilize different types of
interventions to make changes in sectoral policies and activities which degrade the
international waters environment. A range of transboundary environmental concerns,
different types of waterbodies, and a number of geographic settings are utilized across
the world to test various interventions and learn from implementation. Implementing
agencies assist the countries with tasks according to their comparative advantages.
Groups of countries work collaboratively in learning about and resolving priority
transboundary environmental concerns.
8.7
Waterbodies with varied ecological systems and economic value will be the
subject of GEF projects. Freshwater systems range from transboundary river and lake
basins to transboundary groundwater systems. Marine waters are primarily addressed
through LMEs. These are the equivalent of sea-based ecosystems for areas of common
circulation or enclosed/semi-enclosed seas. There are 49 that make up the continental
shelfs and associated currents and these provide about 95 percent of ocean fish catches.
Certain priority portions of LMEs, limited ocean spaces, or certain living resources of
the ocean can also be targeted for interventions in this operational program.
Characteristics of the Waterbodies
8.8
The waterbodies chosen for projects will encompass a range of different
transboundary environmental concerns, geographic settings, and regions as follows:
(a)
transboundary concerns are defined by neighboring countries in a
transboundary diagnostic analysis;
(b)
transboundary concerns create significant threats to the functioning of the
ecosystems and a focus is placed on the highest threats;
(c)
most countries contributing to the problems wish to collaborate;
(d)
resources are programmed to support projects in many different
development regions rather than being clustered on one continent; and
(e)
LMEs address marine issues, coastal zone issues, and relevant freshwater
basin concerns.
Characteristics of the Interventions
8.9
Assistance may be provided by the GEF to:
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(a)
conduct a transboundary diagnostic analysis to identify priority
transboundary environmental concerns;
(b)
formulate a Strategic Action Program of actions each country needs to
take to address the priority transboundary concerns (including
differentiation of agreed expected baseline actions and those that would
be additional in nature) and to leverage non-GEF resources for
implementing both baseline and additional actions;
(c)
support the incremental cost of technical assistance, capacity building,
limited demonstrations, and certain investments needed to address the
priority transboundary concerns as outlined below under "Types of
Activities".
(d)
encourage the use of sound science and technological innovations for
management.
EXPECTED OUTCOMES
8.10 International water projects normally require a long-term commitment on the
part of governments, implementing agencies, donors, and the GEF to leverage the
intended sectoral changes -- to address the root causes -- of complex environmental
problems in this focal area. Many GEF international water projects require political
commitments on the part of neighboring countries to work together. It takes time to
nurture the capacity to work together, establish factual priorities, and decide on joint
commitments for action. Collaborative processes are fostered through a logical
progression of GEF-funded activities -- from project development to analyses of
transboundary priority environmental concerns to formulation of an international water
Strategic Action Program to eventual regional capacity building or country-specific
investment projects. The strategic action program is a key element for the GEF because
it will contain the agreed transboundary analyses for determining priorities and the
array of expected baseline and additional actions needed for resolving each priority
problem. Some groups of countries may already have in place the analyses and
identified the environmental protection commitments needed to support formulation
of a strategic action program, and in those cases Project Development Facility (PDF)
funds might be utilized to pull together the array of reasonable baseline and additional
actions needed to solve the priority transboundary problems and then quickly proceed
to project preparation in conjunction with leveraged funding.
8.11 The GEF will normally play an important catalytic role in restoring/protecting
waterbodies but it will be only a small part of the larger multicountry effort with
assistance from donors and implementing agency (IA) regular programs. Development
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or strengthening of multicountry institutional arrangements are often appropriate
measures for support and countries should ensure financial sustainability of these
arrangements to ensure that the expected outcomes can be achieved, which in some
cases may be years after the GEF project has been completed.
8.12 Expected outcomes of this program include reduction of stress to the
international waters environment in parts of all five development regions across the
globe as a result of countries' changing their individual sectoral policies, making
critical investments, developing necessary programs, and collaborating jointly in
managing transboundary water resources. In addition, achievement of the program
objectives listed herein may be considered as an expected outcome of the programming
of projects in this operational program.
8.13 Key assumptions are that:
(a)
over time, the full range of technical, economic, financial, regulatory, and
institutional measures necessary to restore and protect the waterbody
would have been taken by collaborating countries to accompany the
leveraged development assistance of regular programs of the
implementing agencies, international co-funding of investments, and
private sector action; and
(b)
participating and donor countries would have committed funding for
needed baseline actions.
PROGRAM OUTPUTS
8.14 The outputs of this program are a representative number of transboundary
freshwater basin international water projects (both surface and subsurface basins) as
part of a freshwater basin component as well as a representative number of
international water projects focusing on marine/coastal ecosystems (or perhaps limited
oceanic areas and their living resources) as part of a large marine ecosystem component
of the program. Different considerations, elements, and interventions may be
characteristic of projects addressing these varying types of waterbodies, consequently
two distinct components are required for programming. Of course, since each project
addresses transboundary concerns, global environmental benefits constitute the
fundamental program output.
8.15 Another significant output involves the programming (or targeting) of
individual GEF projects in one area to make a catalytic, on the ground impact in a case
that is so complex that no single country, no single donor, or no single implementing
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agency can make a real difference. These programmatic global environmental benefits
represent a synergistic effect from GEF activities.
8.16 Outputs from individual international water projects include:
(a)
a comprehensive transboundary environmental analysis identifying top
priority multi-country environmental concerns;
(b)
a strategic action program consisting of expected baseline and additional
actions needed to resolve each transboundary concern;
(c)
country commitments to implement expected baseline and additional
actions;
(d)
documentation of stakeholder participation in determining expected
baseline and additional actions to be implemented;
(e)
implementation of measures with incremental costs that help resolve the
priority transboundary environmental concerns; and
(f)
monitoring and evaluation indicators related to the international waters
project and subsequent actions following project completion (process
indicators, stress reduction indicators, and environmental status
indicators).
TYPES OF ACTIVITIES
8.17 This operational program heavily relies on cooperation among Implementing
Agencies as part of specific projects as well as a significant commitment from each
Implementing Agency to target its regular development assistance programs to the
international waters project area along with the GEF. These Implementing Agency
commitments to action (including regular agency programs such as capacity building)
and individual country commitments to baseline and additional specific actions are
often contained in Strategic Action Programs developed with GEF assistance. Typical
GEF projects first contain activities to complete this strategic work and gain agreement
among countries and then with implementing agencies. Then, subsequent regional
capacity building or country-specific investment projects fund the incremental costs of
priority additional measures along with baseline actions funded by countries,
implementing agency regular programs, donors, private sector, or other sources.
8.18 Indicative activities for projects in each of the two components of this
operational program include:
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Transboundary Freshwater Basin Component
8.19 A number of transboundary lake basins, river basins, and groundwater basins
provide settings for application of the operational program to projects in this
component. Rather than addressing all the environmental problems in the basins of
these waterbodies, GEF seeks to focus on the top priority problems that are
transboundary in nature so that sectoral policies and activities that create the problems
are changed in the basin. Joint actions among nations and regional cooperative
institutional arrangements are often key features of these projects. The projects run the
range from capacity building and technical assistance to specific investments with
incremental costs. Demonstration projects are often included to test new or innovative
interventions. Institutional elements such as water quality standards/regulations,
permit processes, or water minimization/pollution requirements are harmonized
among countries. Institutional arrangements such as commissions are often developed
or strengthened to provide mechanisms for countries to sustain actions after the GEF
projects ends. The scientific community is often also involved in providing advice as
part of the institutional arrangements.
Large Marine Ecosystem Component
8.20 With ninety-five percent of all marine fisheries in the world coming from 49
large marine ecosystems that make up continental shelf areas, projects in this
component are essential for food security and for sustainable use of coastal resources.
Linkages among coastal areas, marine waters, and their contributing freshwater basins
are highlighted to provide the necessary comprehensive approach to addressing
transboundary environ-mental concerns.
8.21 Integrated freshwater basin-coastal area management measures are important for
protecting large marine ecosystems. In hotspots of transboundary environmental
damage, targeted technical assistance or investment projects are encouraged to address
serious problems. If only several of a large number of riparian countries wish to
proceed, formulation of a strategic action program would be a useful, incremental first
step. In addition, cooperating countries may wish to jointly address environmental
problems of an oceanic area not included in a large marine ecosystem. Use of new
technological and institutional tools is encouraged. Technological advances are being
introduced that use information technology and computer simulation to help make
critical management decisions for marine resources and tools such as the Code of
Conduct for Responsible Fishing consistent with the Law of the Sea Convention also
exist. Some projects may address issues (e.g. destructive fishing techniques) that are
common to many countries in which changes in sectoral policies or activities re needed
to maintain the environmental sustainability of marine and coastal waters.
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Indicative Activities for Capacity Building or Investment Projects
(a)
technical assistance for countries deciding how they jointly desire to work
together with committee structures to collaborate more effectively;
(b)
funding the communication infrastructure for committees and for
stakeholder participation;
(c)
advice and assistance in stakeholder/NGO participation design,
conducting social assessments, etc.;
(d)
limited demonstration projects to determine feasibility;
(e)
feasibility studies;
(f)
technical assistance and capacity building in how country interministerial
teams work, how they involve stakeholders and how they determine
expected baseline and additional priority actions; and
(g)
advice and facilitation in formulation of the strategic action program.
8.22 The GEF may fund the incremental cost of priority elements of the strategic
action program that address the transboundary priorities. This funding could provide
cost-shared incentives for leveraging government, private sector, or donor action in
implementing priority solutions on the ground. Examples of indicative activities might
include:
(a)
a modest cost share in supporting establishment of an industrial toxics
pretreatment program or physical interventions to separate easily treated
municipal wastewater from more dangerous industrial wastewater;
(b)
incremental cost funding for wetland restoration to provide habitats and
to mitigate the effects of pollutants before they reach international waters;
(c)
innovative approaches such as tradable pollution discharge permit
systems or offset programs to cost-effectively improve water quality in
shared basins;
(d)
cost-share best management practice installation for nonpoint source
control of land-based pollution in degraded, priority watersheds; and
(e)
building a human resources capability to strengthen institutions.
Hotspots of transboundary degradation may be targeted for funding if
information is sufficient to characterize the transboundary nature of the
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problem and the country (or countries) commit to undertaking the needed
measures. Single-country versions of strategic action programs may be
appropriate to leverage other funding for baseline and additional actions.
INTERAGENCY COORDINATION AND PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT
8.23 All three implementing agencies are normally involved on a task force for
project preparation with environmental ministries of each participating nation. This is
because each implementing agency has a comparative advantage, something
additional, to bring to the table with its regular programs. Formulation of strategic
Action Programs (SAP) is the responsibility of the collaborating governments and
national/regional stakeholders. Strategic action programs formulation provides an
opportunity for implementing agencies to support country initiatives according to the
implementing agency's comparative advantage and to bring their regular programs to
bear where needed. While multiple implementing agency involvement is not
mandatory, it will be encouraged. It is through strategic action program formulation
that baseline and additional priority actions are identified.
8.24 Stakeholder involvement and participation of different sectoral ministries in
each recipient country constitute important elements of GEF activities concerning
international waters. Stakeholder involvement will differ at each level of planning and
administration. Participation of these various stakeholders (including the private
sector) within and across countries can improve the quality, effectiveness, and
sustainability of projects. However, there is a need to identify the key stakeholders
through a stakeholder analysis or social assessment, as well as the levels at which their
involvement will be critical and the means to ensure their effective participation.
Linkage through computer-based networks is promising. Networking among stake-
holders and government organizations can foster broad involvement in planning and
implementing GEF international waters projects and should help to improve the
quality, public awareness, and scientific basis of international waters projects. These
technological innovations promote transparency among cooperating nations regarding
key information, encourage broader participation by stakeholder groups within
country and across countries, and provide a basis for evaluation. Interministerial
coordination is essential so that actual changes can be made in sectoral activities.
RESOURCES
8.25 With a large number of highly damaged and threatened waterbodies worldwide,
the coming 3-year period will be utilized to select good examples of projects in each of
the two components of the operational program. During the planning period, half the
projects will be in an initial strategic stage while half will have been reviewed by
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Council and will have begun implementation. The modest estimate of financial
resources needed for this operational program is $75 - 90 million for FY1998 - 2000 to
accomplish objectives stated herein.
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