Agency’s Project ID: 1056
Country: Pakistan
Project Title: Protection and Management of Pakistan Wetlands
GEF Agency: UNDP
Other Executing Agency(ies): Ministry of Primary Industries
Duration: 7 years
GEF Focal Area: Biodiversity
GEF Operational Program: Coastal, Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems (OP 2)
GEF Strategic Priority: Mainstreaming Biodiversity Conservation in Production Landscapes and Sectors
Estimated Starting Date: Late 2003
IA Fee: $382,000
Record of endorsement on behalf of the Government(s):
Mr. Jawed Ali Khan, Director General / Date: March 7, 2003Ministry of Environment, Local Government and Rural Development
Financing Plan (US$)
GEF Project/Component
Project / 2,991,350
PDF A
PDF B / 342,000
PDF C
Sub-Total GEF
/ 3,333,350Co-financing
UNDP / 1,500,000WWF Int’l Network / 1,200,000
EU and other Donors / 6,064,063
PDF B co-financing / 25,000
Sub-Total Co-financing: / 8,789,063
Total Project Financing: / 12,122,413
Approved on behalf of UNDP. 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.
Frank Pinto Project Contact Person
Executive Coordinator Tehmina Akhtar
17 July 2003 Telephone No.: 212 906 5460
email:
1. Project Summary
a) Project rationale, objectives, outputs, and activities.
The Protection and Management of Pakistan Wetlands Project aims to promote the sustainable conservation of freshwater and marine wetlands and their associated globally important biodiversity in Pakistan. The Project strategy is based on two sub-sets of objectives. The first will provide the required policy, institutional, technical and financial framework and generate positive public support essential for the mainstreaming of wetlands conservation. The second involves the design and implementation of progressive, participatory management plans for four independent Demonstration Sites, each chosen to be representative of a broad eco-region in Pakistan. It includes specific mechansims to secure financial sustainability and enhanced replication and proliferation of viable wetlands management interventions in a nation-wide, on-going wetlands conservation initiative.
The key to achieving and sustaining global environmental benefits is to develop the institutional capacity to manage wetlands in an inter-sectoral setting that addresses the needs of all stakeholders while ensuring conservation of biodiversity. Given the decentralised nature of governance in Pakistan, such institutional capacity development must emphasize socially appropriate solutions at the local level. Recognizing this challenge, the project strategy includes the following components dealing with institutional capacity development:
· The development of a coordinating National Wetlands Conservation Strategy and a national wetlands management mechanism within the National Council for Conservation of Wildlife (NCCW). This will provide the policy, regulatory and institutional framework at the national level and associated locally relevant implementation guidelines. The extensive involvement of many government agencies at all levels will ensure relevance and political acceptance of the strategy and implementation guidelines.
· At each site, the provisions of the National Wetlands Conservation Strategy will be enshrined in a local conservation action plan, to be implemented with the approval of the locally-formed Wetlands Management Committee, which will include representation from the provincial conservation agencies, other government agencies and the local stakeholders. The communities living in or adjacent to the sites will be mobilised and organised into a conservancy level management framework, and empowered to apply existing government rules and regulations with specific relevance to the conservation of wetlands resources and the need for self regulation in respect of the sustainable use of national resources.
· A comprehensive programme of training for key stakeholders at the national, provincial/territorial, and local levels will be implemented.
· A programme of education and awareness raising will be implemented. Interventions under this objective will target decision makers, religious leaders, resource users, school children and the general public.
· Interventions in support of institutional financial sustainability will be implemented during the project. On-going training, institutional capacity building and awareness components will be financed wholly or partly from the financial sustainability mechanisms developed under this component.
b) Key indicators, assumptions, and risks (from Logframe)
Key indicators:
· Appropriate positive or negative trends in population levels of globally significant biodiversity and indicator species in designated wetlands complexes as measured by surveys at the end of the project, compared with baseline figures established in year 1;
· Quality of life of people who subsist wholly or partially on wetlands resources is at least maintained at baseline levels or has increased during the project, based on annual surveys of average household income indicators;
· Levels of public awareness about wetlands have increased by at least 50%, based on standardised surveys conducted in year 1 and at the end of the project;
· Status of threats to globally endangered biota in the model wetlands has decreased substantially, based on participatory TRA surveys;
· Subsistence use of wetland resources at the end of the project is sustainable without exacerbating poverty in local communities – as assessed by household surveys documenting quantities of resources harvested and average household incomes at the end of the project, compared with baseline levels assessed in year 1;
· Alternate and/or diversified livelihoods are established by the end of the project for people dependent on regimes of unsustainable wetlands use – as assessed by household surveys documenting type of livelihood at the end of the project, compared with baseline levels assessed in year 1.
Main assumptions:
· Socio-political situation remains favourable and Government support continues; (b) Economic conditions in the sub-region do not decline significantly below the norms of FY 2002. (c) Natural environmental conditions remain favourable.
· That Local communities continue to participate in project implementation
Risks:
There are several potential risks to the Project’s success, but none is perceived to be of such a magnitude as to jeopardise implementation. Risks have been assessed during the evolution of the Project and measures implemented to reduce their impact.
Regional conflict, economic insecurity and law and order situation may worsen leading to the project being delayed. Little can be done to mitigate regional and large scale economic conditions, but the project will maintain an active dialogue with governmental agencies to cement their support to the project.
Various governmental departments may have conflicting views on the Strategy which could jeopardise its formal adoption, but government agencies have been actively involved in strategy formulation, with regular consultation with PSC to elicit, address and incorporate comments.
Several worthy initiatives compete with conservation issues in Pakistani society and hence people may not pay enough attention to them. Detailed social surveys will determine the most effective means of propagating conservation and technically competent organisations and individuals will be co-opted for the awareness raising campaigns.
2. Country Ownership
a) Country Eligibility
Pakistan ratified the Convention on Biological Diversity on 26 July 1994 and is currently eligible for technical assistance from UNDP.
b) Country Driven-ness
Pakistan has demonstrated its commitment to biodiversity conservation by supporting international policies such as the Ramsar Convention[i] since 1978, the Bonn Convention on Migratory Species since 1987 and to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) since 1976. Sixteen of Pakistan’s wetlands had been designated as Ramsar sites by June, 2002. At the national level, Pakistan has formulated a National Conservation Strategy (NCS) in 1992 and a Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) in 2000 to provide a policy framework for biodiversity conservation. The BAP calls for integration of national policies, development of appropriate legislation measures for in-situ and ex-situ conservation of species, research and raising public awareness for sustainable management of Pakistan’s biodiversity. It emphasises the value of wetlands as important repositories of biodiversity. The country launched a National Environment Action Plan (NEAP) in 2001 as a follow-up to the recommendations of the mid-term review of NCS. The plan includes ecosystem management as one of the four core areas of NEAP and wetlands management and protection is a component of the ecosystems management core area. Pakistan has also formulated a draft Wetlands Action Plan that was formally adopted by the GoP in 2000. In providing an overview of the scope and condition of Pakistan’s wetlands, this document highlighted poverty and ignorance as the prime factors contributing to the degradation of wetland resources. The plan presented a list of recommendations for action to be taken by key stakeholders. Through its support for international conventions, Pakistan has demonstrated its commitment to biodiversity conservation in general and wetlands conservation in particular. The adoption of a Wetlands Action Plan recently has further demonstrated the GoP’s recognition of the importance of wetlands and the need to find sustainable solutions for their conservation. Further, GoP’s support to the PWP during the PDF(B) phase by participating in and facilitating site selection, field surveys and project formulation is another evidence of the priority that wetlands conservation is being awarded. The pledged involvement of government agencies during implemention is expected to enhance the GoP’s support for wetlands conservation. Sustainable institutional backing for wetlands conservation is also called for in the training and technical capacity building aspects of the project. The recent initiatives by GoP for devolution of power at district and tehsil level provide a strengthened context for implementation of such initiatives at the site level. These inititatives include the appointment of district level Environmental Magistrates and provincial level Environmental Tribunals. In conjunction with a decentralised administration, these institutions provide a strengthened institutional base at the local level for project implementation. Additionally, the decentralisation of power provides an effective framework for participatory management.
3. Program and Policy Conformity
a) Project Design
The Project is in line with the GEF’s new Emerging Directions in the Biodiversity Focal Area, and is consistent with the objective of Strategic Priority 2: Mainstreaming Biodiversity Conservation in Production Sectors and Landscapes. The project is designed on the premise that sustainable management of wetlands requires the mainstreaming of biodiversity and ecological considerations within the productive uses of wetlands and their values, for both commercial and subsistence purposes. The project places emphasis on promoting a broad based integration of biodiversity conservation within the broader development agenda at the national, provincial and local level in the country, through capacity building, advocacy and awareness raising, and demonstration activities. The project will focus on building systemic capacity for mainstreaming through its work on legal, policy and awareness issues, while developing institutional and individual capacities within government agencies and a number of other stakeholders. It will promote partnership building between agencies, local communities and private sector that secure biodiversity conservation and promote economic gains.
The project is consistent with the GEF Operational Programme 2: Coastal, Freshwater and Marine Ecosystems. The combination of initiatives in biodiversity conservation, awareness raising and community participation approach fulfils GEF’s emphasis on “integrated approaches to coastal area development” and “strengthen(ing) the network of conservation areas to conserve coastal, marine and freshwater biodiversity”. The Project complies with the GEF’s guidance on developing programmes based on ecosystems by implementing activities at a wetland complex level where each complex is representative of a distinct ecosystem. Such activities will fulfil the GEF’s consideration for “making systematic progress in securing global diversity objectives on the basis of a set of representative and complementary ecosystems of global biodiversity significance”. Other considerations such as those on designing a “framework for the design and implementation of cohesive systems of national actions” are met through the formation of a National Wetlands Management Strategy. The project is also relevant in part to OP 2 Arid and Semi-Arid Ecosystems and OP 4 on Mountain Ecosystems. In accordance with GEF’s “Considerations in Developing Operational Programmes”, the Project encompasses the central issues of (a) long-term protection; and (b) sustainable use of biodiversity.
The project aims to conserve globally important biodiversity in Pakistan by enhancing the capacity of conservation agencies to protect wetlands through an enhanced policy framework provided by an upgraded National Wetlands Conservation Strategy (NWCS) and through the establishment of federal and regional wetlands management mechanisms. A nation-wide awareness campaign is envisaged to create conditions conducive to the replication of proven conservation techniques. The case for global interest is strengthened by the reality that without the external support that is available at present, this biodiversity may be lost to the world. Additionally, the national level initiatives in awareness raising, wetlands strategy formulation, technical capacity development and GIS-based management of wetlands will create sustainable mechanisms for conservation of globally important wetlands biodiversity. Such wider national level initiatives are necessary to ensure long-term social, political, financial and technical support for area-based activities and their replication in the future.
The project will focus its site-based interventions in four demonstration wetland complexes, which support a spectrum of endemic, threatened and vulnerable flora and fauna. Two of these sites have been selected to receive GEF funding, while two additional wetland complexes will pursue a parallel course supported by co-funding. The project will reduce threats to biodiversity at the site level while addressing the broader systemic threats to biodiversity at the national level. As poverty and subsistence uses are at the root of threats to wetland biodiversity, the goal of conservation initiatives within this project is closely tied to community involvement within the chosen sites. A reduction in anthropogenic threats will be achieved through community agreements on limiting resource-use and investment in livelihood diversification. The project will support and strengthen local and community institutions to sustainably manage wetlands and their associated biodiversity.
b) Sustainability (including financial sustainability)
Project design has laid emphasis on sustainability through several means. By tackling wetlands conservation at a complex basis rather than as a piecemeal individual site-based effort, the project ensures that ecological sustainability is maintained at an entire ecosystem basis. The Project will build long-term measures for social sustainability by supporting village level community institutions for conservation, co-opting existing CBOs in community consultations and creating incentives for marginalised groups such as women, landless and migrant communities to participate in project activities. As economic benefits begin to stream in to wetlands dependent communities, their cooperation will be secured in the conservation process. On a wider level, the awareness campaigns will establish widespread support within all echelons of Pakistani society to support wetland conservation. Given Pakistan’s economic challenges, the project has included mechanisms for ensuring financial sustainability for Project interventions through: (i) introducing ecotourism activities; (ii) supporting the post of a specialist Fundraiser for the duration of a project; and (iii) building mechanisms for long-term financing from multinational corporations and private enterprises. The fundraising mechanisms are designed to provide support for on-going activities beyond the life of the Project. Improving the commitment, skills and knowledge of people who run Pakistan’s key institutions is the most effective project intervention for institutional sustainability. Improving the policy framework and institutional co-ordination will also ensure strengthened institutional commitment to executing conservation measures. The purpose of ensuring that designated officials are pledged to participation the PSC during the project’s life further creates a long-term momentum for institutional support. Strengthened links with CBOs, Rural Support Networks and creation of representative site-based conservation committees will also ensure institutional sustainability.