Project Identification Form (PIF)
Project Type: Full-sized Project
the GEF Trust Fund
Submission Date: September, 2008
Re-submission Date: October 2008
Indicative CalendarMilestones / Expected Dates
Work Program (for FSP) / September 2008
CEO Endorsement/Approval / January 2009
GEF Agency Approval / February 2009
Implementation Start / April 2009
Mid-term Review (if planned) / n/a
Implementation Completion / June 2012 (MAP completion)
part i: project IDentification
GEFSEC Project ID[1]: 3773
gef agency Project ID: P113976
Country:MADAGASCAR
Project Title: Support to the Madagascar Foundation for Protected Areas and Biodiversity
GEF Agency: ,
Other Executing partner(s):
GEF Focal Area (s): Biodiversity
GEF-4 Strategic program(S): BD-SP1 – PA Financing
Name of parent program/umbrella project: N/A
A. Project framework
Project Objective: To improve the sustainability of the protected area system (6 million hectares in 2012) by providing a regular and predictable revenue source over the long term that will cover part of the system’s recurrent costProject Components
/Indicate whether Investment, TA, or STA**
/ Expected Outcomes /Expected Outputs
/Indicative GEF Financing*
/ Indicative Co-financing* / Total ($)($)
/%
/($)
/%
1.Endowment Fund Capital / Investment / Securing 20 years of investment from GoM, NGOs and Donors in the creation of the protected areas system of Madagascar / Sustainable financing of recurrent costs of 2 million hectares of protected areas in 2012 (assuming US$1.5/ha/y)- / 10,000,000 / 33,000,000[2] / 43,000,0002. Endowment fund management[3] / Investment / Foundation governance’s up to international standard / Clear and transparent rules governing management and oversight / 0 / 1,200,000 / 1,200,000
Total project costs / 10,000,000 / 34,200,000 / 43,200,000
* List the $ by project components. The percentage is the share of GEF and Co-financing respectively to the total amount for the component.
** TA = Technical Assistance; STA = Scientific & technical analysis.
B. Indicative Financing Plan Summary For The Project ($)
Project Preparation* / Project / Agency Fee / TotalGEF / 10,000,000 / 1,000,000 / 11,000,000
Co-financing / 100,000 / 34,200,000 / 34,300,000
Total / 100,000 / 42,900,000 / 45,300,000
C. Indicative Co-financing for the project (including project preparation amount) by source and
by name (in parenthesis) if available, ($)
Project Government Contribution (bilateral debt swap from the French government (C2D) / Grant(select)Soft LoanHard LoanGuaranteeIn-kindUnknown at this stage / 20,000,000
Bilateral Aid Agencies: KfW - endowment / Grant(select)Soft LoanHard LoanGuaranteeIn-kindUnknown at this stage / 7,500,000
Multilateral Agency: IDA / Grant(select)Soft LoanHard LoanGuaranteeIn-kindUnknown at this stage / 3,500,000[4]
NGO (CI / GCF) / Grant(select)Soft LoanHard LoanGuaranteeIn-kindUnknown at this stage / 2,000,000
Bilateral Aid Agencies: KfW – sinking fund / Grant / 1,200,000
BNPP / (select)GrantSoft LoanHard LoanGuaranteeIn-kindUnknown at this stage / 100,000
Total co-financing / 34,300,000
D. GEF Resources Requested by Focal Area(s), agency (ies) share and country(ies)*
GEF Agency / Focal Area / Country Name/Global / (in $)
Project Preparation / Project / Agency
Fee / Total
World Bank(select)UNDPUNEPAsDBAfDBEBRDIADBFAOUNIDOIFAD / Biodiversity(select)Climate ChangeInternational WatersLand DegradationOzone Depletion SubstancesPersistent Organic PollutantsNDI/CSPSGP/CB/LDC-SIDS Support / Madagascar / 0 / 10,000,000 / 1,000,000 / 11,000,000
(select)World BankUNDPUNEPAsDBAfDBEBRDIADBFAOUNIDOIFAD / (select)BiodiversityClimate ChangeInternational WatersLand DegradationOzone Depletion SubstancesPersistent Organic PollutantsNDI/CSPSGP/CB/LDC-SIDS Support
(select)World BankUNDPUNEPAsDBAfDBEBRDIADBFAOUNIDOIFAD / (select)BiodiversityClimate ChangeInternational WatersLand DegradationOzone Depletion SubstancesPersistent Organic PollutantsNDI/CSPSGP/CB/LDC-SIDS Support
(select)World BankUNDPUNEPAsDBAfDBEBRDIADBFAOUNIDOIFAD / (select)BiodiversityClimate ChangeInternational WatersLand DegradationOzone Depletion SubstancesPersistent Organic PollutantsNDI/CSPSGP/CB/LDC-SIDS Support
(select)World BankUNDPUNEPAsDBAfDBEBRDIADBFAOUNIDOIFAD / (select)BiodiversityClimate ChangeInternational WatersLand DegradationOzone Depletion SubstancesPersistent Organic PollutantsNDI/CSPSGP/CB/LDC-SIDS Support
(select)World BankUNDPUNEPAsDBAfDBEBRDIADBFAOUNIDOIFAD / (select)BiodiversityClimate ChangeInternational WatersLand DegradationOzone Depletion SubstancesPersistent Organic PollutantsNDI/CSPSGP/CB/LDC-SIDS Support
Total GEF Resources / 0 / 10,000,000 / 1,000,000 / 11,100,000
part ii: project JustiFication
A. State the issue, how the project seeks to address it, and the expected global environmental benefits to be delivered:
Madagascar is globally unique in terms of its combination of very high diversity and elevated levels of endemism. This endemism is characterized by higher-taxon uniqueness: 23 families are endemic, by far the highest total on the planet. Around 400 genera are endemic, which is approximately twice that of any other comparable region. All of Madagascar's remaining terrestrial natural ecosystems are of global biodiversity importance, as recognized by a range of international standards including Conservation International (CI)’s "Biodiversity Hotspots", World Wildlife Fund (WWF)'s Global 200 Eco-regions and Birdlife International's Important Bird Areas.
The existing protected areas in Madagascar already include some of the most species and endemic-rich ecosystems in the world. In addition to the National Network of Protected Areas (PNM) managed by the National Association for the Management of Protected Areas (ANGAP), new protected areas are currently under creation in line with the “Durban Vision”. The vision was presented during the 2003 Durban World Parks Summit, where the President of Madagascar announced that the amount of land under protected area status in his mega-diversity island will be increased three times, from 1.7 to 6 million hectares. Implementation of the Durban Vision will result in a fully-representative system of protected areas covering 6 million hectares to be in place by 2012. A description of the current whole protected areas system (including the newly created protected areas) as well as of the protected areas managed by ANGAP, including their IUCN category and estimated total costs (investment and recurrent) per year , are given in appendix 2.
Sustainable sources of funding will be essential to ensure the continued success and effective management of this network. The Madagascar Foundation for Protected Areas and Biodiversity (FAPBM) is a central component of the government's strategy for sustainably financing the management of protected areas in the future which also comprise the establishment of eco-tourism concessions in selected protected areas, carbon credit for avoided deforestation and biodiversity offsets. To create the Foundation, the Government of Madagascar, CI and WWF joined forces to make the first contributions to the endowment. The Malagasy government's contribution arises from the cancellation of German government debt, which adds 1.7 million Euros to the endowment fund. WWF and CI each contributed US$1 million. Since the creation of FAPBM, other donors have also contributed to the fund. Among donors are the World Bank (IDA), French Cooperation through AFD and the French GEF, German Cooperation through KFW, and the French Government through a debt for nature swap. Overall, the Foundation has been able to secure almost US$ 44 million in endowment’s fund (see appendix 1: endowment fund details that clarifies what has been disbursed and what will be disbursed and by when). However, some of the future disbursement, for example from KfW and IDA, are tied to triggers such as the production of an Administrative, Accounting and Financial Manualfor the former and US$15 million of disbursement for the latter.
The project’s objective is to improve the sustainability of the protected areas system (6 million hectares in 2012) by providing a regular and predictable revenue source over the long term that will cover part of the system’s recurrent cost. In this project, GEF will (i) contribute US$10 million to the endowment capital of the Foundation, which will be an important milestone towards achieving the Foundation's self-imposed target of securing at least US$50 million by the end of the Madagascar Action Plan (MAP), in 2012 and (ii) monitor progress against clear and transparent rules governing management and oversight of the Foundation until 2012 together with the other partners.
With a capital of US$50 million, the Foundation expects to generate approximately $3 million annually (the running costs of the foundation itself are on top of that. They are expected to be around US$300,000 per year and to be financed by KfW’s sinking fund before 2012) which will provide approximately a third of the 2012 protected area system’s recurrent costs, expected to be US$9 million, thus reducing together with other sustainable financing mechanisms the reliance on traditional donors’ assistance.
The recurrent or operational costs are daily operations required by the management of protected areas such as surveillance and control. They occur at head office and in the protected areas themselves. They do not include expenses such as building eco-tourism facilities which are considered to be investment costs. The recurrent costs for the protected area system are estimated at around $1.5 per hectare of protected areas, based on recent audits of the National Association for Protected Areas - ANGAP). This estimation will be refined during this project preparation[5].
The criteria under which the protected areas that will benefit from the Foundation will be chosen are currently under discussion. A preliminary prioritization and typology of eligible costs was presented during the last Foundation’s board meeting (June 13, 2008). This point is still under discussion and would be refind during project preparation. Most donors favor financing the existing protected areas (those managed by ANGAP) in order to secure their previous investments while GoM seems to favor opening up the financing to all protected areas within the system. This question is part of the current policy dialogue in the sector and is expected to get some answers before this project goes to GEF CEO’s endorsement and Bank’s board.
In addition to the Capital, the Foundation is currently managing EUR 8.5 million as a sinking Fund financed through debt swap from Germany over 20 years. In 2007, five protected areas (Ankarafantsika, Andringitra, Tsimanampetsotsa, Kirindy Mitea, Marojejy) received US$ 300,000 USD from the Foundation through this sinking fund. The funds have been used to cover 50 percent of the recurrent costs at site levels of the 5 protected areas that have been supported by KfW.
Five Foundation documents will be completely finalized to ensure an efficient management of funds. The first of these is an internal Administrative, Accounting and Financial Manual: this manual was completed and approved by the World Bank in 2006, but will be reviewed during project preparation to ensure it is not outdated. Likewise, a strategic plan has already been drawn up and presented during the last board meeting (June 2008) containing a prioritization policy based on scientific data, but this plan remains to be completely finalized. This is in part due to the fact that the exact function of the Foundation has yet to be determined: will it be a purely fiduciary tool through which development partners can channel their funds towards protected areas as they see fit, or will it be an independent actor with its own vision? Whether or not GEF funding will be used for the protected areas supported by it in the past will depend on the resolution of this question.
Furthermore, a grant administration manual will be prepared by KfW in such a way as to be acceptable to GEF, followed by a monitoring and evaluation plan that will allow the progress of the Foundation to be tracked. In addition, an evaluation of all possible sources of financing for all protected areas (not just the Foundation) needs to be launched as well as an assessment of the breakdown of the costs of each protected area over the years and up to 2012 when the Durban Vision should be achieved..
B. Describe the consistency of the project with national priorities/plans:
Protection of biodiversity and conservation of 6 million hectares within a well-managed system of protected areas is a national priority. The commitment #7 (of 8) of the government's new national development plan (the 2007-2011 Madagascar Action Plan, or MAP) is to “cherish the environment”. The first challenge associated with this commitment #7 is to “increase the protected areas for the conservation of biodiversity”. One activity proposed under this first challenge is to “mobilize the funds for the foundation” and the indicator associated with this activity is to “reach a capital of $50 million for the endowment in 2012”.
During the last 15 years, the creation and operationalization of protected areas has been a major activity and priority of each of the three phases of the Environmental Program (1991-2008) that was designed to support the National Environmental Action Plan (NEAP) adopted in 1989, and given legal force by the National Environment Charter and the National Environmental Policy in 1990.
The three phases of the EP were implemented by the Ministry of Environment, Waters, Forests and Tourism (MEEFT) and supported by a broad coalition of bilateral donors, international agencies and NGOs The endowment fund was established during at the beginning of EP third phase as part of the activities designed to improve the program overall sustainability and the protected areas system’s financial sustainability, in particular.
In 2008, the World Bank has harmonized the results’ framework of the Support Project to EP3 (IDA $40 million and GEF $9million) with the four environmental challenges of the MAP. The implementation of the Protected Area component of the project is satisfactory. The Foundation is one of the four subcomponent of the project’s protected area component with the objective that $7.5 million IDA funds will be disbursed to the endowment fund by the end of the project. $3.5 million have already been disbursed. The next tranche will be disbursed when the Foundation’s capital will reach $ 15 million which is expected soon (see appendix 1).
This project is, therefore, fully integrated into the government's development priorities and fully endorsed by the Government of Madagascar, as well as, the international donor community, many of whom contributing also to the endowment. Biodiversity conservation and protected area management in Madagascar becomes a best practice within the region. This phenomenon can be evidenced by requests from other countries to adopt similar protected area management systems. Concluding, this project will be an important legacy of the final phase of the NEAP, as it will provide a mechanism to sustain the significant achievements made in establishing an effective and representative protected area system.
C. Describe the consistency of the project with gef strategies and strategic programs:
The project is consistent with GEF strategic long term objective #1 (To catalyze sustainability of protected area (PA) systems and with GEF-4 strategic program #1(Sustainable financing of PA systems at the national level) The Foundation will help to ensure sustainability of the protected area system by providing a regular and predictable revenue source over the long term. The Foundation will address financing of protected areas at the system-level and ensure that investments are focused on biodiversity issues. Country-level conservation trust funds are one of the mechanisms that GEF recognizes as an effective tool for generating and delivering revenues to support protected areas.