Proposal for Additional Funding of A

PROPOSAL FOR ADDITIONAL FUNDING OF A

BIODIVERSITY ENABLING ACTIVITY

Country Name:Grenada

Project Title:Grenada Biodiversity Enabling Activities: Assessment of Capacity Building Needs and Country Specific Priorities.

Country Eligibility:Grenada Ratified the CBD on December 3rd, 1992

GEF Financing:US $ 206,000.00

Government Contribution:US $ 40,000.00

Total Budget:US $ 246,000.00

GEF Implementing Agency:UNDP

National Executing Agency:Ministry of Finance

GEF Operational Focal Point:Ministry of Finance

CBD Operational Focal Point:Ministry of Finance

CHM Focal Point:Ministry of Finance

Estimated Starting Date:March 2002

Duration:18 months

Enabling Activity Status:

The previously approved biodiversity enabling activities project saw the completion of the following objectives:

Completion of a comprehensive assessment of the existing information on biodiversity in Grenada.

Implementation of a participatory, strategic planning process and development of priorities for action in protecting Grenada’s biodiversity culminating in a NBSAP.

Completion of a public information campaign to encourage participation in the strategic planning exercises.

Completion of the First Report to the COP.

Completion of the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan and endorsement by the Government.

The elaboration of the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action plan (NBSAP) was undertaken through a participatory process. National consultants were used to manage the process and prepare the sector specific assessment reports. The sector reports focused on the following areas:

Forestry Agriculture and Wildlife

Land use and the Environment

Fisheries and Marine Life

Tourism

The process of defining and completing the reports were informed by a series of consultations and participation involving Government, Civil Society and Community based Organizations. Through the Sustainable Development Council (SDC), which functioned as the umbrella steering committee, a six member focused team was established to closely interface with the project.

At the recommendation of the project manager and project steering committee, the funds approved by the GEF to establish a CHM unit were reallocated towards strengthening the BSAP consultative process and implementing a public awareness program. A budgetary revision was prepared and approved prior to effecting this change. Consequently, the CHM unit has not been operationalized and is one of the priorities under this add-on request.

Project Objectives:

The objectives of additional funding includes:

Assess Capacity Building Needs;
Consultations for the Second National Report to the COP;
Establishing a CHM unit; and
A country driven Biodiversity Clearing House Mechanism project.

These priorities have been identified in the NBSAP and further selected by the Sustainable Development Council. The Government of Grenada and UNDP/GEF are satisfied these priorities are consistent with the GEF guidelines for additional funding of biodiversity enabling activities.

I. PRIORITIES FOR ASSESSING CAPACITY BUILDING NEEDS:

Priority / Reason for Priority: / Work to be done / Product Expected
Implementation of General Measures for in-situ and ex-situ conservation and sustainable use / There is an urgent need to evaluate and raise national capacity required for key ecosystem management, which is identified as one of the key objectives of NBSAP / Evaluate the existing capacity and identify needs/constraints of various agencies and stakeholders on key ecosystem management through protected area management (in-situ) and a national herbarium to be established (ex-situ) by means of consultancy, meetings, public and national consultations, workshops and so on, which includes following specific activities;
Review guidelines for selection, establishment and management of protected areas to determine if designated protected areas are adequate for protection of major ecosystems including identification of preferred management option for these ecosystems where necessary based on the scientific data and proper valuation of the multiple benefits (economic, environmental, cultural, religious, recreational and so on) derived from these ecosystems.
-Review human and institutional capacity necessary for conservation of key ecosystems such as ecological survey of major ecosystems
Identify the needs for technological and infrastructural investment required for development of a national herbarium as a repository for research on local plant species in the possible financial mechanism.
Review and evaluate the current legislative and regulatory framework.
Identify better coordinating and collaborative mechanism among state agencies and between state agencies and all stakeholders for joint management of key ecosystems.
Formulate a plan for capacity building in key ecosystem management. / A status report of assessment of nati A A report of national, institutional, and human resources needs in biodiversity management. This report will also identify key ecosystems, designated for protection, for which systemic capacity building needs will be identified.
A programme proposal for the national capacity building and development in key ecosystem management, including priorities
for institutional strengthening, human resource building needs and training, legal framework, investment in infrastructure/equipment and new technology, possible coordinating and financial mechanisms.
Methodologies to evaluate and mitigate specific threats to biodiversity components. / There are urgent needs to evaluate and raise capacity required for evaluation and mitigation of specific threats to biological diversity especially for key ecosystem management through environmental impact assessment and minimizing adverse impacts. / Evaluate existing capacities and identify capacity building needs of various stakeholders to evaluate and mitigate specific threats to key ecosystem management through environmental impact assessment (by way of consultancy, meeting, workshop, public consultation and so on), including review and evaluation of the current institutional arrangement and legislative and regulatory framework, identification of better coordinating mechanism among all stakeholders, investment in infrastructure and technology within possible financial mechanism for environmental impact assessment, and assessment of the present guidelines, procedures and provisions for environmental impact assessment and review case studies on specific threats and negative impacts
Review and identify constraints to design and implement impact assessment for key ecosystem management in different sectors and stakeholders in order to identify capacity building needs and develop effective policies for successful
implementation of environmental impact assessment to incorporate biodiversity considerations in all sectors
Formulate a plan for capacity building in environmental impact assessment and minimizing adverse impacts / Astatus report of assessment of national, institutional, and human resources needs in environment impact assessment and minimizing adverse impacts
A plan for the national capacity building and development in environmental impact assessment and minimizing adverse impacts including priorities for institutional strengthening, human resource building needs and training, coordinating mechanism, and infrastructural investment and possible financial mechanism
Design and approaches relevant to the
implementation of incentive measures / The market value of nationally important ecosystems in terms of the goods and services provided, are unknown to senior government officials and are not included in national accounting and decision-making process. On the other hand, economic development has been encouraged through the use of incentives and some of these economic incentives were misdirected. This situation leads to further loss of critical coastal woodlands, wetlands, coral reefs and key fishery species in favour of infrastructural development options. Thus, there is an urgent need to develop economic incentives for protection of critical ecosystems and promotion of sustainable use of biological resources, which is one of the main objectives identified in NBSAP. / Review and assess existing incenti R Review and assess incentive measures required for promotion of biodiversity preservation and conservation (including perverse incentive measures which have brought about negative impacts on biodiversity), review case studies and identify new opportunities for incentive measures.
Review and identify constraints to design and implement economic incentive measures (e.g. pollution charges and user fees for resource utilization) for key ecosystem management in different sectors and stakeholders in order to identify capacity building needs and develop effective policies for the creation/use of proper incentives to integrate biodiversity concerns in all sectors
Evaluate the values of key ecosystems to determine the most appropriate mechanism for incorporation of these values into national accounting and decision making process
Review and identify priority areas for technological and infrastructural investment, improvement of institutional arrangements, legislative and regulatory framework and financial mechanism
Develop a plan for capacity building in design and implementation of economic incentive measures for conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity / Assessment report on the current incentives for conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity as well as human resources, institutional and national capacity needs in economic incentive measures. This report will include identification of new economic incentive measures.
Programme for building capacity to design and implement economic incentive measures, which will include priorities for human resource development needs, institutional strengthening and training, legal framework, investment in infrastructure and new technology, possible coordinating and financial mechanism.
Preservation and maintenance of biodiversity knowledge, innovations and practices of local communities embodying traditional lifestyles. / Urgent needs to assess and document/preserve biodiversity related knowledge and practices of local communities embodying traditional lifestyles. / Assess existing capacity and prepare detailed outline of national needs on local biodiversity knowledge (through consultancy meetings, workshops, public consultations etc.) / A synthesized assessment report highlighting present situation and sources of traditional biodiversity knowledge, themes and areas for further documentation/preservation, and guidelines, frameworks and priority needs.

II. Consultations for the Second National Report to the Conference of Parties

Although the deadline for submission of the second national report is past, Grenada intends to submit its report at the earliest possible. Consultations will be undertaken with national stakeholders. The second national report will be submitted to the cabinet for endorsement prior to submission to the CBD. The second national report will be undertaken keeping with the COP recommended guidelines.

III. Clearing House Mechanism

As mentioned earlier, a CHM unit has not been operationalized in Grenada despite funds being allocated for this purpose in the initial Enabling Activity. CHM funds were reallocated after approval by the steering committee and the preparation and approval of a budgetary revision. Consequently, a CHM unit is now a high priority and Grenada is requesting funds for this purpose under this add-on project.

Goal: Organize and institutionalize a multidisciplinary CHM Unit within the National Planning Framework.

Activities

Procure hardware and software necessary to operate the CHM and get access to Internet Service.

Training of the government officer in information system technologies, especially how to manage the data and enrich the contents of the CHM site by Internet.

IV. Country Driven Clearing House Mechanism Project

Reason for Priority:

The public sector and civil society do not have sufficient capacity to efficiently and effectively manage biodiversity conservation and coordinate activities due to unavailability of information. The underlying reason is the lack of awareness of the benefits of biodiversity and the need for conservation among sectors of the public including key decision makers. Key government ministries and stakeholders at the national and local levels also have exclusive systems for gathering and managing information. This hampers access to information and leads to redundancy and overlapping efforts. It is therefore, necessary improve access to information through the CHM in order to provide broad-based support for conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity as well as develop national protocols and standards for gathering and analyzing information.

Goal: Develop capacity to manage and benefit from the CHM.

Activities:

Organise meetings, workshops and consultations with stakeholders to design an effective CHM and develop protocols for information sharing and access and support for decision-making among relevant levels of government, NGOs, academic institutions, local and indigenous communities and the private sector.

Develop a website database with biodiversity information at the national, subregional and regional level. This will include information such as country profile, NBSAP, biodiversity related knowledge of indigenous and local communities, national directories of scientific institutions and experts on specific thematic areas on the CBD, appropriate legislation, scientific and technological information including cooperation initiatives, financial sources. Though this database will be Internet based, the information will also be available through traditional means of communication.

Link national CHM to other national, regional and global CHMs on biodiversity such as the CHM of the Secretariat of CBD and BIOPLAN by Internet where possible.

Disseminate information on biodiversity conservation and sustainable use, the NBSAP and CBD biodiversity to targeted schools and selected sectors of the public. *(Regarding NBSAP, simplified popular versions will be prepared to reach much wider audience.)

Project Implementation/Institutional Framework:

The Ministry of Finance through the Biodiversity Focal Point will be responsible for guiding the project activities. The relevant line Ministries will be responsible for providing the necessary information. Coordination activities will be done by a central secretariat located in the Ministry of Finance. The Central secretariat will comprise of a Biodiversity Coordinator and an Administrative Assistant. The Biodiversity Coordinator will be responsible for the planning and implementation of all aspects of the projects including the day-to-day management.

The Sustainable Development Council will continue to function as the Biodiversity Steering Committee. The Ministry of Finance will be responsible for developing the Terms of Reference of the Consultants.

SEQUENCE OF ACTIVITIES

MONTHS / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10 / 11 / 12 / 13 / 14 / 15 / 16 / 17 / 18
1. Initial Activities
Contract Project Coordinator & Administrative Assistant / X
Convene Meeting of Steering Committee / X / X / X / X / X / X / X / X / X
Finalize Terms of Reference for Consultants / X / X
Other Meeting / X / X / X / X / X / X / X / X
Finalize Work Plan / X
2. Assessment of Capacity building needs
Priority 1
Review guidelines for management of protected areas / X / X / X
Review human and institutional capacity for conservation of key ecosystems / X / X / X
Identify needs for investment of herbarium / X / X
Review/evaluate legislative and regulatory framework / X / X / X
Identify coordinating and collaborative mechanisms for management. / X / X
Priority 2
Evaluate existing capacity and identify capacity building needs for ecosystems management through EIA. / X / X
Review and identify constraints for EIA. / X / X*
Develop policies for EIAs / X / X

Priority 3

Review and Assess incentive measures for conservation / X / X / X
Review case studies and identify new opportunities for incentive measures / X / X / X
Review and identify constrants for economic incentive measures / X / X / X
Evaluate the values of key ecosystems / X / X / X
Review and identify priorities for investments, improve institutional arrangements legislation and financial mechanism / X / X / X

Priority 4

Assess existing capacity for conserving local biodiversity knowledge / X / X
Prepare outline on national needs on biodiversity knowledge / X / X
Prepare and disseminate the 1st draft report on capacity needs assessment of 4 priorities for discussion / X / X
Organize national consultations to review the 1st draft report / X / X
Prepare the 2nd draft report per input from consultations / X
Formulate a plan for capacity building in each of 4 priorities / X / X
Distribute the 2nd draft report with a plan for capacity building to stakeholders in preparation for the national consultation / X
Organize national consultation to review the 2nd draft report / X
Revise the 2nd draft based on consultation / X
Submit the draft final report to the Steering Committee for approval / X
Complete the final report / X
Submit the final report to the cabinet for approval / X
Submit the final report to the COP / X
Print and disseminate the final report / X
3. Consultations for the 2nd National Report to the COP / X / X / X / X / X / X
4. CHM
Procure hardware and software necessary to operate the CHM and get access to Internet Service. / X / X
Training of the government officer in information system technologies. / X / X / X
5. Country Driven Clearing House Mechanism project
Organize meetings, workshops and consultations with stakeholders to design an effective CHM and to develop protocols for information sharing and access and support for decision-making among different agencies and groups. / X / X / X / X / X
Develop a website database with biodiversity information at the national, subregional and regional level / X / X / X / X / X
Link national CHM to CBD and other biodiversity networks / X / X / X / X / X / X
Disseminate information to targeted schools and selected sectors of the public on biodiversity / X / X / X

X* : a half month

COST ESTIMATE FOR ADDITIONAL ENABLING ACTIVITIES (US$)

ACTIVITY

Product

Process

TOTAL

APPROVED EARLIER
Original EA, less costs of CHM activities / $128,500
CHM Support / $ 5,020
Total Approved Support / $133,520
Additional Request / $206,000
Assessment for Capacity Building needs for:

Implementation of General Measures for in-situ

and ex-situ conservation and sustainable use

Methodologies to evaluate and mitigate specific

threats to biodiversity components

Designs and approaches relevant to the

implementation of incentive measures

Preservation and maintenance of

biodiversity knowledge, innovations and
practices of local communities embodying
traditional lifestyles

Consultations for the Second Report to the COP

Country Driven Clearing House Mechanism

/ $12,000
$9,000
$11,000
$8,000
$4,600
$7,600 / $34,000
$25,000
$31,000
$22,000
$13,000
$1,800
$27,000 / $46,000
$34,000
$42,000
$30,000
$13,000
$6,400
$34,600

Total New Request

/ $52,200 / $153,800 / $206,000

Grand Total

/ $339,520

*Budget format for CHM set up: hardware/software/internet access/training.

Option A
Item / US $
Hardware / 2000
Software / 500
Modem / 100
Recurrent access costs to Internet Service Provider including storing of national CHM web site on server / 2000
Technician Set Up Fees / 300
Internet and E-mail Training / 1500
Total / 6400