Completion Report Project Number: 30032 Loan Number: 1643 May 2008 Bangladesh: Sundarbans Biodiversity Conservation Project CURRENCY EQUIVALENTS Currency Unit – taka (Tk) At Appraisal At Project Completion August 1998 November 2007 Tk1.00 = $0.0211 $0.0146 $1.00 = Tk47.30 Tk68.64 ABBREVIATIONS ADAB – Association of Development Agencies in Bangladesh ADB – Asian Development Bank ANR – assisted natural regeneration BME – benefit monitoring and evaluation BPC – Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation EA – executing agency FAO – Food and Agriculture Organization FRMP – Forest Resources Management Project GEF – Global Environment Facility IUCN – International Union for Conservation of Nature IWM – Institute of Water Modeling KNM – Khulna Newsprint Mills LCO – local community organization LGED – Local Government Engineering Department MOEF – Ministry of Environment and Forests NDF – Nordic Development Fund NGO – nongovernment organization PCR – project completion report PKSF – Palli Karma-Sahayak Foundation PPTA – project preparatory technical assistance RIMS – resource information management system RRP – report and recommendation of the President SAC – Stakeholder Advisory Council SMU – Sundarbans Management Unit SRF – Sundarbans Reserved Forest SSC – Sundarbans Stewardship Commission TAG – technical advisory group UNESCO – United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization NOTES (i) The fiscal year (FY) of the Government and its agencies ends on 30 June. FY before a calendar year denotes the year in which the fiscal year ends, e.g., FY2008 ends on 30 June 2008. (ii) In this report, "$" refers to US dollars. Vice President L. Jin, Operations 1 Director General K. Senga, South Asia Department (SARD) Director F. C. Roche, Agriculture, Natural Resources and Social Services Division, SARD Team leader S. Ranawana, Natural Resources Economist, SARD Team member V. Mariano, Project Implementation Officer, SARD CONTENTS Page BASIC DATA i MAP I. PROJECT DESCRIPTION 1 II. EVALUATION OF DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION 2 A. Relevance of Design and Formulation 2 B. Project Outputs 3 C. Project Costs 8 D. Disbursements 8 E. Project Schedule 9 F. Implementation Arrangements 10 G. Conditions and Covenants 10 H. Related Technical Assistance 11 I. Consultant Recruitment and Procurement 11 J. Performance of Consultants, Contractors, and Suppliers 12 K. Performance of the Borrower and the Executing Agency 12 L. Performance of the Asian Development Bank 12 III. EVALUATION OF PERFORMANCE 13 A. Relevance 13 B. Effectiveness in Achieving Outcome 13 C. Efficiency in Achieving Outcome and Outputs 13 D. Preliminary Assessment of Sustainability 14 E. Impact 14 IV. OVERALL ASSESSMENT AND RECOMMENDATIONS 15 A. Overall Assessment 15 B. Lessons 15 C. Recommendations 16 APPENDIXES 1. Project Framework 19 2. Assessment of the Impact of Assisted Natural Regeneration 26 3. Analyses of the Permanent Sample Plot Data from the Sundarbans Reserved Forest 33 4. Palli-Karma Sahayak Foundation Progress Sundarbans Biodiversity Conservation Project Report (June 2004) 41 5. Financing Plan 42 6. Project Cost 43 7. Loan Utilization by Year 44 8. Project Implementation Schedule 46 9. Status of Compliance with Loan Covenants 46 10. Technical Assistance Completion Report 55 BASIC DATA A. Loan Identification 1. Country Bangladesh 2. Loan Number 1643 3. Project Title Sundarbans Biodiversity Conservation Project 4. Borrower People’s Republic of Bangladesh 5. Executing Agency Forest Department 6. Amount of Loan SDR24,569,000 7. Project Completion Report Number 1024 B. Loan Data 1. Appraisal – Date Started 6 August 1998 – Date Completed 20 August 1998 2. Loan Negotiations – Date Started 1 October 1998 – Date Completed 3 October 1998 3. Date of Board Approval 27 November 1998 4. Date of Loan Agreement 20 January 1999 5. Date of Loan Effectiveness – In Loan Agreement 20 April 1999 – Actual 6 August 1999 – Number of Extensions 4 6. Closing Date – In Loan Agreement 31 December 2006 – Actual 19 December 2007 – Number of Extensions None 7. Terms of Loan – Interest Rate 1% per annum – Maturity (number of years) 40 years – Grace Period (number of years) 10 years 8. Disbursements a. Dates Initial Disbursement Final Disbursement1 Time Interval 20 April 2000 20 April 2007 85 months Effective Date Original Closing Date Time Interval 6 August 1999 31 December 2006 90 months b. Amount (in SDR) 1 The final transaction date was 19 December 2007, the date the Asian Development Bank (ADB) received the refund of the outstanding advances of $1.16 million from the Government of Bangladesh. ii Last Original Revised Amount Amount Undisbursed Category Allocation Allocation Canceleda Disbursed Balanceb 01 Civil Works 8,633,000 2,889,906 5,743,094 2,383,215 506,691 02 Vehicles 285,000 270,934 14,066 270,934 0 03 Equipment 2,218,000 684,936 1,533,064 847,636 (162,700) 04 Marketing 472,000 220,950 251,050 13,379 207,571 05A Overseas Training 631,000 128,207 502,793 129,223 (1,016) 05B Local Training 3,054,000 509,462 2,544,538 509,462 0 06 Consulting Services 1,819,000 1,254,115 564,885 1,254,115 0 07 Incremental O&M 4,270,000 1,870,560 2,399,440 390,734 1,479,826 08 Service Charge 817,000 588,389 228,661 94,813 493,576 09 Unallocated 2,370,000 0 2,370,000 0 0 99 Imprest Account (FD) 0 0 0 89453 (89,453) Total 24,569,000 8,417,459 16,151,541 5,982,963 2,434,497 — = not available, FD = Forest Department, O&M = operation and maintenance. a The amount was partially canceled when the loan was cancelled in January 2005. The amount was re-employed for ADB. 2005. Report and Recommendation of the President to the Board of Directors on a Proposed Loan and Technical Assistance Grants to the People’s Republic of Bangladesh for the Emergency Flood Damage Rehabilitation Project. Manila (Loan 2156-BAN[SF]). b The undisbursed balance will be canceled upon closing of the loan account. 9. Local Costs (Financed) Appraisal Estimate Actual - Amount ($) 21.39 million 3.72 million - Percent of Local Costs 40% 25% - Percent of Total Cost 26% 16% C. Project Data 1. Project Cost ($ million) Cost Appraisal Estimate Actual Foreign Exchange Cost 27.74 7.99 Local Currency Cost 54.50 14.94 Total 82.24 22.93 2. Financing Plan ($ million) Cost Appraisal Estimate Actual Foreign Local Total Foreign Local Total ADB 15.6 21.4 37.0 3.98 3.72 7.71 Government of Bangladesh – 16.1 16.1 0.39 4.99 5.38 GEF 8.6 3.6 12.2 3.26 1.37 4.64 NDF 3.5 1.0 4.5 – – – PKSF – 6.8 6.8 – 4.14 4.14 Beneficiaries – 3.7 3.7 – 0.25 0.25 NGOs – 1.9 1.9 0.09 0.09 Government of the – – – 0.35 0.38 0.73 Netherlands Total 27.7 54.5 82.2 7.99 14.94 22.93 — = not available, ADB = Asian Development Bank, GEF = Global Environment Facility, NDF = Nordic Development Fund, NGO = nongovernment organization, PKSF = Palli Karma-Sahayak Foundation. iii 3. Cost Breakdown by Project Component ($ million) Appraisal Estimate Actual Item Foreign Local Total Foreign Local Total A. Effective Organization of the SRF 4.03 9.45 13.48 2.02 1.26 3.28 B. Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Resource Management 3.91 9.36 13.28 0.25 1.88 2.13 C. Socioeconomic Development of the Impact Zone 2.11 22.55 24.66 0.86 10.01 10.88 D. Ecotourism and Environmental Awareness 0.95 1.74 2.69 0.03 0.07 0.10 E. Technical Advisory Group 8.75 0.79 9.53 4.69 1.72 6.42 F. Khulna Newsprint Mills Effluent Treatment Plant 3.07 1.32 4.39 0.00 0.00 0.00 Total Base Cost 22.82 45.21 68.03 7.86 14.94 22.80 Physical Contingencies 2.10 2.43 4.53 0.00 0.00 0.00 Price Escalation 1.58 6.85 8.43 0.00 0.00 0.00 Subtotal 26.50 54.49 80.99 7.86 14.94 22.80 Service Charge 1.23 0.00 1.23 0.13 0.00 0.13 Total Project Cost 27.70 54.50 82.20 7.00 14.90 22.90 SRF = Sundarbans Reserved Forest. 4. Project Schedule Item Appraisal Estimate Actual Date of Contract with Consultants October 1998 April 2000 Civil Works Contracts First Contract Award June 1999 March 2000 Completion of Work December 2006 June 2004 Vehicles, Equipment, and Supplies First Procurement October 1998 May 2000 Last Procurement March 1999 June 2001 Other Milestones Suspension of Statement of Expenditure Procedures August 2002 Suspension of Borrower’s Right to Withdraw from Loan September 2003 Loan Cancellation January 2005 5. Project Performance Report Ratings Ratings Development Implementation Implementation Period Objectives Progress From 1 January 1999 to 31 December 1999 Satisfactory Satisfactory From 1 January 2000 to 31 December 2000 Satisfactory Satisfactory From 1 January 2001 to 31 December 2001 Satisfactory Satisfactory From 1 January 2002 to 31 August 2002 Satisfactory Satisfactory From 1 September 2002 to 31 December 2002 Satisfactory Partly Satisfactory From 1 January 2003 to 31 August 2003 Satisfactory Partly Satisfactory From 1 September 2003 to 31 December 2003 Unsatisfactory Unsatisfactory From 1 January 2004 to 31 December 2004 Unsatisfactory Unsatisfactory iv From 1 January 2005 to 31 December 2005 Unsatisfactory Unsatisfactory From 1 January 2006 to 31 December 2006 Unsatisfactory Unsatisfactory From 1 January 2007 to 30 November 2007 Unsatisfactory Unsatisfactory D. Data on Asian Development Bank Missions No. of No. of Person- Specialization Name of Mission Date Persons days of Members Fact-Finding 23 Nov–12 Dec 1997 7 96 a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h Follow-Up Fact-Finding 9–28 Feb 1998 4 107 a, c, f, i Preappraisal 20 Jun–4 Jul 1998 7 113 a, c, d, j, k, l Appraisal 6–20 Aug 1998 7 69 a, d, e, m, n, o Review 1 14–20 Mar 1999 1 7 o Review 2 22–26 Apr 1999 1 5 o Special Loan Administration 1 28 Sep–5 Oct 1999 2 16 o, p Inception 2–10 Jul 2000 3 24 c, o,