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GEF Country Portfolio Evaluation: ERITREA (1992–2012) December 2014 Final Evaluation Report

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GEF Country Portfolio Evaluation: ERITREA (1992–2012) December 2014 Final Evaluation Report Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized GEF Country Portfolio Evaluation: ERITREA (1992–2012) December 2014 Final Evaluation Report Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Country Portfolio Evaluation: Eritrea Report – December 2014 TABLE OF CONTENTS Foreword and Acknowledgements ................................................................................................. 4 1. Main Conclusions and Recommendations .................................................................................. 6 1.1 Background 6 1.2 Objectives, Scope and Methodology 7 1.3 Limitations 11 1.4 Conclusions 12 1.5 Recommendations 23 2. Evaluation Framework .............................................................................................................. 25 2.1 The Global Environment Facility 25 2.2 Background 25 2.3 Objectives 26 2.4 Scope 27 2.5 Methodology and Approach 27 2.6 Limitations 29 3. Context of the Evaluation ......................................................................................................... 30 3.1 Eritrea: Country Context 30 3.2 Environmental Resources in Key GEF Support Areas 32 3.3 The Environmental Institutional, Policy and Legal Framework in Eritrea 40 4. The GEF Portfolio in Eritrea .................................................................................................... 52 4.1 Defining the GEF Portfolio 52 4.2 Activities in the GEF Portfolio 53 4.3 GEF Support by Implementing Agency 55 4.4 GEF Support by Focal Area 56 4.5 Small Grants Programme (SGP) 59 4.6 Regional and Global Projects 60 4.7 Roles and Responsibilities Among Different Stakeholders in Project Implementation 62 4.8 The GEF Focal Point Mechanism in Eritrea 62 5. Results, Effectiveness and Sustainability of GEF Support to Eritrea ...................................... 65 5.1 Global Environmental Benefits (GEBs) 65 5.3 Catalytic Effects and Replication 79 5.4 Institutional Sustainability and Capacity Building 81 5.5 Knowledge Generation and Learning 81 6. Relevance of GEF Support to Eritrea ........................................................................................ 83 6.1 Relevance of GEF Support to the Country’s Sustainable Development Agenda and Environmental Priorities 83 6.2 Relevance of GEF Support to Eritrea’s Development Priorities and Challenges 85 6.3 Relevance of GEF Support to National Action Plans within GEF Focal Areas 86 2 Country Portfolio Evaluation: Eritrea Report – December 2014 6.4 Relevance of GEF Support to the Achievement of Global Environmental Benefits 88 6.5 Relevance of the GEF Portfolio to Other Global and National Institutions 89 7. Efficiency of GEF Support to Eritrea ....................................................................................... 91 7.1 Time, Effort and Financial Resources for Project Processing 91 7.2 Coordination and Synergies 98 7.3 Monitoring and Evaluation for Project Adaptive Management 98 Annex A: Country Response ........................................................................................................ 101 Annex B: Quality Assurance Statement ...................................................................................... 102 Annex C: Country-Specific Terms of Reference .......................................................................... 104 Annex D: Evaluation Matrix ........................................................................................................ 116 Annex E: Interviewees and Focus Group Discussants ................................................................ 124 Annex F: Sites Visited .................................................................................................................. 126 Annex G: Final Workshop Participants ....................................................................................... 127 Annex H: GEF Portfolio in Eritrea ................................................................................................ 129 Annex I: References .................................................................................................................... 132 Annex J: Acronyms ...................................................................................................................... 135 3 Country Portfolio Evaluation: Eritrea Report – December 2014 Foreword The Eritrea Country Portfolio Evaluation (CPE) is one of three country-level evaluations that examines Global Environment Facility (GEF) support in sub-Saharan Africa during the fifth replenishment period. GEF has been active in Eritrea almost since its inception although programming has not been continuous. Eritrea was selected primarily on the basis of its having a comparatively diverse portfolio for a Least Developing Country emerging from a post-conflict state. The Eritrea portfolio covers all the GEF focal areas with a pronounced focus on biodiversity. The portfolio also includes several completed and on-going projects as well as those that are on the verge of implementation. Eritrean stakeholders specifically asked the evaluation to investigate whether GEF support had contributed not only to environmental benefits but also sustainable livelihoods. The evaluation found strong links, particularly for reducing adverse impacts of land degradation and contribution to community benefits throughout the GEF portfolio, including projects classified as biodiversity and particularly through the fairly recent, but very popular Small Grants Programme. The degree of country ownership regarding the GEF portfolio demonstrated a higher than usually seen level of nationally driven projects, as the large majority of GEF projects developed in Eritrea originated from ideas of existing initiatives or Eritrean institutions. The GEF Independent Evaluation Office (IEO) and the GEF Eritrean Operational Focal Point invited representatives from various stakeholder groups and institutions involved in GEF projects in the country to discuss the findings of the evaluation in September 2013, in Asmara. During the workshop, the context and methodology were presented, as well as the preliminary findings and emerging recommendations. A very fruitful open forum discussion followed. The preliminary findings of the Eritrea CPE were presented to the GEF Council in June 2014. These were included in the Annual Country Portfolio Evaluation Report 2014, a report that synthesizes the main conclusions and recommendations from the country-level evaluation work conducted by the IEO in Sub Saharan Africa. Based on that ACPER report’s recommendations, the GEF Council requested the GEF Secretariat to explore and pursue, where appropriate the use of established SGP country programmes as service providers to implement community level activities for larger GEF full size and medium size projects. The Eritrean government response to the evaluation is included as Annex A and the statement from the national independent peer review panel is included in Annex B of this report. I would like to thank everyone who actively supported this evaluation. Through this report, the GEF Independent Evaluation Office intends to share the lessons from the evaluation with a wider audience. The evaluation was conducted and completed when Rob D. van den Berg was Director of the GEF Independent Evaluation Office. Final responsibility for this report remains firmly with the Office. Juha I. Uitto Director, GEF Independent Evaluation Office 4 Country Portfolio Evaluation: Eritrea Report – December 2014 Acknowledgements This report is the result of a collective effort. Ms. Baljit Wadhwa, Senior Evaluation Officer at the Independent Evaluation Office of the Global Environment Facility and Task Manager for the Eritrea Country Portfolio Evaluations (GEF), provided overall leadership to the study. The Office was supported by a team of national evaluators from the Economic and Social Consultancy (ECOSOC) led by Tesfamariam Tekie and composed of Weldesellasie Okubazghi, Weldeselassie Tewelde and Mulubrham Yohannes Mehreteab. Simon Blower and Sara El Choufi served as research assistants. The evaluation was supported by a peer review panel of two reputable national independent panel experts: Ms. Astier Redaezghi, Director of Environmental Management and Regulation and Ms. Bissrat Ghebru, Director of Bureau of Standards and Evaluation, National Board for Higher Education. The GEF operational focal point in Eritrea, Mogos Woldeyohannes and his staff at the Ministry of Land, Water and the Environment, particularly Aman Saleh, provided full cooperation and ensured a smooth evaluation process. The Office is also thankful to staff of UNDP country office, particularly Ms. Christine Umutoni, Resident Representative, Mr. Yoseph Admekom, Solomon Gebreyohannes and Tedros Demoz for lending office support to the evaluation team at times of electricity weaknesses. 5 Country Portfolio Evaluation: Eritrea Report – December 2014 1. Main Conclusions and Recommendations 1.1 Background 1. Country Portfolio Evaluations (CPEs) are one of the main evaluation streams of work of the GEF Independent Evaluation Office1. By capturing aggregate portfolio results and performance of the GEF at the country level they provide useful information for both the GEF Council and the beneficiary countries. 2. The overall purpose of CPEs is to provide the GEF Council and the concerned national governments with an assessment of the results and performance of GEF-supported activities at the country level, and of how these activities fit into national strategies and priorities
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