CEPF SMALL GRANT FINAL PROJECT COMPLETION REPORT Organization Legal Name: Jamaica Conservation and Development Trust Biodiversity Conservation Capacity Needs and Opportunities Project Title: Assessment in the Caribbean Islands Date of Report: 29 August, 2013 Susan Otuokon, Executive Director, JCDT Report Author and Contact 29 Dumbarton Avenue, Kingston 10 Information Email:
[email protected] Tel: (1876) 920-8278/9 CEPF Region: Caribbean Strategic Direction: 3 Grant Amount: US$15,198 Project Dates: 1 November, 2012 – 30 June, 2013 Implementation Partners for this Project (please explain the level of involvement for each partner): Conservation Impacts Please explain/describe how your project has contributed to the implementation of the CEPF ecosystem profile. This project has helped to assess capacity needs for/and capacity building opportunities for: biodiversity conservation and protected area management, particularly in Key Biodiversity Areas in the English-speaking Caribbean. It has provided useful information regarding capacity needs and opportunities that can help guide interventions to address the challenges that organizations in these areas face as they try to implement biodiversity conservation in protected areas. The top five capacity weaknesses which organizations identified were: inadequate funding (particularly for material and human resources), organizational policies and procedures, financial planning and management, training (knowledge and skills) and leadership. Whilst training was something which they considered useful and necessary to improve their work, it was not a major priority as the other needs were more overwhelming. The main project deliverables – the Tool and the Report are attached as Appendices 1 and 2 respectively and the information garnered in the Literature Review is also attached, as Appendix 3.