Enhancing Financial Sustainability of the Protected Areas System in Georgia
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United Nations Development Programme Project Document Project title: Enhancing financial sustainability of the Protected Areas system in Georgia Country: Implementing Partner: Management Arrangements: Georgia Ministry of Environment Protection and National Implementation Modality Agriculture (MEPA)/ Agency of Protected (NIM) Areas (APA) UNPSD/Country Programme Outcome: By 2020, communities enjoy greater resilience through enhanced institutional and legislative systems for environment protection, sustainable management of natural resources and disaster risk reduction1. UNDP Strategic Plan Output: Output 2.4.1 Gender-responsive legal and regulatory frameworks, policies and institutions strengthened, and solutions adopted, to address conservation, sustainable use and equitable benefit sharing of natural resources , in line with international conventions and national legislation UNDP Social and Environmental Screening Category: UNDP Gender Marker: GEN2 Low Atlas Project ID (formerly Award ID): 00089759 Atlas Output ID (formerly Project ID): 00095873 UNDP-GEF PIMS ID number: 6138 GEF ID number: 9879 Planned start date: December 1, 2018 Planned end date: November 30, 2023 PAC meeting date: 22 November 2018 Brief project description: Georgia’s recent socio-economic transition was accompanied by unsustainable economic activities and over-use of biological resources, driven by poverty, lack of alternative livelihoods, irresponsible exploitation, ignorance on nature’s values, and ineffective legislation. Today, Georgia is one of the few countries globally where protected areas are a genuine high level national priority. Significant progress is made with the expansion of the PA network in the past decades, supported by legislative-institutional reforms, and the country is committed to increase the area under formal protection to 20% protection (from current 8%) in the next 8 years. Despite progress made, threats to globally significant biodiversity in Georgia from socio-economic development as well as climate change are exacerbated by ineffective implementation and enforcement of legislation and policies on PAs. Remaining barriers to an effective and efficient PA system are addressed under three components: (i) sufficient, secure and predictable revenue sources ensure sustainable PA operations; (ii) improved management effectiveness of PAs; and (iii) improved awareness of Protected Area values. With GEF incremental support, CNF’s 2030 Sinking Fund will until 2030 annually provide $950,000 to 12 Target PAs, supporting operating costs, site-level TA and capacity building, on financial-administrative planning, budgeting and accounting, tourism development, management effectiveness assessment, and operational management. Awareness raising improves societal acceptance and support of PAs. The project will close the annual funding gap by $1.15 mln; increase CNF’s co-financing to Target PAs until 2030 by $4.35 mln over the baseline, matched by government funding; increase CAS, METT and Financial Scorecards; and expand support to 1 United Nations Office in Georgia, 2016. United Nations Partnership for Sustainable Development (framework document) – Georgia 2016-2020. UN House, Tbilisi, Georgia, 56 pp. 1 | P a g e Table of Contents I. Acronyms and abbreviations ............................................................................................................................. 4 II. Development Challenge ..................................................................................................................................... 6 III. Strategy ............................................................................................................................................................ 11 IV. Results and Partnerships.................................................................................................................................. 13 V. Project Results Framework .............................................................................................................................. 27 VI. Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Plan ........................................................................................................... 30 VII. Governance and Management Arrangements ................................................................................................ 34 VIII. Financial Planning and Management ............................................................................................................... 39 IX. Total Budget and Work Plan ............................................................................................................................ 41 X. Legal Context ................................................................................................................................................... 45 XI. Risk Management ............................................................................................................................................ 46 XII. Annexes ............................................................................................................................................................ 48 Annex A: Multi Year Work Plan ............................................................................................................................... 49 Annex B: GEF Tracking Tool at baseline .................................................................................................................. 51 Annex C: Overview of Technical Consultancies ....................................................................................................... 52 Annex D: Terms of Reference of Project Management Staff .................................................................................. 62 Annex E: UNDP Social and Environmental Screening Template ............................................................................. 65 Annex F: Stakeholder Engagement Plan ................................................................................................................. 75 Annex G: Gender Analysis and Action Plan ............................................................................................................. 79 Annex H: UNDP Risk Log .......................................................................................................................................... 83 Annex I: Project Theory of Change .......................................................................................................................... 86 Annex J: System of Protected Areas in Georgia (2017) ........................................................................................... 87 Annex K: Institutional arrangements of the PA system in Georgia ......................................................................... 88 Annex L: Summary of KBA criteria applicable to target Protected Areas in Georgia .............................................. 90 Annex M: Biodiversity profile of target Protected Areas in Georgia ....................................................................... 91 Annex N: Approach towards strengthening domestic revenue streams for target PAs in Georgia .................. 97 Annex O: Monitoring Plan ..................................................................................................................................... 105 Annex P: Evaluation Plan ....................................................................................................................................... 107 Annex Q: Project Quality Assurance Report, completed in UNDP online corporate planning system ................. 107 Annex R: HACT assessment of CNF ....................................................................................................................... 107 Annex S: Letter of Agreement for Support Services.............................................................................................. 107 3 I. ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS APA Agency of Protected Areas AWP Annual Work Plans BMZ German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development CAS Capacity Assessment Scorecard CBD Convention on Biological Diversity CI Conservation International CO Country Office CNF Caucasus Nature Fund CzDA Czech Development Agency ECP Eco-region Conservation Plan for the Caucasus EOP End-of-project ERC Evaluation Resource Center ESMP Environmental and Social Management Plan ESV Ecosystem Services Valuation EU European Union FFI Fauna and Flora International FIF Financial Investment Funds GDI Gender Development Index GEF Global Environment Facility GGI Gender Gap Index GII Gender Inequality Index GIZ Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit / German Society for International Cooperation GRM Grievance Redress Mechanism GTNA Georgian National Tourism Administration Ha Hectare IBA Important Bird and Biodiversity Area IEO Independent Evaluation Office INDC Intended Nationally Determined Contributions IP Implementing Partner IUCN International Union for the Conservation of Nature KBA Key Biodiversity Area KfW German Development Bank LEPL Legal Entity of Public Law M&E Monitoring and Evaluation METT Management Effectiveness Tracking Tool Mln. Million MoENRP Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources Protection MoEPA Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture MSG Management Support Group MSP Medium Sized Project NBSAP National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan NEAP National Environmental Action Plan NGO Non-Governmental Organization NIM National Implementation