AFB/PPRC.22/4 11 March 2018 Adaptation Fund Board Project and Programme Review Committee Twenty-Second Meeting Bonn, Germany, 20-21 March 2018 REQUEST FOR CHANGE OF PROGRAMME OUTCOME, OUTPUT AND RELATED INDICATORS: JAMAICA (PIOJ) AFB/PPRC.22/4 Background 1. The Adaptation Fund Board (the Board) at its eighteenth meeting, approved the programme titled “Enhancing the Resilience of the Agricultural Sector and Coastal Areas to Protect Livelihoods and Improve Food Security” submitted by the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ) for a requested amount of US$ 9,965,000 (decision B.18/9). The overall objective of the programme is to protect livelihoods and food security in vulnerable communities by improving land and water management for the agricultural sector, strengthening coastal protection and building institutional and local capacity for climate change adaptation. As mandated by the decision, an agreement was prepared and signed between the Board and PIOJ. 2. The first tranche of disbursement for the implementation of the programme was released following signature of the agreement in July 2012, with the total amount of US$ 3,451,897. 3. The first programme performance report (PPR) for the programme was submitted in January 2014 and cleared by the Adaptation Fund Board Secretariat (the secretariat) in February 2014. The second PPR was submitted in December 2014 and cleared by the Adaptation Fund Board Secretariat (the secretariat) in January 2015, the third PPR was submitted in January 2016 and cleared by the secretariat in March 2016, and the fourth PPR was submitted by the secretariat in January 2017 and cleared the same month. The fifth fourth PPR was submitted by the secretariat in December 2017 and is currently under review. As of December 2017, a total amount of US$ 5,980,360 was disbursed to the programme by the Board’s Trustee. The programme went through a mid-term evaluation (MTE) process, with an MTE report finalized in February 2016. 4. The official expected completion date of the programme was March 2016. As outlined in the Adaptation Fund project delay policy, a request for an extension of programme completion date must be submitted by the implementing entity at least six months prior to the official completion date. PIOJ had submitted such request through the Secretariat in January 2016, hence in compliance with the policy, for an extension of the completion date until September 2017 (see Annex 1). The reason for such request was a number of unforeseen issues that had negatively impacted implementation, including delays in the start of the construction phase of component 1 due to issues encountered in the consultation process in the target area for that component. The request was approved through Decision 27-28/1. 5. In July 2017, PIOJ had submitted another request through the Secretariat, hence at a date less than six month prior to the official completion date, for an extension of the completion date until March 2019 (see Annex 2). The request was approved through Decision 29-30/11. The reason for such request was a number of unforeseen issues that had negatively impacted the progress of implementation necessitating this request for additional time so as to ensure completion of the approved programme and achievement of the agreed objectives. These issues included: - The discontinuation of Component 1 in June 2016 after a 2-year implementation delay associated with protracted opposition from some members of the Negril community; 1 AFB/PPRC.22/4 - Arising from this situation, and in line with the Cabinet's direction, the NIE has been in consultation with a number of partners regarding the next steps; the conclusion was reached to develop a revised component focused on coastal protection in another location as there is a great need for such intervention across the country. The NIE has since engaged a consultant to prepare the revised component with focus on climate change adaptation through coastal protection. The revised programme should be ready for submission to the Adaptation Fund for technical review by mid-September; - Receipt of request from the Agriculture Ministry outlining several persistent challenges with the water harvesting/distribution sub-component of Component 2 and applying for additional time to complete the agreed project scope. These challenges which include difficulties with the contracting process for the design and installation of the distribution networks have been compounded by weather conditions of both extremes; the most recent being flood rains over the period March to June 2017. These rains have impacted the completion of the installation of some water harvesting infrastructure with the Ministry of Agriculture having to halt and/or delay excavation of ponds because of too much moisture in the soil. 6. In relation with the issues encountered by the programme and mentioned above, PIOJ had submitted on February 9, 2018 a request for change of programme outcome, outputs and related indicators (see Annex 3). Following unsuccessful attempts at mediation with some of the stakeholders in the originally proposed location for the project, PIOJ sought the intervention of the Cabinet which gave approval for discontinuation of the original Component 1 and related elements of Component 3. The Cabinet also directed PIOJ to seek approval from the Board to revise these components in order to build the resilience of other badly eroded areas of the island. 7. Such request is in compliance with Annex 7 of the Operational Policies and Guidelines of the Fund (OPG), as approved in October 2017, as follows: “10. For changes in project outcomes, including introductions, modifications and deletions, on the understanding that such changes would only be accepted in exceptional circumstances, the implementing entities should: (i) obtain prior approval from the Board following a full technical review of the revised fully-developed project/programme document by the Project and Programme Review Committee; (ii) communicate such changes to the secretariat; and (iii) submit a letter from the designated authority endorsing such changes to the secretariat, for the purposes of such technical review and approval; and 11. For changes in project output or outcome indicators and/or associated targets, including modifications and deletions, on the understanding that such changes would only be accepted in exceptional circumstances and up to the submission of the first Project Performance Report for the project/programme, the implementing entities should: 2 AFB/PPRC.22/4 (i) obtain prior approval from the Board following a full technical review of the revised fully-developed project/programme document by the Project and Programme Review Committee; (ii) communicate such changes to the secretariat; and (iii) submit a letter from the designated authority endorsing such changes to the secretariat, for the purposes of such technical review and approval.” 8. The communication from PIOJ was submitted on February 9, 2018, the letter of endorsement of the Designated Authority of Jamaica was submitted on January 15, 2018 (see Annex 4), and the revised fully-developed programme document was first submitted on January 15, 2018 (see Annex 5 for the latest version cleared by the secretariat following its final technical review). Secretariat’s review of the request 9. Component 1 of the programme had been revised to still address the same objective as in the original project design, while targeting another area. The towns of the north-eastern coast, like most of Jamaica’s urban areas are low lying and susceptible to the impacts of storm surges during hurricanes and the passage of tropical systems and are extremely vulnerable to rising sea levels. The frequency and extent of these events are increasing with climate change, putting the towns’ occupants and infrastructure at significant risk. Ongoing monitoring of the towns along the north-eastern coast, namely, the communities of Annotto Bay, Orange Bay and Buff Bay by the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) has shown that significant erosion is occurring along the coast. 10. The major problems to be addressed are i) the retreat of the coastline towards major, critical, physical assets within these towns which results in personal physical vulnerability, disruption of livelihoods, significant economic losses as a result of infrastructural damage ii) coastal and riverine flooding iii) deforestation iv) reducing vulnerability of critical assets and v) limited community resilience. Addressing these issues with shoreline protection and ecosystems restoration (reforestation), drainage system outfall upgrade, and capacity building should augment the climate change adaptive capability of the citizenry and the natural environment, improve disaster management, and enhance the livelihood of the community members. Component 1 of the project will therefore be implemented along the coastline in general and along the existing coastal main road in some locations as well as in the denuded hillsides. 11. In addition, it is proposed that the relevant capacity building activities under Component 3 be updated accordingly for the new target area and communities. The suggested changes in outcome, outputs and activities are reflected in the revised proposal attached as Annex to this document. The implications on cost effectiveness, environmental and socio-economic benefits, programme risks including environmental and social risks in compliance with the Environmental and Social Policy of the Fund, implementation