COUNTRY Eritrea (1992–2012) PORTFOLIO Evaluation Report EVALUATION MARCH 2015 GLOBAL ENVIRONMENT FACILITY INDEPENDENT EVALUATION OFFICE GEF Country Portfolio Evaluation: Eritrea (1992–2012) March 2015 EVALUATION REPORT NO. 101 This report was presented as an information document to the GEF Council in May 2014. © 2015 Global Environment Facility Independent Evaluation Office 1818 H Street, NW Washington, DC 20433 Internet: www.gefieo.org/ Email: [email protected] All rights reserved. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the GEF Council or the governments they represent. The GEF Independent Evaluation Office does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this work. The boundar- ies, colors, denominations, and other information shown on any map in this work do not imply any judgment on the part of the GEF concerning the legal status of any territory or the endorsement or acceptance of such boundaries. Rights and Permissions The material in this work is copyrighted. Copying and/or transmitting portions or all of this work without permission may be a violation of applicable law. The GEF encourages dissemination of its work and will normally grant permission promptly. ISBN-10: 1-933992-84-0 ISBN-13: 978-1-933992-84-6 Credits Director of the GEF Independent Evaluation Office: Juha I. Uitto Team Leader: Carlo Carugi, Senior Evaluation Officer, GEF Independent Evaluation Office Task Manager: Baljit Wadhwa, Senior Evaluation Officer, GEF Independent Evaluation Office Editing and design: Nita Congress Cover photo: View of the Red Sea from the Danakil Depression, Eritrea, by Baljit Wadhwa Evaluation Report No. 101 A FREE PUBLICATION Contents FOREWORD .......................................................................vi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .......................................................vii ABBREVIATIONS ..............................................................viii 1. MAIN CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ..................1 1.1 Background..............................................................................................................................................................1 1.2 Objectives, Scope, and Methodology ................................................................................................................2 1.3 Limitations ..............................................................................................................................................................4 1.4 Conclusions .............................................................................................................................................................5 1.5 Recommendations ...............................................................................................................................................13 2. EVALUATION FRAMEWORK ............................................. 15 2.1 Background............................................................................................................................................................15 2.2 Objectives ..............................................................................................................................................................15 2.3 Scope .......................................................................................................................................................................16 2.4 Methodology and Approach .............................................................................................................................16 2.5 Limitations ............................................................................................................................................................17 3. CONTEXT OF THE EVALUATION ...................................... 18 3.1 Eritrea: Country Context ...................................................................................................................................18 3.2 Environmental Threats and Challenges in Key GEF Support Areas ......................................................20 3.3 Environmental Institutional, Policy, and Legal Framework ......................................................................26 3.4 General Description of the GEF .......................................................................................................................35 4. THE GEF PORTFOLIO IN ERITREA ................................... 36 4.1 Defining the GEF Portfolio ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������36 4.2 GEF Support of National Projects in Eritrea �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������36 4.3 Small Grants Programme ..................................................................................................................................41 4.4 Regional and Global Projects ............................................................................................................................41 4.5 Stakeholder Roles and Responsibilities in Project Implementation .........................................................43 4.6 GEF Focal Point Mechanism in Eritrea ..........................................................................................................43 III 5. RESULTS, EFFECTIVENESS, AND SUSTAINABILITY OF GEF SUPPORT TO ERITREA ................................................... 45 5.1 Global Environmental Benefits ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������45 5.2 Catalytic Effects and Replication .....................................................................................................................57 5.3 Institutional Sustainability and Capacity Building .....................................................................................58 5.4 Knowledge Generation and Learning .............................................................................................................59 6. RELEVANCE OF GEF SUPPORT TO ERITREA ....................... 60 6.1 Relevance to the Country’s Sustainable Development Agenda and Environmental Priorities ........60 6.2 Relevance to Eritrea’s Development Priorities and Challenges .................................................................62 6.3 Relevance to National Action Plans within GEF Focal Areas ������������������������������������������������������������������63 6.4 Relevance to the Achievement of Global Environmental Benefits ..........................................................64 6.5 Relevance of the GEF Portfolio to Other Global and National Institutions ..........................................65 7. EFFICIENCY OF GEF SUPPORT TO ERITREA ...................... 67 7.2 Coordination and Synergies ..............................................................................................................................72 7.3 Monitoring and Evaluation for Project Adaptive Management ...............................................................72 ANNEXES A: Country Response................................................................................................................................................75 B: Quality Assurance Statement ...........................................................................................................................76 C: Terms of Reference ..............................................................................................................................................78 D: Evaluation Matrix ................................................................................................................................................87 E: Interviewees and Focus Group Members ......................................................................................................95 F: Sites Visited ...........................................................................................................................................................96 G: Final Workshop Participants.............................................................................................................................97 H: GEF Portfolio in Eritrea ......................................................................................................................................98 REFERENCES .................................................................. 100 BOXES 5.1 Processes of Broader Adoption of GEF Interventions .................................................................................57 6.1 UN Strategic Priorities for Eritrea, 2013–16 .................................................................................................65 FIGURES 1.1 Distribution of SGP Portfolio in Eritrea by Focal Area ................................................................................4 3.1 Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Eritrea by Sector, 1990–2010 ....................................................................23 3.2 Timeline Illustrating Linkage between National Legislation and Policies, International Environ- mental Agreements, and GEF Projects in Eritrea .......................................................................................32 4.1 GEF Support to National Projects in Eritrea by Modality .........................................................................38 4.2 GEF Support