Terminal Evaluation of the UN Environment Project “Implementing the Island Biodiversity Programme of Work by Integrating the Conservation Management of Island Biodiversity” (Integrated Island Biodiversity (IIB) Project) FINAL REPORT Evaluation Office of UN Environment June 2017 Evaluation Office of UN Environment Photos Credits: Front cover: Proposed new coastal ecosystem protected area with Tongan whistler habitat, Vava'u Province, Kingdom of Tonga @UN Environment/ Peter Thomas, UN Environment Evaluation Mission (2017) This report has been prepared by Peter Thomas, TierraMar Consulting and is a product of the Evaluation Office of UN Environment. The findings and conclusions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the views of Member States or the UN Environment Senior Management. For further information on this report, please contact: Evaluation Office of UN Environment P. O. Box 30552-00100 GPO Nairobi Kenya Tel: (254-20) 762 3389 Email: [email protected] Implementing the island biodiversity programme of work by integrating the conservation management of island biodiversity GEF ID: 4023 June/2017 All rights reserved. ©2017 Evaluation Office of UN Environment Page | ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This Terminal Evaluation was prepared for the Evaluation Office of UN Environment by Mr. Peter Thomas at TierraMar Consulting. The report benefits from a peer review conducted within Evaluation Office of UN Environment. The Evaluation Office of UN Environment would like to thank the Integrated Island Biodiversity project team and in particular Mr. Greg Sherley and Mr. Mohamed Sessay for their contribution and collaboration throughout the Evaluation process. Sincere appreciation is also expressed to the entire project team for assistance and participation throughout the evaluation. The Evaluation Office of UN Environment would also like to thank the Governments of Cook Islands, Nauru, Tuvalu and Tonga. The author would like to acknowledge the generous contributions of the many people who have helped in the preparation of this report through their openness and willingness to provide information and share their project experiences. In particular, I would like to thank the members of the project teams and partners in Tonga and the Cook Islands for their warm hospitality and the efforts they made to demonstrate the results of the project in the field. I also deeply appreciate the guidance and mentoring provided by key project personnel including Dr. Greg Sherley, UNEP Pacific regional focal point and project Task Manager; Mr. Mohamed Sessay, UN Environment portfolio manager; Ms Easter Galuvao, Biodiversity Advisor and Project Manager, SPREP; Ms. Amanda Wheatley, Ecosystem and Biodiversity Officer, SPREP, Mr. Vainuupo Jungblut, IIB Project Technical Assistant, SPREP Ms. Anna Bertram, IAS Project Technical Assistant, Mr. Bruce Jefferies, ex Ecosystem and Biodiversity Officer, SPREP, Dr. Nigel Varty, Team Leader, UNEP GEFPAS Pacific Project Terminal Evaluation team; and Ms Tiina Piiroinen, UNEP Evaluation Officer. TierraMar Consulting Pty Ltd does not accept any responsibility to any other party to whom this report may be shown or into whose hands it may come. No representation or warranty (express or implied) is given as to the accuracy or completeness of the information contained in this report, and, to the extent permitted by law, TierraMar Consulting Pty Ltd, its members, employees and agents accept no liability, and disclaim all responsibility, for the consequences of you or anyone else acting, or refraining to act, in reliance on the information contained in this report or for any decision based on it. The information provided in this report is based on the best information and documentation available at the time of preparation. The views expressed in this report are purely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of UN Environment, or project stakeholders, including beneficiaries, who were consulted in the preparation of this report. This report, or portions thereof, may not be reproduced without explicit written reference to the source. Evaluation team Peter Thomas – Evaluation Consultant, TierraMar Consulting Evaluation Office of UN Environment Tiina Piiroinen – Evaluation Manager Harriet Matsaert – Evaluation Manager Mela Shah – Evaluation Programme Assistant Page | iii Page | iv ABOUT THE EVALUATION1 Joint Evaluation: No Report Language(s): English Evaluation Type: Terminal Project Evaluations Brief Description: This report is a terminal evaluation of a UN Environment-GEF project implemented between 2012 and 2017.The project's overall development goal was to assist Cook Islands, Nauru, Tonga and Tuvalu with the implementation of their National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plans and in doing so, their contribution to the implementation of the Islands Biodiversity Programme of Work of the Convention on Biodiversity. The evaluation sought to assess project performance (in terms of relevance, effectiveness and efficiency), and determine outcomes and impacts (actual and potential) stemming from the project, including their sustainability. The evaluation has two primary purposes: (i) to provide evidence of results to meet accountability requirements, and (ii) to promote learning, feedback, and knowledge sharing through results and lessons learned among UN Environment, the GEF and their executing partner Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SREP) and the relevant agencies of the project participating countries. The project was granted an extension from 31 December 2016 to 31 March 2017 and then again to September 2017 when the terminal evaluation was already ongoing. Therefore, this TE report only covers the project from its onset to end of December 2016 and thus, does not cover the activities undertaken during the two extensions to September 2017. Key words: biodiversity; biodiversity conservation; coastal ecosystem; convention on biological diversity; CBD; ecosystem management; global environment facility; GEF; integrated biodiversity; marine ecosystem; national biodiversity strategy and action plans; NBSAP; project evaluation; protected area; protected area management; small island developing states; SIDS; small islands; species protection; terminal evaluation; TE 1 This data is used to aid the internet search of this report on the Evaluation Office of UN Environment Website Page | v Table of contents 1 Introduction .................................................................................................................................................................................... 8 1.1 Subject and scope of the evaluation .......................................................................................................................... 8 1.2 Evaluation objectives ....................................................................................................................................................... 8 1.3 Evaluation approach and methodology ................................................................................................................... 9 1.4 Main evaluation criteria and questions ................................................................................................................ 10 2 Project Background .................................................................................................................................................................. 11 2.1 Context ................................................................................................................................................................................ 11 2.2 Project Objectives and Components ...................................................................................................................... 12 Objectives ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 12 Components ................................................................................................................................................................................. 12 2.3 Target areas/groups ..................................................................................................................................................... 14 2.4 Milestones in Project Design and Implementation .......................................................................................... 15 2.5 Implementation Arrangements and Project Partners .................................................................................... 15 2.6 Project Financing ............................................................................................................................................................ 16 2.7 Changes in design during implementation.......................................................................................................... 16 2.8 Reconstructed Theory of Change of the Project ............................................................................................... 16 Project Outcomes....................................................................................................................................................................... 18 Intermediate States and Impact .......................................................................................................................................... 20 3 Evaluation Findings .................................................................................................................................................................