“Sustainable Natural Resource and Forest Management in Key Mountainous Areas Important for Globally Significant Biodiversity” Uzbekistan Mid-Term Review FINAL Report GEF Agency: United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) State Committee on Ecology and Environmental protection Implementing Partner: (Goskomecology) Funding: GEF GEF Project ID: 8031 UNDP PIMS: 5438 UNDP Atlas Project ID: 00080814 Project Timeline: May 15, 2017 – May 14, 2022 Submitted by: Jean-Joseph Bellamy & Rustam Muradov Submitted on November 28, 2019 TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................................................................. II LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS .......................................................................................................... III ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .............................................................................................................................................. IV EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ................................................................................................................................................ 1 1. CONTEXT AND OVERVIEW OF THE PROJECT .............................................................................................. 9 2. REVIEW FRAMEWORK ..................................................................................................................................... 10 2.1. OBJECTIVES ................................................................................................................................................ 10 2.2. SCOPE ......................................................................................................................................................... 11 2.3. METHODOLOGY .......................................................................................................................................... 11 2.3.1. Overall Approach ...................................................................................................................... 11 2.3.2. Review Instruments .................................................................................................................. 12 2.4. MTR USERS ................................................................................................................................................ 13 2.5. LIMITATIONS AND CONSTRAINTS ................................................................................................................ 13 3. EVALUATION FINDINGS.................................................................................................................................. 13 3.1. PROJECT STRATEGY .................................................................................................................................... 14 3.1.1. Project Design ........................................................................................................................... 14 3.1.2. Results Framework / Log-frame ............................................................................................. 19 3.2. PROGRESS TOWARDS RESULTS ................................................................................................................... 22 3.2.1. Progress Towards Outcomes Analysis .................................................................................. 22 3.2.2. Remaining Barriers to Achieve the Project Objective .......................................................... 37 3.3. PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION AND ADAPTIVE MANAGEMENT ....................................................................... 38 3.3.1. Management Arrangements .................................................................................................... 38 3.3.2. Stakeholder Engagement ........................................................................................................ 39 3.3.3. Work Planning ........................................................................................................................... 42 3.3.4. Finance and Co-finance ........................................................................................................... 43 3.3.5. Project-level Monitoring and Evaluation Systems ................................................................ 45 3.3.6. Reporting .................................................................................................................................... 49 3.3.7. Communications / Knowledge Management ........................................................................ 49 3.4. SUSTAINABILITY ......................................................................................................................................... 50 3.4.1. Financial risk to Sustainability ................................................................................................. 52 3.4.2. Socio-economic risk to Sustainability .................................................................................... 52 3.4.3. Institutional framework and governance risk to Sustainability ........................................... 52 3.4.4. Environmental risk to Sustainability ....................................................................................... 53 4. CONCLUSIONS, RECOMMENDATIONS AND LESSONS LEARNED ......................................................... 53 4.1. CONCLUSIONS ............................................................................................................................................. 53 4.2. RECOMMENDATIONS ................................................................................................................................... 57 4.3. LESSONS LEARNT........................................................................................................................................ 60 ANNEX 1: PROJECT EXPECTED RESULTS AND PLANNED ACTIVITIES .......................................................... 62 ANNEX 2: MAPS OF PROJECT INTERVENTION AREAS ....................................................................................... 69 ANNEX 3: MTR TERMS OF REFERENCE.................................................................................................................. 70 ANNEX 4: UNEG CODE OF CONDUCT FOR REVIEWERS AND AGREEMENT FORM ..................................... 80 ANNEX 5: REVIEW MATRIX ...................................................................................................................................... 81 ANNEX 6: LIST OF DOCUMENTS REVIEWED ........................................................................................................ 88 ANNEX 7: INTERVIEW GUIDE ................................................................................................................................... 92 ANNEX 8: FACT-FINDING MISSION AGENDA ....................................................................................................... 94 ANNEX 9: LIST OF PEOPLE INTERVIEWED .......................................................................................................... 102 ANNEX 10: MTR RATING SCALES .......................................................................................................................... 106 ANNEX 11: AUDIT TRAIL .......................................................................................................................................... 107 ANNEX 12: EVALUATION REPORT CLEARANCE FORM .................................................................................... 108 Mid-term Review of the UNDP-GEF-Government of Uzbekistan Project “Sustainable Natural Resource and Forest Management in Key Mountainous Areas Important for Globally Significant Biodiversity” (PIMS 5438) i List of Tables Table 1: Project Information Table ................................................................................................................... 1 Table 2: MTR Ratings and Achievement Summary Table ............................................................................... 7 Table 3: Steps Used to Conduct the Evaluation ............................................................................................. 12 Table 4: Project Logic Model .......................................................................................................................... 19 Table 5: List of Delivered Results ................................................................................................................... 23 Table 6: METT Scores .................................................................................................................................... 33 Table 7: Initial Stakeholders Involvement Plan .............................................................................................. 40 Table 8: Annual Work Plans versus Actual Expenditures (GEF grant) .......................................................... 42 Table 9: UNDP-GEF Project Funds Disbursement Status (in USD) .............................................................. 43 Table 10: Co-financing Status ........................................................................................................................ 44 Table 11: List of Performance Indicators ........................................................................................................ 46 Table 12: List of Risks Identified at the outset of the project .........................................................................