Project evaluation series Final evaluation of the project “Climate Change Adaptation to Reduce Land Degradation in Fragile Micro-Watersheds located in the Municipalities of Texistepeque and Candelaria de la Frontera” PROJECT EVALUATION SERIES Final evaluation of the project "Climate Change Adaptation to Reduce Land Degradation in Fragile Micro- Watersheds located in the Municipalities of Texistepeque and Candelaria de la Frontera" GCP/ELS/012/GFF and GCP/ELS/013/SCF GEF code: 4616 FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS Rome, 2019 Required citation: FAO. 2019. Final evaluation of the project “Climate Change Adaptation to Reduce Land Degradation in Fragile Micro-Watersheds located in the Municipalities of Texistepeque and Candelaria de la Frontera”. Rome. pp. 80 Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO. 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FAO information products are available on the FAO website (www.fao. org/publications) and can be purchased through [email protected]. Requests for commercial use should be submitted via: www.fao.org/contact-us/licence-request. Queries regarding rights and licensing should be submitted to: [email protected]. Cover photo credits: ©FAO/Roger Miranda Contents Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................................................... v Acronyms and abbreviations ............................................................................................................................ vi Executive summary ............................................................................................................ vii 1. Introduction ................................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Purpose of the evaluation ........................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Scope and objectives of the evaluation ................................................................................. 1 1.3 Methodology ................................................................................................................................... 3 1.4 Limitations ......................................................................................................................................... 4 1.5 Structure of the report ................................................................................................................. 4 2. Context and description of the project ........................................................................ 5 2.1 Project context................................................................................................................................. 5 2.2 Project background ....................................................................................................................... 5 2.3 Theory of Change ........................................................................................................................... 7 3. Findings of the evaluation ......................................................................................... 10 3.1 Relevance ......................................................................................................................................... 10 3.2 Effectiveness ................................................................................................................................... 16 3.3 Efficiency .......................................................................................................................................... 44 3.4 Normative values .......................................................................................................................... 50 3.5 Sustainability .................................................................................................................................. 54 4. Lessons learned .......................................................................................................... 60 5. Conclusions and recommendations ........................................................................... 62 5.1 Conclusions ..................................................................................................................................... 62 5.2 Recommendations ....................................................................................................................... 64 Appendix 1. GEF rating system .......................................................................................... 66 iii Tables and figures Tables Table 1: Evaluation questions ........................................................................................................................ 2 Table 2: Composition of the management groups during the process of preparation of Fragile Micro-Watersheds Management Plans. ................................................................................... 18 Table 3: Comparative data regarding area of production of maize and amount of maize produced, in accordance with the results of the 2017 and 2018 surveys ................................. 28 Table 4: Water sources worked on and protected by the Project ................................................ 37 Table 5: Budgetary status of the Project as at 31 May ...................................................................... 49 Table 6: Disaggregation of co-financing ................................................................................................ 50 Table 7: Participation by sex in a sample set of activities (July-December 2016) ................... 52 Figures Figure 1: Map of the Department of Santa Ana showing the areas in which the project was implemented ........................................................................................................................................................ 6 Figure 2: Theory of Change ............................................................................................................................ 9 Figure 3: Observations of the families consulted regarding the areas most affected by the consequences of CC ....................................................................................................................................... 20 Figure 4: Level of ownership measured by the usefulness of the project services to the people assisted ................................................................................................................................................. 21 Figure 5: Areas in which specific actions have taken place to reduce the vulnerability by the people who attended training promoted by the Project ................................................................. 23 Figure 6: Comparison of the affirmative responses given by the heads of households