ASSESSMENT OF DEVELOPMENT RESULTS DEVELOPMENT OF ASSESSMENT ASSESSMENT OF DEVELOPMENT RESULTS E V AL UAT I ON OF UNDP CONTRI BUTI ON MALDIVES MALDIVES HUMAN DEVELOPMENT effectiveness COORDINATI efficiency COORDINATION AND PARTNERSHIP sust NATIONAL OWNERSHIP relevance MANAGING FOR sustainability MANAGING FOR RESULTS responsivene AN DEVELOPMENT responsiveness NATIONAL OWN NATIONAL OWNERSHIP effectiveness COORDINATI United Nations Development Programme efficiency COORDINATION AND PARTNERSHIP sust Evaluation Office One United Nations Plaza relevance New York, NY 10017, USA NATIONAL OWNERSHIP MANAGING FOR Tel. (212) 906 5059, Fax (212) 906 6008 Internet: http://www.undp.org/eo sustainability MANAGING FOR RESULTS responsivene HUMAN DEVELOPMENT effectiveness COORDINATI MALDIVES COORDINATI COORDINATION AND PARTNERSHIP sust MANAGING FOR responsivene NATIONAL OWN COORDINATI COORDINATION AND PARTNERSHIP sust MANAGING FOR effectiveness COORDINATI ASSESSMENT OF DEVELOPMENT RESULTS EVALUATI ON OF UNDP CONTRI BUTI ON MALDIVES Evaluation Office, March 2010 United Nations Development Programme REPORtS PUBLISHED UNDER tHE aDR SERiES Afghanistan Indonesia Argentina Jamaica Bangladesh Jordan Barbados Lao PDR Benin Libya Bhutan Montenegro Bosnia & Herzegovina Mozambique Botswana Nicaragua Bulgaria Nigeria Burkina Faso Peru Cambodia Rwanda Chile Serbia China Sudan Colombia Syrian Arab Republic Republic of the Congo Tajikistan Ecuador Turkey Egypt Uganda Ethiopia Ukraine Georgia Uzbekistan Guatemala Viet Nam Guyana Yemen Honduras Zambia India EvalUation TeaM team leader Philip Tortell team Members Nadia Hijab Shadiya Ibrahim Evaluation Office task Manager Alexandra Chambel Research assistant Zembaba Ayelew aSSESSMENt OF DEvElOPMENt RESULTS: MALDIVES Copyright © UNDP 2010, all rights reserved. Manufactured in the United States of America. The analysis and recommendations of this report do not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations Development Programme, its Executive Board or the United Nations Member States. This is an independent publication by UNDP Evaluation Office. Design: Green Communication Design inc. Production: Consolidated Graphics Copy editing: Sanjay Upadhya Cover photographs provided by Alexandra Chambel FOREWORD This Assessment of Development Results is an and responsiveness, including to unplanned independent country-level evaluation, conducted emergencies or changing development plans, by the Evaluation Office of the United Nations and its ability to provide as well as to access Development Programme (UNDP) in the international knowledge. Maldives. It examines the relevance and strategic positioning of UNDP support and its contribu- The evaluation found that in the past six years tions to the country’s development from 2003 to UNDP in the Maldives has coped with two 2010, covering two country cooperation frame- major transformational events: the 2004 tsunami works. The study assesses UNDP interventions and the changes in political system. With under the various thematic areas of the country regard to the tsunami, UNDP responded to the programme, with the aim of providing forward- immediate needs following the disaster and also looking recommendations meant to assist the had a role in designing the recovery plan. UNDP UNDP country office and its partners in the effort was important but not always sustainable. formulation of the next programming cycle. Concerning the political changeover, UNDP played a crucial role in the political transition and Being a small island developing state, the the introduction of democracy in the country as Maldives is exposed to external shocks such as well as on human rights issues. the December 2004 tsunami where 62 percent of the GDP was estimated to have been affected. Overall, the evaluation concluded that UNDP This vulnerable country has a highly dispersed has been particularly effective in its support at the land mass of a very small size, resulting in a policy level, especially in the area of governance, highly dispersed population. The low altitude but less so at the atoll and island level. Gender of the islands and the rising sea levels may cause equality and youth remain major areas requiring many islands to disappear, while other islands effective support while capacity development is may become too densely populated to sustain the most significant barrier to sustained progress. their population. Moreover, the Maldives faces The experience of the Maldives has all the serious economic challenges arising from the ingredients to provide lessons that may be relevant narrow economic base comprised almost exclu- for other country offices. They include: (i) need sively of tourism and fisheries. Dealing with for reduction in size and thematic concentration the effects of its recent graduation from Least of the portfolio; (ii) progressive shift towards Developed Country status and further sustaining policy dialogue, advisory roles in national policies; the process of democratization and respect for (iii) increased support to national authorities in human rights will also be major challenges for exploring new opportunities within South-South the country. cooperation and the private sector; (iv) need for substantial improvement in project design The presence and contribution of UNDP is of and implementation, including monitoring and vital importance to support the Maldives’ sustain- evaluation, sustainability and preparation of able development, especially given the fact that exit strategies. there are not many development partners resident in the country. UNDP support is viewed very In sum, the UNDP country programme would positively by the Government, particularly at the achieve more with fewer interventions and a more central level. The most valued UNDP attributes strategic approach while taking into account the include its longstanding presence, its flexibility main barriers of weak policy and weak capacity. F O R E W O R D i This evaluation benefited greatly from the Special thanks go to the Ministry of Finance, the continued collaboration of the UNDP country Government counterpart of UNDP, and to the office in the Maldives, particularly of the former Vice-President’s Office. Representatives of the Resident Representative, Patrice Coeur-Bizot, UN System in the Maldives also supported the as well as the officer in charge, Arun Kashyap, evaluation exercise. who helped in organizing and hosting the suc- cessful stakeholders’ workshop meeting. Special A team comprising Philip Tortell, team leader, thanks also go to the Special Assistant to the Shadiya Ibrahim and Nadia Hijab, team special- Resident Representative, Mileydi Guilarte, the ists, and Alexandra Chambel, the Evaluation Programme Finance Specialist, John Gacutan, Office task manager, carried out the evaluation. I the three Assistant Resident Representatives, am very grateful to them for their excellent work. Mohamed Inaz, Zindu Salih and Raniya Sobir, for their support to the evaluation team, as I would also like to thank the external reviewers, well as to Aishath Nashfa, Aishath Afaaf, Hicham Daoudi, evaluation coordinator at the Hussain Jinan, the interpreter, Mahzoon, and International Organisation of La Francophonie, the Communications Officer for the Atoll and Richard Huntington, social scientist, for Ecosystem-based Conservation Project, Abdulla their useful comments, which helped improve Affan, for their support during the field missions the quality of the report. I would like to thank as to the atolls. well Michael Reynolds for his coordination work and Michelle Sy, Thuy Hang Thi To and Anish The Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific Pradhan for their administrative support. – in particular, Fadzai Gwaradzimba and Susan Yulianto – supported the evaluation process. It is my sincere hope that this exercise has provided The stakeholders meeting held at the end of the lessons that are relevant for the organization and evaluation process benefited from the participation its international partners. Truly, the findings and of the Deputy Director, Ligia Elizondo. recommendations remind us in UNDP of the need to constantly readjust ourselves to line up My sincere gratitude is extended to all the with our corporate mandate – to support countries people in the Maldives who have taken time to accelerate progress on human development and to respond to the requests by the evaluation aim for real improvements in people’s lives. I am team: Government officials, island and atolls positive this evaluation was able to trigger the administration officials, women development reflection to support the response of UNDP to committees, nongovernmental organizations, the development challenges of the Maldives. development partners, villagers and youth. Saraswathi Menon Director, Evaluation Office i i F O R E W O R D TABlE OF CONtENtS aBBREviatiONS aND aCRONYMS v MalDivES at a GlaNCE vii EXECUtivE SUMMaRY ix 1 INtRODUCtiON 1 1.1 Purpose and objectives of the Assessment of Development Results 1 1.2 Methodology and approach 2 1.3 Structure of the Assessment of Development Results report 6 2 DEvElOPMENt CONtEXt 7 2.1 Maldives: a vulnerable Small Island Developing State 7 2.2 Development challenges and national strategies 10 2.3 The role of external assistance 12 3 UN aND UNDP RESPONSE StRatEGiES 15 3.1 UN response through the UNDAFs 15 3.2 UNDP response through the country programmes 16 4 UNDP CONtRiBUtiON tO DEvElOPMENt RESUltS 19 4.1 UNDP Programme 19 4.2 UNDP strategic positioning 46 4.3 Observations on country programme management 48 5 CONClUSiONS