SIRMM Outcome 4 – Requirements for implementation of the SIRMM Plan in place as well as mechanisms for capture of Lessons and Best Practicess

The purpose of this Outcome is to ensure effective Project Implementation and the long term success of SIRM. A Project Management and Coordination Unit has been established along with an Inter-Sectoral Committee which acts as the coordination mechanism for sustainable island resource management. The relevant institutions are provided with skills and capacity to implement SIRM and to monitor effectiveness. A range of specific integrated management solutions will be demonstrated at pilot sites previously identified as Hotspots and Sensitive Areas.

4.1 Project Coordination Unit and Coordination Mechanisms for SIRM

A Project Management Unit (PMU) has been established within the Ministry of Agriculture, Housing, Lands and the Environment with overall responsibility for project implementation. The Project Manager defined and established a Project Coordinating Committee to ensure streamlined project executing, with participation of the demonstration project coordinators and any other government representatives or stakeholders deemed appropriate or necessary.

The existing National Coordination Mechanism (as described in the Baseline above) will serve as in inter-ministerial committee and provide the necessary cross-sectoral coordination mechanism for integrated sustainable island resource management. With regards to this project, the NCM will be responsible for reviewing and taking policy decisions and will meet as often as is necessary or on a 6 monthly basis.

A Project Steering Committee, with responsibility for oversight of the project, and integrated by the Director of Planning (or another more senior officer) as chair, the Project Manager, the Project Coordinator, a representative of UNDP, a private sector representative from one of the co-financers and a member of the NGO community, will meet twice during the first semester after inception, and thereafter on a 6 monthly basis.

4.2 Inter-sectoral Training and Capacity Building Programme for SIRM

An inter-sectoral training and capacity building programme and work plan will be developed (based on capacity and training needs identified in Output 3.2.) to ensure institutions and organisations have the necessary skills and capacity. Training will be developed in close coordination and consultation with relevant government agencies, as well as with key sectors such as tourism, agriculture, and fisheries, within the framework of the development of the Advisory Brief for Commercial Resource and Livelihood Sustainability (Output 2.3). Furthermore, the Project will work closely with island and regional NGOs to ensure that training builds on their existing programmes as well as to engage their expertise in this area where appropriate. Training will also be closely linked with the execution of the demonstration projects, which will develop targeted, on-the-ground management approaches to address priority issues and needs.

4.3 – Implementation of Site Specific Demonstration of Integrated Ecosystem Management in Critical Pilot Sites previously Identified as Hotspots or Sensitive Areas

Site-specific pilot projects are implemented to demonstrate alternative approaches for addressing key issues and barriers to the integrated sustainable management of island resources. The pilots seeks to demonstrate solutions to cross-sectoral issues and barriers at sites of national importance that have also been identified as either an environmental Hotspot or Sensitive area. The cross-sectoral nature of the demonstrations will encourage and support inter-institutional collaboration at the site level thereby assisting in the transition to the actual integration and mainstreaming of SIRM approaches at the national level. In all demonstration projects, incentive schemes will be defined in order to encourage adoption of best practices and support for SIRM objectives. Best practice lessons from the site level demonstrations will be captured and used to adjust national level approaches. A brief description of each demonstration can be found under “SIRMM Demonstrations.”  These demonstrations will also provide valuable inputs to other ongoing GEF initiatives in the region such as IWCAM and the Caribbean Large Marine Ecosystem project.

4.4 – Monitoring and Evaluation

As part of the development of a Sustainable Island Resource Management Strategy and Plan, it will be essential to identify measurable indicators of conditions and changing trends in biodiversity, ecosystem function, socio-economic parameters, etc. The regular and sequential collection of data relating to these indicators would then need to be elaborated into a long-term monitoring and data collection/analysis programme for SIRM.

There is also a need for specific monitoring and evaluation related to measurement of the success and delivery of the GEF SIRM Project itself. Key performance indicators for each Outcome (along with their sources of verification) are listed within the Logical Framework (see Section II – Strategic Results Framework and GEF Increment in the SIRMM project document). These should be reviewed and compared with the Project Work- plan by the Project Steering Committee at its first meeting for amendment/addition and adoption. Further meetings of the Project Steering Committee should reconsider project status and delivery against the adopted indicators to identify any shortfalls in delivery. As such, the monitoring and evaluation components will be key inputs to an adaptive management approach. A plan will be developed for providing the baseline (ie the initial project condition determined by the indicators), which will be completed during the first year of implementation. These same indicators will also be used to assess success and delivery during the Mid-Term and Terminal Evaluation process. As an on-going process, the Project will undertake the usual standard GEF/UNDP monitoring and reporting processes (quarterly reporting, Project Implementation Review/Annual Project Review, minutes of Project Steering Committee meetings, etc.). These monitoring and evaluation requirements are described in more detail in the Project Monitoring and Evaluation Plan and Budget (see Part IV – below). This M&E process is an integral and essential responsibility of Project Management and Coordination.

4.5 – Capture of lessons and best practices (from Demos and Full Project), and implementation of a transfer and replication mechanism

Lessons, best practices and alternative technologies and strategies arising from the Demonstration Projects which identify possible solutions and mitigations to the threats and root causes which are acting as barriers to sustainable island resource management at a national level will be captured, and guidelines developed where appropriate. Effective replication strategies and mechanisms for transferring and replicating the lessons and practices arising from the demonstration projects will be developed. The project also aims to ensure that these lessons and best practices are disseminated at the regional and global level (especially in relation to other SIDS) through appropriate knowledge networks or other regional initiatives such as IWCAM, MACC, CLME, and LDC-SIDS.