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Caspian Environment Programme

Caspian Environment Programme. Principal CO Experience UNDP Azerbaijan. About the CEP. CEP reflects the regional desire for environmental cooperation; Almaty Declaration , Tehran Wrap Up Meeting etc

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Caspian Environment Programme

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  1. Caspian Environment Programme Principal CO Experience UNDP Azerbaijan

  2. About the CEP • CEP reflects the regional desire for environmental cooperation; Almaty Declaration , Tehran Wrap Up Meeting etc • CEP started as early as 1998 as an inter-governmental environmental programme to safeguard the environment of the Caspian Sea. • CEP is essentially a regional umbrella programme owned by the littoral countries. • GEF and the EU/Tacis have both provided financial support and technical assistance to the CEP • Issues of concern: fisheries, habitat degradation; loss of biodiversity, oil pollution, waste management practices, water fluctuation

  3. Major Achievements Regional dialogue : • Steering Committee, Programme Coordination Unit ( PCU), five National Focal Points and a number of Caspian Regional Thematic Centres (CRTCs). • Framework Conventionagreed and signed. • EIA in regional context Guidelines developed and published • Emergency Response Cooperation Plan , Protocol and MOU developed.

  4. Major Achievements • Resource Mobilization : • Matched Small Grants Programme (MSGP)implemented • a number of Priority Investment Projects (PIPs) identified. • Diagnostic analysis & strategy and policy definition : • A Transboundary Diagnostic Analysis (TDA)developed and published • Five National Caspian Actions Plans developed and being nationally endorsed • Strategic Action Programme (SAP) developed and agreed to.

  5. CO Role • Set up of PCU (recruitment, training) • Day-to-day advisory services to PCU • Be quick and prompt to act in synchrony with other players • Act as legal entity and local advocate • Supervision and project reviews • Instead of minor administrative shared responsibility for the execution

  6. Advantages • Learning experience • Provides partnership building opportunities (entry point for private sector partnership) • Generator of project ideas • High UNDP visibility at national and regional level • Provides training opportunities (international law, disaster management, economic valuation of environment) • Valuable source of information for other projects and other actors • Increased environmental profile • Adds to programme delivery (Principal CO)

  7. Disadvantages • UNOPS execution has limitation due to absence from the country • Too heavy workload on UNDP PO especially in the first 12-18 months until PCU is up and running • Insufficient cost-recovery of 1% to Principal CO • PCU might be viewed as a separate autonomous entity detached from UNDP • Low visibility for some components (e.g. WB-executed PIPP)

  8. Lessons Learnt • More opportunities for dialogue between UNDP COs and PCU • More involvement in the CEP activities (at least in all Steering Committee Meetings) to minimize the risk of disenfranchisement • Agreement between COs on harmonizing and simplifying administration procedures • Consider alternative execution modalities (other than UNOPS) • Closer sharing of financial information and more transparency for country allocations • Mid-term evaluation (not only final) • Maintain level of flexibility for project cycle while having clear indicators of project performance

  9. Knowledge and Capacity Gaps • Human capacity is stretched for complex and dynamic project such as CEP (in UNDP AZE one Programme staff deals with two Practices) • Limited experience with management of regional cooperation projects • Negotiation skills in multi-stakeholder environment • Ability to swim in political waters

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