GEF and Capacity Development: background and future perspectives UNDP-GEF National Capacity Self-Assessment (NCSA) Regional Workshop 17-19 June, 2005, Tunis, Tunisia ***

1
GEF and Capacity Development background and
future perspectives UNDP-GEF National Capacity
Self-Assessment (NCSA) Regional Workshop 17-19
June, 2005, Tunis, Tunisia

• Tom Twining-WardUNDP-GEF, New York

2
GEF and Capacity Development

• CD is one of the most critical issues for both
  donors and developing countries and without
  sufficient local capacity, development is
  unlikely to succeed.
• WSSD and Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness
  have reaffirmed the priority of building the
  capacity of developing countries.
• The past decade witnessed steadily increasing
  requests from the global environmental
  conventions to enhance efforts to build the
  capacity of developing countries to meet their
  objectives and obligations under the Rio
  Conventions.
• The Second GEF Assembly recommended that capacity
  development should be identified and addressed in
  a systematic manner and called for the GEF to
  foster synergies among global environmental
  conventions through capacity development
  activities.

3
Capacity Development Initiative (CDI)

• Strategic Partnership between UNDP and the GEF
  Secretariat
• Activities and Outputs of the CDI
• Regional Workshops
• Selected national need-assessments
• Regional Reports
• Strategic Framework approved by GEF Council
• Immediate Approval of National Capacity Self
  Assessments
• Further development of other elements of
  Strategic Framework

4
CDI (Contd)

• The CDI identified a critical need for national
  capacity to upstream policy-making, enact
  legislation, regulation or other administrative
  measure based on knowledge generated on
  environment.
• This includes supporting initiatives to reform
  and clarify institutional mandates, alignments
  and responsibilities.
• Also recognized that sustaining this capacity
  requires creating an environment conducive to
  on-going learning, review and change at all
  levels individual, institutional and systemic.
• Countries participating in the CDI also gave top
  priority to strengthening capacity for increasing
  public awareness and knowledge to increase public
  understanding and gather support to integrate
  environmental issues into development.

5
Convention Guidance

• Capacity building is the underlying theme of
  several decisions starting from the GEF Assembly,
  Council and global environmental conventions for
  which GEF is the financial mechanism.
• As the conventions introduce new areas for
  implementation, including new protocols, the need
  for capacity building shifts and GEF support will
  be based upon continuous prioritization by
  countries.
• Convention guidance to the GEF has continuously
  assigned priority to providing financing for
  capacity development to assist Parties to
  implement the conventions.
• Throughout the past decade, guidance from the CBD
  and UNFCCC to the GEF has requested funding for
  country-driven capacity-development activities.
• Within the deliberations of the UNCCD as well as
  the Stockholm Convention, capacity development to
  assist countries to meet the objectives of the
  Conventions has been strongly emphasized.

6
GEF and Capacity Development

• Capacity development for global environmental
  management became a significant area of focus for
  the GEF.
• In November 2003 the Council approved a Strategic
  Approach to Enhance Capacity Building.
• The GEF business plan (05-07) identifies capacity
  building as a strategic priority that cuts
  across all focal areas, and anticipates that GEF
  resources are to be directed towards capacity
  development consistent with the Strategic
  Approach.
• This approach is also in line with broader GEF
  thinking on the need to enhance synergies among
  focal areas and program future activities in the
  broader context of integrated natural resource
  management.

7
GEF Resources for Capacity Development
Methods for access to GEF Resources (Pathways)
4. Program for critical capacity building
activities in LDCs SIDS
1. National Capacity Self-Assessments NCSAs
2. Enhanced attention to capacity building in
regular projects
3. Targeted and cross-cutting capacity building
projects
8
Other GEF-funded CD Activities

• National Dialogue Initiatives (NDI)
• promote outreach and multi-stakeholder
  participatory consultations in recipient
  countries.
• Focal Point Support Program
• improve country support by increased
  participation and ownership in the project
  identification process by facilitating national
  consultations among different stakeholders.
• enhanced awareness among national policymakers
  and key stakeholders through the development of
  case studies, good practice notes and targeted
  dissemination of GEF program information.
• Enabling Activities (EAs)
• primary objective of EAs is preparation of
  national reports, but they also serve to build
  some capacity in the process.

9
GEF Strategic objectives in GEF-4 (2006-10)

• The objective in GEF-4 will be to recognize and
  strengthen the inter-relationships amongst
  capacity, global environmental impacts and
  performance across the GEF focal areas.
• This will be done through the pathways provided
  in the Strategic Approach to provide assistance
  for capacity development approaches geared to
  achieving and mainstreaming global environmental
  benefits.
• Financing for two of the pathways (embedding
  capacity building elements within the GEF
  projects and filling strategic gaps by supporting
  targeted focal area capacity building projects)
  will be funded through the resources programmed
  for the focal areas. Indicators will be
  incorporated in project proposals that will allow
  for tracking of capacity building outcomes.
• Financing for critical cross-cutting capacity
  development projects identified in the NCSAs and
  for initiating country programs for LDC/SIDS will
  be financed under the corporate programs
  allocation.

10
Conclusions

• GEFs Strategic Approach to enhance capacity
  building offers significant new opportunities for
  countries.
• The NCSA is as a strategic positioning tool and
  framework for countries and entry point to access
  funds from other GEF pathways.
• Important for countries to tailor process and
  outputs in this context.
• The likely introduction of a Resource Allocation
  Framework (RAF), further reinforce the need for
  countries to increasingly focus on developing
  national capacities to enhance their performance
  in project delivery and ensure the existence of
  adequate capacity at all levels