Coordination & Programming Experiences from India Sub Regional Workshop of GEF Focal Points from Asia Hanoi; March 10 – 12, 2010 Dr NAYANIKA SINGH GEF Consultant Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India

Content … Programming for GEF 4 and GEF 5 cycle Monitoring of GEF India portfolio Communication mechanism

GEF 4 programming in India Since 1991: USD m (Grant) & USD 1,969 m (Co- financing) Since July 2006 : USD m (Grant) & USD 991 m (Co-financing) RAF USD m (Grant) Non RAF USD m (LD, BD, POPs - Grant)

Major highlights 3 Programmatic Approaches: 3 Programmatic Approaches: (i) Sustainable Land and Ecosystem Management; (i) Sustainable Land and Ecosystem Management; (ii) Energy Efficiency; and, (ii) Energy Efficiency; and, (iii) Mainstreaming Marine and Coastal Conservation in Production Sectors. (iii) Mainstreaming Marine and Coastal Conservation in Production Sectors. FSP on Sustainable Transport Program. FSP on Sustainable Transport Program. 2 FSPs on Capacity Building – Bio-safety & Implementation of National Biological Diversity Act (especially, ABS). 2 FSPs on Capacity Building – Bio-safety & Implementation of National Biological Diversity Act (especially, ABS). Robust post NIP POPs portfolio. Robust post NIP POPs portfolio. Strengthened SGP India program through RAF funding. Strengthened SGP India program through RAF funding. Developing an FSP on promoting solar energy in industrial applications. Developing an FSP on promoting solar energy in industrial applications. Developing an MSP on promoting low carbon campaign in Commonwealth Games 2010 Delhi. Developing an MSP on promoting low carbon campaign in Commonwealth Games 2010 Delhi.

Coordination Mechanism

National GEF Focal Points Operational Focal Point: Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) is responsible for in-country program coordination of GEF projects and other operational activities. Political Focal Point: Department of Economic Affairs (DEA), Ministry of Finance is responsible for GEF governance and policy related issues.

Institutional mechanism GEF Empowered Committee: Functions as an empowered body to determine national priorities, streamline eligibility checks, approvals and endorsements of GEF proposals, monitor project implementation, and in formulating country ’ s stand for the meetings of GEF Assembly and Council. Chaired: Secretary (E&F) Members: Thematic Divisions, MoEF; Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of External Affairs, Planning Commission and Individual experts. Special invites: Concerned central/ state government, GEF Agencies, Project proponents on the need basis. Mandate to meet quarterly. GEF Cell GEF Cell : assists OFP in coordinating GEF India activities.

Proposal developed in consultation with concerned thematic divisions/ line ministries, GEF IAs & EAs Empowered Committee Chaired by Secretary (E&F) GEF Operational Focal Point endorses the project to GEF Agencies GEF Cell Preliminary Screening Concept Note Concept developed into project proposal in consultation with concerned thematic divisions, central/state governments and GEF Agencies Comments sought from concerned thematic division / central / state govt for ownership and co-financing commitments. Revision Project Proponent Concept note if eligible Endorsement Procedure for PIF/ MSP/ FSP/EA

Programming Process

National Consultation Process … Priority Identification - Country driveness and ownership by GEF Empowered Committee chaired by Secretary (E&F) and members from Thematic Divisions, MoEF; Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of External Affairs, Planning Commission, Central Government Line Ministries and Experts. l Identify national priorities with incremental value to be funded under GEF. l Identify possible co-financing at national level l Identify National Executing Agency l Identify Lead GEF Agency on the basis of their comparative advantage (UNDP, WB, UNEP, UNIDO, FAO, ADB, IFAD) l Identify focal points / contact persons

Contd./- Stakeholder Consultation by National Executing Agency along with GEF agencies: CC : MoP, BEE, MNRE, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural gas, MSME, MoUD BD: MoEF, MoA (Dept. of Fisheries and Animal Husbandry), DST, DBT, ICAR, NBPGR l To discuss national priority (s) and gap areas, which GEF could fund l Discuss project idea and its components l Identify key multi-stakeholders and partners (including state governments, NGOs, Academic and Research Institutions and possible Private Sector) l Co-financing potential and sources (Concerned GEF agencies working in India invited for a consultation. GoI priorities and gaps in funding shared and the agencies asked to prepare project proposals as per their priorities and comparative advantage within a timeline)

Contd./- PIF Preparation & Endorsement by GEF Agency (s) in consultation with National Executing Agency, concerned central and state governments and other stakeholders l Develop baseline on the basis of situational gap analysis l Identify project outputs and outcomes and the tentative GEF funding and co-financing on the incremental reasoning l Identify institutional mechanism for effective implementation and monitoring l Co-financing commitments from Central/ State Governments (and, other donors/ partners) l PIF reviewed and approved by GEF agency l PIF reviewed and endorsed by GEF OFP

Schedule for GEF 5 programming Aim: Start early and complete PIF preparation for about 70 % of allocated resources to ensure GEF 5 projects starts implementation latest by early l Dec 2009: Internal consultations on priority identification complete and preparation of concept notes ready l April 2010: Consultations with GEF agencies to link national priorities with GEF priorities (including, SGP FSP PIF) l May 2010: Preparation of Voluntary National Business Plan (VNBP) by GEF OFP office Preparation of PIFs by GEF agencies and other stakeholders l August 2010: Submission of VNBP to GEF SEC and thereon submission of PIFs for GEF 5 l Dec 2010: GEF National Dialogue l Jan 2011: GEF South Asia Constituency Workshop

Voluntary National Business Plan Brief description Tabular format National priorities under each focal area Linkage with GEF 5 strategic priorities Project concept (objectives, major activities and outcomes) GEF grant Co-financing (Type and Sources) National executing agency GEF agency

Monitoring of GEF India Portfolio

Move from Approval to Result Oriented Culture In all GEF projects monitoring and evaluation is a mandatory requirement. There are 2 project evaluations: Mid-term and Terminal evaluations. The progress of the project is monitored by the concerned GEF agencies, concerned Government agencies, National Steering Committee and PMU – comprising of National Project Director and National Project Coordinator, on a quarterly / semi-annually basis.

GEF OFP ’ s role AIM: The grant accessed by the country should be utilized optimally and as per national and GEF priorities. While building upon the ongoing monitoring efforts of the GEF agencies and Project Management Unit, the GEF Cell at MoEF will focus upon: a) Keeping a watch on project performance from GEF and national perspective, at different stages. b) Developing a knowledge management strategy c) Linking the performance of individual GEF projects with the overall performance of the GEF India project portfolio on the principle of Result Based Management Framework. d) To make GEF investments in India sustainable and strategic in meeting the overall goal of national development.

Tracking the portfolio 3 portfolio monitoring meetings (focal area-wise): April, August and December. Regularly attend the Project Steering Committees and in touch with the project staff National tracking system is being developed including, baseline on the status and performance of the projects through quarterly reports and PIRs. The PIRs of GEF India projects from 2010 onwards will be submitted by GEF agencies to GEF Sec with the approval of GEF OFP India One project site visit in a year Integrating monitoring culture into communications and outreach programs.

Challenges Limited understanding on the modalities of implementing a GEF project. The use of grant for administrative expenses. There is a need for GEF SEC to look into this matter; l Accounting for the exact utilization of co-financing amounts during the implementation phase is a challenge; There is a need for GEF SEC to develop a uniform PIR template; The annual work plans prepared for the project must be realistic while clearly identifying the global and local environmental benefits; and, Limited follow up of the various monitoring and evaluation reports generated by the project at different times.

Communication Mechanism

Strategic Objectives ● Creating awareness of GEF procedures, priorities and practices (as a continuous ongoing process); ● Building partnerships (financial & technical) to undertake new and innovative GEF projects; ● Exchanging experiences (good & bad) and strengthen existing partnerships; ● Monitoring the performance of GEF India projects. These strategic objectives takes into account the discussions of GEF Council, Nov 2007 on GEF’s Communication and Outreach strategy while contextualizing it as per India’s requirements.

Plan for 2010 ● Implement UNDP/ GEF MSP “Promoting Low Carbon Campaign for Commonwealth Games 2010 Delhi” – a communications project ● Update GEF India brochure ● Complete GEF India website ● Complete thematic project sheets and dockets (in CC, BD, LD and POPs focal areas) ● Continue documenting complete GEF India projects ● National Dialogue Workshop in December 2010 ● Strengthen GEF India reference library

GEF Small Grants India Program (SGP)

SGP India in GEF 5 SGP India is an integral part of GEF India portfolio in reaching out to local communities to ensure sustainable lives and livelihoods SGP India will access STAR resources through FSP modality and will be implemented through SGP modality UNDP will continue to be the GEF agency for SGP India CEE will continue to be the NHI for SGP India SGP India program is managed through a National Steering Committee (NSC) with GEF OFP India as chair and members drawn from civil society, private sector, academics, government etc

> 260 SGP Projects SGP is a country wide, focus on the tribal, remote, inaccessible areas and with Indigenous tribal people. l Grant accessed : USD 5.2 million Co-financing leveraged: USD 6.2 million from communities and other stakeholders like Govt., local admn. & private sector Sustaining lives & livelihoods at grassroot level

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