1. 0 © 2009UNDP. All Rights Reserved Worldwide. Proprietary and Confidential. Not For Distribution Without Prior Written Permission. CSOs and UNDP’s GEF Work John Hough Deputy Executive Coordinator (GEF), UNDP

2. 1 Roles of CSOs/NGOs in UNDP GEF Work 1) Project Execution: full responsibility for delivering project outputs on-time, on- scope, and on-budget. (~ 15 projects) 2) Co-financier: provides cash or in-kind contributions to a project. (315 projects, US$ 147 million as of June 2009. Excluding SGP) 3) Partner: cooperates in project planning and activities 4) Advisor: representation on Project Boards, Steering Committees, etc. 5) Contractor: provider of specific contracted services to the executing agency (normally government) 6) Beneficiary: recipient or target of project interventions 7) Observer: monitoring, alerting, “watchdog” 1

3. 2 Highlights of CSOs/NGOs and UNDP GEF Work 1. Evaluation of GEF Small Grants Programme: Conclusion 9: “The SGP is a cost-effective instrument for the GEF to generate global environmental benefits through NGOs and community-based organisations.” 2. Mekong Wetlands Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Use Programme (PIMS 992). Implemented by IUCN and Mekong River Commission. 3. Productive Uses of Renewable Energy in Guatemala (PURE) (PIMS 3186). Executed by Fundacion Solar 4. IW:Learn – become an NGO through the project 2

4. 3 General Lessons Learned The 2008 UNDP AMR Report of 218 MSP/FSPs highlighted a number of lessons learned: 1. Sufficient resources and efforts for partnership development, community involvement and participation must be allocated at the very beginning of project implementation. 2. Emphasize regular communication with stakeholders. 3. Stakeholders need to come to a common understanding of the project purpose, outcomes and outputs. 4. Voluntary monitoring by local people cements partnerships among stakeholder groups, sectors and jurisdictions; brings meaningful collaboration between citizens and the government; increases citizen knowledge about their environment; and builds social and intellectual capital for participating communities. 3

5. 4 NGO execution of UNDP GEF Projects Capacity: UNDP country office assesses the capacity of the NGO to carry out the project using the UNDP CSO Capacity Assessment Tool. This tool assesses: – Legal status/history – Mandate, policies, governance – Constituency and external support – Technical, managerial, administrative and financial capacity Potential benefits: comparative advantage, enhance dialogue, less cost. Potential disadvantages: lack of capacity, relationship with government, high cost for international NGOs, compliance with international standards on transparency and accountability, whose mission? 4

6. 5 Way Forward 1. GEF-5: - RAF - Direct access - Comparative advantage of NGOs 2. UNDP: - ongoing engagement with NGOs/CSOs/Indigenous Peoples - full stakeholder engagement and consultation - welcomes engagement and partnerships - further documentation through 2009 monitoring process 5