The Gambia’s experiences in the implementation of GEF programmes

Country paper for the GEF African Meeting of National Focal Points

February 20 – 21, 2002

Dakar, Senegal.

Prepared by

Kebba Bojang 1

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1
Senior Programme Office, The National Environment Agency, %, Fitzgerald Street, Banjul,
The Gambia.
 The Gambia’s experiences in the coordination of GEF programmes.

Introduction and background.

The objective of this country paper is to discuss and share experiences on issues pertaining to
coordination and implementation of GEF activities in The Gambia with colleagues from other
parts of the continent. It is hoped that such regional collaboration in the sharing of experiences
greatly improve the service delivery to the GEF clientele. The paper will attempt to follow (as
much as possible) the format for the outline provided for the workshop.

Having actively participated at the UN Conference on Environment and Development held in Rio
1994, The government of The Gambia has fully herself to the principles of Sustainable
Development as embodied in Agenda 21. In the pursuit of sustainable development objectives,
The Gambia signed and ratified the 3 Post-Rio conventions on the environment and proceeded to
establish The National Environment Agency (NEA) as the central coordinating institution
responsible for all matters relating to the environment. In line with its functions as having
responsibility for environmental matters, the NEA was also designated as the GEF Operational
Focal Point in The Gambia. The mandate of the Operational Focal Point is to serve as the central
body for all GEF related activities in the country. The operational focal point also performs the
important function of disseminating relevant information to stakeholders. The focal point
however executes most of its functions through a national committee known as the GEF National
Committee.

The National Environment Agency

The National Environment Agency was established in July 1993 as a semi-autonomous institution
under The Office of The President and charged with the responsibility of coordinating all matters
(nationally and internationally) relating to the environment. One of its main functions is to
oversee the implementation of The Gambia Environmental Action Plan (GEAP), which is an
action plan to address The Gambia’s environmental problems. The GEAP, which identified the
major environmental issues affecting The Gambia, is operationalised through 10 programme
areas namely:
- The Agriculture and Natural Resources Management programme (ANR).
- The Environmental Education programme.
- The Environmental Impact Assessment programme (EIA).
- The Environmental Information Systems programme.
- The Environmental Legislation programme.
- The Ozone programme.
- The Coastal and Marine Resources Management programme.
- The Environmental Quality programme.
- The Contingency Planning and Disaster Management programme.

The 10 programme areas execute their programme functions through established Working groups,
task forces and committees, which bring together all the relevant key players within the sector
concerned. One such committee within this setup is The national GEF Committee.
The National GEF Committee.

The National GEF Committee was created in 1998 under the ANR programme. Although this
committee is located within the ANR programme, given its area of operation, it coverage is cross
cutting and affects other programme areas as well. The National GEF Committee working under
the auspices of the operational focal point, serves as a clearinghouse mechanism for GEF project
proposals. Its membership include the focal points for the 3 environment conventions (CBD,
UNFCCC and UNCCD), Agriculture, UNDP, a representative from the NGO community, private
sector and the Research establishment. Depending on the nature of the project proposal being
reviewed, the committee may co-opt any other member as may be deemed necessary. The
Committee’s other role include making information on the GEF available to relevant stakeholders
and the general public through sensitization meetings and workshops.

Theme 1

National coordination concerning the preparation/implementation of GEF projects.

The National GEF Committee plays an important role in the preparation and implementation of
GEF projects in The Gambia. The Operational Focal Point, as part of its mandate, makes
information about the GEF available to stakeholders. Such information, which is shared among
stakeholders, is meant to promote the GEF strategic objectives and foster a greater understanding
on the role of the GEF in addressing problems, which are of a global nature. Furthermore, such
information is also meant to enhance the general understanding of the GEF procedures and
guidelines in order to facilitate effective development of projects for the GEF consideration. The
entity seeking for GEF funding takes the lead in the development of projects for GEF
consideration. This of course is done in close consultation with the National GEF Committee,
which ensures that the proposals conform to GEF procedures and take into consideration The
Gambia’s development priorities.

(a) The main actors in national coordination concerning the development/implementation

of GEF projects.

The GEF constituency in The Gambia include government technical departments in agriculture,
forestry, fisheries, wildlife, fisheries, water resources, trade and the environment, NGOs involved
in rural development work, Community-Based Organisations engaged in natural resources
management and the private sector. As the Operational focal point, the task of coordinating the
development of GEF projects as well as their implementation lies with this body. However, as has
been earlier outlined earlier in this paper, the Operational Focal Point executes its functions
mainly through the GEF National Committee.

(b) Processes of national coordination followed.

The coordination mechanism put in place for national coordination of GEF activities is quite
participatory and involves the active participation of the relevant stakeholders. The National GEF
Committee by design, is kept small in order for it to be efficient and active in its functions. Each
GEF-funded project has its own Project Steering Committee (PSC) whose main responsibility is
to ensure that the project is on track on terms of meeting its targets and sticking to its objectives.
The PAC reports directly to the National GEF Committee and in that way, the latter is
continuously kept informed of progress.
 The challenges of coordination at the national level.

(c) Coordination at the national level remains a major challenge. The issues of coordination
centre around manpower shortages and lack of resources. The operational focal in
addition to overseeing GEF matters, has other responsibilities as well. This dual
functional role for the focal point limits the capacity of the focal point to render more
effective services.

(d) Support and information needed carry out this task.

Support in the form of finance and logistics are needed in order to greatly improve on
coordination. It would be a good idea if a GEF programme and office is established within the
NEA and manned by a Programme Officer who would be responsible entirely for coordinating
GEF matters in the country. In that way, the present constraints of overburden on the ANR
programme can be reduced.

Theme 2

Coordination within global environment conventions.

(a) The main actors in national coordination concerning CBD, UNFCCC, UNCCD,
Stockholm convention on persistent organic pollutants.

The Gambia has adopted a decentralized approach to the implementation of the environmental
conventions and agreements. Using this approach, institutions with a mandate for a particular
convention have been assigned as a focal point. In that regard, The Department responsible for
wildlife matters has been designated as the focal point for the Convention on Biological
Diversity. Likewise, the Departments of Forestry and Water Resources management have been
designated as focal points for the Convention to Combat Desertification and the UN Framework
Convention on Climate Change respectively. The focal point for each of the three conventions is
responsible for all matters relating to that particular convention. As such, The focal point
spearheads the preparation and also oversees the implementation of the convention’s action plan
and programme.

The NEA is the focal point for the Stockholm convention on persistent organic pollutants. A
multi-disciplinary task force comprising of all institutions dealing with persistent organic
pollutants performs the

Working closely with partner institutions, donors and other development partners, the focal point
is also responsible for resource mobilisation for programme implementation. There is a close
working relationship with the main central coordinating institution. Under the country’s
framework for environmental management, the NEA provides the secretariat for each of the three
conventions. Through well-established lines of communications, this arrangement ensures that
that follow-ups and recommendations are effectively pursued and implemented.
(b) Challenges of integrating positions and policies developed for purposes of the
conventions with activities undertaken with GEF financing.

The biggest challenge faced by way of integrating policies and programmes developed for the
conventions with activities undertaken with GEF financing revolve for the most part on the issue
of national programmes taking account of the global environment at large. Great strides have
been made in developing regional projects to address regional environmental problems. Given the
complexities of political and other differences, a lot more needs to be done in this area. The GEF
working in collaboration with other international bodies such as WWF, UNESCO, Wetlands
international, Ramsar Bureau, ECOWAS etc could do a lot in the area of promoting regional
cooperation

Theme 3

National coordination concerning GE council matters

(a) The main actors in national coordination concerning council matters.

A Number of countries have designated 2 focal points for GEF activities: The Political focal point
dealing with GEF governance and an Operational Focal Point coordinating GEF projects. In the
case of The Gambia, both functions are assumed by one institution namely the NEA. This
arrangement however seems to be beset with a number of problems. Information on the activities
of council matters are not readily available and this creates an undesirable situation. In this area,
the Gambia is looking ahead to learning from those countries with two separate focal points
(Operational and Political ) for the matters.