Strengthening the institutional and financial sustainability of the national protected area system

1. GEF Full Sized Project
‘Strengthening the institutional
and financial sustainability of
the national protected area
system’

3. The project context
• June 2012: the project concept is
summarised in a Project Information
Form (PIF), approved into the pipeline of
the fifth funding cycle of GEF (‘GEF 5’)
• December 2013: the project is cleared
by the GEF and endorsed for an amount
of US$4,953,000 grant to Croatia

4. The project context
• GEF has provided funding, through a
Project Preparation Grant, to develop the
project documentation.
• A team of consultants (3 national and one
international) have been contracted to
support UNDP and the Ministry in the
drafting of the project documentation
• The full project will be implemented over
a period of four years 2014-2017

5. Submission file: prodoc of 100
pages, 15 additional files...

7. Strategic approach to project design
The project is activity-focused around two key
areas of support to national protected areas:
Key area 1: increase efficiency of management
- Reform the institutional framework and
strengthen systemic and institutional
management capacities
Key area 2: increase financial efficiency
- Improve the financial sustainablity of the
network of national protected areas

8. Strategic approach to project design
The project is spatially focused on the
network of ‘national protected areas’
(National Parks and Nature Parks)

10. Project structure - two components
Component 1:
• improve the current institutional framework
• address it’s key weaknesses
• build on the strong sides of the system
[19 public institutions, weak coordination;
limited performance accountability;
duplication of functions]

11. Component 1 - outputs
Output 1.1: National planning framework for PA
system
Output 1.2: Financial management capacity of
PA institutions
Output 1.3: Shared Service Centre (SSC) for
national PAs
Output 1.4: Feasibility assessment – CBA and
ranking of different options for establishing a
‘park agency’

15. Project structure - two components
Component 2:
• improve the financial sustainability of the
national protected areas
• ensure that they have adequate financial
resources to cover the full costs of their
management
[cost-inefficiencies; inequitable distribution
of funds; funding gap for optimal
management]

16. Component 2 - outputs
Output 2.1: Reduce transaction costs of userpay systems in national protected areas
Output 2.2: Develop integrated tourism services
in national protected areas
Output 2.3: Improve the productive efficiency
of national protected areas

20. Full project budget
GEF funding
GEF (USD)
Component 1 (including M&E)
1,762,000
Component 2
2,842,000
Project management
349,000
TOTAL (GEF)
Co-financing
4,953,000
GEF (USD)
UNDP (project management)
500,000
National PIs (Vransko jazero; Papuk; Ucka;
Telascica; Risnjak)
811,116
MENP
16,700,000
TOTAL (Co-financing)
18,011,116

21. Implementation arrangements
UNDP
Responsible to GEF for monitoring of project
implementation
- Provide administrative and financial support
services to project (procurement, accounting
services, contracting services, etc.)
Ministry of Environment and Nature Protection
Responsible to UNDP for national implementation of
project
- Appoint a National Project Director (NPD) to
provide strategic oversight and guidance to
project implementation

22. Implementation arrangements
Project Board (PB)
Responsible for project co-ordination and
decision-making.
Representation may include:
- MENP (Chair)
- UNDP
- SINP
- MRD&EU Funds
- MF
- National PIs

23. Implementation arrangements
Project management staff
Day-to-day administration of project
- Project Manager
- Project Associate (administrative and
technical support)
Protected area institutions (SINP + PIs)
Responsible for implementing predesignated project outputs and activities

25. Parks: for people and nature toghether!
sandra.vlasic@undp.org