A Project Management Unit (PMU) will be responsible for overseeing the day-to-day execution of Project activities. The PMU will have responsibility for, among others: (i) operational planning, managing and executing the project including the direct supervision of project activities sub-contracted to specialists and other institutions, as well as those that are to be implemented through the MMA, if applicable; (ii) coordinating the management of financial resources and procurement; (iii) reporting on the application of resources and results achieved; (iv) preparing management reports for the MMA, PSC, the GEF, and UNDP including annual reports (PIR) and any proposals for the adaptive management of the Project if required and based on inputs from the Project M&E plan; (v) promoting inter-institutional linkages; and (vi) disseminating project results.
The PMU will consist of a full-time Project Manager, two Technical and Monitoring Consultant and one Administrative Assistant hired with GEF resources and a National Project Technical Coordinator (NPTC) assigned by the Project National Technical Director. The PNTC will be a MMA staff member and will collaborate with the PMU in project implementation channeling MMA’s technical inputs and guidance into the planning and execution of project activities. This is a part-time position continuing for the duration of the Project, reporting directly to the NPTD.
The PMU will be led by the Project Manager and who will be responsible for the overall management and implementation of the project’s activities and requesting disbursement of Projects resources for their execution. Upon request of the GoB (see Annex X) implementation will be through the DEX modality with UNDP providing direct project services such as procurement and hiring of consultants following best value for money, transparency and effective competition. These will follow current UNDP policies and procedures including those for cost recovery (see para 24). Under the PM’s lead and guidance the PMU team will prepare Annual Operational Plans (AOP) for the effective and efficient implementation of the project activities to achieve stated objectives; will be responsible for all substantive reports from the Project; will prepare and/or oversee the development of Terms of Reference for consultants, subcontractors and partnerships hired for specific technical assignments and their close monitoring, ensure consistency between the various project elements and activities provided or funded by other donors; and develop reports on project progress on the project for PSC and technical meetings, and other appropriate forums. This is a full-time position continuing for the duration of the Project, reporting directly to the Executive of the PB.
Considering the transversal nature of desertification and in agreement with the principles of the UNCCD and the PAN Brazil Desertification recommendations, project implementation should occur in an integrated and coordinated with the various social actors involved in the question. The project will strengthen and expand partnerships with the Parties under the UNCCD, with federal, state and municipal institutions, international cooperation agencies and civil society to jointly build effective and sustainable solutions within the proposed prevention, control, mitigation and rehabilitation activities. For implementation of relevant Outputs, in particular those related to implementation of field activities, agreements will be established with local, state, regional or national organizations, research and/or academic institutions or civil society organizations, according to the specific needs.
In addition, decentralized implementation is envisaged in order to promote greater interaction and institutional dialog among government, academia and civil society, as well as the exchange of the knowledge generated and the need to achieve results spread throughout the national territory. It is expected that the selected partners, given their accumulated experience in the areas of operations, will achieve results more effectively with the target beneficiaries at the intervention sites. The actions to be undertaken by the Implementing Agencies will be described in detail in specific Terms of Reference, prepared by the PMU, in cooperation with MMA, including the definition of the project element/activity to be executed at intervention areas. The transfer of project funds to the Implementing Agencies to cover the costs of the activities under their responsibility will be formalized by specific agreements defined by UNDP.
The project will promote a pre-selection of the Implementing Agencies with the support of MMA to identify organizations that are in a position to participate in the initiative as institutional partners. The criteria for selection and registration as partners will be defined during the Inception Phase of the project (first six months of implementation). The main criteria to be observed in the selection of partner institutions include, among others: experience with projects of this kind; ability to innovate and add value to the project; accumulated knowledge about the subject of the action; technical and specialized capacity to achieve results; and expectation or existence of partnerships with other institutions in the area. The hiring of 'implementing agencies' would be carried out through a competitive process.
After the selection process, the Implementing Agencies will participate in a workshop when the common vision of the goals of the project will be explained and guidelines to standardize the methods of monitoring and evaluation will be defined for all those partners. Furthermore, in order to replicate good practices for SLM in ASDs, the project will also explore the possibility of calls for grants to support small projects in the ASD of Sergipe, based on experiences implemented in priority areas of the Alto Sertão. If possible, these calls will be supported with resources from development instruments of federal and state governments and through the institutional coordination process.
