Based on existing GEF policies, UNEP is the Implementing Agency for this project: responsible for overall project supervision and technical backstopping to ensure consistency with GEF and UNEP programs, procedures, and monitoring effectiveness in delivery of the project outcomes. The Royal Government of Cambodia’s Ministry of Environment (MoE) will be the project Executing Agency: responsible for the ‘on the ground’ project implementation in accordance with the objectives, outputs and activities outlined in the project document: providing UNEP free access to all relevant information to fulfill its responsibilities to GEF.
Management and contracting will be done through the General Department for the Administration of Nature Conservation and Protection (GDANCP - MoE) to service providers, which may be government, non-government, and private sector. To facilitate enhanced stakeholder engagement the Alliance of Non-Government Organizations will continue to play a strong role in supporting CAMPAS and financing through this channel may also facilitate more efficient field activities linked to co-financing. See Figure 7.. The Ministry of Environment as the executing agency for the project has jurisdiction over the protected areas covered by the Law on Protected Areas and is also National Focal Point for GEF, CBD, Ramsar Convention, and UNFCCC in Cambodia. GDANCP led a consultation process involving related government agencies and civil society organizations towards developing a national framework on protected areas and biodiversity, which provided the basis for the present proposal.
Two agencies under the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) - the Forestry Administration (FA) and the Fisheries Administration (FiA) will be key partners in project implementation. The FA manages the Permanent Forest Estate (PFE) and plays a significant role in wildlife protection. It is responsible for sustainable forest management, managing protection forests (a significant part of the protected areas system) and community forestry inter alia. MoE and MAFF play a key role in leading the national REDD+ program. Coastal and marine protected areas, mangroves, inundated forests (around Tonle Sap for example) and the FiA, which has primary responsibility for fisheries and other aquatic and marine species conservation, generally manages freshwater habitats.
Management structure
The project’s management structure is based on strong government ownership, and aligned to the existing government institutional arrangements, to ensure sustainability and replication of project outcomes. The project will report to the National Biodiversity Steering Committee (NBSC) as the government-designated body for high-level biodiversity coordination in Cambodia. The National Secretariat for Biodiversity have been established in 2001 to coordinate the implementation of the NBSAP, including monitoring, reviewing and reporting as well as providing recommendations for NBSAP revision, the latter aspect which is currently ongoing.. The project will be largely based in the General Department for the Administration of Nature Conservation and Protection (GDANCP) within the MoE, which also functions as the Secretariat in MoE for the National Biodiversity Steering Committee.
Figure 9. CAMPAS institutional arrangements
GDANCP (MoE) and the Project Director will be responsible for the overall management of the project. As executing agency, main responsibilities of MoE for the project will include to:
select the staff and sub-contracts for project implementation (in consultation with UNEP)
plan and monitor the technical aspects of the project, and monitor project impacts and progress, with guidance from the official CAMPAS Technical Working Group
participate in all relevant project activities where appropriate, and deliver on its outputs
adopt, during the course of the project, the systems, programs and tools developed by the project to ensure sustainability of the project outcomes
prepare and submit periodic progress reports, and regularly consult with beneficiaries and contractors
maintain a separate project account for the accountability of project funds
ensure that advanced funds are used in accordance with agreed work plans and project budget
prepare, authorize, and adjust commitments and expenditures; ensuring timely disbursements, financial recording and reporting against budgets and work plans
manage and maintain budgets, including tracking commitments, expenditures and planned expenditures against budget and work plan
maintain productive, regular, and professional communication with UNEP and other project stakeholders to ensure the smooth progress of project implementation.
The Project Director will be supported by a Project Management Unit (PMU) with a full-time National Project Coordinator/PA Specialist (NPC) to ensure that it is managed in an effective, transparent, and accountable manner in line with approved work plans and budgets and in accordance with GEF and UNEP guidelines, as well as achieving PA management goals. The Chief Technical Advisor (CTA) will also be able to provide technical support and advice to the project management unit and will be identified and contracted by the NGO Alliance; to further help to coordinate with the key co-finance partner, the CTA position will also be partially funded through co-finance from ADB. A Provincial Project Officer will provide overall support with specific emphasis on ensuring the provincial implementation of activities in-line with national activities. The Communications Officer will be engaged to enhance stakeholder engagement and participation through the communications campaign. The project management unit also has support staff including an Accountant, Administration and Procurement Officer and other support staff, including a secretary to facilitate management, monitoring, reporting and compliance.
