UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME
GLOBAL ENVIRONMENT FACILITY
Proposal for Review -
Expedited Financing for (Interim) Measures for
Capacity Building in Priority Areas Part II
Project Title: / Climate Change Enabling Activity
(Additional financing for capacity building in priority areas)
GEF Focal Area: / Climate Change
Country Eligibility: / [x] Eligible under a financial mechanism of the UNFCCC
[x] Eligible under paragraph nine (b) of the Instrument
Date of Ratification: / July 25, 1994
GEF Financing (Phase I): / US$ 185,220
GEF Additional Financing (Phase II): / US$ 100,000
Total Costs: / US$ 285,220
GEF Implementing Agency: / UNDP
Executing Agency: / Vice Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources and Forestry Development, Ministry of Sustainable Development and Planning
Local Counterpart Agency: / National Program of Climate Change, Vice ministry of Environment, Natural Resources and Forestry Development
Estimated Date of Initial National Communication Submission: / July 2000
Estimated Starting Date: / June 1, 2000
Project Duration: / One year
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- Current Project Status:
Bolivia signed the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) during the Earth Summit, (UN Conference on Environment and Development) held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, and ratified it by Law No.1576, dated July 25, 1994 as approved by the Bolivian Congress and the Executive Government. The UNFCCC Secretariat acknowledged and concurred the Bolivian ratification in November 1994.
The National Climate Change Program (NCCP) was established in 1995 to function under the Vice-Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources, and Forestry Development, to initiate actions aimed at meeting Bolivia commitments under the UNFCCC, and developing the first research activities to address climate change issues. In 1996, the NCCP started developing a Bolivian National Action Plan on Climate Change issues, prepared the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emission inventory by applying the 1996 Revised Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Guidelines; and in 1998 initiated the design of a National Implementation Strategy (NIS) of the UNFCCC.
The Bolivian National Communication contains a detailed analysis of the 1994 GHG emission levels in Bolivia, assessed according to the 1996 IPCC Guidelines, following the Initial Communications Guidelines for the Non-Annex I Parties (FCCC/CP/1996/L.12) and the 10th Decision, adopted by the Conference of the Parties, at its second session (10/CP-2). This Communication also includes a summary of National Circumstances (refer to Annex A), analysis of Climate Scenarios, Assessment of Ecosystems Vulnerability, Mitigation Options, Adaptation Measures that could be adopted to address climate change impacts, and the analysis of national needs of resources to implement projects.
The National Communication will be presented to the UNFCCC on the occasion of COP-6.
- Activities to be Involved in Phase II Project:
The main objective of the proposed “Strengthening of National Capacities, Systematic Observation Systems Assessment and Technological Needs Assessment to Address Climate Change” project to follow up on the initial implementation of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Bolivia by to improving national capacities with respect to technology transfer and participating in systematic observation networks.
As the same manner, the project will meet the following specific objectives:
- To build capacity with respect to identifying technology needs appropriate to the forestry and energy sectors, and designing and hosting projects;
- To establish an accurate diagnostic of all systematic observation networks existing in Bolivia, related to climate change and its implications; and,
- To assess systematic observation networks needs to help monitoring purposes of climate change.
- Technology Transfer:
Under Bolivia’s initial Enabling Activities, some preliminary work was conducted on identification of the technological needs and barriers in Bolivia. The resources of Part I Enabling Activities were also used to complete the analysis of the abatement measures associated with the National Plan of Action on Climatic Change, which serves as a frame of reference when evaluating the potential GHG reductions and carbon sink, as described in the National Communication’s section on Projections, Plans and Measures. In addition, under the National Program of Climatic Change, jointly with the World Bank, Bolivia has been working on a study concerning the institutional, legal and regulatory barriers associated with the implementation of projects for the reduction of emissions. Nevertheless, all of these activities require more support to identify and evaluate technological needs, specifically in the industrial and forest sectors.
(i)Identification/submission of technology needs
The selection and prioritization of potential projects in the area of climate change will be guided initially by the National Plan of Action on Climatic Change in Bolivia. In addition, the projects dealing with GHG emissions reduction are intended to promote sustainable development of the regions where they are located. Other fundamental guiding principles of national development, including providing opportunities and promoting social equity, have been incorporated as criteria to assess the measures of abatement and adaptation in line with the National Strategy of Implementation of the CMNUCC. These strategies and national criteria, in addition to technical considerations explored under this project, will be reflected in the basic criteria to be developed for the evaluation, selection, and approval of GHG emissions reduction projects.
To help ensure that Bolivia will meet its commitments to the Convention, the identification of technology needs will be made in the following key sectors: energy and forestry. The project implementation will involve examining these two important sectors of the economy to determine their efficiency and opportunities for introducing new technologies appropriate to Bolivia.
In particular, this technology assessment will contribute to greenhouse gas emission reduction through the following:
- identifying barriers and how to remove them;
- examining available suppliers;
- identifying technology needs in these sectors; and,
- determining how technologies are acquired and how to facilitate technology transfer.
(ii)Capacity building to assess technology needs, modalities to acquire and absorb them, design, evaluate and host projects
In order to effectively assess Bolivia’s technology needs, the Climate Change National Program under the Vice-Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources and Forestry Development will build capacity through:
- Identifying information sources to help the Climate Change National Program inform itself of relevant data and literature. Gather and evaluate this research with the intent of increasing the Program’s ability to design, evaluate and host projects;
- Training of key personnel to effectively be able to identify and assess the technology needs of the key sectors of forestry and energy;
- Prioritizing and selecting potential projects, and establishing the project proposals and appropriate management structure for their implementation; and,
- Developing a national program for developing, organizing and subsequently diffusing information in a national workshop. This workshop will focus on communicating the purpose and resources of the Climate Change National Program, and educating the audience regarding the status and outlook of climate change initiatives within Bolivia. This program will include an element of public relations and promotion of climate change awareness.
In building capacity to host projects, the following key activities will also be undertaken to ensure success of the Phase II work:
- Organization and development a Work Plan, which will outline and establish the priority areas of intervention, with special attention to the strengthening of inter-institutional relationships; and,
- Developing outlines of climate change action plans relating to the human security (food security, human health and disaster management and risk reduction) and education sectors, and connecting these efforts with the strengthening of the National Implementation Strategy of the UNFCCC in Bolivia.
- Capacity building for participation in systematic observation networks
Bolivia, as other countries in the region, has made isolated initiatives for the systematic observation of climatic change and its impacts. Within the country, the lack of coordination, dialogue and consultation has translated into the duplication of efforts coupled with an incomplete basis for understanding climate change and its impacts. The country has also been left behind in its participation with networks of systematic observation at the international level, which may in the future harm Bolivia’s ability to equitably participate in, and learn from, international forums on this subject. Overall, building capacity for participation in systematic observation networks is a priority for Bolivia since this will help to identify and coordinate the networks, and to determine future needs.
In order to allow Bolivia to participate fully and efficiently in systematic observation networks, both nationally and with the region, a diagnosis of such observation networks must be prepared. To this end the following activities are proposed:
- Establish an accurate diagnostic of all systematic observation networks existing in Bolivia related to climate change and its implications. This activity will also involve examining potential bonds that could be established between national networks in the region; and,
- Assess systematic observation networks needs to help monitoring purposes of climate change. The result will be a plan for institutional improvements to the current systems of observation.
The above activities will be carried out to ensure that work that has already been done, in the region or within Bolivia, is not duplicated and that future activities are consistent with Bolivia’s achievements. All activities will involve the strengthening of the Climate Change National Program, in addition to the Meteorology service of Bolivia and those involved in forest development.
- Project Management and Institutional Arrangement
The institutional framework for this project will be the Ministry of Sustainable Development and Planning, which constitutes the focal point of the UNFCCC in Bolivia, through the Vice-Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources and Forestry Development. These institutions are the Executing Agency of the project.
The Programa Nacional de Cambios Climaticos (PNCC), or Climate Change National Program, is dependent on the Vice-Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources and Forestry Development which will be the Implementing Agency of the project. This group will report on project advances and achievements to Climate Change Inter-institutional Council (CCIC), which consists of representative members of civil society, academic institutions, private sector, governmental institutions and UNDP.
The PNCC was created to implement the Phase I work and, in order to ensure continuity, the same institutional structure and many of the individuals that were involved in coordinating and preparing the first national communication will be also involved in Phase II. This continued involvement will help ensure that the previous capacity is maintained and enhanced.
- Monitoring and Evaluation
The Vice-Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources and Forestry Department will monitor the progress of the project and report advances and achievements to the Climate Change Inter-institutional Council (CCIC), as described above.
Prior to the release of GEF additional financing by the UNDP for Phase II activities, standard UNDP monitoring and evaluation practices will be followed for Phase I. In particular, the UNDP will receive a copy of the latest (i.e., within the past six months) Annual Programme/Project Report (APR) and the Tripartite Review (TPR) Report. At the end of Phase II, a Terminal Report on Phase II will be submitted to the UNDP Headquarters.
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TABLE C 2
ACTIVITY MATRIX FOR PHASE II OF CLIMATE CHANGE ENABLING ACTIVITIES:Priority activities for additional (interim) funding
Activity / Planning and Execution / Capacity Maintenance/ EnhancementData Gathering and Research / Institutional Strengthening / Training, Education and Public Awareness
Identification and submission of technology needs / X / X, FNC / X / X
Capacity building to assess technology needs, modalities to acquire and absorb them, design, evaluate and host projects / X / X / X / X
Capacity building for participation in systematic observation networks / X / X / X / X
Preparation of programs to address climate change
Note:
denotes activities covered by the proposed project
FNC denotes activities partially covered by the first national communication
TABLE D 2
PROJECT BUDGET ACCORDING TO GEF ACTIVITY NORMS IN US DOLLARS
Cost estimates for (interim) priority activities (US$)
Activity / Planning and execution / Capacity maintenance/enhancement / Technical & administrative support / Cost estimatesData gathering and research / Institutional strengthening / Training and education and public awareness
1. (a) Identification and submission of technology needs
1. (b) Capacity building to assess technology needs, modalities to acquire and absorb them, design, evaluate and host projects / 5,000 1,000
26,000 8,000
8,000 2,000
2,000
1,000 / 4,000
9,000 / 3,000
11,000 / 2,000
4,000 / 15,000
58,000
19,000
2. Capacity building for participation in systematic observation networks / 3,000 / 3,000 / 3,000
3. Preparation of programs to address climate change
4. Project management / 3,000 1,000 1,000 / 7,000
4. Monitoring & Evaluation / 1,000
Total / 53,000 / 19,000 / 18,000 / 10,000 / 100,000
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Annex A – National Circumstances
Bolivia is located in central South America, between 57 26’ and 69 38’ W longitude, and between 09 38’ and 22 53’ S latitude; it covers a geographical area of 1,098,581 km2.
Physiographic characteristics of Bolivia cause a variety of climate that is importantly determined by the tropical-humid influences of the Equatorial Amazonian Current and the Southern Current cold-air masses. Additionally, latitude and altitude gradients between West and East have influence in climate.
Bolivia’s GDP is approximately US$ 8.5 billion, with stable growth rate of 4%-5%, since 1986. The GDP vegetative growth projection indicates that the GDP would be US$9 billion for year 2000, and approximately US$42 billion for year 2030.
In 1994, Bolivian exports consisted mainly of traditional products: mining 36%, hydrocarbon 10%. However, during last years, the growth in exports of non-traditional products represented 47%, while re-exporting was 7%.
According to the “Poverty Map” (published by the Economic Policy Analysis Unit -UDAPE, 1995), most essential needs of a great part of the Bolivian population are unsatisfied. It is a fact that a significant percentage of population has no access to basic sanitation services, health and housing facilities; and 94% of rural population is poor.
Bolivia has been always a hydrocarbon producer. For this reason, the energy framework in which the country develops is essential for Bolivian economy, its energy sources consist mainly of fossil fuels. In 1995, energy production structure was composed by natural gas 64,46%, hydro-energy 5,70%, crude oil 18,89%, and biomass 10,95%. Other energy sources such as solar energy and geothermal energy are barely exploited. Energy consumption per sector was: industrial 32,94%, transport 32,41%, residential 27,41%, commercial 7,03%, and agriculture 0,21%.
Concerning to demography, population density is 7.0 inhabitants/per km2. Biodiversity is rich, and represented by 319 mammal species (Beck. S. et al., 1993), 1,274 bird species (UNDP (c), 1996) and approximately 17,000 major plant species.
Bolivia has 21 natural protected areas (within the National Protected Areas System, under the IUCN: I and V categories) comprising 8% of the national total area along with 40 natural areas comprising ecosystems of mountains, wetlands, lagoon systems, and sub-tropical and tropical forests, which represent 12% of the national total area. Within these Protected Areas System, 435,000 ha of land are considered as biosphere reserves, 14 million ha were declared as protected areas, 15 million ha were declared as set aside reserve lands and reserves for immobilization for protection under the Agrarian Reform Law (INRA Law, 1997); 55.8 million ha of land are covered by forests, representing 51% of the national total area, most of these areas are in the North and East plains of Bolivia.
The water resources regime in many sites of the Amazonian basin is affected by erosion intensified by deforestation processes. Many of the rivers and tributaries flowing along small and medium villages are severely affected by urban contamination, mainly biological wastes, due to the lack of effective sewage and waste disposal systems.
Air contamination problems in Bolivia are almost non-existing, excepting some seasonal vegetation burning practices, during July-September, that are culturally traditional for opening new areas for agriculture expansion purposes. This seasonal burning contamination has become a threat to human health with incidence of respiratory diseases, and smoke causing difficulties to airport operations.
UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME
GLOBAL ENVIRONMENT FACILITY
Proposal for Review –
Expedited Financing for (Interim) Measures for
Capacity Building in Priority Areas Part II
Egypt
Project Title: / Climate Change Enabling Activity(Additional financing for capacity building in priority areas)
GEF Focal Area: / Climate Change
Country Eligibility: / [x] Eligible under a financial mechanism of the UNFCCC
[x] Eligible under paragraph nine (b) of the Instrument
Date of Ratification: / 12 May 1994
GEF Financing (Phase I): / US$ 402,000
GEF Additional Financing (Phase II): / US$ 48,000
Total Costs: / US$ 450,000
GEF Implementing Agency: / UNDP
Executing Agency: / Government of Egypt
Local Counterpart Agency: / Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency (EEAA)
Date of Initial National Communication Submission: / July 1999
Estimated Starting Date: / July 2000
Project Duration: / 1 year
- Current Project Status:
Egypt submitted its initial national communication on climate change to the Secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in July 1999, following the format approved by the second Conference of the Parties according to decision 10/CP.2. This initial national communication covered the 1990 greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory using 1995 IPCC guidelines, preliminary vulnerability and adaptation assessment for different sectors, steps taken in the field of climate change in different sectors in Egypt, and future needs.
Within the first phase of the project a complete set of activities (background studies, public awareness and training) were undertaken that led to broad coverage of most of the important sectors with emphasis on non-energy sector such as assessment water resources, agriculture and coastal zones vulnerability to climate change. GHG inventory and GHG scenario development of the waste, agriculture and energy sector were also developed.
The Enabling Activity, Phase I, was approved by GEF in July 1996. The duration of this project was nearly 42 months, and it ended in December 1999. During these years the following activities were accomplished: