Transcript Yerevan, Armenia September 2012 What is STAP? In 1994, the GEF Instrument sets up STAP – “UNEP shall establish, in consultation with UNDP.

Yerevan, Armenia
September 2012
What is STAP?
In 1994, the GEF Instrument sets up STAP –
“UNEP shall establish, in consultation with UNDP and the
World Bank and on the basis of guidelines and criteria
established by the Council, the Scientific and Technical
Advisory Panel (STAP) as an advisory body to the Facility.
UNEP shall provide the STAP’s Secretariat and shall operate
as the liaison between the Facility and the STAP.” (Instrument
for the Establishment of the Restructured Global
Environment Facility, 1994 and 2008)
What is STAP?
The Scientific and Technical Advisory Panel (STAP)
of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) provides
strategic and independent advice on projects,
programs, and policies.
STAP is administered by the United Nations
Environment Programme (UNEP), and it is
supported by a Secretariat in Washington, D.C
Who is STAP?
Thomas E. Lovejoy, Chair
Sandra Diaz
Biodiversity
Jakob Granit
International
Waters
Henk Bouwman
Chemicals & POPs
N.H. Ravindranath
Acting Climate Change
Michael Stocking Advisor
to STAP Chair
Anette Cowie
Climate Change
Anand Patwardhan
Adaptation
IAs / EAs
UNDP
CBD
Donor
Replenishment
Group
GEFEO
UNEP
STAP
W.B.
UNFCC
ADB
ASSEMBLY
NGOS
POPS
COUNCIL
CCD
Multilateral
Fund of
Montreal
Protocol
International
Waters
CEO / CHAIRMAN
Af DB
EBRD
GEF SECRETARIAT
FAO
IDB
IFAD
UNIDO
1/04
Strategic advice
 Scan emerging global environmental issues
 Advise on cross-cutting thematic areas, such as
adaptation to climate change, sustainable forest
management, and chemicals management
 GEF-5 focal area strategies – 2009, work on GEF-6
will start in 2013
 “How to” develop/implement projects, or programs
Recent STAP advisory products
Policy advice
 Learning objectives (RBM) – ongoing
 Targeted research – ongoing
 Criteria for focal area set asides – 2010
 STAR (choice of indicators) – 2009
Operational advice:
Project and program advice
 Develop methodologies for the GEF
 Ensure the scientific and technical quality of
 GEF projects and programmatic approaches
 Responsible for targeted research
 (project reviews and policy review – Principles for GEF
 financing of Targeted Research, 1997)
 Collaborate with the GEF Evaluation Office (focal area studies, assessment
of quality at entry)
Overview of STAP PIF screens
• Screening versus reviewing
•
STAP’s rating categories –
•
•
•
Consent
Minor revision
Major revision
PIF sections commonly screened
by STAP
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Project Framework (Part I: B.)
Baseline and problem statement (Part II: B.1)
Incremental activities and global environmental benefits (B.2)
Socioeconomic benefits and gender within the context of global
environmental benefits (B.3)
Risks, including climate change risks (B.4)
Key stakeholders (B.5)
Related initiatives (B.6)
Project framework: a STAP
perspective

Project objective: The purpose of the project and its intent to
generate global environmental benefits.
STAP: Is the objective clear and consistent with the problem statement?

Project Outcome: The likely, or achieved, short-term and mediumterm effects of an intervention’s output (e.g. “integrated landscape
management practices adopted by local communities”).
STAP : Do the outcomes encompass important global
environmental benefits and are they likely to be generated?
Project framework: a STAP
perspective (cont’d)

Project Outputs1,2: The products and services which result from an
intervention (e.g. “integrated natural resource management tools
and methodologies are developed and implemented”).
STAP: Is the sum of the outputs likely to contribute to the outcomes?
1
The activities that yield the products and services can be organized into
groups or components to maximize coordination and quality of
outputs.
2 Output
indicators tells us what we are going to measure and not
what is to be achieved (example - # of tools developed)
Project baseline: A STAP’s
perspective
The baseline is the value of indicators prior to the start of the
project, and should be supported by verifiable data that is current and
accurate, and with references to published sources where feasible.*
STAP: Is the baseline identified clearly? Does it present a feasible basis
from which to measure and monitor global environmental
change, including development outcomes? …Has a focus on
scientific baselines.
**GEF Secretariat: What would happen without the GEF?
(“business as usual scenario” - PIF stage); and appropriate
baseline data in project framework + tracking tools (CEO
endorsement)
Project baselines: STAP’s perspective
(cont’d)
 Quantitative baselines should be included to the fullest extent
possible (even if inferred)
 In the event of no quantitative baseline at PIF– make reference to
tracking tool, or specify a timeline to collect data
 Qualitative baselines can be supported by current and accurate
scientific references, and/or rigorous local unpublished evidence (‘grey
literature’)
Incremental activities
“Incremental reasoning defines the role for the GEF in the
context of the expected global environmental benefits from a
proposed project. It is based on an assessment of the value
added by involving the GEF.” (GEF/C.31/12)
STAP looks for…
 Are the incremental activities scientifically justified? (supported by
scientific references, rigorous local unpublished evidence)
Incremental activities (cont’d)
 Are the global environmental benefits defined
explicitly? (indicators, or methodologies, to measure and monitor
global environmental benefits)
 Are the benefits truly global environmental
benefits, and are they measurable?
(carbon sequestration not sustainable land management;
improvements in land cover not benefits to ecosystem services)
Socioeconomic benefits & gender
STAP looks for…
 Are the socioeconomic benefits, and their contribution to global
environmental benefits, defined explicitly? (supported by scientific
references)
 Is gender adequately accommodated throughout the proposal?
(disaggregated data; interventions designed to target specifically the
different needs of men and women; socio-cultural considerations that
may impact on the inclusion of either gender in activities)
Project risks
STAP looks for…
 Are the risks valid and comprehensive?
 Are the risks associated with the project design, or resource
mobilization (internal)?
 Are the risks associated with unforeseen circumstances (external)?
Climate change risks
 STAP considers a number of questions, including –
 Is the project location in a region of climate risks?
 Are the project objectives, or outputs, prone to climate change
risks over the period 2020s, 2030s, 2050s and has the PIF
addressed the risks of impacts of climate change?
 Has the PIF considered resilience enhancement practices and
measures to the projected climate risks and impacts?
Related initiatives
STAP looks for…
 Are the project developers tapping into relevant
knowledge and learning generated by other projects, including GEF
projects?
 Is there an adequate mechanism to feed the lessons
learned from earlier initiatives into the proposed project?
To consider…
 What are the main challenges in developing scientifically and
technically viable PIFs? (data access?)
 What regional networks, institutions, other options are available to
develop data and address data gaps that contribute to global
environmental outcomes?
 Could addressing a specific data need contribute to the knowledge and
learning of the GEF? (use of targeted research window)
 From design to implementation – the focus is measuring and tracking
global environmental outcomes : project level – focal area – GEF
corporate knowledge and learning
Thank you!
Lev Neretin
[email protected]
www.unep.org/stap