Evaluation of the USAID-MMAF marine resources program (MRP), Indonesia

The program was designed to support the Government of Indonesia (GOI) in its commitment to promote sustainable fisheries, marine conservation and marine protected areas, as reflected in its recognition of the Coral Triangle Initiative (CTI). The five components of MRP are: (1) strengthen Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries (MMAF) through institutional development (ID); (2) improve sustainable fisheries management (SFM); (3) strengthen coastal community resilience and climate change adaptation (CCR); (4) create and effectively manage Marine Protected Areas (MPA); and, (5) improve capacity to reduce Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing (IUU). These components support the Coral Triangle Initiative (CTI) Indonesian draft National Plan of Action (NPOA), which defines Indonesia's plans to preserve marine biodiversity. The key questions therefore posed during the evaluation were: (1) what has been the effectiveness of the Indonesia Marine and Climate Support project (IMACS) and USAID Marine Protected Area Governance Project (MPAG) projects' activities in achieving planned results in accordance with work plans and performance management plans, including the extent to which projects have produced concrete biodiversity conservation outcomes and activities that comply with USAID's biodiversity earmark criteria; (2) what is the capacity of the IMACS and MPAG project teams to implement activities in an efficient and timely manner, including utilization of grants, subcontracts, and other resources; (3) what were the important policy actions, institutional relationships, and partnering arrangements that facilitated project success; (4) is the MRP achieving satisfactory results against targets in the following component areas: (a) strengthening MMAF through institutional development; (b) improving sustainable fisheries management; (c) strengthening coastal community resilience and climate change adaptation; (d) creating and effectively managing marine protected areas; and (e) improving capacity to reduce illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing; and (5) is the MRP achieving its overall objective of sustaining the long-term welfare of coastal Indonesians by reducing the destruction of marine resources and preparing them for climate change impacts and is the MRP strategy of strengthening the capacity of MMAF and providing targeted technical assistance, producing sustainable improvements to ecosystems and institutions? The evaluation finds that in the three years of operation of the MRP, there have been significant achievements at the project level, as documented in MPAG and IMACS Annual and quarterly reports. Overall, most project activities are either on schedule or ahead of schedule with the MPAG component having achieved more than 70% of its overall planned results up to 2012, when measured against work plans and the MPAG PMP. Likewise, IMACS has achieved over 70% of its planned results as at the end of 2012 with activities such as training being ahead of schedule when measured against performance indicators. The over-arching recommendation for the evaluation is that during the period to 2014, IMACS and MPAG should concentrate on assisting MMAF, at both national and regional level, to develop a clear strategic, integrated action plan to implement its current vision and strategy for sustainable use and conservation of marine biodiversity and fisheries resources. This would provide a firm foundation for any future USAID assistance. Specific evaluation findings, conclusions and recommendations are provided with detailed analysis for each evaluation question. (Excerpt, modified)