Evaluation of USAID/Ecuador's sustainable forest and coast project : evaluation report

The project focuses on four ecosystems: (1) coastal rainforest of the Choco biogeographic region; (2) dry forests along the central and southern coast; (3) mangroves; and (4) other near shore coastal/marine areas. Each of these ecosystems harbours biodiversity that has been dramatically reduced in recent decades. The project's implementation strategy remains focused on reducing the following four main threats to biodiversity conservation in six priority sites along the coast of Ecuador: (1) loss and/or alteration of critical habitats; (2) climate change; (3) lack of economic alternatives; and (4) insufficient institutional capacity for biodiversity conservation. For each of the project sites a set of specific threats have been identified that are addressed through targeted activities to reduce the pressure on local ecosystems. The strategic components, or project intermediate results (PIRs) of this project are threefold: (1) to improve biodiversity conservation in critical habitats by designing resource management strategies that address biodiversity threats and strengthening the capacity of stakeholders to implement natural resource management best practices in critical terrestrial and coastal marine areas, especially in habitats located in government protected areas (PAs); (2) to improve local livelihoods by supporting priority activities that ensure sustainable use of the resource base for commodities in the value chain; and (3) to nurture and develop partnerships formed for ongoing support to biodiversity conservation. Evaluation questions included: (1) to what extent is the project on target to achieve its intended results; (2) does the initial project design, and the assumptions on which it was based, still make sense; (3) what are the priority activities for the remaining period of the project to achieve success and what changes, if any, should the project make to ensure the timely organized closure of its work; (4) to what extent will the project's activities be able to continue after the close of the project, and might there be steps that the project can take to ensure greater sustainability; (5) what are the respective views of USAID, relevant government officials at the local and national levels (e.g. Ministry of Environment, Guayas Provincial Government), implementers, and beneficiaries with respect to strengths and weaknesses in the design, implementation, and management of the project's activities; and (6) what are the key tools, threats, and opportunities that USAID should consider regarding conservation and sustainable forestry actions in coastal Ecuador? The evaluation finds that the SFC project has met expectations. There is generally widespread, although not unanimous, agreement among stakeholders that the project has successfully achieved meaningful results. The evaluation process supports this assessment. Specific evaluation findings, conclusions and recommendations are provided with detailed analysis for each evaluation question. (Excerpt, modified)