External evaluation of the Indonesian Biodiversity Foundatin (IBF) project : Yayasan Keanekaragaman Hayati [Indonesia] (KEHATI)

Mid-term evaluation covers the period 3/95-1/00. The first 5 years following the establishment of any new institution are always challenging. The creation of KEHATI, a new type of Indonesian NGO, has been unusually difficult, requiring visionary leadership, continued dedication, and excellent managerial skills on the part of KEHATI's board, staff, and donor supporters. According to the evaluation team, KEHATI has made good progress in meeting the 5-year objectives of the USAID cooperative agreement. These benchmarks have been largely institutional and do not address what impact KEHATI's programs have had on biodiversity in Indonesia. (This initial focus on institution building rather than on biodiversity is the correct way to evaluate the early years of a new biodiversity foundation with a permanent endowment.) KEHATI is also proving to be an excellent model as Indonesia's first NGO foundation; it is performing well compared with other conservation trust funds around the world, and both its and USAID's performance is rated good or excellent for all the major factors identified by a 1998 Global Environment Facility (GEF) evaluation of 12 conservation trust funds as "important for successful trust fund operations". Nonetheless, KEHATI still faces many challenges. Key areas needing attention include fundraising; improving staff skills and capacity while keeping operating costs at or below 20% to 25% of annual revenues; improving management and oversight of the KEHATI endowment; establishing a monitoring and evaluation system essential for measuring KEHATI's overall impact and for ensuring successful field projects throughout Indonesia (clear indications of KEHATI success will be needed to assist in fundraising); and ensuring that a board of trustees is constituted and structured in the best way to achieve KEHATI's objectives. KEHATI has an important role to play in protecting Indonesia's extraordinary biodiversity while simultaneously encouraging appropriate levels of biodiversity utilization to provide income for Indonesia's citizens. Its progress to date demonstrates that it has the potential to become one of the world's most effective biodiversity foundations. (Author abstract, modified)