Quarterly Report FY15 Q3: Promoting Tanzania’s Environment, Conservation and Tourism (PROTECT) Activity

The contract, No. AID-621-TO-15-00004, was awarded to International Resources Group (IRG), an ENGILITY Company. The PROTECT Activity aims to promote Tanzania's environment, conservation, and tourism sectors. Upon award, IRG expedited company branch registration, obtained a TIN (Tax ID Number), and business license. Seven local personnel were recruited for the operations and technical teams. In the second week of June 2015, PROTECT staff members developed the first-year 18-month work plan. The work plan was submitted to USAID for approval on June 26, 2015. The PROTECT project was officially launched on June 22, 2015, at Treetops Lodges, located within Randilen WMA in the Arusha region. The event was attended by the US Ambassador, Minister of MNRT, government officials, and other stakeholders. The implementation of programmatic work remains at the early stage, with most effort devoted to onboarding subcontractors Integra, George Mason University, LEAT, and independent consultants. For cross-cutting activities, PROTECT developed and submitted the project Grants Manual on May 29, 2015. The project also provided support to AAC to help them prepare their grant application. PROTECT invited stakeholders from different sectors to provide their inputs to the PROTECT work plan and began to identify key stakeholders for the project. A Stakeholder Engagement & Communications Plan is being prepared and will be submitted during the next quarter. The Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) plan is in the process of being developed, and guidance was received from the COR on M&E indicators. The M&E plan will be submitted for review during the next quarter. The PROTECT Activity has largely been devoted to laying the operational groundwork for a successful project, introducing the project to external stakeholders, and mapping out programmatic priorities over the first 18 months of project implementation. Activity 1: Stronger Policy, Research, and Advocacy focused on introducing the project to external stakeholders and mapping out programmatic priorities. Activity 2: Institutional Strengthening involved onboarding subcontractors and recruiting local personnel. Activity 3: Strengthened and Diversified Nature-based Enterprises focused on developing the first-year 18-month work plan and submitting it to USAID for approval. Activity 4: Combat Wildlife Poaching and Trafficking involved providing support to AAC to help them prepare their grant application. Cross-cutting activities included developing the project Grants Manual, providing support to AAC, and inviting stakeholders to provide their inputs to the PROTECT work plan. The PROTECT project has made significant progress in laying the operational groundwork for a successful project and introducing the project to external stakeholders.