Annual Country Portfolio Evaluation Report (ACPER) 2009

The second Annual Country Portfolio Evaluation Report is the synthesis of three country portfolio evaluations focused on Cameroon, Egypt, and Syria produced by the GEF Evaluation Office. GEF support to these three counties began in 1992 for Cameroon and Egypt and in 1994 for Syria. This synthesis report focuses on three key areas:

• The results and sustainability of GEF support, particularly at the global environmental benefits level;
• The relevance of GEF support to the GEF mandate (that is, the generation of global environmental benefits) and to national sustainable and environmental policies and priorities;
• The efficiency of GEF support as reflected by the time and effort it takes to prepare and implement a GEF project and the role and responsibilities of, as well as the synergies among, the GEF stakeholders.

The synthesis of the findings from the three countries revealed a number of positive results, including achievements at the global environmental level, particularly in biodiversity conservation and sustainable use which has proven to be of strategic importance and has generated some impacts. Through its support to climate change, the GEF has introduced the topic in these countries, and has influenced markets, notably in energy efficiency. Results in other focal areas have been limited to setting up the foundation for national and regional action plans, policy development, and enhancing national capacity. Overall long-term sustainability of achievements is still a challenge. GEF support was found to be relevant to national environmental priorities and to conventions. With regard to country ownership, it varies, with many project ideas driven by GEF Agencies and external factors particularly for regional and global projects. Another finding was that the efficiency of the focal point mechanism has directly related to the size of the GEF portfolio.

Follow-up

The GEF Council has asked the Secretariat to explore, within the GEF partnership, modalities to address the gap in available resources for combating land degradation to support key challenges facing such countries as Cameroon, Egypt, and Syria and to conduct a survey of the countries that are, like Syria, in the exceptional circumstances of having limited access to GEF partner international financial institutions.