The Independent Evaluation Office is undertaking a fourth study of the International Waters (IW) focal area, with the previous ones completed in 2002, 2005 and 2016. The 2020 IW focal area study features two special themes: fisheries and freshwater.
As pointed out in the 2016 IW focal area study, marine fisheries are the dominant theme for interventions in this focal area. However, the relevance and effectiveness of GEF's investments in fisheries management has yet to be the reviewed. The fisheries study aims to present a synthesis of GEF's investments in promoting sustainable fishing practices and wider ecosystem stewardship over the past three decades. The main objective is to identify good practices and lessons learned to inform project design and implementation. It covers GEF projects and programs that explicitly address fisheries related strategic priorities (both freshwater fisheries and marine fisheries).
The IW focal area has financed interventions to promote freshwater resource management and address the related security issues in response to urgent need, such as deterioration of water quality and scarcity of water. The freshwater study will present an in-depth analysis of the freshwater portfolio based on findings of the 2016 IW focal area study. The purpose of the study is to assess the impacts or progress toward the GEF freshwater portfolio impacts of enhancing the protection of transboundary freshwater ecosystems, and to provide insights for the freshwater portfolio in the IW focal area of GEF-8.