The GEF has approved a Project Preparation Grant (PPG) for Benin in order to produce a Request for GEF CEO Approval and a UNDP Project Document (both using the appropriate templates) under the guidance of UNDP-EEG (RCU and Benin CO) and working in close collaboration with key government officials, donors, NGOs, CBOs and the private sector. The project, budgeted for $950,000 in GEF funding and $4,070,000 in co-financing to be mobilized, will conserve globally important biodiversity in Benin by promoting the sustainable use of Benin’s Sacred Forests as a network of community-managed areas incorporated into the national system of protected areas. This process will significantly contribute to the expansion and strengthening of the national PA system. This will be achieved through the following three components: - Institutionalisation of Sacred Forests as PA categories
- Piloting participatory community management plans for Sacred Forests
- Engineering sustainable uses of wild resources
The PPG process is to be implemented between January and May 2010 and will focus on the activities necessary for approving and finalizing the proposed project. The focal points for the project in government and the PPG team of consultants will work in collaboration with existing related initiatives to carry out the following activities: PPG Activity 1: Baseline data collection and information gap analysis: - Survey and mapping of sacred forests
- Sacred forests assessment
- Sites selection
- Analysis of baseline initiatives and potential partnerships
- Sacred forests knowledge repository database
- Biodiversity monitoring system
- Baseline for engineering of sustainable use of NTFP
PPG Activity 2:Capacity assessment for management of sacred forests - Analysis of existing legal and regulatory framework to determine gaps in Sacred Forests and PAs legislation
- Assessment of the current institutional framework for sacred forests management
- Assessment of the capacity of the local committees, villages cooperatives and other stakeholders
- Assessment of financial requirements for sustainable community management
- Use Capacity Development and Financial Sustainability Scorecards to measure CSO capacity
PPG Activity 3 : Stakeholder consultation and engagement - PPG inception workshop
- Detailed stakeholder analysis
- Identify Stakeholder involvement and capacity building plan
- Open dialog between stakeholders/ sacred forests communities and visiting populations
- Recommendations for areas of stakeholder involvement and partnership agreements
- Agreement on the list of sacred forest that will be retain as project sites
PPG Activity 4: Project costing and M&E planning - Contracting of consultants team
- Costing of project outcomes and outputs including co-financing commitments
- Adaptive management and replication strategy
- Define local and national and global environmental benefits
- Determine most effective project alternatives
- Identify social institution, economic and financial sustainability
- Project Development Workshop
- Prepare a project monitoring and evaluation plan including baseline level indicators and targets
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