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Proposal template 2009

Conservation of Forests for Carbon Sequestration and Livelihoods in Northern Zambia – Inception Phase Page 1

Conservation of Forests for Carbon Sequestration and Livelihoods in Northern Zambia – A proposal for the Inception Phase

Project Name: Conservation of Forests for Carbon Sequestration and Livelihoods in Northern Zambia – Inception Phase

Project Location: Northern Zambia covering five districts of Kaputa, Chiengi, Mporokoso, Nchelenge and Kawambwa

Project Number: Norad Project no. WWF Zambia Coordination Office Project no. WWF Norway Project no.

Project Budget: NOK 3,048,022 for the inception phase 2009-2010

Local Partner(s): WWF Southern Africa Regional Programme Office (SARPO)

Contact Person(s): Harrison Kojwang, (WWF-SARPO), James Phiri (WWF-ZCO), Birgitta Farrington (WWF-Norway)

Start Date: 2009-January Expected End Date: 2010-December

Network Initiative / Ecoregion Programme / Priority Place(s)1

Miombo Ecoregion Network Initiative

Climate Change Initiative

Forest and Species Priority Areas

1 Indicate the Network Initiative, Ecoregion Programme as well as the Priority Place(s) in which the project has a

conservation impact.



EXECUTIVE SUMMARY (1 page maximum) Background and Justification Forests in Zambia provide timber, firewood, charcoal, wood biomass used for ash-fertilization in slash and burn cultivation, honey, fruits, mushroom, caterpillars and medicinal plants. The produce is commercially important both for the world, national and local markets and for households‟ well-being through the provision of food and beverages, income, shelter, health and so on. Forests play a vital role in the maintenance of ecological life supporting systems such as maintenance of watersheds, flora and fauna biodiversity, soils and water conservation. However, the country has been experiencing a steady decline in forest cover, both in the open areas as well as protected areas. Soil and land degradation have also contributed to loss of forests, but it is manmade causes such as increasing rate of encroachment into forest reserves and other protected areas for settlements and agriculture that has caused more forest decline. This project inception phase is intended to investigate the feasibility of involving communities and other stakeholders in forest management and to develop mechanisms and systems for community participation in carbon sequestration programmes. The inception phase will also assess the potential for the development of sustainable livelihood initiatives that will allow for sustainable utilization of forest resources. The inception will look at the opportunity for creating a community participatory forestry conservation initiative supported by a financing mechanism linked to carbon markets. The inception phase will assess how Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD), a mechanism for compensating countries for reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, can help preserve forests and deliver economic benefits to the communities. As UNFCCC negotiations move towards adopting REDD, the inception phase will facilitate stakeholder consultations to prepare for eventual establishment of mechanisms to ensure that this will benefit communities. The inception phase will assess alternative sources of income for communities. The costs of slowing deforestation will only be feasible through development of viable alternative income sources. The proposed target area covers parts of five districts of Kawambwa, Chiengi, Kaputa, Nchelenge and Mporokoso in Luapula Province on the northern part of the country and bbordering DR Congo and spans about 6,500 square kilometres. The area is covered by Miombo, Chipya and Itigi forest types. There are three national parks; Mweru Wantipa, Sumbu and Lusenga Plain and two Game Management Areas; Kaputa and Tondwa plus a new proposed one. There are about 15 forest reserves and many more local forest protected areas. The area is endowed with three lakes; Mweru, Mweru Wantipa and Tanganyika and has the headwaters of the Chambeshi River. Goal and Purpose The long term goal of the Conservation of Forests for Carbon Sequestration and Livelihoods in Northern Zambia Project is to develop sustainable forest management practices that will lead to increase in carbon sinks through improved and participatory forest conservation and landscape restoration thereby contributing to sustainable socio-economic development in Northern Zambia.



This proposal is for a preparatory inception phase, which will be necessary to build a proper basis for local and broad-based ownership of a forest conservation project proposal. The preparatory inception phase will entail stakeholder consultations at all levels within the target area and at local, district and central government level, reviewing existing data (socio-economic and biophysical), producing baseline information, identify gaps and methods for gap filling as well as developing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between project partners. The inception phase will result in a project proposal that will not only create an enabling framework through which key stakeholders in the natural resources management sector can work together but also a basis for implementing a forest conservation project for northern Zambia. A full project proposal for a five year phase will be submitted to Norad in October 2010. The purpose of the project is to increase the participation of target communities and other stakeholders in forest conservation and to reduce the rate of deforestation in the target areas. The purpose of the inception phase is development of a project proposal for Conservation of Forests for Carbon Sequestration and Livelihoods in Northern Zambia outlining the institutional framework for collaboration, specific implementation, monitoring and evaluation guidelines and plans for the sustainable management of the forests of the target area. Outputs The following outputs will be achieved during the inception phase: Output 1 Buy-in and broad-based support for project concept established together with raised awareness levels of climate change and carbon sequestration Output 2 Biological and socio-economic baseline established. Output 3 Carbon sequestration and carbon trading feasibility study and guidelines produced. Output 4 Scoping Report (Issues, gaps and needs etc. established). Output 5 Conservation of Forests for Carbon Sequestration and Livelihoods in Northern Zambia Project proposal Project Implementation Arrangements The inception phase and full project implementation arrangement will involve a number of organisations, all of whom bring particular skills, knowledge, and resources to the Project. The Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad) and WWF-Norway are intended as the primary project funders. The WWF-ZCO will be the field-based manager of the Project, being responsible for overall adherence to the inception phase and full project proposal, budget, planned outputs, and provision of technical assistance, while WWF-Norway is responsible in relation to Norad. Grant funds will be administered by the WWF-ZCO. The WWF-ZCO and WWF-SARPO will ensure financial reports are produced in a



timely manner, audits are undertaken, and donor expenditure guidelines are adhered to. Field-based implementation of the project activities will be performed by the WWF-ZCO field offices through the project proposal development team, who will undertake stakeholder consultations, collect and collate data, liaise with civil society, other NGOs and government counterparts, and provide technical progress reports to WWF-ZCO and WWF-SARPO for further refinement and submission to WWF-Norway. Budget The budget for 2009 of the inception phase is NOK 1,386,301. The total estimated budget for the 2-year inception phase (2009-2010) is NOK 3,048,022.



TABLE OF CONTENTS

Contents

CONTEXT AND RATIONALE.................................................................................................................. 7

1.1 Context ........................................................................................................................................... 7 1.2 Problem analysis ............................................................................................................................ 8

1.2.1 Problem Identification ....................................................................................................... 8 1.2.2 Scale and Magnitude of the Problem ............................................................................... 8 1.2.3 Underlying Causes ............................................................................................................ 9 1.2.4 Policy Problem ................................................................................................................... 9 1.2.5 Means of Problem Identification .....................................................................................10 1.2.6 Problem Validation ..........................................................................................................10 1.2.7 Problem Priority ...............................................................................................................10 1.2.8 Cross-cutting Issues .......................................................................................................10

1.3 Targeting/beneficiaries .................................................................................................................10 1.3.1 Geographical Area ...........................................................................................................11 1.3.2 Target Sectors ..................................................................................................................12 1.3.3 Project Beneficiaries .......................................................................................................12

1.4 Key project methodologies and strategies ...................................................................................13 1.4.1 Key Project Implementation Strategies .........................................................................13 1.4.2 Main stakeholders and their roles ..................................................................................14 1.4.3 Linkages with relevant Government Departments .......................................................15 1.4.4 Linkages with other organisations or stakeholders and their contribution ..............16

1.5 Cross-cutting Issues .....................................................................................................................16 1.5.1 Gender and development ................................................................................................16 1.5.2 HIV/AIDS ............................................................................................................................17 1.5.3 Leadership ........................................................................................................................17 1.5.4 Democratic governance ..................................................................................................17

1.6 WWF‟s Global Programme Framework .......................................................................................17 1.7 Background information ...............................................................................................................18

2 THE PROJECT (GOAL, PURPOSE, OUTPUTS, ACTIVITIES) .................................................18

2.1 Project Goal ..................................................................................................................................18 2.2 Project Purpose ............................................................................................................................18 2.3 Project Outputs .............................................................................................................................19 2.4 Project activities ...........................................................................................................................20

3 MONITORING AND EVALUATION .............................................................................................22

4 PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND ORGANISATION ...................................................................22

4.1 Project implementation arrangements/organisation .....................................................................22

5 SUSTAINABILITY AND EXIT STRATEGY .................................................................................23

5.1 Long Term Impact ........................................................................................................................23 5.2 Exit Strategy .................................................................................................................................23

6 ASSUMPTIONS AND RISKS ......................................................................................................23

7 BUDGET ......................................................................................................................................24



Annex 1: Logical Framework Analysis Annex 2: Project Activity Schedule

LIST OF ACRONYMS

CBO Community Based Organisations

COP Conference of Parties

CRB Community Resource Board

FLR Forest Landscape Restoration

GMA Game Management Area

IPCC Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

IUCN International Union for the Conservation of Nature

MoU Memorandum of Understanding

NAPA National Adaptation Plan of Action

NGO Non Governmental Organisation

NR Natural Resources

PFAP Provincial Forestry Action Plan

PSC Project Steering Committee REDD Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation

TDP Target Driven Programme

UNFCCC United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

VAG Village Action Group

WWF World Wide Fund for Nature

ZAWA Zambia Wildlife Authority



CONTEXT AND RATIONALE

1.1 Context

This project is intended to contribute to improvements in conserving forests and working in partnership with communities and other stakeholders to develop sustainable livelihood initiatives that will allow for sustainable utilization of forest resources. This will also include applied research activities on Forest Landscape Restoration (FLR) intended to address the challenges of carbon sinks. At national level there are new efforts through various initiatives towards linking carbon sequestration to existing and new programmes. The generation of co-benefits such as biodiversity conservation, increased local incomes, and soil stabilization, in addition to carbon sequestration, will be a hallmark of this project. This project will contribute to the WWF forest Target Driven Programme‟s (TDP‟s) FLR target, and joint climate TDP and forest TDP work on climate change impacts and adaptation strategies. Additionally, it is anticipated that the project will lead to a focus of investor and government attention toward forest conservation and restoration activities. The project will look at the opportunity for creating a community participatory forestry conservation initiative supported by a financing mechanism linked to carbon markets. Although Zambia has an estimated 45 percent of its land-area under forest cover, degradation and loss of forest is a serious challenge that needs attention. Forests in Zambia provide timber, firewood, charcoal, wood biomass used for ash-fertilization in slash and burn cultivation, honey, fruits, mushroom, caterpillars and medicinal plants. The produce is both commercially important on world, national and local markets and for households‟ well-being through the provision of food and beverages, income, shelter, health and so on. Forests play a vital role in the maintenance of ecological life supporting systems such as maintenance of watersheds, flora and fauna biodiversity, soils and water conservation. The target area is the northern part of the country bordering the Democratic Republic of Congo and covers five districts of Kaputa, Chiengi, Kawambwa, Nchelenge and Mporokoso. The area is covered by Miombo, Chipya and Itigi forest types. There are three national parks; Mweru Wantipa, Sumbu and Lusenga Plain and two Game Management Areas; Kaputa and Tondwa plus a new proposed one. The area is endowed with three lakes; Mweru, Mweru Wantipa and Tanganyika and has the headwaters of the Chambeshi River. The total project area is about 6,500 square kilometres covering forest protected areas, GMAs and open areas. For project implementation success all activities will be undertaken taking into account the following factors:

benefits and incentives for community engagement

equitable distribution of benefits within the community

communities capacity to manage natural resources and organisational structures

legal provisions for community rights over natural resources

government capacity to provide institutional support

mechanisms for monitoring and sharing experiences and best practices.



1.2 Problem analysis

1.2.1 Problem Identification

Land disturbance - burning, loss, and degradation of forests, rangeland and soils - accounts for approximately 20% of human induced carbon emission. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) estimates that at least one-third of the world‟s remaining forests may be adversely affected by changing climate. Impacts of climate change on biological diversity are already evidenced by shifting migration ranges of insects and animals, modified flowering and fruiting cycles, and species extinctions. Additional impacts include drought or flood- induced dieback, conversion to grassland, or desert, and increased vulnerability to pests, fire and invasive species.

This project will address the problems that contribute to forest degradation including uncontrolled fires, invasive and potentially invasive species, land clearing for agriculture and unsustainable harvesting. Others are slash and burn (chitemene system) shifting cultivation practices of farming, uncontrolled forest fires, encroachments into reserved forest areas as a result of increased population and unplanned settlements. Lack of alternative sources of income and inadequate awareness of importance of trees also contribute to degradation. In dealing with these problems. The project will also address underlying problems such as increased demand for forest products (i.e. poles, timber, for construction, charcoal production; firewood for domestic use), and will tackle the issue of incentives for community participation in conservation such as improved regimes for access and benefit sharing.

1.2.2 Scale and Magnitude of the Problem Zambia has been experiencing a steady decline in forest cover both in the open areas as well as protected areas. The Forest Department has estimated that 57.1% or about 42,452,000 hectares of Zambia is forested. Between 1990 and 2000, Zambia lost an average of 444,800 hectares of forest per year. This amounts to an average annual deforestation rate of 0.91%. Between 2000 and 2005, the rate of forest change increased by 10.0% to 1.00% per annum. In total, between 1990 and 2005, Zambia lost 13.6% of its forest cover, or around 6,672,000 hectares. In terms of biodiversity Zambia has some 1234 known species of amphibians, birds, mammals and reptiles according to figures from the World Conservation Monitoring Centre. Of these, 1.5% is endemic and 1.9% are threatened. Zambia is home to at least 4747 species of vascular plants, of which 4.4% are endemic. 8.4% of Zambia is protected under IUCN categories I-V. Forest biodiversity is being lost because of rapid deforestation, fragmentation and degradation of all forest types. Destruction or conversion of habitat is the most significant cause of biodiversity loss. Humans are mostly responsible. The main causes are conversion of forest to agricultural land, overgrazing, shifting cultivation, unsustainable forest management, introduction of invasive alien plant and animal species, infrastructure development (road building, hydro-electrical development urban sprawl), forest fires caused by humans, pollution and climate change. The inadequacies of the Forestry policy and the Act have exacerbated the problem by not clearly spelling out the roles of other stakeholders and communities. The first policy of Zambia was formulated in 1965 as a set of instructions to the Forest Department. This policy renowned for its rigidity gave absolute control over ownership, planning, and management of



forests to central government. Provisions for community participation in forest management were lacking. As a consequence of this policing attitude to resource conservation, the local communities became unsustainable and overexploited the forest resources that they now viewed as belonging to the government. Local communities considered the government as an enemy for it took away the ownership rights of the forest resource from the local forest dwellers that strongly believed were the traditional owners of the forests. Realisation of this fact has lead way to the current restructuring of the forest resource conservation strategy to a more decentralised structure. Both the forest policy and Act of 1998 and 1999 back this concept respectively though the implementation mechanism is rather vague. Generally, legislation provides for setting up community structures, but does not go far enough by providing secure land and resource rights. This means that devolution is partial, rights are insecure and benefits limited. Community Forest Trusts can be established in forest reserves. While the 1998 Forest Policy outlines the way forward in the Forest Sector, the 1999 Forests Act should have provided the legal basis for the empowerment of communities for participatory forest management; however the Act was not enacted. The Statutory Instrument (SI) no 47 April 2006, of the 1973 Forest Act, does not provide for Forest Trusts to collect nor to share revenue and thereby provide benefits to communities.

1.2.3 Underlying Causes

The pressure for use of forest resources arise not just from the communities in the area but also from distant urban areas and even beyond. While rural communities utilise dead wood for their energy requirements, urban dwellers utilise charcoal. The ever increasing demand for charcoal in urban areas constitutes a significant pressure on the forests. Similarly there is higher demand for timber in the urban areas that also constitutes a serious threat to conservation. Other underlying causes include increasing demand for farmland and settlement from an ever increasing population and migrations. This coupled with unsustainable practises of resource utilization as well as inadequate enforcement of laws against illegal activities, inadequate awareness and appreciation of forest value, inadequate livelihood alternatives and choices all contribute to forest degradation. In addition lack of participation of communities in policy formulation and in forestry management compounds the problem even further.

Poaching is a major reason why fires are started and contributes significantly to uncontrolled fires that destroy forest species over time.

1.2.4 Policy Problem

The major policy challenge related to the problem is the lack of wide stakeholder participation in the process leading to and formulation of policies. Another challenge has been the inadequate harmonization of sector policies. Relevant sector policies are in forestry, agriculture, environment and natural resources as well as local government. The recently approved over-arching National Policy on Environment promulgated in 2005 is yet to be implemented.

However, there may be some positive developments. The government is implementing the Reclassification and Effective Management of the National Protected Areas System project whose overall objective is to create: a National Protected Areas System that comprises a representative sample of Zambia‟s ecosystems, effectively safeguarded from human-induced pressures through effective management partnerships, which serves to make Zambia into a



tourism destination of choice. The project focuses on: adaptation of legislation, institutional capacity building and development of new Protected Area (PA) categories based on effective partnership arrangements. The proposed PA categories are: Safari Hunting Area, Community Partnership Park and Forest National Park.

1.2.5 Means of Problem Identification The problem of land degradation and deforestation is well articulated in various reports and other documents. The problem is also quite clear through own observations. Practical experience of WWF and others in many parts of the country has also contributed to identifying the problem and in consultations with communities and other stakeholders. Detailed situational analyses of the environment and natural resources were conducted in all the five districts in 2004. The reports show the problem of forest degradation. The inception phase will produce baseline data that outlines the nature and extent of the problem.

1.2.6 Problem Validation

Various stakeholders will be involved in quantifying the problem through consultations with WWF during the inception phase. The Forestry Department, other government departments, NGOs and CBOs will also be engaged in consultations. In 2005 the Ministry of Tourism, Environment and Natural Resources conducted environmental situation analyses studies in the five districts using broad-based consultative participatory approaches. The consultation process involved local communities and community based organisations, Chiefs and village headmen, women groups, political leaders private sector farmers‟ organizations, traditional healers and Government/public institutions operating at district level. These reports will be used in the stakeholder workshops during the inception phase.

1.2.7 Problem Priority

Climate change is a consequent of inappropriate management of all sectors of the economy at all levels (national, community, household). The attainment of MDGs becomes difficult to achieve if climate change is not taken into consideration in natural resources utilization including forest conservation. The project will focus on restoring forest functions and improving ecological processes at a landscape level; address socio-economic and environmental dimensions; address root causes of degradation such as land tenure; increase forest resilience through enhanced connectivity and species diversity; and encompass a mixture of locally appropriate approaches such as ecological corridors, agroforestry, on- farm trees, secondary forest regeneration, and diverse plantations. Social benefits will include enhancing livelihoods through integrated land uses (agroforestry, timber & non-timber forest products, fodder, etc.); promote land tenure security by linking to policies to reduce negative land use, etc.); create partnerships for long-term gains.

1.2.8 Cross-cutting Issues

The project recognises gender and development, HIV/AIDS, leadership, democratic governance and environment as major cross-cutting issues that should be considered. The inception phase will carry out detailed analyses of these cross cutting issues in order to inform the project proposal document.

1.3 Targeting/beneficiaries



1.3.1 Geographical Area The proposed project is covering a geographical area in a forest landscape spanning five districts of Nchelenge, Kaputa, Chiengi, Kawambwa and Mporokoso. The area is flanked by three national parks: Sumbu, Mweruwantipa and Busenga Plains and two Game Management Areas: Kaputa and Tondwa. ZAWA is in the process of establishing a new GMA. There are also 15 Forest Reserves and various categories of forest protected areas. Like elsewhere, vegetation in Northern Zambia has variable economic uses but it is threatened with uncontrolled exploitation. The vegetation cover of the project site is predominantly high rainfall Miombo and the little known Itigi-Sumbu Thicket. Itigi-Sumbu Thicket is found nowhere else, although related thicket vegetation types occur elsewhere in Zambia and Zimbabwe. Northern Zambia has received increased government support to convert it into a prime destination for tourism. There are natural and scenic sites with water falls, which also have potential for electricity generation. Access roads to these sites have also been established and government publicity is increasing. This project area has potential to contribute to carbon sequestration activities linked to conservation and development. Carbon livelihood programmes address poverty alleviation, sustainable development and biodiversity conservation while also tackling global warming in a conservation area such as the one proposed in this project document, thus leading to recoveries from multiple and uncontrolled land use. It is a new way of doing business which offers a new way of life for individuals, forest communities, and the natural environment. The business model has been developed from the world wide trade in carbon offsets pioneered by the Kyoto treaty on Climate Change. Local farmers and forest communities manage the planting and growth of trees in return for proceeds from the sale of CO2 offsets to customers in the developed world. The carbon livelihoods programme2 has been successfully implemented in Mozambique and enables individuals and companies to effectively invest in new forests and agroforestry that will absorb the carbon dioxide generated by their business activities. Through working with forest farmers to change the way their land is used, and help them to boost their crop yields by the cultivation of nitrogen-fixing trees and plants, which enrich the soil and slow down deforestation. By becoming custodians of forests and trained crop farmers, local people make a significant commitment to their environment. In return, they secure the regular income and stable, sustainable food supply they need to survive. The money they earn from CO2 offset sales allows them to make the switch from „slash-and-burn‟ agriculture to sustainable food production. The revival of agroforestry among impoverished, malnourished communities is giving thousands of people an income and a regular food supply in other communities living in and around national parks. By generating crops that enrich rather than exhaust the fragile forest soils, it gives a new lease of life to endangered plant and animal species, thus offering a unique approach to poverty alleviation by building sustainable livelihoods rather than fostering dependence. The inception phase will study the

2 The Mozambique Carbon Livelihoods Trust (MCLT) was launched in 2007 to ensure that the community

and individual farmer proceeds of carbon offset sales from Carbon Livelihoods projects in Mozambique were safeguarded. It follows a business model based on biosequestration and Payments for Environmental Services (PES)



Mozambique experience with carbon trade involving communities and use the lessons to inform the project proposal development.

1.3.2 Target Sectors The full project will focus on two sectors: Climate Change and Forests. Effects of climate change are increasingly and negatively impacting on poor people. There is need to mitigate against their impacts and address potential adaptation strategies at a local level. Meanwhile, forests play a pivotal role in providing carbon sinks. They are important in maintaining ecological processes and provision of alternative livelihoods. Norway has been actively aligning its development assistance to Zambian priorities, plans and procedures as expressed in the Fifth National Development Plan, The Aid Strategy, relevant sector strategic plans and miscellaneous national laws and regulations. In addition, Norway is actively harmonising with other cooperating partners to improve efficiency and results, as well as to alleviate administrative burdens on Zambian institutions, be it Government or NGOs. Norway has, over the last year, scaled up its support considerably towards food security, especially through environmentally and climatically adapted agriculture for small- scale farmers.

1.3.3 Project Beneficiaries The project beneficiaries are the local communities at the project site: men, women and children who are in the rural areas of the five districts that will be participating in project implementation. Other beneficiaries include site level government institutions (ZAWA, Forestry, Fisheries, Agriculture, Veterinary and Education Departments) as well as NGO‟s, Community Based Organisations and private sector institutions (Cooperatives, Lodge Operators, Commodity buyers). The population of the target area is estimated at a total of 200,000 persons on the frontiers of the three national parks, existing and future GMAs and forests. Equal opportunities to participate and share in benefit sharing will be given to men, women and the youth in these areas. Six government institutions are also expected to benefit from this project and these are: ZAWA and the Departments of Forestry, Fisheries, Agriculture, Veterinary and Education. Four categories of private institutions will also benefit from project interventions: Cooperative Unions, lodge operators, CBOs and Commodity buyers. Primary beneficiaries (direct): local communities at project site, female and male adults and children, CRB, VAG‟s and commodity groups, and ZAWA. Secondary beneficiaries (Indirect): Site level government institutions (Forestry dept, Agric, Veterinary, and Education), NGO‟s and private sector (Cooperatives, Lodge operators and Commodity buyers). The inception phase will compile more accurate data about beneficiaries. Direct beneficiaries These are individuals or entities directly utilising or benefiting or participating in project intervention. Also includes institutions directly implementing project interventions through co-financing or other complimentary mechanisms. Indirect beneficiaries



These are individuals or entities not directly interacting with the project but interact with recipients of project funds (who may be community members or institutions). Indirect beneficiaries are also affected by the outcomes of the project. This may also include the wider population in the project site, benefiting from project interventions. Women and men will be equal beneficiaries at community and other stakeholder levels. The beneficiary figures have been collected from the local government authorities, census data and consultations with local NGOs and CBOs.

1.4 Key project methodologies and strategies

1.4.1 Key Project Implementation Strategies

The inception phase and full project implementation arrangement will involve a number of organisations, all of whom bring particular skills, knowledge, and resources to the Project. The Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad) and WWF-Norway are intended as the primary project funders. The WWF-ZCO will be the field-based manager of the Project, being responsible for overall adherence to the inception phase and full project proposal, budget, planned outputs, and provision of technical assistance, while WWF-Norway is responsible in relation to Norad. Grant funds will be administered by the WWF-ZCO. The WWF-ZCO and WWF-SARPO will ensure financial reports are produced in a timely manner, audits are undertaken, and donor expenditure guidelines are adhered to. Field-based implementation of the project activities will be performed by WWF-ZCO through the project proposal development team, who will undertake stakeholder consultations, collect and collate data, liaise with civil society, other NGOs and government counterparts, and provide technical progress reports to WWF-ZCO for further refinement and submission to WWF-Norway. Institutional partnerships Long term sustainability requires institutional engagement early on and this will be highlighted through the inception phase building linkages with key stakeholders and seeking high level commitment. Creation of formal partnerships will involve development of Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) and Agreements. The project will work with all stakeholders outlined in Table 1. Integrated landscape approach This is based on the understanding that ecosystems best function when the natural and socio-economic systems are maintained and support one another. The Project will take an integrated approach to biodiversity conservation, on the one hand that offers a more realistic way of conserving habitat and species than a fragmented, ad hoc approach. During the inception phase, more attention will be paid to understanding community needs and aspirations, underlying conditions and trends and the 'problem situation' as this is fundamental to the formulation of appropriate interventions. Participatory process Local level community participation, involvement and ownership are key to success of the Project. Where forest management has improved, this has been achieved through greater



community control over resources and a more equitable distribution of resource benefits. The devolution of decision-making and the realisation of tangible, equitably distributed community benefits will be fundamental. This will be achieved through developing collaborative management systems to natural resources management and building capacity in local level institutions. Long term access to resources and their use will be guaranteed by some formal arrangement, such as through legally binding management plans setting out rules and obligations. The inception phase will build the participatory process by engaging communities until buy-in is achieved. Capacity building Training and institutional capacity to local communities and local authorities will take place at an early stage, timely and appropriate. Project implementation will build on existing mechanisms and strive wherever possible to use available local knowledge and capacity, building on existing structures such as CRBs and public institutions, and will provide training to further strengthen that capacity. All stakeholders will be included and the Project will reach out to vulnerable people including women.

1.4.2 Main stakeholders and their roles

The inception phase will conduct a thorough stakeholder identification and analysis that will spell out clear cut roles and contribution to the project. This process will enrich Table 1. Table 1 List of stakeholders

Main stakeholders

Roles

Contribution to Programme

Ensuring participation/ support of relevant stakeholders

Department of Forestry

This is a key stakeholder with respect to forestry policy. This is a government ministry whose functions are to monitor and manage the forest resources.

Forestry Policy and legal framework direction.

Formal agreement outlining the obligations and commitments as well as joint consultative and collaborative meetings.

MTENR A critical institution whose support will be required. This is the focal government ministry for environment and natural resources.

Provision of political support and enacting conducive legislation and regulations.

The high level structures of MTENR should be lobbied to support the Project

ZAWA A key stakeholder on the wetlands and wildlife management in protected areas.

Data generation on wildlife, policy direction and extension expertise.

Formal agreement outlining the obligations and commitments as well as joint consultative and collaborative meetings.

Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives (MACO)

Responsible for agricultural production and promoting food security.

Promotion of sustainable agricultural production that is conservation friendly.

Lobby for contribution is by provision of political support and enacting conducive legislation and regulations

Zambia Meteorological

This is a critical stakeholder that generates and coordinates

Meteorological and climate data for

Development of a strong collaborative framework.



Main stakeholders

Roles

Contribution to Programme

Ensuring participation/ support of relevant stakeholders

Department (ZMD)

collection of climate data at national level.

monitoring climate change.

Lobbying high level structures of ZMD to support the Project.

University of Zambia (UNZA)

Not a key stakeholder except under monitoring and research. It has resources in the form of professors and students.

Monitoring and research activities.

Formal agreement covering the provision of expertise through short-term consultancies and technical advice and training.

Traditional leaders (Chiefs and Village Headpersons)

They are particularly strong in that they are Natural Resources custodians, own and allocate land.

May be requested to set aside land for certain conservation uses and mobilisation of direct community participation in the Project.

They should be asked to set up a mechanism for direct involvement in the Project and retain their advisory roles. This may not be an easy issue to address.

Local communities

These reside in the project areas. They are local level natural resource managers. They derive livelihoods and generate income from utilisation of these resources

Indigenous knowledge and skills and willingness to actively participate in implementation of sustainable activities, monitoring and feedback.

Demonstrate the value of forests conservation to communities, involvement in local level management of the project activities, realisation of incentives and benefits; and provision of alternative livelihoods.

Tour Operators

These are carrying out tourism activities in the project area. These are private sectors whose main objective is to make money and as such they will enter into collaborative agreements for this purpose.

Will assist in Project implementation and Monitoring

Collaborative agreements for the purpose of meeting profit making objectives.

Forest product harvesters

They are utilising forest resources for income generation.

Monitoring through the provision of harvest data

Collaborative agreements for the purpose of meeting common objectives.

Other NGOs They have established community driven programmes.

Complementary through project facilitation support, using mostly local personnel, information and other experiences.

Collaborative consultations, formal agreements.

Commodity buyers

They buy products for commercial use

Market for products of the project example honey

Trade partnerships with project beneficiaries

1.4.3 Linkages with relevant Government Departments The inception phase will prepare ground for establishing a Project Steering Committee (PSC) consisting of representatives of relevant ministries and departments. During full project implementation phase the PSC will meet semi-annually to provide overall strategic policy,



implementation guidance and support. The PSC‟s role will be comprised of four main responsibilities: First, when required, the PSC will serve as a forum for stakeholder input and discussion. Second, the PSC will oversee project implementation, meeting to review project progress. Any major changes in project plans or programs will require approval from the PSC in order to take effect. In addition, the Project will identify cross ministry and inter-departmental working relationships. Since partnerships are stated to be the key to the sustainability of the Project, these will be promoted in certain cases through formal means (MOUs and Agreements). The consequences of these not working out as desired or expected will be addressed.

1.4.4 Linkages with other organisations or stakeholders and their contribution In view of the aim to integrate biodiversity conservation objectives into the socio-economic sector, the paucity of baseline data and information, skills and experience of other project initiatives, formal linkages with other donors programmes will be critical. That is, to achieve Project objectives and produce required outputs, the Project will involve partnership with implementing agencies of existing NR conservation and sustainable development programmes. The project will collaborate with other organisations or stakeholders such as NGOs, CBOs, cooperatives, etc, which are operating in the area. These organizations have established community driven programs in the project area; therefore, they will contribute to the Project facilitation support, using mostly local personnel, information and other experiences. In instances where communities are receiving support from other donors, care will be taken to consult with these donors to ensure that the Project and other support are complementary. Dovetailing of some activities, including research will be formerly addressed as programmes might find that they are working at cross-purposes or that activities are not synchronised. This linkage with other programmes also offers the potential to be more cost effective than working in isolation. In addition, the project will foster ongoing exchange of relevant experiences both within the country and in other countries.

1.5 Cross-cutting Issues

1.5.1 Gender and development The Fifth National Development Plan (FNDP) defines Gender as an analytical concept which focuses on roles, responsibilities and relationships between men and women. The roles, responsibilities and relationships help to understand the differences in the impact of development interventions on females and males and the impact of males and females on development interventions. Furthermore it has been acknowledged that women have participated in and benefited from development in limited ways (national Gender Policy: 2000). In forestry, the majority of women are limited to harvesting natural products for domestic use. In bee keeping and apiculture, majority of women are only active in processing of honey rather than in its production and marketing. Both traditional and logistics barriers are responsible for the exclusion of women from productive activities. Tree climbing in traditional bee keeping for production of honey and long distances to markets are challenges for women. Gender will be mainstreamed in order to redress the gender imbalance in the value chains of community forestry projects. The project will embark on a participatory gender audit exercise



to identify gender barriers in forestry management. The results of the audit will be used to formulate responsive actions to gender barriers which among them will be gender awareness campaigns, appropriate technology development and facilitation of a gender module for women participation. In addition backstopping missions to project areas will be executed to review gender considerations in the project and ensure their effective implementation.

1.5.2 HIV/AIDS In Zambia HIV/Aids is recognized as one of the major causes of death among the productive age groups. (FNDP: 2006). The Ministry of Tourism, Environment and Natural Resources in 2004 conducted district environmental situation analysis in Chiengi, Kaputa, Kawambwa, Mporokoso and Nchelenge districts which qualified HIV/AIDS as an epidemic requiring intervention. The epidemic has direct negative impacts on the forest ecosystems. Affected community members and traditional herbalists tend to the forests for abstraction of medicinal plants to attend to people living with the epidemic. This is said to lead to certain plants being threatened with extinction. There is a dearth to labour time on productive work as the affected withdraw their labour and the able community members apportion some of their time caring for the affected. This fact and its negative potential impacts are ignored in development interventions for HIV/AIDS mainstream. There seems to be emphasis on work place policies in all sectors including the forest sector in which the proposed intervention falls. Therefore, community groups and their households are not likely to be included in workplace interventions. In this regard, this project proposes to mainstream HIV/Aids in order to mitigate its impact on any target populations in the project areas. The project will conduct an HIV/AIDS situational analysis the basis upon which a responsive HIV/AIDS plan will be developed and implemented. Two of the key possible actions that will be carried out are scaling up HIV/AIDS sensitization and development of community response strategies to HIV/AIDS.

1.5.3 Leadership A dynamic and visionary leadership is indispensable to match up with new innovations, challenges and the changing environment. Communities are in want of entrepreneurial and visionary leadership who are capable of handling change and dynamics in the event of intervention by outer forces. Further to the sensitisation of target communities and beneficiaries on the policy environment surrounding natural resources sector, the project will embark on a deliberate training exercise to develop visionary leadership in the target groups. The focus is to create a pool of potential leaders at community level brewed through delivery of specific training modules in visioning, individual growth, entrepreneurship, managing change and organisation development.

1.5.4 Democratic governance The project will embark on actions to develop democratic culture in the target community groups. Focus will be on duties, responsibilities and liabilities of leaders, leadership structures and their functions in an organisation, election/selection and nomination of leaders.

1.6 WWF’s Global Programme Framework

This project will contribute to the forest TDP‟s FLR target, and joint climate TDP and forest TDP work on climate change impacts and adaptation strategies. It will contribute to achieving



the objectives of the Miombo Ecoregion Conservation Programme of WWF SARPO. It will also contribute to carbon knowledge projects that are applied forest landscape restoration research projects carried out in the field by the WWF network to test methodologies and effectiveness of a sinks approach.

1.7 Background information The Ministry of Tourism, Environment and Natural Resources (MTENR) has developed a National Adaptation Plan of Action (NAPA) that outlines how government addresses climate change issues from the perspective of environment and natural resources. Other government departments such as Department of Agriculture and Department of Meteorology have also developed strategic plans on how to address climate change. The Organic Producers and Processors Association of Zambia (OPPAZ) implements multi-Euro forest based projects funded by the European Union in five districts of Mwinilunga and Kabompo in the North-Western province, Kaoma in Western province and Mambwe in Eastern province. The overall objective of the project is to facilitate poverty reduction actions for economically vulnerable but viable groups through sustainable management and marketing of natural resources. The specific objective is to develop natural products agribusinesses and apiculture as wealth creation and income generating activities to enhance livelihoods of the economically vulnerable households by 2010. The projects are being implemented to add value to the forests at community level by facilitating community engagement in natural and forestry based enterprises. OPPAZ has strong local international networks for marketing of organic products namely honey, dried mushrooms, groundnuts, rice and cotton. These experiences will be beneficial to the project. The inception phase will analyse the different strategy documents and other reports and use the information to develop the full project proposal.

2 THE PROJECT (GOAL, PURPOSE, OUTPUTS, ACTIVITIES) For the full logframe see Annex 1.

2.1 Project Goal The long term goal of the project is to develop sustainable forest management practices that will lead to increase in carbon sinks through improved and participatory forest conservation and landscape restoration thereby contributing to sustainable socio-economic development in Northern Zambia.

2.2 Project Purpose The purpose of the project is to increase the participation of target communities and other stakeholders in forest conservation and to reduce the rate of deforestation in the target areas. The purpose of the inception phase is development of a project proposal for Conservation of Forests for Carbon Sequestration and Livelihoods in Northern Zambia outlining the institutional framework for collaboration, specific implementation, monitoring and evaluation guidelines and plans for the sustainable management of the forests of the target area.



This proposal is for a preparatory inception phase, which is necessary to build a proper basis for local and broad-based ownership of a forest conservation project proposal. The preparatory inception phase will entail stakeholder consultations at all levels within the target area and at local, district and central government level, reviewing existing data (socio-economic and biophysical), producing baseline information, identify gaps and methods for gap filling as well as developing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between project partners. The inception phase will result in a project proposal that will not only create an enabling framework through which key stakeholders in the natural resources management sector can work together but also a basis for implementing a forest conservation project for northern Zambia. A full project proposal for a five year phase will be submitted to Norad in October 2010.

2.3 Project Outputs Indicators for the inception phase will deal mainly with products such as reports and descriptions of short-term processes, rather than impact and long-term effects. These indicators are referred to as “outcomes” under each output.

Output 1 Buy-in and broad-based support for project concept established together with raised awareness levels of climate change and carbon sequestration

Outcomes

Stakeholder analysis report.

Stakeholder workshop reports. Output 2 Biological and socio-economic baseline established.

Outcomes Summary of issues from various documents produced.

Forest cover maps acquired.

Database developed.

Output 3 Carbon sequestration and carbon trading feasibility study and guidelines produced.

Outcomes

Literature review.

Feasibility study.

Output 4 Scoping Report (Issues, gaps and needs etc. established).

Outcomes

Analysis reports.

Scoping report. Output 5



Conservation of Forests for Carbon Sequestration and Livelihoods in Northern Zambia Project proposal

Outcomes

Project proposal.

M & E framework.

2.4 Project activities The following activities will be undertaken to produce the above outputs.

Output 1. Buy-in and broad-based support for project concept established together with raised awareness levels of climate change and carbon sequestration Activity 1.1 – Identify and conduct an analysis of project stakeholders and their potential roles in the project at community, local, regional and government level.

Activity 1.2 – Review of existing or past private-public-NGO-community partnerships in Zambia and the region resulting in suggestions for models of operational frameworks for partnerships. Activity 1.3 - Prepare information materials for workshops (draft collaborative framework, climate change awareness materials) Activity 1.4 - Conduct workshops with all stakeholders (1.To raise awareness and introduce projects (Inception and full project concept), 2. To present proposed project components and establish roles and responsibilities, 3. To sign off on project proposal)

Activity 1.5 – Formulate network system of key stakeholders and draw up collaborative framework

Activity 1.6 – Conduct consultations with donors, government authorities, private sector, civil society and other stakeholders to discuss project objectives, outcomes and collaboration

Output 2. Biological and socio-economic baseline established

Activity 2.1 – Set up a database structure for socio-economic and biological data.

Activity 2.2 – Conduct literature review of socio-economic and biological features of the project target area.

Activity 2.3 – Carry out field level biophysical status assessments of the target area, confirm vegetation classification on base map, determine level of deforestation and degradation and depletion of forestry resources and potential for reforestation and enter into database.

Activity 2.4 – Compile spatial data on forestry cover and composition and enter into database.

Activity 2.5 – Conduct a socio-economic assessment (i.e. education, household incomes, entrepreneurial skills, sources of livelihood, tourism, children in school/out of school, number of schools, number of teachers, health facilities, infrastructure) and enter into database.



Output 3. Carbon sequestration and carbon trading feasibility study and guidelines Activity 3.1 - Conduct an extensive literature review of existing or past carbon sequestration programmes involving communities resulting in suggestions for models of operational frameworks for inclusion in the proposal document.

Activity 3.2 - Assess suitability and feasibility of the target area in conducting carbon sequestration programmes. Identify appropriate carbon traders and roles of other stakeholders.

Activity 3.3 - Evaluate existing procedures and guidelines for carbon trading and assess their suitability for adoption by the project.

Activity 3.4 - Conduct consultations with donors, government authorities, private sector, civil society and other stakeholders to discuss project objectives with regard to carbon trading

Activity 3.5 - Adapt business planning tools to define types of public-private- community partnerships suited to carbon trading.

Activity 3.6 - Compile carbon trading feasibility study and guidelines

Output 4. Scoping Report (Issues, gaps and needs etc. established) Activity 4.1 – Carry out forest resource economic analysis to define priority demonstration sites for conservation and management.

Activity 4.2 – Identify, analyse and prioritise forest resource based products and market linkages for current and potential economic uses of these resources.

Activity 4.3 – Conduct a legal and policy framework review with regards to forestry and carbon trading, including enforcement Activity 4.4 – Develop a proposal for an integrated, cost effective, incentive based enforcement plan for forest protected areas. Activity 4.5 – Conduct a situation analysis, establishing current situation, wanted situation and how to get there and conduct Issues / gaps and needs/ opportunities analysis Activity 4.6 - Prepare Issues / Gaps and needs/ Opportunities analysis report Activity 4.7 - Carry out a capacity and training needs assessment of relevant institutions with regards to project implementation, including levels of environmental awareness at community and school level (for adults and children out of school). Activity 4.8 - Prepare a training needs report Activity 4.9 - Conduct a project/no project cost benefit analysis taking environmental costs into consideration. Activity 4.10 - Compile Scoping report



Output 5: Conservation of Forests for Carbon Sequestration and Livelihoods in Northern Zambia Project proposal Activity 5.1 - Outline main project outputs and key activities. Activity 5.2 - Outline the project M&E system. Activity 5.3 - Provide guidelines of M & E system for monitoring of forest cover, ecosystem health and management partnerships. Activity 5.4 - Outline project implementation process and structures Activity 5.5 - Develop the budget and specify stakeholder involvement and roles, staffing levels Activity 5.6 - Compile the project proposal in consultation with WWF-Norad Activity 5.7 - Submit project proposal for Norad funding The project activity schedule can be found in Annex 2.

3 MONITORING AND EVALUATION

A Project Inception Phase Report will be prepared following the inception period. This will inform the development of the implementation phase proposal and will include a detailed First Year/Annual work plan divided in quarterly time-frames detailing the activities and progress indicators that will guide implementation during the first year of the project. This work plan would include the roles of different stakeholders, dates of specific field visits, as well as time-frames for meetings of the project's decision making structures. The proposal will also include the detailed project budget for the first full year of implementation, prepared on the basis of the Annual work plan, and including any monitoring and evaluation requirements to effectively measure project performance. The project document will include a more detailed narrative on the institutional roles, responsibilities, coordinating actions and feedback mechanisms of project related partners. Continuous monitoring will be fundamental to keeping the proposal development work on track and provide essential information for making decisions and managing the process well.

4 PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND ORGANISATION

4.1 Project implementation arrangements/organisation Implementation arrangements for the inception phase will involve WWF ZCO and other organizations with relevant expertise and experience community based programmes, forestry, climate change and carbon sequestration. A core project proposal preparation team (PPPT) will be established. The PPPT will prepare the full project proposal, linking it to the WWF‟s global forests conservation imperatives and climate change initiatives by tying conservation goals to livelihood improvement; and bringing the network‟s experience to bear on the development of an appropriate community based forest management project. A stakeholder group made up of representatives from WWF ZCO, Forestry Department, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, relevant District Councils, local



community representatives and a representative of relevant NGOs will meet at regular intervals during the course of the inception phase to adequately advise the PPPT. The PPPT will be based at the WWF ZCO in Lusaka, travelling regularly to the target area in Luapula Province. Other WWF staff members are expected to be available for some specific activities such as expert work sessions covering specific aspects of the development of the proposal. Short-term visits will be made by a technical adviser from WWF-Norway to supervise field activities and progress of the preparation of the project proposal document. The PPPT will also work with other specialized and experienced consultants and agencies such as NGOs during the duration of the preparatory phase. Facilitators may be used for stakeholder consultations and workshops. The project document to be produced by the PPPT will be reviewed by stakeholders and presented to the Zambian government and donors for support. Further, some components will be discussed at the different fora such as high level conferences/meetings dealing with the subject matter.

5 SUSTAINABILITY AND EXIT STRATEGY

5.1 Long Term Impact The project will, within the inception phase devise an exit strategy with partners involved various project implementation levels. The aim of devising the exit at an early stage is to allow partners identify their roles and responsibilities, thereby ensuring that this component is part of the annual plan. In cases where some partners will sign Memoranda of Understanding with WWF the exit strategy will form part of the agreement. Government units (i.e. Forestry Department, Department of Department of Environment and Natural Resources, District Councils) will be sensitised and involved in the project inception phase, with a view to ensuring that the community based approach to forest management is taken on board in these entities. In this way some of the components that will be proposed in the proposal initiative can be borne by these units during the project implementation phase and beyond. The involvement of local people as key players in sustainable development must be fostered so that a heightened awareness of the issues pertaining to the sustainable forest management can be part of the evolving local livelihood improvement strategies.

5.2 Exit Strategy The exit strategy document will be developed during the inception period.

6 ASSUMPTIONS AND RISKS

An assumption would be that the local traditional leadership concurs with community participation in the project. For the inception phase the main risk would be that WWF is not able to generate sufficient interest for the planning process for stakeholders from all levels to participate in the necessary workshops and meetings. A further risk could be that potential stakeholder conflicts are not successfully mediated and a common vision cannot be agreed upon. The inception phase will further consider and assess assumptions and risks related to the development of the full project proposal.



7 BUDGET The table below shows the proposed total project budget from 2009 to 2010. All figures are in NOK.

Budget Jan 2009 - Dec 2010

(all figures in NOK - Norwegian Kroner) (1 USD = NOK 6.30)

BUDGET ITEM 2009 2010 Total

50xx Staff costs (WWF staff, non-WWF staff, daily paid workers)

490,253 653,675 1,143,929

51xx Third party fees 189,000 189,000 378,000

52xx Other grants & agreements 31,500 94,500 126,000

53xx Travel, meeting & training costs 252,000 252,000 504,000

54xx Communications & fundraising costs 12,600 56,700 69,300

55xx Miscellaneous costs 63,000 0 63,000

56xx Office running costs 88,074 120,960 209,034

57xx Field running costs 71,190 110,250 181,440

58xx Capital asset costs 34,650 0 34,650

Sub-total 1,232,267 1,477,085 2,709,353

WWF SARPO Management fee (12.5%) 154,033 184,636 338,669

TOTAL BUDGET 1,386,301 1,661,721 3,048,022

A detailed budget breakdown can be found in Appendix 3.

Documents

Proposal template 2009 Conservation of Forests for Carbon ...assets.wwf.no/downloads/forest_climate_change_proposal_final_oct... · Proposal template 2009 Conservation of Forests