Climate Change Adaptation Capacity in Madagascar Project

Background:
This project was developed in recognition of the projected impacts of climate change on Madagascar’s unique biodiversity and its people and that there was limited capacity in country and within WWF MWIOPO to address or adapt to these impacts.  Thus the goal of the project was to enable WWF and its conservation partners to develop capacity for climate change analysis and adaptation by end of 2012.  The project had three outputs: 1) WWF and partner capacity building on climate change adaptation to enable integration of climate change adaptation in conservation work; 2) Raising awareness of climate change impacts on biodiversity and livelihoods within the Malagasy conservation community, decision-makers and targeted local communities; 3) Implementation of pilot climate change adaptation strategies and measures in WWF priority landscapes.
This evaluation was undertaken in accordance with the WWF Network Standards which stipulates that all projects be evaluated to assess whether it achieved its objectives.  This is a component of adaptive management and part of our programme cycle.

Purpose/objective:
The purpose and objectives of the final evaluation were:
• to assess the impact, effectiveness and relevance of the project in relation to its stated purpose, objectives, target groups, partners and other affected parties,
• to assess project progress towards its stated purpose and identification of constraints hindering such progress. 
• to identify the key lessons and experiences that have resulted from the project during the four years implementation. 
• to make recommendations for future activities / phases of this work.

Methodology:
Data gathering, cross checking and analysis was done through: document review and analysis, interviews (individual and group), telephone interviews and meetings with project staff and WWF MWIOPO staff (non-project staff), stakeholders, key partners and beneficiaries of the project. Sixty seven people in total were consulted.
Log Frame Analysis, Outcome Mapping, rapid organizational assessment and SWOT analysis were used to analyse the data and evaluate the project. A presentation of the final evaluation was made to staff and stakeholders to share and validate the findings.

Key findings:
The evaluation team found that outputs 1 and 2 of the project were largely achieved and that the project:
• Is aligned to the priorities of the country and provides knowledge and know-how which is currently lacking in this field in Madagascar.
• Has led to initiatives to adapt to climate change being implemented by the government (national and regional) and by conservation partners – including integration of climate change adaptation into regional development plans, development and validation of the National Policy on Climate Change (PNCC), and species (lemurs, birds, aloes and terrestrial turtles) and habitat (mangrove, forests) vulnerability assessments.
• Has contributed significantly to raising capacity and awareness within WWF and amongst stakeholders of adaptation and capacity to implement adaptation strategies and climate-proof projects, enabling them to take climate change adaptation further in their respective areas – be it integrating CCA into plans and working documents or doing vulnerability assessments.
• Adaptation has been integrated into the MWIOPO conservation plan 2012-2016 and an adaptation action plan (currently under review) developed to assist in implementing adaptation in MWIOPO conservation work.
In terms of Output 3, it was almost fully achieved in that:
• 2 of the planned 5 vulnerability assessment had been completed, though all had commenced by the end of 2012. It is recognised that vulnerability study and analysis is a long process that needs time to perform given the lack of data in Madagascar. 
• 2 of 3 CCA strategies / measures to adapt to climate change were implemented in priority landscapes of WWF.
The evaluation recognised that three and a half years is not a long enough period of time to increase capacity and confidence amongst staff and other conservation practitioners in such a new field, and also to integrate climate change adaptation into their work. Most ongoing WWF MWIOPO projects and programs have not yet fully integrated CCA though efforts have been made to consider CCA in the landscape planning processes. Many staff felt the need for further technical assistance on technically challenging issues such as vulnerability assessments and subsequent interventions. Furthermore, projects which commenced prior to 2009 did not have the required budget allocated for undertaking adaptation initiatives. These challenges were compounded by the lack of climate / weather data available in Madagascar. Thus it is felt that the project design was very ambitious.

Recommendations:
• Input from external experts is needed practical training to guide technical staff in the integration of climate change adaptation into actions. The integration of WWF MWIOPO in the Africa Adaptation Initiative will assist in this.
• Appoint a focal point at WWF landscape level to be the climate change advisor at field level.
• Continue to enhance the synergies between the climate change adaptation team and the capacity building team in MWIOPO to design the training, identify the targets, modes of training and materials, and the content of the sessions. 
• Continue to implement the pilot adaptation strategies in WWF priority landscapes to demonstrate concrete adaptation activities.
• Continue and enhance communication actions about concrete adaptation actions.
• Continue to closely support WWF staff to implement pilot CC initiatives in the priority landscapes in order to integrate effectively CCA in their work.
• Increase the number of staff in charge of project implementation/management.
These recommendations are being integrated into the ongoing climate change work undertaken by MWIOPO, 2013-2016.

Comments from the organisation, if any:
The evaluation is of a high quality, providing sufficient information on the project’s achievements, lessons learned which can be applied in future activities in Madagascar as well as to similar activities elsewhere in Africa and further afield,  as well as on what is needed to support further activities on climate change and capacity building.