This project, funded by the United Nations Development Account (UNDA), was implemented from February 2018 to July 2022 with a budget of $650,000.
The project aimed at strengthening the capacities of coastal developing countries, particularly small island developing States, in elaborating, adopting and implementing evidence-based and coherent policy strategies to promote the sustainable trade of products and services. It was jointly implemented by UNCTAD and the Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea of the United Nations Office of Legal Affairs, based in New York.
The project supported Barbados, Belize and Costa Rica in realizing economic benefits from the sustainable use of marine resources within the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, the legal framework within which all activities in oceans and seas must be carried out. For each of the three beneficiary countries, a report was produced with analysis around the economic, environmental, social, scientific and governance pillars of the ocean economy.
Report recommendations and action plans for implementation were validated during subsequent national and regional workshops with the project stakeholders. The evaluation found that the project was aligned with the national policies and development frameworks of the beneficiary countries.
The project’s objectives were consistent with development needs and priorities identified by these countries. National Governments were actively involved in the selection of strategies for key ocean-based sectors, ensuring a demand-driven approach.
The project was also complementary to, and coordinated with, other initiatives led by organizations such as the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, World Bank and United Nations Development Programme, which are working alongside UNCTAD to address various aspects of marine biodiversity, the blue economy and coastal management.
The project made substantial contributions to Sustainable Development Goal 14, emphasizing the sustainable use of oceans and marine resources. Since project completion, an additional 18 countries have expressed interest in developing such strategies.
The project reached or exceeded most of the short-term targets set in its results framework. Workshop participants reported an increased understanding of both key principles and obligations under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea for developing ocean sectors and of how to design and implement ocean economy strategies. However, the evaluation noted the unavailability of data sets, required by the project for background and working documents in Belize and to a lesser extent in Barbados, which negatively impacted these deliverables. Additional and unanticipated research by UNCTAD was subsequently needed to fill in some of these data gaps.
The evaluation assessed the working relationship between UNCTAD and the Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea as strong. Regular communication was maintained with project stakeholders and the dissemination of project outputs was consistent. Despite some delays, for example, linked with the pandemic and slow decision-making by the beneficiaries, the project achieved a 97 per cent financial implementation rate and delivered its expected outcomes.
The evaluation noted that, since the results framework did not include indicators for medium- to long-term results (for example, on implementation of the action plans or the effect on the economy), these data were not systematically collected.
Given the nature of United Nations Development Account projects (short-term and small-scale), and the requirement to include project outcomes that are achievable within the project’s time frame, the monitoring and evaluation of medium- to long-term results can only happen if the project is part of the overall results framework of the division and/or UNCTAD, or if follow-up evaluations of United Nations Development Account projects are commissioned further down the line.
Nevertheless, the evaluation concluded that the project’s results are likely to be sustained beyond the end of the project, due to the commitment of the beneficiary countries.
Barbados has shown a particularly strong commitment to building on the project’s outcomes, and some recommendations are being implemented.
Measures to promote sustainability have been incorporated to the extent possible in the project, including strengthening the knowledge and capacities of beneficiary organizations and disseminating the results of the project widely, to multilateral, regional and national audiences through news items, press releases and videos.
Based on the findings, the evaluation made recommendations to:
- Assess document quality and data availability during the project planning phase, using them as eligibility criteria for evidence-based projects.
- Define and share project milestones, deliverables and stakeholder roles early to manage expectations and ensure smooth implementation, particularly when engaging a wide range of stakeholders.
- Ensure that there are clear indicators and robust monitoring and evaluation systems to measure immediate, intermediate and long-term project outcomes, including those beyond the project’s lifetime.