Fourth UNCCD reporting and review process

PRAIS: performance review and assessment of implementation system

Parties at the Ninth Session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 9), decided on a new performance review and assessment of implementation system (PRAIS), which will allow the CRIC to effectively review the implementation of the Strategy and the Convention, based on a new methodological approach and the reporting on performance and impact indicators, as well as on best practices and financial flows,(decisions 11/COP.9. 12/COP.9 and 13/COP.9).

In order to facilitate the new reporting and review system, Parties also called for a comprehensive capacity development programme, which was initially conceptualized by the UNCCD and GEF secretariats, and then formulated in partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Global Mechanism (GM).

Through the fourth reporting and review process Parties and the other reporting entities will be providing information on:

• Performance indicators for the five operational objectives of the Strategy;

• Financial flows (through the Standardized Financial Annex (SFA) and Programme and Project Sheet (PPS);

• Best practices on sustainable land management (SLM) technologies, including adaptation;
  

• Feedback on indicators and methodologies applied in this reporting and review process, as well as other pertinent information that reporting entities may wish to provide to the COP.

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Assistance to country Parties and other reporting entities

Following COP 9 decisions on reporting elements, the joint cooperation between the UNCCD secretariat, the GM, the GEF secretariat and the UNEP/DGEF resulted in a full-sized project document that was submitted in early January 2010 to the GEF Council members for endorsement. Final approval from the GEF Council members was given on 4 February 2010, and the implementing and executing agencies have planned services to be rendered to affected country Parties and other reporting entities in time for report submission scheduled for 15 October 2010.

As project partners, the initiative can count on professional services rendered by UNEP-WCMC, an organization that has also spearheaded reporting processes for the Biodiversity Convention (CBD), 14 regional Reference Centers (subregional or regional organizations that will provide technical back-up to National Focal Points of the various Regional Implementation Annexes), the Regional Coordination Units supported by the secretariat and the GM, will help ensure consistency of the project timelines with the overall reporting requirements, as well as the preparation of the CRIC 9 session. In conformity with COP 9 decision, the GM is providing core services to ensure that financial reporting will be undertaken in conformity with the remaining reporting requirements.

Representatives of the Regional Implementation Annexes have started to provide feedback and advice to the project management, and the initiative is geared towards full involvement of country Parties in its implementation.

While the capacity development project is giving emphasis to affected developing country Parties and their capacity needs at country level, the project delivers to all reporting entities the same reporting tools and technical services to upload information onto the PRAIS portal with the aim of establishing a monitoring system for the UNCCD that allows for national assessment, while enabling the international community to consider aggregated information at sub-regional, regional and or global level.

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Overall process and project outputs

The overall project process entails four major components that aim at rendering services to Parties and other reporting entities in reporting back to the CRIC. The main four outputs are as follows:

1. Reporting tools (templates, guidelines and glossary covering performance indicators, best practices, issues relating to financial reporting) for all reporting entities, in the six UN languages;

2. Catalytic funding (guidelines-(eng),(fr), (spa), list of countries eligible for funding) to partially compensate developing countries for the additional expenses incurred in the preparation of national reports according to the new system (communication, mobility, meetings and external assistance if needed);
3. Training and technical backstopping extended during the reporting process by Reference Centers and the RCUs to National Focal Points on the use of reporting tools and compilation of national reports (for all affected country Parties and interested developed country Parties);

4. A PRAIS portal to assist county Parties and other reporting entities in the communication of information, and to facilitate processing of such information by the secretariat and the GM.

The secretariat and the GM will also cooperate, according to their mandates, in the development of analytical reports from information received from country Parties in the form of statistical data, and official reports to be considered by CRIC 9.

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Resource requirements and funding

The project, while being supported by in-cash contribution from the GEF, WCMC and the Secretariat (USD 3,250 million), in-kind contributions from the Secretariat and the GM (USD 2,5 million) and an expected in-kind contribution of country Parties (USD 2,450 million) is still short of in-cash financial resources to an estimated amount of USD 1,5 million. The Secretariat and UNEP/DGEF have resolved to approach the financial shortcomings in partnership by trying to ascertain to what extent bilateral funding can be access in support of the project by development partners and new additional funding that can be mobilized. A project proposal amounting to approximately USD 700,000 has been developed by the UNCCD secretariat and submitted to the European Commission for consideration.

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Work programme and timeframe

The first Steering Committee (SC) meeting of the PRAIS project convened from 18-20 January 2010 and agreed upon the work programme and the timeframe of activities . The work programme highlights the major components such as the engagement of country Parties, the preparation of reporting tools, the training of Reference Centers (RCs) and National Focal Points, as well as the necessary time needed for submitting official documentation to UNOG in time for delivering official documentation to CRIC 9.

Adjusted timeframe up to CRIC 9

The Bureau of the Conference of the Parties (COP) took the decision to postpone the ninth session of the Committee for the Review of the Implementation of the Convention (CRIC 9) in February 2011. As a result, the schedule for the reporting process has been adjusted accordingly.

A second adjustment was required because of the postponement of the training of trainers’ workshop, due to the air traffic restrictions during the month of April 2010.

The revised timeframe (as of 30 April 2010) has the following milestones:

• Reporting tools for affected and developed country Parties posted on the web as advance copy by 30 April 2010;
• Training of trainers’ workshop for RCs to take place from 31 May to 4 June 2010;
• PRAIS portal online by 10 June 2010;
• Training for National Focal Points completed by 30 June 2010;
• Submission of reports by country Parties and other reporting entities expected by 15 October 2010;
• Preliminary analysis reports and preparation of other official CRIC documentation completed by 30 November 2010.

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