A mid-term independent evaluation of the Environment and Security Initiative (ENVSEC), facilitated by CIDA, was one of the main issues during the Advisory Board meeting of the Initiative at the end of October in Vienna. The ENVSEC Initiative, established in 2003 by UNEP, UNDP, and the OSCE, seeks to facilitate a process, in which decision-makers in South Eastern and Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and the Caucasus are able to initiate activities to advance and protect peace and the environment at the same time. According to the evaluation, ENVSEC in fact provides a platform for cooperation; it has a strong yet flexible management and has established a good foundation for the sustainability of its activities. Moreover, the initiative contributes to awareness raising and bringing the issues relevant to both environment and security onto the agendas of countries. However, the evaluation also defines a number of weaknesses. Capacity building activities have so far occurred merely on an ad-hoc basis and need to be integrated more comprehensively across the projects. The evaluation report also states that more attention should be directed to results-based management, since there is currently a lack of monitoring of the achievements and the impacts of the initiative. Finally, strategic planning beyond the initiative’s assessment phase can help to improve coordination and harmonization of activities for the implementation phase. Against this backdrop, the evaluation recommends building synergies with other national initiatives at country level as well as with other partners. Moreover, the Secretariat should be strengthened to serve as an institutional anchor within the initiative and for the different regions. As indicated by the meeting report, the ENVSEC partners welcomed the report’s recommendations. They can help to set priorities, work more strategically, tighten management processes, and better coordinate and provide information, both on the side of the partners and donors. The evaluation report may also serve as a starting point for discussions on how the structure of the initiative can be strengthened without losing its flexibility. Monitoring of the initiative’s outcome and impact should be part of that discussion. (by Dennis Taenzler)

For more information and the meeting report, please see http://www.envsec.org

Published in:ECC-Newsletter, December 2006