PRIMEX bagged a UNDP/GEF contract to conduct the terminal evaluation of the Samar Island Biodiversity Project (SIBP), which was implemented by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) until December 2011. The SIBP established the Samar Island Natural Park, a new protected area covering 333,000 hectares in Eastern Visayas, Philippines.
Mr. James T. Berdach, International Evaluation Specialist/Team Leader, and Dr. Lope A. Calanog, National Evaluation Specialist, will assess and rate project results, the sustainability of project outcomes, the catalytic effect of the project, and the quality of the project’s monitoring and evaluation systems. They will also identify lessons learned and best practices and recommend how these can improve the design and implementation of other UNDP/GEF projects. The evaluation will last for 14 weeks, from June to October 2012.
Both PRIMEX consultants for the SIBP evaluation have extensive experience in protected area planning and management and biodiversity conservation. Mr. Berdach is an international consultant with over 20 years of experience in community-based resources management and environmental evaluation projects. He has worked in 20 countries, several of them in Asia and the Indo-Pacific region. One of his most recent projects was the United Nations Environment Programme-GEF Terminal Evaluation of the Knowledge Base for Lessons Learned and Best Practices in the Management of Coral Reefs, where he served as the Evaluation Specialist.
Meanwhile, Dr. Calanog is currently the Chief of the Community Forestry Section of the Ecosystems Research and Development Bureau (ERDB) of DENR. He has been tapped by local and multilateral/bilateral organizations and funding institutions like ADB as a technical consultant on environment, protected area management and biodiversity conservation, as well as on GEF matters. He recently participated in the design of ADB capacity development technical assistance project for Sustainable Forest and Biodiversity Management in the Heart of Borneo, Indonesia.
To know more about SIBP, visit the project profile in DENR’s Clearing House Mechanism on Biodiversity website.