Pacific Regional Oceanscape Programme (PROP)

The challenge

Between 2015 and 2022, a multi-country fisheries project - the Pacific Regional Oceanscape Programme (PROP) - was funded by the World Bank and the Global Environment Fund (GEF). Upon its completion, the Tuvalu Department of Fisheries sought assistance from Future Partners to review the programme’s implementation and results. PROP covers initiatives that include oceanic and coastal fisheries.

What we did

• In mid 2022, Kirsty Burnett, Ian Cartwright and Teresa Lifuka-Drecala prepared an Implementation Completion and Results (ICR) Report that reviewed and assessed progress against agreed objectives, evaluated the borrower's own performance, and made recommendations for future support and its operation.
• In order to provide a depth of useful and relevant information, the team provided background and context for all 18 outputs for the objectives across both oceanic and coastal fisheries. This has assisted non-technical readers to have a better understanding of the outcomes and their impact. Key findings and recommendations will be used for a subsequent phase of the PROP.

How we worked

Future Partners assembled a multi-disciplinary team (including a fisheries subject matter specialist, a MERL expert and an in-country consultant) to review documents and interview key informants using a set of tailored review questions that were adapted to the audience. The analysis of the received information was fed into the provision of an extensive set of recommendations directed to the Tuvalu Fisheries Department’s Oceanic Fisheries section, the Coastal Fisheries section and to the World Bank. Strict COVID-19 travel restrictions remained in place for Tuvalu, therefore consultation with key informants in the Fisheries Department and community stakeholders were primarily undertaken remotely and/or through surveys. The use of an in-country team member meant that we could seek information from PROP beneficiaries through face-to-face discussion, e.g. fishers who had received sea safety kits and school children who had participated in community engagement / public outreach programmes. The PROP had been designed with development objectives to strengthen the shared management of selected Pacific Island oceanic and coastal fisheries, and the critical habitats upon which they depend. The high-level indicators were all met.

Outcomes