Mid-term review of the “Development of a national network of terrestrial and marine protected areas representative of the Comoros unique natural heritage and co-managed with local village communities” project (Comoros)

This evaluation was done within the framework of the development of Thematic Learning Review of UNDP-GEF Ecosystems and Biodiversity (EDB) Team’s Portfolio of projects on Protected Areas. The Thematic Learning Review focused on a collection of approximately 120 GEF-financed protected area projects under the GEF-3, -4 and -5 funding cycles. The Thematic Learning Review was based on a review framework developed and agreed to at the beginning of the assignment. The report included an in-depth exploration of themes that advance understanding of solutions that have worked or not worked within the UNDP-GEF EBD protected areas portfolio of projects, so as to improve the design and implementation of ongoing and/or future projects.

The project seeked to conserve globally significant marine and terrestrial biological diversity in the Union of Comoros by establishing an expanded and functional system of protected areas (PAs) in the country, a system that is both representative of the country’s biodiversity endowment and which has good prospects for a sustainable future. The project aimed at strengthening the PA system through expansion and capacity building, and by investing significant resources in PA management at the site level.