Terminal Evaluation of the Integrated Ridge to Reef Management of the Mesoamerican Reef Ecoregion

AAE has been contracted by WWF to carry out the terminal evaluation (TE) of its Programme “Integrated Ridge to Reef Management of the Mesoamerican Reef (MAR) Ecoregion”, a transboundary conservation programme involving Mexico, Belize, Guatemala and Honduras. Key features of the MAR region include the world’s second-largest barrier reef system and globally important wetlands for migratory birds, as well as several World Heritage cultural sites, and protected species include manatees and sea turtles. The project aims to strengthen resource management and regional collaboration, develop integrated management of freshwater resources as well as coastal and marine resources, and ensure effective monitoring and evaluation of the project.

As such, AAE carried out a technical and financial evaluation of the project based on GEF evaluation criteria. This involved an extensive desk review process, interviews with key stakeholders and a two-week field mission to visit programme areas and actors in Mexico, Belize and Honduras.

The TE provides GEF Agencies and project partners with a comprehensive and systematic account of the Project’s performance by assessing its design, implementation, progress towards objectives, attention to cross-cutting themes and the likelihood of long-term impacts. The evaluation promotes accountability and transparency and facilitates synthesis of lessons.

The blend of experience offered by our professionals enables AAE to analyze project processes, results and impacts from multiple perspectives, employ participative tools and methods, and provide realistic and substantiated conclusions and recommendations related to different junctures in the project management cycle and within an adaptive management perspective.