Many of the initiatives set forth in Guidelines 45-49 may involve securing funding for capacity building, pilot projects, and other activities to strengthen international coordination and cooperation in implementing MEAs. In pursuing such activities, States may:
- Develop and retain staff with the necessary expertise in developing and managing project proposals.
- Identify potential projects that are replicable, since such projects often receive preferential funding. Replicable projects are those that can serve as a model for other nations or regions.
- Ensure that the projects respond to local priorities, and not simply priorities that are set by external bodies. Ideally, the projects will reflect priorities of both the donors and the recipients, even if those priorities are not necessarily the same.
- Identify alternative and complementary sources of funding, which may include funding from the MEA Secretariat, multilateral institutions (such as the World Bank, UNDP, and GEF), and bilateral donors.
- Ensure that the project utilises and strengthens local capacity and institutions.
- Consider working with regional institutions that provide established forums for collaboration and can provide a regional mechanism for exchanging experiences and an “institutional memory.”
- If the project is (or should be) part of a long-term initiative, consider how to maintain the project can be sustained over the long term.
- Maintain complete records of the project within the territory of the State.
- Foster close coordination between the focal point of the activity and the nation technical and political focal points.
- Apprise the MEA Secretariat of the project, particularly to the extent it improves the State’s compliance with the MEA.
This Checklist builds upon a similar checklist in the 1999 CARICOM Guidelines for MEA Implementation.