One of the components of the project is the development of an IWCAM Processes, Stress Reduction and Environmental Status Indicators Framework, as described by GEF, which would also include driving force-pressure-state-impact-response indicators. The major objectives of this component are to:

1. Review and assess national and regional indicators mechanisms related to watershed and coastal zone monitoring and management and identify gaps and weaknesses;
2. Identify an optimal indicators framework to monitor the impact of the GEF-IWCAM project;
3. Assess relevant institutional infrastructure/administrative protocols and relevant human resource capacities and training needs related to indicator monitoring in participating countries (PCs), and make recommendations to bring capacity up to a level where indicators can be utilized, manipulated and shared among the PCs.

In the longer term, these country-agreed Outcome and Indicator frameworks and the associated mechanisms to monitor and report on them, should be adopted by the responsible agencies to: track improvements in the integrated management of watersheds and coastal areas in Caribbean small islands in the post-GEF period; monitor changes in the state of the watershed and coastal environments and trends in socio-economic pressures and conditions in watershed communities and coastal towns, and; assess the efficacy of GEF-IWCAM in addressing these issues and mitigating harmful impacts.

Further information is available at
http://www.iwcam.org/information/gef-iwcam-indicators-mechanism/.

Two consultants, Sherry Heileman and Leslie Walling have been contracted to undertake the GEF-IWCAM indicators assessment and develop its indicators framework. An important and immediate task is to obtain information on existing indicator frameworks and mechanisms at national and regional levels, and on related human and institutional capacity building needs. Ideally, this task should be carried out with the collaboration of all the participating countries and relevant institutions/organizations, so that the assessment accurately reflects the existing situation and so that participating countries and the region fully benefit from the outcomes of this component. In this regard, we are kindly asking members of this list-serve to complete a questionnaire (located at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WW2BW/files/GEF-IWCAM%20Indicators%20Mechanism/ and http://www.iwcam.org/information/gef-iwcam-indicators-mechanism/) and return it to the consultants (sh_heileman@yahoo.com,
walling.leslie@gmail.com).

The assessment report and a draft indicators template will be made available to all concerned agencies and organizations for comments and further inputs at a later stage.

We thank you for your kind collaboration in this important task.