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Lesson
Ensuring the sustainability of project benefits would require serious efforts from the component implementation units (CIUs) to raise funds from various sources. Governments have allocated annual budgets for CIUs to continue post-project operations. But financial sustainability is still a concern, as government allocations are sufficient to cover only routine facility maintenance and supplies and not surveillance, animal and pest outbreak responses, and repair of critical laboratory equipment.

Project Number: 43120-013
Project Name: Trade Facilitation: Improved Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Handling in Greater Mekong Subregion Trade Project
Report Date:
Lesson
Continued capacity building is required for Cambodia and the Lao PDR to move to a higher level of technical capacity in handling sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) concerns. The project has strengthened SPS capacity in Cambodia and the Lao PDR and facilitated product-specific market access agreements with neighboring countries in the Greater Mekong Subregion. It strengthened academic aspects of SPS, which were nonexistent before the project. It enabled knowledge transfer in priority SPS areas from the training and day-to-day coaching provided by project consultants.

Project Number: 43120-013
Project Name: Trade Facilitation: Improved Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Handling in Greater Mekong Subregion Trade Project
Report Date:
Lesson
Unsynchronized consultant recruitment, procurement of goods, and facility upgrades could create inefficiencies and lead to a wastage of time and resources and delayed delivery of project benefits. While overall the project proceeded smoothly, it encountered some challenges that offer valuable lessons to future projects. First, as the timing of consultant inputs and procurement of laboratory facilities and equipment were not synchronized, i.e., consultants would arrive early while facilities were not yet ready, less-than-efficient inputs were obtained.

Project Number: 43120-013
Project Name: Trade Facilitation: Improved Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Handling in Greater Mekong Subregion Trade Project
Report Date:
Lesson
Providing targeted resources to ensure sufficient understanding of ADB procurement and project administration guidelines, particularly among first-time ADB executing and implementing agencies, will help avoid startup delays. Minor implementation startup delays were encountered because of the unfamiliarity of some first-time implementing agencies with ADB procurement, financial management, and disbursement procedures. But after trainings were provided and consultants mobilized, implementation accelerated significantly.

Project Number: 43120-013
Project Name: Trade Facilitation: Improved Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Handling in Greater Mekong Subregion Trade Project
Report Date:
Lesson
Incorporation into the project design of cost-sharing arrangements with irrigation water users broadens the scope for promoting project sustainability and improving related approaches and practices. In the Lao PDR, forming a water users’ group and assigning it the responsibility of collecting water charges is an important step toward project sustainability. However, this was not fully integrated into the project design and no relevant output Indicators were included in the design and monitoring framework.

Project Number: 40190-023
Project Name: Greater Mekong Subregion Flood and Drought Risk Management and Mitigation Project
Report Date:
Lesson
Incorporating nature-based solutions in flood and drought risk management projects, as appropriate, will enhance project outcomes. The project adopted a holistic approach to reducing flood and drought risks by incorporating multiple infrastructure options, such as embankments, roads, drainage channels, navigation, and pumping stations, together with an early warning system. Not relying on just one type of infrastructure added value by delivering better project benefits.

Project Number: 40190-023
Project Name: Greater Mekong Subregion Flood and Drought Risk Management and Mitigation Project
Report Date:
Lesson
Advance actions, supported by retroactive financing arrangements, can help minimize or avoid startup delays. The project faced start-up delays in both countries. It took more than two years from project effectiveness in each country for the first civil works contracts to be awarded. Recruitment of project implementation consultants, preparation of bidding documents, and preparation of the detailed designs were accomplished only after the project effectiveness. Such start-up delays could have

Project Number: 40190-023
Project Name: Greater Mekong Subregion Flood and Drought Risk Management and Mitigation Project
Report Date:
Lesson
Clarity on implementation roles and responsibilities and consistent collection and monitoring of Gender-disaggregated data are key to the successful execution of the project Gender action plan (GAP). Gender trainings at inception stage provided clarity on the roles and responsibilities of consultants and implementing agency staff. The well-defined division of labor provided a strong kickstart to the implementation of the GAP. Integration of sex-disaggregated data collection into the system enabled reliable Monitoring and evaluation of GAP progress throughout the project.

Project Number: 40190-023
Project Name: Greater Mekong Subregion Flood and Drought Risk Management and Mitigation Project
Report Date:
Lesson
Participation fosters strong beneficiary ownership of projects. This project encouraged the participation of local communities and other stakeholders from the planning stage and throughout implementation. This active participation enhanced project ownership by the beneficiaries. As revealed by the post completion survey, the project has retained this community support.

Project Number: 40190-023
Project Name: Greater Mekong Subregion Flood and Drought Risk Management and Mitigation Project
Report Date:
Lesson
Timely orientation and training of relevant stakeholders on social safeguards will help avoid related difficulties and problems. All entitled households were compensated according to the updated resettlement plans. However, detailed measurement survey errors and mistakes in implementing the voluntary land donation resulted in some payments being made after the commencement of construction work. A corrective action plan approved by ADB was subsequently implemented and all payments were completed.

Project Number: 40190-023
Project Name: Greater Mekong Subregion Flood and Drought Risk Management and Mitigation Project
Report Date:
Lesson
A thorough needs assessment is necessary to align the livelihood restoration training programs to the needs of severely affected households (SAHs) and so increase their uptake of the programs. Only a few SAHs attended the livelihood restoration programs designed to support them. The opportunity cost in terms of farmers’ time was high either because the SAHs were involved in more rewarding economic activities, or the trainings did not respond to their needs.

Project Number: 40190-023
Project Name: Greater Mekong Subregion Flood and Drought Risk Management and Mitigation Project
Report Date:
Lesson
More effort toward improving cooperation on regional public goods will strengthen the value addition of future regional projects. Cooperation between the two countries during implementation was limited. More inter-country activities toward strengthening cooperation on regional public goods such as early warning systems, flood and drought management control, joint missions to share country experiences, and knowledge sharing during project implementation would be useful in future regional cooperation projects.

Project Number: 40190-023
Project Name: Greater Mekong Subregion Flood and Drought Risk Management and Mitigation Project
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Lesson
Carefully developed grant covenants facilitate grant agreements and early effectiveness.

Project Number: 37579-012, 37579-032
Project Name: Sustainable Natural Resource Management and Productivity Enhancement Project
Report Date:
Lesson
Involving EAs/IAs in project preparation as well as in other stages of the project cycle promotes continuity and commitment and a solid understanding of the project.

Project Number: 37579-012, 37579-032
Project Name: Sustainable Natural Resource Management and Productivity Enhancement Project
Report Date:
Lesson
Well-laid criteria for the selection of subprojects, developed as an integral part of the preparation of sector projects, ensure coherence between the design of the sector projects and all subprojects, including those identified and prepared only during implementation. They also facilitate the preparation and processing of subsequent subprojects.

Project Number: 37579-012, 37579-032
Project Name: Sustainable Natural Resource Management and Productivity Enhancement Project
Report Date: