Under the Learning, Evaluation, and Analysis Project (LEAP III), Integra is currently conducting a Performance Evaluation of USAID/Zambia’s Community Forests Program (CFP).

In 2014, USAID Zambia awarded a Cooperative Agreement to BioCarbon Partners, Ltd. (BCP) to implement the Community Forests Program (CFP) in Zambia. The CFP is designed to exemplify and support the Government of Zambia’s (GRZ) Reducing Emission from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD+) strategy by establishing the largest REDD+ program to-date in Zambia. The CFP aims to establish REDD+ project areas across a minimum of 700,000 hectares within the Zambezi and Luangwa Valley ecosystems, and in so doing, to support deforestation mitigation activities taking place on a total of up to 2 million hectares, involving up to 10,000 households.

Integra is conducting a performance evaluation of USAID/Zambia’s Community Forests Program (CFP), which will provide USAID/Zambia with an independent review of progress made by this important project, and hopefully identify lessons that can be applied to future activities in the sector. The evaluation has three main objectives:

• Document the overall effectiveness of the project in reducing deforestation of biologically significant forest landscapes
• Identify lessons learned from the project—specifically, the strengths and weaknesses of the design and implementation of the CFP, and how they contributed to the project’s successes and challenges
• Assess the sustainability of CFP results related to forestry conservation. That is, are the gains and successes of the CFP likely to continue after the end of the project

Integra has partnered with RuralNet Associates Ltd., a local Zambian firm, to conduct four simultaneous field assessments in CFP project areas.

LEAP III provides a mechanism for USAID field missions and bureaus to easily and cost-effectively access rigorous, independent, and high-quality analytical services to support economic and policy analyses, strategy and project design, monitoring and evaluation, training, and knowledge management.

For more information, please contact the LEAP III Chief of Party, Mark Gellerson, at mgellerson@integrallc.com.  You may also download our two-page factsheet here.