Introduction

The Transboundary Diagnostic Analysis/Strategic Action Programme (TDA/SAP) approach is a highly collaborative process that has proven to be a major strategic planning tool for GEF International Waters Projects over the last 16 years. A simple schematic of the process is outlined below:

The main technical role of a TDA is to identify, quantify, and set priorities for environmental problems that are transboundary in nature. In particular, the TDA aims to:

• Identify & prioritise the transboundary problems
• Gather and interpret information on the environmental impacts and socio-economic consequences of each problem
• Analyse the immediate, underlying, and root causes for each problem, and in particular identify specific practices, sources, locations, and human activity sectors from which environmental degradation arises or threatens to arise.

Ultimately, a TDA provides the factual basis for the formulation of an SAP but the TDA is also part of a larger facilitative process of engagement and consultation with all the key stakeholders from the initial TDA steps through to the subsequent development of alternative solutions during the formulation of the Strategic Action Programme. The TDA is a mechanism to help the participating countries to 'agree on the facts' - many conflicts are driven by perceptions and removing these can be an enormous step in itself. Furthermore, the TDA should be seen as more than just an analysis of data and information. It is a powerful process that can help create confidence among the partners involved.

The SAP is a negotiated policy document that should be endorsed at the highest level of all relevant sectors of government. It establishes clear priorities for action (for example, policy, legal, institutional reforms, or investments) to resolve the priority transboundary problems identified in the TDA. A key element of the SAP is a well-defined baseline. This enables a clear distinction between actions with purely national benefits and those addressing transboundary concerns with global benefits. Another key element involves the development of institutional mechanisms at the regional and national levels for implementing the SAP and monitoring and evaluation procedures to measure effectiveness of the outcomes of the process.

The following are some of the key underlying principles incorporated into the TDA/SAP approach:

• Adaptive management
• The ecosystem approach
• Sustainable development
• Poverty reduction
• Gender mainstreaming
• Climate variability and change
• Collaboration
• Stakeholder consultation and participation
• Stepwise consensus building
• Transparency
• Accountability
• Inter-sectoral policy building
• Donor partnerships
• Government commitment

These key underlying principles are described in more detail in the Key Principles section.

TDA/SAP – A history

The first TDA to be developed under a GEF funded project was the 1996 Black Sea TDA. At the time it was considered to be ground-breaking in its approach and was subsequently used as the template for a number of other TDAs during the late 1990’s and early 2000’s. The subsequent Black Sea SAP, endorsed by all the countries, was less successful – it was considered to be overly ambitious and presented the region with an almost unobtainable vision for the Black Sea that resulted in poor implementation of the SAP over the following decade.

From 1997 onwards, a number of other GEF IW projects developed TDAs and SAPs based on the Black Sea approach. These included Lake Tanganyika, the Benguela Current LME, the Mediterranean Sea, the Volta River, San Juan River, the Western Indian Ocean and the Yellow Sea LME, amongst others.

At this time, the GEF developed the first set of Operational Programs for International Waters which made reference to the “conduct of a transboundary diagnostic analysis (TDA) to identify priority environmental concerns” and the formulation of “a Strategic Action Program (SAP) of actions each country needs to take to address priority transboundary concerns.”

In 2001, the GEF commissioned a comprehensive programme study for its then Operational Programmes 8 and 9. The Programme Study found that the emphasis on undertaking a science-based TDA prior to the design of a SAP was appropriate for projects in these Operational Programs. In addition, the Programme Study found that there were a variety of ways in which a TDA could be conducted. Some were more resource-intensive than others, but usually offered advantages in providing greater insight and specificity, thereby providing an improved information base for the formulation of the SAP. However, it also concluded that there needed to be more GEF guidance regarding the nature of TDAs and the manner in which they lead to, and are distinct from, the development of SAPs.

From 2000, a number of projects had started to develop TDAs that were different from the Black Sea model. These included the Bermejo River, the Caspian Sea and the Dnipro River Basin. The inspiration for these was a simplified version of the methodology developed for the Global International Waters Initiative (GIWA). GIWA attempted to use a generic TDA methodology as a means of identifying the likely priority problems impacts and causes in transboundary marine and freshwater basins throughout the globe.

As a consequence of the 2001 GEF Programme Study and the development of the GIWA methodology, the GEF, together with UNDP, UNEP and the World Bank, contracted international experts to develop a set of more formal guidelines to assist with the preparation of a TDA and formulation of a SAP. The GEF IW TDA/SAP “best practice” approach was drafted in 2002 and although it was not an official policy document of GEF, became the de facto GEF TDA/SAP Methodology.

In conjunction with this formalised GEF IW TDA/SAP “best practice” approach, a training course was funded by GEF/UNDP under the UN/TRAIN-SEA-COAST Programme and developed by the Marine and Coastal Policy Research Group based at the University of Plymouth, UK during 2003.

Since 2005, a considerable number or projects have used the GEF TDA/SAP best practice approach. These include: the Dnipro River Basin, the Mediterranean Sea (MAP), the Kura Aras River Basin, the Gulf of Mexico LME, the Black Sea (BSERP), Lake Chad, the Rio de la Plata (FREPLATA), the Nubian Aquifer (NSAS), Yellow Sea LME, the Orange-Sengu River Basin, the Caribbean LME, and the Bay of Bengal LME, amongst others. Table 1 lists completion dates for TDAs and SAPs from a number of water systems over the period 1996 to 2013.

Table 1: Completion dates for TDAs and SAPs between 1996 and 2013

¹ PDF funded

² Not yet completed (as of January 2013)

³ Technical (draft) SAP