TERMINAL REPORT FORM
Basic programme/project information (To be provided by programme or project management)
Programme/Project number and title:
Conservation and Sustainable Use of Traditional Medicinal Plants in
Zimbabwe: Zim/01/g35/a/1g/99
Designated institution:
Ministry of Environment and Tourism
Project starting date:
Originally planned:
Actual:
Project completion date:
Originally planned:
New:
Total budget ($):
Original:
Latest signed revision:
Period covered by the report:
August 2002
May 2003
December 2007
December 2008
US$I,631,900
US$1,631,900
N/A
May 2003 to December 2008
PART I: NUMERICAL RATING
Rate the relevance and performance of the programme or project using the following scale:
1 - Highly satisfactory
2 – Satisfactory
3 - Unsatisfactory, with some positive elements
4 - Unsatisfactory
X - Not applicable
Place your answers in the column that corresponds to your role in the programme or project.
SUBSTANTIVE FOCUS
Target
group(s)
Programme
or project
manager
Government
A. RELEVANCE
1. How relevant is the programme or project to the
development priorities of the country?
1
1
2
1
2. How relevant is the programme or project to the
promotion of sustainable human development?
Indicate your rating on the thematic focus which
the programme or project was designed to address.
(a) Poverty eradication and sustainable
livelihoods
UNDP
(b) Protection and regeneration of the
environment
1
1
2
2
X
X
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
(c) Gender in development
(d) Promoting an enabling environment for
SHD, including governance
3. To what extent are appropriate beneficiary
groups being targeted by the programme or
project,
based
on
the
following
considerations?
(a) Gender
(b) Socio-economic factors
(c) Geographic location
4. Given the objectives of the programme or
project, are the appropriate institutions being
assisted?
B. PERFORMANCE
1. Using the following indicators, rate the contribution of
the outputs to the achievement of the immediate
objectives: a/
1
2
1
1
2
2
(Indicator 1): Conservation status of traditional plants
significantly improved
by the end of project
(Indicator 2); Endangered medicinal plants used
sustainably by
traditional practitioners
and communities in
project areas
(Indicator 3): Commercialization of medicinal plants
based on best practices,
value-adding enterprise
and cultivation
a/
The programme or project manager must list the indicators as reflected in the programme support document or
project document or agreed on by the stakeholders.
established by end of
project
(Indicator 4); Principles of sustainable use of medicinal
plants and equitable sharing of benefits integrated into
national and local legislation by end of the project,
community awareness enhanced.
1
1
2
2
1
1
(a) quantity?
3
3
(b) quality?
2
2
1
1
2
1
2
1
1
1
2. Rate the production of target outputs.
3. Are the management arrangements of the
programme or project appropriate?
4. Are programme or project resources (financial,
physical and manpower) adequate in terms of:
1. Are programme or project resources being used
efficiently to produce planned results?
6. Is the programme or project cost-effective compared
to similar interventions?
7. Based on its work plan, how would you rate the
timeliness of the programme or project in terms of:
(a) Production of outputs and initial results?
(b) Inputs delivery?
Please indicate your overall rating of the programme or project using the following numbers:
1 - Highly satisfactory
2 - Satisfactory
3 - Unsatisfactory, with some positive elements
4 - Unsatisfactory
5 - Not applicable
Target group(s)
OVERALL RATING OF THE
PROGRAMME OR
PROJECT
Programme
or project
manager
2
Government
UNDP
2
Explain the basis of your rating, which need not be limited to, or which may be different from, the
relevance and performance criteria rated above. For the last year of the programme or project, the
overall rating should include an assessment of the potential success of the programme or project as well
as its relevance and performance.
The project achieved an average of 70% in meeting its targets in all the five outputs except the cultivation component
which was negatively affected by the annual droughts which affected the project areas during the five years the project
was under implementation.
PART II: TEXTUAL ASSESSMENT
1. What are the major achievements of the programme or project vis-à-vis the expected results? Please
explain them in detail in terms of potential impact, sustainability of results and contribution to capacity
development.
The project made the following achievements in the five outputs:
Output 1; Documentation of Traditional Medicinal Plants and Indigenous Knowledge
The documentation of plants for each participating district, plants used by communities for medicinal
purposes, threatened medicinal plant species and indigenous knowledge used in traditional medicine was
successfully done. This information was published and distributed to key stakeholders
Output 2: Awareness Raising, Capacity Development and Conducting of Laboratory Investigations.
Awareness workshops were held at provincial, district and ward levels. The workshops helped to educate key
stakeholders on the objectives of the project and on the value of medicinal plants.
Capacity development sessions were also conducted mainly at ward levels. These focused on developing
capacity among communities and traditional medical practitioners in areas of project and nursery/woodlots
management and business development and marketing strategies. Project beneficiaries were also trained in
sustainable methods of harvesting medicinal plants.
Laboratory studies were conducted a total of 28 medicinal pants. It was established most of the claims made by
traditional practitioners were true since the plants were found to have some medicinal value. Most of the plants
could be used to treat opportunistic infections. Plants with high potential were identified and documented and
recommended for further investigations.
Output 3: Cultivation of Threatened Medicinal Plants
A total of 15 nurseries were established but most of them did not do well since they were negatively affected by
the droughts which affected all the project areas during the projects five year period. A total of 11 none use
areas and woodlots were established and these are managed by project beneficiaries using locally developed
rules and regulations
Output 4; Promote establishment of Small Businesses for Processing and Marketing.
Three processing facilities were established out of the five planned. The one facility located in urban area is
able to market its products while the two located in rural areas have problems in marketing their products.
Challenges were also encountered relating to the adoption of appropriate technology for processing medicinal
plants and packaging the products
Output 5; Development of Appropriate Legal Framework
A legal framework to control access to genetic resources and indigenous knowledge has been developed and is
now ready for gazetting and publication. The legal framework also addresses issues relating to Intellectual
Property Rights and benefit sharing.
2. What factors affected the achievement of programme or project results?
Achievement of the project targeted results was affected by the following;
a) Lack of transport for district task team members to monitor project implementation
b) Failure to decentralize project budget to district level
c) Political environment affected the operation of the NGO partners since they were not allowed to visit
project sites for most part of 2008.
d) Economic environment which made purchasing of materials required for project implementation
difficult due to daily changes of prizes due to high inflation.
e) Delays in the processing of purchase orders and request for payments
f) Limited technologies for processing and packaging
3. What lessons (both positive and negative) can be drawn from the experience of the programme or project?
The following lessons were learnt from implementing the project:
a) Stakeholder participation in the planning and implementation of projects is an important tool in
ensuring that projects address beneficiaries concerns and needs. This ensures ownership by
beneficiaries.
b) Projects involving cultivation of indigenous trees require a long period of implementation for full
results to be realized. The five year period for the project was just too shot for this component of the
project
c) Some traditional practitioners hold the view that cultivated spies are less effective in providing
traditional medicine compared to those growing in the wild while others are happy to use cultivated
species and have even gone to the extent of growing some medicinal plants around their homesteads for
their own use.
d) While knowledge of plants with medicinal value is the domain of elders and traditional practitioners ,
lessons from the project implementation show that communities with youths involvement perform
better in areas of project implementation, record keeping, providing secretarial support at workshops
and meetings and documentation of experiences and information. Youth involvement also ensures
project sustainability and passing of knowledge on medicinal plants from the elders and traditional
practitioners to the youth.
e) Some plants studied have potential global benefits since they were found to have potential of treating
AIDS related opportunistic infections. But more time and resources are required to support further
studies to establish their full potential and effectiveness.
f) Experiences from implementation of the project demonstrated that constant project monitoring,
provision of technical backstopping and community mobilization by extension offices are required to
ensure successful project implementation. This is particularly so in biodiversity conservation projects
whose benefits in most cases are in the distance future.
g) An appropriate political and economic environment is necessary for the successful implementation of
projects. The implementing partners in the NGO sector failed to implement their planned activities as
they were not allowed to visit rural communities for political reasons. On the economic front purchases
of materials required for project implementation could not be effected due to high inflation which
resulted in the daily changes in prizes making quotations sourced meaningless. During the final year of
the project all payments had to be suspended during the fourth quarter as the UNDP system failed to
accommodate the zeros resulting from the depreciation of the Zimbabwean dollar.
4. What are the views of the target groups with regard to the programme or project? Please note any
significant gender-based differences in their views.
Community groups are of the view that this was a good programme that was under funded especially in areas of
extension work, technical backstopping, community mobilization, capacity development and provision of
required materials. Community groups complained that district task teams were not visiting as often as they
would have liked. Women groups were of the opinion that besides focusing on conservation and sustainable use
of medicinal plants, the project should have a component on water provision. They argued that this would have
gone a long was in providing water for the nurseries and also meeting their daily water requirements. Men felt
the project should have had a component focusing on medicinal plants for animals so as to expand their
knowledge on plants they can use to treat the various dieses affecting their livestock.
5. If the programme or project has been evaluated, what is the implementation status of the
recommendations made by the evaluators?
The projects terminal evaluation has been conducted but the terminal evaluation report is still to be finalized.
6. What activities or steps do you recommend as follow-up to the project?
The following activities are recommended as follow –up to the project;
a) Further laboratory studies are required for plants that were found to have high potential before these can be
recommended for the development of traditional medicine.
b) Capacity development in entrepreneurship skills for processing and marketing medicinal plants products.
c) Establishment of small businesses for processing and marketing in the remaining two districts of Chipinge
and Mangwe.
d) A programme focusing on cultivation of medicinal plants be undertaken with a ten to fifteen years period
so that an opportunity is created for the comparison of the medicinal value of cultivated plants and those
growing in the wild.
e) Local authorities need to be capacitated to implement the provisions of the regulations on protection of
Genetic Resources and Indigenous Knowledge Systems developed as part of implementing the project.
f) Need to ensure that results of laboratory studies are disseminated to key stakeholders particularly to those
in the Health sector so that they can contribute to the development of traditional medicine in Zimbabwe.
7. Provide any other information that may further support or clarify your assessment of the programme or project.
You may include annexes as you deem necessary.
The projects cultivation component was negatively affected by climate change. The five year period during
which the project was implemented was characterized by annual droughts which made raising of seedlings and
cultivation of threatened species difficult. Some components of the project such as cultivation of indigenous
trees, establishing viable businesses and laboratory investigations required more time than the projects five year
period for meaningful results to be realised. It is recommended that specific project proposals be developed wit
appropriate timeframe so that all the information generated as part of implementing the project can be utilized
for the benefit of Zimbabweans and that of the international community.
For target groups:
Name:
Title:
Signature:
Date:
For the programme or project management:
Name: Mzondiwa Shoko
Title: Project Manager
Signature:
Date:
For the government:
Name: I. D. Kunene
Title: Director for Environment
Signature:
Date:
For UNDP:
Name:
Title:
Signature:
Date:
PART III: Programme/project summary table
Programme or project title and
number:
Designated institution:
Conservation and Sustainable Use of Management arrangement:
Traditional
Medicinal
Plants
in
Zimbabwe: Zim/01/g35/a/1g/99
Ministry of Environment and Tourism
Period covered:
National Steering Committee
Implementing Partners
District Task Teams
May 2003 to December 2008
OVERALL ASSESSMENT
Brief analysis of progress achieved in the contribution of the programme or project to the expected results.
Progress was made in implementing activities aimed at achieving the project expected results as follows:
a) Documentation of plants, plants with medicinal value, threatened medicinal plants and indigenous knowledge used in traditional medicine
was successfully done. Publications made included Harvesting Guidelines for traditional medicinal plants, Commercialization Strategy,
Plants used by communities for medicinal purposes, Laboratory studies results and vegetation distribution maps
b) Awareness raising workshops on the project were held at provincial, district and ward levels. Communities were capacitated in areas of
business development and project and nursery management. Twenty –eight plants were subjected to laboratory investigations and were
disseminated to key stakeholders and traditional practitioners
c) A total 15 nurseries and 11 woodlots and none – use areas were established.
d) Three processing facilities were established out of a target of five.
e) A legal framework addressing issues relating to access to genetic resources and indigenous knowledge as well as benefit haring was
developed and is awaiting gazetting.
FINANCIAL SUMMARY
Source of funds
Budget
($ ‘000)
Estimated expenditure
($ ‘000)
Delivery rate
(%)
TRAC (1+2)
TRAC 3
Other GEF
Cost-sharing:
Government
Financial institution
Third party (SAFIRE)
974,000.00
960,000.00
380,000.00
380,000.00
250,000.00
250,000.00
Trust funds
AOS (where applicable)
SUMMARY OF RESULTS
Programme support objectives
Indicators
(PSOs) or Immediate Objectives
Conservation,
sustainable Conservation
status
of
traditional
Obj. 1 use and cultivation of medicinal significantly improved by the
medicinal plants in five pilot end of the project
sites in Zimbabwe
Endangered medicinal plants used
sustainably by traditional practitioners and
communities in project areas
Commercialization of medicinal plants
based on best practices, value – adding
enterprises and cultivation established by
end of project
Development of a legal Principles of sustainable use of medicinal
Obj. 2 framework for conservation, plants and equitable sharing of benefits
sustainable
use
and integrated into national and local
equitable sharing of benefits legislation by the end of the project.
from Traditional Medicinal
plants
Achievements
Conservation status improved due to awareness, use of
harvesting guidelines and local rules and regulations
Both traditional practitioners and communities are using
endangered species sustainably using developed harvesting
guidelines
15 nurseries and 11woodlots established, and 3 processing
enterprises established out of a target of 5
Legal framework for promoting controlling access to genetic
resources and benefit sharing has been developed.
Principles of sustainable use of medicinal plants have been
integrated in the national policy on traditional medicine and
these are also being integrated in the work plans of the five
local authorities that participated in the project
implementation
Output targets
Obj. 1: Conservation, sustainable
use and cultivation of medicinal
plants in five pilots site in
Zimbabwe
Output 01: Conservation status and
knowledge of threatened medicinal
plants improved
Achievement of outputs
1. Documentation of plants used by communities for medicinal purposes, parts used and
ailment cured done for each of the project site.
2. Inventory of threatened medicinal plants at each project site in place
3. Harvesting guidelines to promote the sustainable harvesting and utilization of medicinal
plants in Zimbabwe produced and distributed to key stakeholders.
Output 02: Stakeholder benefits from
sustainable use of medicinal plants
increased.
1. Forty (40) stakeholder awareness meetings conducted and anti-poaching strategies developed to
reduce poaching of medicinal plants at three project sites.
2. Awareness materials to promote conservation of threatened medicinal plants, help communities
know their legal rights and development of skills commercialization of medicinal plants.
3. Eleven (11) woodlots and none –use areas established and local rules and regulations produced
to control access and utilization of species within the none use zones.
Output 03: Cultivation of threatened
medicinal plants greatly expanded
1. Thirty (30) capacity building sessions on nursery and woodland management, sixteen (16) on
entrepreneurial skills development and fifteen (15)on project management were held.
2. Fifteen (15) nurseries were established for propagation of threatened medicinal plants.
3. Propagation methods developed for 4 plants at each project site.
Output
04:
Small
businesses
promoted
for
processing
and
marketing of cultivated medicinal
plants
Obj. 2 Development a legal
framework
for
conservation,
sustainable use and equitable
sharing of benefits from medicinal
plants
1. Utilization and sector analysis studies done and reports produced.
2. Commercialization strategy produced and communicated to key stakeholders.
3. Three operation facilities for processing and marketing medicinal plants products established at
project sites in Bulilima, Chimanimani and Matobo districts
Output 05 Principles sustainable use
and equitable sharing of benefits
from medicinal plants integrated in
national and local legislation
…
1. Legal framework developed with participation of stakeholders. Final document has been
approved by all key stakeholders including the Office of the Attorney General. The document is
ready for gazetting
2. Formulation of National Policy on Traditional Medicine has been finalized and launched.
3. Five local authorities incorporating medicinal plants in their district development plans.