The lwokrama International Centre for Rain Forest Conservation and Development (the 'Centre') is responsible for the management, conservation and sustainable development of 360,000 ha of tropical rain forest pledged to the international community by the President of Guyana in 1989. The Centre was legally established in Guyana in 1996 with support from the Commonwealth Secretariat.

DFID has been actively involved in the lwokrama initiative since its inception. DFID has provided support for resource surveys and site demarcation, as well as preparation of the Centre's Business Plan. Through the 'Guyana Forestry Commission Support Project' DFID has also helped to draft an MoU between the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) and the Centre. In 1996, IIC submitted a proposal for the funding of the post of Director of Programme Implementation; this has subsequently changed to the Senior Staff Support Project. In 1997, DFID undertook to provide funding of £3.0 million for a Sustainable Human Development Project that will support elements of the Centre's Business Plan and Operational Plan 1998-2002.

This project will support senior staff costs, and in particular those of the Director of Programme Implementation (DPI), during the Centre's initial operational phase. The DPI will be responsible for managing the planning, operation and routine monitoring and evaluation of the Centre's core operational programmes.

The purpose of this project is to ensure that the Centre has the key managerial skills and resources needed to efficiently plan, supervise and monitor the initial implementation of its Operational Plan 1998-2002. This will assist the Centre to meet its primary objective of promoting the conservation and sustainable and equitable use of tropical moist forests in a manner that leads to lasting ecological, economic and social benefits for the people of Guyana and the world in general. This approach is consistent with current DFID policy in relation to poverty reduction and tropical forest conservation.

In addition to the post of DPI, the project will provide short-term support for two consultancy inputs. The first consultancy (March-May 1998) will assist the Director General of the Centre with interpretation, training, and technical oversight of the Centre's field station. The second consultancy (March 1998) will support the Director General in redrafting of the Centre's Business Plan in light of firm funding commitments, reviewing current inventory work as a prelude to management planning for the Centre's Sustainable Utilisation Programme, and preliminary management planning for the Georgetown-Lethem Road Corridor through the lwokrama Forest.

Initial implementation of the IIC operational plan 1998-2002 effectively planned, supervised and monitored:

*Presence of an appropriately qualified and experienced Director of Programme Implementation.

*Timely production of annual work plans and budgets.

*Timely production of Annual Reports and other reports needed to monitor and evaluate programme implementation and effectiveness.

1. Thematic teams for programme implementation developed and their progress supervised and monitored:

2. Technical plans for key programme elements prepared.

3. Successful implementation of the Centre's sub-programmes.

3.2. Performance in relation to indicators defined in the detailed work plans.