Abstract
The final performance evaluation of the USAID Regional Climate Change Program (RCCP) in the Central American region evaluated: (1) the most significant intended and unintended results achieved by RCCP; (2) the extent to which the results are aligned with national and regional climate change strategies, needs, and priorities in Central America; (3) the extent to which the RCCP has built local capacity in the region to address climate change issues; and (4) the approaches and results that have the potential to exist after USAID funding ends. The evaluation was predominantly qualitative and focused on processes that have led to changes in attitudes and empowerment, and the Program's role in these processes. A total of 118 individuals from Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Panama were interviewed (36 percent were women). The evaluation found that RCCP has developed practical methodologies and tools to help different countries move forward on customized ?Reducing Emissions from Deforestation, Forest Degradation, Conservation and Sustainable Management" issues (REDD+). The Program learned how to develop national agendas following a common methodology that included consultation, free and informed prior consultation, and social and environmental safeguards aligned with commitments and international agreements, including economic development options to benefit women, indigenous, and forest-dependent communities. There were numerous activities conducive to building local capacity. Knowledge and skills were transferred from end-users to planners in central government offices. Centro Clima was created as a regional private-public partnership to provide specialized meteorological services and inputs needed to craft tools to help stakeholders in different sectors decrease their vulnerability associated with climate change. Thus, Centro Clima is a regional asset. Coffee Cloud and Clima Pesca are two apps praised by the end users, but their sustainability depends on suitable inter-institutional arrangements. (Author abstract)