This phase of the project, whose purpose is to prepare a SAP for the sustainable development of the SJRB, will continue to be executed by the governments of Costa Rica and Nicaragua, through MINAE and MARENA respectively. A series of well-defined activities will have to be implemented in each country and throughout the SJRB. The coordination of these activities will be carried out by the two technical units in the national executing ministries. UNEP and OAS will support Project Execution. OAS, due to its historic involvement in the basin, its partnership with UNEP in similar projects within the region, and its role in implementing activities under related projects, will act as Executing Agency and manager of the funds provided to the project by UNEP on behalf of GEF, consistent with UNEP financial reporting requirements.
The technical units charged with drafting the SAP will each have a national director, appointed by the executing ministry, and a technical coordinator to be contracted by the OSDE/OAS in consultation with the governments and UNEP for the full 36 months of the project.

A Steering Committee will be established for the project, composed of the ministers of MINAE and MARENA, a representative of each country’s Foreign Ministry, representatives of associations of municipalities, the Director of OSDE/OAS, the Director of the Division of Environmental Information Assessment and Early Warning of UNEP, and the project’s two national directors. Observers will include the other two GEF implementing agencies (World Bank and UNDP), the technical coordinators, and other cooperation agencies willing to be part of the SAP. This board will be the highest organ of the project and will meet at least twice a year. It is charged with approving the work plans of the technical units, the terms of reference of the demonstration projects, and any advisory opinions that OAS/OSDE may present in concert with the national directors and the technical coordinators. Also, any significant change to programs and budgets must be approved at this level.

A Consultative Committee will be set up in each country. It will include national institutions involved in the management of the SJRB, private organizations taking part in the project and academic institutions. Its role will be to promote the active participation of the institutions and to advise on the orientations of the project. It will be co-chaired by the national directors and will also serve as a mechanism for the coordination of national actions.

Binational coordination will be promoted at various levels and through the exchange of information of the demonstration projects. To make progress on the studies and the preparation of the SAP, six binational workshops (two each a year) are being planned.

Seven meetings of the Steering Committee are being planned for the three-year period. Six will be in Costa Rica and Nicaragua.The final meeting at the end of the period, will take place in Washington, D.C. It is anticipated that the last couple of Steering Committee meetings will be preceded by donor roundtables to ensure donors buy-in and financial support for the SAP.

Successful implementation of the project will depend on the active participation of stakeholders in the Basin. To assure this, the proposal has specific elements for participation. Thus, the programs on public participation and education and training are of fundamental importance.

More than 100 institutions, government agencies, and civil society organizations took part in preparing this proposal, contributing their experience and hands-on knowledge to identify the elements needed to formulate, validate and identify the strategy for the formulation of the a SAP. In addition, more than 40 technical proposals, pilot project proposals, and recommendations for action were received. Studies carried out by consultants and technical reports and other government documentation from both countries were also important sources. Information was thus gleaned to complement the Diagnostic Study of the San Juan River Basin and Guidelines for a Plan of Action and to discover any gaps in knowledge and understanding of current and emerging transboundary environmental problems.

In addition to the public participation, fourteen consultants worked on this proposal: four from Costa Rica, five from Nicaragua, and five from other countries. The proposal is consistent with the environmental policies of Costa Rica and Nicaragua, and both MINAE and MARENA were regularly consulted. Two meetings with the cooperating agencies were organized, to open the doors of the project even wider and to make it a catalyst for generating other sources of financing for activities identified as priorities for the sustainable development of the SJRB. They proved very useful in learning about current and planned activities and in seeking mechanisms for coordination.

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