Members of the Regional Advisory Committee (RAC) at the CEPF Caribbean Islands Midterm Assessment Meeting in the Dominican Republic. From left to right; front to back: Leisa Perch, Maria Peña, Marilyn Headley, Leonie Barnaby, Maria Eugenia Morales, Natalya Lawrence, Lloyd Gardner, Fitzgerald Providence, Maximo Viñas and Peter Edwards. Credit: Fondazione AVSI.
Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF) grant applications go through a rigorous review process. In addition to being assessed against specific criteria by the CEPF Secretariat and the Regional Implementation Team (RIT), they also undergo independent review by members of a Regional Advisory Committee (RAC).
The RAC comprises experts from across the region who have extensive knowledge and expertise biodiversity conservation, civil society, capacity building, climate change, creation and management of protected areas and ecosystems and environmental and forest management in the countries eligible for CEPF support. In addition to providing reviews using specific evaluation criteria, RAC reviewers help provide advice on alignment with national development plans, national adaptation plans and major initiatives in the environment sector in the Caribbean Islands Biodiversity Hotspot.
The RAC will also help validate data and information provided by grantees as part of the overall monitoring and evaluation of the project.
The RAC current comprises the 13 experts listed below:
- Leonie Barnaby, National Steering Committee, GEF Small Grants Programme (Jamaica)
- Peter Edwards, The Pew Charitable Trusts (USA)
- Carlos Garcia, The Nature Conservancy (Dominican Republic)
- Lloyd Gardner, Foundation for Development Planning Inc. (US Virgin Islands)
- Marilyn Headley, Independent Forestry, Environment & Climate Change Consultant (Jamaica)
- Natalya Lawrence, Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (Antigua & Barbuda)
- Maria Eugenia Morales, United Nations Development Programme (Dominican Republic)
- Maria Peña, UWI CERMES (Barbados)
- Leisa Perch, Gender and Environment Consultant (Barbados)
- Fitzgerald Providence, Forest Department, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (St Vincent & the Grenadines)
- Alberto Sanchez, GEF Small Grants Programme (Dominican Republic)
- Adelle Thomas, University of the Bahamas/Climate Analytics (The Bahamas/USA)
- Máximo Eduardo Viñas Nardi, Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (Dominican Republic)
Former RAC members include:
- Joan John-Norville, Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (Saint Lucia)
- José Manuel Mateo Feliz, Ministerio de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales (Dominican Republic)
For more information, visit the:
- CEPF Caribbean Islands Biodiversity Hotspot webpage
- Caribbean RIT project webpage