Pacific Environmental Information Network (PEIN): monitoring report

Abstract

Relevance and quality of design The issues of inadequate resourcing and staffing of libraries and information centres have been identified as a weakness of the development framework that needed be addressed by governments and donors. Weaknesses include the identification and collection of documents, bibliographical registration, staffing and training of libraries and government financial support. The proposal by SPREP to develop a capacity across the member states in the region for an information system on environmental issues was very relevant, given the difficulties of environment institutions and the public in general to access comprehensive and adapted sources of information. The first phase of PEIN {2000-2003} allowed establishing the central library at SPREP headquarters in Apia, but funding was too limited to allow significant capacity building in the countries. The new proposal was intended to develop information databases and hubs across the 14 PACP countries. The final evaluation of PEIN 1 indicated that national libraries were used mostly by school students and barely by professionals; it had also put in doubt the sustainability of the project once external funding would end. An important hypothesis was that libraries and hubs in national environment institutions would obtain strategic government support for operational costs so that material and training provided by the project could be made good use of. This hypothesis was not verified in most countries. libraries retrained at the bottom of priorities in cash strapped Environment Departments, and manned with undertraincd or transient staff. The new project manager put in charge in 2007 was able to adjust the strategy and scale up the use of internet and digital databases, focusing the project on developing a web-based platform easier to manage and accessible to all users in the countries and beyond. The addendum 1 granted no cost extension and the endorsed PEIN 2008 Annual Work Programme and logframe changed the focus towards establishing National Environment Information Centers (NEIC) instead of traditional libraries.