Action F includes activities for overall project management and monitoring.
ACTION F.1: Establishment of project office and administration
Project office was situated in the main office building of the administration of Ķemeri National Park, thereby facilitating close co-ordination between the project and the overall park administration. Establishment of the project office included some minor renovations, purchase of office equipment and furniture. The recruitment and contracting of the project’s core staff was done during the initial stage of the project. The procurement of vehicles and other durable goods necessary for project implementation was also undertaken early in the project period.
ACTION F.2: Project administration
The project`s day-to-day co-ordination and management was the responsibility of Project Manager, who worked in close co-operation with park’s Director. The Project Manager was assisted by Project Secretary and Project Co-ordinator, supervising all the other project staff, overseeing the quality of the work and ensuring efficient project implementation according to the planned work schedule.
Experiences and lessons on wetland conservation were also obtained during consultations and information exchange with other protected areas in Latvia, having similar habitats and facing the same problems, e.g., Engure Nature Park and Teici Nature Reserve, Lake Pape area (WWF-Latvia’s project on natural grazing), lake Lubans area etc.
Internal monitoring of project activities was undertaken in a systematic manner, by the project administration. This included the monitoring of progress of sub-contractors, based upon clear and concise contractual agreements which specified the responsibilities of the parties involved, the scope of work, inputs, outputs, timing and budgets. This action included as well the project`s audit (done both at the interim and final stage of the project).
ACTION F.3: Project monitoring
In order to identify the project’s specific impacts and outcomes, the project administration established, implemented and reported on the monitoring of both the hydrological and habitat changes during the project period. The collection of available hydrological data were important for establishment of baseline information and the monitoring of hydrological changes. Habitat changes were monitored using on-site photographs taken in order to compare the state of habitats before and after management. Simultaneously, biological monitoring of species and habitats were carried out and linked to the related management measures.