11 Background, Objectives, and Scope of the Evaluation Since Japan established diplomatic relations with Costa Rica and Nicaragua in 1935, Japan has had a longstanding relationship with both countries except during World War II. Japan’s ODA to Nicaragua and Costa Rica began in 1964 and 1973, respectively. The objectives of the evaluation are to obtain lessons and recommendations for formulating and implementing future ODA policy, as well as contribute to improvement of ODA in order to enhance accountability. I. Costa Rica Brief Summary of Evaluation ResultsDevelopment Viewpoints(1) Relevance of Policies (Rating A: Highly Satisfactory) As a whole, the relevance of policies is extremely high in terms of consistency with Japan’s high-level ODA policies, priority areas of the national development plan of Costa Rica, international priority issues, and complementarity with other donors’ assistance. Japan’s ODA to Costa Rica has been formulated in consideration of Japan’s comparative advantages, such as dispatching Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers in supporting the socially vulnerable and technical cooperation for geothermal development in the environmental sector. Furthermore, Japan has been cooperating with the Inter-American Development Bank in supporting Costa Rica through co-financing program in geothermal development. Such co-financing program shows high mutual complementariness with other donors.(2) Effectiveness of Results (Rating B: Satisfactory) A certain level of contribution was confirmed in general, although the degree of effect was different depending on the priority area. The evaluation team found that the degree of effect in the environmental sector was particularly high due to the largest input among all sectors. The evaluation team also highly regarded the effects of Japan’s support for the socially vulnerable, such as enacting the law on independence of persons with disabilities. However, the Rolling Plans of Japan’s ODA for Costa Rica should be sorted more logically for a clear indication of the degree of contribution achieved.(3) Appropriateness of Processes (Rating B: Satisfactory) Japan’s ODA policy for Costa Rica was formulated through appropriate discussions between the two countries. Although both Evaluation of Japan’s ODA to Costa Rica and Nicaragua (Brief Summary)governments recognized the formulation of a cooperation project as time-consuming, they have been coordinating well to design projects with careful consideration of their conditions.Diplomatic Viewpoints(1) Diplomatic Importance It is essential to continue Japan’s ODA to Costa Rica in order to maintain and reinforce the good bilateral relationship since Japan’s ODA is a foundation for a favorable bilateral relationship. Japan’s ODA to Costa Rica, known as an internationally significant country in the environment sector, and its collaborative work of both countries convey Japan’s contribution to combat climate change to the international community, which has significant importance for Japan. Japan regards promoting the regional integration of Central America essential. Therefore, ODA to Costa Rica, one of Central American countries, has high diplomatic significance to contribute to promoting regional integration.(2) Diplomatic Impact Japan’s ODA could promote bilateral relationship in both public and private sectors and help foster people with a favorable feeling towards Japan, which can be a foundation of mutually trusting relationships between the two countries. Further, the implementation of triangular cooperation has improved Japan’s presence in Latin America. Japan’s ODA can also facilitate business expansion of Japanese companies in Latin America and could contribute to Japan’s economic development. Recommendations(1) Continuation of the Cooperation for Climate Change Mitigation Japan should continue the assistance to Costa Rica in climate change mitigation, especially to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 25% from 2012 to 2030 in the urban transportation sector which has a growing need for continuous assistance. It is, particularly, worth examining possibility of Japan’s cooperation to facilitate alternative public transportation, such as train system, which could contribute to a notable reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by using Japan’s technology and experiences of cooperation in other countries.(2) Cooperation to Vitalize Rural Areas Japan should extend the cooperation nationwide to reduce disparities between urban and rural areas. Based on the experience of cooperation, Japan could support systematization of diffusing the “livelihood improvement approach” and also provide technical assistance for promotion of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in rural areas.(3) Making use of the Experiences of Costa Rica for Better ODA Policy Elaboration for Other Middle-Income Countries Although Costa Rica has experienced steady economic expansion and become a middle-income country, it struggles with various problems that hinder it from becoming a developed country, such as financial crises, economic disparity among citizens, and educational inequity. Other middle-income countries are also facing similar issues. Thus, implementing a study to sort out and identify critical issues in Costa Rica as a middle-income country may enable to specify the relevant themes and means of ODA. Such findings can be useful in the formulation of development cooperation policies for other middle-income countries.(4) Promoting Triangular Cooperation with Costa Rica as a Partner Costa Rica currently promotes triangular cooperation actively. Japan should implement triangular cooperation with Costa Rica to other Latin American countries in order to strengthen the capacity of Costa Rica to implement cooperation. It is beneficial for Japan to cooperate with other Latin American countries through Costa Rica for smooth communication of skills and knowledge due to the use of same language and similarity in culture. In addition, it could be more cost effective and reduced workload for Japan than implementing bilateral cooperation. It could be effective for Japan to provide technical training in the environmental sector, such as geothermal development, in particular, where Japan has advanced technology and experience. (5) Examining PR Strategies Targeting a Wide Range of Population It is necessary to develop PR strategies to generate greater exposure of the assistance and raise public awareness of Japan’s Solar panels installed with cooperation of Japan (Costa Rica)Note: The field survey was not conducted in Nicaragua due to the social-political instability during the planned survey period.Evaluators (Evaluation Team)Chief Evaluator: Yasunaga Takachiho, Professor, North Asia UniversityAdvisor:Tomomi Kozaki,Professor, Senshu UniversityConsultant: Koei Research & Consulting Inc.Target Period2006 - 2017 (Costa Rica) / 2007 - 2017 (Nicaragua)Evaluation PeriodJuly 2018 - March 2019Field Survey CountryCosta RicaNote: The following was prepared by ODA Evaluation Division based on the report provided by the evaluation team.Full text is available here:https://www.mofa.go.jp/policy/oda/evaluation/FY2018/pdfs/costarica_nicaragua.pdf
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