Environmental protection and conservation responsibilities are shared between the Science
Technology and Environment Agency (STEA) and Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF),
with the former recognized as the country’s apex environment policy making and oversight
agency, while the latter is responsible for forestry and biodiversity functions. Given the project’s
objectives, STEA emerges as a natural choice to lead the project, although in partnership with
MAF and Ministry of Industry and Handicrafts (MIH). Together with these two Ministries, and
the Ministry of Finance (MOF), STEA is working to establish the LECF. Once operational, the
LECF will become the main financing vehicle for environmental protection and conservation in
the country. Project preparation has focused on arriving at implementation arrangements for the
project that recognize: (i) the primacy of STEA in environmental policy making and regulation,
(ii) the technical responsibilities of MAF and MIH, (iii) the mandate of provinces in managing
environmental quality, and (iv) the potential role of LECF. At the same time, a key premise has
been that any structure instituted should be a permanent part of the institutional architecture.