Please help me with this sturcutre, designed to

Question

Please help me to understand out the structure of the following sentence:

if appropriate, you should consider formulating national and regional action plans, incorporating timetables, targets and provisions for funding, designed to enhance enforcement of CITES, achieve compliance with its provisions, and support wildlife-law enforcement agencies.

(https://stag.cites.org/sites/default/files/document/E-Res-11-03-R17A.pdf )

Here, I don't understand what "designed to enhance..." is. Is this modifying something before the phrase? Or is it acting like an adverb?

Answer 1

This sentence is confusingly written and badly punctuated. I think that it makes the most sense to consider "designed to enhance..." as a participial clause that modifies plans. I've tried to explicate the meaning by inserting explanatory words in bold that don't belong to the original.

if appropriate, you should consider formulating [the following two kinds of plans namely]

    1. national [action plans] and
    2. regional action plans,

[which plans should be] incorporating [the following three things, namely]

    1. timetables,
    2. targets [,] and
    3. provisions for funding,

[and which plans should be] designed [to do the following three things, namely]

    1. to enhance enforcement of CITES,
    2. [to] achieve compliance with its provisions, and
    3. [to] support wildlife-law enforcement agencies.

Answer 2

It’s a poorly worded sentence, imho.

The “incorporating timetables, targets and provisions for funding” describes the expected contents of the action plans, and would be clearer if it were a separate sentence.

The “designed to...” part then describes the purpose or goals of the action plans.

if appropriate, you should consider formulating national and regional action plans designed to enhance enforcement of CITES, achieve compliance with its provisions, and support wildlife-law enforcement agencies.

Any action plans should incorporate timetables, targets and provisions for funding