BBRSO43516: Protected Area Management Plans Review Consultant

The Grenada "Ridge to Reef Project" is designed to support Grenada's compliance with a number of agreed-upon international environmental management and conservation strategies, policies and plans with the technical and financial assistance from the Global Environmental Facility (GEF). The project intervention is essentially a complement to the Government of Grenada's efforts, on the local level, to fulfil its obligations to various United Nations Convention and Protocols with respect to biodiversity and eco-systems functions/services by applying program/based delivery systems.

The Project will improve the sustainability of the protected areas system and address the need and deliberate application of biodiversity, sustainable land management, sustainable forest management/Reduction of emissions from deforestation and degradation of forests, land degradation and climate change adaptation principles and practices.

The Ridge to Reef Project will provide multiple global and local benefits by strengthening land, forest and reef management processes (eco-systems functions) and biodiversity conservation on all terrestrial landscapes and marine asand seascapes in Grenada, especially within and around the marine and terrestrial protected areas. This will be achieved through a multi-focal strategy having a “Ridge to Reef” approach that increases protected areas’ management effectiveness and applies targeted land management practices to include:

• Development of legal, policy, planning, institutional and regulatory frameworks in support of a sustainably managed network of Terrestrial Protected Areas (TPAs) and Marine Protected Areas (MPAs);

• Development and management of landscapes and seascapes by adopting the approach of integrating sustainable land management (SLM) and sustainable forest management (SFM)/REDD+ principles and practices as a matter of public policy (integrated approach for managing forest ecosystems, protection and sustainable use of the biodiversity, prevention of land/sea degradation, and integration of people’s livelihood objectives within the management of forest and marine eco-systems.); and

• By piloting SFM/REDD+ and SLM practices in the Annandale/Beausejour watershed to improve carbon stocks, reducing deforestation, reducing susceptibility to drought (and forest fires) and consequent land degradation that would impact downstream landscapes and seascapes.

Need for Protected Area Management Plans

In addition to the establishment of marine and terrestrial protected areas as part of a national land use system, it is critical to have a management plan for each protected area within the system. Currently, there are seven management plans for protected areas in Grenada’s overall system. Six other management plans for Mt. St. Catherine, Morne Gazo, Conference Bay, White Island, Rhone Island Archipelago and Levera, are being prepared as part of the Project.

The Ridge to Reef project calls for the revision of five existing protected area management plans (Moliniere/Beausejour Marine Protected Area, Sandy Island/Oyster Bay Marine Protected Area, Mt. Hartman National Park, Perseverance Protected Area and Grand Etang/Annandale Forest Reserve) to ensure that these management plan address the components in IUCN Management Planning for Natural World Heritage Properties-A Resource Manual for Practioners-2008 and specifically ensure keen and deliberate application of the following principles and practices, as appropriate:

• Biodiversity (BD)
• Sustainable land management (SLM)
• Sustainable forest management (SFM)
• Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation and the roles of conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of forest carbon stocks in developing countries (REDD+)
• Land degradation (LD), and
• Climate change adaptation (CCA).

DOCUMENTS TO BE INCLUDED WHEN SUBMITTING THE PROPOSALS

Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications:

1. Proposal:

        (i) Explaining why they are the most suitable for the work

2. Personal CV including past experience in similar projects and at least 3 references

3. Financial proposal

FINANCIAL PROPOSAL

Lump sum contracts

The financial proposal shall specify a total lump sum amount, and payment terms around specific and measurable (qualitative and quantitative) deliverables (i.e. whether payments fall in installments or upon completion of the entire contract). Payments are based upon output, i.e. upon delivery of the services specified in the TOR.  In order to assist the requesting unit in the comparison of financial proposals, the financial proposal will include a breakdown of this lump sum amount (including travel, per diems, and number of anticipated working days).

Travel

All envisaged travel costs must be included in the financial proposal. This includes all travel to join duty station/repatriation travel.  In general, UNDP should not accept travel costs exceeding those of an economy class ticket. Should the IC wish to travel on a higher class he/she should do so using their own resources.

In the case of unforeseeable travel, payment of travel costs including tickets, lodging and terminal expenses should be agreed upon, between the respective business unit and Individual Consultant, prior to travel and will be reimbursed.

EVALUATION

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on the following methodology:

Cumulative analysis

When using this weighted scoring method, the award of the contract should be made to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

a) responsive/compliant/acceptable, and

b) Having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical and financial criteria specific to the solicitation.

* Technical Criteria weight; [70%]

* Financial Criteria weight; [30%]

Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 49 points would be considered for the Financial Evaluation

ANNEXES

ANNEX I – TERMS OF REFERENCES (TOR) – separate TOR only provided for complex procurement; otherwise, see above

ANNEX II – GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS

ANNEX III – OFFEROR’S LETTER

ANNEX IV – FINANCIAL PROPOSAL TEMPLATE

ANNEX V – SAMPLE INDIVIDUAL CONTRACT

ANNEX VI – P11 FORM

SCOPE OF WORK, RESPONSIBILITIES AND DESCRIPTION OF THE PROPOSED ANALYTICAL WORK

In association with the Project Coordinating Unit (PCU) and the Forestry and National Parks Department/Ministry of Tourism and the Fisheries Division, as appropriate, this consultancy will review and propose amendments to the five existing management plans (Moliniere/Beausejour Marine Protected Area, Sandy Island/Oyster Bay Marine Protected Area, Mt. Hartman National Park, Perseverance Protected Area and Grand Etang/Annandale Forest Reserve) to ensure keen and deliberate application of BD, SLM, SFM/REDD+, LD and CCA principles and practices, as appropriate. The five existing protected area management plans are contained in the following link: https://bit.ly/2Gp3s4H.

KEY TASKS AND ACTIVITIES

The specific tasks to be undertaken by the Consultant include:

Task 1: Preparation of a detailed Inception Report

Following inception meeting(s) with the PCU, the Forestry and National Parks Department/Ministry of Tourism and the Fisheries Division, an inception report will be prepared and submitted to the PCU to include:

1. Methodology for revising the management plans;
2. Proposed table of contents for the revised management plans; and
3. Finalised work plan and timetable.

Task 2: Preparation of Draft Management Plan Amendments

Based on the approval of the Inception Report, individual amendments to the five existing management plans will be prepared in keeping with the IUCN Management Planning for Natural World Heritage Properties-A Resource Manual for Practioners-2008 and to ensure keen and deliberate application of BD, SLM, SFM/REDD+, LD and CCA principles and practices, as appropriate.

Task 3: Stakeholder consultations on the Draft Management Plan Amendments

In association with the Fisheries Division, the Forestry and National Parks Division/Ministry of Tourism and the Project Coordinating Unit (PCU), the draft management plan amendments will be reviewed through extensive stakeholder consultations with relevant government agencies, NGOs, CBOs, key community members in and around each of the protected areas, and relevant stakeholder actors. A report on the consultations will be prepared and submitted to the PCU for approval.

Task 4: Finalizing the Final Management Plan Amendments

Following the completion of Task 3, the consultant will modify the amendments based on the comments and feedback received through the stakeholder consultations and submit the final management plan amendments to the PCU for approval.

Task 5: Preparation of a Final Report to Project Coordinating Unit

The Consultant will provide a final report to the Project Coordinating Unit which will include the level of success and constraints, list of participants engaged, brief assessment of limitations of the management plan, constraints anticipated in its effective application, and lessons learnt and any other relevant information.

For detailed information, please refer to Annex 1

DELIVERABLES

Expected deliverables and deadlines

I. Competencies:

• Timely delivery of high quality analytical work;

• Strong problem solving skills;

• Ability to work largely independently along set instructions (briefings) and specified time schedules towards expected outputs;

• Ability to work, and coordinate work efficiently, within a team of experts and stakeholders with partially overlapping areas and to contribute to joint output;

• Ability to produce clear and concise reports and documentation;

• Ability to make use of IT and reporting software to locate, compile and analyse literature related to the expected outputs; and

• Excellent verbal and writing communication skills in English.

II. Academic Qualifications:

• University degree in protected area management, natural resource management, tropical terrestrial/marine ecology or other closely related field of study

III. Years of experience:

• 10 years of progressively responsible professional experience in protected area planning, strategic planning, policy development or conservation; experience with both terrestrial and marine protected areas is required;

• At least 3 listed projects undertaking similar assignments is required, with description of work and specific role;

• Demonstrated experience working with national governments, communities, and diverse stakeholder groups;

• Demonstrated experience working and interacting with a wide range of national and local terrestrial, coastal and marine resource users/management entities and protected area stakeholders; and

• Working experience in SIDS, preferably in the Caribbean region.