| Description |
The GEF has approved a Project Preparation Grant (PPG) for Madagascar in order to produce a UNDP Project Document accompanied by a GEF CEO Endorsement Request (both using the appropriate templates) under the guidance of UNDP-GEF and working in close collaboration with key government officials, donors, NGOs, CBOs and the private sector.
The project, budgeted for $6,750,000 in GEF funding and $9,225,000 in co-financing to be mobilized, will conserve globally important biodiversity in Madagascar by expanding the country’s protected area (PA) system. This will be done by developing a network of managed resource protected areas in under represented terrestrial ecosystems, co-managed by local government and communities and integrated into the regional development framework This process will also significantly contribute to strengthening of the national PA system, introducing innovative financing mechanisms to PA and creating the means for sustainably managing PA buffer zones. This will be achieved through the following three components:
1) Establishment of new Managed Resource Protected Areas Core area (IUCN Category IV & VI)
2) Institutional capacity to administer decentralized PA governance framework for managed resources PA
3) Establishment of public-private partnerships ensures financial sustainability
The PPG process is to be implemented between May 2009 and December 2009, it will count on the support from the Malagasy NGO Fanamby and will focus on the activities necessary for finalizing and approving the proposed project. The focal points for the project in government and the PPG team of consultants, including Fanamby’s in-house experts, will work in collaboration with existing related initiatives to carry out the following activities:
PPG Activity 1) Site Identification and Baseline Assessments - Mapping for documenting PA system gaps by habitat type, threats, fragmentation and habitat loss rates
- Prioritize areas for the establishment of MRPAs
- Ground-truthing and assessment of socio-economic conditions in potential sites
- Local and regional workshops for validating site selection
- Baseline data for all sites compiled, including METT application
- Other PA management effectiveness tools applied as relevant
PPG Activity 2) Institutional Framework - Identify key actors at all levels (national, regions, communes and fokontany)
- Questionnaire development
- Capacity needs assessment for all participating national institutions
- Data compilation towards institutional profiles and recommendations for full project implementation
- Capacity strengthening options developed and costed towards an institutional capacity support program
- Institutional capacity support program presented and validated at regional and national workshops
PPG Activity 3) Sustainable Financing - Establish the recurrent costs of MRPA management broken-down by selected PA
- Partnership engineering with the tourism sector
- Missions by Oil & Mines specialist
- Partnership engineering with the oil & mining sector
- Missions by Carbon specialist
- Investigate the potential for developing voluntary carbon ERPA with businesses
- Biodiversity offset framework developed, presented and validated at a national workshop
PPG Activity 4) Sustainable Use Management - Biodiversity friendly agriculture options developed for relevant sites
- Sustainable natural resource use guidelines developed for each site with clear thresholds
- Strategy for engendering sustainable use of resources fully developed
- Strategy presented and validated at a national workshop
PPG Activity 5) Project costing and M&E planning - Team selected and mobilised / relevant contracts signed
- Project inception workshop
- Costing of project outcomes and outputs including co-financing commitments
- Adaptive management and replication strategy
- Define local and national and global environmental benefits
- Determine most effective project alternatives
- Identify social institution, economic and financial sustainability
- Missions by PA specialist
- Project Development Workshop
- Prepare a project monitoring and evaluation plan including baseline level indicators and targets of livelihood opportunities.
| Duties and Responsibilities | Encompassing approximately 5 weeks of work throughout the duration of the PPG, the Carbon Finance Specialist will undertake at least one mission to Madagascar complemented by support from home base.
The International Specialist will play a pivotal role in the task of laying the foundation for the use of carbon finance mechanisms in PA finance through the project in collaboration with the UNDP/GEF Regional Technical Advisor, the UNDP Country Office Environment Focal Point and the team of national and international consultants. Contacts and negotiations with external partners also developing similar mechanisms in Madagascar is also envisaged.
Guiding, when needed the national experts and in full collaboration with Fanamby advisors and specialists, the Carbon finance specialist will play a key role in the development of the Carbon Finance component of the project. He/She will: - Carry out a Carbon stakeholder identification & potential partner options
- Partnerships negotiations aiming at agreeing engagements
- MRPA Project strategy outlined
- Assess the opportunities/potentials under LULUCF and REC frameworks
- Assess compliance/voluntary markets opportunities according to Madagascar legislation and proposed sites particularities
- SWOT analysis of different voluntary markets standards relative to sites context
- Evaluate reforestation/tree-planting options according to existing endemic species and carbon sequestration potentials (area covered and endemic species)
- Economic assessment of ecological services (value of carbon sequestration of existing ecosystems: water, land, biodiversity others)
- Co-benefits needs/constraints evaluation (technology transfer / capacity-building) and propose evaluation standards for these
- Suggest legislations adaptation guaranteeing equity and climate policies implementation in Madagascar
- Properly examine adverse impacts probability
- Develop a Carbon Finance framework coherent with MRPA and needed tools (PDD models) for LULUCF and REC
- Propose validation + verification third party companies and initiate negotiations
- Explore retirements scenarios valuation
| Competencies | - A graduate degree in environmental economics or natural sciences.
- Solid and demonstrated understanding of Carbon sector, CDM and IPCC regulations and voluntary markets standards
- Clear and solid understanding of the role of communities in managing natural resources and any Carbon project types implementation
- Demonstrated competences in the identification, development, implementation and monitoring of Carbon projects.
- Sound experiences in evaluating Carbon projects from biomass estimation to funds deliveries schemes
- Proven capacity to work with and establish working relationships with community development agencies, government and non-government representatives and international private companies
- Excellent oral and written communication skills in English.
- Ability to work as a member of a team.
- Ability to take initiative and to work with minimum supervision.
- Experience with multi-ecosystems projects
- Knowledge of ecological/biological systems would be an asset.
- Ability to communicate effectively orally and in writing in order to communicate complex, technical information to technical and general audiences
- Skill in negotiating effectively in sensitive situations
- Skill in achieving results through persuading, influencing and working with others
- Skill in facilitating meetings effectively and efficiently and to resolve conflicts as they arise
| Required Skills and Experience | Education: - A graduate degree in the environmental sciences, particularly forestry or natural resource economics
Experience: - Extensive knowledge of the carbon market (both Kyoto and the Voluntary market), in particular with regards to bio-carbon, more specifically, on the biodiversity issues pertaining to the bio-carbon financing mechanisms.
- Previous experience with GEF development projects is a plus, but not a requirement
- Hold an advanced degree in a relevant field for assessing the project’s potential to tap into Carbon Fianance (e.g. Economics, Finance, Business, Engineering, Legal, Biology, Social Sciences among others), but with consistent professional (if not also academic) specialization in carbon finance.
- Have at least 5 years of proven experience in the mentioned field; and
- Demonstrated track record of relevant production in the mentioned area (publications, project proposals, reports)
Language Requirements: - Mastery of oral and written English is a requirement
- Working knowledge of French is a plus
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