Consultancy for firm-Review of Guiana Shield Conservation Priority Setting Outcomes

In ecological terms, the Guiana Shield eco-region is of immense importance to the world. The eco-region is made up of several unique ecosystems that:

• Store approximately 10-15% of global freshwater supply. 
• Store about 50 billion tons of carbon.
• Support an estimated 20,000 vascular plant species, of which about 35% is endemic.
• Provide habitat for rich biodiversity, including 975 species of avifauna, 282 mammalian species, 280 reptilian species, 272 amphibian species and 2,200 fish species.

Despite the known threats (illegal logging, gold mining, and large scale infrastructure and agricultural activities) to the integrity of the unique ecosystems, the countries of the region pursue alternative development paths that increasingly focus on maximising use of the value of natural resources and minimising their loss or degradation. However, a comprehensive regional planning process for the conservation and sustainable development of the Guiana Shield is needed to complement individual country efforts to manage common problems and pursue region-wide human development.
Some steps have been taken in this direction.

In April 2002, several international organisations (Conservation International, IUCN National Committee of the Netherlands and UNDP) pooled resources to organise the conservation priority setting workshop (PSW) in Paramaribo, which produced important outcomes including a map of the Guiana Shield eco-region and a consensus on priority areas for conservation in the official languages of the Guiana Shield countries. A political call to action to in the form of the Paramaribo Declaration was issued.

Since 2002, the Guiana Shield Initiative (GSI) projects have implemented at least two of the Paramaribo recommendations dealing with ecosystem services. Valuable lessons were documented including the need to align the GSI with national priorities. The Guiana Shield Facility (GSF) is to take guidance from the PSW outcomes. However, given that much has changed since 2002, it has become necessary to review those conservation priorities in view of the changes and to ensure that recommendations in the Paramaribo Declaration are updated for relevance. This will ensure that GSF resources are deployed in a more effective and efficient manner in support of country specific conservation and sustainable development plans as well as regional scale conservation initiatives, and contribute to the achievement of the goal of the GSF.
The GSF is a multi-donor funding facility, which aims to support the conservation and sustainable development of the unique ecosystems of the bio-diverse Guiana Shield eco-region. It is an initiative of the European Union and UNDP and builds on the gains made during previous phases of the Guiana Shield Initiative (GSI).

The overall objective of the GSF is to promote and support the conservation and sustainable development of the Guiana Shield eco-region. The strategy is to set up the GSF as a multi-donor funding facility for the long-term financing of the activities needed to ensure the ecological integrity of the Guiana Shield eco-region, one of the most important eco-regions in the world.

To help achieve this overall objective, the following specific objectives have been formulated:

• The GSF to be a long-term forum and vehicle to address national and overarching regional, in particular, environmental issues related to management of the ecosystems of the Guiana Shield eco-region.
• To maintain the GSF as a sustainable financial vehicle for the conservation and sustainable development of the Guiana Shield eco-region.
• To support the exchange of knowledge and capacity building to enhance the conservation and sustainable development of the Guiana Shield eco-region.

Objective of the desk study:

To prepare an actualized overview of the ecological situation of the Guiana Shield eco-region, including an update of the GSI eco-regional map, revisiting the outcomes of the PSW, and outlining progress made in relation to, as well as opportunities for, sustainable development.

Scope of work:

Ecologically, the Guiana Shield eco-region includes the large forested mountain systems that form the watersheds between the Amazon and Orinoco rivers, as well as savannahs and wetlands. Specifically, they cover 250 million hectares of mostly pristine rain forests, bounded roughly by the Amazon River to the South, the Japari-Caqueta River to the Southwest, the Sierra de Chiribiquete to the West, the Orinoco and Vichada Rivers to the Northwest and North, and the Atlantic Ocean to the East.

The review will focus on the Guiana Shield eco-region, the results and recommendations of the 2002 PSW, integrating new findings included in reports, and publications such as the ATBC conference of 2008 in Paramaribo, Biodiversidad de la Cuenca del Orinoco, Bases Científicas para la Identificación de Areas Prioritarias para la Conservación y Uso Sostenible de la Biodiversidad, the results of the International Congresses on the Biodiversity of Guiana Shield. New biological information should be as much as possible geo-referenced and stress the transboundary and regional dimension as well as the current political and multilateral environment agreements (MEAs).

Detailed task(s)

• To review documents and interview governments and other authoritative sources for relevant information, including national data sets, and to use such information to update the conservation outcomes and regional priorities.
• To prepare an overview of the actual and future threats to the ecology and the communities of the Guiana Shield eco-region, as identified during the previous GSI phases, and as amended in the light of recent developments: mining, logging, infrastructure- IIRSA, agricultural conversion, climate change (droughts, sea level rise, drying up of Amazon rivers 2005/2010),forest fires), as much as possible geo-referenced, and emphasising the transboundary/regional dimension.
• To prepare an overview of the sustainable development opportunities provided by an intact ecology and (culturally) intact communities in the region for livelihoods, bio-based commercial enterprises (UNCTAD’s BIOTRADE programme, PES contractual arrangements (BBOP, REDD+, Voluntary Carbon Market, Clean Development Mechanism, Green Development Mechanism, local and regional water contracts, Canopy Capital, bottled water exports, as much as possible geo-referenced and stressing the transboundary/regional dimension.
• To present the outcomes and lesson learnt of the last GSI project and to introduce the GSF as a regional vehicle to realise the opportunities and to prevent/reduce the extant and emerging threats.
• To help organize a regional workshop (list of invitees, appropriate venue, excursion options, and inputs for budget preparation) to review findings in the draft report and to update conservation and sustainable development priorities for the Guiana Shield eco-region.
• To identify and contact/interview speakers, including from organizers of the 2002 PSW, and select appropriate material to be presented at the workshop on the above-mentioned topics and to prepare a TOR for the presentations (summarizing the past, highlighting the present and showing the “GSF-way” forward, where the GSF-way is also very much grounded in the MEAs.

Expected Output(s):

• A detailed report based on the best available knowledge on national and regional priorities for conservation and sustainable development of the Guiana Shield eco-region.
• Documented understanding of what is required to develop a Guiana Shield eco-regional approach to conservation and sustainable development of the Guiana Shield eco-region.
• Workshop communiqué endorsed by participants attending the PSW review workshop.
• Finalise the document based on comments received from the UNDP and review workshop, and return final document in soft copy and hard copy in English language to UNDP Guyana country office within ten days of receipt of comments. The document must also contain summary and recommendations in Dutch, French, Portuguese and Spanish languages.

Suggested Timelines:

• Preparation and submission of proposed work plan

April 4-25

• Compile list of potential workshop participants and provide to UNDP Guyana country office.
  Compile list of authoritative sources of information and begin collection of information.

May 9-20

• Continue data collection.
• Select and prepare speakers and provide input for workshop logistics, etc.

June 13-30

• Compile and submit draft report.
• Provide additional input for review workshop.

July 18-29

• Participate in review workshop.
• Present findings
• Update and submit report based on findings

• Advance analytical skills, sound judgement, resourcefulness, ability to take initiative, capacity to work independently and in a multi-lingual, multi-cultural environment
• Skills in process facilitation, strategic planning and alliance building 
•  Excellent PC user and writing skills.

Education:

• Advanced University degree related to the assignment.

Experience:

• Substantive knowledge of the issues covered by the project.
• Prior involvement in related projects in the eco-region including the 2002 PSW workshop, GSI projects or Guiana Shield biodiversity congress.
• Good understanding of the ecological, social, economic, political, and historic trends in the Guiana Shield eco-region.
• Institutional base or support within the Guiana Shield eco-region.
• Access to post 2002 information on the ecology and sustainable development initiatives undertaken in the Guiana Shield eco-region.

Language Requirement:

• Excellent communication skills and fluency in English and Spanish and working knowledge of Portuguese, French and Dutch