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The integral functioning of Lesotho’s mountainous ecosystems is vital not only to the livelihoods and welfare of its people, but for the delivery of ecosystem services and global environmental benefits to a large part of Southern Africa. The mountainous Kingdom is the source of rivers that reach the Atlantic Ocean in the west and supply an increasing proportion of the water consumed in South Africa’s industrial heartland. Sustainable Land Management (SLM) in Lesotho is therefore a vital ingredient of broader environmental wellbeing.
The Global Environment Facility (GEF) through the local UNDP office and the Government of Lesotho will for the next five years (2009-2014) implement a project on “Capacity Building and Knowledge Management for Sustainable Land Management”. The premise is that Sustainable Land Management (SLM) provides a strong base for sustainable development in Lesotho while providing a range of global benefits to the region. In order to overcome identified barriers and address the corresponding programmatic gaps, the specific objective of this project is that, supported by a knowledge management network, Lesotho is equipped at local and national levels with the techniques, approaches, capacity and strategy for up-scaling successful SLM in support of national biodiversity conservation, food security and poverty reduction strategies. Three project outcomes are intended to achieve this objective:
- Proven, strengthened, participatory, replicable models and techniques that successfully overcome current institutional and governance barriers to SLM are ready for national implementation.
- Adequate local and national capacity for adapting and scaling up proven SLM models and techniques in place.
- SLM Policy Enabling Environment - Enhanced awareness, dialogue, understanding and analysis of SLM best practice at resource user, community, local government, NGO and national government levels across the country, reflected in the relevant policies, strategies and programmes.
The project is nationally implemented by the Ministry of Forestry and Land Reclamation (MFLR) as the Implementing Partner (IP). The IP will be accountable to the Government of Lesotho and the UNDP for the quality of project outcomes and the appropriate use of project resources, both when directly implementing project activities and when delegating others to do so. The pilot project area is in mountain area of Maseru district, and covers the Community Councils of Likalaneng, Nyakosoba, Makheka (Rapoleboea), Semonkong, Telle, Makolopetsane (Mokolometsane) and Ribaneng.
Outcome 1 of the project entails building viable SLM models for subsequent up-scaling across Lesotho, the project will focus on filling the resource governance gap between Community Councils and the truly local level of resource users. Both the GEF-funded MDTP and the now closed UNDP-GEF Montane Grasslands Project found support for the idea that user groups should be constituted and federated into structures that would administer natural resource use on the ground, on behalf of Community Councils (and, in some cases, Principal Chiefs). Rangeland (grazing resource) users, medicinal plant collectors, gatherers of plants used for handicrafts, privately- or community-owned ecotourism enterprises and possibly fuel wood collectors could join together into a combined user group to which a Community Council would formally delegate certain resource management functions. If a Community Council promulgated by-laws on natural resource management, the user group could enforce them on its behalf. Properly constituted and capacitated, user groups could thus fill the gap between Community Councils and the detailed work of SLM on the ground.
The roots of the proposed model lie in the Grazing Associations developed by the Range Resources Management Department of MFLR on a limited scale in various mountain areas over the last 20 years. The challenge now is to adjust this concept to the new institutional framework, broaden it so that it embraces the sustainable management of all natural elements of the range resource complex, and develop it institutionally and strategically so that it is ready for application throughout the country in throughout the four-year life of the project.
A monitoring and evaluation system will be designed to assess the success of the Sustainable Land Management models developed. This will include conducting assessments, identifying best practices, implementing activities to test SLM models in Lesotho. It will also assist in designing and testing a monitoring and evaluation plan to assess outcome 1 (a part of the general M&E plan). Monitor implementation of the Model, learn lessons and use to refine the model for wide-scale application in the rest of the project area.
Objective of Assignment
The objective of this consultancy is to undertake a baseline study on the socio-economic indicators at household level in the mountain area of Maseru district covering the community councils of Likalaneng, Nyakosoba, Makheka (Rapoleboea), Semokong, Telle, Makolopetsane and Ribaneng and surrounding cattle posts. The consultant is expected to assess the current livelihood strategies, identify existing sources and levels of income, so as to measure progress towards improved and diversified livelihoods. The consultant is also expected to collect other general household demographic data; i.e. number of people per household, levels of education & literacy, employment, type and age of head of household, gender etc. Specifically the consultant will collect baseline data on the following parameters;
- Demographic data (type/composition of household, education, number of dependents e.t.c)
- Poverty index (livelihood strategies, source of income e.t.c)
- Food vulnerability (crop yields, type of crops cultivated, livestock weighted dietary diversity index)
- Economic factors (crop yield, access to land for grazing & cultivation, hectares of land under cultivation, time spent in the field e.t.c)
- Access to natural resources (medicinal plants, wood fuel, water, construction material and other veld products)
Stakeholder perspectives will also be measured i.e. do various stakeholders share and agree on the same indicators/measures for success. The consultant will carryout the above assessment using the Sustainable Rural Livelihoods Framework and gender analytical tools.
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Specific Tasks
- Conduct desk review of existing socioeconomic data in the mountain area of Maseru district covering the community councilsof Likalaneng, Nyakosoba, Makheka (Rapoleboea), Semonkong, Telle, Makolopetsane and Ribaneng.
- Develop appropriate data collection tools and instruments for the socio-economic baseline
- Carry out appropriate sampling procedures for data gathering and conduct quantitative and qualitative surveys to determine and where necessary verify the baseline values of the socioeconomic indicators identified in the above tasks.
- Some of the indicators will include (1) Weighted index of dietary diversity; (2) index of frequency of use of coping strategies by households to deal with food insecurity; (3) annual cash revenue generated from targeted agricultural enterprises; Demographic data (type/composition of household, education, number of dependents e.t.c); (4) Poverty index (livelihood strategies, source of income, weighted dietary diversity index); (5) Food vulnerability (crop yields, type of crops cultivated, livestock); (6)Economic factors (crop yield, access to land for grazing & cultivation, hectares of land under cultivation, time spent in the field e.t.c); (7) Access to natural resources (medicinal plants, wood fuel, water, construction material and other veld products).
- Recommend an elaborate framework for future monitoring of each of the indicators (methodology and resources) based on the experience from the survey.
- Present a final acceptable report that incorporates all activities and the results of the consultancy.
Deliverables
- Inception report with survey instruments upon 2 weeks of signing contract
- 1st draft baseline survey report and data sets by 31-Dec-10
- Final report, data sets and tools for continuous monitoring by 15-Jan-11
Mandatory Conditions
- The consultant is expected to commit fully to this task and respect the attached rules and regulations governing UN consultants.
- Payment to the Consultant will be made at 30% of the consultancy amount upon receipt of the first draft report and final payment upon satisfactory completion of assignment.
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