Consultant to Prepare the National Action Plan to the UNCCD under the Sustainable Land Management Project in Seychelles

The Capacity Development for Sustainable Land Management  project is submitted under the global United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)-Global Environment Facility (GEF) Targeted Portfolio Project for Sustainable Land Management (SLM) in Least Developed Countries (LDC) and Small Islands Developing States (SIDS). The Seychelles consists of 115 islands of which some 40 are granitic and the rest coral with a total human population of about 85,000. Over 80% of Seychelles land area is under some form of forest or vegetation cover, though less so on the more urbanized main islands. Land degradation has mainly occurred because of forest fires, clearing of forest for development purposes (agriculture, including plantations; housing; infrastructure), invasive alien species, and unsustainable agriculture and construction practices.

Prevention and control of forest fires is taking place, but needs a comprehensive all-encompassing strategy. Unsustainable harvesting of forest products is on the increase and not helped because of lack forest management models. Invasive alien creepers that are smothering the forest is a relatively new phenomenon of which little is known, and no control measures are established. Soil conservation in agriculture is not effectively addressed because of non-conducive lease agreements of state agricultural land, non-effective extension work, and lack of adequate soil testing facilities. Risks of landslides are not well incorporated in land use planning and construction practices. Seychelles has no National Action Plan or Investment Plan for sustainable land management.

The project aims to increase capacity in forest fire management, rehabilitation of deforested areas, control of IAS creepers, forest management, soil conservation in agriculture, and risk assessments for landslides. It also aims to mainstream SLM in relevant policy and regulatory frameworks, and it will assist in developing a National Action Plan and Medium Term Investment Plan.

Objective of the Consultancy

The specific objective of this consultancy is to assist the Government of Seychelles to develop a National Action Plan (NAP) to address land degradation. The NAP document will be developed in the framework of a participatory approach involving local communities, government and other stakeholders to spell out the practical steps and measures to be taken to combat land degradation in specific ecosystems of the Seychelles. The main objectives of the NAP are to:

• Identify and incorporate priority issues and actions for sustainable land management in Seychelles including those identified in previous community, national and international consultations
• Identify activities aimed at preventing and/or minimizing land degradation and rehabilitating degraded land.
• Empower communities through awareness raising and supporting their participation in land use planning and rehabilitation and sustainable development.
• Upscale the knowledge on Sustainable Land Management and its benefits among decision-makers in Seychelles.

Scope of Work

The task will include the compilation of a draft NAP. It will commence no later than 7 calendar days after the consultancy is awarded. A first draft NAP is expected to be ready no later than 15 business days after the commencement. The first draft must be presented in a workshop to the stakeholders for feedback and validation no later than 30 business days after the consultancy has commenced. The Consultant will have 3 business days to review the comments feedback received, make necessary amendments and submit a final draft to Programme Coordinating Unit (PCU) ? Department of Environment (DOE), Ministry of Home Affairs, Environment and Transport (MHET).

The main activities/tasks consist of the following:

Review relevant documents and guidelines pertaining to NAP development.
Undertake required studies and reviews in order to collect data needed for the NAP.
Undertake a Sustainable Land Management stakeholder analysis to identify main partners to be consulted with during the development and implementation.

Organize and facilitate a local stakeholder workshop to discuss sustainable land management in detail. This workshop will be conducted over two (2) days. It will form the basis for the compilation of the NAP for Seychelles. The Consultant will coordinate and facilitate this workshop. The consultant must present SLM issues to bring all stakeholders up to speed on the topic.

A summary report of the outcomes of the workshop.

A first draft NAP of no more than 50 pages in length, including explanatory material, annotations, appendices and recommendations, as appropriate, to be submitted to the PCU / DOE within 10 business days of the contract.
A workshop to present the first draft NAP to stakeholders for their comments and validation.

A final draft National Action Program (NAP) of no more than 50 pages in length, including explanatory material, annotations, appendices and recommendations to be submitted to PCU/ DOE within 5 business days of receipt of comments of the reviewed committee on the draft report.

Organize and facilitate a one day Decision Makers Awareness Workshop on Sustainable Land Management NAP for the Seychelles.

The workshop should include presentations of local experts on issues relating to SLM in Seychelles and should cover the following topics:

• Relevance of the United Nations Convention on Combating Desertification (UNCCD) to Seychelles
• Relevance of Sustainable Land Management in Seychelles.
• Issues/Constraints in Seychelles leading to Land Degradations.
• The role of the NAP in SLM for the future of Seychelles.

• Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN?s values and ethical standards
• Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UNDP
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability
• Experience in consulting business, local government, national government agencies, non- governmental organizations, regional and international agencies.
• Experience in resource mobilization from multilateral agencies, bilateral donors, the private sector and with innovative financing mechanisms and instruments
• Experience in drafting strategies, and undertaking consultative approaches and participatory planning
• Excellent communication and reporting skills in English
• Good knowledge of environmental agreements, preferably the UNCCD
• Experience in working with the UNDP system/understanding of UNDP standard procedure and guidelines as well as previous experience working in the Republic of Seychelles is advantageous.

• An advanced degree (post graduate or Masters level) in a field of relevance to the objectives and expected outcomes of the project
• A minimum of five (5) years of experience and specializes in natural resource management, land management, socio economics, land use planning, rehabilitation and environmental policy and technical assessments.