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The objective of Sustainable Land Management (SLM) is to ensure provision ofenvironmental, economic and social benefits for both current and future generations while preserving or improving the quality of the land. Sustainable land management (SLM) is crucial to minimizing land degradation, rehabilitating degraded areas and ensuring the optimal use of land resources for the benefit of present and future generations. SLM is based on four common principles:
- Land-user-driven and participatory approaches
- Integrated use of natural resources at ecosystem and farming systems levels
- Multilevel and multi stakeholder involvement
- Targeted policy and institutional support, including development of incentive mechanisms for SLM adoption and income generation at the local level.
Its application requires collaboration and partnership at all levels by land users, technical experts and policy-makers to ensure that the causes of the degradation and corrective measures are properly identified, and that the policy and regulatory environment enables the adoption of the most appropriate management measures.
The SLM project in Liberia has the following long term goals:
- Contribute to the mitigation of land degradation and promote ecosystem integrity and stability, with enhanced ecological functions and services by building national and local capacity and mainstreaming SLM issues into national development strategies and policies.
- Contributing directly to the environmental, economic and social well-being of the country
The purpose of the SLM Investment Framework is to develop a pragmatic and realistic mechanism of funding in order to incorporate the concepts of SLM in Liberia.
Requested Services Including Suggested Methodology:
The above project will necessitate a team of consultants for a period of 30 man-days: one national and one international consultant. Both consultants are expected tocollaborate fully as a team in the preparation of the Integrated Financing Strategy.
- The international consultant will be recruited for a period of 30 days (15 days in country & 15 days homebased) spread
over one calendar month for the preparation of an SLM Financing strategy for projects identified in order to plan a two-stage process (short-term/priority needs and long-term goals).
- The national consultant will be recruited for a period of 30 days spread over one calendar month for the identification of feasible SLM investment projects after consultation with all stakeholders.
Accountability:
- The Consultants will work under the direct supervision of the Project Management Unit of the “UNDP/GEF/EPA project on Capacity Building for Sustainable Land Management” in Liberia.
- The Consultants will carry out a National Consultative process and two days
National Validation Workshop with all stakeholders involved with SLM in Liberia and will discuss with all relevant institutions concerned, in the preparation of the Integrated Financing Strategy.
- The Consultants shall detail a methodology appropriate to the assignment one
week after the beginning of their assignment. The methodology shall be
finalized at the inception phase in consultation with the Project Management
Unit.
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Tasks and Deliverables:
I. TASKS
- Identify priority SLM investment needs and opportunities based on the National Action Plan (NAP).
- The Consultants will develop a database of potential entrepreneurial projects pertaining to SLM, geared mostly towards SME and micro-businesses (e.g.apiculture, handicraft, urban gardens). The Consultants are also expected to analyze the feasibility of developing a micro-financing program geared towards SLM projects only. (Eradicate extreme poverty while promoting sustainable land management
- The Consultants, in collaboration with organizations involved in agricultural research will provide a CBA of adopting
alternative methods of agriculture with respect to current methods (c.f. transition from traditional farming to organic farming.
- The consultants will carry out an economic valuation of ecosystem services to support land-use policy making for e.g Land use conversion and management.
- The consultants will develop the basis for setting up Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) schemes, which are market- driven.
- The Consultants will identify potential SLM projects involving Public-Private Partnership (PPP).
- The Consultants will incorporate/suggest feasible projects with SLM features within the existing Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Program.
- The Consultants will identify a few potential sites to convert to independent sustainable agricultural villages (experimental), which will act as models nationally.
- The Consultants will recommend an SLM research and monitoring division either within existing state/parastatal bodies or independently.
Develop a costed SLM Investment Plan including brief concept papers for priority investments:
The Consultants will identify from the draft NAP programmes and subprogrammes with their measurable outcomes and activities with their specific objectives, outputs and verifiable Key Performance Indicators (KPI)
in respect of each sub-sector and produce a Matrix for the following sector The step by step process to follow for this exercise is as follows:
- Single out programmes/sub-programmes from NAP.
- Define structure of programmes/sub-programmes.
- Identify measurable outcomes for programmes/sub-programmes.
- Define activities with their specific objectives, outputs and relevant verifiable performance indicators.
- Prepare relevant programme-based performance management Matrix.
The Consultants will perform the following functions:
- Analyze and value economic costs of land degradation and benefits of sustainable land management of sites of ecological and cultural importance associated with ecotourism.
- Evaluate success of such projects in order toguide future projects.
- Conduct an analysis of the potential of forest for carbon trading (with respect to resources provided by Forest Services).
Sourcing investments for the SLM Project:
The Consultants will develop a Coordinated Resource Mobilization Plan (centralized system of funding) for all SLM projects:
- GEF opportunities;
- Donors and funding options;
- Types and sources of funding; and
- Analysis of donor programme and projects to reconcile with draft NAP
- Review current investment program and publicexpenditure frameworks to identify constraints and entry points for SLM and thus increase predictability of financial flows to SLM through the programme based budgeting mechanism.
II. DELIVERABLES:
Prepare a consolidated strategy for the SLM Investment Plan, involving all Stakeholders, which shall include:
- Prioritising areas of investment with low risk and relatively large returns.
- Programme-based Budgeting (PBB) logical framework analysis for SLM for the institution implementing/ overseeing the project (e.g. Govt, parastatal, NGOs)
- Sources of funding (Food Security Fund, CSR programme, etc…)
- Costed action plan for each institutions implementing SLM.
- Report of the validation exercise with relevant stakeholders.
The plan should include policy and operational recommendations on the following sub sectors:
- forestry, including nature reserves and reservoirs
- rubber, oil palm, coffee, cocoa plantations, etc.
- other agricultural land
- coastal regions
- rural and urban areas
- Environmentally Sensitive Areas
Hold a 2-day national validation workshop among all stakeholders in order to communicate results of findings and recommendations.
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