International Specialist in Protected Areas and Coastal/Marine Biodiversity Conservation for the Preparation (PPG)

The Project Identification Form (PIF) and Project Preparation Grant (PPG) Document of the project “Increasing resilience of ecosystems and vulnerable communities to CC and anthropic threats through a ridge to reef approach to BD conservation and watershed management” were approved by the GEF on 20^th June 2013, on the understanding that the Project Document and other supporting documentation will be presented to GEF within 18 months, i.e. by 20^th December 2013. The objective of the project is that watersheds and coastal areas in Haiti are spatially configured and managed to increase the resilience of ecosystems and vulnerable communities to climate change and anthropic threats.

The project will be structured around two complementary and interrelated components:

• Establishment and management of PAs in the marine and coastal zones of target watersheds, with support from the GEF Trust Fund.

• Policy, planning and institutional analysis;
• Proposal of stakeholder participation and social mitigation strategies;
• Proposals for PA management;
• Proposals for biodiversity conservation in coastal/marine zone;
• Development of key project design elements.

Objectives of the consultancy

To ensure that the interests of all project stakeholders, especially vulnerable groups and women, are adequately taken into account in project design and that adequate provision is made for their participation in both the PPG and implementation phases of the project.

Under the overall guidance of the International PPG Coordinator, the consultant will be responsible for the following tasks:

• Characterization of the species- and ecosystem-level biodiversity in the target areas;
• Analysis of threats affecting the biodiversity in the coastal/marine zone;
• Characterization of the environmental/ecological functions of the ecosystems in the coastal/marine zone, in particular in relation to Ecosystem-Based Adaptation to climate change;
• Estimation of the environmental/ecological tolerance limits of the ecosystems and biodiversity in the coastal/marine zone, and on the basis of this their likely vulnerability to the effects of climate change and poor watershed management;
• Proposal of conservation strategies aimed at addressing the identified threats, together with analyses of the social, ecological and institutional feasibility of each;
• Characterization of the current status of the target PAs, required for the definition and prioritization of needs for project support to PA strengthening and management;
• In consultation with national stakeholders, generation of baseline and target scores for the BD1 Management Effectiveness Tracking Tool (METT) for the project and the target PAs;
• In consultation with PA authorities, and taking into account international and regional best practice and the specific biophysical and social conditions of Haiti, as well as the current status of the target PAs, definition of needs and strategies for support by the project to the design and management of the target PAs (including stakeholder participation), in order to optimize their contribution to biodiversity contribution and watershed-wide EBA;
• Definition of the human, logistical and resource requirements for the implementation of the proposed actions in support of PA effectiveness and biodiversity conservation;
• Proposal of indicators of the project’s contribution to i) the effectiveness of the target PAs within a context of watershed-wide EBA, and ii) the conservation of marine/coastal biodiversity, for use in the project’s results framework and monitoring and evaluation system, together with the methods and responsibilities for their measurement and target values;
• Participation in the initial PPG start-up workshop and the validation workshop towards the end of the PPG phase, as well as any other meetings with other members of the consultancy team and external actors that may be required throughout the duration of the consultancy (both in-country during the proposed missions, or via email and internet) to discuss and negotiate methodologies, advances and proposals.

• Methodological proposal and work plan;
• Report of desk study on biodiversity and PAs in the target areas, including (as available) information on the following issues;
• Local, national and/or global importance of elements of biodiversity (with reference as appropriate to internationally-recognized systems of classification);
• Current conservation status of priority elements of biodiversity;
• Environmental/ecological functions, in particular in relation to Ecosystem-Based Adaptation to climate change
• Estimates of the environmental/ecological tolerance limits of the ecosystems and biodiversity in the coastal/marine zone, and on the basis of this their likely vulnerability to the effects of climate change and poor watershed management;
• Data on biome coverage in the project target areas, for inclusion the BD1 Management Effectiveness Tracking Tool;
• Fieldwork inception report, after in-country orientation workshop, updating methodology and work plan;
• End-of-fieldwork report, summarizing initial conclusions of fieldwork and their implications for project design;
• Report on biodiversity in the target areas (incorporating results of desk study and fieldwork), including;
• Characterization and quantification of the threats affecting the biodiversity in the coastal/marine zone (including local anthropogenic processes as well as the implications of climate change), and specifying in each case the globally important biodiversity that is affected; the nature, magnitude and implications of the threat; the actors responsible; and the factors which motivate and determine the threat (underlying causes);
• Characterization of the environmental/ecological functions of the ecosystems in the coastal/marine zone, in particular in relation to Ecosystem-Based Adaptation to climate change;
• Estimation of the environmental/ecological tolerance limits of the ecosystems and biodiversity in the coastal/marine zone, and on the basis of this their likely vulnerability to the effects of climate change and poor watershed management;
• Proposal of conservation strategies aimed at addressing the identified threats, together with analyses of the social, ecological and institutional feasibility of each;
• Definition of the human, logistical and resource requirements for the implementation of the proposed actions in support of biodiversity conservation;
• Report on the target PAs, addressing the following issues;
• Threats affecting PA values and sustainability, and their corresponding causal factors;
• Resource management and livelihood support practices within the target PAs and their direct areas of influence;
• Human, logistical and financial resources available for PA management;
• PA management and spatial planning instruments;
• Stakeholders interacting with or affected by the PAs;
• Institutional frameworks at local level (community-based organizations, local governments and NGOs);
• Needs and strategies for support by the project to the design and management of the target PAs (including stakeholder participation), in order to optimize their contribution to biodiversity contribution and watershed-wide EBA;
• Definition of the human, logistical and resource requirements for the implementation of the proposed actions in support of PA effectiveness;
• In consultation with national stakeholders, generation of baseline and target scores for the BD1 Management Effectiveness Tracking Tool (METT) for the project and the target PAs;
• Monitoring and evaluation report, with proposals of indicators of the project’s contribution to the conservation of marine/coastal biodiversity and the effectiveness of the target PAs, together (where possible) with baseline and target values for each and a scheme for their monitoring (including responsibilities, methodologies and estimates of resource requirements.

• Demonstrate ability to assess complex socio-economic dynamics, environmental variability, succinctly distills critical issues, and draw forward-looking technical conclusions and recommendations;
• Highly knowledgeable of economics and climate change processes;
• Ability to deliver quality technical reports within the given time;
• Familiarity with the challenges developing countries face in adapting to climate change;
• Familiarity with Haiti or similar countries; and
• Excellent in coordination, planning and team work.

• MSc or PhD in biology, conservation or related fields;

• Experience with design and/or management of GEF projects;
• Minimum 10 years international experience in relation to biodiversity conservation and design/management of PAs in developing countries;
• Strong experience in technical assistance for development projects with major donor agencies;

• Fluent English;
• Spoken French.

• Explaining why they are the most suitable for the work;
• Provide a brief methodology on how they will approach and conduct the work;
• Financial proposal;
• Personal CV at least 3 references.

• Technical evaluation – 70/100;
• Financial evaluation – 30/100.