Background

Under the Global Environment Facility Cycle V,  the UNDP was entrusted by the Ministry of Environment and Renewable Energy (GEF Focal Point in Sri Lanka) to develop a project under the theme/title “Enhancing Biodiversity Conservation and Sustenance of Ecosystem services in Environmentally Sensitive Areas.” The project will be designed for national implementation involving a range of stakeholder agencies and the GEF Council has approved and provided funds to UNDP to develop the project document and other necessary documentations in line with GEF guidelines.

The project is expected to strengthen the national governance framework on Environmentally Sensitive Areas (ESAs) in Sri Lanka. Government legislation already provides for the creation of ESAs but there is an unmet need (addressed through this project) to operationalize the contents of the legislation. While doing so the project would contribute towards safeguarding globally significant biodiversity on production lands of high interest for conservation.

The project development approach assumes that the Protected Areas (PA) alone will not be able to secure the effective conservation of globally significant biodiversity partly due the high biodiversity of the country outside PA’s. However PA’s can be a good entry point towards identifying and piloting a number of special provisions/interventions. Moreover, the loss of habitat on production lands adjacent to PAs is also progressively exposing the ESAs to additional pressure. As such the project proposes to use land use planning and management framework as the key entry points to optimize land management in ESAs in order to ensure conservation of biodiversity and other natural resources while allowing the ESAs for sustainable economic activities under proper management.

The purpose of the PPG is to fully design the activities, outputs, and outcomes of the project and to fully develop a full set of project documentation for submission to the GEF Secretariat and approval. Normal rules for development of medium-sized GEF projects apply. Copies of the GEF templates and guidelines can be found at: http://www.thegef.org/gef/guidelines_templates.

Scope and Objectives

The purpose of this consultancy is to provide technical support for the development of a detailed project proposal, under the above title, for submission to GEF and the related GEF CEO Endorsement request along with the necessary proofs of cost-sharing commitments (normally over 1:4) towards the project by Govt., NGO, UN, Bilateral, Multilateral and Private Sector sources.

The project design should aim to include the following approaches, at the minimum, in consultation with stakeholder entities:
  • Necessary land use planning and governance frameworks to protect and manage ESAs including (i) An analysis of threats to biodiversity in the priority landscapes; (ii) The developmental context (key business sectors, socio-economic development, political environment) and its current and future impacts on the biodiversity conservation in the landscapes; (iii) the spatial distribution, and conservation status of critical biodiversity areas in the ESA regions; (iv) the spatial extent and development of satellite images and maps of the identified pilot sites; (v) and establishment of baseline information these areas;
  • Compliance monitoring and enforcement systems for land use permits and allocation in ESAs are with safe guards to balance conservation and development objectives; and
  • Mechanisms to protect major habitat blocks and ensure structural and functional connectivity across the landscapes.
In this regard the project document will ensure that the indirect impacts of development (e.g. impacts of roads and other infrastructure) are adequately understood and factored into decision making. While designing the systemic capacities necessary to manage ESAs (plan, regulate, and enforce management prescriptions), the proposal will also select and plan a method to operationalize Sri Lanka’s first ESA considering the Galoya and Kubukkan basin, among other sites. To be in line with GEF requirements the project design should clearly outline how the project deliver short, medium and long-term global benefits, while improving long term conservation prospects across the country.

Duties and Responsibilities

The Policy and Land Use expert will be responsible for the following tasks:

  • Collect and analyse data necessary to develop the “”Land Use Planning Framework for ESAs”. Develop the scope and work plans of the project outputs “Land use planning framework and “updated decree on Conservation and Sustainable Development of ESA” including identifying roles and responsibilities of key national and local agencies and sectors and also compile information necessary for the development of National ESA strategy and Action Plan
  • Review existing land use planning rules, guidelines and processes in the country (also identfying roles and responsibilities of key government institutions with a remit for land use planning and management)
  • Draft the specifications of a the Land Use Planning Framework, the Management and Zoning Plan for the pilot ESA so that it meets the project’s objective of identifying and allocating land uses based on biodivrsity conservation.
  • Analyse the current legislation and government policies (including current policies related to EIA, SEA and their implementation) related to biodiversity conservation in particular those related to environmentally sensitive areas
  • In cooperation with the other national experts, conduct an feasibility analysis for introducing and applying ESA as a mechanism for mainstreaming biodiversity management into development in areas of high conservation significance
  • In cooperation with the International Biodiversity Specialist, and the Lead National Consultant draft rough outline of key sections to be included in a ESA management and Zoning Plan;
In order to mitigate and address potential social and environmental impacts of the project the expert (together with the NRM expert and the International Biodiversity Specialist) will:
  • Conduct a review of good practices nationally and from elsewhere in the region pertaining to land use planning tools and approaches to identify, assess the biodiversity and other values of environmentally sensitive areas, and optimally manage or implement measures to conserve biodiversity in such areas including designating areas as no-go areas for development.
  • List all potential impacts and risks (both positive and negative) that may arise due to application of such planning tools and approaches;
  • Identify measures to reduce and eliminate negative impacts and risks while also ascertaining measures that can accentuate positive impacts.
Expected Deliverables:

The key products to be delivered are as follows:

    • Analysis of the current legislation, government policies and land use planning rules;
    • nalysis for the National ESA strategy and Action Plan;
    • Draft the specifications of a the Land Use Planning Framework, the Management and Zoning Plan for the pilot ESA;
    • An analysis for applying ESA as a mechanism for mainstreaming biodiversity management into development;
    • Draft inputs to the UNDP Project Document before 18 Aug 2014;
    • Response to review queries from GEF Secretariat.

    Competencies

    Technical work
    • Strong expertise in  environmental policy, and legal aspects of land use in Sri Lanka;
    • Demonstrated strategic technical and intellectual skills in the substantive area;
    • Familiarity with the International Conventions addressing Climate Change, Desertification and Biodiversity Conservation;
    • Demonstrated leadership, facilitation and coordination skills, ability to manage technical team and long term strategic partnership.
    Partnerships
    • Maturity and confidence in dealing with senior members of national institutions;
    • Excellent written communication skills, with analytic capacity and ability to synthesize relevant collected data and findings for the preparation of quality analysis for the project proposal;
    • Partnership building skills with multi-dimension partners, people skill for conflict resolution and negotiation;
    • Excellent coordination skills and result oriented collaboration with colleagues – especially for this case the national level consultants. 
    Core:
    • Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UNDP;
    • Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
    • Builds strong relationships with clients, focuses on impact and result for the client and responds positively to feedback;
    • Good team player who has ability to maintain good relationships.

    Required Skills and Experience

    Education
    •  Master’s Degree or equivalent in natural sciences, environmental management, law or related fields.

    Experience

    • Minimum of 5 years of demonstrable experience and knowledge in the field of land and property rights, land use planning;
    • The prospective consultant should have GEF project development experience with detailed knowledge of biodiversity issues in ESAs.
    • Computer proficiency, especially related to professional office software packages (Microsoft Office).

    Language

    • Excellent English language skills, particularly in the preparation of written documents.