UNDP Jobs - 55258- International Consultant for Development of Method

International Consultant for Development of Methodology for Greenhouse Gases (GHG) Emissions Accounting in Tourism Sector

Location :

Home-based and Podgorica, MONTENEGRO

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

27-Apr-2015

Application Deadline :

04-Apr-15 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

20 working days, within the period April - May 2015

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

Two months

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence. UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

Background

Montenegro’s prime touristic attractions include 300 kilometers of coastline with 60 kilometers of beaches, historical and cultural monuments, mountain ranges, virgin forests and national parks. Because of this, as well as of favorable political and economic climate, over the last decade Montenegro has seen unprecedented inflow of visitors and investment in its tourism sector. In 2011, more than 1.3 million tourists visited Montenegro, twice as much as domestic population and ten times more than just a decade ago (i.e. tourists’ count was 120,000 in 2002). Tourism’s total contribution to GDP has by now reached 17.2% and is projected to rise to 36.3% GDP by 2021. Similarly, the investment in the sector amounted for 164.6 mln € in 2011, or 23.6% of total capital investment.

As a main driver of Montenegro’s economic growth and investment, the tourism sector is responsible directly and indirectly for the large share of GHG emissions from the transport, accommodation and other tourism-related activities. According to Montenegro’s Second National Communication to UN Framework Climate Change Convention (2015), in the scenario without measures Montenegro’s GHG emissions will rise by app. 30% in 2020 above 1990 baseline. By contributing to over third of GDP and a half of capital investment in infrastructure, the tourism sector will inevitably be an important, if not the leading, factor in a projected GHG emissions increase. Apart from the direct GHG emissions, the indirect climate change impact of millions of holiday-makers is also substantial, first, because of their sheer numbers in proportion to small local population and, second, because of their more carbon intensive life-style and consumption patterns.

In the business-as-usual scenario, the carbon footprint of Montenegro tourism will continue to grow as a result of large-scale investment in tourist infrastructure and constantly growing number of travelers. The Government of Montenegro sees tourism as the main driver of economic growth and income generation, but also fully realizes the environmental challenges associated with its rapid development and is committed to address them as part of the National Sustainable Development Strategy and Tourism Development Master Plan. The Government is firmly committed to develop its tourism sector on a sustainable basis, it is putting in place the required policy and regulatory framework to attract large-scale investment in tourism infrastructure, but also to steer them in a more environmentally sustainable way.
GEF-funded Towards Carbon Neutral Tourism (TCNT) Project will adopt a comprehensive approach to minimizing the carbon footprint of Montenegro’s main and most dynamic economic sector, the tourism. Its ultimate objective is to reduce GHG emissions from Montenegro’s tourism sector. It will do so by promoting country’s transition towards a carbon neutral travel & tourism, minimizing energy use and transport in and around new green field development projects, helping tourism industry to identify and implement cost-effective mitigation options in travel and accommodation sectors, as well as introducing carbon offset scheme and other innovative financial mechanisms to compensate for the residual emissions and generate additional revenues for climate mitigation and adaptation actions in tourism.

National GHG inventory does not cover tourism as a separate energy end-use sector, neither there are estimates of the transport-related GHG emissions from tourism activities, but based on a preliminary analysis done during the project preparatory phase, tourism is estimated to directly account for some 3-5 % of Montenegro’s total national GHG emissions or cca 50-125 ktCO2/year, excluding the bunker and other fuels for international cross-border travel.

In order to achieve quality project results, there is a need to establish accurate Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV) system for GHG emissions from tourism sector and thus provide the essential knowledge and data for estimating the carbon footprint of the sector and different type of tourist activities and services.

GHG emission baseline and MRV system are essential building blocks and prerequisites for introducing carbon offset schemes and other financing mechanisms, such as credited NAMAs. Specific activities to be supported by the project will include the development of a methodology for GHG emission accounting and baseline setting in the tourism sector, development of a national reference baseline for GHG emissions from the tourism sector and its subsectors (transport, buildings and waste), as well as guidelines for developing and setting up MRV protocols and systems for projects submitted for funding by the GEF, foreseen National Tourism Climate Fund or voluntary carbon offset schemes.

Duties and Responsibilities

Objectives of the assignment:

To develop accurate methodology for accounting of GHG emissions from tourism sector in Montenegro, including mandatory data sets, data flow and responsibilities within the national institutional system.

Job content:

Under supervision of the TCNT Project Manager the selected consultant will perform following tasks:

Review the national GHG inventory and data collected, with emphasis on the emissions from tertiary sector, their quality, availability and sources;
Describe roles of national authorities in emissions accounting, primarily Environmental Protection Agency and National Statistic Office-Monstat;
Analyze the main emission sources in tourism sector: energy use, collective and non-collective accommodation facilities; transport, waste, another relevant tourism supply chain sectors; their importance and share in the overall GHG production at national level;
Conduct comparative analysis with global trends and state-of-art assessments of the tourism sector contribution to the climate change;
Define consize GHG emissions datasets to be collected from tourism sector (direct and indirect emissions);
Explore the sources of data for emissions monitoring in tourism sector, their quality and validation system;
Propose functional system of data exchange and roles and responsibilities of national authorities, particularly tourism industry and private sector, main transport providers, local authorities and public utilities;
Propose functional Monitoring, Reporting and Verification system for tourism sector and its inclusion in national MRV system to be developed under first Biannual Update Report to UN Framework Climate Change Convention (ongoing project);
Identify main obstacles in functional and sustainable tourism sector’ emission monitoring system;
List set of recommendations on how to maintain, analyze and efficiently use the collected data, particularly for mandatory offsetting and general awareness raising.

The expected results:

The consultant is expected to deliver the following results:

Draft Final Report of the assignment, which will be subject of review and commenting by the project team and national authorities;
Final Report, subject of the approval by project team.

Timing and reporting:

Consultant is expected to work in the period April 2015-May 2015.

Time duration and travel:

The consultant will be engaged under the Individual Contract for maximum 20 consultancy days (app. 15 days’ home based and 5 days of field visit). Travel costs should be included in the lump sum figure.

Competencies

Corporate competencies:

Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN’s values and ethical standards;
Promotes the vision, mission and strategic goals of UN/UNDP;
Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability.

Functional competencies:

Ability to lead strategic planning, results-based management and reporting;
Builds strong relationships with clients, focuses on impact and result for the client and responds positively to feedback;
Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude;
Demonstrates good oral and written communication skills;
Demonstrates ability to manage complexities and work under pressure, as well as conflict resolution skills.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Master degree in the areas relevant to the assignment (e.g. natural, technical, environmental sciences);
PhD degree would be considered as an asset.

Experience:

Minimum 10 years of professional experience in the fields relevant for the assignment-development of climate change policies and actions;
Participation in similar assignments/projects will be considered as strong asset;
Knowledge of the region would be considered as asset.

Language:

Fluency in English, with excellent writing skills.

Application procedure:

Interested candidates are requested to submit their applications by April 12th, 2015 by using the Apply now button;
All applicants are requested to upload a duly completed and signed Personal History Form (P11), which serves as the equivalent of the CV. P11 form can be downloaded from http://www.me.undp.org/content/montenegro/en/home/operations/jobs.html. Please group all your documents into one (1) single PDF document as the system only allows to upload maximum one document.
The short-listed candidates only will be invited for an interview.

UNDP is an equal opportunity employer.