Background

The tourism industry directly and indirectly accounts for a high portion of revenue of the Government of Maldives. In December 2004, tourist arrivals reached more than 600,000 within a calendar year (MoT, 2005). In 2013, this figure almost doubled with 1,125,202 tourists arriving in 2013. Lease payments from hotel projects were US$ 48 million in 2004 with bed and departure taxes contributing US$41 million and custom duties another US$ 43 million (World Bank et al. 2005). By the end of 2013, there were 109 Resorts with 23,469 beds, 20 hotels with 1,708 beds, 136 Guesthouses with 1,918 beds and 163 Safari Vessels with 2,716 beds registered in the Maldives (MoT, 2013) generating a significant portion of government revenue.

With such a significant contribution to government revenue and direct contribution of 30% to annual Gross Domestic Product (GDP), sustainability of the Maldivian tourism sector is of critical importance to Maldives. Negative impacts on the sector can have devastating effects on the community and economy of Maldives. Hence, addressing climate change associated risks to the sector is of critical priority for the Government of Maldives.

The tourism sector’s vulnerability to climate change lies in the fact that climate change undermines the resilience, viability and profitability of the industry as well as its value-chains both directly and indirectly. Major climate hazards to which resorts in the Maldives are exposed to regularly include, windstorms, heavy rainfall, extreme temperatures and drought, sea swells and storm surges. Of these, the risks associated with swell waves, heavy rainfall and windstorms are believed to be the most serious, due to their high frequency occurrence and great potential for physical destruction and erosion. The combined effect of storm surges and tides, or storm tides, are perceived as especially destructive to the tourist resorts. The rising ocean water temperature, acidification and coral bleaching is expected to have a serious impact on snorkeling and diving – the two main tourist activities in Maldives.

The Tourism Adaptation Project (TAP) addresses key infrastructure issues, and will formulate necessary policies, standards, codes and regulatory guidance that would facilitate necessary investments to increase the resilience of the tourist infrastructure to climate change in the Maldives.  The project is the first of its kind in the Maldives where climate change adaptation measures are to be integrated into policy and planning instruments of a key sector such as tourism. The project strengthens the capacity of the Ministry of Tourism and tourism businesses to recognize evident climate risk issues in tourism operations and adopt appropriate adaptation measures to address them. To cover residual catastrophic risk, the project will develop the capacity of the government and the tourism industry to assess the feasibility of market-based risk financing mechanisms (such as weather index insurance) and ensure that tangible private-sector investments can be leveraged. The Project is funded by GEF/LDCF and implemented through an agreement between UNDP and the Ministry of Tourism.

The Tourism Adaptation Project supports Maldives to become climate resilient by integrating adaptation measures in development policies, plans, programs, projects and actions. This goal is to be achieved by increasing the adaptive capacity of the tourism sector in Maldives to respond to the impacts of climate change and promoting investment in appropriate, no-regrets adaptation measures.

The goals and objectives of the project would be achieved through the delivery of the following three Outcomes.

1.Strengthened adaptive capacity of the tourism sector to reduce risks to climate-induced economic losses.

2.Reduced vulnerability of at least 10 tourism operations and 10 tourism-associated communities to the adverse effects of climate change.

3.Transfer of climate risk financing solutions to public and private sector tourism institutions.

Furthermore a Maldives Tourism Adaptation Platform (MTAP) has been established to support effective public-private partnerships for CCA in the tourism sector.  Utilizing the information gathered to date by the project, the planned activities for the project include the dissemination of the information, providing various forms of trainings to the industry specialists, working on potential insurance and risk-pooling options for the industry and ensuring the sustainability of the project.  The project has established 10 small grants projects between TAP and non-government organizations and private companies to demonstrate how tourism operators and tourism-dependent communities can cooperate on joint initiatives to reduce common vulnerabilities.

Specific goals, objectives and outcomes are described in the Project Document and in the Project Inception Report. These reports, and other project related information can be accessed at http://tourism.gov.mv/projects/tap-project/. The TAP Project Management Unit (PMU) is established within the offices of the Ministry of Tourism.

Promoting the use of environment friendly technologies and good practices by tourism service providers and tourism dependent communities is identified as a key output for achieving Outcome 1 of the project. Therefore it is planned to launch a National Tourism Green Award to recognize efforts in this aspect of the tourism industry services.

Objectives of Maldives Tourism Green Award

The “Maldives Tourism Green Award” is an annual award presented specifically to agents of the tourism sector, for the performance and implementation of environmentally sound practices.

A tourism green award is especially relevant to the Maldivian tourism industry, since it is heavily dependent on the natural beauty of the islands. The promise of breathtaking underwater scenery with vibrant coral reefs, abundant marine life, and the idea of relaxing on sun-kissed beaches while overlooking the crystal clear lagoons, is what lures tourists to the Maldives, and are among the top selling points for the industry.

The award was initially launched in 1997 as the “President of Maldives Green Resort Award”, at a function held to commemorate 25 years of tourism in the Maldives. The award aimed to recognize the need to make the tourism industry environmentally sustainable, in order to make the industry itself sustainable and economically profitable in the long run.

The award was a discontinued in 2008 to introduce several other industry awards from the Ministry of Tourism. However, there are merits to the public and private sector by giving an award of this nature. The industry sees it as a prestigious accolade that will help the industry to market their product both nationally and internationally.

A draft of the new criteria has been developed with the technical input from various stakeholders to the tourism industry, and it reflects the Ministry of Tourism’s commitment to encourage tourist operators and facilities to adopt environmentally friendly strategies in the inception, performance, implementation, and maintenance of environmentally sound practices in tourist operations. The new criteria incorporates climate resilience strategies and investments in the tourism industry, as part of the Tourism Adaptation Project’s commitment to increase resilience to climate change in the Maldives.

Objectives of this consultancy

The “Tourism Green Award” is to be launched as a brand new product with a new logo and an updated criterion. The award will be based on new criteria for assessing registered tourist accommodation facilities including tourist resorts, hotels, guest houses and liveaboard vessels.

This consultancy is for a Consultant to develop the new documentation for the “Tourism Green Award” of the Maldives.

Award Categories

The categories currently identified for performance measures includes, waste management, suitable energy and GHG reductions, water conservation and management, coastal management, conservation of biodiversity, design at inception, renovation and upgrade, environmental related CSR. Additional categories may be suggested by the Consultant.

Duties and Responsibilities

Scope of Work

The scope of work for the consultancy will include, but not necessarily be limited to, the following key activities:

• Review of how the previous Maldives Green Awards were designed, implemented, received and utilized by tourist facilities for promotional and other purposes;
• Research and analysis of similar awards that are being awarded in other countries;
• Review the selection process used in the past Green Awards of Maldives;
• Review the existing draft criteria developed by stakeholder validation workshop and technical consultative workshop;
• Produce an inception report on the strategy and standards to strengthen existing draft of Maldives Tourism Green Award Criteria, in consultation with TAP PMU and technical committee, so that it maintains a high standard while ensuring convenient monitoring and measurement;
• Develop categories and performance measures for evaluating the applicants for the Green Award;
• Develop a realistic marking criteria  on how the applicants would be evaluated and rated keeping in mind their specific characteristics  and types;
• Develop application forms suited for each type of the tourist facilities keeping in mind their specific characteristics;
• Field visits to sample tourist facilities can be arranged in consultation with TAP PMU. Outcome reports on the visits to various tourist facilities would need to be submitted after each visit;
• Produce a streamlined Maldives Tourism Green Award Criteria for each type of tourist accommodation facility;
• Facilitate a validation workshop comprising of government stakeholders, tourism industry personnel, private sector etc;
• Prepare a report based on the feedback received at the validation workshop and incorporate the feedback into the criteria and revise it accordingly;
• Explore how the award can be sustained, promoted and improved in the future;
• Develop a report outlining the development process, research findings, findings from the field, final revised criteria, application and selection process, marking schemes, sustainability and further development of the award etc.

Expected Outputs and Deliverables 

• Report on the research findings of the previous Green Awards and similar awards that are awarded globally;
• Proposed new criteria for the award;
• Performance measures and how they would be measured;
• Marking scheme;
• Application forms for specific classes of tourist accommodation facilities;
• Facilitate a workshop to validate the draft criteria;
• Report on feedback received and how it was incorporated to the draft criteria;
• Outcome report of the field visits;
• Report on the Validation workshop;
• Suggestions for sustainability and further development of the award;
• Final report incorporating all of the above items;
• Action Plan for re-launching the award.

Duration of the Work

• The expected duration of project is a total of no more than 30 consecutive Working Days; 
• The target date to start the consultancy is 02 November 2015;
• The estimated lead time for reviewing outputs and certifying approval/acceptance of outputs is 3 working days.

Institutional Arrangement

• The Consultant shall report to Programme Analyst – Climate Change, UNDP and shall seek guidance from the technical bodies identified in the Inception Note and TAP PMU. The reporting structure will be agreed upon at the beginning of the assignment;
• TAP Project Manager would put maximum efforts to expedite issues faced by the Contractor that might affect the delivery of the consultancy. The Consultant is expected to liaise with the technical committee of the TAP Project, relevant staff of Ministry of Tourism and officials of UNDP in the course of the consultancy in order to ensure deliverables produced are acceptable by them;
• Provision of relevant documents, data, statistics and information at the disposal of the Government will be done by TAP PMU;
• Coordination with stakeholders and partners will be provided by TAP PMU;
• Logistical arrangements and coordination of the workshop will be arranged by TAP PMU;
• The workshop agenda, session plans, presentations and other materials to be used in the workshop will be developed by the Consultant, in consultation with TAP PMU and UNDP;
• Any travel, accommodation and other logistical arrangements for the travel to the field will be arranged through UNDP as per standard procedures.

Disclaimer

Documents or data provided by the government for the purpose of this study which is not of public nature shall be considered confidential and should not be disclosed to any other party.

All outputs and materials produced as part of this TOR shall be handed over to the Ministry of Tourism as the end of the contract and will become the Ministry’s sole property to use as it wishes.

Duty Station

• The duty station for the consultancy is the Ministry of Tourism, Maldives;
• The Consultant will be required to report regularly to Programme Analyst – Climate Change, UNDP or the designated reporting person on the progress of the consultancy. The mode and frequency of reporting will be agreed upon at the beginning of the assignment.

Competencies

Corporate Competencies:

• 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;
• Treats all people fairly without favoritism;
• Fulfills all obligations to gender sensitivity and zero tolerance for sexual harassment.

Functional Competencies:

• The Consultant should have the ability to work independently while working closely with the Ministry of Tourism in order to carry out the project activities and to produce the desired outputs;
• Inter-personal skills;
• Exceptional analytical skills, solution oriented program design skills;
• Research and evaluation skills including ability to synthesize information;
• Excellent oral, and effective presentation and report-writing skills;
• Ability to work under with minimum supervision, while meeting deadlines;
• Demonstrated ability of timely completion of assignments;
• Excellent social and communication skills;
• Strong facilitation skills;
• Ability to work in multi-disciplinary and multi-cultural settings;
• Good working knowledge of information technology;
• Excellent Managerial and analytical skills;
• Proven co-ordination and networking skills.

Required Skills and Experience

Education: 

• At minimum a Master’s degree or equivalent in Planning, Development, Environment or related field. Education in Climate Change or related field with focus on Tourism and Environment is preferred.

Experience:

• Five years’ experience in facilitating strategic planning and project formulation, preferably in the areas of environment and tourism is preferred;
• Previous experience in the field of climate change adaptation in the tourism sector or related field is preferred;
• Possess strong analytical and research skills;
• Demonstrated ability and experience to conduct high-level discussions in a productive manner;
• Experience in similar assignment is preferred;
• Previous experience working with UNDP, UN and/or other international agencies is desirable;
• Experience of working with tourism facility developers and operators is desirable.

Language:

• Excellent communication skills (written & oral English) are an essential requirement.

Scope of the financial proposal and schedule of payment:

The consultancy fee will be in lump sum to be paid in installments corresponding to deliverables.

Application Documents:

• The application must include a letter of interest to undertake this task, the CV, proposed time-line, P-11, and a financial proposal for the assignment. To download P11, kindly please visit the link:   http://www.mv.undp.org/content/maldives/en/home/operations/jobs
• Please combine all the documents into one single file, as the system will allow for only one document to be uploaded.
• We will only accept online applications.

For any clarifications or additional information, please contact; Ahmed Siyah, Project Manager, Tourism Adaptation Project, Ministry of Tourism
Mobile: +960 7999133, Email: ahmed.siyah@tourism.gov.mv.