UNDP Jobs - 61035- Re-advertisement - National Consultant to Develop

Re-advertisement - National Consultant to Develop National Free, Prior and Informed Consent Guidelines for REDD+ Implementation

Location :

Colombo, SRI LANKA

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

07-Dec-15 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

National Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

Three months (60 days within the period)

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

Start in December 2015 and conclude work in February 2016

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

Candidates who previously applied need not re-apply.

The UN-REDD Programme is a collaborative initiative on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) in developing countries. The Programme was launched in 2008 to assist developing countries prepare and implement national REDD+ strategies, and builds on the convening power and expertise of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

As a partner country of the UN-REDD Programme, Sri Lanka is committed to develop the necessary capacity to implement REDD+ through the UN-REDD National Programme (NP). The NP will contribute towards ensuring that Sri Lanka is prepared to participate effectively in the REDD+ mechanism resulting from the UNFCCC negotiations, by focusing on key initial elements of REDD+ readiness.

The overall objective of the UN-REDD NP is to “support the Government of Sri Lanka in catalyzing the establishment of key mechanism and process and development of capacities, required to implement REDD+.” This objective will be secured through the following five Outcomes:

National Consensus reached on the Sri Lanka REDD+ programme;
Management Arrangements contributing to the National REDD+ Process defined;
Improved Stakeholder Awareness and Effective Engagement;
National REDD+ Strategy and Implementation Framework developed;
(v) Forest Monitoring System for REDD+ Activities developed.

In the context of safeguards, the Cancun Agreements (Decision 1/CP. 16) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) call for:

Actions complement or are consistent with the objectives of national forest programmes and relevant international conventions and agreements;
Transparent and effective national forest governance structure, taking into account national legislation and sovereignty;
Respect for the knowledge and rights of indigenous peoples and members of local communities, by taking into account relevant international obligations, national circumstances and laws, and noting that the United Nationals General Assembly has adopted the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP);
The full and effective participation of relevant stakeholders, in particular indigenous peoples and local communities, in actions referred to in paragraphs 70 and 72 of this decision;
Actions are consistent with the conservation of natural forests and biological diversity, ensuring that actions referred to in paragraph 0 of this decision are not used for the conversion of natural forests, but are instead used to incentivize the protection and conservation of natural forests and their ecosystem services, and to enhance other social and environmental benefits;
Actions to address the risks of reversals; and
Actions to reduce displacement of emissions.

In addition, the Durban Outcome (Decision 12/CP.17) states that a Safeguards Information System (SIS) should provide information on how all Cancun safeguards are addressed and respected. This was reiterated by the Warsaw Framework for REDD+ (Decision 12/CP.19), that requires countries to submit, among others, a summary of information before they can receive results-based financing.

Indigenous peoples (IP) are recognized by international human rights instruments, one of which is the UNDRIP (2007), to possess rights to consultation, participation and consent. These rights are not exclusive, but reflect a specific IP response to universal human rights: among others, self-determination; property; cultural; non-discrimination. Free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC), therefore, is often defined as a collective right of IP to participate in decision making, and freely give or withhold their consent based on full information made readily available, before the start of any activities.

In the context of REDD+, the UN-REDD Programme’s Global Guidelines on FPIC also proposes that consent of local communities who may be impacted by the proposed policies and measures (PAMs) to address the drivers of deforestation and forest degradation should also be sought. The guidelines recognizes two likely scenarios to which FPIC must be sought:

National level – During REDD+ readiness, specific components of the REDD+ strategy may affect the rights of IP and LC. In this case, those particular components require some form of consent.
Community level – During REDD+ implementation, a specific REDD+ policy or measure may impact a specific community and whose consent may be given or withheld collectively.

One of the implications of these instruments is that governments have a duty to consult and carry out ‘good faith consultations’ with affected IP and local communities.

This consultancy aims to develop national FPIC guidelines for REDD+ implementation that will enable these consultation and participation processes to take place.

For the purpose of these ToRs, consultation and participation processes are to be understood as organizational systems that enable stakeholders to be fully informed about the risks and benefits of, and where relevant, to be involved in making decisions regarding possible PAMs prior to implementation. Such consultation and participation process can be formal government mechanisms or also informal mechanisms established by other programs or projects.

Objective

The main objective of this ToR is to develop national FPIC guidelines for REDD+ implementation.

Scope

The consultant hired will work closely under the guidance of the Technical Advisory & Working Group (TAWG) on FPIC established under the Sri Lanka UN-REDD Programme and deliver the work.

The National Consultant will cover the following role:

Develop a work plan including proposed methodologies;
Develop a structure, including an annotated table of contents, for the guidelines;
Organise and carry out interviews, focus group discussions, and workshops under methodological guidance from the TAWG;
Obtain directions from the TAWG to prepare the final guidelines; and
Conduct a validation workshop to adopt the guidelines with wider stakeholders

The consultant should combine a variety of methodologies such as, but not limited to desk review; interviews, focus group discussions with key representatives from relevant government institutions and agencies, civil society, community-based organisations, private sector, donors, projects and others.

The consultant should also refer to the results of a regional REDD+ analysis (The results and methodology of this regional REDD+ analysis is available at http://dataforall.org/dashboard/un_redd/) that included Sri Lankan stakeholders’ responses to the quality and level of implementation of consultation and participation processes for natural resource management.

The work will also include one or several workshops for consultation and validation towards the end of the assignment.

The Consultant & the TAWG will work under the direct supervision and guidance of UNDP Technical Advisor, the Chief Technical Advisor, the Programme Manager and where required, the Communications Officer, with additional guidance from the UNDP Program Officer and UN-REDD Programme Regional Advisors.

Provision of Monitoring & Progress Control

The Consultants will work under the direct supervision and guidance of UNDP Technical Advisor, with additional guidance from the UNDP Program Officer, the Chief Technical Advisor, and the UN-REDD Programme Regional Advisors.

Role of UNDP:

UNDP will provide the consultant with all the necessary support (not under the consultant’s control) to ensure that the consultant(s) undertake the work with reasonable efficiency

Timeframe

The assignment will require 60 days for the National Consultant. Work will be carried out during November 2015 to end of February 2016. The National Consultant will be based in Colombo, with expected travel to provinces.

Duties and Responsibilities

Tasks:

Activity 1: Prepare a work plan with clear objectives, methodologies, milestones and timeline

Prepare a work plan, including a consultation plan that should include proposed methodologies, drafts of materials that will be used to communicate the assignment, and draft guiding questions;
Identify a variety of methodologies such as, but not limited to interviews, focus group discussions, consultations and others. It should include an inception workshop and a national validation workshop for the key findings and recommendations towards the end the assignment. These methodologies should be participatory, incorporate gender considerations, and in all possible instances, be adapted to suit the targeted groups of respondents;
Determine a timeline of proposed detailed activities against expected milestones and objectives of the assignment.

Activity 2: Develop a structure for the national FPIC guidelines for REDD+ implementation

Review key UNFCCC decisions, including but not limited to the Cancun Agreements (see Annex 1), and key UN-REDD Programme Guidelines on Stakeholder Engagement, the UN-REDD Global Guidelines on FPIC, and lessons from other countries, where available;

Refer to studies related to REDD+ readiness processes in Sri Lanka to review any analysis of existing legal and regulatory frameworks for consultation and participation processes. Build on the analysis to identify and review additional and relevant policies, laws and regulations (PLRs), if necessary. The studies are as below:

The drivers of deforestation and forest degradation study that provides important baseline information such as key localities and interventions such as PAMs to reduce identified drivers;
Institutional review for the implementation of REDD+;
Community-Based REDD+ Country Plan;
Assessment of Tenure Issues Relevant to Policies and Measures for a REDD+ Strategy in Sri Lanka;
Review of consultation and participation processes, and response mechanisms in the context of REDD+; and
Prioritisation of PAMs.

Review previous and existing national and sub-national activities that promote consultation and participation processes in the forestry, natural resources and socio-economic sectors, such as community forestry, REDD+ and others.

Review lessons from broader consultation, participation and consent processes in Sri Lanka such as Environmental Impact Assessment; and

Develop a structure for the guidelines that incorporate procedural and substantive rights for indigenous and non-indigenous communities, including both men and women, that will be impacted by REDD+ implementation.

Activity 3: Finalise the national FPIC guidelines for REDD+ implementation

Review findings and recommendations from the consultations to finalize the guidelines, which should be user-friendly. Where appropriate, include visual aids such as diagrams, flow-charts and others;
Prepare a response matrix of feedback received and actions taken.

Expected Outputs

The key outputs to be delivered are the following:

A work plan.

An annotated table of contents for the guidelines; and

A final national FPIC guidelines for REDD+ implementation, of between 15 to 20 pages, excluding cover, annexes and bibliography, and may consist of:

Introduction to REDD+ in Sri Lanka (1 page);
Review of relevant national and international laws related to consultation, participation and consent (3 – 4 pages);
Free, Prior and Informed Consent in the context of REDD+ in Sri Lanka: Who, what and how (3-4 pages);
Implementation of FPIC at national level (3 to 5 pages);
Implementation of FPIC at sub-national levels (5 to 6 pages).

Competencies

Technical

Ability to work effectively in a cross cultural environment and in a team;
Strong facilitation and coordination skills;
Strong analytical, writing and communication skills, including the ability to articulate ideas in a clear and concise manner (e.g. a record of publication);
Good understanding of forestry, biodiversity conservation, natural resource management at national and local levels;
Proficiency in both spoken and written English, and Sinhala/Tamil; and
Familiarity with UN-REDD Programme or REDD+ initiatives is an advantage.

Partnerships

Ability to seek and apply knowledge, information and best practices from multiple sectors;
Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
Excellent written communication skills, with analytic capacity and ability to synthesize relevant collected data and findings for the preparation of case studies and progress reports;
Excellent leadership, coordination and team working skills

Results

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:

A master’s degree in law, natural resource management, environmental economics, or equivalent work experience.

Experience:

A minimum of 10 years of working experience in government planning and consensus building on issues related to forests and natural resource; legal experience is considered useful;
Experience in design and/or use of formal or informal response mechanisms among multiple stakeholders such as government agencies, civil societies, indigenous and non-indigenous forest dependent communities;
Experience developing guidelines on FPIC and/or applying FPIC is a distinct advantage.

Language:

Proficiency in both spoken and written English, and Sinhala/Tamil.

Financial Proposal

All Inclusive Lump Sum Fee (Professional Fees): (LKR) ___________________
All Inclusive Lump Sum Fee (other costs as indicative below): (LKR)____________
Total Lump Sum Fee (a+b): (LKR) _______________________

Note:

Payments will be based on invoices on achievement of agreed milestones i.e. upon delivery of the services specified in the TOR and certification by the UNDP. The applicant must factor in all possible costs in his/her “All Inclusive Lump Sum Fee” financial proposal including his/her consultancy and professional fee, honorarium, any additional HR cost (as required) such as translators and field assistants, communication cost such as telephone/internet usage, printing cost, ad-hoc costs, stationery costs, and any other foreseeable costs in this exercise. No costs other than what has been indicated in the financial proposal will be paid or reimbursed to the consultant.

For an Individual Contractor who is of 62 years of age or older, and on an assignment requiring travel, be it for the purpose of arriving at the duty station or as an integral duty required under the TOR, a full medical examination and statement of fitness to work must be provided. Such medical examination costs must be factored in to the financial proposal above. Medical examination is not a requirement for individuals on RLA contracts.

The UNDP will provide and cover the following costs:

Actual costs for travels outside duty station will be reimbursed.

Payment of Services:

Instalment 1 – 20% of the contract value, 01 week (5 days of consultancy) after contract is signed, upon below deliverables:

Submission of work plan and annotated table of contents.

Instalment 2 – 30% of the contract value, 07 weeks (30 days of consultancy) after contract is signed, upon below deliverables:

Submission of first draft of guidelines and holding a consultative session.

Instalment 3 – 50% of the contract value, 10 weeks (25 days of consultancy) after contract is signed, upon below deliverables:

Submission of draft final guidelines, holding a validation workshop and submission of the finalized guidelines.

How to Apply:

The application should contain:

Cover letter explaining why you are the most suitable candidate for the advertised position and a brief methodology on how you will approach and conduct the work, including a tentative table of contents for the final report;
Updated CV to include qualifications/competencies and relevant past experience in similar projects and name/contact details of 2 professional referees who can validate and recommend your professionalism, competencies and suitability to undertake this assignment;
Individual consultants will be evaluated based on a combination of a desk review of the CV, the draft work plan and the offer that provides the best value for money. (please refer and adopt the financial model format provided below in your financial offer). The Evaluation Panel may decide to call for an interview (face to face or telephone) if required;
Please duly fill the financial proposal and attach to the last page of the CV along with all other required documentation above.

Note:

Please group all your documents into one (1) single PDF document as the system only allows to upload maximum one document.

Qualified women and members of minorities are encouraged to apply.

Incomplete applications will not be considered;

Please make sure you have provided all requested materials.