Background

The Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) Project for Mountain Ecosystems in Nepal, Peru and Uganda aims to strengthen the capacity of these countries, which are particularly vulnerable to climate change impacts, through ecosystem based adaptation approaches. The project targets to strengthen the resiliency of ecosystems within these countries and reduce the vulnerability of local communities with particular emphasis on mountain ecosystems.

The pilot site for this project is the Panchase area belonging to Kaski, Parbat and Syangja districts. This area was chosen due to its vulnerability to climate change impacts, with negative impacts on water resources, agriculture and biodiversity. The major climate risks in this area are from landslide hazards during the monsoon season and water stress due to degrading ecosystems. The project is designed on the premise that the social/human adaptation is best achieved by ensuring the continued provision of ecosystem services and enhancing human capacities to address current challenges and future uncertainties.  This is especially true in the context of the mountain regions of Nepal where communities continue to be significantly dependent on ecosystem services for their livelihoods.

Project Goal, Objective and Outcomes

The main objective of the project is to enhance ability of decision makers in Nepal to plan and implement EbA strategies and measures at national and ecosystem level.

The major outcome of the project is to mainstream environment, energy and climate change into national and local development planning with focus on gender, social inclusion and post conflict environmental rehabilitation.

The project has four major components: (i) the development of methodologies and tools for EBA decision-making in mountain ecosystems; (ii) the application of EbA tools and methodologies at the ecosystem level; (iii) the implementation of EbA pilots at the ecosystem level; and (iv)the formulation of national policies and building an economic case for EbA at the national level.

Project Area

The project is piloted in 9 VDCs of the Panchase Protected Forest and 8 adjoining VDCs of the protected forest of Kaski, Parbat and Syangja.

Project Working Modality

The project is funded by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) (through its International Climate Initiative) and is jointly implemented by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

In Nepal, the Ministry of Forest and Soil Conservation (MFSC) is the implementing agency at the national level in partnership with UNDP, IUCN and UNEP while Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment (MoSTE) plays an overall coordination role.

Rational

The project has identified midterm review (MTR) as a tool to assess project status and challenges as well as identify corrective action to ensure that project is on track to achieve planned outcomes. MTR is beneficial for project implementation as they provide an independent in-depth review of implementation progress and provide guidance to address challenges and further enhance implementation.

MTR will assess the progress of Nepal component undertaken by three implementing partners i.e. UNEP, UNDP and IUCN. Project Management Unit (PMU) based in Department of Forest will recruit national level evaluators for the midterm evaluation who will evaluate project interventions undertaken by UNEP, UNDP and IUCN in the country.

Duties and Responsibilities

Objective of the Midterm Review

This MTR is intended to identify potential project design problems, assess progress towards the achievement of objectives, identify and document lessons learned and make recommendations regarding specific actions that might be taken to improve the project. The MTR provides the opportunity to assess early signs of project success or failure and prompt necessary adjustments.

The MTR will evaluate the progress undertaken by three implementing partners i.e. UNDP, IUCN and UNEP in Nepal.

Specific responsibilities of Team Leader:

• Coordinate the overall work and provide guidance and direction to the team member;
• Review and analyze project document, and other project related reports to collect and collate various information related to the evaluation
• Review and analyze various activities and interventions undertaken by the project including its effectiveness
• Based on the review and analysis, concretize findings and  recommendations for future course of action in a list for improving or streamlining project activities including the effectiveness of the output produced to achieve the intended results.
• Maintain close liaison with UNDP, IUCN, UNEP and PMU. Take the lead role in preparing the interim and final report, based on inputs from team member taking into account the results of multi-stakeholder discussions in field and finalize the report.

Specific responsibilities of Team Member:

• Review and analyze project document, and other project related reports to collect and collate various information related to gender and social inclusion;
•  Based on the review and analysis provide input to the team leader on gender and social inclusion issue of the project and recommend future course of action for improving or streamlining project activities including the effectiveness of the output produced to achieve the intended results;
• Assist team leader to develop the evaluation report and to carry out presentation of the review findings.

Specifically, the MTR will:
Assess and evaluate the progress of the three partners in achieving its results and impacts  through implementation of the activities in Nepal till date

• Review the document, reports and publication prepared by three partners under the project;
• Interact, interview and communicate with project partners, national and local stakeholders to get better picture of the success and gaps in project implementation to achieve the targeted outcomes;
• Visit field sites and interact with local communities to understand the impacts of the project through preparing relevant indicators to access the impacts.

Assess the effectiveness and efficiency utilization of ongoing resources including human and it’s contribution in cross cutting issues such as gender, social inclusion etc.

• Provide guidance and recommendation for remaining period of the project;
• Identify status of the project activities, and gaps of the project activities;
• Recommend way forward for further enhancement of the project in coming days.

Provide guidance and recommendation for remaining period of the project

• Identify status of the project activities, and gaps of the project activities;
• Recommend way forward for further enhancement of the project in coming days.

The reviewer will focus on following areas while assessing each component of the project.

Project formulation 

• Conceptualization/Design;
• Stakeholder participation.

Project Implementation

• Implementation Approach;
• Monitoring & Evaluation;
• Stakeholder participation;
• Promotion of ownership feeling among the line agencies.

Results

• Attainment of outcomes in line with objectives of the project/achievement of objectives (Relevance, effectiveness, Efficiency & sustainability;
• Financial delivery of resources versus the project results achieved;
• Gaps on organizational Structure, managerial support & coordination mechanism.

Expected outcome

The assessment will evaluate activities undertaken till date by all three partners in the country and provide recommendation for improvement and enrichment of the partners’ initiatives towards meeting the ultimate goal of the project. More specifically, the MTR will:

• Identify strengths and challenges in program design and implementation, in particular implementation arrangements and its impacts on efficiency and effectiveness of converting resources (money and time) into results and impacts;
• Assess achievements of the project in line with  the objectives of the four components defined in the result framework;
• Identify issues and challenges contributing to targets not adequately achieved and address the underlying cause;
• Recommend necessary changes in overall design and orientation of the project to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of the project implementation;
• Verify effective and efficient use of funds to deliver results to date;
• Identify and assess lesson learnt and best practices in relation to achievement of the project objective and outcomes;
• Assess how the project has adapted to any emerging issue and challenges;
• Assess the differences between the ongoing activities of Government and Project.

Methodology

This MTR will be conducted as an in-depth and independent reflection of project progress and future priority actions. The consultants will liaise with the EbA staffs and partners on any logistic and/or methodological issues to properly conduct the review in independent way as possible, given the circumstances and resources offered. A draft report will be prepared and circulated to MFSC, EbA, UNDP (country office), IUCN (country office) and UNEP (Regional Office) to solicit comments and suggestions.

The findings of the Review will be based on the following:

• Desk review: of project documents including, but not limited to: (a) The project documents, outputs, monitoring reports (such as progress and financial reports) and the internal review reports of the project (e.g. Baselines, VIA, thematic studies etc). (b) Review of specific products including the website. (c) Notes from the Project Executive Boards (PEBs), and other meetings
• Interviews, discussions and consultations at national and local levels (including donors).

Roles and Responsibilities

The consultant will be working under the overall guidance of the National Project Director of EbA project and facilitation, coordination and support of the EbA Coordinator. The consultant is expected to report to the implementing partners i.e. UNDP, UNEP and IUCN about the progress and the challenges via PMU.

Duration

The duration of the contract is for 25 working days. The consultancy is home based.

Payment

Payment will be made in two installments. First 50% payment will be made after approval of the inception report and rest 50% after approval of the final report.

Competencies

Corporate Competencies:

• Respect to cultural/ethnic/social/language diversity;
• Political neutrality; ability to work across party liness.

Functional Competencies:

• Knowledge of mid-term evaluation techniques and tools;
• Knowledge of result based management evaluation methodologies;
• Knowledge of participatory monitoring approaches, impact indicator and reconstructing & validating baseline scenario;
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills.

Required Skills and Experience

Team Leader

Education:

• Minimum Masters in Natural Resource Management/Environment/Forestry or related field with knowledge on ecosystem services and climate change adaptation.

Experience:

• At least 10 years of professional experience of working in natural resource, environment and climate change adaptation;
• Experience of working with various stakeholders including government, civil society, communities, bilateral and international agencies;
• Previous experience of undertaking similar evaluation in the past;
• Experience with result based management evaluation methodologies;
• Experience in applying participatory monitoring approaches, impact indicator and reconstructing and validating baseline scenario;
• Excellent knowledge on natural resource management, ecosystem services and climate change adaptation.

Team Member (TM-1)

The team leader will be supported by a team member with gender and socio-economy expertize. S/he will support the team leader in assessing the socioeconomic component of the project.

Education:

• Minimum Master Degree in social science or related field with knowledge on gender and social inclusion on Natural Resource Sector.

Experience 

• At least 7 years of professional experience of working in gender and social issues in Nepal;
• Experience of working with various stakeholders including government, civil society, communities, bilateral and international agencies;
• Excellent knowledge on socio-economic issues of the country.

Language for both:

• Fluent in spoken and written English.