UNDP Jobs - 8025- Consultant: Strategic Planning for Protected Area

Consultant: Strategic Planning for Protected Area

Location :

Yerevan, ARMENIA

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

13-Jan-09 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

SSA

Duration of Initial Contract :

4 months

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

6 staff/weeks during 4 months period

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

Although environmental issues are gradually becoming integrated within the policy frameworks for socio-economic development in Armenia, and the link between biodiversity conservation and human sustainable development is recognised, the protected area system still suffers from lack of technical, management, and material capacity and chronic under-funding. Although most donor projects to date have directed their efforts to PA system, the benefits of these are limited since these are the only IUCN category I and II (state reserves and national parks) in the country are targeted. There are more Sanctuaries/nature reserves (Category IV) than any other category of protected area in Armenia, but they are at best nothing more than “paper parks” without properly defined boundaries, no management authorities, no staff, and no resources to undertake conservation management. However, because these protected areas are smaller than the State Reserves and National Parks, they offer the best mechanism for expanding Armenia’s protected area system and crucial in incorporating under-represented habitats since: (i) such habitats are already highly fragmented; (ii) the country is small and large areas of land necessary for new State Reserves and National Parks are hard to identify, and (iii) active management intervention will most likely be necessary to conserve the key habitats – something less possible in the State Reserves. The over-riding problem is that there is no existing model to develop Category IV Sanctuaries, especially the one with local community management functions

The project objective is catalysing the expansion of the third tier of protected areas (Sanctuaries) to provide better representation of ecosystems within Armenia’s current protected area system and to enable active conservation of biodiversity by piloting the establishment of two new nature reserves to be used as models for the development of the “existing” 25 Sanctuaries.

This project will contribute to achieving global environmental benefits by mitigating the threats to the biodiversity contained in at least 89,524 ha (50%) of the protected areas of Armenia. This will be achieved by overcoming the barriers and catalysing effective management in the major part of the protected area system, thereby extending and enhancing the protection status of at least 30,000 ha (representing a 10% increase in the coverage of the total terrestrial PAS in Armenia and a 20% increase in the coverage of Sanctuaries including critically under-represented globally significant habitats and globally significant agro-biodiversity.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the overall guidance of the UNDP Armenia Environmental Governance Portfolio Analyst and UNDP/GEF Regional Coordination Unit, under supervision of the Project Team Leader, and in close cooperation with the local expert team International Consultant is expected to work in supporting project implementation by providing technical advisory services.

• Review, baseline information provided by team leader, provide guidance and inputs to the work of local experts;
• Develop the threats and root causes matrix, and the description of the barriers to the effective management of the Sanctuaries;
• Advise on international best practices in protected area planning and management, institutional development and protected area financing tools;
• Carry out a cost effective analysis of the project strategy;
• Assess the sustainability of suggested project outcomes and outputs;
• Propose a project monitoring and evaluation framework with a set of measurable impact and progress indicators;
• Develop detailed costing for the project outcomes and outputs, liase with national agencies and donor organisations to identify co-funding for MSP phase;
• Conduct Incremental Cost Analysis;
• Identify and introduce key methodological approaches to capacity development, including the detailed indicator framework for global environmental mainstreaming;
• Provide brief technical assistance to stocktaking and consultation processes;
• Develop finale version of Medium Sized Project document in accordance to UNDP/GEF requirements.

Outputs:

• Mission reports, including recommendations concerning implementation of different activities and information on tasks under the clause “Duties”;
• Final Medium sized project proposal developed according to the GEF guidelines.

Competencies

Good knowledge of environmental and sustainable development agenda at regional and global levels. Working experience in CIS countries is an advantage;
Familiarity with methodologies of functional reviews and policy mainstreaming;
Recent and proven experience in developing GEF Projects under Biodiversity Focal Area (BD 1 or BD2), including projects of similar nature;
Strong interpersonal communication, reporting and writing skills
Fluency in English, knowledge of Russian is an asset.

Required Skills and Experience

• Advance university degree in environmental science/policy, natural resource management or other related field;
• At least 10 years extensive working experience in the field of environmental policy and management at national and international level;