On March 2, 2021, the Parliament of Georgia adopted the Law of Georgia "On Environmental Liability" (Law of Georgia "On Environmental Liability" https://matsne.gov.ge/en/document/view/5109151?publication=0) (the law entered into force on July 1, 2022). The law was developed on the basis of Article 306 of the "Association Agreement between Georgia and, on the other hand, the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Union and their member states" (ssociation Agreement between Georgia and, on the other hand, the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Union and their member states - https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:22014A0830(02)) according to which Georgia is obliged to bring its national legislation closer to the EU legislative acts and international legal instruments specified in Annex XXVI of this agreement. The law mentioned above was prepared based on Directive 2004/35/EC of the European Parliament and the Council of April 21, 2004, on "Environmental Liability."

The law establishes a new legal system of environmental liability in the country in accordance with the principles of EU legislation based on the "polluter pays" principle. The law's main purpose is to prevent significant damage to the environment (biological diversity, water, land), mitigate the damage caused, and ensure restoration of the damaged environment to its original (pre-damage) state. The Law of Georgia "On Environmental Liability" is the main legal act regulating the field of environmental liability, and together with its by-laws, the law mentioned above will create a complete legal framework that will regulate the imposition of legal responsibility for significant damage to the environment, restoration of the damaged environment to its original state, and other related issues.

As already mentioned above, due to the fact that a completely new system of environmental liability is being created in the country, at this stage, there is a lack of institutional experience related to the implementation of environmental liability in Georgia to fulfil the obligation defined by the law in a timely and qualitative manner. Therefore, along with the formation of the legal basis, it is extremely important to strengthen the capacities of the state agencies, in particular, the capabilities of the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture (MEPA), LEPL National Environmental Agency (NEA), and LEPL Environmental Information and Education Centre (EIEC), Department of Environmental Supervision (DES), to efficiently participate in the process of implementing environmental liability, to boost the knowledge of the employees of these agencies about the environmental liability system and its separate provisions (such as assessment of significant damage to the environment, identification, assessment, selection of appropriate remedial measures in case of damage, determination of compensation measures for intermediate losses, selection of the necessary territory, etc.) and about the problematic issues of their application in practice. From this point of view, it is extremely important to provide assistance to the Ministry and its agencies to develop the capacity of its employees, as well as share theoretical and practical knowledge about the implementation mechanisms of the European environmental liability system.

The successful implementation of the environmental liability system is particularly crucial for Georgia, as it is an obligation imposed by the European Union directive. Since the mentioned system implies new approaches, the staff in this direction must acquire appropriate knowledge and know in detail how the environmental liability system works. As this is a challenging task, the Ministry has requested UNDP to provide support and technical assistance through the international expert to prepare the specific chapters for the practical handbook elaborated by the international consultant on biodiversity. These chapters should target the general aspects of the environmental liability system to capacitate the staff of MEPA to detect, classify and assess the cases efficiently. Moreover, the consultant should develop the capacities of MEPA, NEA, DES and EIEC staff members and deepen their knowledge about general principles and EU approaches to the environmental liability system to make them capable assess the environmental damage effectively in the future.

The scope of work for the international consultant will include, but may not be limited to:

 Review the national regulatory and policy framework related to environmental liability in Georgia to identify the gaps and address these needs in the training module on the general aspect of the environmental liability system In close cooperation with another international consultant on biodiversity aspects of the environmental liability system, develop input/chapters in the practical handbook describing the case studies and solutions targeting the environmental liability system application by the EU member states Develop the training module and prepare training materials elaborated based on the practical case studies and the EU experience

Conduct up to four-days training for the staff of MEPA, DES, NEA and EIEC (about 25 participants) that should include the following pillars:

• Overview of main legislative acts related to environmental liability in the EU
• Overview of the difficulties arising in the stages of introduction and implementation of the Environmental Liability System (examples of the EU member states)

• Review of successful and unsuccessful cases related to environmental liability from the experience of European countries;
• Identification and assessment of the measures for the remediation of significant environmental damage;
• Equivalency methods for the economic valuation of damage; practical examples for determination of interim losses, compensatory and complementary remediation measures;
• Methods for financial security calculation and for assessment for the risk of damage

Prepare the evaluation report of the training based on the feedback from the participants (using the knowledge assessment questionaries and describing the process of the training itself as well as the feedback and recommendations of the trainer);

Compile final consultancy report including accomplishments undertaken during the consultancy period and a set of recommendations for further operations.

Deliverables and payment modality:

60%of the consultancy fee - Middle of November 2022

1. Specific chapters in the practical handbook describing the case studies and solutions targeting the environmental liability system application by the EU member states;
2. General training module elaborated based on the revision of the current national legislation and policy framework;
3. Training material containing practical case studies on the environmental liability system prepared for the staff MEPA, DES, NEA and EIEC;

40%of the consultancy fee - End of December 2022

     4. Conducted training on general aspects of liability system and presented training report containing the list of participants, analysis of the training process, knowledge assessment tools, feedback of the trainer and general recommendations; 

    5. Final consultancy report including all accomplishments and work performed within the consultancy.

The international consultant will work under the overall supervision of the Governance Reform Fund (GRF) Project Manager and the direct supervision of the GRF Environmental Coordinator. The international consultant will have close working relations with the representatives of MEPA to make sure that the overall vision and priorities of both institutions are taken into consideration.

The service provider will be directly responsible for, reporting to, seeking approval from and obtaining a certificate of acceptance of outputs from the GRF Project Manager and the GRF Environmental Coordinator. In addition, the respective GRF team will be responsible for sharing relevant documents, contact details and other necessary information with the service provider.

Corporate competencies:

• Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN's values and ethical standards;
• Understanding the mandate and the role of UNDP would be an asset;
• 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.

Functional competencies:

• Strong communication and analytical skills;
• Demonstrated skills in drafting reports;
• Ability to work under pressure with several tasks and various deadlines;
• Actively generates creative, practical approaches and solutions to overcome challenging situations;
• Excellent writing, presentation/public speaking skills;
• A pro-active approach to problem-solving;
• Computer literacy.

Leadership and Self-Management skills:

• Builds strong relationships with the working group and with the project partners
• Focuses on impact and results for the project partners and responds positively to feedback;
• Cooperates with the working group effectively and demonstrates strong conflict resolution skills;
• Consistently approaches work with energy, positivity, and a constructive attitude;
• Demonstrates strong influencing and facilitation skills;
• Remains calm, in control, and good-humored under pressure;
• Demonstrates openness to change, new ideas, and ability to manage ambiguity;
• Demonstrates strong oral and written communication skills;
• Demonstrates the ability to transfer knowledge and competencies;
• Is able to work independently and hurdle competing priorities.

Education:

• Bachelor’s degree in the field of environmental management, environmental science, environmental engineering, biology, and/or any related field (minimum requirement). Bachelor’s degree - 13 points (minimum requirement); Master’s degree – additional 2 points - 15 Points.

Experience:

• At least three years of theoretical and practical experience in preparation/implementation of the European Directive (ELD) on Environmental Liability 2004/35/EC; (minimum requirement), 3 years – 7 points (minimum requirement); more than 3 years – additional 3 points - 10 Points.

• At least two years of experience in supporting the state agencies in terms of assessing significant damage to the environment and identifying remedial measures for the damaged environment; (minimum requirement) (minimum requirement). 2 years – 10 Points (minimum requirement); more than 2 years – additional 5 points -  15 Points.

• At least one year of hands-on experience preparing training modules and conducting training on environmental liability system; (minimum requirement) -1 year - 5 points (minimum requirement); more than 1 year – additional 2 points - 7 Points.

• Experience working in Georgia and/or knowledge of the context of the region will be an asset - 3 Points.

Evaluation

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on the cumulative analysis method. Offerors will be evaluated against the combination of technical and financial criteria. The maximum obtainable score is 100, out of which the total score for technical criteria equals to 70 and for financial criteria – to 30. Offerors that do not meet Minimum Qualification Criteria will be automatically rejected, while the rest will form up the long list. The offerors who obtain minimum 35 points as a result of the desk review will be invited for the interview. Offerors who pass 70% threshold, i.e. obtain minimum 14 points, as a result of the interview will be requested the financial proposal.

Financial Proposal:

The financial proposal shall specify a total lump sum amount, and payment terms around specific and measurable (qualitative and quantitative) deliverables (i.e. whether payments fall in installments or upon completion of the entire contract). Payments are based upon output, i.e. upon delivery of the services specified in the ToR.  In order to assist the requesting unit in the comparison of financial proposals, the financial proposal will include a breakdown of this lump sum amount. Maximum 30 points will be assigned to the lowest price offer. All other price offers will be scored using the formula (inverse proportion):  Financial score X = 30* the lowest price offer/suggested price offer. All envisaged travel costs must be included in the financial proposal as well.