Background

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" (Association 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 abovementioned law was prepared on the basis of 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.

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, specific 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. One of the problematic issues while introducing the liability system is the assessment of damage in the sub-sectoral directions, such as biodiversity, water, soil, etc., and their restoration experience. From this point of view, it is extremely important to assist MEPA and develop its staff capabilities to properly evaluate the loss of biodiversity and share knowledge and hands-on experience about the common practices from the EU member states. 

The successful implementation of the environmental liability system is particularly crucial for Georgia, as it is an obligation imposed by the EU directive. Since the mentioned system implies new approaches, it is necessary that the staff employed in this direction acquire appropriate knowledge on how to evaluate the significant damage, especially to the biodiversity of the country. As this is a challenging task, the Ministry has requested UNDP to provide support and technical assistance through the international expert to elaborate the factual guiding handbook, and develop capacities of MEPA’s NEA’s, DES’s, and EIEC’s current staff and share the European experience about the biodiversity pillar of the liability system.

Duties and Responsibilities

The consultancy's overall objective is to support MEPA in developing the capacity of its staff and relevant agencies to enforce the environmental legislation in Georgia effectively. More specifically, the international consultant should elaborate the practical handbook on environmental liability system impact on biodiversity (based on practical cases), that should also include chapters about the general aspects of the environmental liability system prepared by another international expert, i.e., both consultants should work in a team only on the handbook component. Moreover, the consultant should develop the Training of Trainer’s module (ToT) and conduct training for NEA and DES staff members to prepare future trainers at the national level. This should be followed by the targeted training on biodiversity for the staff of MEPA, DES, NEA, and EIEC prepared based on good international practices. The new skills and acquired knowledge should assist the Ministry’s staff in detecting, identifying, and assessing the suspected cases of environmental damage to biodiversity. Moreover, the consultant should cover the issues targeting selecting and evaluating relevant remedial actions. The learning process should include both practical and theoretical parts.    

Duties and Responsibilities:

The scope of work for the international expert 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 needs to be reflected in the training modules.

Prepare the practical handbook describing the case studies and solutions targeting the environmental liability for significant damage to biodiversity, based on the experience of the EU member states and incorporate the inputs of the international consultant on -general aspects of the environmental liability system.

Prepare the package of materials necessary for both types of training, containing practical case studies.

Develop the ToT training module on biodiversity issues as a part of the environmental liability system.

Conduct up to three-day ToT on the environmental liability system with a special focus on significant damage to biodiversity for the staff of DES and NEA (about 10 participants).

• Prepare the training module on biodiversity issues as a part of the liability system to be conducted for the broader groups of staff members of MEPA, DES, NEA, and EIEC.
• Conduct up to five-days training on the environmental liability system focusing on biodiversity issues for the staff of MEPA, DES, NEA, and EIEC (about 25 participants). The training should cover the following issues:

• Review a recovery plan based on presented case studies;
• Important issues of damaged biodiversity restoration and practice of selection of remedial measures;
• Analysis of species and habitat equivalence and its practical examples;
• Provide practical examples of recovering different types of damaged areas; Species and habitats recovery methods (and duration for restored/renovation) and determination of compensation measures;
• To accurately calculate the number of living individuals to restore a damaged population, to determine and scale production in the case of species growth and plants, in order to know what share of the restored species is required for the species and habitat to be considered restored;
• Requirements for recovery measures in case of damage to RAMSAR (https://www.ramsar.org/)), UNESCO (https://en.unesco.org/themes/biodiversity), EMERALD (https://www.eea.europa.eu/help/glossary/eea-glossary/emerald-network)( sites or their adjacent areas;
• Discuss different approaches to different types of ecosystems (specifically in different types of Protected Areas) when identifying remedial measures;
• Calculation of interim losses and number (or proportion) of new renovation possibilities of endangered species and habitats on practical examples;
• Assessment criteria of damaged species as well as species for renovation/remediation and sharing practical examples for restoration of damaged areas close to their original (or close to original) condition;
• Financial/economic assessment and calculation for the recovery plan;
• Identification and assessment criteria and practical examples of substitute measures at an adjacent or alternative sites

Prepare the evaluation reports of the training courses (both – ToT training and training on biodiversity) 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.

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.

Deliverables and payment modality:

60%of the consultancy fee - End of November 2022

1. Practical handbook on biodiversity issues describing the case studies and solutions targeting the environmental liability system application by the EU member states;
2. ToT training and training modules on biodiversity issues as part of the environmental liability system elaborated based on the revision of the current national legislation and policy framework and good European practices;
3. Training materials containing practical case studies targeting biodiversity issues for both types of trainings prepared for the staff MEPA, DES, NEA and EIEC.

40%of the consultancy fee - End of December  2022

       4. Conducted trainings and ToT training on biodiversity aspects of the liability system and presented training reports containing a 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.

Competencies

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.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Bachelor’s degree in the field of environmental management, environmental science, environmental engineering, biology, geology, and/or any related fields; (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 in the field of biodiversity (minimum requirement) 3 years – 7 points (minimum requirement); more than 3 years – additional 3 points – 10 Points.
• At least two years of hands-on experience in supporting the state agencies in terms of assessing significant damage to biodiversity and identifying remedial measures for the damaged environment; (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 with a special focus on biodiversity; (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.