Historique

Qinghai Province serves as a significant store of the national biodiversity, exhibiting unique high altitude grassland, mountain, wetland, desert and forest ecosystems. It also serves as a significant controller of the Asian monsoon system, which affects the lives and livelihoods of around 3 billion people. The province encompasses the headwaters of three of Asia’s major rivers – the Yellow, Yangtze and Mekong rivers.
 
Although Qinghai Province lists 11 nature reserves totaling an impressive 31% of the territory, the existing protected area (PA) system lacks adequate balance. Specifically, the PA system shows significant gaps in ecosystem coverage and also contains extensive overlap with other development interests such as road construction, water diversion plans, mineral resource extraction, and herder community tenure rights.
 
Although the province has made significant efforts to date, a number of barriers remain that prevent the establishment of an effectively managed and sustainable PA system, grouped in three broad categories: (i) a disconnect between PA planning and management, and provincial development and sectoral planning processes; (ii) inadequate financial and human resources and weak institutional and staff capacities for PA management; and (iii) limited participation and capacity of local communities in the context of environmental conservation, in particular PA planning and management.
 
With GEF support, interventions aiming to strengthen the management effectiveness of the Qinghai PA system will include the following:
 
At provincial level:
Mainstreaming the PA system and its objectives into development and sector planning frameworks; developing a comprehensive PA system plan, which incorporates climate change adaptation strategies; establishing a knowledge management system to support biodiversity-sensitive decision-making in various sectors and in PA planning and management; strengthening the enabling legal framework for effective PA management, including support for the provision of incentives and for participatory mechanisms; and mobilizing necessary investments to support the expansion and the effective management of the network of PAs.
 
At institutional level:
Strengthening institutional and human resource capacities to establish and manage PAs and to maintain an effectively managed PA system in the long term; supporting the cost-effective and sustainable management of individual PAs by building their operational capacities; and building a business case that will help to engender the necessary investments to manage threats to biodiversity. 
 
At the site level:
Promoting and up-scaling models of community co-management in PAs in selected demonstration areas (communities) in the Sanjiangyuan National Nature Reserve. Such co-management activities will enhance PA management effectiveness through increased community participation and co-ownership of natural resources and their sustainable utilization. Development of appropriate eco-compensation plans (cf. payments for a continued or enhanced provision of ecological services) also will be supported through the project.
 
The project started on September 14th 2012 and will end on September 13th 2017. The inception workshop held on 25 January 2013 announced the official launch of the project.

Devoirs et responsabilités

The specialist will assist national consultants and local subcontractors in the design and setup of a user-friendly biodiversity data management systems oriented toward PA management. S/he will also support the establishment of biodiversity monitoring baselines and procedures and contribute to the development of a guidebook on data management. The total working period is 10 weeks over 5 years.
 
Scope of Services
  • Assess existing management information systems and databases of different provincial government agencies, and determine how best to link between sub-centers and information sharing mechanisms
  • Develop a framework for a comprehensive management information system and database with sub-contractor
  • Develop a biodiversity data management system with GIS and set up information sharing mechanism
  • Establish biodiversity monitoring protocols, including monitoring baselines
  • Develop of a basic guidebook on data management for different database users
 Expected Outputs
  • Establishment of a GIS platform for analysing biodiversity data (including the delivery of essential software and training)
  • Agreement on reporting and information sharing protocols
  • Establishment of a virtual biodiversity data centre (a network linking existing sub-centres)
  • Integration of socio-economic information (and information about current or planned development programmes) with biodiversity and other environmental information in the database, and subsequent identification of information gaps
  • Establishment of a biodiversity monitoring baseline, and development of procedures including training for database developers and managers
  • Development of a basic guidebook on data management
 Deliverables of this contract
  • Provincial inter-sectoral coordination mechanism and agreement related to outputs 1.1 and 1.2 of the project (This deliverable shall be developed together with the international PA planning and mainstreaming specialist and national sector mainstreaming specialist)
  • Framework for information reporting and sharing, and development of meta-data dataset including protocols for Management & Information System developers and manager
  • Workshop about information sharing mechanisms
  • Meta-dataset and protocols developed for Management & Information System developers and managers
Duration of Contract
  • 2 week in the initial contract period (in total, 10 weeks over 5 years)
  • Contract period: 1st June – 31st December, 2013
  • it is anticipated that the contract shall be renewed annually

Compétences

Corporate Competencies:
  • Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN’s values and ethical standards;
  • 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;
  • Fulfills all obligations to gender sensitivity and zero tolerance for sexual harassment.
Functional Competencies:
  • Familiar with biodiversity monitoring, data analysis and management
  • Good working knowledge of English, with clear English communication and writing; preferably also with Chinese language experience

Qualifications et expériences requises

Education:

  • Masters degree or higher required in Nature Reserve Management or Information Technology

Experience:

  • At least 10 years experience in integrated software development, or at least 5 years working experience in secondary development and experience in WEB 2.0 or open structure website and interface development
  • Experience in application and secondary development of GIS and database
  • Experience of international cooperation project procedures, especially with GEF or UNDP

Language:

  • Fluent in English

Others:

  • In good health, able to travel and work in high altitude environments (no previous history of ‘altitude sickness’)
  • Non-Chinese passport
FC: 62000