Background

Studies have identified the Philippines as the third most disaster-prone country in the world, costing the economy an average of PhP10.8B (US$240M) affecting 3.75 million people annually. Super typhoon Yolanda, the strongest on record so far,caused an economic damage of US$11B to 15B affecting 11 million people in 39 provinces, with over 4 million homeless. Furthermore, despite belonging to the 17 mega diverse countries possessing the richest flora and fauna, the Philippines is also a major “hotspot” due to the high rate of degradation and exploitation of the environment and biodiversity losses.

Together with various stakeholders undertaking conservation work, the judiciary also plays a crucial role in the goal of sustaining the environment and in ensuring the welfare and survival of communities around the country. In recent years, the Supreme Court of the Philippines (SCP) achieved significant milestones in the area of promoting & upholding people’s environmental rights. These had been undertaken to respond to the degradation and alarming problems on the environment and the need for a responsive structure/mechanism to assist affected communities that have suffered adverse conditions resulting from violation of environmental laws. Most notable is the Rules of Procedures for Environmental Cases promulgated by the SCP on 14 April 2010 which provides for a liberalized system of redress and accessible special remedies such as environmental protection order and Writ of Kalikasan. From the initial 117 designated “green courts”, the Rules essentially expanded the number to all courts of general jurisdiction. The SCP also implemented multi-sectoral capacity building activities in all regions, and developed several knowledge products intended to increase awareness on environmental rights and available legal remedies provided by the Rules.

While the Rules is a landmark achievement, their effective implementation cannot be assured without substantial awareness-raising and capacity building among the judiciary and other stakeholders. Interventions are required to address fragmentation and improve the coordination work among the pillars of justice (i.e., law enforcement, prosecution, courts, correction, and community) thru an “engineered” strategy to effectively implement Environmental Justice at the local level.

The Project, for 2014 and remaining years, aims to look into enhancing the local implementation of environmental justice system particularly in key biodiversity areas (KBAs)[1] to complement and reinforce existing conservation efforts and to create better impact in terms of addressing environmental violations. Two of the 128 KBAs identified for priority conservation have been selected for assessment, namely: (1) Quezon Protected Landscape and (2) Pagbilao and Tayabas Bay based on a set of criteria.  The assessment is intended to assist the Project in developing its pilot program towards solidifying the system of coordination and strengthening the capacities of the pillars of justice in the said KBAs.

As preparation, a conduct of assessment and consultations with ground-level pillars working in the 2 KBAs is necessary to scan/map the existing capacities and identify gaps and possible actions to address them. Thus, the Project is currently in need of a Consultant/Technical Assistant to undertake the task.

Duties and Responsibilities

The Contractor/Responsible Party (RP) is expected to undertake the following:

• Research/Data gathering to establish a background/situational analysis on the state of the environment of the two KBAs including data on the top environmental problems and threats being encountered in the area; trends in terms of problems in investigation prosecution and adjudication of environmental cases and their status, to include trends in court decisions;
• Conduct of field work and interviews/focus group discussions/meetings with the pillars of justice (i.e., law enforcement, prosecution, adjudication, correction, community) to establish/map out the existing justice system in operation in the area, the current role, institutional arrangement and coordination work or relationships between and among the various local stakeholders and actors in term of pursuing environmental violations and cases, including those that provide training resource and extent of assistance;
• Mapping and generating an assessment of the strengths and weaknesses, gaps and opportunities in the present coordination system among the pillars and in their capacities to assist communities when they are affected by environmental violations as well as in addressing/pursuing cases; and,

Competencies

Corporate competencies:

• Demonstrates commitment to UNDP’s mission, vision and values;
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
• Highest standards of integrity, discretion and loyalty.

Required Skills and Experience

• Must have an LLB or Juris Doctor degree and must have passed the Philippine Bar Examination.

Experience:

• Must be a member of the Philippine Bar; with at least three (3) years relevant experience in the field of research, conduct of assessment, and/or environmental development and governance work; and
• With extensive knowledge on environmental issues and environmental justice legal processes and remedies.

Language:

• Fluent in English.