Bangladesh is a signatory to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).  The Conference of the Parties (COP) to the UNFCCC has taken a number of decisions in recent years to encourage developing country Parties to take climate change mitigation actions in forestry sector. The role of forests and reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, and the role of conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of forest carbon stocks in developing countries (REDD+) have been fully recognised and enshrined in the Paris Agreements.

As part of the country’s long-term strategy to reduce GHG emissions, largely described in its Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDC), the Government of Bangladesh has taken initial steps to contribute to this global effort to address climate change, and one of such steps is to develop its capacity to implement REDD+. The Government of Bangladesh prepared and endorsed its REDD+ Readiness Roadmap in 2012.

To support this effort, the UN-REDD Bangladesh National Programme was established to provide technical capacity development assistance to the Government of Bangladesh in designing and implementing its National REDD+ Strategy and in meeting the international requirements under the UNFCCC Warsaw Framework to receive REDD+ results-based finance.

One of the key components of the REDD+ readiness process is to identify public policy approaches and interventions, including incentive mechanisms to effectively address key drivers and causes of deforestation and forest degradation (D&D). In order to identify such approaches, a clear understanding of drivers and causes of D&D in Bangladesh must first be developed.

To develop such an understanding, UNDP Bangladesh seeks the services of a national consultant who works as a member of a team to deliver the following objectives. The contracted expert is expected to work closely with a separately contracted international expert on forest governance and REDD+.

The objective of the assignment is to develop a detailed understanding of key drivers of deforestation and forest degradation, as well as for sustainable forest management and forest enhancement in Bangladesh (from here onwards referred to as ‘drivers of forest cover change’) based on which to then identify REDD+ Policies and Measures (PAMs). In so far as possible, drivers of forest cover change shall be analysed with respect to historical, current and future timescales and with reference to their spatial extent. It is important to assess relations between drivers of forest cover change together with their interactions with underlying causes.

Scope of Work

The contracted expert will work as a member of a team. The team is expected to work under guidance of the international expert. The consultant is responsible for overall coordination of assignment with the international expert and reporting to the Project Manager, UN-REDD Bangladesh National Programme.

The team of national experts is expected to lead all discussions with national stakeholders and experts, including the conceptualization and implementation of consultation and validation meetings at national and sub-national levels. The team is also expected to identify and collect all relevant data and conduct key analysis, using an analytical framework agreed between the team, international expert, Ministry of Environment and Forests (MOEF), Forest Department and REDD+ Governance Activity Coordinator, who will liaise with the project manager (PM) of NP, UNDP Bangladesh Country Office and UN-REDD Regional Technical Advisor. The team is also responsible for the production of key written deliverables, agreed between the team and international expert in consultation with the REDD+ Governance Activity Coordinator.

General Methodology

The methodology of the study consists of the following main components of investigation. This work will build on the rudimentary analysis of drivers of deforestation and forest degradation provided in the National REDD+ Readiness Roadmap. It will provide the necessary foundation for identifying and prioritizing potential policies and measures (PAMs), which will then be built on the results of this work, to address those critical drivers.

• Take stock of forest cover and forest cover change:

A basic analysis of land-cover and land-cover change will be conducted. The analysis will deliver an overview of types of forest cover, next to the pathways of change. Pathways of change organise observed changes into different spatial and temporal scales to provide historical, present and future narratives of forest cover change in Bangladesh. The data from the assessment of land use change, if available, and other existing relevant physical data will be used for this analysis, and it will be complemented with secondary data from publications, media sources, national forest inventory, land use change assessment, and census data.

• Identify drivers of forest cover change and describe their political economy:

Using observed pathways of forest cover change as a point of departure, drivers that are creating those pathways, and underlying causes of those drivers will be identified.To identify underlying causes will require detailed analysis of forest governance (including policy, legal, regulatory, institutional, socio-political, economic, cultural and biophysical factors). This may rely on analysing individual pathways of forest cover change under a profile of barriers and incentives to change. This analysis will lead up to identifying a set of drivers of forest cover change. Most importantly, information will be collected through interviews and focus group discussions.

• Assess drivers according to their impacts on forests:

In so far as possible, the biophysical impacts on forests will be assessed, chiefly the areas affected and the GHG emissions or removals. Data will be drawn from publications, national forest inventory, land use change assessment, and census data.The drivers will be placed in order of priority according to their extent of their impact.

• Identify agents of forest cover change:

By analysing the pathways of forest cover change, key agents of change will be identified.The agents are those individual actors or groups of actors whose behaviours and actions directly drive forest cover change. Identifying such agents is a crucial part of this study as they are as much part of a complex web of factors of forest cover change as part of solutions that can enable PAMs to effectively address the drivers.Information on agents will be collected through interviews and focus group discussions.

• Assess drivers according to the government interface:

The understanding of drivers and causes of forest cover change as well as critical agents of change involved such processes put in the context of Bangladesh’s current policy, legal and institutional framework in order to identify key issues, challenges and opportunities faced by the Government in addressing the drivers.Those issues, challenges and opportunities will provide important considerations during the next stage of identifying and prioritising potential PAMs.

Tasks to be Performed

To achieve the stated objectives above, the following indicative activities are anticipated under close coordination and collaboration with the international expert:

• Conduct a desk review to take stock of any existing information and data on forest cover and drivers of forest cover change in relation to major change pathways;
• Identify their causes, agents of change and their inter-relationships, as well as key issues, challenges and opportunities to be considered during the identification of potential PAMs to address the drivers;
• Consult with key stakeholders on their perception of drivers of forest cover change, including their causes, agents of change and their inter-relationships, as well as key issues, challenges and opportunities from the governance perspective;
• Prepare a draft report that details the above findings;
• Participate in a national (and sub-national if deemed necessary) validation meeting(s) organized by the NP to ensure stakeholders’ buy-in and actions on findings, policy options and recommendations; and
• Submit a final report addressing the inputs by stakeholders from the national validation meetings.

Expected Outputs and Deliverables

• The submission of an initial work plan will be due after 15 working days of contract commencement.
• A detailed work plan shortly after inception describing specific methodologies, work flow, structure of deliverables (e.g., an outline of final report), output delivery timeline, consultation plans, specific roles and responsibilities of experts (both national and international), and any other items as appropriate.
• A final report that in addition to information from the inception report also contains all analytical results, including the identified drivers of forest cover change and narratives explaining their underlying causes and agents of change, as well as key issues, challenges and opportunities to be considered during the identification of potential PAMs. The final report should also include minutes and participants lists from all stakeholder consultation meetings carried throughout the process.
  • The Deliverable 1[Inception Report including detailed Work Plan and Methodology] will be due after 15 working days of contract commencement,
  • Deliverable 2[First Draft Report on ‘Understanding drivers and causes of deforestation and forest degradation in Bangladesh’)] will be due after 55 working days and
  • Deliverable 3[Final Report on ‘Understanding drivers and causes of deforestation and forest degradation in Bangladesh’]will be due after 65 working days, with an additional 5 days for final revisions and other activities.

Institutional Arrangement

The consultant will report directly to the Project Manager, UN-REDD Bangladesh National Programme and Assistant Country Director, UNDP (CCED Cluster). The Individual Consultant will work closely with the PMU, in particular the Governance Coordinator, with technical guidance from the International Consultant (Team Leader).

The consultant will be a member of the study team. The study team includes experts in the following areas-

• Environmental and forest governance;
• Natural resource /sustainable forest management;
• Environmental/natural resources economics; and
• GIS and remote sensing.

The consultant is expected to work as a member of the team of experts in undertaking the activities mentioned in the TOR in order to achieve the stated objectives above and complete the study. The deliverables will be submitted in electronic and hard form on time by the consultant to UNDP Bangladesh.

Duration of the Work

This work will require approximately 70 days over the total duration of four months .

Duty Station

The duty station will be home based and the field visits will be required as per the work plan and requirement of the methodology .Consultant also needs to participate in consultation and validation meetings at national and sub-national levels organized by the NP and a numbers of sharing/ coordination  meeting in the Project Office  and UNDP Country Office.

• Strong interpersonal and communication skills;
• Strong analytical, reporting and writing abilities skills;
• Openness to change and ability to receive/integrate feedback;
• Ability to plan, organize, implement and report on work;
• Ability to work under pressure and tight deadlines;
• Comprehensiveness knowledge of UN REDD programme, global development concerns and climate change discourse;
• Proficiency in the use of office IT applications and internet in conducting research;
• Excellent presentation and facilitation skills.
• Demonstrates integrity and ethical standards;
• Positive, constructive attitude to work;
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability.

Educational Qualifications:

• At least Master's degree in forest governance, natural resources management, or related field

Experience

• Minimum 10 years experience in research in the area of forest governance, combined with experience in facilitating multi-stakeholder consultations at national and sub-national levels.
• Demonstrated ability to examine laws, policies, and programmers related to economics, governance, demographics, and social development that have bearing on forest management and land use change is highly desirable.
• Proven understanding of the key UNFCCC decisions on REDD+;
• Experience in working with United Nations or other international organizations or donor funded project is a plus.

Language requirements

• Fluency of English and Bangla language is required;

Price Proposal and Schedule of Payments

Consultant must send a financial proposal based on Lump Sum Amount. The total amount quoted shall be all-inclusive and include all costs components required to perform the deliverables identified in the TOR, including professional fee, travel costs, living allowance (if any work is to be done outside the IC´s duty station) and any other applicable cost to be incurred by the ICin completing the assignment. The contract price will fixed output-based price regardless of extension of the herein specified duration. Payments will be done upon completion of the deliverables/outputs and as per below percentages:

• Deliverable 1 A detailed work plan : 20 % of total contract amount
• Deliverable 2 First draft report : 40 % of total contract amount
• Deliverable 3 Final Report: 40 % of total contract amount

In general, UNDP shall not accept travel costs exceeding those of an economy class ticket. Should the IC wish to travel on a higher class he/she should do so using their own resources.

Lodging, meals and transport cost for field visit related to this assignment will be paid by the project as per UN standard and at actual basis.

In the event of unforeseeable travel not anticipated in this TOR, payment of travel costs including tickets, lodging and terminal expenses should be agreed upon, between the respective business unit and the Individual Consultant, prior to travel and will be reimbursed.

Evaluation Method and Criteria

 Individual consultants will be evaluated based on the following methodology-

Cumulative analysis

The award of the contract shall be made to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as a) responsive/compliant/acceptable; andb) having received the highest score out of set of weighted technical criteria (70%). and financial criteria (30%). Financial score shall be computed as a ratio of the proposal being evaluated and the lowest pricedproposal received by UNDP for the assignment.

Technical Criteria for Evaluation (Maximum 70 points)

• Criteria 1  Relevance of Education – 10 points
• Criteria 2 Submitted methodology and ToC – 20 points
• Criteria 3 Specific experience in the provision with similar service- 20 Points
• Criteria 4 Experience & working with Govt.  & United Nations or other international organizations or donor funded project- 20 points

Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 49 points (70% of the total technical points) would be considered for the Financial Evaluation.

Documentation required

Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications. Please group them into one (1) single PDF document as the application only allows to upload maximum one document:

• Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability using the template provided in Annex II.
• Personal CV or P11, indicating all past experience from similar projects, as well as the contact details (email and telephone number) of the Candidate and at least three (3) professional references.
• Technical proposal, including a) a brief description of why the individual considers him/herself as the most suitable for the assignment;  b) a brief methodology, on how you will approach and complete the assignment, including a tentative table of contents for the final report; and c) a list of similar assignment with topic/name of the assignment , duration, role of consultant and organization/project.
• Financial proposal, as per template provided in Annex II.

Incomplete proposals may not be considered.

Annexes

• Annex I - Individual IC General Terms and Conditions
• Annex II – Offeror’s Letter to UNDP Confirming Interest and Availability for the Individual IC, including Financial Proposal Template