Background
The Indonesian-Chinese palm oil trade is characterized by, on the one hand, China as third largest global importer and fourth largest consumer of palm oil and, on the other hand, Indonesia as the world’s largest producer and exporter. Recent trends include proposals for China to import a significantly larger share of Indonesia’s palm oil.
China is increasingly committing itself to environmental and ecological protection while Indonesia is coping with the impact of expansion of its palm oil production and related deforestation. Indonesia plans to issue a presidential decree to stop enlargement of palm oil plantation. The Chinese Government, with a strong role by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, will host the 2020 COP on biodiversity / nature in which sustainable value-chains, including Palm oil will be a key topic.
However, environmental sustainability challenges exist in both demand- and supply-side of the value chain and are related to (in addition to the core issue of differing time horizons between short term financial gains for businesses reporting profits on quarterly-basis, and long-term benefits of maintaining functioning ecosystems measurable only over years or decades):
* limited Chinese consumer awareness of and interest in (palm oil) sustainability and the resulting lacking market incentives for companies to take the issue to heart;
* lack of knowledge of sustainability standards within companies and their financiers/ investors along the entire palm oil value chain, partly due to limited (implementation) guidance available to the companies and supporting (financial) services industries;
* co-existence of several different sets of sustainability standards creating confusion and potentially competition between sustainability initiatives;
* the transnational nature of the palm oil value chain which hinders incorporating externalities in Indonesia into Chinese incentives, prices and consumption patterns;
* the way responsibilities for example for trade-volumes on the one hand and ecology on the other are compartmentalized across different ministries in both countries;
* Currently, few mature mechanisms exist for comprehensive and effective international cooperation to facilitate countries to work together on the issue.
Duties and Responsibilities
Under the guidance of UNDP-Beijing South-South Cooperation Team’s Senior Advisor for Global Cooperation the contracting party will be responsible for te following two products:
1) a report on opportunities to make the China-Indonesia palm oil value chain more sustainable, based on a desk review, interviews and analysis;
2) a proposal/concept note for a subsequent stakeholder meeting on the same topic to validate the findings and propose an agenda of possible next steps.
Specifically, the contracting party is expected to:
Ad 1): Produce a report based on research and analysis on “greening” the China-Indonesia palm oil value chain including the following
* present and analyze quantitative and qualitative data on the Indonesia-China palm oil value chain, describing key participants and their specific roles.
* Identify key challenges and opportunities for sustainable development and upgrading of the China-Indonesia palm oil value chain.
* Take stock of the key actors (commercial, government, others) that can play a role in furthering this agenda and identify possible drivers and restraints for their engagement
* Identify concrete measures and policy recommendations at all levels to improve the sustainability of the Indonesian-Chinese palm oil value chain
* Sound contribution to the development of UNDP’s research networks on the areas above
Ad 2): Write inputs for, a summary of and provide support to a stakeholder meeting to both validate the analysis and propose an agenda of possible next steps. This includes:
* an annotated agenda and supporting discussion points;
* active, supportive contributions to the Chair during the meeting itself;
* a concise report of the conclusions and of next steps identified in this meeting
* Written final reflections on the outcome of the meeting and the way forward.
These two outputs should contribute to the following outcome areas:
* Improved awareness and consensus among stakeholders for the need to improve the sustainability of the palm oil value chain between Indonesia and China.
* Clarity on which government-entities or other organizations are best positioned to lead
* Enhanced engagement of key stakeholders in supporting this sustainable value chain,
* Bilateral cooperation initiatives for enhanced sustainability in the palm oil value chain through building an internationally accepted bilateral consensus on achievable standards.
The award of the contract will be made to the Individual Consultant who has obtained the highest Combined Score and has accepted UNDP’s General Terms and Conditions. Only those applications which are responsive and compliant will be evaluated. The offers will be evaluated using the “Combined Scoring method” where:
- Technical evaluation - 70%;
- Financial Evaluation - 30%.
Competencies
1. Knowledge of economics concepts, principles and policies and ability to apply to strategic and/or practical situations;
2. Knowledge of application of sustainable development concepts and practices to global value chain analysis framework;
3. Ability to work independently and in a group, with strong coordinating and relationship management skills and problem-solving skills;
4. Proven networking, team-building, organizational and communication skills and ability to build strong relationships with government, private sector, local CSOs, international NGOs, and UNDP staff;
5. Self-motivation, strong sense of responsibility.
Required Skills and Experience
1. Master’s Degree in Development- or Business-Economics, Finance and Investments, Sustainable development or related fields(for personnel);
2. At least 8-10 years of experience in policy support or research;
3. Thorough understanding of the palm oil global value chain and its impact on the Chinese and East Asian economies;
4. Excellent knowledge of the English language, with exceptional writing, presentation and communication skills;
5. Proficiency in other languages, particularly Chinese and / or Bahasa Indonesia is desirable.
UNDP applies a fair and transparent selection process that will take into account the competencies/skills of the applicants as well as their financial proposals. Qualified women and members of social minorities are encouraged to apply.
Offeror’s letter and proposal download link: https://pan.baidu.com/s/1jxQndi0RrLoQI6yoipUuTA password: 7xpw