Background

Project Title: Application of Ridge to Reef Concept for biodiversity conservation, and for the enhancement of ecosystem services and cultural heritage in Niue (R2R Niue)

Project Description or Context and Background:

The  “Application of the Ridge-to-Reef Concept in Niue” project (Niue R2R) aims to make the consideration of biodiversity a fundamental part of everyday resource planning and development in the country.  It will achieve sustainable biodiversity protection and management in Niue by safeguarding Niue’s global environmental values and by strengthening conservation and sustainable use of land, water and marine areas and their biodiversity.  It builds on cultural heritage values through integrated national and community actions, using the “ridge to reef” approach covering the entire island including terrestrial, coastal and marine ecosystems.  It reduces or eliminates damaging activities, promotes rehabilitation and sustains activities by resource users which protect their natural resources upon which their livelihoods depend.

The application of the ridge to reef concept is a holistic and integrated approach that is a considerable departure from the standard sectorial approaches.  It enhances Niue’s capacity to effectively create and manage protected areas, focusing on the expansion of its PA estate on land and marine areas through a combination of community conservation areas and government-led PAs. In Community Conservation Areas, strict protection and sustainable use zones are identified and planned carefully, recognizing that tenure over most land areas is vested in local communities.  The project will engineer a paradigm shift in the management of marine and terrestrial PA sites from a site centric approach to a holistic “ridge to reef” management approach, whereby activities in the immediate production landscapes adjacent to marine and terrestrial protected areas will be managed to reduce threats to biodiversity stemming from key production activities (tourism and agriculture).

The Niue R2R project will have an immediate global environmental benefit, albeit on a small scale, through the increased management efficiency of land, forests and reefs and the expansion of the forest areas under protection through land use plans and innovative protection mechanisms agreed with landowners. This will lead to the sustainability of natural productivity and conservation of the habitats of a number of plant and animal species and valuable ecosystems. As a result, globally significant biodiversity will be conserved and valuable ecosystem services will be safeguarded.

The project will enhance the long term institutional capacity of Niue at both central government and village and community levels, together with the mainstreaming of a sustainability ethic into land, water and reef use.

The Niue R2R project will be implemented over 5 years for a cash cost of approximately $4.2 million from the Global Environment Facility and a further estimated $10 million in co-financing.

The Project Objective is:

To strengthen conservation and sustainable use of land, water and marine areas and their biodiversity by building on their cultural heritage values through integrated national and community actions

This Objective will be achieved through two inter-related Outcomes, viz. –

Outcome 1: New community conservation and national protected areas established at different levels, thus reducing threats and improving biodiversity status of conservation areas through effective community management.

Outcome 2: Strengthened community and cross-sectorial involvement of relevant national government departments to promote effective Ridge to Reef management by mainstreaming biodiversity and environmental concerns into plans and actions.

On behalf of the Government of Niue, UNDP is recruiting an Information Management System Expert for Niue to support the implementation of project activities relating to the development of conservation areas under the Niue R2R Project.

Duties and Responsibilities

Scope of Work:

The objective of the Information Management System Expert assignment is to scope an Environmental Information Management System (EIMS) for Niue to be established under the Niue R2R project to ensure that the EIMS is fit-for-purpose, meeting the country’s environmental information needs with a system that is user-friendly and based on hardware and software suited to local conditions and the support expertise available in-country. The EIMS should establish a solid foundation upon which Niue’s institutional capacity will continue to be strengthened and sustained beyond the end of the R2R project. It will hold site-based information on biodiversity, ecosystem values, conservation status as a fundamental part of its everyday resource planning and development.

The EIMS should also support the development and management of new community-based terrestrial and marine conservation areas (R2R project Outcome 1) by making provision for data collected to monitor trends of indicator species at these sites. This data may be collected by the communities themselves.

The Consultant is expected to liaise with the various Government agencies and other stakeholders who would use the EIMS, and review equivalent databases in other Pacific Island countries particularly any developed under R2R Projects.

The Consutlant is also expected to provide recommendations an overall design of the system – e,g, what software and hardware platforms should be used. The detailed design and development of an agreed EIMS, its procurement, deployment, piloting, and training in its use will be a separate consultancy to follow this scoping one.

The Consultant will undertake the following tasks and activities:

Task 1: Undertake a comprehensive analysis of the environmental information management needs of the country and the requirements of an EIMS to meet these.

1. Hold consultation meetings with staff of DoE, DAFF, Ministry of Infrastructure (Dept of Utilities), Justice Lands and Survey, other Government Departments and Ministries, the Private sector, NGO and local community representatives to obtain feedback on the information management needs for the Ministry of Natural Resources and recommendations for strengthening.
2. Collate, review, analyse to assess data requirements for the EMS and goals, targets and indicators in Land Use Plans, Village Development Plans, terrestrial and marine conservation area plans, sectoral plans, climate adaptation, and those required for national reporting.
3. Conduct a situational analysis of the Ministry of Natural Resources information management system, including the assessment of the information management needs required to achieve effective and efficient data management to support sound environmental management, monitoring and reporting.
4. Conduct a review and analysis of existing and planned databases and Conduct a review and analysis of existing and planned databases and information management systems across Government Ministries and Departments (e.g., Coastal Fisheries databases, Biosecurity/Quarantine databases, SLM, Land and Surveys databases, Meteorological Service, Statistics Niue, etc.) to ensure complementarity and harmonization as necessary.
5. Review and analyse relevant databases to identify gaps in data sets and environmental information, in particular biodiversity and ecosystem services data and information for the development, implementation and tracking of indicators for monitoring of conservation areas management plans, land use plans, village development plans, and sectoral and climate adaptation plans, and national reporting.

Task 2: Make recommendations on the overall design of an EIMS to meet the needs identified, with  strong  linkages to the National GIS system managed by the Department of Justice, Lands, Survey & Community Affairs. He/she will include advice on how the system should be managed and by whom.

Expected Outcomes and Deliverables

Specific deliverables include the following but are not limited to;

• Provide a report with recommendations on the overall design and management of an EIMS detailing the information obtained on the current situation and the analysis of future needs behind those recommendations.

Institutional Arrangement 

The international consultant will work closely with the staff of the Department of Justice, Lands, Survey & Community Affairs who manage the country’s GIS system, the Department of Environment who coordinate State of the Environment Reporting, the Chief Technical Adviser, R2R and will report to the Project Manager, R2R, in the PIU.

Reports and documentation will be shared with the R2R Project Manager and UNDP MCO Programme Officer in a timely manner.

Duration of the Work

The assignment will last 40 working days and is to be completed over 3-4 months.

Duty Station:

Home-based with travel to Niue for one 2-week mission to Niue. While in Niue, the consultant will be based in the R2R project office.

Competencies

Competencies:

• Demonstrates commitment to the Government of Niue mission, vision and values.
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability

• Focuses on result for the client and responds positively to feedback
• Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude
• Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexities
• Good inter-personal and teamwork skills, networking aptitude, ability to work in multicultural environment

Required Skills and Experience

Qualifications of the Successful Contractor/Contracting Team:

• At least a Bachelor degree in Environmental Management, Ecology, Conservation Biology or a related discipline (20%)
• Minimum 5 years of relevant work experience in the field of informational database design and development, ideally related to the environment. (55%)
• Experience working with developing countries, ideally in the South Pacific. (10%)
• Ability to conduct research, and analysis, with strong synthesis skills (10%)
• Proficient in both written and oral English. (5%) 

Evaluation criteria: 70% Technical, 30% financial combined weight

Technical Evaluation will be based on the information provided in the CV and the relevant documents submitted as evidence to support possession of required competencies and qualifications.

Scope of Bid Price & Schedule of Payments:

The financial proposal shall specify an all-inclusive daily fee including all foreseeable expenses to carry out the assignment.

All envisaged travel costs must be included in the financial proposal. In general, UNDP should 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.

In the case of unforeseeable travel, payment of travel costs including tickets, lodging and terminal expenses should be agreed upon, between the respective business unit and Individual Consultant, prior to travel and will be reimbursed based on provision of supporting documentation.

For mission travel, the consultant will be responsible for making his/her mission travel arrangements in line with UNDP travel policies; and the Individual Contractor shall receive a per diem not to exceed United Nations daily subsistence allowance. The mission travel cost will be excluded at this time from the price proposal.

Recommended Presentation of Proposal:

Given below is the recommended format for submitting your proposal. The following headings with the required details are important. Please use the template available (Letter of Offer to complete financial proposal – Annex II).

CVs with a proposed methodology addressing the elements mentioned under deliverables must be submitted by Wednesday 18 March 2020. Incomplete applications will not be considered and only candidates for whom there is further interest will be contacted. Proposals  must include:

• CV or P11 form addressing the evaluation criteria and why you consider yourself the most suitable for this assignment.
• 3 professional references, including most recent completed work
• A brief methodology on how you will approach and conduct the work (2 pages maximum),
• Financial Proposal specifying the daily rate in US Dollars and other expenses, if any
• Letter of interest and availability specifying the available date to start and other details.

Kindly note you can upload only ONE document to this application (scan all documents in one single PDF file to attach).

Queries about the consultancy can be directed to the UNDP Procurement Unit procurement.ws@undp.org

ANNEX:

ANNEX I - INDIVIDUAL CONSULTANT GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS

ANNEX II - Offeror's letter to UNDP Confirming Interest and Availability

ANNEX III - P11 form http://www.undp.org/content/dam/undp/library/corporate/Careers/P11_Personal_history_form.doc.