Background

Central Africa is home to the second largest tropical rainforest in the world. Forest loss is accelerating despite ongoing efforts, as government action alone has not been enough to establish an effective balance between the interests of the forest and of economic development. On this basis, a coalition of donors – the European Union, the Federal Republic of Germany, the Kingdom of Norway, the Republic of France, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Republic of Korea – together with Central African partner countries – Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of Cameroon, the Republic of Congo, the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, and the Republic of Gabon – have decided to enter into a collaborative partnership to establish the Central African Forest Initiative (CAFI).

CAFI’s objective is to recognize and preserve the value of the forests in the region to mitigate climate change, reduce poverty, and contribute to sustainable development. This objective will be attained through the implementation of country-led, national scale REDD+ and Low Emissions Development (LED) investment frameworks that include policy reforms and measures to address the drivers of deforestation and forest degradation and promote sustainable development. The CAFI Trust Fund is the principal means to implement the Central African Forest Initiative. It is administered by the MPTF-O and the UNDP Nature, Climate and Energy Team provides the secretariat services.

The Republic of Gabon signed the CAFI Declaration in 2015, followed by the preparation of a National Investment Framework (NIF) and a Letter of Intent (LOI) with CAFI in 2017. In this LOI, Gabon committed to the realization of time-bound milestones and CAFI committed to providing financial support for a programme (CAFI 1) to support land use planning and forest monitoring.

Building on CAFI 1, two new programmes were approved in 2020 (CAFI 2) on forest certification (AFD) and agriculture optimization and protected area expansion (UNDP) in coherence with CAFI’s and the Gabonese government’s expectations and in line with the NIF and LOI. The programmes are currently in their investment phase; the first Steering Committee of the UNDP programme was held in November this year, while it is expected that the AFD programme will be rolled out in December 2020.

In addition, in September 2019, CAFI and the Government of Gabon signed an addendum to the LOI, constituting a historical agreement of 150 million US$ in results-based payments (CAFI 3), to support the country in implementing its low emissions development strategy (LEDS), aiming to achieve sustainable economic growth and contribute to global climate efforts. The addendum lists several pre-conditions for accessing those payments:

• Forest reference emissions level (FREL) is submitted to the UNFCCC
• Results are calculated, reported and verified as per the LOI addendum
• A Summary of Information (SOI) on how the Cancun safeguards have been addressed and respected is submitted
• A registry of carbon credits to avoid double counting is put in place
• The Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) is submitted to the UNFCCC
• An investment framework on how the results-based payments will be used is prepared

The CAFI 3 Investment Framework details the Gabonese government’s reflections on project criteria for the use of results-based payments, notably to reduce current emissions, avoid future emissions, enhance carbon stocks and monitor mitigation efforts. The Framework is currently in its final stages of validation.

Objective

The objective of this consultancy is to provide technical support to the CAFI Secretariat in:

(i)       Preparing and writing a detailed Project Document in support of the CAFI 3 Investment Framework on the use of proceeds of the results-based payment;

(ii)      Provide ad hoc technical advisory to CAFI and the Government of Gabon on all aspects of CAFI 2 and 3 programme completion and implementation.

Duties and Responsibilities

Tasks and responsibilities

1.   Prepare a detailed project document in support of the CAFI 3 Investment Framework based on the first results reporting (2016-17) and coordinate the Gabon validation and submission process towards approval by the CAFI 3 Steering Committee. The CAFI 3 project should build on achievements and activities undertaken by CAFI 1 and 2, in order to meet commitments in Gabon’s NDC.

The CAFI 3 project outputs will focus on these major outcomes:

• Reducing greenhouse gas emissions through improved forest management and national certification, to reduce illegal logging and support local livelihoods;
• Avoiding or minimizing future emissions through intensified agricultural production in areas of low carbon and conservation value, to ensure national food security while protecting HCV forests;
• Enhancing forest carbon sequestration potential by strengthening Gabon’s protected area network and building the tourism sector, while improving forest peoples’ livelihoods;
• Strengthening capacity to monitor national climate change mitigation, contributing to the above three outcomes by building institutional and human capacity in Gabon to meet the NDCs.

The Project Document will follow the standard UNDG programme template, adapted by CAFI in November 2020 to better reflect the Initiative’s increased transparency standards. It will be written in concert with the Gabon National Climate Council (CNC) and appropriate implementing agencies. Gabon will be responsible for the validation and submission of the Project Document once the drafting has been completed by the consultant.

2.  Prepare first drafts of program documents if results reports for subsequent years justify results-based payments (2018-2020)

3.  Provide technical support to the Secretary of the National Climate Council to facilitate consensus building and alignment on CAFI 3 programme priorities. 

Responsibilities will include:

• Consult and liaise with Gabon government counterparts (including the CNC) to clarify and detail program priorities on strategic areas already identified by the government (forestry) and areas currently under discussion in the context of the Nationally Determined Contribution (agriculture, energy, local government).
• Conduct workshops to 1) convey technical analysis and establish the relevance and scope of project priorities; and 2) facilitate government priority-setting, consensus-building and decision-making.

4.  Provide ad hoc technical advisory to CAFI and the Government of Gabon on all aspects of CAFI 2 and 3 programme completion and implementation, to be decided and upon request only, and upon approval by the CAFI Secretariat prior to work.

Deliverables & payments

Payments will be made upon satisfactory submission of deliverables, whose duration and delivery estimates are listed below:

Sanitary conditions permitting, the consultant is expected to travel and work in Libreville. The air tickets, daily subsistence allowance (DSA) and other travel incidentals (e.g. terminal fees) will be covered and processed by UNDP in accordance with the travel guidelines. 

Duration & location

The consultancy will start on 1 March 2021 and is expected to be completed by 28 February 2022. It will be home-based with mission travels to Gabon (the number and date of missions will be determined based on need and sanitary conditions).

Institutional arrangement

The consultant will report to the Head of the CAFI Secretariat and liaise with the Government of Gabon focal point. The consultant is expected to collaborate with the CAFI team and other consultants in other specific area of expertise to further exploit the synergies of the different topics.  S/he will submit the final review-reports and claim for payment (CoP) to UNDP.

Competencies

• Excellent team player with good interpersonal and communication skills;
• Ability to demonstrate sufficient technical knowledge to perform effectively and independently;
• Ability to manage workload with minimum supervision;
• Ability to work under pressure and tight deadlines;
• Ability to accommodate additional demands on short notice;
• Ability to work in a multi-cultural environment.
• Skill in achieving results through persuading, influencing and working with others;
• Skill in facilitating meetings effectively and efficiently and to resolve conflicts as they arise;
• Maturity and confidence in dealing with senior and high-ranking members of international, regional and national institutions;
• Displays sensitivity and adaptability to different cultures, genders, religions, races, nationalities and age groups

Required Skills and Experience

Academic requirement:   PhD in Biology, forestry or another related field 

Required experience:

• 10+ years postdoctoral and professional experience; 
• Experience in Gabon, in the field of natural resources management, forest ecology and climate change; preferably both as a scientist and as an officer directly within government;  
• Strong scientific publication record, particularly in the fields of climate change and forest ecology; 
• Demonstrated ability to work efficiently within the Gabonese political landscape, and react rapidly in response to government-identified urgencies and priorities;  
• Demonstrated knowledge of Gabonese government’s priorities with CAFI programming cycle, with the World Bank’s Forest Carbon Partnership Facility and with relevant bilateral support programs active in Gabon
• Familiarity and demonstrated experience working with Gabon’s forest sector carbon emissions model; 

Language requirement:   Fluency in French and English

Scope of Price Proposal and Schedule of Payments

UNDP applies a fair and transparent selection process that would take into account both the technical qualification of Individual Consultants as well as their financial proposals. The contract will be awarded to the candidate whose offer:

• Is deemed technically responsive / compliant / acceptable (only technically responsive applications/candidates will be considered for the financial evaluation)
• And has obtained the highest combined technical and financial scores.

The individual contractor will be compensated based on an all-inclusive daily fee, to be paid based upon submission of a signed IC time sheet, to be cleared and approved by the Head of the CAFI Secretariat.  [In the event that mission travel is required, this will be administered and compensated separately in accordance with standard UNDP travel policies and procedures.]

Presentation of Offer

Applicants are requested to submit/upload the following on or before the application deadline (7January 2021):

• 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

Criteria for Selection of the Best Offer

The application submission is a two-step process and based on the following criteria:

Step 1:  Interested individual consultants must apply online and include the following documents when submitting the application in the UNDP job shop.

• Personal History Form (P11 for ICs) or Curriculum Vitae (CV)

Step 2: Submission of Financial Proposal

Technically qualified applicants will be instructed to submit their financial proposals using the UNDP IC Offeror’s letter template. Daily fee/rate must be expressed in US dollars. The offeror’s letter/financial proposal should be submitted separately by email to the panel/staff who will conclude the technical-financial evaluation.

The consultant will be evaluated based on the following:

Combined Scoring method – where the technical qualifications, including interview will be weighted a maximum of 70%, and combined with the price offer which will be weighted a max of 30%. Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 70 points would be considered for the financial criteria.

The key criteria for rating the qualifications are as follows:              

Technical Criteria – 70% of total evaluation (passing technical score of 70/100 points)

       Academic requirement:  PhD in Biology, forestry or other related field (10 points)

       Experience:

• 10+ years postdoctoral and professional experience (10 points);
• Experience in Gabon, in the field of natural resources management, forest ecology and climate change; preferably both as a scientist and as an officer directly within government (15 points);
• Strong scientific publication record, particularly in the fields of climate change and forest ecology (10 points);
• Demonstrated ability to work efficiently within the Gabonese political landscape, and react rapidly in response to Government-identified urgencies and priorities (15 points);
• Demonstrated knowledge of Gabonese government’s priorities with CAFI programming cycle, with the World Bank’s Forest Carbon Partnership Facility and with relevant bilateral support programs active in Gabon (15 points);
• Familiarity and demonstrated experience working with Gabon’s forest sector carbon emissions model (15 points).

       Language requirement:   Fluency in French and English language (10 points)

Financial Criteria:   30% of total evaluation