Background

National Consultant for the Development of the root cause analysis and national management plan for the Octopus marine commodity

Project Title:  00092092: Global Sustainable Supply Chains for Marine Commodities Project

Project Description and Background

Overexploitation of marine fisheries is a major global issue and a key driver of changes in the marine environment. Excessive fishing is caused by a variety of interacting factors, including the growing global demand for seafood. This project contributes to addressing key aspects of the market forces that drive overfishing. The project will add to the transformation of the seafood market by mainstreaming sustainability in the value chain of important commodities platforms, and fisheries improvement projects (FIP), developing national capacities and generating learning to be shared worldwide. The project will allocate GEF resources strategically under the following four (4) project components, namely:

Component 1: Promotion of global demand for sustainable marine commodities

Component 2: Enabling environment for sustainable marine commodities supply chains

Component 3: Demonstration of Fisheries Improvement Projects (FIPs)

Component 4: Sustainable marine commodities information and knowledge management systems

The project is an inter-regional intervention. Market engagement and knowledge management are global components. The sustainable marine commodities platforms and FIPs will be implemented, using a participatory approach in Costa Rica, Ecuador, Indonesia, and the Philippines.

This activity is covered under Component 2: Enabling environment for sustainable marine commodity supply chains. It is aligned with the Project Document (ProDoc) which directs under this component the conduct of an in-depth sector analysis for the country; and the preparation of a five-year strategic plan/ National Action Plan (NAP), herewith identified in this document as the National Management Plan (NMP), for the platform towards the sustainable fisheries management of the Octopus (OCT) commodity.

In 2015, the Philippines passed Republic Act (RA)10654 “An act to prevent, deter and eliminate illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, amending Republic Act 8550”, otherwise known as “The Philippine Fisheries Code of 1998”, which took effect last October 2015. The Fisheries Code adheres to the following objectives: (i) conservation, protection and sustained management of the country’s fishery and aquatic resources; (ii) poverty alleviation and the provision of supplementary livelihood among municipal fisherfolk; (iii) improvement of productivity of aquaculture within ecological limits; (iv) optimal utilization of offshore and deep-sea resources; and (v) upgrading of post-harvest technology. The Fisheries Code is a codification of existing fishery laws.

Presently, the OCT fishery in the country is not managed and there is very scarce information. The Philippines Fisheries Bureau classifies the octopus as a “municipal fishery”, which includes fishing done in coastal and inland. In 2017, according to United States (US) trade statistics, the Philippines was the second-largest exporter of octopus to the United States in terms of volume (4,204,914 kg exported), only after Spain, and fourth-largest exporter in terms of value ($17,692,487 worth of product exported). In 2016 the Philippines was the second-largest exporter of octopus to the United States in terms of volume (3.186.602 kg exported), and the third-largest exporter in terms of value ($11.531.220 worth of product exported) (NOAA, 2.018). For 2016 the US marked represented 79,5% of the total exportation of Filipino octopus. Notably, the Monterey Bay Aquarium (MBAq) recommends avoiding the consumption of OCT from the Philippines mainly because there is no fisheries management nor assessment.

Cognizant of the present sustainability issues and challenges that beset the OCT commodity in the country, and the need for a Unified National Management Plan (NMP) for the sustainability of the commodity, which all stakeholders, including government and business, will actively support by virtue of mutual benefits anchored upon an agreed unified set of goals—in line with the objectives of the Fisheries Code, and supported by the goal of the GMC to mainstream sustainable fisheries management for the OCT commodity in the Philippines, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) in the Philippines, as implementing partner of the project “Global Sustainable Supply Chains for Marine Commodities (GMC-PHI), with support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) as implementing agency of the Global Environment Facility (GEF), requires the services of a National Consultant for the support and packaging of a Root Cause Analysis (RCA) report, and National Management Plan (NMP) for the Philippines’ Octopus (Octopodidae) marine commodity.

Duties and Responsibilities

Scope of Work

The Project will hire a National Consultant with the following three (3) responsibilities:

1. To conduct an in-depth sector analysis for the OCT commodity sector in the country, expected to investigate and identify the weaknesses and gaps of the sector towards sustainable fisheries management for the OCT commodity as well as propose/ clarify contributing causes and causality relationships, to be documented in the Root Cause Analysis (RCA) report;
2. Through an inclusive, stakeholder-oriented process, conduct a review of the performance of other Management Plans (MPs) developed and earlier implemented for other marine commodities in the Philippines, and consolidate learnings that can be related to the development of a National Management Plan for the OCT commodity—documenting results, that will be part of the new OCT Management Plan; and
3. Through an inclusive, stakeholder-oriented process, in line with the findings in the RCA report, and building upon the review and documentation of learnings of earlier implemented MPs in the country—to develop a new Octopus Management Plan that pursues the overall sustainability of the commodity, aligned with certain international certification/s or standard/s, as decided on by the Technical Working Group (TWG) platform, expected to incentivize increased international buyer demand for OCT commodity that is sustainably sourced from the Philippines.

Expected Outputs and Deliverables

There will be two (2) main outputs of the consultancy:

1. Root Cause Analysis (RCA) Report; and
2. National Management Plan for the OCT commodity (OCT-NMP) [1].

Institutional Arrangement

• For the duration of the contract, the National Consultant will be supervised by the Programme Analyst for Climate Action Programme subject to the overall guidance of the Technical Working Group (TWG) OCT Commodity Platform.
• All outputs of the consultant will be reviewed and approved by the Programme Analyst and Team Leader of the Climate Action Programme.
• The Project will provide the needed secondary documents and logistical support for the conduct of TWG meetings.

Duration of Work

• The expected duration of work is eighty-four (84) days spread over 5 months (July to November 2021).
• The UNDP and BFAR will review and provide feedback within five working days upon receipt of the outputs. Another five working days will be followed for the endorsement and approval upon receipt of revised/ final outputs.

Duty Station

• The duty station is home-based. 
• The consultant shall report to the BFAR – Capture Fisheries Division (BFAR-CFD), as requested by the GMC-PHI and BFAR, and participate in project activities hosted by the GMC-PHI. Due to pandemic restrictions, all project activities are anticipated to be conducted virtually.

[1] The OCT-NMP shall serve as the new OCT management plan of BFAR, as well as for other stakeholders and associated groups, such as businesses and NGOs that are part of the OCT TWG platform.

Competencies

Required Skills and Experience

Qualifications of the Successful Individual Contractor

The successful Individual Contractor  should meet the following minimum qualification

Education

• Masters degree in fisheries science, environmental science, or natural resource sustainability

Experience

• At least ten (10) years of experience as a consultant/specialist/ adviser for fisheries management and related projects, with roles including development and implementation of plans/ programs
• At least fifteen (15) years of work experience with government institution/s, international organizations, CSOs on marine ecology, coastal resource management/ fisheries management, marine protected areas
• At least twenty (20) years of experience in conducting research and development related to fisheries management plans

Language

• Proficiency in English

Scope of Proposal and Schedule of Payments

The financial proposals from possible candidates should be expressed in a lump sum amount inclusive of all financial costs. The position does not require any travel thus, travel costs (e.g., Fares and DSAs) shall not be included in the financial proposal.

The payment terms will be as follows:

Recommended Presentation of Offer

The following documents are to be requested:

1. Duly accomplished Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability using the template provided by UNDP;
2. 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;
3. Financial Proposal that indicates the all-inclusive fixed total contract price, supported by a breakdown of costs, as per template provided.  If an Offeror is employed by an organization/company/institution, and he/she expects his/her employer to charge a management fee in the process of releasing him/her to UNDP under Reimbursable Loan Agreement (RLA), the Offeror must indicate at this point and ensure that all such costs are duly incorporated in the financial proposal submitted to UNDP.  Medical/health insurance must be purchased by the individual at his/her own expense, and upon award of contract, the consultant must be ready to submit proof of insurance valid during the contract duration.

Criteria for Selection of the Best Offer

The Offers received will be evaluated using a combined scoring method - where the technical proposal will be weighted 70% and combined with the price offer which will be weighted 30%.

The contractor must have a good command of oral and written English for reportorial requirements.

For the evaluation of the CV, the selection of the successful consultant will be based on the following qualifications (with the appropriate obtainable points). Only applications that will obtain a minimum of 49 out of 70 obtainable points will be qualified for the financial evaluation.

Offerors must upload in one (1) file the aforementioned documents.

Templates for a) P11 Personal History Form and b)  Offeror's Letter to UNDP Confirming Interest and Availability and Financial Proposal (Annex 2) are available through the link below. UNDP General Terms and Conditions for Individual Contractors  are also available: http://gofile.me/6xdJm/bE9TCw8fU

Incomplete submission of required documents may result in disqualification.

Please see the deadline of submissions above.

In view of the volume of applications, UNDP receives, only shortlisted offerors will be notified.