Montenegro is a small country on the Adriatic Sea covering surface area of only 13.8 square kilometres and with a population of only 620,000 people. Yet it boasts some of the most spectacular scenery in the world and unparalleled richness and diversity of natural and cultural resources. Montenegro’s prime touristic attractions include 300 kilometres of stunning coastline with 60 kilometres of beaches, historical and cultural monuments, mountain ranges, virgin forests and national parks. Because of this, as well as of favourable political and economic climate, over the last decade Montenegro has seen unprecedented inflow of visitors and investment in its tourism sector. In 2011, more than 1.3 million tourists visited Montenegro, twice as much as domestic population and ten times more than just a decade ago (i.e. tourists’ count was 120,000 in 2002). Tourism’s total contribution to GDP has by now reached 17.2% and is projected to rise to 36.3% GDP by 2021. Similarly, the investment in the sector amounted for 164.6 mln € in 2011, or 23.6% of total capital investment. 

As a main driver of Montenegro’s economic growth and investment, the tourism sector is responsible directly and indirectly for the large share of GHG emissions from the transport, accommodation and other tourism-related activities. According to Montenegro’s Initial National Communication (INC) to UNFCCC, submitted on 12th October 2010, in the business-as-usual scenario Montenegro’s GHG emissions will rise by 40% in 2020 above 1990 baseline. By contributing to over third of GDP and a half of capital investment in infrastructure, the tourism sector will inevitably be an important, if not the leading, factor in a projected GHG emissions increase. Apart from the direct GHG emissions, the indirect climate change impact of millions of holiday-makers is also substantial, first, because of their sheer numbers in proportion to small local population and, second, because of their more carbon intensive life-style and consumption patterns.

In the business-as-usual scenario, the carbon footprint of Montenegro tourism will continue to grow as a result of large-scale investment in tourist infrastructure and constantly growing number of travellers. The Government of Montenegro sees tourism as the main driver of economic growth and income generation, but also fully realizes the environmental challenges associated with its rapid development and is committed to address them as part of the National Sustainable Development Strategy and Tourism Development Master Plan. The Government is firmly committed to develop its tourism sector on a sustainable basis, it is putting in place the required policy and regulatory framework to attract large-scale investment in tourism infrastructure, but also to steer them in a more environmentally sustainable way. The proposed project will build on these commitments and efforts by enhancing the focus of national efforts on minimizing the carbon footprint of tourism and promoting Montenegro as a place for climate conscious tourism and “carbon neutral” holiday destination.  

Towards Carbon Neutral Tourism (TCNT) Project will adopt a comprehensive approach to minimizing the carbon footprint of Montenegro’s main and most dynamic economic sector, the tourism. Its ultimate objective is to reduce GHG emissions from Montenegro’s tourism sector. It will do so by promoting country’s transition towards a carbon neutral travel & tourism, minimizing energy use and transport in and around new green field development projects, helping tourism industry to identify and implement cost-effective mitigation options in travel and accommodation sectors, as well as introducing carbon offset scheme and other innovative financial mechanisms to compensate for the residual emissions and generate additional revenues for climate mitigation and adaptation actions in tourism. The project will constitute of five components, as follows: Component 1: Low-carbon spatial planning and green field development in tourism; Component 2: Investment in low-carbon tourism infrastructure; Component 3: Sustainable Transport in the Bay of Kotor; Component 4: Leveraging additional financing for mitigation actions in tourism sector; Component 5: Knowledge, Information and Awareness about tourism sector carbon footprint and emission reduction potential among tourists and industry stakeholders.

The environmental certification is recognized as very important instrument for full implementation of the low carbon policy for tourism development in Montenegro. Currently, the certification mechanism exists through implementation of the EU Eco label, Green Key and national-wide Wild Beauty standards, while the latter is related to the spatial planning, construction and operating of the different types of facilities. Still, the applying of the environmental certification remains low. 

Eco certification within Towards Carbon Neutral Project is initially planned to be promoted as a voluntary measure by motivating the owners and managers of the tourist accommodation facilities and related services by:

• Raising their awareness on the simultaneous cost saving benefits and other win-win opportunities;
• Providing financial incentives for the forerunners by sharing the initial certification and auditing costs; and
• Providing specific visibility and marketing support for eco-certified facilities through the local and national tourist organizations.

In a due course, certification of all registered tourist accommodation facilities for their environmental performance will be made mandatory and included into the current quality classification system. The project is supporting this by reviewing the current legislative and regulatory framework, drafting suggestions for the required amendments and developing a road map for moving from voluntary to mandatory certification scheme by the end of the project. Beside mandatory measures, the suggestions may also include specific financial and fiscal incentives to support initial or complementary voluntary action.

This assignment is part of the Expert on Demand programme funded by the Czech-UNDP Trust Fund. Sustainable tourism is generally mentioned on Czech government levels in many materials: The Programme Declaration of the Government of the Czech Republic, The State Environmental Policy, and The State Tourism Policy Concept in the Czech Republic and Czech Republic´s experience in ecotourism approximation is highly relevant for Montenegro.

Under the supervision of the UNDP Project Coordinator, and in cooperation with the local legal expert, the international consultant for Tourism Sector Eco Certification in Montenegro will undertake the following specific tasks:

• Prepare overview on the environmental certification for collective and non-collective facilities, specifically in the tourism sector, which are applied in European Union, with showcases and best practices. The experiences from South East Europe region and Czech Republic specifically will be particularly elaborated, as well as complexity of the requirements of certain certification standard; (approx. 10 pages);
• Draft brief analysis (approx. 5 pages) on the current status of quality standards and certification schemes in Montenegro, including legal and institutional context. The consultant will develop questionnaire related to this analysis and communicate it with the TCNT project team for accurate information;
• Conduct scoping mission to Montenegro and in-depth interviews with relevant stakeholders: central level: Ministry of Sustainable Development and Tourism, National Tourism Organization, Institute for standardization, regional/local level: Montenegrin Tourism Association, local tourism organizations, licenced certifications’ entities (organization and individual consultants); local self-governance;
• Report on the tasks 1-2 will be sent to the stakeholders in advance of the mission, as basis for targeted discussions;
• Draft assignment report, which will include eco certifications’ overview, adjusted to the current conditions and perspectives of the Montenegrin tourism development; with set of the recommendation on the most appropriate certification scheme/schemes for accommodation facilities. The recommendation can include other facilities/products/services in tourism supply chain which can hold environmental certification/s;
• Propose at least 10 collective accommodation facilities that can enter certification process in the course of 2015;
• Produce final assignment report (approx. 40 pages), based on the feedback provided from the project team and key stakeholders.

Key Outputs:

The consultant will be responsible for delivering the following outputs:

• Delivery of the desktop analysis (tasks 1 and 2) (deadline: 30 April 2015; instalment: 40% of total amount);
• Delivery of the draft assignment report ; delivery of final assignment report (deadline: 31 May 2015; instalment: 60% of total amount).

Timing:

• The Consultant will be engaged on short-term base (approximately 20 working days) under the Individual Contract, following the selection process of the best candidate.

Travel:

• The assignment will require 1 mission to Montenegro, with maximum duration of 5 days.

Corporate Competencies:

• Demonstrates integrity by modelling the UN’s values and ethical standards;
• Promotes the vision, mission and strategic goals of UN/UNDP;
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;

Functional Competencies:

• Ability to lead strategic planning, results-based management and reporting;
• Builds strong relationships with clients, focuses on impact and result for the client and responds positively to feedback;
• Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude;
• Demonstrates good oral and written communication skills;
• Demonstrates ability to manage complexities and work under pressure, as well as conflict resolution skills;
• Capability to work effectively under deadline pressure and to take on a range of responsibilities;
• Ability to work in a team, good decision-making skills, communication and writing skills.

Education:

• At least Bachelor degree in the thematic areas relevant to the assignment (e.g. economics, social sciences, environmental sciences, or other relevant);

Experience:

• Relevant professional experience (minimum 3 years) on the quality standards and environmental certification schemes and their implementation in practice;
• Experience on the tourism development trends with focus on the low carbon tourism development;
• Working experience from Czech Republic on the topic environmental certification schemes and their implementation in practice is required; experience in the SEE region and other international experience will be considered as asset.

Language:

• Fluency in English.

Evaluation of Applicants

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on a cumulative analysis taking into consideration the combination of the applicants’ qualifications and financial proposal.

The award of the contract should be made to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

• Responsive/compliant/acceptable; and
• Having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical (P11 desk review and interviews) and financial criteria specific to the solicitation.

Only best three candidates will be invited for interviews and only the highest ranked candidates who would be found qualified for the job will be considered for the Financial Evaluation.

Technical Criteria - 70% of total evaluation – max. 35 points:
Criteria A (Education) – max points: 5
Criteria B  (Experience with eco-certification) – max points: 5
Criteria C – (Czech and international working experience in eco-certification) – max points: 5
Criteria D – (Experience on low carbon tourism development) - max points: 5
Criteria E – (Language skills) - max points: 5
Criteria F – (Interviews – communication skills and overall technical expertise) – max. points: 10

Financial Criteria - 30% of total evaluation – max. 15 points

Application procedures:

Qualified candidates are requested to apply online via this website. The application should contain:

• Filled P11 form including past experience in similar projects and contact details of referees (blank form can be downloaded from http://europeandcis.undp.org/files/hrforms/P11_modified_for_SCs_and_ICs.doc ); please upload the P11 instead of your CV;
• Financial Proposal* - specifying a total lump sum amount in USD for the tasks specified in this announcement. The financial proposal shall include a breakdown of this lump sum amount (number of anticipated working days, travel, per diems and any other possible costs);
• Incomplete applications will not be considered. Please make sure you have provided all requested materials

*Please note that the financial proposal is all-inclusive and shall take into account various expenses incurred by the consultant/contractor during the contract period (e.g. fee, health insurance, vaccination and any other relevant expenses related to the performance of services...). All envisaged travel costs must be included in the financial proposal. 

Payments will be made only upon confirmation of UNDP on delivering on the contract obligations in a satisfactory manner. 

Individual Consultants are responsible for ensuring they have vaccinations/inoculations when travelling to certain countries, as designated by the UN Medical Director. Consultants are also required to comply with the UN security directives set forth under dss.un.org
General Terms and conditions as well as other related documents can be found under: http://on.undp.org/t7fJs. 

Qualified women and members of minorities are encouraged to apply.
Due to large number of applications we receive, we are able to inform only the successful candidates about the outcome or status of the selection process.