Background

This project is designed to strengthen capacities for environmental monitoring and information management in Albania by establishing an operational environmental information management and monitoring system (EIMMS) with a focus on the MEAs of biodiversity, climate change and land degradation. The project will address the need for an environmental monitoring system that is integrated throughout relevant government institutions and that uses international monitoring standards for indicator development, data collection, analysis, and policy-making. It will also build on existing technical and institutional capacity in Albania to align its management and monitoring efforts with global monitoring and reporting priorities. Increased capacity in this area will improve reporting to the Rio Conventions and lay the groundwork for sustainable development through better-informed environmental policy.

The project specifically targets environmental indicator monitoring, data collection and processing and its alignment with the SDGs.

IUCN Red list of threatened species has evolved to become the world’s most comprehensive information source on the global conservation status of animal, fungi and plant species.

The IUCN Red List is a critical indicator of the health of the world’s biodiversity. Far more than a list of species and their status, it is a powerful tool to inform and catalyse action for biodiversity conservation and policy change, and as a critical mean to protect the natural resources. It provides information about range, population size, habitat and ecology, use and/or trade, threats, and conservation actions that will help inform necessary conservation decisions.

This purpose includes “the traditional role” of Red list in identifying the special threatened species. The IUCN Red List role is crucial not only for helping to identify priority  species needing targeted recovery efforts, but also for focusing the conservation agenda by identifying the key sites and habitats that need to be protected.

The national red list of Albania aims at:

• Laying the foundation of monitoring the change in species status;

• Provision of a global context to define protection priorities at local level;

• Continuous monitoring of the status of listed species (as biodiversity indicator),  by including all country main ecosystems.

Duties and Responsibilities

The whole process of assessment, its development, revision and eventual publication of the Red List should go through the following stages:

-Actual process of Red list assessment

-All assessments published in the existing Red list are added, saved and managed by IUCN SIS database (Species Information System).

-The assessors outside SSC network which have no account as SIS users should contact the IUCN Red list unit to agree on a proper format to be used while carrying out the assessments.

• Before beginning an assessment, ensure that the taxons being assessed follows the taxonomic standards used in the IUCN Red List.

All assessments must be based on data that are currently available for the taxon across the entire Albanian range. Assessors must take full account of past and present literature and other reliable sources of information relating to the taxon. Although every effort is usually made to consult and include all available and relevant reference materials, it is of course possible that assessors may have missed or have been unaware of the availability of some relevant information. The RLU will put you in contact with the relevant people responsible for the assessment or will pass to them any information that you provide

All assessments must also include supporting information, as described in the Supporting Information Guidelines. In general, this includes text summarizing why the taxon is listed in a particular category; completion of the standard Classification Schemes describing habitats, threats, etc.; and the provision of a distribution map.

The steps/approach of achieving the results will inevitably vary between groups, but may include: 

• In all cases, the starting point is raw data. Data and information may be held in published papers, articles, books and reports, unpublished documents and reports, unpublished data, databases (including the IUCN Red List itself), GIS data, satellite imagery, etc. Prior to the assessment phase, raw data are gathered from across the entire global ranges for the taxa being assessed. Data must be recorded in a format compatible with the standards of the IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria and with appropriate supporting information .
• Asking key experts (e.g. through workshops, by email, through email list-serves and/or open-access web-based discussion forums).
• Analysing (single or multi-species) monitoring datasets to determine population trends.
• Assessing remote-sensing data to determine rates of habitat loss within each species distribution.
• Promoting, advocating, supporting and or/funding fieldwork to gather new relevant data.

The tasks listed above will help:

(a) to identify new information to update assessments for threatened and near threatened species; (b) to identify new information or data suggesting that a Least Concern or Data Deficient species may warrant reclassification.

Before they are submitted, all assessments must be checked to ensure:

1. All of the required supporting information is attached and in the appropriate format.
2. Distribution maps have been prepared for all assessed taxa and the mapping standards have been followed for these.
3. The IUCN Red List Criteria have been applied appropriately and consistently for all assessments.

Deliverables:

30 June 2019- 30 % - Initial report   with the general assessment of the present status of Red List flora and fauna

30 August 2019- 30%- Submissions with flora and fauna species to be added in the Albania Red List

30 November 2019- 40%- Final submission of the new flora and fauna species to be added in Albania Red list

Competencies

CORPORATE COMPETENCIES:

• Demonstrates integrity by modelling the UN’s values and ethical standards;
• Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UNDP;
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
• Treats all people fairly without favoritism.

CORE COMPETENCIES:

• Communication - Facilitate and encourage open communication and strive for effective communication.
• Planning & Organizing – Develops clear goals in line with agreed strategies, identifies priorities, foresees risks and makes allowances accordingly.
• Organizational Awareness - Demonstrate corporate knowledge and sound judgment.
• Teamwork - Demonstrate ability to work in a multicultural, multi-ethnic environment and to maintain effective working relations with people of different national and cultural backgrounds.
• Accountability – Takes ownership of all responsibilities and delivers outputs in accordance with agreed time, cost and quality standards

FUNCTIONAL COMPETENCIES

• Thorough understanding of disability issues, human rights, social inclusion and social services
• Excellent inter-personal and teamwork skills, networking attitude;
• Capacity to deliver as per deadlines;
• Ability to pick up new terminology and concepts easily.
• Good technical, organizational, interpersonal and teambuilding skills essential;

Required Skills and Experience

Academic Qualification

• Master degree in natural sciences, environmental sciences, development studies, forestry, environment engineering and other relevant areas;

Work Experience 

• At least 7 years of professional experience with special relevance to the main scope of the assignment
• Experience in policy and legislation analyses;
• Working experience in projects implementation, at national or regional level, that have had similar tasks while demonstration good knowledge in nature protection;
• Good command of speaking and writing of English language;
• Organizational skills in organizing consultation and awareness meetings, client orientation and government advisory tasks.

Languages required:

• Good knowledge of both English and Albanian