The tasks mentioned below shall be performed in close cooperation with the UNDP/SLMQ team ensuring linkages with both the Ministries of Agriculture and Environment and other concerned stakeholders and will be adopted by the Ministry of Agriculture, in charge of their implementation. It is understood that the Consultant shall perform all the services/work as necessary to fulfill the objectives of the Consultancy Contract. The requested National Forest management Guidelines should be developed taking into account the local context and the national egulations/policies in this sector, i.e. types of forest ecosystems, land management rights, available forest resources, the prevailing Lebanese socio-economic situation and reliance on forest resources for livelihoods, climate conditions, vulnerabilities most importantly land degradation, forest pest diseases and forest fires, as well as the conservation status of forest areas and other relevant local aspects. The Tasks involved will cover the followings: Desk review of existing forest management guidelines and tools. The Consultant shall conduct a literature review of best international forest management guidelines and tools, including but not limited to the relevant technical modules and guidelines developed by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Furthermore, the desk review shall cover locally developed guidelines to build upon existing documentation and experience. The review shall cover at least the following: - Structure and purpose of the generally adopted guidelines;
- General guidelines on best practices;
- Activity specific guidelines (grazing, forest roads, timber and non-timber product harvesting; reforestation, fire and disease protection, etc.),
- Implementation arrangements;
- Based on the above synthesis, and taking into account the Lebanese context, the desk review report shall include a suggested scope (Table of Content) for the National Forest Management Guidelines;
- Furthermore, the report shall include a set of technical and regulatory recommendations consistent with the existing legal framework or policies of the Ministry of Agriculture or other. On the other hand, an additional set of recommendations should be provided to ensure that best-practices identified can also be incorporated into the planned draft Forest Law, upon its application.
Development of National Forest Management Guidelines. The development of the National Forest Management Guidelines shall be inspired from internationally recognized guidelines based on of the principles of Sustainable Forest Management, yet tailored to the Lebanese context. It should also be divided into three spatiotemporal levels as follow: - Strategic Forest Management Guidelines: a long-term strategic document (25 years), setting the guidelines for forest activities for the duration of the forest management plan;
- 5-years Forest Management Guidelines: a medium-term tactical document (5 years), setting the guidelines for the management provisions for each forest compartment/area within the forest;
- Annual Operational Plan Guideline: a short-term operational document (1 year), setting the guidelines for the annual program and monitoring procedure of the management plan on each annual coupe;
- Where possible, the guidelines shall include provisions for participatory planning to allow for the engagement of local communities without gender bias in the planning process and their adherence to the developed plans;
- The guidelines shall also include a list of needed annexes and useful form sheets for the development of a forest management plan and its monitoring (e.g. Legal Documents and Regulations relevant to Forest Management Plan, Sampling form, Example of decision chains for identification of suitable activities for Forest Management Planning, etc.);
- The guidelines shall be developed in English and Arabic to be validated by the Project Team, Ministries of Agriculture and Environment.
Development of training material and execution of targeted trainings. The Consultant shall prepare a Training Plan. A minimum of four training sessions for targeted stakeholders (concerned Ministries, local authorities and other relevant stakeholders) shall be organized and implemented to guarantee a full understanding of the developed National guidelines. The thematic areas of the trainings should be adapted to each type of stakeholders, where relevant. Furthermore, the necessary training material (reports and presentations) in both English and Arabic should be developed as necessary. Trainings however should be delivered in Arabic and supplemented by English where needed. Based on the trainings executed, the Consultant shall develop a training report including an account of activities, recommendations for future trainings and target groups.
For additional information, please refer to ANNEX I – Terms of Reference
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