Antecedentes
The project seeks land degradation neutrality (LDN) in mountain lands by rehabilitating degraded land and preventing further degradation. It will do this initially at the pilot scale to gain the necessary skills and know-how as well as confidence before it can be up scaled and replicated post-project comprehensively. The pilot areas will be the mountain ranges in the Cazas of Jbeil and Akkar. The project duration is five years.
Rehabilitation practices will be tested for technical effectiveness, cost-effectiveness and benefits in the agriculture, mountain pastures and forestry sectors, the quarrying sector, and the eco-tourism and outdoor recreation sectors. Prevention will be achieved through comprehensive land use planning and the monitoring for compliance with set conditions and their enforcement.
There will be clarification of roles and enhancement of capacities particularly at local government level. The institutional and regulatory context will be reviewed, updated, and strengthened to prevent new degradation of forests, rangelands and agricultural lands.
Ultimately, the key to achieving LDN is in making the most effective land use planning decisions and in implementing and upscaling these together with appropriate restoration measures – which is reflected in the three Outcomes of the project which are:
1. Outcome 1: Degraded mountain land in selected mountain districts of northern Lebanon identified, rehabilitated, and restored.
2. Outcome 2: Mountain lands managed sustainably to prevent degradation.
3. Outcome 3: Project monitoring and evaluation, communication, knowledge management and financial mechanisms for the dissemination and replication of the results of the project with the aim of achieving land degradation neutrality.
UNDP is seeking to procure the services of an international ecotourism specialist to work under the guidance and supervision of the Project Manager (PM) on the elaboration of a national eco-tourism strategy for Lebanon with focus on mountain areas.
Deberes y responsabilidades
The purpose of the consultancy is to develop a 10-year national ecotourism strategy and action plan for Lebanon, with a focus on mountain areas.The strategy should be developed in line with responsible tourism principles, with a realistic and achievable action plan. The strategy should also focus on the development of ecotourism and improving livelihoods in rural areas taking into consideration their impact on productive land, protected areas and ecosystems services, and shall also come up with recommendations to reduce their impact.
Substantial work on the conservation and improved management of natural resources using the integrated landscape management approach has been done by UNDP/SLMQ project in the Bekaa district and is underway for the Akkar and Jbeil high mountain under the UNDP/LDN project. Rural tourism has been identified as one of the potential sectors that provides employment and income generation opportunities, while reducing the negative impact of rural urban migration.
The project will be recruiting in parallel a local ecotourism expert who would be responsible for the analysis of the current situation of ecotourism in Lebanon, the collection of needed data, mapping of all the stakeholders, and facilitating consultation with them. The work will be done in collaboration with UNDP/LDN project team and in close coordination and consultation with concerned ministries (Ministry of Tourism, Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Agriculture) and stakeholders.
More specifically, the international consultant will carry out the following tasks:
Task 1: Desk review and analysis
Task 2: Data collection and analysis
Task 3: Preparation of a national ecotourism strategy and action plan
For additional information, please refer to ANNEX I – Terms of Reference
Competencias
Functional Competencies:
- Advanced writing and editing skills in English.
- Computer literacy for Microsoft Office Package or equivalent.
Corporate Competencies:
- Ability to lead and work with teams and to achieve quality outputs under tight timelines.
- Excellent communication and consultation skills
Habilidades y experiencia requeridas
I- Academic Qualifications:
- Graduate Degree in at least one of the following fields: environmental science or policy, tourism, or closely related fields
II- Experience:
- Minimum of 7 years’ experience in eco-tourism, responsible rural or environmental tourism with experience in designing national strategies
III- Technical experience:
- Expert knowledge with experience in tourism marketing and development.
- Expert knowledge with experience in elaborating national strategies and action plans.
- Expert knowledge with experience in ecotourism projects.
- Experience working within rural communities is highly desirable.
- Experience with UN or international donor project(s) is an asset.
How to apply:
The consultancy is open for all international consultants who meet the selection criteria and propose a competitive fee. Interested consultants are requested to apply only through this UNDP jobs portal.
Submissions through any other media will not be considered.
The application must include all of the following documents:
1. P11,
2. Technical Proposal,
3. Annex 3 (Offerors Letter) and
4. Financial proposal
Kindly note that you may find all the required documents on the below link: https://procurement-notices.undp.org/view_notice.cfm?notice_id=76141 ; whereas the application must be submitted through this Jobs portal
All files shall be submitted in one single document and uploaded as word or PDF file to the UNDP job site.
It has been observed that bidders don’t submit all requested documents and thus reducing their chance to be selected for a contract with UNDP. before you submit your offer please revise that the application is complete and comprises all four (4) documents.
Incomplete applications will not be considered.