Background

Bangladesh is endowed with huge natural resources and high species diversity. People’s life, livelihoods and culture is very much influenced by this diversity in nature compared to elsewhere in the world. But unplanned infrastructure development, unsustainable harvesting of natural resources, unplanned urbanization and industrialization, greed of vested interested people has caused a serious degradation of these resources in recent years. Some initiatives have been taken to restore these resources which resulted in some success at local levels. On the other hand, evidences of adverse impact of climate change are becoming more and more prominent, coupled with the increasing population pressure has exacerbated the degradation even more. Gradually the need was felt to engage community and other stakeholders in the management of Ecologically Critical Area (ECA) which is now established through the ECA Rules that was formulated in 2016.

Building on the past initiatives, Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) and UNDP Bangladesh has developed a full-sized project (FSP) project concept for GEF funding i.e. “Implementing ecosystem-based management in Ecologically Critically Areas in Bangladesh” with the objective: To apply an ecosystem-based framework for managing Ecologically Critical Areas in Bangladesh to enhance the conservation of globally significant biodiversity and support local livelihoods. Thus, the project will mainstream an ecosystem-based approach to ECA management across government agencies and local communities, while also engaging the private sector in a pilot for the first time. The project components are:

• Component 1: Designing a financially viable, ecosystem-based management framework for ECAs;
• Component 2: Applying an ecosystem-based framework to effectively plan, manage, finance and monitor compliance in target ECAs; and
• Component 3: Strengthening the institutional and technical capacity of DoE to put in place measures to address threats to ECAs and ensure that responsible parties restore and maintain the integrity of ECAs.

The project concept (Project Identification Form/PIF) for the FSP has been endorsed by the GEF Secretariat, and a Project Preparation Grant (PPG) approved. The PIF can be accessed via https://www.thegef.org/project/implementing-ecosystem-based-management-ecologically-critical-areas-bangladesh.

The main purpose of this assignment is to develop a comprehensive project proposal to introduce ecosystem based management (EbM) of ECA to ensure sustainable management of ECAs in the country. In this regard, UNDP is recruiting a Project Design and Biodiversity Conservation Specialist (GEF PPG Team Leader) to lead the full project document development process.

SCOPE OF WORK

The Environmental Economist and Sustainable Financing Specialist will support the project development process by: (i) assessing environmental costs and benefits with respect to the baseline and end-of-project scenarios for the selected  ECAs site, based on current levels of industrial pollution from the manufacturing and agricultural sectors resulting in increasing losses in ecosystems services and associated biodiversity; and (ii) scope the key elements of a Sustainable Financing Strategy for ECAs. S/he will work closely with the Team Leader and Project Technical Coordinator, as well as other PPG consultants, notably the Corporate Partnerships, Environmental Policy & Institutional Development and Ecosystems & Water Resources Management specialists.

Deliverables

a) Scope a framework for a Sustainable Financing Strategy to be developed by the project and assess the feasibility of its constituent elements, focusing on the potential of a range of financing instruments including:

• payments for ecosystem services (PES);
• introduction/application of ‘polluter pays principle’;
• MoEF’s Country Investment Plan (CIP) on Environment, Forestry and Climate Change, an US$ 11.7 billion five-year strategic framework that identifies priority areas for investment;
• co-management with local communities; and
• partnerships with other sectors including the private sector, especially those engaged in public waters supplies and sewage treatment.
• Where appropriate, include case-study material from other ECAs (and protected areas), drawing on lessons learnt.

b) Assess the scale of pollution of selected ECAs (e.g. Halda River) from manufacturing industries and agricultural use of the land, together with their economic impacts resulting from degradation/loss of ecosystem services due to the discharge of sewage, waste, sediment and toxic chemicals into this river. Provide an overall cost-benefit analysis of restoring this river to a fully functioning freshwater ecosystem over a 20-year timeframe.

Duties and Responsibilities

Expected Outputs and Deliverables

The consultant will be paid on a lump sum basis under the following installments. The consultant will be responsible for the travel expense of two in-country missions and local travel in Phnom Penh and field trips in the provinces.

SUPERVISION AND PERFORMANCE EVALUATION

The consultant will report directly to Programme Specialist (Environment Sustainability and Energy) and Team Leader.  S/he will also closely coordinate tasks with Country Office through other team members in the cluster. S/he will also work closely with the other PPG team (national and international consultants) recruited by UNDP and the relevant stakeholders of the Government. S/he will keep UNDP informed of any issues that emerge during the PPG process which will likely affect the scope of the project design.

TIMEFRAME AND DEADLINES

The assignment is for a total of 30 days on intermittent basis between May 2018 and up to 31st January 2019.

Timelines and milestones will be reflected in the inception note which will be prepared by the PPG team and reviewed jointly by UNDP and MoEF. The final document shall be submitted to GEF SEC by 31st January 2019.

DUTY STATION

The consultant will be based in Dhaka with field mission in project site (in selected ECAs) in Bangladesh. The consultant is expected to spend at least 10 days out of the total 30 working days in selected ECAs for stakeholder consultation and field trips.

Selected individual consultant  who is expected to travel to the Country Office (CO) to undertake the assignment in the country (Bangladesh) is required to undertake the Basic Security in the Field (BSIF) training (https://dss.un.org/dssweb/WelcometoUNDSS/tabid/105/Default.aspx?returnurl=%2fdssweb%2f) prior to travelling.

INPUTS

The Consultant will use his/her own personal equipment. UNDP will provide a UNDP e-mail address. UNDP will provide office space.

Competencies

• Demonstrates integrity by modelling the UN values and ethical standards;
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
• High level planning, organizational and time management skills, including flexibility, attention to detail and the ability to work under pressure to meet challenging deadlines;
• Analytical and problem-solving skills of a high order, including the ability to formulate recommendations and advice senior management on tackling difficult scenarios;
• Excellent interpersonal skills, including ability to establish strong cooperative relationships with senior government officials, civil society and donors;
• Ability to quickly adapt to change, and to remain calm under pressure;
• Proven cross-cultural communication and the ability to function effectively in an international, multicultural environment.

Required Skills and Experience

Education

• Master’s degree or higher in environmental economics or equivalent experience in economic evaluation of natural resources;

Experiences

• Minimum of 15 years of demonstrable experience in the technical area of the valuation of ecosystem goods and services, natural resource management and sustainable development, with at least 5 years of experience related to the evaluation and assessment of ecosystems services, including freshwater ecosystems;
• Demonstrated ability to work in multi-disciplinary teams and deliver quality outputs in a timely manner; and
• Fluency in written and spoken English
• Excellent facilitation skills, including with gender responsive stakeholder meetings.
• Demonstrated ability to work in multi-disciplinary teams and deliver quality outputs in a timely manner; and
• Fluency in written and spoken English.

FINANCIAL PROPOSAL

The financial proposal shall specify daily rate of services and payment terms around specific and measurable (qualitative and quantitative) deliverables (i.e. whether payments fall in installments or upon completion of the entire contract). Payments are based upon output, i.e. upon delivery of the services specified in the TOR. In order to assist the requesting unit in the comparison of financial proposals, the financial proposal will include a breakdown of daily rate (including travel, per diems, and number of anticipated working days).

EVALUATION

Individual Consultant will be evaluated based on the following methodologies:

Cumulative analysis

When using this weighted scoring method, the award of the contract should be made to the individual Consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

1. responsive/compliant/acceptable, and
2. Having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical and financial criteria specific to the solicitation.

* Technical Criteria weight; 70%

* Financial Criteria weight; 30%

Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 70% point in technical criteria would be considered for the Financial Evaluation.

Financial Evaluation: (Total obtainable score – 30)

All technically qualified proposals will be scored out 30 based on the formula provided below. The maximum points (30) will be assigned to the lowest financial proposal. All other proposals receive points according to the following formula:

p = y (µ/z)                                                                 

Where:

p = points for the financial proposal being evaluated
y = maximum number of points for the financial proposal
µ = price of the lowest priced proposal
z = price of the proposal being evaluated

 Recommended Presentation of Offer                                                                                                                              

Interested individuals must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications.

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; P11 can be downloaded from the link below: http://www.bd.undp.org/content/bangladesh/en/home/operations/jobs/  
3. Brief description of why the individual considers him/her self as the most suitable for the assignment and work plan, as to how they will approach and complete the assignment. Provide link for the relevant publications (at least 3)
4. Financial Proposal: Financial Proposal has to be submitted through a standard interest and availability template which can be downloaded from the link below:

http://www.bd.undp.org/content/dam/bangladesh/docs/Jobs/Interest%20and%20Submission%20of%20Financial%20Proposal-Template%20for%20Confirmation.docx

Please combine all your documents into one (1) single PDF document as the system only allows to upload maximum one document.