UNDP Jobs - 81013- Development of Protected Area Business Plans for A

Development of Protected Area Business Plans for Alphonse, Desroches, Farquhar and Poivre

Location :

Mahe, SEYCHELLES

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

01-Nov-2018

Application Deadline :

26-Sep-18 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

20 working days over a period of 4 months

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

20 working days over a period of 4 months

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence. UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

Background

GOS/UNDP/GEF Project: Expansion and Strengthening of the Protected Areas Subsystem of the outer islands of Seychelles and its integration into the broader land and seascape

Name of the Project: Development of Protected Area Business Plans for Alphonse, Desroches, Farquhar and Poivre

Context and background

Seychelles existing protected area system is primarily situated in the Inner (Granitic) Islands of the country. The Outer Islands of the Seychelles make up more than half of the total number of islands within the archipelago and include nine of the twenty Important Bird Areas (IBAs) of Seychelles, but at present there only two fully gazetted protected areas in the Outer Islands: (i) Aldabra Special Reserve (15,260 ha terrestrial and 23,100 ha marine) and (ii) the African Banks Protected Area (2 ha terrestrial and 3 ha marine), as well as two declared Nature Reserves (Boudeuse and Etoile, each less than 1 ha.). However, protected areas other than Aldabra are uninhabited so that legal protection is largely unenforceable at present.

The GOS-UNDP-GEF Project Expansion and Strengthening of the Protected Area Subsystem of the Outer Islands of Seychelles and its Integration into the Broader Land and Seascape (Outer Islands or OI project), was signed between Government of Seychelles (GOS) and UNDP on 8th August 2014. The project is supported by a GEF grant of $1,935,500 and secured co-financing of $10,284,049, giving a total project value of $12,219,549. The project seeks to promote the conservation and sustainable use of terrestrial and marine biodiversity in the Seychelles’ Outer Islands by expanding the protected areas system and strengthening protected area management, supported by broad-scale ecosystem planning and sustainable land management activities to conserve ecosystem functions. The project will focus outputs and activities – over a period of five years – to achieve both biodiversity conservation and sustainable land management goals.

The Outer Islands Project, under Outcome 1: Management effectiveness of Outer Islands CMPAs is enhanced and Output 1.5: Protected Area Management Structures in place and sufficiently financed,is currently seeking a consultant to develop business plans (BP)for Alphonse, Desroches, Poivre and Farquhar. The four islands have recently adopted fully-costed implementation plans and a number of financing options have already been discussed at a national level including Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) tax, private donors, sponsored credit card program, membership program for visitors to the islands, accessing the Conservation & Climate Adaptation Trust (SCCAT) and Blue Bonds. However, the viability and practical implementation of various these options as well as other market and non-market financing mechanisms need to be assessed in the context of these outer islands. Furthermore, whilst existing sources of PA financing have the potential to increase, most of the existing mechanisms are dependent on tourism development, which may limit the establishment of new PAs to areas where tourism development is viable, and create additional impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem functioning.

Duties and Responsibilities

Scope of work:

The main objective of this consultancy is to develop a 10-year business plans (BP) for the four protected area sites, to ensure the long-term financial sustainability of the newly established protected areas that will constitute the Outer Islands Subsystem of CMPAs.

The focus of the plan should be to:

Increase the contribution of existing financial resources;
Identify the possibilities/the scope of increasing the contribution of existing financial resources;
Identify cost-saving activities through coordination and sharing of resources among the four PA sites and between ICS and other conservation partners; and;
Provide guidance on the practical implementation of the financing and cost-saving options identified.

The main tasks of the assignment are as follows:

Conduct an inception meeting with the ICS management team and the Programme Coordination Unit to clarify the terms of reference, agree the contractual process, deliverables and time frames;
Review Business Planning (BP) worldwide and best practice guideline on BP, the recommendations from the BP training and the Seychelles management plans, agreed during a separate BP/ PA management plan training consultancy in 2017;
Conduct initial scoping meetings with the management and operational staff of the four sites to review;
All the costs involved in managing the protected area; administration and general operations; surveillance and enforcement; monitoring, evaluation and research; equipment and maintenance, including physical infrastructure to be purchased or maintained on a recurring basis; outreach and education; alternative income generation programs; and any other activities or programs vital to the successful management of the four sites. The costing analysis should detail optimal and basic scenarios;
The current and projected revenue streams; secured sources of revenue and how these streams of revenue will be used to cover the costs and planned and projected sources of revenue;
Conduct an analysis of existing stakeholder groups utilizing the target areas (e.g. fishing interests, boat charters, other recreational use) and conduct an initial meeting with the identified stakeholders to explain the BP process and identify potential future business opportunities that might be available and under what conditions they could contribute to the conservation objectives of the PAs.

Based on the above, develop the BP for each of the four sites which should include:

A general description of the site and its management structure based on the management plan;
Key sections of the financial plan (displayed in charts and tables) along with a description of methods and assumptions;
An overview of the ecosystem goods and services that the site provides, including historical funding analysis and the markets and competition that may exist for those goods and services now and in the future;
Detailed projection of the capital and recurrent costs of the island over a 10-year projection;
Assessment and prioritisation of the existing and new financing options, as well cost-saving measures;
A detailed assessment of the assumed benefits and income from those revenue streams, along with an assessment of risk;
An assessment of the legal and political framework as it relates to pursing those revenue streams;
Structure stepwise plan to implement the prioritised strategies including the start-up and operational costs of developing and maintaining the most viable sources of revenue for the site;
Submit four draft BPs and present to stakeholders at a Validation Workshop to receive their feedback and endorsement;
Prepare final BPs following comments received from stakeholders;
A short report based on the results of the inception meeting to be produced within one week of signing the contract (maximum 5 pages);
Draft Business Plans (maximum 20pages each);
Validation workshop and consultation report and overview of recommendations;
Final Business Plans incorporating comments received from stakeholders.

Deliverables/outputs

A short report based on the results of the inception meeting to be produced within one week of signing the contract (maximum 5 pages);
Draft Business Plans (maximum 20pages each);
Validation workshop and consultation report and overview of recommendations;
Final Business Plans incorporating comments received from stakeholders.

Competencies

Knowledge of environmental issues, environmental law and policy concept and principles and the ability to apply to strategic and/or practical situations;
Ability to work with multiple stakeholders across a wide range of disciplines;
Demonstrates practical knowledge of inter-disciplinary development issues;
Seeks and applies knowledge, information, and best practices from within and outside of UNDP;
Maintains relationships with stakeholders , focuses on impact and result for the project and responds positively to feedback;
Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude;
Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexities;
Demonstrates strong oral and written communication skills;
Remains calm, in control and good humored even under pressure.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Minimum of a Masters’ degree in environment, education, tourism or another relevant subject;
Advanced university education with expertise in the area of economics, environmental economics and participatory development approaches.

Experience:

At least 10 years’ experience providing direct support to Protected Areas, working with SIDS, proven experience of developing business plans;
Strong skills in economic and financial analyses, and experience in implementing environmental projects at various administrative levels;
Ability to produce high quality reports, publications and project proposals; Previous experience with GEF projects is an added plus.

Language:

Good presentation, communication and written skills in English.
Knowledge of French is an advantage.

Important Note:

Interested offeror is strongly advised to read the Individual Consultant (IC) Procurement Notice/TOR, which can be viewed at http://procurement-notices.undp.org/
For more detail about term of references,general terms and conditions of IC and templates to be included when submitting offer;
Interested offerors above the age of 62 and requiring travelling: UNDP regulations require, at their own cost, to undergo a full medical examination including x-rays. Medical evaluation documentation does not need to be submitted with the other requested documents listed above, but will be requested should the candidate be chosen;
Interested offeror is required to submit application via UNDP jobsite system, because the application screening and evaluation will be done through UNDP jobsite system;
Please note that UNDP jobsite system allows only uploading of application document, so please make sure that you merge all your documents into a single file. Your on-line applications submission will be acknowledged where an email address has been provided. If you do not receive an e-mail acknowledgement within 24 hours of submission, your application may not have been received. In such cases, please resubmit the application, if necessary.