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Overview

The main objectives of this assignment are to 1) establish a socio-economic baseline for target communities, in particular those who are dependent on 55 selected VCFs under the CHTWCA project (see the VCF list in Annex 1), and 2) to propose sustainable livelihood options for the target communities. The data to be collected under the assignment will cover a range of socio-economic indicators in line with the overall result framework of the project. The special focus will be given on data related to dependency level of the target communities on VCFs and other natural resources for their livelihoods. Subsequently, based on the critical analysis of the data, the company /agency is expected to propose sustainable livelihood options for the target communities, which are to be validated and promoted under the CHTWCA project

Methodology:

The company/agency is expected to develop both quantitative (in this assignment a household level survey) and qualitative tools required to establish a reliable socio-economic baseline for the target communities around the 55 VCFs to be supported under the CHTWCA project. While developing the methodology and plans, it should be noted that most of the VCFs are located in remote places. The proposed study tools must be clearly mentioned in the technical proposal. The representative sample for the household survey should be determined by using a statistically valid sampling technique and considering the following information:

1. Samples should be drawn from both the target beneficiary communities (treatment group) and non-target communities (control group) for accurate progress monitoring during the course of the CHTWCA project. This means the aggregated sample size for the study should be comprised of the two sample groups, ‘treatment’ and ‘control’;
2. The CHTWCA project has identified that there are 314 existing VCFs in CHT with 29,390 forest-dependent households around these VCFs;
3. Out of the 314 existing VCFs, 55 target VCFs have been selected for support under the CHTWCA project, considering biodiversity significance and potentials to support communities’ livelihoods. It is estimated that 5,838 households are dependent on these 55 target VCFs (139 communities X average 42 households each community). Accordingly 5,838 is the estimated number of direct beneficiary households under the project, and the sample size for the ‘treatment’ group should be determined based on this information. See the list of 55 target VCFs in Annex 1; and
4. Given the geographical spread of existing VCFs, the sampling should be carefully done to minimize the cost of the survey while considering the validity in relationship to the study population.
5. Required number of data enumerators need to be carefully determined considering the limited number of data collection days in the field.