| Overview : International consultant to provide international technical support to review and assess MENARID practices towards Integrated Natural Resource Management (INRM) to provide proposals for further actions The MENARID- Institutional Strengthening and Coherence for Integrated Natural Resources Management in Iran is a full-size UNDP/GEF project that officially commenced in September 2010 and is scheduled to conclude at the end of 2017. This project follows the guidance of GEF 4 and is implemented by Forest, Range and Watershed Management Organization (FRWO) of the Ministry of Jihad Agriculture (MoJA), Government of Islamic Republic of Iran. The project is implementing in four pilot sites in five provinces, including Behabad Region in Yazd province, Razin Watershed in Kermanshah province, Hamoun Watershed in Sistan & Baluchistan province and Hableh-Roud watershed in Semnan and Tehran provinces. MENARID Iran is one of the MENARID (Middle East North Africa Regional Integrated Development) Regional GEF-supported projects. The objectives are twofold: to promote INRM in the landscapes of the MENA region, and to improve the economic and social well-being of the targeted communities through restoration and maintenance of ecosystem functions and productivity. The project goal is to remove barriers to Integrated Natural Resources Management (INRM) by developing and strengthening institutional knowledge, capacity and coordination, and by demonstrating and up-scaling successful sustainable land and water management practices. The MENARID project in Iran entails a unique integrated planning approach to natural resources management focused on institutional strengthening for environmental, economic and social development objectives. The project deals with a need for inter-sectoral collaboration in management of land/water resources and a dynamic development and risky context across all pilot sites and activities. The project implementation approach is contingent on healthy stakeholder participation. A multi-sectoral participatory approach is essential for addressing the barriers and bottlenecks to scaling up INRM practices within the country and enabling institutional, policy and legislative environment at the national and local government levels. The project (based on Pro Doc) is expected to prioritize engagement and mobilization of the concerned stakeholders (including local communities). The project implementation does include a broad list of stakeholders observed to be active at three levels of implementation, including government agencies for INRM service delivery and planning; provincial-level groups for technical and monitoring committees and a cross-sector and partner-based project board for policy and decision-making (Pro Doc). As per the project document formulation, key stakeholders are found to be women’s communities, NGOs and community-based organizations (CBOs) as INRM user groups. | 
