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Overview

Papua New Guinea (PNG) has been one of the fastest growing economies globally this century with average growth rates above 6% . This rapid growth has been driven primarily by the expansion of foreign investment within the natural gas sector and high prices for PNG’s central exports many of which are transported to rapidly growing Asian economies. This growth has built on a long history of natural resources being at the centre of the PNG economy with exports and employment dominated by mining, natural gas, logging and agriculture. While this rapid growth has delivered significant changes in PNG’s main urban areas and those communities benefiting directly from foreign investment, the country still faces significant challenges in meeting the objectives of Vision 2050 and in providing development opportunities for all while also maintaining its natural environment. 

Over 85% of the nation’s 7.3m population are based in rural areas and rely primarily on subsistence agriculture for survival and have limited access to health centres, education or broader development opportunities. Falling commodity prices since 2012 have also left the country facing significant economic challenges despite ongoing growth. 

PNG has a significant area of intact tropical forest covering 77.8% of the country’s 46.9m ha of land. Together with the forest of West Papua (Island of New Guinea) they represent one of the largest areas of intact tropical forest in the world. PNG’s forests are also highly diverse, including 14 distinct forest types, with carbon-rich low altitude tropical forest constituting over 50% of forest area. 

The country’s forests are critical to the livelihoods and economy of the country. The ecosystem services forests provide help to maintain access to water and suitable agricultural land for PNG’s predominantly rural population as well as helping to protect key infrastructure, people and crops from flash flooding and landslides. Forests also play a direct role in supporting the livelihoods or rural communities with more than 500 species of wild growing plants identified as being used for food and the value of annual bush meat consumption estimated to be equivalent to $26million if alternative meats had to be sourced .

These economic values sit alongside the deep social and cultural values attributed to forests across PNG. With over 90% of the land area under customary land ownership, PNG’s forests are at the center of the cultural identity of many communities. 

Since 2005, PNG has been at the forefront of intergovernmental negotiations under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to develop an international mechanism to compensate developing countries for reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+). To be eligible to receive results-based finance for REDD+ results-based actions under the UNFCCC, PNG will have to develop the following elements:

• A National Strategy or Action Plan;
• A national forest reference emission level and/or forest reference level; 
• A robust and transparent national forest monitoring system for the monitoring and reporting of the REDD + activities; 
• A system for providing information on how the safeguards on local community and forest biodiversity are being addressed and respected throughout the implementation of the REDD+ activities while respecting sovereignty.

The Government of PNG is receiving international support from a number of bilateral and multilateral sources to prepare the country for implementing REDD+ under the UNFCCC, including through readiness support from the World Bank’s Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF), which is being delivered by UNDP. 

In 2016-2017, with the support of UNDP/FCPF project, a National REDD+ Strategy (NRS) was developed and submitted to the Government of PNG for review and endorsement. The NRS marks a major milestone in PNG’s transition from the REDD+ Readiness Phase to REDD+ implementation. 

The NRS was developed over an 18-month period through a process of structured consultation and awareness raising with key stakeholders from government agencies, civil society and the private sector. It builds on the experiences of early REDD+ readiness activities in PNG, including the development of pilot activities, and the ongoing assessment and analysis work that has focused on key areas of action on REDD+ including reviews of forest sector financing, commercial agricultural development, stakeholder engagement processes and land use mapping. Much of this work was compiled in an Issues and Options Paper for REDD+ in PNG, which set out the key decision and action areas for REDD+ in PNG and was circulated widely for consultation, the feedback from which was central to creating the NRS . 

PNG is still at an early stage of its REDD+ development process. Thus, while the NRS marks a critical step in the nation’s REDD+ development process further action is needed to ensure that the NRS is effectively financed, that proposed policies and measures are developed and tested, and that long term sustainable financing and management systems are in place.

To achieve this the NRS will be supported by a National REDD+ Finance and Investment Plan (NRFIP), which will provide a detailed breakdown of activities to be undertaken in the coming five years, including clear budgets and approaches to financing.

In this regard, UNDP through the Government of PNG, particularly the Climate Change and Development Authority (CCDA) is in process of recruitment of international and national experts to assess financial landscape and identify opportunities to promote inter-sectoral planning, mainstream REDD+ objectives in national and sub-national planning and budgeting as well as fill existing knowledge and finance gaps which is critical while developing NRFIPPNG’s NRFIP. 

Once the financial gaps to support REDD+ within the sectors have been identified, the Government of PNG, through UNDP as accredited entity, will develop a funding proposal for the implementation of PNG’s RFIP for submission to the Green Climate Fund (GCF).

Application procedures

Qualified candidates are requested to apply by April 26, 2017 by sending their application packages to registry.pg@undp.org with the subject line “International Consultant to National REDD+ Plan in PNG”.

The application should contain:

• Cover letter explaining why you are the most suitable candidate for the advertised position and a brief methodology on how you will approach and conduct the work (if applicable). Please paste the letter into the "Resume and Motivation" section of the electronic application. 
• Filled P11 form including past experience in similar projects and contact details of referees, please upload the P11 instead of your CV. 
• Financial Proposal* - specifying a total lump sum amount for the tasks specified in this announcement. The financial proposal shall include a breakdown of this lump sum amount (number of anticipated working days – in home office and on mission, travel – international and local, per diems and any other possible costs). For more details, please see “Scope of Price Proposal and Schedule of Payments”. 

Refer the following documents attached:

• Terms of Reference;
• Procurement Notice;
• P11 modified for SCs and ICs;
• General Conditions of Contract-for the services of IC's;
• Technical & Financial Proposal.

Note: Incomplete applications will not be considered. Please make sure you have provided all requested materials.