| Overview : IC - International Consultant - Communication and Awareness Consultant for the UNDP/ GEF ‘Mainstreaming Biodiversity in the Management of Coastal Zones in the Republic of Mauritius’ project. Project Background The objective of the project is to mainstream the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity and ecosystem services into coastal zone management and into the operations and policies of the tourism and physical development sectors in the Republic of Mauritius through a ‘land- and seascape wide’ integrated management approach based on the Environmental Sensitive Areas’ (ESAs) inventory and assessment. More specifically, the project will achieve this through a three-pronged approach: - support the incorporation of ESA recommendations into policies and enforceable regulations pertaining to integrated coastal zone management (ICZM), thereby mitigating threats to biodiversity and ecosystem functions and resilience with a special focus on tourism and physical development in the coastal zone;
- support the effective management of marine protected areas (MPAs) across the RM, given that they contain an important proportion of critically sensitive ESAs; and
- demonstrate mechanisms to arrest land degradation in sensitive locations, focusing on reducing coastal erosion and sedimentation and helping to restore ecosystem functions in key wetland areas.
The Project Management Unit (PMU) has been set up with the recruitment of the Project Manager and Project Assistant since June 2017. This unit is headed by a National Project Director nominated by the Ministry of Ocean Economy, Marine Resources, Fisheries and Shipping. The full team of the PMU has been reinforced by a Chief Technical Adviser for technical backstopping so as to successfully implement this project. The Ministry of Ocean Economy, Marine Resources, Fisheries and Shipping was designated as the Implementing Partner for the project. The other responsible parties are the following: - Ministry of Social Security, National Solidarity, and Environment and Sustainable Development;
- Ministry of Agro Industry and Food Security;
- Ministry of Tourism;
- Rodrigues Regional Assembly;
- Ministry of Housing and Lands.
The other stakeholders are Mauritius Oceanography Institute, Department of Continental Shelf, Maritime Zones Administration and Exploration, District Councils, Ministry of Arts and Culture, Reef Conservation, Shoals Rodrigues, Mauritian Wildlife Foundation, etc. Scope of Work The objective of this consultancy is to develop a Communication and Awareness Strategy and Action Plan for the Mainstreaming Biodiversity into the Management of Coastal Zone in the Republic of Mauritius project through a participatory and consultative approach. It is expected that the Action plan will be implemented during the project cycle i.e by 2021. A range of user-friendly communication materials (e.g. website, brochures/leaflets, posters, coastal and marine atlas, training tools and guides) will be produced through an inclusive participatory approach, sensitive to the needs of socially, culturally and gender differentiated groups. These will facilitate local community learning and sharing of local experiences, using a human rights-based approach, and inform the broader public, ensuring that the rationale for the protection and management of these ecosystems becomes widely understood and supported and the role of the ICZM Committees on both islands is clearly understood. The need for some of the ESA information to be excluded from the public domain will be respected. Mechanisms for maintaining websites, including protocols and procedures and long-term hosting body, will be determined. Materials will be developed in relation to: - The development and implementation of plans for Rodrigues and Black River District, Mauritius (Activities 1.2.1. and 1.2.2 below) and will include both general information on ICZM planning and location specific information, to illustrate the value of coastal and marine ecosystem services (using the results of activity);
- MPAs, in line with the activities described under Output 2 building on materials and initiatives developed under previous projects (e.g. materials produced for MPAs by a consortium of NGOs under the UNDP-GEF MPA Partnerships Project). The information produced will feed back into the knowledge management system and centres to be developed and supported under 1.1.1. ,and will be disseminated through the Marine Park centre(s) on Mauritius and the SEMPA Interpretation Centre currently being established on Rodrigues;
- The ecosystem service values of coastal wetlands, including policy recommendations, and the results of the work undertaken through Output 3.2 for replication on other coastal wetlands. Knowledge and policy briefs will be prepared to promote effective implementation of policies and mechanisms to protect coastal wetlands.
A strategy for communication and awareness and its subsequent Action Plan is necessary to identify the key target audiences and the most effective mechanisms, media and outputs for each audience. Particular attention should be given to coastal communities who tend to be overlooked and the potential for disseminating materials through, for example, the network of Social and Community Welfare Centres and Women’s Associations in coastal Village Council Areas. It may be appropriate to designate specific focal individuals in the communities to assist with this. This activity will make use of and further develop materials and ideas from past and current education and communications initiatives and will be developed as a collaborative effort with the Information and Education Division and the ICZM Division of MOESDDBM, the ICZM Committee, NPCS for wetlands, the RRA, and NGOs including Reef Conservation, MMCS, Eco-Sud and Shoals Rodrigues and MWF. In providing the required services, the Communication and Awareness Consultant will be required to: - Carry out a desk review at national and international level on best practice Communication Strategies and Action Plan in the field of marine biodiversity, Coastal and Marine ESA’s, ICZM planning and MPA management;
- Prepare a brief outline for the Communication and Awareness Strategy for the project in line with the findings of the desk review and consultations with relevant stakeholders;
- Prepare a draft Communication and Awareness Strategy and Action Plan for the project based on the above through a fully participatory and consultative process;
- Prepare marketing activities including product branding;
- Submit the final draft of the Communication and Awareness Strategy and Action Plan for the project reflecting the feedback and comments of the relevant stakeholders;
- Design the communication and awareness materials and media;
- Deliver the awareness raising sessions (including but not limited to training session) on the Communication and Awareness Strategy targeting relevant stakeholders.
Deadline for Submission: 23 November 2018 on the UNDP jobs on https://jobs.undp.org/cj_view_jobs.cfm |
