Procurement Notices

Project Title

Project Preparation Grant: Protecting priority coastal and marine ecosystems to conserve globally significant Endangered, Threatened, and Protected marine wildlife in southern Mindanao, Philippines

Project Description

The Global Environment Facility (GEF) in its the 7th replenishment (GEF-7),  with a view to maintain or improve ecosystem services, land productivity, food security, and to increase the resilience of the land and the populations dependent on it, provides supports to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD)’s Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) concept.  Similarly, the GEF-7 Biodiversity Focal Area programming responds directly to the GEF7 Four-year Framework of Program Priorities agreed by countries at CBD COP-13, as well as the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity, 2011-2020. Specifically, the proposed Biodiversity Focal Area is built around achieving the Four-year Programs three objectives: (i) Mainstream Biodiversity Across sectors as Well as Within Production Landscapes and Seascapes, (ii) Reduce Direct Drivers of Biodiversity Loss, and (iii) Strengthen Biodiversity Policy and Institutional Frameworks. Moreover, the GEF to continue and further enhance means to harness opportunities for leveraging synergies among the Rio Conventions and other relevant multilateral environmental agreements.

In line with the GEF-7 strategic synergistic programming for Land Degradation and Biodiversity, the project “Protecting priority coastal and marine ecosystems to conserve globally significant Endangered, Threatened, and Protected marine wildlife in southern Mindanao” aims to strengthen management effectiveness and address underrepresentation of Marine Conservation Areas designed to conserve Endangered, Threatened, and Protected (ETP) marine wildlife and sustain ecosystem services for human well-being.

The project will contribute to the conservation of globally significant biodiversity by conserving priority habitats and ecosystems to secure viable populations of globally significant ETP MW through the use of MCAs as mechanisms to implement conservation activities. The project will create GEBs by supporting the protection of habitats for, and reducing direct pressures on, a number of ETP MW species, including the dugong, three species of marine turtles, Cetaceans, whale sharks, and manta rays. In addition, important coastal and marine ecosystems and their services will be conserved. Coral reef diversity is high in all of the project sites (e.g. at least 25 genera of hard and soft corals are found in Pujada Bay ); these reefs are critical habitat for numerous marine species, and a significant percentage of people living in the project sites rely on the health of reef ecosystems to sustain their livelihoods and improve their well-being. 18 species of seagrass have been identified in the Philippines (9 in Pujada Bay ); seagrass ecosystems are important nurseries for various marine species, critical food sources for dugongs, marine turtles, and other marine herbivores, and provide carbon sequestration and coastal protection services; their conservation is critical in the face of coastal development and unregulated upland practices that can negatively impact their functioning (i.e. through silt and sediment flows). The health of seagrass beds is directly tied to mega-herbivores like dugongs and marine turtles, which can influence biomass, increase productivity, and microbial nutrient cycling, lead to higher leaf growth and ultimately provide the mechanisms for meadow recovery. The project will help to conserve mangrove ecosystems (including approximately 85 ha of mangroves in Pujada Bay ) that serve as habitat for juvenile marine species, including fish and crustaceans, and as food and income sources for local communities. Mangrove forests are also carbon sinks and have been found to sequester more carbon compared to any other ecosystem; disturbing them will result in high greenhouse gas emissions.  The project will also conserve beaches and coastal forests that act as barriers against winds and waves and help to prevent coastal erosion, including in areas that contain nesting sites of marine turtles such as Dahican Beach in Mayo Bay. At the same time, the project will help communities that depend on these ecosystems for ocean-based tourism, fisheries, and other natural resource-based livelihoods to sustain their ways of life and become more resilient to the damaging impacts of climate change.

The project will also support the goals and targets of a number of International Environmental Agreements, including species conservation objectives of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) and the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS); the CBD Aichi Targets 5, 6, 10, 11, 12 and 14; and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 14.2, 14.4, 14.7, 15.5 and 15.7. The project also will assist the Philippines in achieving its commitments in Regional Action Plans and Agreements that support GEBs, including the Coral Triangle Initiative on Coral Reefs, Fisheries, and Food Security (CTI-CFF) Regional Plan of Action (RPOA), and the Comprehensive Action Plans of the Sulu-Sulawesi Marine Eco-region, in particular the Action Plan for Marine Turtles, Marine Mammals, Sharks, and Climate Change.

Table 1. brief description of the Project’s objectives, grant amounts, components, project location, and the PPG team composition

UNDP, in collaboration with the Governments of the Philippines, seeks to engage a qualified National Policy and Capacity Development Specialist.

The PPG will support all the preparatory work required to draft and finalize all the documentation required by the GEF for CEO Endorsement. The PPG phase will be underpinned by a participatory approach, with regular consultation and working meetings with all key PPG stakeholders throughout the PPG phase. Specific attention will be given to gender issues by undertaking a gender analysis to ensure optimal involvement of women in, and beneficiation from project interventions.

Institutional Arrangement

The National Policy and Capacity Development Specialist will work under the guidance of the National Lead and will report to the CAP Programme Analyst. The Consultant will be given access to relevant information necessary for the execution of the tasks under this assignment. S/he is expected to be reasonably flexible with his/her availability during the PPG tasks.

Payments will be made upon submission of a certification of payment form, and acceptance and confirmation by UNDP Country Office (CO) and RTA, and outputs delivered. If the quality does not meet standards or requirements, the consultant will be asked to rewrite or revise (as necessary) the document before proceeding to payment.

Duration of Work

The expected duration of work is estimated to be 25 working days spread over 12 months.

Duty Station

• The Consultant will be Philippines-based with mission(s) to the project sites;
• For meetings related to the project, UNDP will cover all costs of three (3) trips to and from Metro Manila, if the Consultant’s duty station is outside Metro Manila;
• The Consultant will travel to the Project sites, the COVID19 travel restrictions permitting. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic and declaration of State of Public Health Emergency in the Philippines, all work and travel of the Individual consultant shall be done within the guidelines and protocols set by the local and national government. Field work, trainings, meetings, and coordination shall be done in compliance with community quarantine policies;
• Any necessary mission travel must be approved in advance by the CO focal point;
• The BSAFE course must be completed before the commencement of travel;
• Individual Consultants are responsible for ensuring they have vaccinations/inoculations when traveling to certain countries, as designated by the UN Medical Director;
• Consultants are also required to comply with the UN security directives set forth under https://dss.un.org/dssweb/; 
• The UNDP CO will be responsible for  making his/her site travel arrangements and will shoulder related expenses in line with UNDP travel policies;
• In the case of unforeseeable travel, payment of travel costs including tickets, lodging, and terminal expenses should be agreed upon, between the respective business unit and Individual Consultant, before travel and will be reimbursed based on the provision of supporting documentation.

Scope of Price Proposal and Schedule of Payments

• The Consultant should send the financial proposal based on a lump-sum amount for the delivery of the outputs identified below. The total amount quoted shall be “all-inclusive” (professional fees, medical insurance, communications, transportation, insurance, etc.) that could possibly be incurred by the Contractor should be factored into the final amount submitted in the proposal. Travel, as deemed relevant by UNDP and compliant with government guidelines on community quarantine, will be arranged and paid for by UNDP and should not be included in the financial proposal. Breakdown of the financial proposed should be reflected on page 4 of the template provided
• Medical/health insurance must be purchased by the individual at his/her own expense, and upon award of contract, the Contractor must be ready to submit proof of insurance valid during the contract duration
• The contract price will be a fixed output-based price. Any deviations from the output and timeline will be agreed upon between the Contractor and the UNDP.

• Payments will be done upon satisfactory completion of the delivery by target due dates. Outputs will be certified by the environmental focal point in UNDP Philippines prior to the release of payments.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the direct supervision of the National Coastal and Marine Resources Management Specialist and the Programme Analyst of Climate Action Programme (CAP), the National Policy and Capacity Development Specialist. shall:

Role

The National Policy and Capacity Development Specialist will work closely with the National Team Leader in designing, planning and executing PPG activities at the national level. The Consultant will have specific experience in working with (marine) protected areas and will lead in the rapid technical review of the national and local policy and legislative frameworks pertaining to coastal and marine biodiversity conservation e.g. the Fisheries Code, Wildlife Act, with regard to ETP MW and their habitats etc. and assess the legislations’ status of implementation at various levels of governance. This will enable the Consultant to provide recommendations on how to improve the implementation of policies and laws on marine biodiversity conservation, particularly in relation to ETP MW and MCAs. The Consultant will also establish capacity development baselines (primarily using UNDP Capacity Development Scorecard and relevant tools), and assess existing curricula, modules, trainings, from which recommendations will be made to formulate a training and capacity building needs strategy to be conducted in the implementation phase. S/he will also propose mid-term and end-of-project targets and indicators for monitoring changes in policies and institutional capacities to be developed by the project.

Responsibilities

The list below outlines the key responsibilities and deliverables of this contract. The PPG Initiation Plan for these projects provides further and more detailed guidance regarding the responsibilities of the prospective PPG team and must be consulted accordingly.

Preparatory Technical Studies and Reviews (Component A): Prepare inputs and support the required analyses/studies, as agreed with the GEF PPG Team Leader, including:

Policy:

• Analysis of extent of how international multilateral environmental agreements were translated to and adopted in national Philippine laws, legislation, policy and strategy documents for biodiversity conservation as relevant to MCAs and ETP-MWs, to include: CBD, CITES, CMS, vis-à-vis the Philippine NBSAP, Coastal and Marine Environmental Management Program (CMEMP) of BMB, R.A. 7586 (NIPAS), as amended by RA 11038 (e-NIPAS), RA 9147 (Wildlife Act), RA 8550 (Fisheries Code), as amended by RA 10654) and other policies relevant to MCAs and ETM MW, as appropriate;
• Analysis of whether national policy frameworks, such as R.A. 7586 (NIPAS), as amended by RA 11038 (e-NIPAS), RA 9147 (Wildlife Act), RA 8550 (Fisheries Code), as amended by RA 10654), Executive Order (EO) 533 (Integrated Coastal Management (ICM)), EO 72 (Comprehensive Land Use Plans (CLUPS), EO 124 (Land Conversion) etc., were translated in into local coastal and marine related laws, policy and strategy documents for biodiversity conservation as relevant to MCAs and ETP-MWs in the project sites, to include recommendations for harmonization and convergence in implementation and enforcement at the local levels;
• Conduct of a stock-taking of and evaluation of national policies and practices with regard to the management of MCA registry systems (e.g. the Environmentally Critical Area (ECA) listings), identification of mandates and challenges, and assessment of procedures pertaining to uploading information on MCAs to international databases (e.g. the world KBA and WDPA databases);
• Analysis of local laws, policy and strategy documents, and institutional arrangements: Inter-LGU alliances/ Inter-LGU fisheries/coastal management agreements, coastal law enforcement Plans Marine Protected Area/MPA Networks, MPA/N Plans, PAMB resolutions, CRM Plans, inter-LGU among others, including informal, traditional and unwritten practices relevant to natural resource use in the project sites;
• Assess the status of legal instruments that were used to establish existing MCAs within the proposed project sites and identify strengths and weaknesses and assess legal options that can facilitate and expedite establishment other potential sites that could also form part of the MWPAN;
• Assess and evaluate the status of enforcement mechanisms including operational plans, support and involvement of law enforcement agencies, and response chain in place in the project sites for violations such as unsustainable, illegal, and destructive fishing, wildlife poaching etc. and identify gaps through review and stakeholder interviews;
• Assess how many community members in the project sites have been deputised as bantay dagat and as WEOs, whether qualification requirements are fulfilled (e.g. knowledge of RAs 9147, 8550/10654, 386 etc.), how often deputisations take place and the modus operandi for the volunteers (e.g. honorarium paid);
• Evaluate the procedures in place to file a case, identify challenges, and indicate areas in need for increased legal support;
• Review whether there are tourist-wildlife interaction guidelines in place in the project sites;
• Review whether there are wildlife interaction/best practices in place for the fishery and tourism sectors in the project sites; and
• Assess local development projects and structures near the coast (residential areas and resorts), cite potential violations of existing national and local legislations (Civil Code, Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act; etc.) and how these may impact on ETP marine wildlife and priority habitats in the project sites

Capacity Development:

• Use the UNDP Capacity Development Scorecard to establish baseline scores, and propose mid-term and end-of-project targets and indicators for monitoring institutional capacities and personnel competencies to be developed by the project;
• Review existing institutional and other stakeholders’ capacities (e.g. for MCA identification, establishment, and management; business planning capabilities; ETP MW conservation; resource assessment and threat mapping; financing, enforcement, monitoring and evaluation, and reporting);
• Assess and evaluate the enforcement mechanisms and existing operational plans, participation of law enforcement agencies, potential conflicts with local communities, and response chain in place for violations, etc., and identify preliminary gaps and recommend strategy for assessing training needs of partner institutions or organizations for MPA and coastal law
• Assess existing tools, e.g., existing online training platforms/online modules, trainings already developed by other projects, curricula, modules, trainings of partner schools and/or universities, and provide first indications on possible gaps;
• Draft a Capacity Development Plan, prepare recommendations and draft a roll-out strategy for assessing training and capacity building needs in developing personnel and institutional competency standards for marine wildlife conservation which can be adopted at the national, regional, and local levels;
• Solicit inputs and recommendations for potential capacity building interventions on relevant aspects of the project design (e.g., policy; enforcement; biodiversity; ETP marine wildlife; MCAs identification, establishment and management; livelihood; CEPA; KM; gender; sustainable financing; etc.) from other PPG Consultants;
• Support the completion of any additional studies that are determined to be needed for the preparation of the ProDoc and all other final outputs as guided by the PPG Team Leader; and
• Provide support to the National Stakeholder Engagement and Environmental and Social Safeguards Specialist on the SESP formulation

Formulation of the ProDoc, CEO Endorsement Request, and Mandatory Annexes as well as project-specific annexes (Component B):

• Review and verify proposed Policy and Capacity Development Outputs and Indicators based on the information gathered during the PPG-Phase and, where appropriate, propose new ones for each Outcome, and establish baselines and targets to be monitored and tracked during implementation, for inclusion in the Results Framework, as appropriate;
• Participate in consultations, workshops, meetings etc. and provide inputs to management arrangements;
• Work with the Gender and CEPA Specialist in the review and verification of Core Indicators, especially on Core Indicator 11 (i.e., number of direct male and female beneficiaries), provide inputs to establish baselines and allow for a more realistic calculation of beneficiaries based on policy and institutional capacity development from project activities
• Work with the GEF PPG Team Leader to ensure relevant findings and stakeholder needs on policy and capacity development are meaningfully integrated into the project strategy, the theory of change and results framework and its implementation are monitored as appropriate

Validation Workshop (Component C):

• Contribute to the validation workshop; and
• Support all necessary revisions that arise during the workshop, as appropriate.

Final Deliverables:

• Policy Assessment Report with detailed recommendations for programmatic targets, actions, and indicators for strengthening the local and national policy, regulatory environment as well as enforcement mechanisms to empower institutions at all levels, including local communities, for ETP MW and MCAs;
• Capacity Development Strategy and Plan and budget;
• Mid-term and end-of-project targets for monitoring changes in policies and institutional capacities to be developed by the project; and
• Appropriate inputs to the final UNDP-GEF project document based on guidance from the PPG Team Leader

Competencies can be viewed at https://jobs.undp.org/cj_view_job.cfm?cur_job_id=92684

Required Skills and Experience

Offers will be evaluated based on the combined scoring method :

• Technical qualifications = 70%
• Financial Proposal =    30%

For the evaluation of the Technical Proposal, the selection of the successful consultant must be based on the following qualifications (with the appropriate obtainable points):

Applicants who will only receive 70 points from the assessment of the CV will be qualified for the assessment of the Financial Proposal.

Recommended Presentation of Offer

Offerors must upload in one (1) file the documents below at the given link https://jobs.undp.org/cj_view_job.cfm?cur_job_id=92684

You may download the editable version of the Offeror's Letter to UNDP Confirming Interest and Availability for the IC by clicking on this link: http://gofile.me/6xdJm/bE9TCw8fU

1. Duly accomplished Offeror's Letter to UNDP Confirming Interest and Availability for the IC that indicates the all-inclusive lumpsum contract price, supported by a breakdown of costs, as per template provided; If an Offeror is employed by an organization/company/institution, and he/she expects his/her employer to charge a management fee in the process of releasing him/her to UNDP under Reimbursable Loan Agreement (RLA), the Offeror must indicate at this point, and ensure that all such costs are duly incorporated in the financial proposal submitted to UNDP;
2. Financial Proposal (Annex 2 of Offeror's Letter to UNDP Confirming Interest and Availability). The financial proposal shall specify an all-inclusive lump sum fee. In order to assist the requesting unit in the comparison of financial proposals, the financial proposal must additionally include a breakdown of this daily fee (including all foreseeable expenses to carry out the assignment).
3. Personal CV or P11, indicating all past experience from similar projects, as well as the contact details (email and telephone number) of the Candidate and at least three (3) professional references;

In view of the volume of applications, UNDP receives, only shortlisted offerors will be notified.