National Consultant to Support the Establishment of forest co-management model

Position: National consultant to support the establishment of forest co-management model in Xuan Lien Nature Reserve area, Thuong Xuan district, Thanh Hoa province

Reporting: Forestry advisor, SNV

I.            Background

The USAID Vietnam Forest and Deltas Program (VFD), from 2013 to 2018, is being implemented through Winrock International, the Netherlands Development Organisation SNV, American Red Cross, Vietnam Red Cross and Centre for Sustainable Rural Development (SRD). The USAID Vietnam Forest and Deltas Program is embarking upon a six-year effort that supports four provinces (Nghe An, Thanh Hoa, Nam Dinh and Long An) to accelerate their transition to climate resilient, low emissions development through investments in reducing net emissions from forests, and enhancing resilience of people, places, and livelihoods to short and long-term climate impacts. In VFD, SNV provides technical leadership for the sustainable landscape component that is focusing on upland landscapes, with the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation and forests degradation, maintaining and enhancing existing forests stocks and increasing climate change resilience and sustainability of landscapes.

Forest co-management has been seen by VFD as way to foster a sense of community empowerment as local stakeholders participate in decision-making and benefit sharing. Thus, it offers substantial promise as a way of dealing with resource-based conflict and ensure the roles and responsibilities of each stakeholder are identified based on continued negotiation and consultation processes. As requested by Thanh Hoa province, VFD is now seeking for an individual or a group of consultant to provide support to the establishment a co-management pilot model at Xuan Lien NR.

II.         Consultancy service description:

1.  Objectives:

The objective of this consultancy is to provide support in the establishment of a co-management pilot model in Xuan Lien NR, Thanh Hoa province and build capacity for Xuan Lien NR staff to ensure the effective implementation in the future.

2.  Scope of work

• The geographic focus of the assignment is only in Thanh Hoa province.
• The assignment will include desk review, field survey, mapping, capacity building for NR staff.

3.  Methodology:

• Collect and conduct review on the existing relevant experiences, lessons learnt, legal framework, and guidance in co-management in other places in Vietnam and recommend the most suitable model and approach for Xuan Lien NR.
• Cooperate with Xuan Lien NR to conduct a field survey and participatory meetings to select the pilot site.
• Develop detailed action plan through consultative meetings to get the consensus on the work plan.
• Conduct quick training needs assessment and based on that develop training materials.
• Support in development of co-management plan (using participatory approach) that will be approved by appropriate management level.
• Provide trainings to NR staff and local communities, especially through “learning by doing” approach.
• Provide the support the early stage of implementation of the new co-management plan.
• Conduct review and prepare the report that summarizes lessons learned and experiences to be shared with other NRs in Thanh Hoa.

4.  Deliverables:

• All products, materials, handed in both English and Vietnamese, including both hard copy and soft copy in WORD format:
• Brief review report summarizes the desk review on existing co-management models in Vietnam and recommend the right approach and model for Xuan Lien.
• Co-management plan developed and approved by the appropriate authorities.
• Training need assessment report, training plan and training report with list of people trained.
• Final report that summarizes lessons learned and experiences to be shared with other NRs in Thanh Hoa.

5.  Timeline: The expected total duration of the assignment from December 2016 to June 2017. The number of exact days will be discussed and agreed with the selected consultant later.

III.      Qualifications, skills and experience required:

An individual consultant or the lead consultant (in case of group of consultants) with the following background are encouraged to apply:

• University or master degree in the following fields: forestry, agroforestry, natural resource management or community development.
• Strong experience on  community forestry in the context of Vietnam
• Proven experience and knowledge on co-management models of natural resources and forest in Vietnam.
• Extensive knowledge and experience in participatory approach.
• Experience in developing training package and provide trainings to local communities.
• Priority given to candidates who have experience working forest areas in Thanh Hoa.

IV.       How to apply:

Interested consultant(s) are requested to submit their letter of interest, CV of each team members and the technical and financial proposals demonstrating their ability to deliver on this assignment to: [email protected], by 8th December 2016 with the title: "Forest co-management model".

Key compositions of the proposal:

• Proposed assignment approach and work plan including resource arrangement
• Working package of the consultant(s) with daily rate
• Total estimated cost.