Forestry Consultant

USAID SUSTAINABLE FOREST MANAGEMENT PROJECT

INDEPENDENT CONSULTANT SCOPE OF WORK

CLICK HERE FOR VIETNAMESE

A.         DAI Organization and Values

DAI Global LLC. is a development company with corporate offices in the United States, the United Kingdom, EU, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Palestine and implementing project operations worldwide including Vietnam. DAI tackles fundamental social and economic development problems caused by inefficient markets, ineffective governance, and instability. DAI works on the frontlines of global development, transforming ideas into action and actions into impact. We are committed to shaping a more livable world.

DAI and its employees are committed to confronting racism and holding ourselves accountable for positive change within the company and in the communities, cultures, and countries in which we live and work. DAI is committed to attracting and retaining the best employees from all races and backgrounds in our continued effort to become a better development partner.

DAI upholds the highest ethical standards. We are committed to the prevention of sexual exploitation, abuse, and harassment as well as other ethical breaches. All of our positions are therefore subject to stringent vetting and reference checks.

B. PROJECT BACKGROUND

DAI is implementing in Vietnam The USAID Sustainable Forest Management Project (the Project) to work with the Government of Vietnam (GVN), with MARD as its main counterpart, to reduce carbon emissions associated with deforestation and degradation of natural forests, and increase carbon sequestration by improving timber plantations management. The Project will implement a “Green Prosperity” approach that strengthens local communities’ ability to protect their natural resource base and reduce emissions while building a strong foundation for sustainable livelihoods and equitable economic growth.

The Project will work in seven provinces (Lao Cai, Son La, Hoa Binh, Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Quang Tri, Quang Nam) and focus on five objectives:

1. Improve and expand community forest management
2. Increase conservation-friendly enterprises in forest-dependent communities
3. Increase functionality of law enforcement system for forest crimes
4. Improve production forest management practices
5. Mobilize domestic resources for forest management and protection

The Project will be implemented during the period 2020-2025 by DAI in collaboration with RECOFTC and Preferred by Nature as partners, with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) as the counterpart and the Management Board of Forestry Projects (MBFP) as project owner.

C. DESCRIPTION OF CONSULTANCY SERVICE:

1.     Context

The Forestry Law (No. 16/2017/QH14) was approved by the 14th National Assembly on November 15, 2017 and came into force on January 1, 2019. Decree No. 156/2918/ND-CP, approved and promulgated by the Government on November 16, 2018, is one of the key legal documents that guides the implementation of the Forestry Law. The Decree regulates in detail a number of Articles in the Forestry Law that are related to:

1. Criteria for forest identification, forest classification and forest management regulations;
2. Allocating forests, leasing production forests, changing forest types, changing forest use; purposes to other purposes, recalling forests;
3. Forest fire prevention and control;
4. Objects, forms of payment, level of payment for forest environmental services; adjustment, exemption or reduction of payment for forest environmental services; management and use of financial resource from payment for forest environmental services;
5. Tasks, organizational structure, mechanism of management and financial use of the Forest Protection and Development Fund;
6. Investment policies for forest protection and development.

After over three years of implementation, upon reflection of concerned actors, who face difficulties in implementing the provisions of Decree 156, MARD, by issuing the Decision No. 5254/QD-BNN-PC dated 31 December 2021 on the Plan of developing legal documents of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in 2022, assigned the Vietnam Administration of Forestry (VNForest) to lead the revision of the 156 Decree. Following MARD’s Decision, VNForest assigned the Department of Legal Affairs and Inspection (DLAI) to act as the focal point for the review and revision of provisions related to points 1 and 2; and the Forest Protection and Development Fund (VNFF) to points 4 and 5 listed above.

Upon request of VNForest, the USAID-funded Sustainable Forest Management Project will support VNFF by providing 04 consultants to help conduct the necessary assessment, review of current policies on payment for forest environmental services (PFES), including the proposed services of carbon sequestration and storage (CPFES), and propose evidence-based revisions to the current regulations in Chapter V of Decree 156/2018/ND-CP:

• Consultant 1: Team leader. Policy consultant for the amendment of Chapter V of Decree 156/2018/N?-CP on payment for forest environmental services
• Consultant 2: Forestry consultant
• Consultant 3: Economist consultant
• Consultant 4: Forestry consultant on guidance of developing forest environmental services maps

This Scope of work (SOW) is intended to detail the tasks of Consultant 2 – Forestry consultant - as part of the overall consultancies on payment for forestry environmental services (PFES and CPFES).

2. OBJECTIVE OF THE CONSULTANCY

Research and propose appropriate payment mechanisms for forest carbon sequestration and storage services to serve as a basis for supplementing and amending relevant provisions in Chapter V of Decree 156/2018/ND-CP.

3. TASKS OF THE CONSULTANT

3.1.  Develop workplan and prepare questionnaire

The forestry consultant collaborates with other team member to develop implementation workplan to revise the Decree and submit to VNFF and the Project. The plan needs to be approved by VNFF and the Project. Besides the forestry consultant need to prepare questionnaire to consult provincial target group for impacts of Decree revision related to CPFES.

3.2.  Conduct research and develop an assessment report on the potential of CPFES, propose amendments and supplements based on evidence-based justification

The forestry consultant will resume the primary responsibility for proposing provisions for the mechanisms of payment for carbon sequestration and storage services of forests. The consultant will coordinate with and provide inputs for the policy consultant to include these provisions in the revised regulations related to CPFES in the draft Decree. In order to complete this task, the forestry consultant is required to develop an assessment report that provides evidence-based explanation and justification, based on which the amendments and supplements to CPFES-related provisions are developed and proposed. The report should cover the following contents:

a. Review of existing regulations and mechanisms related to CPFES covering

• Review and synthesize relevant documents, policies and legal regulations; inherit the research results for the policy on payment for carbons sequestration and storage services of forest (domestically and in the world) to propose appropriate and feasible contents related to CPFES in the draft Decree.
• Assess the status quo, advantages, difficulties and barriers in the current context to propose CPFES mechanisms that are in line with the current legal system of Vietnam and in line with the trend of trading and transferring the value of carbon sequestration and storage by forests in the domestic and international markets.

b. Assessment of the potential carbon sequestration and storage

• Assess the overall potential capacity of Vietnam’s forest to sequester and store carbon by each type of forest (special use, production, protection) and assess the potentially marketable carbon credits that can be generated by each type of forest. The consultant is required to apply highly reliable but also feasible (i.e. simple enough to apply within the given resources) assessment methodologies, which will serve as a basis for proposing a nationwide measurement methodology.
• Estimate the 2021 volume of carbon emissions of the forestry sector due to forest loss, forest degradation, conversion of forest land use purposes in protection, production, special use forest, thereby determine the amount of net sequestration and storage that can be traded with other industries and/or transferred through emission reduction programs on reducing forest loss and forest degradation.

c. Proposed technical methodologies for measuring, monitoring, validating and verifying carbon appraisal

• Method of measuring the ability to sequester and store carbon: Based on reports, research, programs / projects of organizations such as World Bank, LEAF, CIFOR, Forest Planning Investigation Institute and other, the Forestry Consultant is required to define and propose standardized methodology to use at national level to measure the amount of carbon sequestration and the amount of carbon stored by forests according to each type of forest as the basis for calculating the potential capacity of absorbing and storing carbon of the forest (as mentioned in Point 1 above). The proposed methodology should be simple (but still based on sound science), cost-effective and feasible to apply and institutionalized in the Decree for nationwide replication.
• Methodology for validating the amount of carbon stored and absorbed by forests: based on the results of estimated potentials for the sequestration and storage of carbon by the forest at Point 2 above, the consultant should propose methodology, criteria, units/agency responsible for validating the amount of carbon sequestered and stored by the forest as the basis for carbon trading and carbon transfer/trade. The system of criteria and methods should be applied separately for domestic and international market actors.
• Methodology for monitoring and verifying the results of carbon sequestration and storage: The consultant is required to propose the methodology to use for monitoring the results of carbon sequestration and storage by the forest to serve as the basis for the evaluation of trading results, carbon transfer/trade to the users of this services. In addition, the Forestry Consultants and other members of the group also are required to propose which unit/agency will be responsible for monitoring the results of carbon sequestration and storage by forests to include in the draft amendments to Decree 156/2018/ND-CP.

d. Proposed payment mechanism

The forestry consultant should coordinate with policy consultant, and economist consultant to identify and propose target users (buyers) of forest carbon sequestration and storage services in the domestic and international trading mechanisms. Along with the potentials of forest for sequestration and storage identified in Point b above, the forestry consultant and policy consultant will propose mechanisms for allocating payment from carbon transfer/trading as well as forest producers/managers who can participate in domestic as well as international carbon transactions.

In addition, the forestry consultant should collaborate with the policy consultant to propose mechanisms and solutions to increase revenues for forest protection and development through domestic carbon transactions to create more sustainable revenue sources than the mechanism of carbon transfer/trade abroad which is heavily dependent on the economic and political stability of other countries.

3.3.  Participate in drafting decree

The forestry consultant should coordinate with the policy consultant to draft additional provisions to guide the payment mechanism for carbon sequestration and storage services which was estimated for potential in point 3.2.  The draft should clearly identify the target of buyers for domestic and international markets via the mechanism of carbon trading and transferring, the guidelines on the method of verification, validation and monitoring the results of sequestration and storage of carbon of forests.

3.4.  Write impact assessment report

The policy will write socio-economic and environmental impact assessment report of the group about any amendment content in Chapter V of Decree 156 related to CPFES.

3.5.  Participating in technical workshops and meetings

The forestry consultant will be required to participate as presenter in technical meetings, regional and national workshops to finalize the draft amendment to ND156/2018. These meetings will take place monthly until the Government Office approves the draft amendment to ND156 scheduled for December 2022.

3.6.  Consolidate, respond to and justify comments from concerned actors

The forestry consultant, will contribute and coordinate with for the policy consultant to synthesize, accept or reject with proper justifications the comments from Ministries, Agencies, provinces and other concerned actors; and appraisal opinions of the Ministry of Justice; the opinions of the central government members on the provisions and annexes related to the mechanism of payment for the sequestration and storing carbon services of forests.

D. LOCATION

Hanoi, Vietnam

E. CONSULTING TIME (LOE) AND DELIVERABLES

All products are delivered in Vietnamese.  LOE has included time to attend meetings.

F. REQUIREMENTS FOR APPLICATION

G. SUBMIT YOUR APPLICATION

Interested individuals are requested to submit:

1. A CV in English and Vietnamese
2. A cover letter in English indicating why they are suitable for this position current contact details of at least three referees
3. Scanned copy of related degrees

via email to our recruitment email at [email protected]. Please quote the position title in the subject line: “Candidate’s full name _ Decree 156 _ Forestry consultant”

Application deadline: 5.00pm (Hanoi time), April 25, 2022

Note: If being recruited, the candidate will have to provide DAI with a release letter with authorized signature and stamp from current employer to certify that candidate will not receive salary from current employer/or take unpaid leave during the implementation of this consultancy assignment candidate commits to carry out the assignment outside normal working hours. This release letter is required for candidate who are currently working for government agencies only.

For more information about DAI, please visit the www.dai.com website.

DAI is an employer that applies equal opportunity/affirmative action with a commitment to diversity. DAI does not discriminate in employment based on race, color, religion, gender (including pregnancy and gender identity), national origin, political party, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, parental status, veteran status, or other incompetence factor.

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