Terms of Reference (ToR)

for

Consultancy: Assessment of SMART competencies, training & resource needs across the BLF Lower Mekong landscape.

Background

Fauna & Flora is implementing a seven-year biodiversity conservation landscape project entitled the BLF Lower Mekong (LM) Landscape Project. The project aims to conserve and enhance biodiversity in an area covering more than one million hectares of the Annamite Mountains, and incorporating three large forest complexes in Cambodia, Lao PDR and Vietnam. The programme is funded by the Biodiverse Landscapes Fund (BLF; a UK government grant managed by the Department of Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs – DEFRA) and is being implemented through a consortium of highly experienced INGOs, led by Fauna & Flora, and including SNV, and IUCN, working in close collaboration with local partners and Indigenous peoples & local communities (IP&LCs), to ensure activities respond to locally identified and prioritised needs.

The overall impact of the program is to reduce poverty and create sustainable economic development for communities living in, and dependent upon, environmentally critical landscapes. Its’ outputs have been designed using an integrated approach focusing on people, nature, and climate, and are being delivered through six distinct but inter-related components; five of these are output-focused and align to their corresponding output, while the sixth component, MEL and Programme Management, enables delivery of the others through excellent monitoring, evaluation, learning and programme management mechanisms, maintaining a firm focus on future up-scaling across the region.

The defined areas of intervention are in one of the world’s most biodiverse landscapes that contains important but threatened protected areas (PAs) and community protected areas (CPAs). The people living in and adjacent to these PAs and associated forest corridors are mainly IP&LCs that are typically isolated from broader society and excluded from economic processes, often dependent on natural resources, with a correlated impact on PAs.

Component 5 of the programme, Protected Area Management, aims to enable IP&LCs to participate in improved PA governance, zonation and management, ensuring sustainable access to forest resources whilst incentivising them to become active in its protection. Capacity building of government and community rangers will reduce threats to critical habitat, natural carbon stocks and globally threatened species, impacting wildlife trade and green-house gas emissions from land-use change, at source.

The key barriers to effective management in the landscape have been identified as**:** (1) lack of baseline data and monitoring systems to inform management; (2) low capacity of PA management units; (3) no legal access for IP&LCs to manage natural resources sustainably; (4) no co-management systems to involve local stakeholders in zonation, planning and management; (5) lack of effective patrolling and law enforcement, (6) gaps in PA gazettement for forest connectivity.

To help address barriers 1, 2, & 5, the programme intends to set up SMART data collection, monitoring and reporting patrol management systems, ensuring harmonization across sites and centralizing data at the provincial/national level. Training will be provided for data managers, PA rangers, and IP&LC patrol/conservation teams in PAs/CPAs. Monthly PA/CPA committee meetings and PF Management Board meetings will support adaptive management in all sites. High level data analysis will include mapping of snares, patrol effort, and snare occupancy assessments as well as locations facilitating poaching (known hotspots, forest access points, equipment suppliers, storage & selling sites, etc) to determine threat trends and to support adaptive management.

Over the six years of the project, and externally to this consultancy, more generalised training and mentorship will be provided to both government and community protected area personnel to improve their capacity to manage protected areas and to monitor the efficacy of that management. This could include, but not be limited to adherence to patrol and incident response standard operating procedures (SOPs), supporting subsequent legal processes, implementing and maintaining biodiversity assessment and monitoring, and community engagement skills.

Fauna & Flora is looking for a competent individual/organization for the procurement of consultancy services for a Spatial Monitoring & Reporting Tool (SMART) competencies assessment and draft framework design, as a first step in developing and implementing a collaborative SMART system to enhance PA/CPA management and to help facilitate snare removal and poaching prevention activities.

Purpose & Objective

The objective of this Terms of Reference (ToR) is to invite proposals from qualified individuals or organisations able to carry out a thorough and comprehensive assessment of key elements of the BLF landscape in using the SMART system for effective Protected Area (PA) and Community Protected Areas (CPA) management.

Geographic Scope

In addition to the national and provincial government centres, the assessment should also incorporate consideration of the programme sites, as detailed below:

Regional map showing BFL-LM project sites:

Cambodia: Virachey National Park;

Vietnam: Pu Mat NP, Chu Mom Ray NP & Ngoc Linh Nature Reserve;

Lao PDR: Yod Nam Mo NP, Hin Nam No NP, & Phou Louang-Phou Khao Nok National Protected Forest Area

Scope of Work

Pre-Assessment

A detailed budget & travel/work plan, ensuring sufficient time in all three countries and all PA sites (the budget should include the consultancy fee, and all travel, accommodation and subsistence costs for the duration of the work);

A list of individuals/positions that will need to be engaged (this should include PA and CPA rangers, managers and directors, provincial and national level government departments, civil society partners operating at sites, relevant BLF staff;

An initial protocol (to be finalised upon contract) for assessing site personnel competencies and ensure it is aligned with the SMART competency register as well as the International Ranger Federation global rangers’ competencies framework;

An initial protocol (to be finalised upon contract) protocol for assessing government understanding of the purpose and use of SMART as well as of interest in incentivising and resourcing its implementation following the SMART Competency Register.

Assessment

Review prior scoping and assessments conducted at each site, in consultation with relevant consortium team member (i.e. country programme staff). Carry out training needs assessments at all PA sites as well as with all relevant provincial and national government departments. Where SMART is already applied, this will include an initial competencies assessment followed by an After-Action Review on the use of the SMART system, as well as additional equipment and skills needed to address threats faced by the PA and to improve its conservation effectiveness; at sites where SMART has not yet been applied, the assessment will emphasise identifying the training and resource gaps present. This work will be carried out in close collaboration with relevant BLF-LM project staff as well as key cross-cutting teams based in the UK.

Output

Prepare assessment report, to include:

• A measure of each site’s capacity for SMART following the SMART competency register
• A measure of capacity within relevant government agencies (including the existence of national data models)
• Recommendations for each site, focusing on training and equipment needed to fully implement a bespoke SMART system, including existing Training of Trainers opportunities and materials
• An account of the PAs general PA management capacity, both in terms of skills and equipment/resources, and a prioritised training package.
• Recommendations for BLF project’s capacity to implement, monitor and maintain a standardised approach to SMART delivery across the BLF LM landscape.

A suggested framework for delivering effective PA management through SMART across the BLF LM landscape (including on process to develop tailored site-level data models while enabling data aggregation across sites)

Required Qualifications & Experience

• Advanced degree in conservation biology, environmental science, natural resource management, geography, ecology, or a related field. A focus on biodiversity conservation and/or protected area management would be particularly relevant.

• Demonstrated experience in SMART (Spatial Monitoring and Reporting Tool) implementation, particularly in protected area management, law enforcement monitoring, and biodiversity conservation.

• Expertise in GIS mapping, spatial analysis, and threat monitoring for biodiversity conservation.

• Familiarity with the International Ranger Federation Global Rangers’ Competencies Framework and the SMART Competency Register.

• At least 5 years of experience working in or with protected areas or community protected areas, with a focus on management, monitoring, and capacity building.

• Experience conducting competency assessments, training needs assessments, and capacity-building initiatives for rangers, government agencies, and community groups.

• Proven experience in wildlife conservation, particularly related to threat reduction (e.g., poaching, snare removal, etc.) in tropical forests or similar ecosystems.

• Expertise in designing and delivering training programs for biodiversity monitoring, community engagement, and law enforcement in conservation contexts would be an asset.

• Experience working in Southeast Asia, particularly in Cambodia, Lao PDR, and Vietnam, with a focus on biodiversity hotspots such as the Annamite Mountains.

• Strong knowledge of local cultural contexts, particularly working with Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IP&LCs).

• Experience working with government departments, INGOs, civil society organizations, and local communities on conservation projects.

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English, with proven experience in preparing high-quality technical reports, frameworks, and recommendations for large-scale biodiversity or conservation projects.

How to Apply:

Application Process

The application should be submitted in two parts that include: a) technical and b) financial. The financial proposal should clearly identify, item wise summary of the cost for the assignment with a detailed breakdown. The application package that includes the technical and financial proposal should be submitted electronically to the email address: Mostak.Ahmed@fauna-flora.org

Submissions after the deadline of 15 December, 2024 at 23:00 will be treated as disqualified.

Intellectual Property Rights

All products arising from this assessment will be owned by Fauna & Flora International.