RFP invites for Identifying, assessing, delineating and mapping areas with (HCVs) and developing management recommendations/plans for them in SECURE Himalaya

RFP Title: for “Identifying, assessing, delineating and mapping areas with High Conservation Values (HCVs) and developing management recommendations/plans for them in SECURE Himalaya project landscapes in selected districts of Jammu and Kashmir

Deadline: 31^st Oct. 2018

Background

The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), Government of India along with UNDP is implementing a new GEF funded project: SECURE Himalaya (Securing livelihoods, conservation, sustainable use and restoration of high range Himalayan ecosystems) in the states of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Sikkim, which aims to support the Government of India to effectively promote sustainable land and forest management in alpine pastures and forests in high range Indian Himalayan ecosystems that secure sustainable livelihoods and community resilience and ensures conservation of globally significant biodiversity and threatened species. The high range Himalayan ecosystem in India is of critical importance for the biodiversity and ecosystems of global significance that it harbors and forms an important life-support system for a large number of remote and agro-pastoral communities that depend on it.

Brief Description of the Required Services

Background information collection about forests, their biodiversity and essential ecosystem functions in project landscapes including outputs of previous work on HCV categories and subcategories at regional, national or international level.

Preparation of the initial draft of local interpretation of HCV categories for Landscapes of SECURE Project – respective toolkit/guidelines including categories, sub-categories and thresholds through proper assessment based on the information collected and the proper stakeholder consultations held with line Departments and the community. It will be followed by a common expert meeting at MoEFCC or in each state (including Forest Department, project staff, the consultant and experts) to discuss this initial draft.

Using the HCV categories, sub-categories and thresholds determined specifically for project landscapes, identification of the HCV areas in the landscapes and delineation of their boundaries/polygons within the project landscapes and recording these boundaries/polygons in a GIS database (including maps and attribute information) will be done; this implies that the production of maps for each individual HCV category and subcategory and for all HCVs will be taken together

Prepare management and policy recommendations/plan for each HCV forest category and subcategory including threat status, protection, maintenance, enhancement, sustainable use and logging restrictions (go or no- go areas) etc.

Objective:

The Objective of this RFP is to

• Identify High Conservation Value (HCV) categories of areas/forests and other vegetation types (moist meadows, groves, and pastures) in the project landscape,
• Delineate their boundaries and map them, and
• Prepare relevant management recommendations/plans, specific for each HCV category and subcategory.
• The management guidelines for the respective HCV areas will be produced for each State which will be used subsequently by the State Forest Departments or other relevant Departments to protect and enhance the forests/areas and the key species within them,in SECURE Himalaya project landscapes in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Sikkim.

Summary of tasks:

• Background information collection about forests, their biodiversity and essential ecosystem functions in project landscapes including outputs of previous work on HCV categories and subcategories at regional, national or international level.
• Finalization of criteria for determining conservation values in the landscapes in consultation with project teams, experts and local stakeholders.
• Preparation of the initial draft of local interpretation of HCV categories for Landscapes of SECURE Project - respective toolkit/guidelines including categories, sub-categories and thresholds through proper assessment based on the information collected and the proper stakeholder consultations held with line Departments and the community. It will be followed by a common expert meeting at MoEFCC or in each state (including Forest Department, project staff, the consultant and experts) to discuss this initial draft.
• Using the HCV categories, sub-categories and thresholds determined specifically for the project
• landscapes, identification of the HCV areas in the landscapes and delineation of their boundaries/polygons within the project landscapes and recording these boundaries/polygons in a GIS database (including maps and attribute information); this implies the production of maps for each individual HCV category and subcategory and for all HCVs taken together

Scope of Work:

The internationally agreed six categories of HCVs constitute the basis for this work. These six categories as such may not be applicable to the project landscapes. The criteria could be areas that  serve as source areas for genetic flow (for example high concentration of herbal wealth, breeding sites of important wildlife, seed source of medicinal plants to support harvesting in other areas, corridors for important wildlife, wetlands under human use but serving as habitats for some important migratory birds or significant water source for wildlife etc). Based on such criteria’s, specific HCV categories and sub-categories will be determined for the project landscapes of SECURE in four states

Criteria for Essential Eligibility/Qualification

Agency should have minimum 3 years of experience in identification of HCVs forest/areas at national or sub-national level / Biodiversity evaluation and conservation planning / Forest Management / Natural Resource Management

Agency should have completed minimum two assignments related to identification of HCV forest/areas biodiversity evaluation and conservation planning/ Forest Management/Natural Resource Management

Who can apply: Proposals are invited from the institutions/organizations only. Proposal submitted by Individuals will not be accepted.

For more information please check the Link

Proposals may be submitted on or before the deadline indicated by UNDP in the e-tendering system. Proposals must be submitted in the online e-tendering system in the following link: https://etendering.partneragencies.org  using your username and password. If you have not registered in the system before, you can register now by logging in using:

Username: event.guest

Password: why2change

To bid on the tender, you will have to register first.

(Event ID # IND10-0000002944)

For further queries, please contact – Mr. Surjit Singh

Email ID: surjit.singh@undp.org