Consultant for preparation of Manual of Forest Landscape Restoration Techniques

INTRODUCTION TO GGGI

The Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) is a treaty-based international, inter-governmental organization dedicated to supporting and promoting strong, inclusive and sustainable economic growth in developing countries and emerging economies. To learn more please visit about GGGI web page. 

The countries of the Northern Triangle (El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala) are experiencing the negative impacts of climate change, and global climate models predict even more severe scenarios for the coming years. These scenarios include higher average annual temperatures with lower and more erratic rainfall, marked by extreme rainfall events during tropical cyclones and followed by prolonged droughts. The lack of coverage by government agencies limits the scope to serve farmers with technical assistance and extension, resulting in the agricultural production methods they use leading to a degradation of the top layer of soil and land, which in turn reduces agricultural productivity.

The main direct causes of deforestation include land use change due to agriculture and livestock, unsustainable extraction of wood for industrial and energy uses, and forest fires, mostly related to conventional slash-and-burn practices used to prepare soils for the establishment of annual crops and pastures.

This project will provide a platform for technical collaboration with the Republic of Korea, Mexico and the Northern Triangle countries to establish enabling environmental policies that foster productive landscape restoration and create benefits to local communities and smallholder farmers, as a key strategy to reduce poverty in climate-vulnerable communities.

In this sense, the project seeks to strengthen institutional capacity with a restoration focus by supporting the preparation of documents that help mitigate and recover degraded lands, in response to climate change.

In this context, GGGI is looking for an experienced consultant to carry out the following activities:

1. Prepare a Manual of techniques for Forest Landscape Restoration (FLR), which includes the establishment of Agroforestry and Silvopastoral Systems, as one of the techniques.

2. Hold participatory events to validate the Manual.

3. In close coordination with Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAG), design a dissemination strategy for this FLR Manual (when designed and finished) so that is widely known by farmers and technical personnel.

4. Support GGGI’s team in reviewing the Manual’s version with design has been incorporated and before sending it for printing.

It is important to clarify that the Manual will not have a focus on an specific type of ecosystem, but will be oriented so that at the national level, small, medium and large producers, integrate agroforestry and silvopastoral systems into their productive units in order to diversify production; and that through the use of this Manual, they would be able to apply the techniques or arrangements that best suit their land conditions.

The Manual must be prepared in Spanish and submitted in Word.doc format.

OBJECTIVE OF THE ASSIGNMENT

Prepare a technical manual with techniques to restore the forest landscape that serves as a guide for farmers and technicians in restoration activities, including agroforestry and silvopastoral systems; and design a dissemination strategy to make it widely known for potential users.

Below are the activities that the consultant must complete, which must be carried out in their entirety within a period of 121 days:

General responsibilities:

• Product 1: Present a detailed work plan for preparing and disseminating the technical manual (including execution schedule)

a) Plan and coordinate the work with the technical team of the General Directorate of Forest Planning, Watersheds and Irrigation (DGFCR) of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAG) and with the Senior Forestry Associate of the GGGI.

b) Prepare a monthly report that demonstrates the progress of execution addressed to the Director of the DGFCR/MAG and the Forestry Senior Associate of the GGGI.

Preparation of a manual of techniques for forest landscape restoration:

•  Plan, manage and hold the necessary meetings with the different institutions involved in the issue of forest landscape restoration (MAG, Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (MARN), National Center for Agricultural and Forestry Technology (CENTA), among others), with the objective of guiding and validating the content of the Manual.

• The content of the Manual must include at least the following topics:

• Basic concepts of Forest Landscape Restoration.

• Forest Landscape Restoration using agroforestry and silvopastoral systems.

• Types of agroforestry systems or arrangements:

a) Agroforestry systems with annual crops.

b) Agroforestry systems with fruit trees.

c) Agroforestry arrangements with coffee cultivation.

d) Agroforestry arrangements with cocoa cultivation.

e) Associations with multiple use trees.

f) Windbreak barriers.

g) Living fences.

h) Each topic should include subtopics such as: planting densities, pre-planting activities, pruning, thinning, fertilization, pest control, among others.

• The topics proposed in the previous list may be modified or adjusted according to the technical criteria and agreement between the DGFCR-MAG and the Consultant, as long as it does not affect the execution period of the consultancy

a) Prepare the manual using inclusive language that is well adapted to our target population: farmers, land owners, technicians and any other restoration practitioner.

b) The technical Manual should incorporate the considerations of the DGFCR-MAG team, as well as the actions considered in the different strategic axes mentioned in the Forestry Strategy of El Salvador. The Manual must ensure that, when relevant, current lands uses without forest promote adequate agroforestry restoration which allows guiding the planned and orderly development of management activities and increase of forest cover; both with productive and conservation objectives, and risk prevention and mitigation.

c) The Manual must include at least one case study of restoration at the national level.

d) Hold meetings every 15 days with the DGFCR-MAG and GGGI staff to review, correct and validate the document being prepared until its completion.

Participatory validation events:

• Hold participatory validation events with various actors from the government, private and primary sectors involved in forest restoration to validate the Manual.

• Product 2: Once the document has been validated, it must be presented for review and final approval to the Director of the DGFCR-MAG, and to the Forestry Senior Associate of GGGI, who will draw up a record with the respective signatures endorsing the acceptance of the document to proceed with the payment for Product 2.

Review content of the designed Manual:

Once the Manual has been completed, the consultant will support the following activity:

• Support the GGGI team in reviewing the document before sending it for printing to validate and ensure the designed content is appropriate and relevant. The Manual will be send to design after this consultancy has delivered the final version of the document. The design phase will last around 30 days and will be financed by GGGI.

Manual’s Dissemination Strategy:

The consultant must carry out the following activities:

• Develop, in coordination with MAG and GGGI, a dissemination strategy, and action plan, in order to widely promote the use of the Manual aimed at technicians and farmers at the national level. The action plan should suggest names of the organizations/individuals responsible for the dissemination activities and average costs of the suggested activities.

• Product 3: A final report systematizing the execution of the consultancy, said report must include evidence of meetings or events (photographic archive, process documentation, among others); the report must be approved by the Director of the DGFCR-MAG and the Senior Forestry Associate-GGGI. Once approved, a receipt document will be signed to proceed with payment for Product 3.

The payment method will be established as follows:

The consultant is expected to possess the following qualifications, professional experiences, and skills:

Qualifications:

• Salvadoran nationality or residency with a valid work permit in El Salvador.

• Educational background in Agronomics, Forestry, Environmental Sciences, or a related field. A postgraduate degree is desirable;

• Fluency in Spanish;

Professional experiences:

• Minimum work experience of 5 years.

• With proven experience in preparing technical documents on agricultural issues, preferably forest restoration, agroforestry, or consulting-related, aimed to farmers and technical personnel, ensuring the use of appropriate language.

• Sound understanding of forest restoration and climate change issues.

Skills:

• Proficiency in Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint);

• Analytical and report-writing skills;

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills;

• Strong interpersonal and teamwork skills;

• Ability to work independently and take initiative;

• Time management and organizational skills

Applicants must include in their application package as follows: 

• A cover letter of no more than 2 pages demonstrating how the candidate’s qualifications meet the work requirements.

• A curriculum vitae that describes education, recent experience, and career achievements.

• A verifiable list of publications to which the candidate has contributed or a written extract of the candidate’s written work.

To be considered for the position, the candidate must meet the minimum qualifications listed above. Please note that only shortlisted applicants will be contacted. GGGI does not pay for any expenses associated with the interviews unless expenses are pre-authorized.

Date to close is Korean Standard Time (KST). Applications submitted after the deadline will not be considered Application. Cover Letter, and CV must be sent in English. A consortium, or a firm may not be engaged for the individual consultant assignment.