Contract Type: International consulting firm
Location: Kigali
Languages Required: English
Duration of Assignment: 5 months
Expected Starting Date Upon contract signature
BACKGROUND
The Government of Rwanda, through the Rwanda Green Fund (RGF), is advancing the development of high integrity carbon market projects aligned with Rwanda’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, and national climate resilience priorities.
The Volcanoes Community Resilience Project (VCRP) is a flagship landscape-level initiative encompassing the surroundings of Volcanoes National Park and the districts forming the same hydrological system — the Volcanoes area and Virunga corridor — covering eight districts: Musanze, Burera, Nyabihu, Rubavu, Ngororero, Gakenke, and parts of Rutsiro and Muhanga. The VCRP aims to:
• Reduce flood and soil erosion risks in the Volcanoes region and Vunga corridor.
• Restore degraded landscapes through Afforestation, Reforestation, Revegetation (ARR) and agroforestry.
• Improve watershed and natural resource management.
• Support biodiversity conservation, including through expansion of Volcanoes National Park by an additional 732.5 hectares.
• Enhance sustainable livelihoods for local communities through integrated environmental and socio-economic interventions.
The project presents strong potential for certification and commercialization of high-integrity carbon credits under Gold Standard or equivalent eligible standards, including potential alignment with Article 6.2 and Article 6.4 frameworks. UNDP now seeks to engage a qualified, experienced international consulting firm to conduct a comprehensive feasibility study to assess and confirm the project’s technical, financial, social, environmental, legal, institutional, and commercial viability.
OBJECTIVE OF THE ASSIGNMENT
The overall objective of this assignment is to comprehensively assess and confirm the technical, financial, environmental, social, legal, institutional, regulatory, and market feasibility of developing and implementing a carbon credit project under the VCRP framework that can generate high-integrity carbon credits and attract results-based and/or upfront climate finance.
This includes evaluating the project’s mitigation potential and technical viability; identifying and assessing suitable carbon standards, methodologies, and crediting pathways (including Article 6.2, Article 6.4, and voluntary carbon markets); determining financial viability, bankability, and investment attractiveness; assessing legal and regulatory requirements including authorization and corresponding adjustment implications where applicable; evaluating environmental and social risks, safeguards, and co-benefits; analyzing market demand and transaction structures; and defining a robust, implementable project design, governance structure, institutional arrangements, and clear roadmap toward validation, registration, issuance, and long-term credit commercialization.
