Consultancy firm to develop financial mechanism for Sustainable land management

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Procurement Process :

RFP – Request for proposal

UNDP-MUS – MAURITIUS

Introduction :

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL

for a Consulting Firm for the Development of a Financial Mechanism for the mainstreaming of Sustainable and Integrated Land Management for the Republic of Mauritius

UNDP kindly requests your firm to submit your Proposal for Procurement of consultancy services for the development of a financial mechanism for the mainstreaming of Sustainable and Integrated Land Management for the Republic of Mauritius for the UNDP/GEF ‘Mainstreaming Sustainable Land Management and Biodiversity Conservation in the Republic of Mauritius’ project.

Type of Contract: Open International

Project Background 

The island of Mauritius together with Rodrigues and Reunion Island, forms the Mascarene Archipelago. Mauritius has a total area of 1865 km2 and the land rises from coastal plains to a central plateau. Mauritius enjoys a mild tropical climate with a warm humid summer extending from November to April and a relatively cool, dry winter from June to September. Rodrigues is located some 560 km northeast of Mauritius. The island is about 18 km long and 6.5 km wide and has a total area of 109 km2 . The terrain is undulating, with hills and valleys radiating from a central ridge. Rodrigues has a warm, wet season from November to April and a cool dry season from May to October. Around four centuries ago, the islands of Mauritius and Rodrigues were home to native forests that were rich in biodiversity. However, the arrival of the first human settlers brought about significant changes to the natural landscape of these two islands. The settlers indiscriminately cleared the native forests for timber, agriculture, exotic forest plantations, settlements, and other infrastructural development. As a result of unsustainable practices, land in the Republic of Mauritius is rapidly deteriorating and losing its productive capacity. The main drivers of land degradation in Mauritius include rapid urbanization with urban sprawl, land cover change (including conversion from agriculture to other land uses), deforestation in unprotected private forest areas, unsustainable agriculture practices, recurring wildfires on grass-covered mountain slopes, and coastal land erosion. 

In Rodrigues, land degradation is accelerated by land use change, invasive species, unsustainable agriculture practices and overgrazing. Furthermore, climate change-driven droughts, recurrent fires, floods, landslides, sea level rise and saline water intrusion and have worsened land degradation in both Mauritius and Rodrigues. Impacts of land degradation are manifested in a decline in provisioning ecosystems services and land productivity (loss of fertile topsoil, decrease in pasture quality and productivity, increased run-off and sedimentation of dams and lagoons), with an estimated cost to the national economy of US16 million annually. The project “Mainstreaming Sustainable Land Management and Biodiversity Conservation in the Republic of Mauritius” aims to scale up the adoption of sustainable land management (SLM) in production landscapes across Mauritius and Rodrigues. The project also seeks to put the Republic of Mauritius on a path to land degradation neutrality by catalysing the transformation of land use planning and management, while building a governance and sustainable production framework based on a landscape approach and optimizing ecosystem services and livelihoods. 

The project is designed to address the main drivers of land degradation and ecosystems services deterioration and loss through three main components: 

Component 1: Strengthening policy and institutional framework for the promotion of SLM. The first component aims at strengthening the national policy and legislative framework to enable land use planning and management across production landscapes. The project will also support the development of an Integrated Land Information System as a decision-support tool to support coordinated multi-sector adoption of SLM. 

Component 2: Implementing SLM technologies for improved management and conservation of production landscapes. The second component is designed to address the long-term trend in deforestation, unsustainable practices in production landscapes and to reduce land degradation through the adoption of sustainable land management practices and technologies. 

Component 3: Gender mainstreaming, knowledge management and M&E This component will ensure that the project’s gender strategy is implemented, monitored and reported, as well as environmental benefits (local, national and global) are monitored and assessed using appropriate tools and systems. The knowledge and lessons learned will be disseminated locally and more widely to other development projects. 

Under component 2, the project is planning to develop and promote the adoption of a system of monetary incentives and disincentives (including levies, royalties, fines, and penalties) and for mobilization from private sources to increase investments into SLM and ILM planning by USD 10 million. A thorough evaluation of the effectiveness of financial instruments that are currently being utilized in the country and beyond to encourage land users and managers to adopt more sustainable land use practices (or vice versa) will produce a set of best practices and recommendations for financial mechanisms that can be employed to incentivize the widespread adoption of sustainable land use practices in diverse situations.

The main beneficiaries of this consultancy are the Ministry of Agro-Industry & Food Security and the co-beneficiaries will be Rodrigues Regional Assembly, Ministry of Environment, Solid Waste Management and Climate Change, Ministry of Housing and Land Use Planning. 

Objective of this consultancy 

To develop a mechanism of monetary incentives and disincentives (e.g., levies, royalties, fines and penalties) and mechanism for mobilizing private investment for sustainable land management and integrated land management planning. The specific objectives of this Consultancy are: 

 To undertake a specialist assessment of the performance of financial mechanisms such as risk mitigating instruments (grants, subsidies, loans, green bonds, equity) and capital instruments (equity, loans, bonds and grants) currently being used in the country and elsewhere in shifting behavior of land users and managers towards more sustainable land uses (or the reverse). 

 To generate best practices and make recommendations for financial mechanisms that can be used to provide incentives for widespread adoption of sustainable land use practices for differing circumstances.  To facilitate stakeholder engagement and consensus-building to ensure that the proposed mechanism(s) is acceptable to all parties.

 

Scope of Work 

The service provider will support implementation of Component 2, Output 2.2 (Adoption of monetary incentives and disincentives e.g. levies, royalties, fines and penalties and mobilization from private sources to increase investments into SLM and ILM planning by USD 10 million) of the project “Mainstreaming Sustainable Land Management and Biodiversity Conservation in the Republic of Mauritius”. In this respect, they will work with the relevant stakeholders to develop a comprehensive and evidence-based framework of financial mechanisms for sustainable land management and integrated land management in the republic of Mauritius. The service provider will work in consultation with the Project Manager, Project Director, and the PMU. The main activities of this consultancy are to: 

1. Undertake an assessment of the performance of financial instruments, including risk mitigating instruments (grants, subsidies, loans, green bonds, equity) and capital instruments (equity, loans, bonds and grants) currently being used in the country and elsewhere in shifting behaviour of land users and managers towards more sustainable land uses (or the reverse); 

2. Conduct a survey of land users and managers to understand their needs and preferences for financial mechanisms. 

3. Conduct research on the socio-economic and environmental impacts of the financial mechanisms on sustainable land management (including different land use scenarios). 

4. Identify and recommend financial mechanisms that will contribute to shifting the existing flows of money towards more sustainable farming and land use practices. This includes proposals for creating the necessary incentives (and disincentives), offering cheaper credit, higher returns, or less risky investments than business-as-usual practices. 

5. In consultation with stakeholders, identify best practices for adoption in the ROM. 

6. Clearly spell out requirements (policy and legislation) required for the effective adoption of the financial mechanisms. 

7. Develop a financial risk management framework to mitigate the risks associated with the use of financial mechanisms for sustainable land management. 

8. With the help of the project management unit, advocate for the political support required to adopt financial mechanisms deemed to be appropriate for the ROM, including providing the public funding as well as to create the policies and legislative environment needed to make them effective. 

9. Identify incentives to be tested in the 2,063 ha project pilot areas to generate further experiences and lessons to inform recommendations for further upscaling sustainable Land management. 

10. Facilitate the dissemination of the findings of the consultancy to decision-makers and other stakeholders. This would help to ensure that the findings of the consultancy are used to inform future policies and programs on sustainable land management. 

11. Establish a monitoring and evaluation system to track the effectiveness of the financial mechanisms. This would help to ensure that the financial mechanisms are effective in promoting sustainable land management practices. 

12. Develop a training program for government officials and other stakeholders on the use of financial mechanisms for sustainable land management. This would help to ensure that government officials and other stakeholders have the skills and knowledge they need to implement the financial mechanisms effectively. 

13. Contribute to raise awareness and sensitize the public on the financial mechanisms available for sustainable land management (in collaboration with the team responsible sensitization and awareness) 

14. Document the process and produce a completion report, including a section on lessons generated by the process. The main beneficiaries of this consultancy are the Ministry of Agro-Industry & Food Security and the co-beneficiaries will be Rodrigues Regional Assembly, Ministry of Environment, Solid Waste Management and Climate Change, Ministry of Housing and Land Use Planning.

 

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[UNDP OFFICE Mauritius 

PROCUREMENT UNIT

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Deadline :

15-Apr-24 @ 11:00 AM (New York time)

UNDP-MUS – MAURITIUS

UNDP-MUS – MAURITIUS

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