Background

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is currently implementing a project that requires the services of an individual to perform the work described in this document.

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A. INTRODUCTION

In accordance with UNDP and GEF M&E policies and procedures, all full- and medium-sized UNDP-supported GEF-financed projects and programmes are required to undergo a Terminal Evaluation (TE). This Terms of Reference (ToR) sets out the expectations for the TE of the programme and full-sized project below:

• CPAR-Programme: China’s Protected Area System Reform (C-PAR) (UNDP PIMS ID: 5695, GEF ID 9403)
• Under the umbrella of the programme, there are six child projects. The Foreign Environmental Cooperation Center of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment (FECO/MEE) takes the leading role on this programme by implementing the CPAR-1 child project, while the programme is jointly implemented by the National Forestry and Grassland Administration (CPAR-4), the Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Science (CPAR-6), the Gansu Forestry and Grassland Bureau (CPAR-2), the Sichuan Forestry and Grassland Bureau (CPAR-5), and the Qinghai Forestry and Grassland Bureau (CPAR-3 child project) in China.

• CPAR-1 child Project: China’s Protected Area Reform (C-PAR) for Conserving Globally Significant Biodiversity (China-Protected Areas System Reform (C-PAR) Program Child Project #1) (UNDP PIMS ID: 5688, GEF ID 9679)
• This project is implemented by the Foreign Environmental Cooperation Center of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment (FECO). The project started on 8th march, 2019, and is in its fifth year of implementation.

The TE process must follow the guidance outlined in the document ‘Guidance For Conducting Terminal Evaluations of UNDP-Supported, GEF-Financed Projects (version 2020)’.

(http://web.undp.org/evaluation/guideline/documents/GEF/TE_GuidanceforUNDP-supportedGEF-financedProjects.pdf), Guidelines for Conducting TEs of Full-Size Projects and also the Guidelines for Conducting Program Evaluation

B. PROGRAMME AND PROJECT BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT

Brief CPAR-Programme Description: The programme is primarily aligned with the BD-1 objective: Improve Sustainability of Protected Area Systems. The programme will contribute to this SO by increasing the spatial extent of protected areas in China, improving the spatial design of the PA system within the context of a ‘sustainable protected area system’; consolidating and strengthening the enabling legal, planning and institutional framework for the reform and effective management of a multi-category protected areas system with globally significant biodiversity; and strengthening the capacity (strategies, tools, mechanisms, knowledge, skills and resources) to support the operational management and financing of PAs at different levels. More specifically, the programme contributes to Outcome 1.1. Increased revenue for protected area systems and globally significant protected areas to meet total expenditures required for management, Outcome 1.2: Improved management effectiveness of protected areas; Outcome 2.1 Increase in area of terrestrial and marine ecosystems of global significance in new protected areas and increase in threatened species of global significance protected in new protected areas; and Outcome 2.2: Improved management effectiveness of new protected areas.

In order to support the reform process, and respond to the aforementioned barriers, the programme aims to: transform China’s national protected area system through systematic legal and institutional reform and innovation for conservation of globally significant biodiversity.

Based on past experiences and lessons learned, the present framework improves on the approaches of preceding PA protection initiatives in several important respects. The programme approach can be summarized as:

• Developing and applying a wider range of PA categories to give local authorities a wider range of management options to match specific local needs and avoid conflicting objectives experienced under current restrictive NR regulations.
• New comprehensive system of PA categories will allow for better access to and eco-tourism potential for natural sites as national parks; greater ability to apply habitat management or restoration to improve ecosystems services or tackle problems of AIS; wider participation by local communities or private enterprises in co-management.
• Stronger emphasis on holistic planning and tackling systemic problems rather than focusing on physical issues of individual sites.
• Using ecosystem and landscape/seascape approaches for maintaining essential ecosystem services, climate change adaptation for PA management.
• Allowing for great individuality of management models to suit different regional and ecosystem contexts rather than expecting a one size fits all solution.
• Adoption of agreed competence standards for PA management which can then serve as a basis for in-service training, up-grading and career structure.
• Giving greater independence in planning, executing and supervising projects under the framework to individual provincial authorities rather than trying to control everything from a central office.
• Problems and frustrations encountered in waiting for adoption of new national level comprehensive legislation for PA management can be circumvented by approval at provincial level of more tightly formulated provincial regulations tailored to meet very specific circumstances.

The programme will achieve this through interconnected four components, contributed by six child projects:

Component 1: Improved Legal and Institutional Framework at National and Provincial Level

This component will tackle the fundamental but sensitive issue of providing a reformed, agreed comprehensive and legally sound framework that allows for multiple agency management of a diverse system of a variety of categories of National Parks and other Protected Areas. Categories will conform with international standards promoted by IUCN and the World Protected Areas Database. This component includes developing a series of regulations for different categories of PAs, built in flexibility to allow adaptation to changing climate and economic circumstances and then apply a sounder and fairer system of funding mechanisms and designating responsibilities. The component will entail, inter alia, support for: (i) Clarification and reform of roles and mandates led by the State Council; (ii) Adoption of broader PA category system in line with international standards; (iii) Reform of legal framework (amend the regulations on the Nature Reserves, Forest Parks, National Parks and Scenic Areas, management of multi-function Protected Areas, and the control of Alien Invasive Species in NRs at the central and local levels; (iv) National protected area systems review; (v) Climate change adaptation strategy for PAs; (vi) Reform of funding mechanisms, standards and responsibilities.

Component 2: Systemic PA Planning and Mainstreaming at National, Provincial, Country Spatial Planning and Sectors

This component is designed to rectify the gaps in PA system planning by undertaking a more holistic review of PA systems from different thematic viewpoints (forests, grasslands, mountain ranges, coastal and marine areas, wetlands, migratory species etc.) New areas that need to be incorporated in the PA system will be identified based on biodiversity significance, ecosystem service values and functions and new PAs will be gazetted expanding the national PA system. National Park system will be established to consolidate and regulate different park types (national parks, marine nature reserves, wetland parks, forest parks, scenic areas and geoparks). Furthermore, multi-category PA system will be integrated into provincial development planning process, with approved provincial land-use and development plans with full consideration for PA functions for biodiversity conservation and ecosystem services maintenance. The programme will support strengthening of PA network management for threatened and endangered species conservation such as snow leopard and Chinese white dolphin.

Component 3: Site Level Management and Supervision Standards Raised for Different PA Types

This component is aimed at addressing the low management capacity identified as Barrier 3 above and also the low engagement of local communities (Barrier 4) that remains a serious issue in many of the larger more remote PAs (Qinghai, Gansu and Sichuan). The greater involvement of local communities in various forms of co-management will be dependent upon the revised legal framework developed under Component 1. Component 3 support entails, inter alia: (i) Adoption of competence standards for PA management; (ii) Site-specific management planning and zoning; (iii) Staff training and development of National training course for PA managers; (iv) Species and habitat monitoring system; (v) Management monitoring and reporting systems; (vi) Introduction of innovative funding mechanism for PAs; (vi) reduction of locally specific threats such as illegal harvesting/fishing, encroachment and pollution; and (vii) Community co-management schemes.

Component 4: Programme Coordination and Knowledge Management

This cross cutting component directly addresses Barrier 4 (low awareness) as listed above but also provides a supporting knowledge base that adds to planning efficiency (Barrier 2) and management capacity (Barrier 3). This Component also addresses the weak coordination resulting from the poor existing legal framework (Barrier 1). The component will support, inter alia: (i) Programme website/blogs and media campaign; (ii) National platform database on protected areas; (iii) National performance reporting system for protected areas; (iv) National biodiversity monitoring programme; (v) Strengthening of focal nodes of CBD Clearing House; (vi) Synthesis of lessons learned

Brief CPAR child project #1 description: The project will deliver global environmental benefits through establishing a national park (NP) system in China, as part the comprehensive protected area reform processes underway in the country. Over the past two decades China has undergone unprecedented economic growth, conservation increasingly recognized and integrated into development strategies and plans. The enabling environment for biodiversity conservation has evolved through a progressive set of policies and regulations, but legal and institutional frameworks have not been able to keep up with rapid socioeconomic transformations, resulting in a protected area (PA) system comprised of numerous types of PAs, managed by different agencies and at different administrative levels, with inconsistent management approaches and strategic direction. The GEF funding for this project, the national level project among a total of six child projects under the C-PAR program, is timely, providing an opportunity to support the Chinese authorities in ensuring protection of globally significant biodiversity, is expanded under the new NP system. Establishment of the NP system is the cornerstone of the major PA reform in China, including development of a National Park Law that would consolidate, and essentially supersede, the current fragmented set of laws and regulations associated with protected areas, and establishing a new PA management agency, integrating the relevant management functions of protected areas so that a unified management responsibility can be exercised on NP system.

Technical assistance through the GEF funding will feed into the PA reform processes, integrating international best practice into legislative and institutional frameworks, introduction of advanced policies and guidelines for increasing the representativeness of the NP system and enhancing management effectiveness, building institutional capacities, and improving financial sustainability, with an increase of at least 30% in available PA finances through diversification of funding sources, improved efficiency in access and utilisation of available funds, broadened participation through concession arrangements and value-based eco-compensation appropriations.

At the site level, PA reforms will be demonstrated at three NP pilot sites, specifically the Three-River Source NP in Qinghai province, the Giant Panda NP traversing parts of Sichuan, and the Xianju pilot, established at the provincial level in Zhejiang province. The current national PA system is slated to expand by 1.2838 million hectares, increasing coverage of globally significant biodiversity as represented by Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs). The envisaged expansion will require close cooperation with local governments and communities, with respect to issues associated with land rights, resettlement, livelihoods and traditional ways of life. Many of the communities located within and near the proposed NP sites are predominantly made up of ethnic minorities.

Under the third component of the project, biodiversity knowledge management will be strengthened by more effectively communicating the values of the NP system. This will be facilitated through biodiversity knowledge platform, consolidating information among conservation agencies, with access to the public, rendering more participatory stewardship of the NP system. Coordination of the C-PAR program is also covered in the third component of the project, with the national project having the role of overseeing the progress on the other child projects, ensuring that program outcomes are achieved and disseminating information regarding PA reforms realised at the central level.

Duties and Responsibilities

C. TE PURPOSE

The TE report will both assess the achievement of the C-PAR programme and the C-PAR #1 child project results against what were expected to be achieved and draw lessons that can both improve the sustainability of benefits from this project, and aid in the overall enhancement of UNDP programming. The TE report promotes accountability and transparency and also assesses the extent of project accomplishments.

The TE will also establish the effectiveness, efficiency, relevance, performance and success of the project, including the sustainability of results and the long-term sustainability strategy. The TE will draw and analyze lessons learned through the programme and project and best practices pertaining to the strategies employed, and implementation arrangements, which may be utilized to inform future programs.

Special Objective: Gender and cross-cutting issues. The TE will also assess how effectively the project has integrated gender considerations and addressed cross-cutting issues. Specifically, it will measure the project’s success in ensuring equal consultation with women and men, people with disabilities (PwD), human rights, and other vulnerable groups.

D. TE APPROACH & METHODOLOGY

The TE report must provide evidence-based information that is credible, reliable and useful. The TE team will review all relevant sources of information including documents prepared during the preparation phase (i.e. PIF, PFD, UNDP Initiation Plan, UNDP Social and Environmental Screening Procedure/SESP) the Project Document, project reports including annual PIRs, project budget revisions, lesson learned reports, national strategic and legal documents, and any other materials that the team considers useful for this evidence-based evaluation. The TE team will review the baseline and midterm GEF focal area Core Indicators submitted to the GEF at the CEO endorsement and mid-term stages and the terminal Core Indicators that must be completed before the TE field mission begins. The TE team is expected to follow a participatory and consultative approach ensuring close engagement with the Project Team, government counterparts (the GEF Operational Focal Point), Implementing Partners, the UNDP Country Office, the UNDP BPPS Regional Technical Advisor, direct beneficiaries and other stakeholders. Engagement of stakeholders is vital to a successful TE. Stakeholder involvement should include interviews with stakeholders who have project responsibilities, including but not limited to Foreign Environmental Cooperation Center of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment (FECO), Ministry of Finance, member agencies of Project Board/PSC, senior officials and task team/component leaders, UNDP Regional Technical Advisor for the project, key experts and consultants in the subject areas, project beneficiaries, academia, local government and CSOs, etc. Additionally, the evaluation consultants are expected to conduct field missions to Sichuan, Zhejiang and Qinghai provinces. The evaluation of the programme will mainly focus on the interviews with key stakeholders of the six child projects.

The specific design and methodology for the TE should emerge from consultations between the TE team and the above-mentioned parties regarding what is appropriate and feasible for meeting the TE purpose and objectives and answering the evaluation questions, given limitations of budget, time and data. The TE team must, however, use gender-responsive methodologies and tools and ensure that gender equality and women’s empowerment, as well as other cross-cutting issues and SDGs are incorporated into the TE report. The final methodological approach including interview schedule, field visits and data to be used in the evaluation must be clearly outlined in the TE Inception Report must be fully discussed and agreed between UNDP, stakeholders and the TE team.

The final report must describe the full TE approach taken and the rationale for the approach making explicit the underlying assumptions, challenges, strengths and weaknesses about the methods and approach of the evaluation.

E. DETAILED SCOPE OF THE TE

The TE will assess both the C-PAR programme and the C-PAR child project #1 performance against expectations set out in the programme’s and the project’s Logical Framework/Results Frameworks (see ToR Annex A1and A2). The TE will assess results according to the criteria outlined in the Guidance for TEs of UNDP-supported GEF-financed Projects and the GEF’s Guidance for Conducting Program Evaluation The Findings section of the TE report will cover the topics listed below.

A full outline of the TE report’s content is provided in the ToR Annex C.

The asterisk “(*)” indicates criteria for which a rating is required.

Findings

i. Programme and Project Design/Formulation

• National priorities and country driven-ness
• Theory of Change
• Gender equality and women’s empowerment
• Social and Environmental Safeguards
• Analysis of Results Framework: project logic and strategy, indicators
• Assumptions and Risks
• Lessons from other relevant projects (e.g. same focal area) incorporated into project design
• Planned stakeholder participation
• Linkages between project and other interventions within the sector
• Management arrangements

ii. Programme and Project Implementation

• Adaptive management (changes to the project design and project outputs during implementation)
• Actual stakeholder participation and partnership arrangements
• Project Finance and Co-finance
• Monitoring & Evaluation: design at entry (*), implementation (*), and overall assessment of M&E (*)
• Lead Implementing Agency (UNDP) (*) and other Agencies (*), overall project oversight/implementation and execution (*)
• Risk Management, including Social and Environmental Standards

iii. Programme and Project Results

• Assess the achievement of outcomes against indicators by reporting on the level of progress for each objective and outcome indicator at the time of the TE and noting final achievements
• Relevance (*), Coherence – external and internal (*), Effectiveness (*), Efficiency (*) and overall project outcome (*)
• Integration (for the C-PAR programme only)
• Sustainability: financial (*) , socio-political (*), institutional framework and governance (*), environmental (*), overall likelihood of sustainability (*)
• Country ownership
• Gender equality and women’s empowerment
• Cross-cutting issues (poverty alleviation, improved governance, climate change mitigation and adaptation, disaster prevention and recovery, human rights, capacity development, South-South cooperation, knowledge management, volunteerism, etc., as relevant)
• Knowledge Management and Learning
• GEF Additionality
• Catalytic Role / Replication Effect
• Progress to impact
• Extent to which fiduciary standards were applied during programme implementation (for the C-PAR programme only)

Main Findings, Conclusions, Recommendations and Lessons Learned

• The TE team will include a summary of the main findings of the TE report. Findings should be presented as statements of fact that are based on analysis of the data.
• The section on conclusions will be written in light of the findings. Conclusions should be comprehensive and balanced statements that are well substantiated by evidence and logically connected to the TE findings. They should highlight the strengths, weaknesses and results of the project, respond to key evaluation questions and provide insights into the identification of and/or solutions to important problems or issues pertinent to project beneficiaries, UNDP and the GEF, including issues in relation to gender equality and women’s empowerment.
• Recommendations should provide concrete, practical, feasible and targeted recommendations directed to the intended users of the evaluation about what actions to take and decisions to make. The recommendations should be specifically supported by the evidence and linked to the findings and conclusions around key questions addressed by the evaluation.
• The TE report should also include lessons that can be taken from the evaluation, including best and worst practices in addressing issues relating to relevance, performance and success that can provide knowledge gained from the particular circumstance (programmatic and evaluation methods used, partnerships, financial leveraging, etc.) that are applicable to other GEF and UNDP interventions.
• When possible, the TE team should include examples of good practices in project design and implementation.
• It is important for the conclusions, recommendations and lessons learned of the TE report to include results related to gender equality and empowerment of women.

F. TIMEFRAME

The total duration of the TE will be approximately 40-45day over a time period of around 5 months (including completion of payment) starting on Nov, 2024.

G. TE DELIVERABLES

#	Deliverable	Description	Timing	Responsibilities
1	TE Inception Report	TE team clarifies objectives, methodology and timing of the TE	No later than 2 weeks before the TE mission: (November 25th, 2024)	TE team submits Inception Report to Commissioning Unit and project management
2	Presentation	Initial Findings	End of TE mission (December 7, 2024)	TE team presents to Commissioning Unit and project management
3	Draft TE Report	Full draft report (using guidelines on report content in ToR Annex C) with annexes	Within 3 weeks of end of TE mission (December 18, 2024)	TE team submits to Commissioning Unit; reviewed by BPPS-GEF RTA, Project Coordinating Unit, GEF OFP
4	Final TE Report* + Audit Trail	Revised final report and TE Audit trail in which the TE team details how all received comments have (and have not) been addressed in the final TE report (See template in ToR Annex H)	Within 1 week of Receiving comments on draft report (January 5, 2025)	TE team submits both documents to the Commissioning Unit

The final TE report for submission to the GEF must be in English.

*All final TE reports will be quality assessed by the UNDP Independent Evaluation Office (IEO). Details of the IEO’s quality assessment of decentralized evaluations can be found in Section 6 of the UNDP Evaluation Guidelines.[1]

[1] Access at: http://web.undp.org/evaluation/guideline/section-6.shtml

Competencies

H. TE TEAM COMPOSITION

A team of Two consultants (One international consultant as the team leader, and One national evaluator) will conduct the TE. The team leader with experience and exposure to projects and evaluations in other regions will be responsible for the overall design, join the field mission, providing guidance to the national consultant and writing of the TE report. The national consultant will work with the Project Team in developing the TE itinerary and do the field visit to the sites, be responsible for collecting the necessary information to provide to the evaluation team. The evaluators cannot have participated in the project preparation, formulation and/or implementation (including the writing of the project document), must not have conducted this project’s Mid-Term Review and should not have a conflict of interest with the project’s related activities. The selection of evaluators will be aimed at maximizing the overall “team” qualities in the following areas:

I. Qualifications for the National Consultant

Education

• At least a Bachelor’s degree in Biodiversity/Environmental Science/Environmental/Social Science or other closely related field, familiar with protected areas/ national park progress.

Experience

• At least 8 years of work experience in Biodiversity related management; including at least 3 years experience in protected area, wildlife conservation, or related areas ;
• Relevant experience with results-based management evaluation methodologies; (10%)
• At least 5 years experience working with Chinese government departments, ministries, communities and NGOs (15%)
• Experience applying SMART indicators and reconstructing or validating baseline scenarios; (10%)
• Project evaluation/review experience within United Nations system; project evaluation/review; experience with UNDP-GEF projects would be highly preferable; (15%)
• Brief description of approach to work/technical proposal of why the individual considers him/herself as the most suitable for the assignment, and a proposed methodology on how they will approach and complete the assignment; (10%)
• Competence in adaptive management, as applied to CBD; (10%)

Language

• Fluency in written and spoken Chinese (native speaker) and English

Required Skills and Experience

J. EVALUATOR ETHICS

The TE team will be held to the highest ethical standards and is required to sign a code of conduct upon acceptance of the assignment. This evaluation will be conducted in accordance with the principles outlined in the UNEG ‘Ethical Guidelines for Evaluation’. The evaluator must safeguard the rights and confidentiality of information providers, interviewees and stakeholders through measures to ensure compliance with legal and other relevant codes governing collection of data and reporting on data. The evaluator must also ensure security of collected information before and after the evaluation and protocols to ensure anonymity and confidentiality of sources of information where that is expected. The information knowledge and data gathered in the evaluation process must also be solely used for the evaluation and not for other uses without the express authorization of UNDP and