NESFAS is looking for a consultancy agency/firm for analysis of biodiversity and forests
Location: Shillong, Meghalaya.
Duration: 01 January 2023 to 31 March 2023
Last date submission: December 31,2022 (before 5 PM)
Drop your CV to: infonesfas@gmail.com
Terms of Reference:
Background:
Northeast Slow Food and Agrobiodiversity Society (NESFAS) is undertaking a project to enhance the conservation and sustainable use of agrobiodiversity and wild biodiversity in Meghalaya. . As part of this work, NESFAS is undertaking the upgradation of People’s Biodiversity Registers (PBR) through strengthening of Biodiversity Management Committees (BMC). Following the upgradation of the PBRs, BMCs and communities are engaged in a process to improve the management of biodiversity and natural resources within their lands.
The purpose of this consultancy is to support NESFAS in developing the analytical foundation, monitoring processes and technical capacity to undertake biodiversity and forest conservation.
Scope of work:
The consultant will use domain expertise in the field of biodiversity and forest conservation/restoration to help establish baselines, and hence, identify priorities for the conservation and restoration work being planned by NESFAS. The consultant will interact closely with NESFAS and partner organizations in undertaking this task. Tasks will involve field work, desk-based research and spatial analysis.
| Deliverables | Component activities |
| 1. A state-wide spatial analysis that identifies the areas in Meghalaya with the highest priority for conservation and restoration | – Identify areas of high value to biodiversity conservation (across taxa)
– Identify areas of high value to maintaining carbon stocks, and sequestration of additional carbon – Identify areas of high value for the preservation of agro-biodiversity – Identify areas that are under particular threat of biodiversity and forest loss – Combine the above layers to prioritize areas that are important for conservation and restoration |
| 2. Spatial mapping and comparison of the project areas where field activities are being undertaken by NESFAS | – Map out the 73 project areas where activities are being undertaken
– Evaluate the overlap (overall and for each project area) between these locations and areas prioritized above |
| 3. Spatial analysis within selected project areas to identify forest conservation and restoration potential | – Obtain and verify land use classification within 73 project areas
– Evaluate the 6-year trend in forest and tree cover within these sites – Evaluate the 6-year trend in the proportion of different categories of forest within these sites – Identify specific patches with the potential for forest restoration and conservation |
| 4. Capacity building and planning for field-based biodiversity assessments | – Develop a standardized field survey methodology to establish baselines and monitor ongoing changes in flora and fauna
– Plan and undertake a workshop for building the capacity of NESFAS and community partners in undertaking these surveys – Provide hand-holding support in the implementation of these surveys for 3 project areas |
Notes:
- All the above deliverables will involve the production of reports with detailed description of methodology, assumptions and data sources; inferential statistics and analytical fit; and measures of variance and uncertainty.
- All the above deliverables will include the delivery of spatial data in appropriate raster/vector format
- Costs for workshop and travel to field sites (other than personnel time) are not to be included in this proposal and will be covered separately
- Field support for data collection and verification can be provided by NESFAS staff as required
- It is expected that the consultant will use standardized data from governmental sources (particularly for forest cover and forest types)
