Conservation Management of Eritrea's Coastal, Marine and Island Biodiversity Project

[Maria Beger]

Dear Coral list,
Please find attached a posting for the terms of reference for project 
consultants for the Conservation Management of Eritrea's Coastal, Marine 
and Island Biodiversity Project.  Please apply directly to Peter Raines on 
fru at eol.com.er and do not reply to this email address.
Thanks Maria


CALL FOR PROJECT CONSULTANTS

Conservation Management of Eritrea's Coastal, Marine and Island 
Biodiversity Project

The objective of this GEF-funded project is to ensure the conservation and 
sustainable use of the globally significant biodiversity of Eritrea's 
coastal, marine and island (CMI) ecosystems. These are currently threatened 
by the rapid development of fisheries, tourism and oil exploration. The 
project will facilitate: sustainable development of the CMI resources 
through a participatory management framework; establishment of conservation 
areas and species protection programmes; an operational information system; 
and increased public awareness of the needs and benefits of CMI 
biodiversity.  This nationally executed project is implemented by the 
Ministry of Fisheries and commenced in January 1999.

During the first four years of the project a number of consultants will be 
required to serve as short-term advisors to work in Eritrea at targeted 
intervals throughout the life-time of the project, to provide overall 
guidance and cohesion to training and assist the Chief Technical Advisor 
(CTA) and project staff in integrated capacity building. The consultants 
will also ensure that training is well integrated within and between all 
project components and reaches out to target beneficiaries.

In Year 1 of the Project, a Coastal Marine Ecology Consultant and a Data 
Management Consultant are required to undertake SWOT analyses (Strengths, 
Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) of the relevant project components 
and provide oversight and guidance for specific training courses. The SWOT 
analyses will include human resources, technical capability, infrastructure 
and resources, and outputs from these analyses will form an important basis 
for future project implementation. The Consultants will serve as a direct 
counterpart to the project's Geography Specialist and Conservation 
Management Specialist.

1.	Coastal Marine Ecology Consultant

Qualifications and Experience
The Consultant will be suitably qualified and have extensive practical 
experience in tropical CMI ecology and the acquisition, assimilation and 
synthesis of survey and monitoring data and its application in CMI 
management.

Training
The Consultant will help ensure that in-situ and ex-situ training related 
to habitat surveys and monitoring is well coordinated, providing the 
necessary level of skills and interconnectivity with other project 
components, including those related to CMI planning, conservation of 
habitats and species, and awareness of biodiversity values (practical 
implementation of training courses will occur in subsequent project phas  
es). Specifically, the Consultant will provide oversight and guidance on 
the following courses:

Design and implementation of CMI survey and monitoring programmes.
Core components: CMI survey and monitoring techniques; design and 
implementation of survey and monitoring programmes; habitat description and 
classification schemes; data management, analysis and reporting (duration: 
5 weeks in-situ).

Community Technician CMI environmental training course.
Core components: Habitat/species recognition and ecology; monitoring and 
management methods (duration: 2 weeks in-situ).

Higher degrees (ex-situ)
Provide support and guidance for one MSc scholarship in the field of CMI 
ecology.

Technical Guidance
The Consultant will review relevant activities within each project 
component and provide general technical guidance and recommendations for 
their implementation.  Specifically, the Consultant will:

Conduct a SWOT analysis of existing capacity (including: human resources; 
survey and monitoring equipment; reference materials; data management 
facilities) and provide detailed recommendations (with costing options and 
procurement sources where relevant) and guidelines for improvement.

Conduct a SWOT analysis of the current CMI database and provide detailed 
recommendations for improvements where necessary.

Assist with the development of focused habitat and monitoring programmes.

Identify all relevant regional and international CMI projects, monitoring 
programmes and data exchange forums (including internet sites) with which 
to share information.


2.	Data Management Consultant

Qualifications and Experience
The Consultant will be suitably qualified and have extensive experience of 
CMI data management and the practical application of this data to 
Integrated Coastal Zone Management and Protected Areas Management.  The 
Consultant will have specific GIS expertise in: design and management; data 
assimilation (including interpretation of reconnaissance satellite and 
aerial imagery of CMI areas); and data synthesis, including mapping and 
reporting formats for CMI management.

Training
The Consultant will help ensure that in-situ and ex-situ training related 
to data management is well coordinated, providing the necessary level of 
skills and interconnectivity with other project components including those 
related to CMI planning, conservation of habitats and species, and 
awareness of biodiversity values values (practical implementation of 
training courses will occur in subsequent project phases). Specifically, 
the Consultant will provide oversight and guidance on the following 
courses:

GIS design, application and data management for integrated CMI management.
Core components: GIS database design and management; analysis and 
interpretation techniques for CMI satellite and aerial imagery; mapping and 
reporting formats; GIS applications to CMI management. (duration: 5 weeks 
in-situ)

Higher degrees (ex-situ)
Provide support and guidance for two MSc and one PhD scholarships in the 
field of Coastal & Marine Information Management and Monitoring, or related 
subjects.

Technical Guidance
The Consultant will review relevant activities within each project 
component and provide general technical guidance and recommendations for 
their implementation.  Specifically, the Consultant will:

Conduct a SWOT analysis of the existing project GIS facility (including: 
human resources; equipment; database structure; CMI data content; data 
management, mapping and reporting formats; reference materials) and provide 
detailed recommendations (with costing options and procurement sources, 
where relevant) and suggested implementation guidelines for any necessary 
modifications and improvements.

Conduct a SWOT analysis of the computer facilities within the existing 
project headquarters and provide detailed recommendations (with costing 
options and procurement sources, where relevant) and suggested implement  
ation guidelines for any necessary modifications and improvements.

Assess and report on current CMI aerial/satellite coverage data sets and 
recommend sources (with costing options) for acquisition of missing and/or 
upgraded imagery.

Identify all relevant regional and international CMI projects, monitoring 
programmes and data exchange forums (including internet sites) with which 
to share information.


3	Outputs

Expected outputs from the Consultants will be in the form of presentations 
to project staff and national counterparts whilst on mission and submission 
of detailed and comprehensive post-mission written reports (digital 
format). The deadline for the submission of all post-mission reports will 
be seven days from the end of the contractual period.

4	Application and Appointment Procedures

The appointment is for a fixed period of four weeks with options for 
continuation in subsequent years, subject to review.  The Consultants will 
be required to spend up to three weeks on mission at the project base 
(Massawa, Eritrea) and the remaining period home-based to undertake pre-, 
and post-mission obligations.  The proposed dates for commencement of 
contracts are either December 1999 or January 2000, subject to negotiation. 

Consultants wishing to be considered for this post should submit a copy of 
their c.v. (via email) to the CTA, along with a covering letter. 
Contractual arrangements for the successful candidates will be coordinated 
through the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS).

		Peter Raines
		Chief Technical Advisor (UNDP)
		Email: fru at eol.com.er

Maria Beger
Asia Pacific Project Scientist
Coral Cay Conservation Ltd.
154 Clapham Park Road, London SW4 7DE, UK
Tel. +44 - 171- 498 6248
Fax. +44 - 171 - 498 8447
email: mb at coralcay.org
http://www.coralcay.org/