Glover’s Reef Marine Reserve and South Water Caye Marine Reserve Management Plan Consultancy

Terms of Reference

Introduction

The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) seeks a consultant to perform a participatory review and update marine protected areas management plans. This Request for Proposals (RFP) provides detailed information on the project requirements and the desired qualifications of proposers.

Funders and project partners include:

The International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) is an award-winning, independent think tank working to accelerate solutions for a stable climate, sustainable resource management, and fair economies. Our work inspires better decisions and sparks meaningful action to help people and the planet thrive. We shine a light on what can be achieved when governments, businesses, non-profits, and communities come together. IISD’s staff of more than 200 people come from across the globe and from many disciplines. With offices in Winnipeg, Geneva, Ottawa, and Toronto, our work affects lives in more than 100 countries.

The Climate Adaptation and Protected Areas (CAPA) Initiative seeks to promote natural solutions to strengthen climate resilience and protect biodiversity in and around Protected Areas and critical landscapes in the Global South. The initiative’s intervention sites cover marine, coastal, and terrestrial ecosystems and landscapes in Belize, Fiji, and the Greater Virunga and Kavango-Zambezi landscapes in Africa. The CAPA Initiative is jointly implemented with IISD, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Africa, and the WCS in Fiji and Belize.

WCS is an international non-profit, non-governmental organization with a mission to save wildlife and wild places worldwide through science, conservation action, education, and inspiring people to value nature. WCS’s mission is to conserve the world’s largest wild places in 14 priority regions, habitats for around 50% of the world’s biodiversity, and a wide range of charismatic megafauna. In Belize, WCS is committed to working with communities, government, and other partners to safeguard Belize’s biodiversity and natural resources through integrated land and seascape management underpinned by applied research. WCS has long been at the forefront of marine conservation in Belize and has a history of providing technical and scientific support for over 30 years.

Background and Objectives of the Project

The CAPA Initiative is seeking an experienced consultant to conduct a participatory planning process resulting in a 5-year management plan for two adjacent marine protected areas using a seascape approach.

The purpose of the consultancy is to produce a revision of the 2019–2023 Glover’s Reef Marine Reserve and South Water Caye Marine Reserve management plans that follow Belize’s National Management Plan Framework. The updated management plan will contain prioritized strategic actions for the next 5 years, with short-, medium-, and long-term implementation actions to guide annual activities.    

Glover’s Reef Marine Reserve encompasses the marine portion of Glover’s Reef Atoll and forms part of the Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System, which has been designated a World Heritage Site by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and a marine protected area under the Protocol concerning Specially Protected Areas and Wildlife (SPAW Protocol). The Belize Fisheries Department manages and operates the reserve, which extends 471.01 km2, including a 3.22 km shark sanctuary, around the atoll.

South Water Caye Marine Reserve is also managed and operated by the Belize Fisheries Department and extends 509.56 km2. It has been designated as one of seven marine protected areas that comprise the Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System, the largest and possibly least impacted reef complex in the Atlantic–Caribbean area (UNESCO, 1996). 

Scope of Work

The duties and responsibilities of the consultant(s) are to:

• Develop a methodology based on the suggested schedule of deliverables provided to review and draft the updated management plan with the implementing partners (IISD, WCS, and the Belize Fisheries Department).
• Review the current management plans, planning reports, CAPA Initiative documents, and other available baseline information and identify gaps in climate change, biodiversity, gender equality and social inclusion (GESI), and conflict-sensitive approaches to climate adaptation.
• Conduct a site visit to the reserves and a pre-scoping session with staff and stakeholders to review progress, assess effectiveness, identify current needs, and seek their support in the management plan update process. These discussions should also include the proposed visitor fee restructuring that the Ministry of Blue Economy and Disaster Risk Management is currently drafting.
• Conduct meetings with stakeholder groups from key communities, namely Sarteneja, Dangriga, Hopkins, Riversdale, Seine Bight, and Placencia, to feed into the management plan. The type of information gathered, methods, and outputs will be included in the methodology as agreed to by implementing partners, with input on the community participation approach and appropriate venues, invitations, etc., provided by WCS Belize’s management team.
• Meet with members of the Glover’s Reef Advisory Committee and South Water Caye Advisory Committee to receive recommendations for incorporation into the revised plan.
• Consult with relevant staff at WCS, the Belize Fisheries Department, and the Blue Economy Unit.
• Revise the current Glover’s Reef Marine Reserve and South Water Caye Marine Reserve management plan, taking into consideration measures that enhance climate resilience and adaptive capacity, biodiversity benefits, GESI, and conflict sensitivity. These measures should also align with relevant regional coastal zone management guidelines from the Integrated Coastal Zone Management Plan (e.g., South Northern Region Coastal Zone Management Guidelines, 2015) and national development policies.
• Develop measures to integrate the use of the MPA Management Effectiveness Evaluation tool developed by Wildtracks in 2019.
• Align marine protected area management guidelines with those of the IUCN Green List for Protected and Conserved Area global program of certification by highlighting best practices and providing a benchmark for progress toward effective and equitable management.
• In developing the management activities for South Water Caye Marine Reserve, assess strategic site options for a southern operating base for enforcement.
• Develop a draft revision of the management plan and present it to the Glover’s Reef Advisory Committee, South Water Caye Advisory Committee, IISD, WCS, and the Belize Fisheries Department for review.
• Complete validation sessions with relevant stakeholders to inform the final plan.
• Conduct check-ins every 2 weeks with WCS representatives to discuss updates and other relevant matters.
• Submit a final version of the 5-year management plan to IISD and WCS that incorporates all comments and feedback received.

Deliverables

Deliverable 1: Inception Report

• Work plan detailing management planning process activities and timelines
• Methodology for the review process
• Desk review summary
• Due date: September 12, 2024
• Payment: 25%

Deliverable 2: Draft Management Plan Reports

• Draft management plan for Glover’s Reef Marine Reserve and South Water Caye Marine Reserve
• Deliver a presentation regarding the draft plan to the Glover’s Reef and South Water Caye advisory committees, IISD, WCS Belize, and the Belize Fisheries Department
• Due date: January 8, 2024
• Payment: 30%

Deliverable 3: Validation Session Report

• PowerPoint presentation for Glover’s Reef Marine Reserve and South Water Caye Marine Reserve validation session
• List of stakeholders engaged and present at the validation session(s)
• Lead and facilitate validation workshops
• Provide transport stipends to relevant participants
• Seek out and pay for validation venue(s)
• Due date: January 29, 2024
• Payment: 20%

Deliverable 4: Final Management Plan Report

• Develop and present a PowerPoint presentation outlining the revised management plan
• Two hard copies and two digital copies of the final management plan
• A summarized two-page version of the plan for dissemination that includes stakeholders and community members
• Due date: March 3, 2025
• Payment: 25%

Reporting and Work Arrangements

The consultant(s) will be contracted by IISD and work closely with IISD, WCS Belize, and the Belize Fisheries Department.

WCS Belize will assist in arranging a site visit to both Glover’s Reef Marine Reserve and South Water Caye Marine Reserve, as well as meetings with the advisory committees for Glover’s Reef and South Water Caye.

Qualifications

The consultant(s) should possess the following qualifications: 

Qualifications (Essential) 

• A degree in environmental studies, fisheries management, project management, social sciences, gender studies, international relations, international development, or another related environmental field.

Knowledge and Experience (Essential) 

• At least 5 years of experience in formulating sustainable management plans for protected areas.
• Working knowledge of GESI language and Belize’s policies and commitments to gender equality.
• Knowledge of Belize’s environmental (marine) laws.
• Knowledge of fisheries management, community development, climate change, ecosystem-based adaptation/nature-based solutions for adaptation, and/or environmental conservation.
• Experience in delivering practical and participatory consultation and validation sessions with stakeholders (inclusive of communities).

Skills (Essential) 

• Excellent oral and written communication, reporting, and interpersonal skills.
• Excellent analytical and English writing skills.
• Ability to perform intersectional gender analysis.
• Ability to perform policy analysis.

Behavioural Competencies (Essential) 

• Sensitive to a multicultural working environment.
• Sensitive to GESI in the Belizean (community) context.

Other Information

Location: Belize

Term: Short-term contractor

Duration of assignment: 6 months

Start date: September 2, 2024

Closing date: March 3, 2025, at 11:45 pm

All submissions must be in English. 

Applications will only be accepted through Bamboo HR.  The deadline for submission is August 21, 2024, at or before 11:59 p.m. EST. Applications should include: 

• A two-page resume
• A technical proposal and financial proposal
  • The technical proposal should indicate how the proposed scope of work will adhere to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion principles, WCS’s human-rights-based approach, and a strong commitment to community participation, with a particular emphasis on how the proposed work will specifically engage participation from women in the coastal communities.
• In the financial proposal, please provide a budget detailing consultancy fees and related costs (i.e., accommodation, transport, meeting room, etc.).
• References provided who can speak to the quality of past work of a similar nature.

Candidates must hold appropriate work authorization for Belize.

Only those candidates we wish to interview will be contacted. Resumes will be kept on file for one year.

IISD is committed to fostering a more equitable and sustainable world and welcomes candidates who uphold our values of diversity, equity, and inclusion. In addition, to correct the conditions of social injustice and disadvantage in employment around the world, we encourage candidates from historically marginalized groups, including women, Indigenous Peoples, people with disabilities, people from different racial and ethnic backgrounds, and those who identify themselves as 2SLGBTQIA+, to apply for this position. We offer reasonable accommodations in our recruitment process and seek applicants' advice on how best to accommodate their needs. 

IISD does not discriminate on the basis of age, gender, caste, ethnicity, religion, colour, disability, marital status, pregnancy, gender expression or identity, sexual orientation, or any other legally protected status.

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