TERMS OF REFERENCE
DEVELOPMENT OF A FIVE YEAR STRATEGIC PLAN FOR THE MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, WILDLIFE AND TOURISM, PUNTLAND STATE
CARE International is a leading humanitarian organization fighting global poverty and providing lifesaving assistance in emergencies. Its programs go beyond meeting basic needs at the onset of an emergency to helping affected communities recover and rebuild their lives long after the crisis ends. To this end, it is implementing a variety of longer term development activities aimed at supporting the Puntland Government in the achievement of its development milestones. CARE works in partnership with the government, international NGOs, civil society, leaders and local authorities in order to bring effective and lasting change to the most vulnerable communities in Puntland.
I. PROJECT BACKGROUND & SUMMARY
In Puntland, degradation of rangeland resources has continued to put pressure on traditional pastoral production. Many traditional forms of natural resource management and control systems have been abandoned or ignored resulting in over utilization and increase in resource based conflicts. Serious environmental concerns in Puntland include wanton clearing of trees for charcoal production, gully erosion and development of sand dunes. Trees such acacia are critical for livestock to survive long periods of drought. If rangeland degradation continues at the same pace, the Horn of Africa by and large will be at risk of desertification, pushing hundreds of thousands of already struggling Somali pastoralists and agro-pastoralists into abject poverty.
CARE’s Deegaankaagu waa noloshaada project -“Your environment is your life”, is an EU funded project. It aims to combat rangeland degradation and hence contribute to MDG 1 as well as MDG 7. More specifically, improved and sustainable use of rangeland resources will contribute significantly to achieving MDG 1, target C, in Puntland State of Somalia, by addressing the livelihoods of pastoralists, agro-pastoralists and other vulnerable rural people. Restored (and the restoration of) rangelands will provide productive employment to rural populations through revived rangeland-based livelihoods and Cash for Work opportunities.
In addition to improving rangeland conditions and promoting sustainable use of rangeland resources, the initiative also aims to empower local community structures to take charge of Natural Resource Management (NRM) issues in their locale, strengthen institutional capacity of the Ministry of Environment to develop and implement a policy framework for effective management of rangeland resources.
II. CONSULTANCY BACKGROUND
In Somalia extensive environmental degradation has emerged to be a main cause of poverty as a result of unsustainable utilization of natural resources. Human population pressure, overstocking, poor legislation and enforcement, encroachment to the rangeland, rapid expansion in the production of charcoal in recent years and climate change have combined to cause undue pressure to the scarce and fragile environmental resources. Consequently, the livestock dependent livelihoods of the rural communities have become increasingly vulnerable and are one the main causes of the country-wide chronic food insecurity. About 20% of the country’s surface is classified as forest - a percentage which has been in constant decline over the past two decades.
Similarly in Puntland, degradation of the rangeland resources remains the main cause of livelihood problems. The clearing of trees, mainly acacia, for charcoal production is a widespread practice that has contributed significantly to loss of vegetation coverage. Trees are critical for livestock to survive periods of drought as they are a source of fodder, but they also prevent the top soil essential to pasture growth from being eroded.
An underlying cause of environmental degradation has been the collapse of the governance systems that used to support adequate management of natural resources since the disintegration of the central governement in 1991. The success of the previous government system relied heavily on central government directed range management, involving heavy investments in infrastructure, staffing, training and equipment. As part of efforts to revive this system, the government passed Puntland Law No. 2 in 2000 that deals with the development of rangeland and water and Law No. 3 dealing with land use. However, at present, there is a recognition in Puntland that the environment is not conducive to a governance model that relies heavily on the role of government. The Puntland government is fragile, with limited presence outside the main towns, and relies on negotiation and building consensus with the various clans who seek to gain political power and control over resources. Therefore a top down approach to natural resource management is not feasible in this context and another model is called for.
The Ministry of Environment, Wildlife and Tourism (MoEWT) was established in 2009. It continues to address technical and human resources gaps at central and regional levels. Of importance, the Ministry has prioritized the development of policies that will enable it to fulfill its mandate. The Deegaankaagu waa noloshaada project has focused on a hybrid model for environmental conservation and management that brings together traditional governance approaches at community level with formal approaches through the State. The model will support: 1) decentralization of NRM in order to help communities to develop their ability to self-organize at the district and village levels and collaborate with the government; 2) through joint community-government action, revive traditional management of the natural resources through Xeer(Customary law); 3) awareness creation of rural and urban communities in order to provide opportunity to restore adequate institutional arrangements; 4) strengthen community capacity to mitigate conflict over natural resources through improved community governance of these resources; 5) contribute to the overall thinking and action on decentralized models of governance in Puntland by building the capacity of constitutional mechanisms such as village committees; 6) policy development and review 7) emphasize the involvement of women and youth in the different structures and activities to ensure their voices are heard and that they can participate more effectively in governance mechanisms.
Throughout Somalia similar hybrid approaches have been more successful as they build on inherent governance capacities within Somali society compared to approaches focused on a purely State building oriented model or a purely traditional/informal mechanisms model.
III. OBJECTIVES OF THE CONSULTANCY
The consultancy objective is to develop a five-year strategic plan for the Ministry of Environment, Wildlife and Tourism (MoEWT). The plan will be a long-term management tool to steer MoEWT’s programs and operations. It will be actualized and rolled out annually. A special focus in the strategic plan development will be decentralization of NRM roles and responsibilities using a coordinated bottom-up approach with active involvement of NRM stakeholders from State to Village levels.
The output from this assignment will be a strategic plan for MoEWT that provides a clear framework for conservation and management of natural resources in Puntland State with the involvement of each level of the Village-District-Region-State hierarchy. As a management tool it will facilitate the effective and efficient deployment of the current and future human, financial and capital resources at MoEWTs disposal. The strategy will also identify priority sectors, policies and policy goals for the coming five (5) years that can immediately begin to alleviate livelihood problems created by unsustainable utilization of natural resources and ultimately contribute to poverty reduction. The plan will be a dynamic document that is subject to periodic review. Such reviews will be influenced by changing government policies, resource allocation and recommendations from monitoring and evaluation missions.
IV. SCOPE OF WORK
Two consultants from one or more credible firms will be engaged and contracted to undertake the strategic plan development. Below are minimum expectations of phases that will lead to the development of a sound strategic plan. However, firms and consultants bidding should not be limited to this scope but rather should enrich it further with best practice and their experiences.
PHASES and SCOPE OF WORK IN EACH PHASE
I. Planning and preparation
a) Work plan and budget preparation, selection of the technical and support teams, materials and resources required at each stage, verification of locations to be visited, stakeholders to be met and preparation of list of documents for desk review.
b) Entry meetings, contextual setting and project brief: In Garowe, Puntland
II. Activities in the development of a five-year Strategic plan with emphasis on decentralized roles and responsibilities
a) Review all relevant secondary data supportive to the strategic plan development
b) Review MoEWTs vision, mission and values
c) Conduct stakeholder analysis and engagement at each level of the Village-District-Region-State hierarchy
d) Conduct a thorough environmental scan to identify themes and key issues that will become strategic drivers for the next five years
e) Identify strategic objectives and responses
3. Review of current ministry structure, departments against new strategic plan
a) Structure review to ensure relevance of functional areas against emerging strategy V. Validation workshopsa) Prepare the first draft of the strategic plan
b) Facilitate two validation workshops in Garowe and Nairobi respectively
4. Operationalizing the strategic plan
a) Development of a planning framework that will lead to annual action plans
b) Develop annual work plans based on identified strategic responses
5. Implications for change or improvement for the ministry in view of the new strategy Discussion on the implications of the new strategy with respect to identity management, capacity building of management and staff, systems review and policy development, services and beneficiaries, governance, finances and decentralization. The output will be a management plan to support conscious management of the strategic plan.
VI. Final write up and presentation Based on findings of each phase, the consultants will triangulate information from the various strategy development processes and prepare the final report for presentation and final print
V. METHODOLOGY AND APPROACH
The plan will only be a meaningful tool if its content is developed through a bottom-up approach, with active input from each level of the Village-District-Region-State hierarchy. Consultations in districts and villages will apply adult learning principles and simple techniques in Somali language. Each phase of the strategy development process requires unique approaches and methodology. However, participatory approaches and techniques are expected across the board to facilitate maximum engagement and contributions from stakeholders. Such engagement is best achieved through structured workshops, brainstorming sessions, individual and group discussions and informed consultations to ensure consensus and ownership become outcomes of the process.
VI. DELIVERABLES
Key deliverables of this consultancy include:
- A strategy development process report that captures the entire exercise
- A strategy map - a visual presentation of the key elements of the strategic plan, i.e., strategic drivers, strategic objectives, expected results and internal organization (units/departments)
- Revised vision and mission statements and a list of re-affirmed values
- Reviewed ministry structure: relevant units/departments given the organization’s priorities during the given strategic period.
- Strategic responses for each strategic driver for the five-year period
- Annual plans for the five years informed by strategic responses
- A management plan to address implications of the new strategy
QUALIFICATIONS
The successful applicants should meet the following requirements:
- A strong technical background in the field in Management, Development studies, Natural Resource Management or Rural Development with at least 5 years of practical development and field experience. Experience of working or consulting with government and International NGOs will be an added advantage
- At least (5) years of hands on experience in facilitating strategy development processes with government institutions and ministries
- Organization/Institutional development experience will be an added advantage
- Demonstrated experience of working with community groups, the use of adult learning principles and sound understanding of participatory approaches
- Previous work experience and knowledge of Somalia and the Horn of Africa
- A good understanding of the Somali language as the process will be delivered using both English and Somali.
HOW TO APPLY:
Applications should be submitted by Monday 23rd March 2015 by 5 pm. All applicants must meet the minimum requirements described above. Applications that do not meet these requirements will not be considered. Each application package should include the following:
- An application letter expressing interest and suitability for the assignment. This should include how the consultant’s previous experience matches the consultancy objectives;
- Updated CV including qualifications and relevant work experience:
- A technical and financial proposal with a clear work plan;
- Consultant’s availability and daily rates in US dollars. Please note that all travel, accommodation and meal expenses while in field will be covered by CARE.
- A sample of similar work done (attach with application);
- Contact details of 3 referees.
All applications should be sent to consultants@som.care.org with the subject line**: “STRATEGIC PLAN DEVELOPMENT”**by Monday 23rd March 2015 by 5pm.
