TOWARDS STRENGTHENED GOVERNANCE OF THE SHARED
TRANSBOUNDARY NATURAL AND CULTURAL HERITAGE OF THE LAKE
OHRID REGION
Baseline Assessment of the Lake Ohrid Region – Albania
BIODIVERSITY EXPERT - TERMS OF REFERENCE
BACKGROUND
The Lake Ohrid Region is home to one of the world’s oldest lakes and a remarkable
biodiversity hotspot in Europe. Two-thirds of Lake Ohrid, and a significant part of its
watershed located in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia have been inscribed on
the World Heritage List as the property “Natural and Cultural Heritage of the Ohrid Region”.
The Upstream pilot project “Towards strengthened governance of the shared transboundary
natural and cultural heritage of the Lake Ohrid Region” is designed to address the main
threats affecting the natural and cultural heritage of the Lake Ohrid Region shared between
Albania and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. It aims to strengthen
transboundary cooperation over the region’s cultural and natural heritage, help recognize
and profile the transboundary area by assessing its values and sustainable development
opportunities, and improve capacities for the effective management of natural and cultural
heritage. The project will also support integrated management planning based on active
cross-sectorial cooperation and public participation and the preparation of an extension file
for the World Heritage property to cover the Albanian part of the Lake Ohrid Region
(hereinafter: “the Study Area”). The project is managed by UNESCO and financed by the
European Union under its assistance to pre-accession countries in the field of Environment
and Climate Change.
SCOPE OF WORK
Understanding the natural attributes (values, features) in and around the Lake Ohrid Region
is a crucial prerequisite for its effective management and protection. While it is essential to
be clear about region’s specific attributes that are the basis for its recognition as a World
Heritage property, other natural attributes of the property that are important at local, regional,
national or European levels should also be considered. The emphasis on the importance of
local values, alongside Outstanding Universal Value is in line with the fifth Strategic
Objective of World Heritage Convention (‘Community’) and reflects the need to strengthen
the bridging between the World Heritage property and local communities.
The consultant will be responsible to document the current knowledge of the biodiversity,
and its conservation status and trends in the Albanian part of the Lake Ohrid Region
(hereinafter: “the baseline assessment”), working closely with key stakeholders and local
institutions.
A socioeconomic expert will also be contributing to the baseline assessment of the Study
Area through a separate contract, focusing on social, cultural and economic characteristics
of the broader landscape, including sustainable development opportunities in relation to its
cultural and natural heritage. The biodiversity expert and the socioeconomic expert will
exchange their preliminary findings (i.e., the short inception reports and preliminary baseline
assessment reports) and seek to exchange information and opinion on complementary
issues, such as socio-economic factors contributing to the threats to biodiversity and the
causal relationships among these factors, as well as the livelihood sources for local
communities, including sustainable development opportunities.
A Local Facilitator of the project, based in the Study Area, will assist the consultant in the
preparation and execution of the field work, including identifying and meeting relevant
stakeholders in Tirana and locally, as well as visiting specific sites in the Lake Ohrid Region.
The work will be completed in four consecutive phases:
•
Gather and analyse available information published in scientific and technical
literature (such as studies and policy and planning documents), and identify the
major information gaps (desk-top analysis);
•
Conduct field inquiry to verify the information, and close the identified information
gaps as much as possible through consultation with key stakeholders, such as
local and regional governments, local communities and user groups. With the
support from the Local Facilitator of the project, and in cooperation with the
socioeconomic expert, organize a one-day workshop to conduct a SWOT
analysis of the natural and cultural values in the Study Area with key local
stakeholders;
•
Prepare and submit a draft Report on the Baseline Assessment of Natural
Attributes of the Lake Ohrid Region – Albania;
•
Prepare and submit the final Report on the Baseline Assessment of Natural
Attributes of the Lake Ohrid Region – Albania.
SPECIFIC TASKS
The consultant will be required to conduct the following specific tasks:
•
Prepare an inventory of key natural attributes of the Lake Ohrid Region identified
against a set of criteria, such as:
-
Outstanding examples of natural, scenic, geological, scientific, ecological,
floral, faunal and recreational/nature-based tourism values, including short
justification for each attribute identified;
-
Areas essential for protecting the ecological integrity of Lake Ohrid, including
areas critical for maintaining water flow and quality, including short
justification for each attribute identified;
-
Areas and resources that are valuable to local communities (economically,
culturally or in other ways) using the ecosystem services approach, including
short justification for each attribute identified;
-
Habitat types of conservation interest (globally, nationally and at the
European level, as identified by the EU Habitats Directive and the Bern
Convention);
-
Rare and endemic plants and animals (relict species, stenoendemic species,
species endemic to Albania or the Balkans), including comments on their
uniqueness (e.g. unique ecological adaptations, distinct spatial and taxonomic
patterns, distinct phylogenetic position, etc.);
-
Threatened species at local, national, regional and global levels identified
against a set of criteria, including the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
(Global, European, and regional), annexes to the Birds Directive and Habitats
Directive of the EU, the Bern Convention, relevant national legislation and
other relevant criteria (e.g., draft national red lists).
•
Conduct quantitative and qualitative assessment of current conservation status and
trends in the key biodiversity attributes of the Lake Ohrid Region, based on selected
indicators, such as population size, structure and trends, geographical distribution,
and species richness, as appropriate;
•
Identify and analyse threats to biodiversity, their causes, in particular with respect to
the key biodiversity attributes, and the means of addressing them. A special
emphasis to be given to impacts of the current waste water and solid waste
management and also climate change issues;
•
Identify the constraints on the management of existing protected areas, such as
legal obligations, constraints of tenure, prior usage, health and safety
considerations and institutional and organizational constraints with a special
emphasis on the transboundary context;
•
Identify specific studies, long-term research, and/or monitoring activities to address
major information gaps during the development and implementation of the
management plan for the Study Area to be part of the extension file for the existing
World Heritage property.
EXPECTED DELIVERABLES
The consultant will be required to deliver the following results and products:
•
A short Inception Report – including a preliminary annotated bibliography of
relevant secondary sources of information (research papers and studies, technical
reports, planning documents and other sources), identification of major information
gaps, and a detailed work plan for the field activities (delivery date: June 20, 2015);
•
A report on the consultation with key stakeholders, including the workshop with
local stakeholders and the results of the SWOT analysis of natural and cultural
values in the Study Area (delivery date: June 28, 2015);
•
A draft Report on the Baseline Assessment of Natural Attributes of the Lake Ohrid
Region – Albania (delivery date: July 15, 2015);
•
The final Report on the Baseline Assessment of Natural Attributes of the Lake Ohrid
Region – Albania. The final report shall take into consideration the comments from
UNESCO, IUCN, ICOMOS, ICCROM, and the members of management planning
team made on the draft Report on the Baseline Assessment of Natural Attributes of
the Lake Ohrid Region – Albania. The final report shall document the current
knowledge of the biodiversity and its conservation status and trends in the Albanian
part of the Lake Ohrid Region following the indicative contents presented in Annex I
(delivery date: July 31, 2015);
•
A topographic map (Scale 1:25.000) indicating the extent of the Study Area and the
spatial distribution or location of key biodiversity values (where appropriate)
(delivery date: July 31, 2015).
DURATION OF THE ASSIGNMENT
The duration of the assignment is estimated to be 38 working days, including 4 days for
visiting the Lake Ohrid Region and organizing a one-day workshop with key local
stakeholders.
TRAVEL TO TIRANA AND THE STUDY AREA
The consultant will be required to conduct a field inquiry to verify the information, and close
the identified information gaps as much as possible through consultation with key
stakeholders, including local communities and user groups. The Local Facilitator of the
project, based in the Study Area, will assist the consultant in the preparation and execution
of the field work, including identifying and meeting relevant stakeholders in Tirana and
locally, visiting specific sites in the Lake Ohrid Region.
In the frame of the field work the consultant will also be required to organize a one-day
workshop to conduct a SWOT analysis of natural and cultural values in the Study Area with
key local stakeholders. The workshop will be organised with the support from the Local
Facilitator and in cooperation with the socioeconomic expert. Suggestions from UNESCO,
ICOMOS, and ICCROM, concerning the workshop format and stakeholders to be invited
shall also be taken into consideration. All expenses related to the workshop will be covered
by the project.
All related travel costs to Tirana and the Study Area will be covered by the project.
REPORTING REQUIREMENTS
The consultant will coordinate all of his work with the Project Officer, Protected Areas at
IUCN’s Programme Office for South-Eastern Europe and with the Local Facilitator with
respect to planning and implementing the field work. The consultant will report to the Project
Officer. All reports and deliverables shall be in English. The final Report on the Baseline
Assessment of Natural Attributes of the Lake Ohrid Region – Albania shall also contain an
Executive Summary in Albanian.
ANNEX I
Indicative contents of the
Report on the Baseline Assessment of Natural Attributes of the
Lake Ohrid Region – Albania
1. Executive summary in English (app. 1.000 words)
2. Executive summary in Albanian (app. 1.000 words)
3. Introduction (app. 1.000 words)
4. Methodology (app. 1.000 words)
5. Description of the Study Area
5.1. The physical environment (geology, tectonics, geomorphology, soils, hydrology and
climate, app. 1.000 words)
5.2. The biotic environment (ecosystems, habitat types, fungi, plants, animals; app.
2.000 words)
6. Description of the key natural attributes in the Study Area (app. 7.000 words)
7. Conservation status and trends in the key biodiversity attributes of the Lake Ohrid
Region (app. 1.500 words)
8. Ongoing and potential threats to the key natural attributes in the Study Area (app. 1.500
words)
9. Constraints to effective conservation and management of the key natural attributes in the
Study Area (app. 1.500 words)
10. Conclusions and recommendations (app. 1.500 words)
11. References
Attachment I:
a topographic map (Scale 1:25.000) indicating the extent of the Study Area
and the spatial distribution or location of key biodiversity values (where
appropriate);
Attachment II: a short description of specific studies, long-term research, and/or monitoring
programmes to address major information gaps during the development and
implementation of the management plan for the Study Area to be part of the
extension file for the existing World Heritage property;
Attachment III: a detailed description of the criteria used to identify the key natural attributes
of the Lake Ohrid Region;
Attachment IV: a detailed description of the key natural attributes in of the Lake Ohrid
Region – Albania.