INDIVIDUAL CONSULTANT PROCUREMENT NOTICE
Date:
07 July 2014
Country: Mauritius
Description of the assignment: International Expert on Marine Protected Areas
Project name: “Mainstreaming biodiversity into the management of the coastal zone in
the Republic of Mauritius” PPG
Period of assignment/services (if applicable): 20 days spread over 8 months, starting in
August 2014.
Proposal should be submitted at the following address through the UNDP jobs website: http://
jobs.undp.org no later than Sunday 27 July 2014.
Any request for clarification must be sent in writing, or by standard electronic communication to
Nishi Sewsurn, Procurement Assistant at nishi.sewsurn@undp.org before or on 14 July 2014.
UNDP Mauritius country office will respond in writing or by standard electronic mail and will
send written copies of the response, including an explanation of the query without identifying the
source of inquiry, to all consultants.
1. BACKGROUND
Mauritius forms part of the Western Indian Ocean Islands, one of the 25 internationally
recognized biodiversity ‘hotspots’. The tropical climate, topography and history of isolation, has
resulted in the evolution of a diverse biota with a high degree of endemism. Terrestrial
biodiversity is forest-dependent. However, much of the extant forest has been lost: land
clearance and forest degradation has already impacted more than 90% of Mauritius Island’s
land surface. Marine biodiversity is in a better condition, but is also threatened. Extensive reef
systems surround all of the islands of the archipelago. Rodrigues, in particular, harbours a large
reef expanse, three times the size of the island.
Most of the useable land on the island of Mauritius has been put to production use. In spite of
the extensive degradation and transformation that has occurred in many areas, coastal
ecosystems and adjacent landscapes still maintain their basic ecological functions. The coastal
strip provides prime land for habitation, recreation and tourism, while seascapes provide the
basis of food provision though fisheries and also the country’s main touristic attraction—
beaches, nautical sports etc. Lagoon habitats are especially important in this regard. They
contribute to the overall productivity of coastal waters by supporting a variety of habitats,
including salt marshes, seagrasses, and mangroves.
The institutional context of the project covers the mandates of various ministries and institutions.
The project is led by the Mauritius Oceanography Institute which is responsible for ocean
matters in Mauritius. In addition, the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development, the
Ministry of Agro Industry and Food Security and the Ministry of Fisheries have various
mandates which concern the management of ESAs, the management of terrestrial biodiversity
and the management of marine protected areas respectively. As tourism is one of the principal
parameters of the project, the Ministry of Tourism and Leisure will be involved. Finally, given
that one of the landscapes is found in Rodrigues, the Rodrigues Regional Assembly will also be
concerned.
A Project Preparation Grant (PPG) has been approved by the GEF Secretariat to prepare a FullSize Project Document (FSP) for submission under the GEF-5 STAR to prepare a project on the
theme of “Mainstreaming biodiversity into the management of the coastal zone in the Republic
of Mauritius”. In this context a Marine Protected Area expert is required to assist the consultant
team to prepare the FSP document, focusing on all components proposed in the PIF, and
expected outcomes to be achieved, as outlined in the approved Project Identification Form
(PIF).
The project aims at conserving and sustainably managing land across six multi-use coastal and
marine landscapes in the Republic of Mauritius (five in Mauritius Main Island and one in
Rodrigues). Together they cover some 150,000 hectares of land- and seascapes and harbour
within this area sites that are high in biodiversity values and important for the generation of
ecosystem services (e.g. shoreline maintenance, storm protection, soil formation and retention,
water provision and flood control). Biodiversity and ecosystem service values are being lost in
all six landscapes due to careless coastal developments that reduce and degrade natural
habitats, and cause land degradation, undermining ecosystem functionality and resilience,
especially in sensitive lagoon areas. These threats are compounded by other anthropogenic
pressures that exacerbate degradation (i.e. land-based pollution, climate change). In order to
identify focus areas for environmental action in the country, in 2010 the government
commissioned a comprehensive, spatially-based study to identify environmentally sensitive
areas (ESAs). However, with the exception of forests, the recommendations emanating from the
study have not heretofore been implemented and coastal and marine areas have yet to receive
due attention.
2. SCOPE OF WORK, RESPONSIBILITIES AND DESCRIPTION OF THE PROPOSED
ANALYTICAL WORK
Please refer to TOR – International MPA Expert - Annex 1
3. REQUIREMENTS FOR EXPERIENCE AND QUALIFICATIONS
Education:
 Minimum postgraduate degree in Environmental Management, Coastal Zone
Management, biology, marine ecology or conservation biology or related disciplines
Competencies:
 Ability to conduct research and analysis and strong synthesis skills
 Builds strong relationships with national consultants, focuses on impact and result for the
client and responds positively to critical feedback; consensus-oriented
 Highly developed inter-personal, negotiation and teamwork skills, networking aptitude.
 Regional and national knowledge is highly desirable
 Excellent English drafting and communication skills
Experience:
 Proven and extensive international experience in Marine Protected Areas projects
 Proven extensive experience in UNDP/GEF project formulation/design
 At least 7 years of experience designing and/or implementing project in developing
countries
 Experience in Marine Protected Areas designation and management
 Experience in community-based participatory management
 Developing country / relevant biogeographical experience
 Experience on tourism issues
 Experience on wetland restoration
 Experience on institutional capacity assessment or institutional analysis would be an
advantage
4. DOCUMENTS TO BE INCLUDED WHEN SUBMITTING THE PROPOSALS.
Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/information to
demonstrate their qualifications:
1. Proposal:
(i) Explaining why they are the most suitable for the work
(ii) Provide a brief methodology on how they will approach and conduct the work (if applicable)
(iii) Letter of confirmation of Interest and Availability (as per template)
2. Personal CV/P11 including past experience in similar projects and at least 3 professional
references (at least one of which must have been a direct past supervisor of the applicant)
3.. Financial proposal as per template
5. FINANCIAL PROPOSAL
Lump sum contracts
The financial offer should be quoted as a lump sum amount, all-inclusive (professional fee,
insurance).
The Consultant shall be remunerated in accordance with the following time schedule and
deliverables:
Deliverables/ Outputs
Upon Signature of Contract
Tentative Dates
Fee (%)
11 August 2014
10%
Inception report based on inception
workshop
Analytical Review of the status of the
various MPAs in Mauritius and
Rodrigues
Draft project document based on
comments by all stakeholders, as
required
Final project document, based on
comments of GEF as required
Completion of assignment i.e. approval
by the GEF
15 September 2014
10%
15 November 2014
15%
15 December 2014
25%
25%
11 April 2015
July 2015
15%
All reports will be submitted in draft (for comments) and then final form, following incorporation
of all comments and suggestions by the reviewing team and the Steering Committee described
in the Reporting section. The reports have to be approved by the UNDP, the MOI before
payment is effected.
6. EVALUATION
The Combined Scoring method will be where the qualifications and methodology will be
weighted a max. of 70%, and combined with the price offer which will be weighted a max of
30%;
Technical Evaluation criteria:
Criteria
Max.
Point
Education
15
Communications/Language
5
Experience in UNDP/GEF Marine Protected Area projects
15
Experience in Project Document preparation
15
Experience in Coastal Erosion
5
IT skills (MS Office)
5
Reports writing and Presentation Skills
10
TOTAL max.
70
Candidates scoring 50 or above will be short-listed.
The financial offers will be evaluated giving the lowest price proposal 30 marks and marking the
other more expensive proposals reverse proportionally to the cheapest offer.
The final scoring of short-listed candidates will take into account the technical Evaluation and
the financial score:
Criteria
Weight
Max. Point

Technical score
70%
70

Financial score
30%
30
The candidate ranking highest shall be selected.
Important note:


Interested offerors above the age of 62: UNDP regulations require, at their own cost, to
undergo a full medical examination including x-rays. Medical evaluation documentation
does not need to be submitted with the other requested documents listed above, but will
be requested should the candidate be chosen.
Interested offeror is required to submit application via UNDP jobsite system because the
application screening and evaluation will be done through UNDP jobsite system. Please
note that UNDP jobsite system allows only one uploading of application
document, so please make sure that you merge all your documents into a single
file. Your on-line applications submission will be acknowledged where an email address
has been provided. If you do not receive an e-mail acknowledgement within 24 hours of
submission, your application may not have been received. In such cases, please
resubmit the application, if necessary
Annexes
Annex 1 - Terms of Reference(TOR)
Annex 2 - Letter of Confirmation of Interest and availability & Financial Proposal
Annex 3 - P11
Annex 4 - IC Contract
Annex 5 - GCC IC