Plan Bleu is hiring a consultant to elaborate a Policy Paper on “Transformative change for the conservation, restoration and wise use of biodiversity in the Mediterranean”

1 Context and objectives

From 2016 to 2019, the Interreg Mediterranean co-funded PANACeA project was implemented in the Mediterranean to streamline management efforts in Protected Areas for enhanced biodiversity conservation in the Mediterranean. The second phase of this project, the Mediterranean Biodiversity Protection Community (MBPC), is a horizontal project focusing on “maintaining biodiversity and natural ecosystems through strengthening the management and networking of protected areas”, running from 2019 to 2022. The MPBC is building on PANACeA’s achievements to increase the impact of its modular projects concerning:

1. Synthesising and transferring outcomes on ecosystem protection efforts;
2. Engaging a stakeholder community & transferring knowledge beyond the community and the project´s lifetime;
3. Enhancing its communication & dissemination strategy;
4. Developing a long-term capitalization tool ensuring evidence-based policy enforcement.

PANACeA’s Modular Projects can be consulted here, and the MBPC’s Modular Projects can be consulted here. The MBPC recently welcomed two more projects: AMARE+ and FISHMPABLUE2+. The MBPC is coordinated by the European Topic Centre of the University of Malaga (ETC-UMA), and Plan Bleu/RAC leads the MBPC’s Capitalisation Work Package by:

• Developing a strategy and action plan for capitalisation activities; 
• Systematising knowledge capitalisation & mainstreaming events; 
• Liaising tools and recommendations for transformative changes;
• Mainstreaming the efforts of the Adriatic-Ionian region in improving the status of biodiversity.

These Terms of Reference concern the production of a “Transformative change for the conservation, restoration and wise use of biodiversity in the Mediterranean” policy paper. This paper is part of the MBPC’s foreseen liaising tools and recommendations, and is a MBPC capitalisation deliverable. It will  assess the policy recommendations from the MBPC and its modular projects and will use these outcomes to support, through key findings, solutions and tools developed by this community, key messages on ways to ensure transformative changes in the Mediterranean region.

This “Transformative change for the conservation, restoration and wise use of biodiversity in the Mediterranean” policy paper aims at identifying and communicating the social factors at both the individual and collective levels, including behavioural, social, cultural, economic, institutional, technical and technological dimensions, that need to be ensured or changed to bring about transformative change for the conservation, restoration and wise use of biodiversity, while taking into account broader social and economic goals in the context of sustainable development and climate change adaptation and mitigation.

This policy paper will highlight the most relevant information from the MBPC linking it with the contribution to key international initiatives, namely the IPBES transformative change assessment process, in addition to other relevant international and regional strategies such as the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework, IPCC chapter on the Mediterranean, UN Restoration Decade, Post-2020 SAP BIO, Post- 2020 MPA Roadmap,  and the MedECC report indicating applicable ways that countries and stakeholders are guided to use to induce factible transformative changes in the Mediterranean region.

This document will serve as a background document for the final event of the MBPC to be held between the 2nd and the and 4th November 2022 in Brussels.

2 Objectives and content of the service provided

The objective of the present call for applicants is to select an expert to produce a policy paper (a 3-4 page executive summary and 15 – 20 page report) on “Transformative changes for the conservation, restoration and wise use of biodiversity in the Mediterranean”. This work will build on the selected and validated policy information from the MBPC and the modular projects. Exchanges with Modular projects representatives might be needed.

This document will  support the organisation and communication activities of the final event. The consultant will be responsible for the following:

1. To attend the organisation coordination meeting with the MBPC partnership to start the activity early September 2022.
2. To read the selected and validated policy information from the modular projects and MBPC key reports and to extract key messages to be disseminated and considered in the final report. Exchanges with Modular project contact’s will be possible to obtain this information.
3. To read a few key global and regional reports relevant for the purpose including the IPBES regional assessment on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services for Europe and Central Asia, post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework, UN Restoration Decade, the IPCC chapter on the Mediterranean and MedECC latest report, the Post-2020 SAP-BIO, the post-MPA roadmap, and other relevant initiatives and to assess the main priorities that the MBPC work has contributed to. A specific part of the report will be focussed on the impact of the MBPC to the more relevant international initiatives, programmes, and strategies linked to concrete solutions, best practices, transferable tools to enhance global and regional efforts in biodiversity conservation, restoration and wise use of biodiversity, while taking into account broader social and economic goals in the context of sustainable development and climate change adaptation and mitigation .

The policy paper report will be used as a background report and will support the organisation of the final event that is being closely prepared between the MBPC partnership and the EP SEARICA Intergroup Seas, Rivers, Islands, and Coastal Areas.

The total duration of the contract is 12 days. The full list of the services contracted for this activity, includes:

• To attend the organisation/coordination meetings. 
• The expert consultant will extract key policy messages from the MBPC and its modular projects legacy as well as key relevant global and regional reports to feed the policy paper on “Transformative change for the conservation, restoration and wise use of biodiversity in the Mediterranean”.
• A report will be provided by the consultant using plain language adapted to a general public. 

3 Deliverables and calendar

The expert is expected to start working at the beginning of September 2022 (first meeting to be held on September 2) and conclude its work by 1st October 2022. The following section describes the estimated workload.

Work organization

Each of the above described steps will be validated by Plan Bleu. Regular calls and meetings with Plan Bleu and ETC-UMA will be planned during the consultancy to ensure a smooth development of the tasks and that the results are adapted to the needs. The consultant will have to exchange with all MBPC’s partners/organizations when necessary.

The layout of the report will be handled by MBPC Partner Latte Creative, according to the visual identity of the Interreg Med MBPC project.

4 Selection of the expert

• Masters or PhD or equivalent degree in policy and/or environmental studies
• Previous relevant experience in drafting science policy interface reports guiding stakeholders for transformative changes towards sustainability and equity
• Engagement in the IPBES scoping report on transformative changes is a plus.
• Previous relevant experience on biodiversity matters
• Experience in the Mediterranean region strongly desired and a good knowledge of actors and governance processes in Mediterranean countries
• Knowledge of the MBPC Interreg Med community is desired.
• Strong conceptual and synthesising ability combined with good writing and communication skills
• Ability to mobilize information and existing knowledge in an efficient way
• Relevant project and publications references
• Fluency in English as well as proven technical writing skills is required.

The selection of the expert will be done based on a presentation of a technical offer, an economic offer, as well as a letter of interest and a resume making reference to these Terms of Reference.

5 Contractual and financial terms

The acceptance of the offer of the successful tender will implicate the acceptation of the conditions and schedules detailed in this ToR.

A duly-issued invoice will be required for payment at the presentation of the final document. The payment term for the invoice will be by bank transfer 15 days after the invoice date (bank account details should be detailed).

The tax legislation in force at the date of acceptance of the offer will be applied.

6 Intellectual property

In the spirit of cooperation and exchange, the ownership of the work covered by the contract related to this ToR is open to the public and free of rights. The deliverables and results of the project should be accessible and available for free to the general public in a usable format. The authorship of the work covered by the contract related to this ToR is co-shared between the author and the MBPC project partners.

7 How to apply

• Applications must be submitted no later than 31st August 2022
• Applications must be submitted through Plan Bleu website: www.planbleu.org and by e-mail at: glazaro@planbleu.org 
• Applications must contain a technical offer, an economic offer (in Euros), as well as a letter of interest and a resume making reference to these Terms of Reference.

 Additional information required for consultancy firm:

• Certificate of incorporation or other legal proof of your company’s registration, delivered from the appropriate authority in your country (incl. fiscal number)
• Kbis extract issued within the last 3 months for French companies

Additional information required for individual consultants:

• Registration certificate to the Directory of Enterprises and Institutions

• Document or Certificate stating the right to practice this profession (e.g. registration certificate) delivered from the appropriate authority in your country (incl. fiscal number)

For any questions related to this call for applicants please contact:

Ms Gloria Lazaro, Programme officer, Plan Bleu

E-mail: glazaro@planbleu.org