Assessment of the status of MCS systems for conservation and protection of aquatic biodiversity in shared African freshwater ecosystems

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Background:

The Africa Blue Economy Strategy is endorsed at the highest political level of the continent. The Strategy incorporates key critical vectors for promoting blue economy development of the continent, including fisheries, aquaculture and ecosystem conservation; shipping, maritime safety and trade; climate change, environmental sustainability and ecotourism; sustainable energy and extractive mineral resources; governance, institutions and job creation.

The objective of the Africa Blue Economy Strategy (ABES) is to guide the development of an inclusive and sustainable blue economy that becomes a significant contributor to continental transformation and growth, through advancing knowledge on marine and aquatic biotechnology, environmental sustainability, marine ecosystem utilization, management and conservation and carbon sequestration, the growth of an Africa-wide shipping industry, the development of sea, river and lake transport, the management of fishing activities on these aquatic spaces, and the exploitation and beneficiation of deep sea mineral and other marine resources.

The Africa Blue Economy Strategy is consolidated based on the following five thematic technical areas:

1. Fisheries, aquaculture, conservation and sustainable aquatic ecosystems;
2. Shipping/transportation, trade, ports, maritime security, safety and enforcement;
3. Coastal and maritime tourism, climate change, resilience, marine ecosystem, environment, infrastructure;
4. Sustainable energy and mineral resources and innovative industries; and,
5. Policies, institutional and governance, employment, job creation and poverty eradication, innovative financing.

The African continent is endowed with networks of rivers and lakes. The lakes and rivers inhabit significant number of biodiversity and the ecosystems provide sources of livelihoods, food security and wealth. These African aquatic ecosystems inhabit living and non-living resources; however the unsustainable exploitation of these resources are threatening the biodiversity, resources and environmental sustainability. Several factors are threatening aquatic biodiversity in Africa aquatic ecosystems. These include overexploitation of living species, pollutions from several sources (land-based municipal and agricultural activities), uncontrolled introduction of exotic species in aquaculture systems, effluents from mining activities. Consequently, important aquatic resources are becoming increasingly susceptible to both natural and artificial environmental changes. Thus, conservation strategies to protect and conserve aquatic life are necessary to maintain the balance of nature and support the availability of resources for future generations.

Therefore, AU-IBAR, with support from the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), is implementing a 3-year project on “Conserving Aquatic Biodiversity in African Blue Economy’ whose overall objective is to enhance the policy environment, regulatory frameworks and institutional capacities of AU Member States and Regional Economic Communities to sustainably utilize and conserve aquatic biodiversity and ecosystems. The specific objectives of the project are as follows:

1. Ratify and/or align relevant international/regional instruments related to blue economy themes (with specific reference to protecting and conserving biodiversity)
2. Optimizing conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity while minimizing conflicts among blue economy sub-themes
3. Strengthening measures for mitigating the negative impacts of coastal and marine tourism, oil, gas, deep sea mining and climate change on aquatic biodiversity and environment.
4. Strengthening gender inclusivity in aquatic biodiversity conservation and environmental management

Rationale:

The IUU (Unreported, Unregulated and Unreported) fishing activities in Africa are major concerns with regards to sustainability of aquatic biodiversity that include unauthorized fishing in closed areas/seasons, illegal fishing ,fishing with forged and fraudulent licenses or vessel registrations, unreported and misreported catches, fishing Threatened, Endangered and Protected (TEP) species, dumping of toxic waters, ecosystems and environmental degradation, pollution etc. Weak governance is a major factor responsible for IUU fishing in coastal states.

Weak MCS systems have contributed to increased incidences of unsustainable practices and reduction in aquatic biodiversity in African freshwater ecosystems (e.g. share inland water bodies). In most cases the current transboundary MCS systems are weak and require institutional strengthening and capacity development. There is a therefore a need to conduct assessment of MCS systems to identify national and regional priorities and capacities towards providing supporting for strengthen comprehensive regional MBS systems.

There are existing regional arrangements for regional management and conservation of aquatic biodiversity; these include specialized regional institutions (water basin commissions, regional seas conventions). There are also existing regional initiatives on regional MCS systems. In most cases, the focus is on combating IUU fishing. There are however challenges in terms of effectiveness of these regional MCS arrangements, weak governments by AU member states and hence poor financing of these regional initiatives. Besides the traditional of MCS systems of protecting fish resources, there is also need to strengthen the capacity of these existing initiatives and extend their scope to cover the conservation and protection of other aquatic biodiversity ‘hot spots’ including protecting MPAs, Coral reefs, environmental pollution etc..

OBJECTIVE:

The overall objective of this consultancy is to conduct assessment of the status of Monitoring, Control and Surveillance systems (MCS) in freshwater ecosystems at national and regional levels with the aim of establishing and /or strengthening a transboundary MCS system in identified shared freshwater ecosystem to enhance conservation and protection of aquatic biodiversity

TASKS:

1. Briefing with relevant AU-IBAR staff to agree on expectations and provide clarity on any outstanding issues
2. Prepare inception report within 5 days of signature to the contract outlining methodology, approach and proposed locations for visit
3. To consult regional economy communities, specialized regional institutions, other relevant stakeholders
4. To source relevant information, data, literatures and documentations on existing or ongoing transboudary MCS initiatives in shared freshwater ecosystems at regional level
5. Conduct assessment of status of selected regional initiatives on MCS systems to determine the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threat for effective conservation and protection of aquatic biodiversity in shared freshwater ecosystems
6. Identify technical gaps or requirements, institutional challenges for providing support to institutional and technical capacity strengthening of ongoing regional MCS systems in shared freshwater ecosystems for effective establishment, functioning or operationalization
7. Develop proposals for expanding the scope of regional initiatives to cover biodiversity ‘hotspots, including protected areas, Coral reefs, pollution detection monitoring, response and abatement
8. Based on your findings develop appropriate recommendations on requirements and gaps to provide support for strengthening regional MCS initiatives in identified transboundary freshwater ecosystems.
9. Develop comprehensive report at end of assignment

QUALIFICATION:

The successful candidate should have an advanced degree in disciplines related to conservation of aquatic biodiversity and ecosystems, including environmental protection, aquatic conservation sciences, fisheries management. A PhD degree will be added advantage

EXPERIENCE:

General Experience

1. Familiarization with national institutions with mandates in fisheries management, aquaculture development, aquatic biodiversity protection and environment management
2. Familiarization with functions of regional economic communities and specialized regional institutions with mandates in fisheries, aquaculture, aquatic biodiversity and environmental protection
3. Knowledge and experience of shared Africa freshwater system ecosystems, governance systems, transboundary issues, challenges and opportunities

Specific Experience

1. Demonstrated knowledge of regional arrangements or initiatives on MCS systems in Africa, especially in transboundary lakes
2. Evidence of experience on strengthening MCS systems for effective combat of Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing and conservation of aquatic biodiversity in Africa freshwater ecosystems
3. Proven record of familiarization of critical motivating factors for IUU fishing in Africa freshwater ecosystems
4. Experience of knowledge on technical measures on protecting and conserving aquatic biodiversity, critical biodiversity hotspots and ecosystems
5. Evidence of conducting related institutional assessments to support institutional capacity building

Other Essential Skills and Experience

1. Diplomacy and good interactive skills necessary for dealing with senior officials in Government, RECs, other regional organizations, and donor/development organizations in Africa;
2. Good networking skills and ability to maintain positive and constructive
3. Very strong writing, analytical and communication skills are necessary.
4. Proficiency in at least 2 AU languages

Deliverables:

1. Institutional assessments of regional initiatives on transboundary MCS systems conducted in shared freshwater ecosystems
2. Gaps identified for support to the establishment and/or strengthening regional MCS systems or initiatives combating IUU and protection of aquatic biodiversity
3. Mechanisms developed for strengthening the capacity and expanding the mandates of identified regional MCS Systems (Centres or Coordinating Units) in shared freshwater ecosystems
4. Regional initiatives on MCS systems identified and prioritized for institutional strengthening
5. The required support needed for effective operationalization of the identified regional MCS systems in shared freshwater ecosystems are clearly outlined and itemized.
6. Comprehensive report of the consultancy developed and approved

Criteria for Scores:

Criteria Scores (%)
Qualifications 20
General Experience 20
Specific Experience 45
Other skills 10
Proficiency in AU languages (at least in 2) 5

Gender Mainstreaming:

The AU Commission is an equal opportunity employer and qualified women are strongly encouraged to apply.

Duty stations:

This assignment shall be undertaken in the applicant’s home-country. Any travel on mission will be agreed with the Contracting Authority as needed.

Duration:

The duration of this assignment is 45 calendar days but can be accomplished within 60 days from the date of signature of the contract.

Remuneration:

The professional fee for this consultancy is USD 13500. Costs related to an approved travel for this assignment will be the responsibility of AU-IBAR.
Expenses for missions will be covered separately in accordance with the applicable African Union Commission rules and regulations.

Supervision and reporting

The candidate will be under the direct supervision of the project team leader with oversight supervision by the Director of AU-IBAR. The team leader will have the responsibility of approval of reports

Evaluation Criteria:

The applications will be evaluated on the basis of the relevant technical qualifications, experience and competence of the candidates.

How to apply:

The deadline for submission of proposals is 20th May 2022, 15.00 hours, Nairobi Local Time.
The address for submission of applications is: Applications including detailed curriculum vitae (CV) should be submitted through email to: procurement-220203-3@au-ibar.org

This is a re-advertisement. Those who previously applied for this consultancy need not submit an application.

Documents forming part of this application:

• Terms of reference
• Declaration on exclusion criteria
• Data protection and privacy statement

Documents to be submitted with the application

• Technical proposal including references of previous relevant work experience
• Curriculum Vitae
• Identification documents e.g. passport with relevant biodata pages
• Tax status/registration documents
• Signed declaration on exclusion criteria