Consultancy for Regional Assessment of Forest Ecosystem Risk in Mesoamerica

TERMS OF REFERENCE The Regional Office for Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean of the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN-ORMACC) REQUIRES CONTRACTING Professional Consulting Services for Regional assessment of the risk of collapse of forest ecosystems in Mesoamerica BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION Mesoamerican forests are among the most important ecological systems globally due to their high biodiversity, carbon storage, and provision of key ecosystem services. However, these ecosystems face increasing pressures from agricultural expansion, land-use change, forest fires, illegal activities, and the effects of climate change. In this context, the regional project “Mesoamerica Critical Forest Biome IP Regional Coordination, Knowledge Sharing and Support Project”, implemented by IUCN within the framework of GEF-8, aims to strengthen regional coordination and support the conservation of primary forests in six Mesoamerican countries. This regional project does not directly execute field interventions but provides guidance, technical coordination, methodological harmonization, and learning support among national projects, which are responsible for implementing specific actions in each country. As part of Component 2, Output 2.1.1 seeks to develop a regional assessment of the status and risk of collapse of critical forest ecosystems, using the IUCN Red List of Ecosystems (RLE) standard, which also serves as a key indicator of the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF). In this framework, the regional project's role is to generate the common technical framework, accompany the process, and consolidate the results at the Mesoamerican level, while the application of the methodology in each country will be the responsibility of the national projects, in coordination with the regional entity. Although some countries in the region have made progress in national assessments, there is a gap in terms of methodological standardization, comparability of results, and integration at the regional level. Therefore, this initiative seeks to consolidate a robust regional assessment, based on information generated by national projects and other relevant sources, to guide decision-making, territorial planning, and fundraising. The contracting of a specialized institution will ensure technical quality, methodological consistency, and adequate articulation between the regional and national levels. CONSULTANCY OBJECTIVES 2.1. General: Provide specialized technical support to coordinate, accompany, and consolidate the regional assessment of the extent, condition, and risk of collapse of critical forest ecosystems in Mesoamerica, under the Red List of Ecosystems methodology, in articulation with the program's national projects. 2.2. Specific: Develop a virtual training module detailing the methodology for assessing critical forest ecosystems under the Red List of Ecosystems approach. Provide technical support to national projects in applying the methodology in each country, ensuring consistency and comparability of results. Consolidate, harmonize, and analyze regional information to generate technical products, maps, and consolidated results that support decision-making. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY: All Intellectual Property rights conceived or realized by the Consultant or Consulting Firm in the course of providing the Services shall belong to IUCN. PROGRAMMING AND SCHEDULE OF DELIVERABLES. 5.1. Activities and programming. Schedule for the delivery of products: - All products will be paid for once they have been delivered to the entire satisfaction of IUCN. - Disbursements will be made according to the availability of funds from the donor. - It is important to mention that the consultant / Consulting Firm must consider in their proposal the modification of some products during the execution process if it is necessary to adapt some results, without affecting the original contract amount. TECHNICAL PROFILE For the development of this Consultancy, the following profile is required: The contracted institution must have an interdisciplinary team with proven experience in ecosystem assessment, experience in feasibility analysis of red list assessments, experience in technical training processes in the application of the protocol for the IUCN Red List of Ecosystems assessment, spatial analysis, forest conservation, and regional technical facilitation processes. Participation of specialists in ecology, botany, remote sensing, geographic information systems, data analysis, and conservation will be valued. The institution must demonstrate experience in similar environmental assessment processes, generation of thematic cartography, systematization of technical information, and support for regional or multilateral conservation processes. TERM AND COORDINATION The term of this Consultancy will be 24 months Work method (with the unit/project): This work will be supervised by the person designated by IUCN ORMACC, who will coordinate the technical review of the products and the validation of progress. The contracted institution must attend virtual or in-person meetings to which it is convened during the execution of the contract. Products must be delivered to the supervisor for review and approval. If adjustments are required, the institution must incorporate the indicated observations before final approval. Type of Contract: | Professional Consulting Services Term: | 24 months Availability: | Immediate [...] Procurement detai...