Job Description

The project, “Bringing back biodiversity and groundwater: scaling up agro-ecological practices for food security, resilience, and environmental protection”, is a four and half year project (June 2024 to December 2028) whose main goal is to improve the resilience of landscapes in the project area (Chimanimani) in order to create sustainable and resilient livelihoods for smallholder farming communities while enhancing ecosystem services. The project proposes to support biodiversity enhancement and protection through the application of agro-ecology, holistic land and livestock management and watershed management (rain water harvesting and permaculture designs). An additional important dimension to the project is evidence generation and subsequent use of the evidence gathered to engage and influence both farmers’ practises and policy. During project preparation a feasibility study was conducted by Movimentar, a Germany Consulting Firm, to interrogate the merits and feasibility of the project idea and produce a guiding impact matrix (annex 1). In order to provide a solid factual basis for tracking the progress of this project throughout the project duration it is therefore imperative that we commission a baseline study to set a benchmark against which the impact of project activities will be measured. The consultant will therefore conduct a baseline to establish the current biodiversity status in selected project wards (key ecosystems, rangelands, soil health, water tables/river flow rates) and livelihood status (agricultural production and marketing, disposable income trends for Cashel valley/Nhedziwa cluster farmers), ensuring that all project indicators are informed and additional relevant monitoring indicators are developed.

Duties and Responsibilities

The key objectives of this consultancy broadly are to;
Identify and assess sensitive ecosystems across the mountainous and semi-arid areas of Chimanimani using appropriate methodologies and tools.
Establish linkages between watershed areas, underground water, ecosystems and biodiversity across the landscape.
Identify and measure key ecosystem services including water provision for the target areas
Assess the current ecological status, systems, and trends (including forests, grasslands, and agricultural systems) of the area
Determine biodiversity status (species composition, habitat assessments, rangeland productivity) and identify threats to biodiversity using standard monitoring frameworks.
Develop a set of biodiversity indicators and design/recommend a participatory and user-friendly monitoring framework to be used by local communities and the implementing partners.
Produce a baseline report with clear recommendations.

SCOPE OF WORK
The key activities may include but might not be limited to the following:
1. Preparation and submission of an inception report
2. Enumerator recruitment and training
3. Data collection, cleaning and analysis
4. Production of a draft/preliminary report
5. Processing feedback on the draft report
6. Production and submission of final report

Qualifications and Experience

Applicants may be individual consultants, a group of individual consultants or consulting companies with relevant expertise. The following mix of qualifications within the team is highly desirable:
A minimum of a post graduate degree in Natural Resources Management, Ecology, Geography & Environmental Sciences, Monitoring and Evaluation or equivalent from a recognized University
Ideally one of the team members should be proficient in GIS/ earth observation
Proven experience in doing biodiversity and livelihood surveys or related assignments
with Government/ Private Sector/NGOs/Civil society organizations within the last ten years in Zimbabwe
A working knowledge of the Chimanimani region
The consultant team must provide all necessary equipment to conduct the work
No conflict of interest with both WFD, TSURO, PORET and PELUM
Have a valid tax clearance certificate from ZIMRA

How to Apply

Qualified firms or consortia should submit technical and financial proposals guided by the following:
• A narrative/technical proposal (maximum 15 pages excluding annexes).
• A financial proposal indicating all costs associated with the consultancy.
• CVs of consultant(s) to work on the assignment.
• Contacts of at least two referees who can vouch for the quality of the service provider’s work.
• Copies of company registration and tax clearance certificates should be included in the application.
Applications/bids to be sent via email to [email protected] , and copied to [email protected] , [email protected], [email protected], [email protected] and [email protected] , [email protected], [email protected]