Consultancy Service at CRED

1.    Background
Regional Biotrade II is a four-year project funded by the Government of Switzerland through the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO).  The project builds on the achievements of the Regional Biotrade Project, which ended in August 2020, taking a more systemic approach to achieve scale and sustainability before phasing out in August 2024.  This approach works more extensively through partners, which makes M&E both more important and more difficult than in the previous phase.

The Regional Biotrade Program II includes three country components covering the core target countries of Myanmar, Vietnam and Laos, and a regional and international component covering light-touch intervention in Cambodia and partnerships with regional and international companies and organizations.  HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation has overall management responsibility, and directly manages the Laos, Myanmar and Regional components, while Vietnamese NGO CRED manages implementation of the Vietnam component.

The objective of this consultancy is to assist the lead expert in conducting a case study to assess the impact of BioTrade project’s interventions on the biodiversity aspects in plantation areas, and on the conservation efforts of the relevant stakeholders.

2.    Expected results

The consulting assignment includes the following expected results:

• Provide the lead consultant with an overview of biodiversity aspects in Vietnam in general, and in cinnamon areas in particular.
• Suggest 3 - 5 species that can be used as indicators of a healthy, biodiverse environment in cinnamon production areas. These “indicator species” could be birds, butterflies or medicinal plants, but they must be readily identifiable, once described, both by local people and external visitors. Ideally, they should be present either throughout the year or during known, defined seasons. Local names for these species should be noted, and if possible, photos taken on site. If photos at the time of the visit are not possible, they should be provided for the final report.
• Contribute to development of the final report.

3.    Main Tasks of the Consultants

• Have a two-hour meeting with the lead consultant to share an overview of biodiversity aspects in Vietnam
• Accompany the lead consultant during her research for the case study, and assist her in meetings, discussions with relevant stakeholders
• Assess the appropriateness of different species as indicator species (see expected result B above) and make recommendations on those to be selected
• Work with the lead consultant in developing a possible biodiversity monitoring system using the indicator species, ideally with the participation of local producers
• Provide the input for the final report of the lead consultant.

4.    Working methodology

The consultant will work in close consultation with CRED/Helvetas as the organiser of the case study

5.    Time Frame of the assignment

The initial assignment will be tentatively for the period from Nov 4th to Dec 15th, 2022, of which the dates for field trip is planned on Nov 4th to 8th. Working time can be flexible allocated based on the needs and availability of the consultant and country teams but must maintain a steady workflow without significant gap. Tentative plan as follows:

6.    Logistics

The consultant will work both online and offline for this consultancy. All the costs for travel (car, accommodation, and per diem) will be covered by the project.

7.    Reporting

The consultant will work closely with the lead consultant, CRED, and Regional teams of the Regional BioTrade Project to complete the reporting latest by Dec 15th, 2022.

8. How to apply

Proposals should be submitted to [email protected] [1] with cc to [email protected] [2]

Deadline for submission: October 26, 2022.