Team of Experts for Establishing Sustainable Forestry Management and Forest Sanctuary Governance

The main objective of the Project is to enhance biodiversity protection and promote sustainable utilization of natural resources, particularly in Armenia’s biodiversity-rich areas. Additionally, the Project aims to improve the socio-economic conditions of communities neighbouring these regions. It is composed of two components: The Protected Areas Component, dedicated to investing in the conservation of Armenia’s protected zones, and the Forestry Component, focused on establishing sustainable forestry management and forest sanctuary governance.

While the present Request for Expression of Interest  pertains to the Forestry Component, both components should be implemented in close cooperation.

One of the first tasks of the Project will be to prepare an inventory of forest areas including forest sanctuaries. The borders of these areas will be validated and documented in maps as part of a forest cadastre, which will serve as an information source for land use planning. Demarcation of forest boundaries may be done as needed. Selected forest areas (including forest sanctuaries) shall be inventoried. These inventories shall include the identification of High Conservation Value Forests (HCVF), biodiversity assessments and the identification of possibilities for forest landscape restoration. These inventories will be used for revising / optimizing forest sanctuaries including their boundaries and for establishing modern forest management plans for forest areas used for sustainable forest management.

The forest management plans and the management plans for the forest sanctuaries will be the basis for investments into infrastructure, equipment, and capacity building of the relevant forestry enterprises. The supported branches of the state non-commercial organization Hayantar shall develop and implement business plans allowing sustainable operation of the enterprise and maintenance of financed assets. Relevant information generated by the project will be included in a Forest Management Information System (FMIS).

The potential of reforestation on state and communal lands with indigenous tree and shrub species shall be assessed as an additional strategy to generate firewood and ease the burden on natural forests. In evaluating suitable approaches, community-based forest management methods like Joint Forest Management (JFM) will be considered and may be funded if deemed appropriate.

In order to strengthen the Governance for Forest, the Project shall enhance the capacities of Forest Management Body, Forest Management and Protection implementing Bodies under the Ministry of Environment, which are responsible for Sustainable Forest Management and Use and Forest Landscape Restoration in almost all forest areas in the country.

The Project also seeks to provide support for socio-economic development initiatives within communities adjacent to selected forest conservation areas. This support is aimed at alleviating the pressure on natural resource usage. One approach to achieve this is through conservation agreements with communities, which can aid in initiating and sustaining community development. Investments in local communities will primarily focus on activities that help alleviate pressure on natural resources and decrease CO 2 emissions. These may include sustainable grazing practices, promotion of eco-tourism, and reduction in firewood consumption through various means, such as supporting the insulation of houses, adoption of energy-efficient stoves, utilization of alternative energy sources, and proper firewood drying methods.

The Consultant will be responsible for providing expertise and technical staff for the support of project implementation. The services are to be delivered by a team of staff experienced long-term and short-term staff. The Consultant team shall consist of an International Team Leader and a National Deputy Team Leader and international and national short-term subject matter specialists, and support staff. A high mobility and flexibility of the team is crucial to ensure an effective guidance and support for the planning and implementation of project measures in the various target districts.

The requested experts must be specialized in the following fields:

• Preparing forest inventories, and running Forest Management Information Systems (FMIS),

• Planning, design, and supervision of infrastructure construction in forest areas (e.g. forest roads or buildings for forest management),

• Providing institutional development support in the forest/natural resource management sector,

• Generating income for forest-related communities e.g. through the Financial Participatory Approach (FPA); implementing measures for reducing the usage of firewood,

• Managing complex large-scale projects (e.g., procurement and financial management),

• Experience in managing Financial Cooperation Projects with a focus on International funded projects,

• Managing and monitoring environmental and social safeguards.