MAPISCo Final report: Appendix 1 – Original contract specification Appendices Appendix 1 – Original contract specification Methodology for Assessment of priorities for international species conservation (MAPISCo) Competition Details and Project Specification Competition Code: WC1017 Date for return of tenders: 2nd August 2011 Address for tender submission: Competition Code: WC1017 (the Competition Code must be shown Defra on the envelope and the tender Natural Environment Science Team submitted in line with the instructions in Zone 1/14 the attached guidance, otherwise your Temple Quay House tender may not be accepted) 2 The Square Temple Quay Bristol BS1 6EB Number of electronic & hard copies 1 copy on CD-ROM or 3½” disk, plus required: [2] hard copies Contact for information relating to this Name: Dominic Whitmee project specification: Tel no: 0117 372 3597 e-mail: [email protected] Proposed ownership of Intellectual Defra Property (contractor or Defra): Proposed start-date (if known): September 2011 Proposed end-date (if known): September 2012 Project Specification BACKGROUND The UK government is committed to the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity. A wide range of domestic policies and national and EU legislation are in place which contribute to this objective and assist in the conservation of threatened species, habitats and ecosystems, either directly such as measures that control the keeping or sale of specified species, or indirectly such as controls on the release of pollutants into water courses or the atmosphere. Internationally the UK is a significant player in a number of multilateral environment agreements and related initiatives which aim to support the conservation and sustainable use of species, habitats and ecosystems. Included amongst these are international conventions on the control of trade in endangered species (CITES) and on the conservation of migratory species (CMS and its subsidiary agreements), and conventions which control the release of damaging pollutants such as the Stockholm Convention. The decisions made by these agreements can often drive the introduction of national policies and controls to assist in the conservation of biodiversity. Globally, countries are working through these conventions and others to conserve the world’s biodiversity in various ways, such as providing advice or requiring controls on potentially harmful human activities, building capacity in scientific or technical expertise, and direct focus on specific threatened, vulnerable or endangered species. All of these though seek to work towards the conservation and maintenance of a wider healthy environment and the ecosystems within it. MAPISCo Final report: Appendix 1 – Original contract specification At the 10th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP10) in October 2010, Parties including the UK committed to take effective and urgent action to halt the loss of biodiversity in order that by 2020 ecosystems are resilient and continue to provide essential services, thereby securing the planet’s variety of life, and contribute to human well-being and poverty eradication. The UK is determined that its policies make a contribution to this objective and to the specific goals and targets agreed by COP10 (the ‘Aichi Targets’). Nationally this will be delivered through the implementation of national biodiversity strategies such as the England Biodiversity Strategy and through new policies arising from the Natural Environment White Paper. The White Paper recognises the role that the UK can play internationally in driving actions to enhance the conservation of biodiversity and the importance of international action in delivering the Aichi Targets. In providing the greatest possible contribution to the delivery of these targets we need to ensure that our policies and priorities for species conservation management internationally are effectively and appropriately targeted. We also need to ensure that the resources we target to species conservation management at an international level deliver the greatest possible contribution. The aim of this project is to contribute towards ensuring that UK policies for international species conservation make an important and effective contribution towards the Aichi Targets; provide the greatest consequential benefit for the conservation of a wider range of species, habitats, ecosystems and ecosystem services; and draw on the substantial resources here in the UK, such as the wide range of institutes which are global leaders in the study of biodiversity and who help provide the vital data, skills and partnerships required to conserve it. SPECIFICATION OF REQUIREMENTS Methodology for Assessment of Priorities for International Species Conservation (MAPISCo). SUMMARY STATEMENT OF REQUIREMENT To develop and apply a methodology for identifying a selection of species for which targeted conservation action by the UK Government would have the broadest consequential benefits for other species (or taxa), habitats, wider ecosystems, and ecosystem services. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES The project’s overarching objective is to identify a small number of priority species (or taxa) which could be a focus for UK efforts to influence relevant species-oriented MEAs, investments and conservation initiatives. In doing so it will: Develop and test a methodology for identifying UK priorities for species conservation; Draw up lists of potential UK priorities for species conservation at (i) a global scale and (ii) for UK Overseas Territories; Assess the policy and management tools relevant to the identified priority species which are expected to be the most cost-effective in delivering broader conservation benefits; Demonstrate how action to conserve the identified priority species will contribute to the delivery of the Aichi Targets; and, MAPISCo Final report: Appendix 1 – Original contract specification Identify potential opportunities (including capacity building opportunities) in the range countries of the species identified that will assist in securing the long-term sustainability of any UK-backed interventions ISSUES AND SCOPE The following issues should be considered in developing and applying an appropriate methodology: It should consider species conservation issues at the global level, but giving priority to regions where UK support would make a more significant contribution. It must be capable of being re-applied at different spatial scales or to specific species groups. It must give equivalent treatment to the identification of animal and plant species1, whether in the marine or terrestrial environments. Special treatment should not be given to or limited to a single taxa, family or species group. It must be capable of informing UK government how it can effectively target its resources, whilst also being capable of use or adaption by others. USES AND USERS OF THE RESULTS The results will be used by the Department to advise UK Ministers on possible priorities for species conservation policy and action. An understanding of these priorities will help Ministers to ensure that resources are most effectively targeted to support delivery of the Aichi Targets. The results will be made publicly available and the method may be applied by other interest Parties, such as national governments to determine national priorities, multilateral intergovernmental bodies to determine priorities at global or regional scales, or by scientific institutions to assess priorities within selected species groups. DETAILED REQUIREMENTS The project should as a minimum take account of the following unless otherwise agreed with the Defra contract manager. Phase 1 The first phase of this project is expected to last about 12 months and will develop and test the methodology for identifying a priority list of species. The method should, as appropriate, take into account and build on other relevant prioritisation methodologies. It should also consider innovative approaches to the identification of priority species. In doing so it should draw from all relevant and accessible sources of information, including peer-reviewed and grey literature. 1 Whilst the project does not exclude the application of the method to other Kingdoms, it is assumed that the priorities are more likely to be found amongst the better known animal and plant Kingdoms MAPISCo Final report: Appendix 1 – Original contract specification The method should be capable of clearly demonstrating how its application will help contribute to the UK’s support for delivery of the Aichi Targets agreed by CBD’s COP10. Full details of the strategic goals and the targets agreed by COP10 can be found at http://www.cbd.int/sp/targets/. The development of the method should identify and consider the full range of policy and management tools available for the protection, conservation and maintenance of species, habitats, ecosystems and ecosystem services, not limited to those most commonly applied. In identifying and considering relevant policy and management tools consideration should be given to their practicability, effectiveness and value for money. The project should assess the wider consequential benefits of the application of these tools to priority species for a wider range of species, habitats, ecosystems and ecosystem services. The methodology should be capable of being applied at national, regional or global scales so consideration should be given to the scale at which the various management and policy tools would need to be applied