TERMS OF REFERENCE Post cyclone Idai mangrove ecosystem status assessment in Buzi, Beira and Dondo districts. 1. Objective IUCN is commissioning a consultancy to carry out an assessment of the status of the mangrove ecosystems and potential for restoration of the Buzi, Beira and Dondo districts in response to the damaging effects of the cyclone Idai. 2. Background The IUCN Coastal Resilience to Climate Change (CRCC) initiative is a response of the Government of Mozambique to the increasing challenges coastal communities face as a result of climate change. With support and cooperation by the Swedish Government, the Government of Mozambique, through its Ministry for Sea, Inland Water and Fisheries (MIMAIP) and in partnership with IUCN and Rare, is seeking to increase the resilience of men and women in coastal communities through rights and ecosystem based approaches. CRCC is focused around improving the contribution of ecosystem services to addressing societal challenges arising as a result of climate variability in Mozambique. CRCC will do this by promoting the use of nature as a solution to support integrated approaches to issues such as economic and social development, climate change adaptation, food security, water security, human health and disaster risk reduction. Over the course of four years, CRCC will work with men and women in coastal communities in three target Districts: Inhassoro District, Inhambane Province; Memba District in Nampula Province and Dondo District, Sofala Province. CRCC will strengthen the skills and technical know-how of Provincial and District Governments to support coastal communities to work together to more sustainably govern and manage their natural resource base in an inclusive manner that promotes gender equality and rights. This will involve providing training, practical methodologies and tools as well as technical support to improve practices related to the involvement of coastal communities in managing their natural resources, while ensuring that livelihoods are more sustainable and resilient and strengthening the understanding of the relationships between ecosystems and climate resilience. Mangrove ecosystem is considered among the key habitats that support marine life and coastal livelihoods, yet highly vulnerable to the projected impacts of climate change, particularly sea-level rise (SLR), floods and cyclones. In order to effectively restore and manage the mangrove, it is important to undertake assessments to generate baseline data and maps about the status and projected trends of this ecosystem, including the current impacts of cyclone Idai that affected Sofala province. The data collected will guide the design of interventions necessary for the restoration of these ecosystems through an adaptive management strategy and responses to threats, that will help to improve their sustainable use, 1 as well as their resilience through implementation of community based landscape/seascape approaches. 3. The Cyclone Idai On the 14th of March 2019 the category 3 cyclone Idai made landfall near Beira with 195 km/h winds and gusts up to 280 km/h. The storm originated from a tropical depression that formed off the east coast of Mozambique on the 4th of March that caused heavy downpour in Mozambique already during the days before the worst event. The long-lived storm caused catastrophic damage and severe floods on its path across Mozambique and into Zimbabwe and Malawi leaving more than 1000 people dead and 3 million people affected. The cyclone is one of the worst tropical cyclones on record to affect Africa and has caused a major humanitarian crisis with hundreds of thousands of people in urgent need of assistance across Mozambique and Zimbabwe. Infrastructural damage from Idai across Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Madagascar and Malawi were estimated to be at least USD 1 billion, making Idai the costliest tropical cyclone in the South-West Indian Ocean Basin. 4. Main purpose of the study One of the CRCC project areas, Dondo in Sofala province, was severely affected by the cyclone and in order to further strengthen the initiatives that will improve the resilience of the communities through nature-based solutions, IUCN wishes to perform an assessment to assess the status and degradation of the mangroves in the districts of Buzi, Beira and Dondo and the effects on the same by the cyclone. This in order to assess the status of degraded areas and areas with potential for restoration in order to mitigate disaster risks in connection to similar catastrophic events in the future. The reasoning behind this is that IUCN sees the importance of using natural infrastructure, such as mangroves, to protect people and assets against disasters and therefore wishes to strengthen the protection, restoration and awareness in and around these important ecosystems. This study should show a detailed description of degradation over time (for example last ten years), which areas are degraded now and which areas that could potentially be restored (clearly showing location, size and ecological conditions). 5. Approach The study should investigate the level of degradation and the restoration opportunities in the three target districts/municipalities: Identify the development and trends over time in mangrove cover and map the areas of change (e.g. degradation, colonization and regeneration), including estimated degradation rate in different years (emphasis on the last 15 years); Produce maps showing the current location, density, structure, distribution and conservation status of mangroves, including surrounding land cover and land use settings; Analyse and explain the factors behind mangrove degradation and dynamics in the indicated timeline; 2 Identify major areas of restoration potential within the assessment area and develop restoration plans and criteria (assessing which restoration interventions would be most appropriate for these areas); Categorize these opportunity areas by type of restoration (wide-scale, mosaic, protective etc.) Undertake biological surveys of the mangrove ecosystem (fauna and flora), with emphasis on mangrove species; If satellite imageries are available from after the cyclone event an assessment of damaged ecosystems due to the cyclonic event is requested as well (if not available this point can be neglected) 6. Deliverables The consultancy will deliver: Detailed spatial maps of current location, size and conservation status of mangroves, including restoration potential in the study areas; Brief baseline information on fauna and flora of local mangroves, with emphasis on mangrove species; Proposal for restoration plan and techniques, including appropriate mangrove species to be used for restoration. A final report summarizing the methodology and outcomes of the assessment. 7. Required competencies, skills & experience The proposed consultant(s) must have the following qualifications Graduate degree or equivalent in environmental, geographic or biological sciences, forest, natural resource management, conservation science or related disciplines; Extensive experience in Geographic Information System (GIS) and management of GIS databases, Google earth as well as spatial analysis and development of decision support tools; Experience in ecosystem management, ideally involving coastal and marine ecosystems; Expertise in the application and use of project monitoring, evaluation and learning methods Solid methodological and analytical research skills (quantitative & qualitative analysis) Fluency in English Ability to write clearly and concisely in English, including the ability to communicate technical study findings to a non-technical audience. Time management skills including an ability to work effectively under pressure and to meet deadlines. It is expected that the principal consultant will constitute a team to be able to fulfil the requirements of this ToR, 3 7. Timeline The deadline for applications is the 7th of May and the notification to the winning bid will be at latest on the 9th of May. The consultancy is expected to run from the 15th of May with deadline for report submission on the 30th of June 2019. 8. Reporting All reports and documentation should be written in plain English and submitted as electronic copies. The consultant will report to Manuel Menomussanga, [email protected]. A draft report will be submitted for comment by the CRCC management team prior to finalization. 9. Expressions of interest Those interested in the consultancy must include in their application the following components: Technical A description of the study including preliminary details of the proposed methodology, study design; major stages and milestones for the study and a timetable of activities. Description of proposed staff’s qualifications and their CVs List of similar studies performed Estimate of time needed (days/week) to fulfill the obligations outlined in the ToRs. Financial A preliminary budget in USD, broken down by activity, including daily rates per team member, level of effort, travel and other related costs. Applications and questions can be sent to Manuel Menomussanga, at [email protected] Deadline for applications: 7th of May, 2019 13h00, Mozambique Time. 4 .