CONCEPT NOTE
ASSESSMENT OF REDD+ PROJECT FEASIBILITY, INCLUDING DEVELOPMENT STEPS AND POLICY ENVIRONMENT FOR THE RUVUMA LANDSCAPE

Over the past 30 years, tourism in Tanzania has provided most of the income needed to conserve and manage an extensive network of Protected Areas, including providing benefits to rural communities who share their land with wildlife and forest conservation priorities. However, in early 2020, the outbreak of coronavirus in China and subsequent spread across the globe brought tourism to its knees with an over 90% drop in visitor numbers and earnings. The shocks to the tourism sector resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic have shown how vulnerable a conservation model based solely on tourism can be, putting jobs, community livelihoods, and conservation efforts at risk, hence the need to consider business options "Beyond Tourism' to diversify income streams.
Within this context, WWF Tanzania is implementing a 'Beyond Tourism Project' (BeTOP), looking at nontourism-related enterprises that will ensure income diversification and continued benefits to the communities in and around key conservation areas. Specifically, this consultancy focuses on the potential of developing viable carbon credit initiatives through REDD+ (Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation plus the enhancement of carbon stocks), identified as a potential area of development during WWF's ongoing work in the Ruvuma transboundary landscape. The landscape encompasses selected Wildlife Management Areas (WMA) and Village Land Forest Reserves (VLFRs) in and around the Selous - Nyerere ecosystem, including the Selous-Niassa Wildlife Corridor that connects Tanzania and Mozambique. The landscape has unique conservation values, including expansive miombo woodlands, freshwater river systems and lakes, and iconic wildlife species.
Past landscape surveys suggest that over 60% of the wildlife populations on both sides of the border live on community lands. While some communities have established community conservation areas in the form of VLFRs and WMAs in Tanzania to benefit from ecotourism, large tracts of communal land remain unprotected. The demand for land, rate of fragmentation of ecosystems in communal areas, land-use change such as conversion into agriculture, significant infrastructure developments, and inadequate benefits reaching communities are persistent threats to wildlife and habitats. A rapidly increasing human population combined with high levels of rural poverty further amplifies the degradation of crucial wildlife dispersal areas through poaching, illegal wildlife trade, and retaliatory killings resulting from human-wildlife conflict.

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It is critical and urgent that wildlife and ecosystem services (including water and grasslands) are valued and sustained through community control and stewardship with adequate benefits to communities to maintain the balance between people and nature. The current decline in tourism income for WMAs caused by the COVID-19 pandemic emphasizes the urgent need to develop alternative, diversified, and sustainable income streams from nature-based and eco-friendly business development
The carbon asset within the Ruvuma landscape, coupled with investments in forest and high-carbon ecosystems, presents a dynamic opportunity to address the challenges of climate change and create new forms of natural resource-based income that incentivize the conservation of ecosystems and biodiversity. This consultancy will evaluate the landscape, acting as a feasibility study for developing a Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD+) approach for the Ruvuma landscape, generating carbon credits and community benefits and promoting a sustainable ecological conservation approach through payments and benefits received.
As such, WWF is recruiting the services of a consultant for a detailed assessment of carbon credit potential in the Ruvuma landscape, to include the following critical elements, with the complete TOR outlined in more detail below:
• Context setting based on different countries and organizations' experiences and lessons learned
following REDD+ development and implementation in Africa and beyond;
• Assessment of carbon stock available in each WMA and VLFR aggregated across the agreed limits
of the landscape;
• Calculations of economic benefits to be realized based on analysis of carbon potential;
• Analysis of global and local carbon market trends and outlook and implications for potential
project economic benefits and timeline for development;
• Analysis of the national, regional, and district REDD+ policy environment and implications for the project's operating context; Summary of the costs of project development and implementation based on potential scenarios and scopes;
• Identification and technical recommendations cover project development locations/maps,
stakeholders, project governance structure, benefit-sharing arrangements, and detailed plans for
the next steps in implementation and fundraising.

2. Scope / Project Development Areas
The project scope will cover 4 WWF Ruvuma landscape WMAs, namely the Ndonda WMA (Nachingwea and Nanyumbu District), Liwale WMA (Liwale District), Mungata and Juhiwangumwa WMAS (in Rufiji District). The scope will also cover Nywamwage and Tawi VLFRs in Rufiji and Mchakama, Liwiti, and Nainokwe VLFRs in Kiwa.

3. TASKS AND RESPONSIBILITIES
a. General Tasks and Responsibilities
The consultant will prepare a comprehensive assessment of REDD+ potential in the Ruvuma landscape. The evaluation will necessitate a review of experiences from REDD+ project implementation, including WWF's 2015 REDD+ pilot report and actors across Africa and beyond. The assessment will analyze the pros and cons of various approaches, identify potential markets, identify potential business partners and governance structures for project design and implementation, and finally, the investment and operational costs.
The consultant will work in close collaboration with the WWF teams in Tanzania and was helpful and practical in the relevant WWF Practices, including wildlife, forest, market, governance, and climate and energy. The assignment will include consultations with stakeholders using different approaches, including a desk review of relevant documents, focus group discussions, and field visits for area verification and sampling.
• Context setting based on different countries and organizations' experiences and lessons learned
following REDD+ development and implementation in Africa and beyond;
• Assessment of carbon stock available in each WMA and VLFR aggregated across the agreed limits
of the landscape and in the context of sources such as the expected national report on degradation, scheduled in June 2022;
• Calculations of economic benefits to be realized based on analysis of carbon potential;
• Analysis of global and local carbon market trends and outlook and implications for potential
project economic benefits and timeline for development;
• Analysis of the national, regional, and district REDD+ policy environment and implications for the
project's operating context; Summary of the costs of project development and implementation
based on potential scenarios and scopes;
• Identification and technical recommendations cover project development locations/maps,
stakeholders, project governance structure, benefit-sharing arrangements, and detailed plans for
the next steps in implementation and fundraising.
b. Specific Tasks and Responsibilities
The consultancy will cover the following areas of focus, with amendments and additions to this subject to discussion between WWF and the consultant during the contracting process:
• Assessment of the accuracy of carbon assessments:: assessments within the Ruvuma landscape
WMAs and VLFRs and recommendations on technical gaps and needed;
• Assessment of land cover change scenarios:: to be undertaken where the REDD+ mechanism will be implemented. This will also show how future land-use changes and strategies will impact
carbon, biodiversity, and social issues across the landscape;
• Synthesis of spatial information on biodiversity, ecosystem services, and social metrics: to support REDD+ planning and safeguard development in the Ruvuma landscape;
• Identification and analysis of REDD+ business opportunities and financial viability: through scanning the WMAs and VLFRs in the landscape for i) carbon finance potential, ii) market potential of sustainably developed enterprises, and iii) ecological sustainability;
• Assessment of enabling conditions:: a review of national, regional, and international policies, legislation, and regulations and synthesis of opportunities, gaps, and technical recommendations
for REDD+ guidelines and legislation.
• Assessment of socio-economic context:: undertake an analysis of the socio-economic conditions
as they pertain to the general acceptability and success rate of the proposed enterprises, such as the potential to create direct and indirect benefits to communities (income, jobs, food, etc.), as well as parameters of cultural values, religious importance, aesthetic values, etc. The consultant
will assess and highlight opportunities for the direct engagement of communities in the proposed
sustainable enterprises.
• Assessment of the general contribution of proposed REDD+ benefits to the conservation of
biodiversity and ecosystem services (forest, wildlife, and water resources in the targets areas)::
assessment of the direct and indirect contribution of the proposed carbon credit/REDD+ enterprises to species and habitat conservation, ecosystem resilience, and climate change adaptation and mitigation.
• Environmental and social safeguards and risk assessment:: Identification of potential
environmental and social safeguards issues related to the proposed business enterprises as well
as project risks and be able to design mitigation measures in line with WWF Environmental Social
Safeguards Framework (ESSF) and risk screening and ranking accordingly and working in
collaboration with WWF ESSF and Risk analysis teams. This includes human rights, social policies,
gender and youth, indigenous people, and disadvantaged people.
• Development of business case:: Based on this analysis, the consultant will recommend at least
REDD+ opportunities with the most significant benefits that meet conservation needs and opportunities for an integrated business project approach and develop an outline business plan
for each of these.

4. DELIVERABLES
1. An inception report with detailed tools, methodology, team composition, and budget, to be
completed by the consultant and discussed with the WWF team within the first two weeks
following contract signing;
2. Draft report for discussion with the WWF team, and final report covering all specific tasks and
responsibilities listed above;
3. Two briefing notes on the potential for REDD+ business development for
1) government stakeholders and 2) other project stakeholders, the exact content of which to be agreed upon at the time of the draft report submission and subsequent discussion with the WWF team;
4. Brochures for REDD+ awareness creation in English and Kiswahili

5. QUALIFICATION PROFILE
Applications by both individual consultants and consortia will be accepted for this assignment, providing that they represent qualifications across the following parameters:
• Experience and technical understanding of REDD+ concepts, models, and approaches to
development;
• Experience and development of markets relating to REDD+ and carbon with a strong background
in natural resources conservation and management;
• Expertise in the multi-disciplinary project and program design specific, including wildlife, forest,
agriculture, financing, livelihoods, governance, policy, legal frameworks, etc.;
• Experience in conservation enterprise and sustainable financing initiative development,
management, and implementation;
• Experience in working with government authorities, conservation NGOs, development partners,
business partners, civil society organizations, and community-based organizations on business and socio-economic development;
• Proven experience and understanding of policy and legal frameworks in Tanzania relating to REDD+; Excellent technical writing skills in the English language.

6. CONTRACT PERIOD
The contract is estimated to be four months, with a start date of June 2022. The exact length of the consultancy timeframe will be agreed upon with the successful consultant during contracting and will depend on the content of the bid.

7. CONDITIONS
The proposed consultancy work will be carried out under a contract agreement with WWF. The consultant will assume all financial responsibilities relative to income tax policy. As an independent employee, the consultant will be responsible for the payment of any tax as required within the framework of the drawn-up agreement and based on the administrative and respective tax authorities; otherwise, and by the law, WWF is obliged to withhold at source an agreed percentage of the fees to be paid directly to the relevant tax authority. The consultancy service will be subjected to WWF financial management procedures and policies, and the consultant will confirm adherence to these as part of the contracting process. WWF policies will apply to cover field trip expenses.

8. APPLICATIONS
Applications including a cover letter with an outline of relevant qualifications and experiences, CV, technical and financial concept showing a detailed understanding of the proposed consultancy, including proposed delivery model (workplan) and budget and references to be submitted by email to procurement@wwftz.org.
Secretary, Procurement Committee
WWF Tanzania
Kiko Street, Off Mwai Kibaki Road Plot 252, Mikocheni
1. O. Box 63117, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Tel: +255 22 277 5346/277 2455/270 0077 Fax: +255 22 277 5535; website. wwf.or.tz
WWF has a principle of zero tolerance for fraud and corruption, if you encounter such an incident, then report by sending an email to fcci@wwftz.org