Background

Village Governments in Tanzania are vested with statutory rights over land resources as provided by Village Land Act No. 5 of 1999. They are also vested with legal rights over forest resources, through Joint Management Agreements (JMAs) with government or private forests or through community-based forest management (CBFM). The CBFM process is an approach of applying statutory provisions to formalize ownership and management of forests found within the village land, by establishing Joint Village Land Forest Reserves (JVLFRs), Community Forest Reserves (CFR) or Private Forest Reserves (PFR). This is provided by the Policy Statements number 5 and 6 of National Forestry Policy of 1998 and the sections 32 to 41 and 65 (3), 78 (3) and 97 (1) (b), of the Forest Act No. 14 of 2002.

In recent years, the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) has been partnering with local communities, district authorities and others to apply the CBFM approach to the improved management of wildlife connectivity habitat encompassing two national priority wildlife corridors in the heart of the Ruaha-Katavi landscape. Working with nine communities in three districts, three Joint Village Land Forest Reserves have since been established – Mdabulo (241,398ha), Kululu West (86,112ha) and Kululu East (23,931ha).

In the process of establishing these JVLFRs, other local institutions including Village Natural Resource Committees (VNRCs) and Joint Village Land Forest Reserve Management Committees have also been established to help manage the JVLFR areas. A Community-based Organization will now be established for each JVLFR to ensure greater capacity and management support through the recruitment and training of a Forest Manager and Finance Manager for each of the three JVLFR areas. It is hoped that the presence of these initial staff will not only ensure that existing Forest Management Plans are put into practice, as well as working with partners to identify and develop ways of deriving benefits for the local communities from improved forest management.

Objectives

The capacity of Forest and Finance Managers, as well as other community management platforms will be strengthened through the following training needs:

a. CBO Forest and Finance Managers

1. Basic accounting training, including budget development and management.
2. Preparation of JVLFR management work plans.
3. Human resource management training, including supervision of Village Forest Guards.
4. Basic contractual development training and working with third parties.
5. Data management training.
6. Effective communication and report writing.
7. General training on community institution management.

b. Joint Village Land Forest Reserve Committees (JVLFRCs)

1. Training on the CBFM implementation process as outlined in the National CBFM guidelines, policies, laws, and regulations; This should include the legal basis of CBFM, its establishment process, operationalization of forest management plans, relevant record keeping as well as roles and responsibilities of governing institutions at local and national levels (including district councils).
2. Basic training on good governance and administrative skills on CBFM; including understanding of governance principles, power relations, stakeholders, and dealing with contemporary issues related to CBFM including promotion of gender mainstreaming in forest management activities.
3. Training on forest condition monitoring as well as forest governance monitoring tools and technologies; This should include CBFM governance monitoring tools (dashboards/score cards), and forest condition monitoring or patrol technologies.
4. Train the local forest institutions on the basics of Carbon Financing and other related forest-based enterprises.
5. Conflict resolution training - problem solving training with the joint committees on various challenges arising from the management of the joint community forest reserve.
6. Training on developing / managing JVLFR by-laws.
7. Training on best practice in managing benefit sharing across member villages.
8. Training on document management including maintaining files, minutes, and data on the management of the JVLFR.

Scope of the assignment

This work will involve the initial development of capacity building materials (which WCS will then approve for use), identification and training of the relevant participants, participatory meetings with the leaders of the established CBOs. The training is to be conducted at Lukwati-Piti Game Reserve headquarters in Lupa Tingatinga, Chunya.

Deliverables

The consultant shall provide the following deliverables (separate reports for each objective):

Deliverable 1: An inception report presenting objectives and a detailed, costed work plan and general description of the training to be conducted with new CBO staff and JVLFRC members, including a timetable.

Deliverable 2: Detailed course outlines and training packages (power point presentations and/or training manual) with clear references for new CBO staff and JVLFRC member training – for WCS approval.

Deliverable 3: Technical training reports respectively for CBO staff and JVLFRC member training – including pre and post training assessments and outlining the methodological process of training and key evidence-based results, as well as recommendations for future actions.

Deliverable 4: Develop finance and administrative manuals for i) CBOs and ii) JVLFRC to guide new CBO staff and JVLFRCs on daily administrative and accounting operations.

All deliverables will be reviewed by WCS management.

5. Experience and qualifications of the Consultancy team

WCS is seeking a consultant with previous experience and at least a Masters degree in Natural Resource Management. S/he should have:

• Demonstrated knowledge and deep experience on Community Based Forest Management and training in the same.
• Experience in LGA governance and administrative systems.
• Experience in stakeholder consultation.
• Demonstrated track record of delivering well-written and timely consultancy reports.

Cost and Time frame

The costs for this consultancy work will be covered by “USAID Tuhifadhi Maliasili Activity” through strengthening the management of two national wildlife corridors project in Chunya, Sikonge and Itigi Districts. It is envisaged that the work will be delivered across a 20-day period at most.

Application procedures

Eligible consultants are invited to submit technical and deliverable-based financial proposals to undertake this assignment. Applications should include the following documents:

1. A maximum of four (4) page technical proposal which should outline:

1. The understanding of the assignment.
2. The approach and methods that will be used.
3. Competency to undertake the assignment.
4. Consultant’s references of similar products related to the assignment (WCS may directly contact references)

2. Financial proposal should be in TZS, not exceeding one page, indicating consultancy fee and a breakdown of expenses (unit price together with any other expenses) related to the assignment.
3. TIN (& VAT if applicable) Certificate copy
4. Copy of professional practice certificate / business license copy / ID for individual

WCS will review and evaluate all proposals to determine each consultant’s Technical Rating. This evaluation may include a request by WCS to interview proposers for purposes of clarifying their proposals and visit their offices.

The consultant with the best combination of Technical Qualifications and Fee Proposal shall be considered for the award. WCS may reject any or all proposals if, in its sole opinion, no proposal satisfies its criteria.

WCS invites eligible and experienced consultants to submit technical and financial proposals through email: wcstanzania@wcs.org.

 

Indicate “Proposal_capacity_building_CBOs” on the subject line and covering letter should be addressed to WCS Country Director P.O. Box 5196 Dar es Salaam.

The closing time for receiving applications is 29^th of May 2023 (1700hrs) local time in Tanzania. Only the qualified applicant will be contacted for review and contract negotiation within two weeks after the closing date.