Job Advert: Consultant for Institutional capacity strengthening for local partners around the Campo Ma’an National Park

Terms of Reference

Institutional capacity strengthening for local partners around the Campo Ma’an National Park (CMNP)

Introduction and Justification

Emerging infectious diseases have seen an unprecedented increase in recent years in Africa. Many of these diseases (e.g. anthrax, Ebola) originate in local wildlife reservoirs. They devastate people and their livelihoods and profoundly impact public health systems and the local and global community and economy. This is illustrated by the recent Ebola outbreak in West Africa. Within less than 16 months, 28,652 cases of Ebola have been reported with 11,325 deaths among the local population and medical care personnel (as of 13. April 2016). The project regions within the Central African rainforest basin act as reservoirs of such dangerous zoonotic diseases, whose activation and propagation mechanisms are little understood. As shown by the Ebola outbreaks in neighbouring countries like the Democratic Republic of Congo, Republic of Congo and Gabon over the last decade, there is also a high risk in the project areas of epidemic disease outbreaks.

In the recent years, naturally occurring epidemics of anthrax have killed apes (including apes from habituated groups), duikers, elephants and mangabeys in the project area, species which are commonly eaten or handled by the local population for bushmeat. In the DSPA, an elephant carcass found to be infected with highly contagious anthrax, had shown signs of consumption by several humans. These humans likely returned to their community with anthrax infested meat, potentially acquired anthrax themselves and furthermore endangered their family members. In the case of an Ebola infection such an incident would have risked the transmission of the disease to other members of the local community.

Furthermore, over the past years it also became clear that humans in close contact with habituated apes in the project areas have transmitted respiratory diseases causing life-threatening outbreaks in the wildlife population. This not only required veterinary interventions but also threatened the sustainable livelihoods. Habituated apes provide an important source of income to the local population in and around the project area. The set up for sustainable livelihoods is extremely difficult due to the forest habitat, the remoteness of the sites they live in and the isolation from major markets. Ecotourism with great apes, allowing for employment and other related benefits is currently by far one of the most profitable livelihoods income generating activities. Thus in order to protect livelihoods the wildlife in Campo Ma’an also needs to be protected.

This project therefore proposes a ‘one health approach’ to attain optimal health for people, by ensuring that also wildlife in Congo Basin ecotourism sites are monitored for early detection of potential outbreaks. Continuous on-site human health monitoring, veterinary monitoring and real time investigation of disease and death in great apes and wildlife will be used to aid in the early detection of pathogens. This early detection can function as a warning system for both humans and wildlife. It will allow for immediate intervention and can prevent a rapid spread in possible disease outbreaks. It will also deepen the currently shallow knowledge base surrounding human-wildlife disease transmission mechanisms.

Building on past collaborative efforts between WWF and other partners including BMZ, WWF Germany developed and proposed to BMZ/Engagement Global a project to monitor and reduce the risk of human-wildlife disease transmission in an effort to promote ecotourism activities based on healthy wildlife species that the local populations depend on for their livelihoods. This project, which targets two WWF partnered ecotourism sites in the Congo basin (Dzanga Sanga National Park in CAR, and Campo Ma’an National park in Cameroon) seeks to build capacity in local actors and associations in order for them to sustainably continue and carry out the project goals and its related activities after the closure of the project. At the request of BMZ/Engagement Global and as part of the on-going process to engage in the project, an independent evaluation exercise was conducted between February and April 2017 to identify functional local organizations that can collaborate with WWF to successfully implement the project. The evaluation report identified four active and relevant local organizations to include as potential partners: APED, ADEBAGO, BASS-PROTOMAR and BACUDA. However, as per the study, these partners lack the institutional capacity to engage in such activities. Some of the institutional gaps identified centered on issues of organizational governance, team building and group dynamics, leadership, conflict management, record keeping and reporting as well as strategic and business planning and sustainable resource mobilization. In a bid to strengthen these potential partners, WWF seeks the services of independent consultants to prepare tailor-made modules and train the local organizations on the above-mentioned aspects.

GOAL AND OBJECTIVES 

The goal of this assignment is to strengthen the institutional capacity of WWF local partners in the Campo-Ma’an landscape on aspects of organizational governance including cooperation formation, strategic and business planning as well as resource mobilization, in order for them to sustainably continue and carry out the project goals and its related activities after the closure of the project.

The objectives are:

• Develop tailor-made training modules on Group expansion and cooperative formation including team building group dynamics and leadership, Project Proposal Writing as well as resource mobilization and  Monitoring and Evaluation.
• Deliver these modules in a participatory workshop session, and coach participants (maximum 4 participants per association) to demonstrate adequate knowledge and applications.
• Delivery a workshop training report to WWF and partner organizations highlighting the process, lessons learnt and recommendations for future interventions

METHODOLOGY CONSIDERATIONS

The workshop methodology based on a two-tiered approach shall comprise presentations on organizational governance, team building, group dynamics and leadership as well as on strategic and business planning and resource mobilization. The workshop shall be facilitated by an independent consultant with sound background in workshop facilitation on these aspects and related ones. It will equally be characterized by group exercises and role play to engage participants at all levels. Group exercises shall also be conducted to ensure participants have a good grasp of the issues and how the outcome of the training could be operationalized in the daily functioning of the different organizations. 

Workshop Location: Kribi

PROFILE OF CONSULTANT AND WWF SUPPORTING RESPONSIBILITIES

The training team should include consultants who have a proven record of accomplishment of undertaking similar assignments for the past five years. If possible, consultants should back up their candidature with reports of previous assignments conducted. The lead consultant needs to confirm that he/she does not have any hierarchical or other relationship with, or dependency from the project managers. The lead consultant will be responsible for the overall implementation of the training and the report writing. The consultants should demonstrate (a) extensive knowledge of, and experience in applying participatory methodologies in workshop facilitation; (b) strong report writing skills. Knowledge of the way BMZ and WWF work and their programming cycle is desirable. Additional qualifications and skill areas that might be specified include:

• Technical competence (institutional capacity building, biodiversity conservation) on the issue to be evaluated
• English and/or French language proficiency
• In-country or regional experience 

TIMELINE AND DELIVERABLES

• November 19th to 30th:  Research for appropriate consultants, screening and selection of consultant, initial meetings, negotiations
• First week of December: Consultant contracted; planning on workshop 

BUDGET, FUNDING, AND PAYMENT TERMS

Profile of Consultant:

Required Qualifications and Experience:

• At least a Master’s degree in any social science related discipline
• At least 5 years’ experience working on environmental related and natural resources

Issues

• Demonstration of excellent knowledge on workshop facilitation
• Have a good mastery of the legal, policy and institutional framework relating to wildlife health, conservation and community development.
• Perfect mastering of French and English

Composition of Application File:

• A cover letter indicating your interest to take up this assignment
• A Curriculum vitae (CV)
• A technical proposal which should consist of the facilitation methodology
• A financial offer indicating the details of costings

How to apply?
Email your cover letter, CV and technical and financial proposals to ilka.herbinger@wwf.de with cc to enku@wwfcam.org and pforbuseh@wwfcam.org with subject: Institutional capacity strengthening of local organizations around the CMNP.

Deadline for applications: 10 days upon publication of offer.