TERMS OF REFERENCE
REVIEW, SUMMARIZE, CONTEXTUALIZATION AND TRANSLATION OF FMNR MANUAL FOR THE CHAMPIONS
CARE International is a leading humanitarian organization fighting global poverty and providing lifesaving assistance in emergencies. Its programs go beyond meeting basic needs at the onset of an emergency to helping affected communities recover and rebuild their lives long after the crisis ends. To this end, it is implementing a variety of longer term development activities aimed at supporting the Puntland Government in the achievement of its development milestones. CARE works in partnership with the government, international NGOs, civil society, leaders and local authorities in order to bring effective and lasting change to the most vulnerable communities in Puntland.
- PROJECT BACKGROUND & SUMMARY
In Puntland, degradation of rangeland resources has continued to put pressure on traditional pastoral production. Many traditional forms of natural resource management and control systems have been abandoned or ignored resulting in overutilization and increase in resource based conflicts. Serious environmental concerns in Puntland include wanton clearing of trees for charcoal production, gully erosion and development of sand dunes. Trees such acacia are critical for livestock to survive long periods of drought. If rangeland degradation continues at the same pace, the Horn of Africa by and large will be at risk of desertification, pushing hundreds of thousands of already struggling Somali pastoralists and agro-pastoralists into abject poverty.
The action “Reversing Land Degradation in Africa by Scaling-up Evergreen Agriculture” is based on Evergreen Agriculture (EVA), a Sustainable Land Management (SLM) model that encompasses land management approaches such as farmer managed natural regeneration (FMNR) and agro-forestry (AF). As a sustainable land management approach, EVA restores degraded lands by improving tree cover, land productivity, soil fertility and providing a wealth of goods and services. In dry land landscapes, FMNR is an effective low-cost way to restore degraded lands by protecting and managing trees and shrubs that naturally regenerate from roots and seeds present in the landscape. Therefore, in order to contribute to reversing land degradation in Somalia, the action aims at increasing adoption of contextually appropriate EVA practices.
The overall objective of the action is to Increase income, food security and resilience among smallholders, pastoralists and agro-pastoralists.
The action will be directly implemented in 27 villages (as follows: 8 intensification sites, 10 Leveraged sites and 7 Scaling out sites), across two Puntland regions (Sanaag and Bari). The action will link the targeted EVA/FMNR groups to sources of quality germplasm by building the capacity of private, government and community nurseries to supply quality tree seedlings. The action will promote farmer-to-farmer learning and showcase successes of EVA/FMNR through organizing farmers’ field days and experience sharing visits. To increase visibility and adoption of EVA/FMNR, the project will disseminate innovative EVA/FMNR messages using workshops, meetings, radio and TV shows. To influence policy to facilitate further uptake, adoption and sustainability of EVA/FMNR gains, the action will engage key policy makers through consultative meetings and stakeholders’ forums. A state-level Oversight Coordination Committee (NOCC) has been constituted with responsibility for project oversight.
The project is implemented by CARE in Puntland while ICRAF office in Nairobi, Kenya provides technical backstopping. The project leverages on EU- RESTORE project in Somalia aimed at improving livelihoods and resilience of pastoralist households through cash based interventions and better natural resource management.
- CONSULTANCY BACKGROUND
An underlying cause of environmental degradation in Puntland has been the collapse of the governance systems that used to support adequate management of natural resources since the disintegration of the central governement in 1991. The success of the previous government system relied heavily on central government directed range management, involving heavy investments in infrastructure, staffing, training and equipment. As part of efforts to revive this system, the government passed Puntland Law No. 2 in 2000 that deals with the development of rangeland and water and Law No. 3 dealing with land use. However, at present, there is a recognition in Puntland that the environment is not conducive to a governance model that relies heavily on the role of government. Therefore a top down approach to environmental conservation is not feasible in this context and other models that capitalize on community institutions and associated knowledge are called for.
One of these approaches is farmer managed natural regeneration of trees and landscapes (FMNR), an agroforestry practice that relies on natural regeneration of trees from stumps and/or seeds that are stored in the soil to raise new trees. The regrown trees and shrubs help restore soil structure and fertility, inhibit soil erosion and soil moisture evaporation, rehabilitate springs and the water table, and increase biodiversity. Farmers and pastoralists have always practiced it, but the approach has received little attention from development agents in past land management initiatives, hence low investment in efforts to take the practice to scale. It is not possible for every individual farmer to study FMNR formally or witness FMNR projects, but everyone should be able to succeed with the simple practices that make up FMNR. Training of development practitioners as well as farmers in ways to undertake FMNR is therefore a key focus of the Action “Reversing Land Degradation in Africa by Scaling-up Evergreen Agriculture”.
- CONSULTANCY FOCUS
Following the development of a draft FMNR manual for Somalia by ICRAF mainly drawn from a Kenyan version of the same, a comprehensive and contextual manual is needed to guide FMNR implementation in Puntland and possibly in the future to showcase to the rest of the country. The FMNR Manual is designed to provide anyone, anywhere, with the guidance to succeed in practising – or supporting others to practise – FMNR, and the benefit of several decades of learning and experimentation by thousands of FMNR practitioners. It is intended to be a resource at any stage of FMNR work: an introduction to FMNR for those who are new to the concept, and a reference book for those already familiar with FMNR.
The manual is primarily designed with project managers and implementers in community and development organisations in mind. But it can also be used by individuals and community groups to practise FMNR on their own, or by anyone who wants to better understand what pieces fit together to ensure that FMNR is successful. The focus of this consultancy is therefore to support the finalization of the draft manual by framing it into the Somali context and translating into Somali language as specified below.
The consultant will:
- Review the draft FMNR manual developed from the Kenyan version in close collaboration with the Technical Advisors of the Ministry of Environment, Agriculture & Climate Change, ICRAF and CARE.
- Refine, summarize and contextualize the FMNR manual to the local context of Somalia to enhance FMNR implementation.
- With the guidance from the Technical Advisors from the Ministry, ICRAF and CARE, ensure compatibility of the FMNR manual with the local customary norms relating to environmental protection and FMNR implementation.
- Ensure compatibility of the FMNR manual with the Puntland Environmental policy
- Ensure upfront clarity and transparency in environmental standards
- Ensure efficiency of the FMNR manual, removing duplication while adopting a rights-based approach
- Develop a concise and informative summary of the FMNR manual which can serve as a quick reference document and support farmers in implementing FMNR approaches.
- Write a final report capturing the entire process of the review and finalization of the FMNR Manual.
- Finally translate the FMNR manual into standard Somali language which is comprehensible to the communities in Puntland and Somalia at large.
- METHODOLOGY
It is expected that the consultants will use:
- A rights-based approach
- Literature review
- Thorough analysis and drafting
- Application of community approaches that emphasize strong participation from community level institutions that are based on customary law
- Incorporate best practices from other countries
- CONSULTANCY DURATION
The duration of the consultancy will be 20 days
VII. QUALIFICATIONS
The consultants will meet the following requirements:
- A Masters in Social Science, natural resources management or related disciplines with at least 8 years’ experience in institutional and/or community development projects in Somalia.
- Demonstrated understanding of writing of manuals and policy development in a fragile state context
- Understanding of the Somali context, customary law and governance systems are highly desired
- Highly motivated, self-driven with strong problem-solving ability
- Excellent communication and facilitation skills
- Excellent command of the English language and writing skills
- Strong team player
VIII: How to Apply
Technical and Financial proposals should be submitted as separate attachments in one email, to: som.consultant@care.org under the subject line ‘contextualization and translation of FMNR manual’ on or before 1800 Hrs (EAT), Monday, 11 January 2021. Late submissions will not be considered.