RFI_Biodiversity Services_09 18 2020.pdf

SPECIAL NOTICES

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI)

The Office of Acquisition and Assistance (OAA) at USAID/Liberia has developed a DRAFT Statement of Objectives (SOO) to provide industries and stakeholder an opportunity to review, comment, suggest and enhances areas in the SOO. The Draft Statement Of Objectives (SOO) is anticipated to result in finalizing the SOO that may lead to a formal solicitation for potential offerors. The potential period of performance is for five (5) years within an award range of $10 million to 24 million. The Place of Performance is Liberia. The Draft SOO is provided in the following pages.

DISCLAIMER

This is a Request For Information Only. It is not a Request for Proposal, a Request for Quotation, an Invitation for Bids, a Solicitation, or an indication that USAID/Liberia/OAA will contract for the services contained in the Special Notices. The RFI is an attempt to reach out to the market in an effort to determine the scope of industry capabilities and interest and will be treated as information only. In accordance with FAR 15.201 (e), responses to this notice are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. Responses to this RFI are strictly voluntary and the USAID will not pay respondents for information provided in response to this RFI. Responses to this RFI will not be returned and respondents will not be notified of the result of the review. If a Solicitation is issued, it will be announced on http://beta.SAM.gov at a later date, and all interested parties must respond to that Solicitation announcement separately from any response to this announcement. This RFI does not restrict the Government’s acquisition approach on a future solicitation.

INSTRUCTIONS

Responses to this RFI must be in Microsoft Word or PDF format and submitted by Friday, September 25, 2020, 11:30 AM, Liberian Time. Please submit comments to Ruth D. Caesar- Hne, Contract Specialist at rcaesar-hne@usaid.gov with copy to Ms. Judy J. Webb, Supervisory Contracting Officer at jwebb@usaid.gov.

Sincerely, Judy J. Webb Supervisory Contracting Officer USAID/Liberia

Conservation Works Activity

Statement of Objectives (SOO)

1) Purpose

The purpose of the USAID Conservation Works Activity (CWA) is to conserve threatened and endangered species by strengthening Protected Areas (PA) and improving economic conditions around PAs. The goal of the CWA will be to conserve biodiversity while increasing economic growth. The goal will be achieved by 1) strengthening protection and management for existing PAs and Proposed Protected Areas (PPA) and 2) increasing economic growth around PPAs and PAs. Most of the CWA efforts will be focused in targeted geographical areas within Liberia.

2) Period and Place of Performance

The anticipated period of performance for the CWA is five (5) years. The activity will be implemented in Liberia.

3) Background

Liberia is home to approximately 4.3 million hectares of tropical forest, including 44 percent of the remaining Upper Guinean Rainforest. As of 2015, tropical forests occupied about 6.5 million hectares, 68 percent of Liberia’s land surface. In addition to tropical forests, Liberia’s forest cover includes tree crops (palm oil, rubber, and cocoa) and about 975,000 hectares of degraded forest.

Liberia’s natural forests are rich in biodiversity, with concentrations of endemic, threatened, and endangered species. Iconic species such as the western chimpanzee, forest elephant, and pygmy hippopotamus garner attention, but more than 2,000 vascular plant species, 140 mammal species, 600 bird species, and 75 species of reptiles and amphibians inhabit Liberia. The International Union for Conservation of Nature lists eighty-nine Liberian species as threatened or endangered. New species of trees, arthropods, mammals, and amphibians have recently been described.

The forest ecosystems of Liberia are great assets to the country. However, these assets are not managed sustainably, and threats abound. Liberia lost 1.53 million hectares (Ha) of tree cover from 2001 to 2018. Slash and burn agriculture, logging, and the postwar revival of large-scale agroforestry and mining have resulted in the conversion of dense forest to degraded forest, agricultural land, and thickets. Additionally, hunting for bushmeat and other wildlife products has decimated populations of terrestrial species.

Poverty, corruption, weak capacity, and lack of political will compound threats to biodiversity. Rural Liberians subsist on approximately one USD per day and rural communities suffer from growing food insecurity. Economic opportunities are limited throughout the country and scarce in rural regions. The Government of Liberia (GOL) generally lacks the resources necessary to implement effective conservation programs.

The Forest Development Authority (FDA) is underfunded and this limits the FDA’s ability to fully carry out its mission.

International donor support for forest conservation has been significant over the past fifteen years. Donors and NGOs have invested in a variety of biodiversity conservation initiatives with generally positive results. USAID/Liberia has focused on supporting community forests and their potential to enhance land and resource rights, improve and diversify rural economies, and protect biodiversity through sustainable forest use.

USAID/West Africa has supported PAs in transboundary landscapes, built the capacity to Combat Wildlife Trafficking (CWT), and strengthened knowledge, actions plans, and coordination across the region through the West Africa Biodiversity and Climate Change activity (WABiCC).

From 2007-2020, USAID/Liberia invested more than $45 million in community forests.

The forest conservation strategy included the development of a legal framework for community forestry, creation of a nine-step process for community forest recognition, and support for community forests to gain authorization. USAID/Liberia also supported livelihood programs to reduce communities’ reliance on forest resources. To date, this work has supported eleven community forests and improved management of approximately 54,000 Ha.

Despite these efforts, significant challenges remain. The FDA offers limited support for community forests, has put a moratorium on new community forest applications, and has stopped authorization of new community forests. Additionally, community forests have the authority to make management decisions, which means that a community forest currently practicing conservation management can easily alter their management plan to focus on logging. Most community forests are relatively small and community forests may not be contiguous. This lessens their value for conservation as large, contiguous areas are key for protecting iconic species like the forest elephant, Western chimpanzee, and pygmy hippopotamus.

USAID/West Africa’s efforts through WABiCC have supported PAs and proposed protected areas (PPAs) in transboundary landscapes. These include the twin Gola Rainforest National Parks along the Sierra Leone - Liberia border; the Massif du Ziama Biosphere Reserve in Guinea and the Wologizi-Wonegizi PPAs in Liberia; the Tai National Park in Côte d'Ivoire and the Grebo-Krahn and Sapo National Parks in Liberia.

Support for PAs and PPAs has several advantages over community forests. PAs have legal protection, a bill for each PA is voted on and passed by the legislature and signed into law by the President. The generally large, contiguous PAs provide critical habitat and allow animals to move seasonally or to establish new territories, especially for larger species. With legal protection and relatively high populations of wildlife, PAs are assets that can attract tourists and researchers, who can bring much needed money into communities bordering the PAs.

Despite the benefits of PAs, Liberia has only five protected areas. Twelve PPAs are currently in one of several stages of gazettement. Additionally, the FDA lacks resources and capacity to provide full protection to PAs, with illegal mining, hunting, and logging reported in some PAs. International conservation groups, some supported by USAID through WABiCC, often act as unofficial management partners.

Rural economies are nearly stagnant and challenge the ability of forest communities to shift from dependence on forests. Community livelihoods programs have succeeded in improving incomes through increased agricultural productivity, diversified cropping, post-harvest processing, and beekeeping. However, these increases in incomes need to be augmented and additional options for economic growth need to be considered.

Development of ecotourism is a widely supported and utilized strategy to drive economic growth while supporting biodiversity conservation. This approach has been successfully deployed across Africa, Asia, and Latin America. The potential for tourism and ecotourism in Liberia is significant and forests and wildlife long ago destroyed in other West African countries remain in Liberia. These forests are Liberia’s strategic advantage over its neighbors and small efforts to exploit the tourism value of these forests are underway. The GOL has voiced strong support for ecotourism development, and other donors have offered support. However, lack of infrastructure, accommodations, food service, guides, GOL capacity, and tourist-friendly visa policies are only a few of the barriers to developing this industry.

Scientific research also plays an important role in biodiversity conservation. Whether academic research in plant ecology, wildlife behavior, or applied research on forest cover loss or human-wildlife conflict, research can increase attention and funding for species or geographies and improve PA management planning and execution. Additionally, researchers often pave the way for ecotourists and have many of the same needs.

However, few local or international researchers work in Liberia despite opportunities for discovery of new species, relatively undisturbed forests, and rare species. This is likely due to limited local capacity to support researchers, lack of basic laboratory facilities, and infrastructure challenges.

4) Development Hypothesis

If PPAs are legally recognized as PAs (objective 1); and

If protection and management of PPAs and PAs improves (objective 2); and

If forest communities adopt and benefit from new livelihoods strategies (objective 3); and

If economic growth is improved by conservation enterprises in or around target areas (objective 4).

Then biodiversity will be conserved, economic growth will increase in target areas.

5) Results Framework

All interventions will be implemented to achieve the goal and four objectives described below.

The Goal of the CWA will be to conserve biodiversity while increasing economic growth in targeted areas. The four Intermediate Results (IR) are:

IR 1: Increase the number of Proposed Protected Areas (PPA) that are legally recognized as PAs. Interventions implemented under this IR will focus on securing legal recognition for PAs. This will include supporting communities and the FDA to meet requirements established by the Forestry Reform Law of 2006, the National Wildlife and Conservation Protected Area Management Law of 2016, and associated regulations for establishment of PAs.

Illustrative indicator: Number of new PAs in Liberia.

IR 2: Improve protection and management of target PPAs and PAs at the local and national level. Interventions implemented under this IR will focus on increasing FDA and community capacity to protect and manage PPAs and PAs. Co-management with private sector entities may be utilized to attain this IR.

Illustrative indicator: Number of hectares under improved management.

IR 3: Increase economic security for communities living around protected areas.

Community livelihood interventions will focus on catalyzing economic growth by focusing on supporting community enterprises and financial services. These community-centered interventions will help shift dependence away from forest resources and towards more sustainable and resilient livelihood opportunities.

Illustrative indicator: Number of people with improved economic benefits as a result of natural resource management and/or biodiversity conservation.

IR 4: Increase economic growth by supporting conservation enterprises.

Conservation enterprises may engage in a wide range of business activities, and development of ecotourism will be prioritized. National and community-level efforts will be necessary to ensure sustainable growth of formal conservation enterprises. Continuous engagement and partnership with the private sector will be key to achieving this IR.

Illustrative indicator(s): Number of private sector partners engaged to establish or expand conservation enterprises. Number of jobs created by conservation enterprises. Number of tourist visitor days in national parks supported by the activity.

6) Guiding Principles

a) Operating Constraints

The Contractor must achieve the objectives of the CWA. Key to the Contractor’s approach must be a partnership with the FDA and other GOL entities, civil society, projects funded by USAID and other donors, and the private sector. Strong engagement and partnership with both the formal and informal private sector will be a critical element that contributes to the success of this activity. The Contractor’s approach must employ a theory of change and describe the sequence of proposed activities and/or results needed to achieve the intended results. The Contractor must align activities to existing regional, national, and community plans, priorities, and capacities. The Contractor is required to consult with other USAID-funded activities during work plan development to ensure that complementary areas are identified, efforts are aligned, and duplication is limited.

Additionally, the Contractor must consult with other donor-funded efforts to ensure, where appropriate, that interventions are layered, sequenced, and “crowded in” to increase synergy and improve outcomes.

b) Sustainability

USAID/Liberia’s investments aim to strengthen national and local institutions and systems to provide improved services after activities are completed. The portfolio takes a dual, top-down (i.e. national institutions) and bottom-up (i.e. civil society, local government, private sector, and community) approach. This approach helps ensure that the GOL supports implementers at the local level, while local learning and lessons are disseminated and vetted through national platforms to achieve greater impact and scale beyond the targeted intervention sites of the activity.

At the national level, the Contractor must work with the FDA and other relevant national actors, as appropriate, to enable them to better meet their mandates related to the objectives of this activity. At the local level, the Contractor will work closely with local governments and communities to develop skills and capacities that promote sustainable results. The Contractor should work with Community Forests (CFs), but efforts should focus on engaging CFs to help meet CWA’s objectives. The Contractor must also work with the GOL to develop and clarify roles and responsibilities amongst institutions through support for policies, strategies, technical guidelines and protocols that will be in place after the activity ends. The Contractor must also engage with and form strong partnerships with the private sector. These partnerships, and the resulting economic growth, will be a key element in conserving Liberia’s biodiversity.

c) Gender, Youth, and Social Inclusion

Gender has been acknowledged as one of the basic areas that must be addressed if Liberia is to achieve its development goals. Gender inequalities, inequities, and stereotypes exist in all spheres of Liberian society, preventing women and men from developing and exercising their full human capabilities, affecting their quality of life, and limiting opportunities.

Gender parity is slowly improving in Liberia, but substantial disparities still exist.

Women are less likely than men to own or manage firms and women are less able to access finance than men. Men tend to work fewer uncompensated hours than women, limiting women’s ability to work paying jobs and their ability to accumulate wealth.

Raising crops for household consumption is dominated by women while men typically cultivate cash crops. Harvest and management of forest products is dominated by men and women may be left out of forest management and ownership decisions. Activities implemented under this project will focus on eliminating barriers to gender parity and promoting female empowerment.

The Contractor must contribute to bridging gender gaps by integrating gender in design, planning, implementation, and monitoring. The Contractor must analyze gender dynamics associated with leadership and decision-making within relevant partner institutions, government, private sector, and civil society partners.

USAID/Liberia requires a detailed gender analysis at an early stage of award implementation. The analysis should build on previous assessments. The Contractor must integrate the gender analysis findings in the annual work plans and propose how the identified gender disparities should be addressed, including the unique needs of children, women, displaced populations, and disadvantaged youth and men. The Contractor must report results disaggregated by sex and age as appropriate.

This activity is rooted in a Positive Youth Development (PYD) approach, which is based on the belief that, “given guidance and support from caring adults, all youth (ages 10-29) can grow up healthy and productive, making positive contributions to their families and communities.” PYD programs intentionally focus on developing competencies and behaviors that support pro-social attitudes, a clear and positive personal identity, and positive belief in the future. Services and opportunities are designed to support young people in developing a sense of competence, usefulness, belonging, and empowerment.

For many, the PYD approach is a paradigm shift in the way that they think about youth, employment, leadership, health, environment, and its resources. The activity will include concrete and practical approaches that will not only address the challenges that youth face to enhance the activity results, but will also involve and support young people in the decision-making, management and leadership of this activity.

d) Private Sector Engagement (PSE)

PSE is a strategic approach to planning and programming through which USAID consults, strategizes, aligns, collaborates, and implements with the private sector for greater scale, sustainability, and effectiveness of development. The private sector is an inextricable stakeholder in driving and sustaining outcomes capable of moving countries beyond the need for assistance. Today, the private sector is playing an unprecedented role in creating and shaping opportunities that improve the lives of the people and communities the U.S. Government supports. Private sources now represent nearly 90 percent of financial flows to developing countries.

PSE enables the USG to catalyze private sector markets, and partner expertise, interests, and assets in a manner that solves critical development problems and promotes effective market led development. Partnerships with the private sector are characterized as a collaboration between one or more private sector actors (as defined by USAID’s PSE Policy) with aligned objectives, shared risk and shared reward.

The Offeror must propose a plan or to engage and partner with the private sector to address biodiversity conservation challenges in Liberia.

e) Resilience

USAID is committed to helping build the resilience of vulnerable communities in areas subject to recurrent crises, increasing their ability to manage through crises without compromising their future well-being. Resilience building should be considered in designing interventions, building relationships with USAID-funded and other donor-funded projects, and establishing linkages with the private sector. Strengthening resilience capacities at the community level is critical, and shocks, stresses, and crises at the community level must be considered.

f) Grants Under Contract (GUC)

The Offeror must propose a Grants Under Contract (GUC) component to its technical approach. If using this mechanism, Offerors must define clear criteria and objectives for anticipated grant awards that will require the grants to: i) have financial cost-sharing from recipients, ii) be performance based (paid based on performance), and iii) be directly linked to one of the objectives stated in the Statement of Objectives. The Contractor may execute grants on behalf of USAID to support its technical approach and target new or “underutilized” partners. The Contractor must customize a Grants Management Plan/Grants Manual following USAID and Federal Government requirements in ADS

302.3.4.13. The contractor must work with USAID to finalize selection criteria, competitively award grants when possible, and obtain approval.

g) Environmental Considerations

As part of its initial Work Plan, and subsequent Annual Work Plans, the contractor will review all ongoing and planned activities to determine if they are within the scope of the Initial Environmental Examination (IEE). As required by ADS 204.5.4, the Contractor, in collaboration with the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR), will actively monitor ongoing activities to ensure compliance with approved IEE recommendations, and modify or end activities that are not in compliance. The Contractor must adhere to all requirements contained in 22 CFR 216 and must conduct an environmental review prior to any rehabilitation or construction activities that could potentially have environmental impacts. The Contractor will collaborate with the Contracting Officer Representative to develop an Environmental Mitigation and Monitoring Plan (EMMP), and undertake periodic field visits to assess the implementation and performance of mitigation and monitoring measures, and to identify appropriate areas of improvement where necessary.

Mitigation measures on environmental issues from the EMMP must be incorporated in the Monitoring Evaluation and Learning Plan with further detail provided in the annual work plans.

Climate Risk Management (CRM) improves the effectiveness and sustainability of USAID’s efforts in supporting countries in their journey to self-reliance. Liberia is highly vulnerable to climate variability and change. Increasing temperatures and shifting rainfall patterns may result in both water scarcity and extreme flooding, and environmental degradation that affects livelihoods, food security, and threatens biodiversity conservation efforts. Given these and other challenges, the offeror must articulate practices and interventions that will enable climate resilient approaches to support the sustainability of the investments to be made under this activity.