SOL-514-15-000001_ARGO_-_Amended.pdf

Issuance Date: December 19, 2014 Questions Due: January 16, 2015/ 3:00P.M. (Local Colombian Time) Closing Date & Time: February 17, 2015/ 3:00 P.M. (Local Colombian Time)

Subject: Request for Proposal (RFP) No. SOL-514-15-000001

(ARTISANAL GOLD MINING - ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REDUCTION PROGRAM)

The United States Government, as represented by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Mission to Colombia, is issuing a Request for Proposals (RFP) for a five-year activity to support the Government of Colombia (GOC) in reducing the environmental impacts of small scale gold mining, with special emphasis on eliminating the use of mercury, and recuperating degraded areas left by gold mining.

Subject to the availability of funds, USAID intends to provide approximately US $20,000,000 in total USAID funding to be allocated over a period of five (5) years. USAID reserves the right to fund one or more proposals.

If your organization decides to submit a proposal in response to this request, it must be submitted in accordance with Section L of this RFP. Sections B through I of the RFP will become a substantive part of the anticipated Contract with blanks to be completed by the Contracting Officer (CO) upon award. The Technical Proposal has a strict forty (40) page limit. Offerors are advised that any pages exceeding this limit will not be evaluated.

Any questions regarding this RFP are to be submitted in writing to: USAID Colombia/OAA at bogotausaidofficeaa@usaid.gov, with copies to the attention of Mr. Miguel Atuesta, Acquisition Specialist at matuesta@usaid.gov, by the date and time specified above.

If substantive questions are received, which affect the response to this RFP, or if changes are made to the closing date and time, as well as any other aspects, this request will be amended.

Only electronic proposals will be accepted in response to this RFP, directed to: USAID Colombia/OAA at bogotausaidofficeaa@usaid.gov, with a copy to Mr. Miguel Atuesta, Acquisition Specialist at matuesta@usaid.gov. For detailed submittal instructions, please refer to Section L. No other forms of submission will be accepted.

This request in no way obligates the U.S. Agency for International Development to award a Contract, nor does it commit USAID to pay any cost incurred in the preparation and submission of your proposal.

Should you have any other questions, you may contact Mr. Eichenfield or Mr. Atuesta via e-mail.

U.S. Agency for International Development Carrera 45 No. 24B – 27, Gate 2 (Post 2) Bogotá, Colombia

Tel.: (571) 275 2000 Fax: (571) 275 2319 www.usaid.gov http://www.usaid.gov/ mailto:heichenfield@usaid.gov mailto:matuesta@usaid.gov mailto:heichenfield@usaid.gov mailto:matuesta@usaid.gov

RFP No. SOL-514-15-000001

Sincerely yours, Harvey Eichenfield Supervisory Contracting Officer Office of Acquisition & Assistance (OAA) USAID/Colombia

PLACE HOLDER For GLAAS Cover Page

TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE

ACRONYMS

SECTION B – SUPPLIES OR SERVICES AND PRICE/COSTS

B.1 PURPOSE

B.2 CONTRACT TYPE

B.3 BUDGET AND CEILING PRICE

B.4 OBLIGATED AMOUNT

B.5 CANCELLATION CEILING

SECTION C – DESCRIPTION / SPECIFICATIONS/PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT

SECTION D – PACKAGING AND MARKING

D.1 AIDAR 752.7009 MARKING (JAN 1993)

D.2 BRANDING

SECTION E – INSPECTION AND ACCEPTANCE

E.1 NOTICE LISTING CONTRACT CLAUSES INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

E. 2 INSPECTION AND ACCEPTANCE

E.3 MONITORING AND EVALUATION PLAN/PERFORMANCE STANDARDS

SECTION F – DELIVERIES OR PERFORMANCE

F.1 PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE

F.2 PLACE OF PERFORMANCE

F.3 REPORTS AND DELIVERABLES

F.4 AUTHORIZED WORK DAY/WEEK

SECTION G – CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION DATA

G.1 ADMINISTRATIVE CONTRACTING OFFICE

G.2 TECHNICAL OFFICE

G.5 ACCEPTANCE AND APPROVAL

G.6 PAYING OFFICE

G.7 ACCOUNTING AND APPROPRIATION DATA

SECTION H – SPECIAL CONTRACT REQUIREMENTS

SECTION I – CONTRACT CLAUSES

SECTION J – LIST OF DOCUMENT LINKS, EXHIBITS AND OTHER ATTACHEMENTS

SECTION K – REPRESENTATIONS, CERTIFICATIONS, AND OTHER STATEMENTS

SECTION L - INSTRUCTIONS, CONDITIONS, AND NOTICES TO OFFERORS

L.1 GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS

L.2 PROPOSAL SUBMISSION

L.3 PROPOSAL FORMAT

L.4 INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE PREPARATION OF THE TECHNICAL PROPOSAL

L.5 INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE PREPARATION OF THE COST/BUSINESS PROPOSAL

SECTION M – EVALUATION FACTORS FOR AWARD

ACRONYMS

Civil Society Organizations (CSOs)

Government of Colombia (GOC)

Request for Proposal (RFP)

Contracting Officer (CO)

Colombian Peso (COP)

Country Development Cooperation Strategy (CDCS)

Performance Monitoring Plan (PMP)

Grants under Contract (GUC)

Performance Work Statement (PWS)

Cost plus Fixed Fee (CPFF)

Fedesarrollo: Fundación para la Educación Superior y el Desarrollo

Artisinal Mining (ASM)

Corantioquia: Corporación Autónoma Regional del Centro de Antioquia

SECTION B – SUPPLIES OR SERVICES AND PRICE/COSTS

B.1 PURPOSE

The United States Agency for International Development in Colombia (USAID/Colombia) is soliciting responses to a Request for Proposals to support the Government of Colombia (GOC) in reducing the environmental impacts of small scale gold mining, with special emphasis on eliminating the use of mercury, and recuperating degraded areas left by gold mining. The successful implementation of the program will result in improved, law-abiding mining operations in the target geographies.

This five-year project is estimated at approximately $20 million and includes an activity (sub-awards) fund of $10,500,000 of the total budget. The program will build on the results and processes initiated under the mining component of the USAID/BIOREDD+ program. Strong participation of the private sector is expected, as well as involvement of the relevant counterparts in the GOC at local, regional and national levels. Artisanal and Small-scale Miners (ASM) in selected municipalities of Antioquia and Choco are the main target communities for this program.

B.2 CONTRACT TYPE

This is a Cost plus Fixed Fee (CPFF) Completion Type Contract. For the consideration set forth in this contract, the Contractor will provide the deliverables or outputs described in Section C and comply with all contract requirements.

B.3 BUDGET AND CEILING PRICE

COST-PLUS-FIXED-FEE BUDGET

Total Direct Labor Salary and Wages $__________ Fringe Benefits $__________ Travel, Transportation, and Per Diem $__________ Allowances $__________ Training $__________ Equipment $__________ Subcontracts $__________ Activity Fund $10,500,000_ Security $__________ Other Direct Cost $__________ Indirect Costs (Overhead) $__________ G&A $__________ Total Estimated Cost $__________ Fixed Fee $__________ Total Estimated Cost Plus Fixed Fee $__________

Total Cost-Plus-Fixed-Fee $__________

The contractor will not be paid any sum in excess of the contract ceiling price.

B.4 OBLIGATED AMOUNT

Within the estimated cost plus fixed fee (if any) specified in Section B.3 above, the amount currently obligated and available for reimbursement of allowable costs incurred by the contractor (including payment of fee, if any) for performance hereunder is $___TBD____. The contractor must not exceed the aforesaid obligated amount.

B.5 CANCELLATION CEILING

In the event that the Government cancels requirements for services in subsequent program years under this Contract, the following conditions will apply.

(a) If cancellation under the clause at 52.217-2 “Cancellation under Multi-year Contracts” occurs, the contractor will be paid a cancellation charge not over the cancellation ceiling defined as follows:

The cancelation ceiling will be the amount allotted to this project under the Limitation of Funds clause (FAR 52.232-22(b)) at the time the cancellation notice is issued by the Contracting Officer.

(b) In accordance with the Cancellation under Multi-year Contracts clause, the cancellation charge will cover only:

(1) Costs-

(i) Incurred by the contractor and/or subcontractor;

(ii) Reasonably necessary for performance of the contract; and

(iii) That would have been equitably amortized over the entire multi-year contract period but, because of the cancellation, are not so amortized; and

(2) A reasonable profit or fee on the costs.

END OF SECTION B

SECTION C – DESCRIPTION / SPECIFICATIONS/PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT

C. PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT

The United States Agency for International Development in Colombia (USAID/Colombia) is soliciting responses to a Request for Proposals to support GOC efforts to reduce the negative environmental impacts of unauthorized artisanal and small-scale gold mining operations in 20 municipalities in the departments of Antioquia and Choco. The program will work towards: (i) improved governance capacity for gold mining activities and (ii) increased GOC capacity to address environmental degradation caused by illegal gold ASM operations. This will result in reducing the use of mercury for gold mining through formalization and legalization of ASM miners and the establishment of commercial forestry plantations in degraded areas by mining activities, where the GOC has failed to identify the person/entity legally responsible for the environmental damage (pasivo ambiental). The program will work with miners’ associations to link these two components of the program, while also seeking to leverage additional private and public monies to enhance impact and build sustainability.

This performance work statement details the background considerations relating to the Colombian context; defines the project’s main objectives, territorial scope, and results expected; describes the tasks to be performed; and suggests illustrative performance indicators for monitoring and evaluation purposes.

C.1 BACKGROUND

Colombia has a long history of gold mining. Well before the arrival of the Spanish conquerors, indigenous populations were mining gold and under the Spanish regime, and gold was seen as an important source of revenue. The presence of gold in Colombia gave birth to the “el dorado” legend and this tradition remains until today.

In recent times, mining has attracted public attention because of its social, environmental and economic implications. Since the price of gold started to increase significantly during 2010, a gold rush started in Colombia. Gold prices rose from nearly $1000/oz. in 2009, to a peak of $1900/oz. in 2012.

For the last 10 years, the Colombian government has seen an opportunity in mining as a source of revenue to fuel national development. The mining code was passed by the legislature in 2001 and amended in 2010. The GOC has updated the legal framework to issue mining titles, promote extraction of mineral resources and attract private investment. This reform was never approved, since it did not complete the required previous consultation with afro and indigenous communities. Among other consequences, this created a legal vacuum for the proper allocation of mining rights and to extend the performance period of existing mining titles (Decrees 935 and 943). The issue has not yet been resolved, and law 685/2001, law 1658/2013 and decree 933/2013 provide the main regulatory framework for legalization and formalization1 of all mining activities. In May 2014, the ministry of mines issued its formalization policy for the mining sector.

The last two Presidential administrations have promoted the growth of the gold mining sector through expensive and large-scale projects that would generate tax revenues and resources as royalties. Despite the fact that the big mining projects announced have not been started, the mining sector has had a significant effect on the regional economies. While in 2004 gold royalties amounted to about US$ 19 million, in 2011 they totaled nearly US$ 86 million. However, these figures fail to capture reality in gold producing municipalities, due to informality and illegality. According to a study done by the large-scale mining sector in 2012, this $86 million revenue figure represents only 37% of the expected royalties.

Gold mining in Colombia has increased by over 300% since 2006. In 2006, Colombia was responsible for 0.63% of the world’s gold production, while in 2013 it accounted for 2.4%. With this increase, the country ranks fifth in Latin America, exceeding Chile's production but still below that of Peru, Mexico, Argentina and Brazil (British Geological Survey, 2012). Today, Colombia produces around 54 Tons/yr.

Choco (~24.5 Tons/yr.) and Antioquia (~19 Tons/yr.) are the main producers; coupled with the department of Bolivar (~5.7Tons/yr.), this represents 91% of the annual gold production in Colombia.

The remaining 9% of production takes place mainly in the departments of Caldas, Cauca, Huila, Nariño, Valle del Cauca, Tolima and Santander (Ministry of Mines and Energy 2011). These figures could likely change once gold extraction begins in the Serranía de San Lucas (Bolivar) and La Colosa (Tolima), two of the large-scale projects in the pipeline.

The scale of mining has grown faster than the institutional capacity to adequately control mining activities. The 2011 mining census states that in 2011 Colombia had 14,357 mining units and only 37% had required mining titles. Out of this total, 4,130 units are extracting gold and only 13.3% (549) of these units have a mining title. 86% of the mining units that are extracting gold are unauthorized.

The lack of a surrounding institutional framework to support mining operations is reflected in several ways. Most of the mining regions have not seen the expected improvements in social infrastructure, health or education. 9.8% of people working in mining can’t read or write, less that 70% have gone to primary school, less that 28% are in the health care system and 19% do not have any social security coverage. Informality is also reflected in the size of the mining units. More than 65% have less than 5 employees. 30% of the units have between 6 and 100 employees and less that 2% have more than 100.

A 2014 study from Fedesarrollo and the Inter-American Development Bank reports that small mining units do not cover their operational costs and have negative margins of around 44%. On the other side of the scale, there are positive returns of more than 200% among the bigger operations. The small mining units have little incentive to become legal and be formalized and pay taxes that would further reduce their potential profit margins.

Miners use mercury to extract the gold by mixing mercury with ores dug from the ground or from riverbeds. This process creates an amalgam that when burned, releases the mercury into a toxic cloud, thereby leaving the gold behind.

The ASM industry emits an estimated annual average of 1,000 metric tons of inorganic mercury, about one-third of which is thought to go into the air while the rest winds up in piles of mining waste (“tailings”), soil, and waterways. (Telmer and Veiga 2009). Some of the inorganic mercury that reaches

1 Illegal: Miners without legal rights, permits and licenses issued by the mining and environmental authorities, and required for exploration and extraction of mining resources.

Informal: Miners that don’t comply with the environmental and/or social standards (safety, labor, health, taxes, royalties, etc) as required by law.

aquatic ecosystems also gets converted by microbes into organic methyl mercury, which accumulates in fish.

The environmental and health impacts of unauthorized mining activities are reflected mainly in poor water quality for human consumption, air and soil pollution with heavy metals, deforestation and soil degradation. Environmental deterioration is enhanced by the illegality and informality of the activity.

The lack of land titles, the complexities in getting mining rights and the investment uncertainties in the ASM sector promotes environmental degradation. Unauthorized mining activities do not invest in pre-feasibility studies and have limited planning. Illegal mining operations leave behind expensive environmental damages and no one is held legally responsible for mitigation (pasivo ambiental).

Gold mining also promotes deforestation. Fine woods from native forest are used to support tunnels in subterranean mining operations. According to RIA (Reforestadora Integral de Antioquia), there is an opportunity in the mining regions to recuperate and reclaim the lands degraded by mining operations through commercial forestry plantations. This would also contribute towards the GOC reforestation targets and its low emission development strategy (Estrategia de desarrollo Bajo en Carbono, ECDBC), which is considered as a climate change mitigation action.

RIA estimates the costs of environmental recuperation of these degraded lands in the order of $4.000/Hectare and preliminary estimations by the regional environmental authority (Corantioquia) indicate that in the lower Cauca region alone there are at least 45.000 degraded hectares by illegal mining operations.

Legalization and formalization have a significant impact on reducing environmental degradation. When existing legislation is enforced, ASM operations will use less mercury or no mercury at all (Colombia has passed legislation banning the use of mercury for mining activity by 2018) and will have to put in place an environmental management plan to mitigate environmental impacts.

Formalizing ASM operations will also contribute to consolidating peace in Colombia. Mining has fueled conflict in some regions and generated social unrest. Illegal armed groups have used the lack of state control to create opportunities for money laundering, extortion and intimidation. This program is well aligned with the USAID/Colombia’s 2014 Country Development and Cooperation Strategy (CDCS) (http://www.usaid.gov/documents/1862/country-development-cooperation-strategy-2014-2018), the overarching goal of which is to assist Colombia with the implementation of a sustainable and inclusive peace. Its development objectives are: i) to establish the “effective presence of democratic institutions and processes in targeted areas”; ii) to advance reconciliation among victims, ex-combatants and others;

iii) to improve conditions for inclusive, rural economic growth; and iv) to strengthen environmental resiliency and low-emissions development.

C.2 OBJECTIVES, THEORY OF CHANGE

The USAID/Mining project will pursue two objectives: (1) to build effective governance capacity for gold mining activities in target municipalities by strengthening public management functions and capacity building of local organizations with a stake in gold mining operations; and (2) to increase GOC capacity to address environmental degradation caused by illegal gold ASM operations, through delivering improved water and air quality, and transforming degraded areas through establishing productive commercial uses with a value chain approach.

USAID/Colombia’s theory of change linking this project to these two objectives is that if regional and local authorities are more effective in enforcing mining-related legislation and the right facilitating instruments (i.e. laws, regulations, policies, partnerships or projects) are in place to support environmental recuperation of degraded areas with the participation of land owners, private sector and http://www.usaid.gov/documents/1862/country-development-cooperation-strategy-2014-2018 local communities, then regional and municipal authorities will gain legitimacy and support, improving social, environmental and economic performance of ASM operations and advancing Colombia’s peace-building goals.

C.3 GEOGRAPHIC FOCUS

The program is expected to perform the majority of activities in two departments: Antioquia and Choco, since they account for almost 75% of the gold mined in Colombia. At the discretion of USAID, the program could be asked to include work in additional geographies. This would not imply that funding levels are increased. This would be done through a cost and time neutral contract modification.

The priority geography in Antioquia and Chocó is presented in the table below.

Table 1. Priority municipalities in Antioquia and Chocó.

Department Sub region Municipality

Antioquia

Northeast Remedios Segovia San Roque

Western Buriticá

Lower Cauca

Nechí Tarazá Caucasia El Bagre Cáceres Zaragoza

Chocó

Middle and Upper Atrato River

Bagadó El Carmen de Atrato Lloró Quibdó

Lower, Middle and Upper San Juan River

Condoto Cantón San Pablo Istmina Nóvita Sipí Tadó

Partner municipalities will be selected from the departments listed in Table 1. USAID may sign memoranda of understanding with municipalities, departments or relevant ministries, making explicit the scope of assistance, areas of collaboration expected from each entity, leverage, etc.

The Contractor must provide ongoing, on-site support to municipalities and cooperation with other key stakeholders, including mining title owners, private companies, departmental governments and central government entities, such as the Ministry of Mines and Energy, Ministry of Environment, and the National Mining Agency. The regional environmental authorities and ASM organizations will also be critical to achieving results.

C.4. EXPECTED RESULTS

Gold mined illegally in the departments of Choco and Antioquia will be reduced using the different available options –public or private- for legalization and formalization. This formalization effort will go hand in hand with a reduction in the amount of mercury used per unit of gold mined and a decrease in the number of hectares identified as “pasivo ambiental”. ASM operations that are not able to become legal will get support in finding new economic opportunities for its associates, particularly in the forestry and agricultural sectors.

This section elaborates on the expected results from this project. The aim of the project is not to promote or condemn mining operations. It aims at formalizing ASM activities and recovering degraded areas understood as “pasivos ambientales”. Offerors are expected to build on the successful approaches and lessons learned during the implementation of the USAID/Bioredd (http://www.bioredd.org/?q=biblioredd) program under its mining component. USAID will provide flexibility to each offeror to recommend an innovative approach, but the approaches must be feasible within time and resource constraints, adaptable to the Colombian context and it must be sensitive to conflict and peace-building dynamics.

OBJECTIVE 1: Build effective governance capacity for gold mining activities in the departments of Antioquia and Choco.

Objective 1 Problem Statement

The GOC has limited capacity to enforce regulation in the departments of Antioquia and Choco. These two departments contain the majority of informal and illegal miners in Colombia. The GOC entities in charge of the regulatory function face several circumstances that limit their ability to enforce legislation:

the regulatory framework is not completely developed; there is limited information on formalization programs, and the illegal miners demonstrate poor capacity and willingness to change their conditions.

This lack of enforcement capability on the part of the GOC encourages continued illegality and increases the negative environmental impacts of illegal mining, particularly the use of mercury and the pollution of air, water and soil, with tangible effects on human health.

Technical assistance to ASM for improved gold and mercury recovery is part of the solution.

GOC entities at regional and municipal levels also face budget constraints that limit their capacity to have enough human resources to manage basic administrative functions and do the required follow up on the ground. As a general principle, this constraint will not be addressed directly by the program and this is expected to be the portion of in-kind contribution of the GOC organizations. Temporary support for specific actions may be provided and must be approved by USAID in advance. Participation of mining rights owners and private mining companies is a requirement for the legalization program.

Objective 1 Expected Results

(1) Strengthened Capacity in GOC entities to enforce gold mining legislation

• The Contractor must work with relevant teams within the regional and municipal governments as well as with the regional environmental authorities to build sustainable capacities for implementation and enforcement of mining regulation. This includes knowledge and understanding of the relevant existing legislation and GOC programs on ASM formalization and legalization and mercury use reduction programs, as well as support in implementing the mechanisms for fast and effective processing of all requests for formalization. The Contractor is expected to facilitate interaction among mining companies and mining rights owners as a mechanism towards formalization.

• The Contractor must assist the relevant GOC entities at the national level (e.g. Ministry of Mines, Environment, ANLA (National Environmental licensing Agency), ANM (National Mining Agency), INCODER (National Institute for rural development) in consolidating and updating the regulatory framework to create an enabling environment for ASM formalization and legalization. This includes support for designing incentive mechanisms, innovative financial instruments to provide finance for small scale informal miners, and control mechanisms.

(2) Participation of ASM organizations, indigenous and Afro Colombian communities in formalization programs strengthened.

• The contractor must assist ASM associations, indigenous and Afro Colombian communities in accessing GOC formalization programs. Viable routes for formalization according will be identified, according to conditions on the ground. To the extent possible, the contractor will support their transition towards legalization and formalization. Promoting and strengthening miners associations, building their administrative and technical capacities in ASM and providing legal advice throughout the formalization process is a key component toward achieving results.

(3) Technical assistance and training provided to ASM

• The contractor must provide training and technical assistance to ASM operations, towards: i) reducing and ultimately eliminating the use of mercury for gold extraction and ii) minimizing and mitigating the environmental impacts of ASM operations. Support in preparing and implementing the environmental management plans and best environmental, social and administrative practices must be provided.

Illustrative indicators for the Expected Results for Objective One are provided below:

Formalization/ Legalization • Number of mining units formalized/legalized

• Quantity/percentage of gold produced by formalized/legalized mining operations

• Number/proportion of mining units that remain formal over project period

Mercury use reduction • Mercury baseline/end line in air and water

• Ratio mercury used/gold produced baseline/end line

• Mercury sales reports baseline/end line

• Total mercury use reduction for gold mining

(approximately 550,000 kilograms)

Sustainable capacity • Ratio formalization processes started/ended

• Number of compliance field visits to mining operations with positive results baseline/end line

• Change in royalties collected

Training and technical assistance

• Number of ASM operations adopting environmental best practices

• Number of miners trained

Objective 2: Increased GOC capacity to address environmental degradation by illegal gold ASM operations

Objective 2 Problem Statement

Lack of state presence and capacity to enforce legislation also contributes to the increased amount of areas degraded by illegal mining operations. Innovative approaches to recover degraded areas are needed. Participation of the GOC, private sector, community associtions and land owners is required to address the problem. Experiences in the Bajo Cauca region show that with a joint venture approach, it is feasible to reclaim degraded areas for the establishment of commercial forestry plantations, while supporting community organisations in finding alternative income sources apart from mining. Joint venture approaches may include, but are not limited to approaches that involve the participation of land owners, private companies, and municipal, regional and national level government. Value chain approaches to wood and agricultural production generate higher income for the joint venture and must be promoted. Forestry plantations are also aligned with the Colombian LEDS (Low development Strategy) and reforestation has been identified as an NAMA (National Apropiated Mitigation Action) to mitigate climate change.

Objective 2 Expected Results

(1) Reforestation NAMA supported in areas degraded by unauthorized ASM operations (Pasivos ambientales)

• The contractor must facilitate the design and implementation of protocols and support mechanisms for the provision of technical, financial and legal assistance for the land recuperation program. This includes the identification of viable degraded area clusters with a minimum area for financially viable reforestation projects. The contractor must also build on previous experiences of other USAID forestry programs (Colombia Forestal, MIDAS, etc.) while proposing business models where landowners, communities, private sector and GOC are part of the joint venture. Participation of forestry companies is expected.

(2) Alternative livelihoods for ASM communities promoted

• A significant proportion of the population involved in ASM operations are not necessarily miners by training or tradition. Displaced and unemployed people are also involved in unauthorized mining because the lack of alternative income generating activities. The contractor is expected to work with mining associations, rural communities in gold mining areas and degraded areas, and land owners in the promotion and establishment of alternative livelihoods with a value chain approach. Activities will be aimed at eliminating manual labor, often in inadequate conditions, from unauthorized mining operations, and improving quality of life for persons living in ASM communities. The contractor must understand the mining regions with a broader perspective and support key activities to improve their competitiveness. This requires coordination and leverage from other organizations and programs in different sectors, like agriculture of fisheries.

(3) Drinking water quality improved

Illegal mining deteriorates quality, quantity and availability of water in several ways. Direct discharge of mercury and heavy meatals into river streams, erosion of river beds and catchment deterioration are part of the problem. Poor access to safe water threatens local populations and impacts human health in urban areas, whether they are involved in mining operations or not. The contractor is expected to support integrated water catchment management programs to improve water supply systems for urban areas, and support the design and implementation of sustaianble financial mechanisms to pay for it.

This work must be closely coordinated with the responsible GOC entities and, when present, with service providers.

Illustrative indicators for the Expected Results for Objective two are provided below:

Reforestation NAMA • Number hectares reforested (approximately 11,500 hectares)

• Amount of USD leveraged for recuperation of degraded lands

• Tons CO2 sequestered

• Proportion of small land owners (less than 20 hectares) in the land recuperation program

• Number of long term (30 years) agreements (contracts, joint ventures, Memoranda of Understanding, etc.) signed

Alternative livelihoods • Number of associations/families with diversified sources of income (approximately 2,500 families)

• Change in income levels and non-monetary economic benefits (USD)

• Resources leveraged (USD) for value chains, other than commercial forestry projects

Safe water • Change in water quality

• Number of hectares with actual improved land management

• Number of municipalities with sustainable financial mechanisms for access to safe water (approximately 10)

C.5. TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS

Rapid Start-Up, Near Term Results

Proposals will be evaluated on the basis of feasibility of rapid start-up and the prospects for delivering near-term tangible benefits in target municipalities (see Section L and M for additional proposal guidance regarding this requirement). Key personnel must be in Colombia and opening offices thirty days after award and the Contractor should be ready to begin implementing activities within sixty days of award. During the first ninety days, the Contractor must conduct all baseline studies and gather monitoring and evaluation (M&E) data to ensure the ability to measure project progress. M&E will include data from local government units, regional environmental authorized entities, scientific institutes, local government officials, mining associations and citizens.

Bogota and Medellin are identified as possible locations for the main office. Proponents are expected to elaborate on the justification for its selection.

Project Implementation Plan

The offeror will include with its proposal a Project Implementation Plan (work plan) and timeline table containing a description of project start-up activities and the work to be done prior to the submission of the annual work plan and immediately thereafter.

Policy and Legal Reform

This is not a policy and legal reform project, but, if needed, the Contractor may be expected to provide short-term technical assistance for discrete tasks aimed at supporting new policies, standards and laws that advance the objectives of the project. This might include providing comparative expertise for policies or laws or supporting stakeholder consultation to reach consensus on new laws or policies. Any policy or legal reforms should be informed by the measured impact of the demonstration projects, have broad stakeholder support, and directly support the project objectives.

Activity Fund

The total budget for the Activity Fund is expected to be $10.5 million. The Activity Fund will have two components. The first one is budgeted at $5,5 million over the five years of the program and will be a flexible mechanism to address project objectives. Offerors are encouraged to propose a sub-awards mechanism using innovative approaches to increase incentives to formalization, legalization and value chains. Leverage is welcome but not a requirement under this component of the fund. Potential award recipients (sub-awardees) could include local NGOs, public and private sector associations, think tanks, training institutions and other community-based organizations. However, outside of the Activity Fund, short-term technical assistance may be provided to government entities in line with achieving the project objectives.

The second component of the fund will be $5 million (earmarked as sustainable landscapes/climate change) and will be used exclusively to leverage funds for the rehabilitation of degraded areas (pasivos ambientales) to forestry plantations. Offerors are asked to propose a design for this fund component in a way that ensures: i) maximum leverage (1 to 3 ratio, minimum); ii) minimum operating expenses; and

iii) maximum amount of hectares rehabilitated (11,500 hectares approximately).

The contractor must prepare an Activity Fund manual within 40 days of contract award. USAID will provide comments within 10 days and the contractor must submit the final manual 80 days after contract award. The Activity Fund manual must: i) Provide guidance on activity design; ii) Define funding thresholds for Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) and Contracting Officer (CO) approval; iii) Establish basic criteria for selection of award; and iv) Be in accordance with all USAID regulation.

Activity Fund Management Experience – The applicant will demonstrate the capacity to simultaneously manage multiple awards. Applicants must provide details on the awards managed over the last five years (2010-2014). At a minimum, organizations should have experience in managing 10 or more grants totaling more than $1 million in grants over the period of 2010-2014.

Grants, sub-contracts, and short-term technical assistance under the Activity Fund.:

Activities under the Fund will help achieve progress toward the objectives specified in the Performance Work Statement. Proposals that will encourage the formation of strategic alliances and partnerships, and have a leverage component are encouraged. In addition to holding open competitions, there could be a special rapid-response, non-competitive (or directive) funding window that addresses targets of opportunity that may arise.

The project COR will have substantial involvement in approving selection criteria and must approve the selection of recipients. The COR may be less significantly involved when sub-awards are smaller.

Offerors must indicate in their proposals a methodology for selecting sub-award recipients, including the solicitation, review and evaluation process and the plan/method of assessing the sustainability of the recipient and the sub-activity/sub-objective the funding will support. Depending on need, counterpart demand and assistance provided by other donors, each sub-award cycle could focus on a particular sub-objective. Also, the situation in the various departments and municipalities in which the project operates could affect the focus of a particular sub-award cycle.

The Contractor must ensure that the requirements that apply to USAID-issued awards will apply to sub-awards issued by the Contractor to NGOs, primarily ADS and applicable AAPDs and CIBs. These are available at www.usaid.gov/pubs/ads. The following requirements apply to any sub-award by a Contractor under this contract and must be included in the Activity Fund manual:

1. USAID will have substantial involvement in establishing selection criteria and will approve selection of grant recipients. Unless otherwise directed by the Contracting Officer, the COR will have authority to approve the grant recipient selection.

2. All sub-awards must include language giving USAID the right to terminate the activity (activities) unilaterally in extraordinary circumstances.

3. The Contractor is not authorized to sign cooperative agreements on USAID's behalf.

4. The majority of sub-awards will go to non-U.S. organizations.

5. All activities must comply with USAID environmental regulation 22 CFR 216.

Environmental compliance

This project requires the preparation of and Environmental Assessment (EA) to comply with USAID’s environmental regulation 22 CFR 216.3(a)2(iii) and ensure that any negative environmental impacts are well understood and adequately mitigated. When designing and implementing activities, the contractor is required to implement the recommendations stated in the EA. All activities under this project must be registered in the USAID/Colombia online performance monitoring system Monitor (www.monitor.net.co) and its recommendations under the environmental management plans also be implemented.

The above requirements will necessitate budgeting at the appropriate level to comply with both Monitor and EA recommendations. The contractor must have as part of its staff an environmental expert to support activity design, implementation and monitoring.

As part of the project proposal, it is required that the offeror include a section on environmental compliance, demonstrating capacity to conduct the Environmental Assessment, implement the Monitor and the EA recommendations, and understand appropriate environmental management for the project.

Construction activities

Small infrastructure, such as pilot plants for mercury-free gold processing, can be done under this program. The program will not support construction of medium or big scale gold processing facilities.

Construction activities must follow USAID policies and regulations.

Conflict Sensitivity

The Contractor must ensure that all planned activities are sensitive to local conflict and peace building dynamics and designed in ways that mitigate the risks of conflict recurrence and strengthen prospects for peace building. The Contractor must incorporate peace building elements and conflict-prevention measures into the design of all activities implemented during the period of this award.

http://www.usaid.gov/pubs/ads http://www.monitor.net.co/

Gender, Child Labor and Minorities:

A Gender, Child Labor and Minorities strategy will be due in draft along with the first annual work plan draft. At a minimum, the document must address: (1) Affirmative opportunities for women in legal ASM operations; (2) How the Contractor plans to sensitize local communities and other stakeholders to discrimination based on gender or ethnicity; (3) Laws and policies adversely impacting women (e.g., indigenous communities and Afro-Colombian communities); and (4) Overcoming obstacles for child labor elimination in mining operations.

Grievance mechanism

The contractor is expected to facilitate access to effective grievance mechanisms for communities adversely impacted by gold mining activities. This includes support for access to existing mechanisms through the national Comptroller’sOffice (Contraloría general de la Nacion), major offices (Alcaldias municipales), Ombudsman’s office (Defensoría del Pueblo), and Ministry of Interior, among others.

Coordination with USAID Office of Vulnerable Populations and Office of Democracy, Human Rights and Governance and relevant programs on related issues of human rights, labor, inclusion, and governance should be done as needed throughout the course of project implementation.

Performance Monitoring and Evaluation

Offerors must submit draft performance monitoring plans (PMPs) along with their technical proposals.

The plan should identify targets and indicators for measuring project performance throughout the project lifecycle; e.g., benchmarks and milestones to determine whether progress is being made toward objectives and results.

Branding and Marking Plan

The offeror must prepare a draft Branding Implementation Plan describing how it will implement the Branding Strategy. The Branding Implementation Plan shall describe how the program will be promoted to beneficiaries and host country citizens. Offerors must submit a draft branding and marking plan with their submissions and shall comply with the requirements of the USAID “Graphic Standards Manual” available at www.usaid.gov/branding, or any successor branding policy. This draft plan must include a Branding Strategy, a Branding Implementation Plan and a Marking Plan.

C.6. SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS REGARDING OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES

This project must be mining neutral. It will not encourage or condemn mining operations. This neutral position must be made clear to all stakeholders and project partners. This program aims at legal and responsible ASM operations and at recovering degraded lands by unauthorized mining operations (pasivos ambientales). While the project is focused on incorporating informal gold mining operations into the formal gold mining sector and mitigating the negative environmental impacts of current mining activities, the project will purposely avoid supporting any actions that may inadvertently expand mining activities beyond current areas, and is not designed to address all current issues relating to gold mining in Colombia. Offerors should note and comply with the requirement in the FY 2014 Foreign Operations Appropriations Act that no funds can be used “to support or promote the expansion of industrial scale logging or any other industrial scale extractive activity into areas that were primary/intact tropical forest as of December 31, 2013.”

• Colombian gold is mostly sold in the U.S. Currently there is no discrimination between illegal and legal gold in this market. USAID welcomes innovative approaches to the implementation of standards and certifications that promote legal gold trade all along the value chain.

• The project must be implemented outside of areas legally protected by the Colombian government, so it will not operate in National Parks, Forest Reserves covered by Law 2, Highland Complexes (paramos), or regional and/or local protected areas. The project must only work with the mining units that can become legal under the current legislation.

• When contributing to achieving program results, the contractor must coordinate its activities with other relevant initiatives, whether international donor or GOC –funded, that are implemented by the GOC, donor implementing partners, or private sector driven.

• During the implementation of activities, the Contractor must closely coordinate with relevant GOC entities: municipal and regional governments, environmental authorities and branches of government at the national level. The Contractor’s ability to elicit the confidence of Colombian counterparts is essential for project success. In its proposal, the Contractor should provide evidence of similar partnerships with partner governments in which it has been engaged in other similar contexts.

• In achieving project results, the Contractor must support ASM units to negotiate agreements with mining companies that own the mining rights. The contractor is expected to work with the relevant GOC authorities to provide technical assistance in order to increase mining companies’ compliance with current legislation.

• Public private partnerships (PPPs) are highly encouraged for both formalization and recuperation of areas degraded by mining activities.

• The Contractor must rely heavily on qualified and credible Colombian partners (individuals as well as institutions), as one of the project aims is to build local capacity to improve performance of mining operations in Colombia. The activities must be carried out through a combination of the Contractor’s permanent staff, short-term international consultants, and local consultants/experts hired on an ad-hoc (sub-activity by sub-activity) basis. Involvement of Colombian experts and institutions will be critical to project success.

• The Contractor may procure commodities for local government units and other counterparts. In particular, information technology (IT)-related and other equipment and software may be needed to enhance counterpart capacity. Any provision of IT commodities should include significant leverage (financial or in-kind) from the local government units or the GOC and plans for sustainability and maintenance by local government units. Provision of IT equipment must be approved by USAID/Colombia. The provision of commodities may be one way of providing incentives to local government units and must be carefully synchronized with technical assistance and training. As part of its proposal, the offeror must describe how various activities complement each other and will be integrated and how the offeror would go about achieving objectives and implementing the activities set forth in this Performance Work Statement.

• The contractor must design and implement protocols to support project implementation while making sure that: i) sub-contractors and sub-grantees will be vetted against multiple databases including the Bridger system, the Excluded Parties List System, the Specially Designated Nationals List, and the System for Award Management (sam.gov). ii) Degraded areas for environmental recuperation have a clear land title and are not subject to any dispute (e.g land restitution) iii) Private companies associated with the project are fully compliant with environmental regulation and Consulta Previa, (prior consultation) when required. iv) Project staff should have the adequate level of security to perform their duties in the field. USAID will review and approve in writing these protocols.

• All activities must be implemented to the greatest extent possible in partnership with Colombian local governments and Colombian organizations. The proposal should include comprehensive provisions for such partnerships and plan for sub-grants and sub-contracts with local Colombian organizations.

Local Solutions

Local organizations are eligible and encouraged to apply, as well as joint ventures or consortiums of local organizations. A local organization applicant must be locally recognized under the Colombian law and adhere to the eligibility criteria under ADS 303. If a joint venture or consortium is proposed, the Prime (the main award recipient) should have the ability and capacity to manage the program.

To qualify as a “local organization” for the purpose of this RFP, an entity must: a) be organized under the laws of the recipient country; b) have its principal place of business in the recipient country; c) be majority owned by individuals who are citizens or lawful permanent residents of the recipient country or be managed by a governing body, the majority of whom are citizens or lawful permanent residents of a recipient country; and d) not be controlled by a foreign entity or by an individual or individuals who are not citizens or permanent residents of the recipient country. The term “controlled by” means a majority ownership or beneficiary interest as defined above, or the power, either directly or indirectly, whether exercised or exercisable, to control the election, appointment, or tenure of the organization’s managers or a majority of the organization’s governing body by any means, e.g., ownership, contract, or operation of law. “Foreign entity” means an organization that fails to meet any part of the “local organization” definition.

Coordination with Other USAID Projects

This project must be a continuation of ongoing USAID assistance provided through the Bio- REDD+/mining component. Other technical offices at USAID are also implementing projects at the local level that, in some cases, may overlap in terms of territory and objectives with this project. The Contractor must engage with other USAID implementing partners to avoid duplication and maximize synergies.

Doing Business with USAID

For additional information on doing business with USAID, please see the following website:

http://www.usaid.gov/doing-business-usaid

END OF SECTION C

http://www.usaid.gov/doing-business-usaid

SECTION D – PACKAGING AND MARKING

D.1 AIDAR 752.7009 MARKING (JAN 1993)

(a) It is USAID…