Somros Baitong RFI.pdf

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI)

RFI Number: RFI-442-23-001 Issuance Date: October 14, 2022 Responses Due Date: October 28, 2022 at 4:00 pm, Phnom Penh time

USAID Somros Baitang Activity

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID)/ Cambodia hereby issues an RFI in regard to a new planned activity, “USAID Somros Baitang”. This RFI intends to allow stakeholders and interested organizations to provide information and suggestions on the upcoming activity, and explore innovative approaches to better partner with international and local actors to respond to Cambodia's needs and meet USAID/Cambodia's development objectives. The anticipated award value is in the range of $10- $25 million.

DISCLAIMER

This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes and is part of USAID’s market research.

This is not a Request for Proposals (RFP)/Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) and is not to be construed as a commitment by the U.S. Government to issue an RFP/NOFO. Responses to this RFI shall not be portrayed as offers and will not be accepted by the U.S. Government to form a binding agreement.

Issuance of this notice does not constitute an award commitment on the part of the U.S. Government, nor does it commit the U.S. Government to pay for any costs incurred in the preparation of comments.

Responders are solely responsible for all expenses associated with responding to this RFI.

Responses to this RFI are strictly voluntary and 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 an RFP or NOFO is issued, it will be announced on the Sam.gov or Grants.gov website separately at a later date, and all interested parties must respond to that RFP or NOFO separately from any response to this announcement.

Businesses should identify any proprietary information in their responses. Proprietary materials will neither be distributed, nor discussed with any other organization. Information submitted in response to this notice will be used at the discretion of the U.S. Government1. Further, the information submitted will remain confidential insofar as permitted by law, including the Freedom of Information and Privacy Acts.

INSTRUCTIONS

Reponses (comments, suggestions, and enhancements) to this RFI are due to the Office of Acquisition and Assistance (OAA) at the identified e-mail addresses below by October 28, 2022 at 4:00 pm, Phnom Penh time. Interested parties must provide one (1) electronic copy of their response in Microsoft Word or Adobe Acrobat format. Please email responses to Ms. Samsak Sao at ssao@usaid.gov and to Mr. Francis Hall at fhall@usaid.gov with the subject title “Responses to USAID Somros Baitang Activity”. RFI submission should be in English language.

1 FAR 52.215-3 Request for Information or Solicitation for Planning Purposes (Oct 1997) mailto:ssao@usaid.gov mailto:fhall@usaid.gov

SUMMARY ACTIVITY DESCRIPTION

Country Context

Cambodia’s extensive forest resources include one of the largest areas of contiguous and intact forest in Southeast Asia, the largest percentage of primary forest remaining among Lower Mekong countries, and important mangroves in coastal areas. The Mekong and Tonle Sap River systems are the second most biodiverse inland water systems in the world. These rich natural resources and the biodiversity they contain are threatened by development activities and natural and climatic disasters.

Unsustainable natural resource use is degrading Cambodia’s biologically sensitive areas and valuable ecosystem services. Many natural resource management challenges persist across the country including illegal logging, wildlife trafficking, bushmeat consumption, improper waste management, land use conversion, infrastructure development, and the degradation of coastal mangrove forests. Snaring is a key driver of wildlife loss nationwide. The government lacks capacity, budget, and political will to address these challenges. Additionally, there are significant concerns about the diminished flood plains around Tonle Sap lake and the conservation of biodiversity nationwide including wild elephants. All of these threats are exacerbated by the impacts of climate change.

Even given these significant threats, opportunities exist to conserve Cambodia’s diverse habitats and protect critical ecosystem services that support livelihoods, health, and economic development.

Cambodia’s success in selling Reduced Emission from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) carbon credits on the voluntary market is commendable, and it may be possible to expand this market to include blue carbon. Increased community involvement in the sustainable management of natural resources has been shown to improve livelihoods and conserve resources. Wildlife populations can recover if poaching is stopped, human wildlife conflict is reduced, and steps are taken to provide biodiversity corridors between existing protected areas.

Guiding Principles

USAID Cambodia's environment program works closely with the Royal Government of Cambodia, international and local non-governmental organizations, local communities, expert line ministries and local authorities to manage and protect nearly three million hectares of biodiversity corridors and core conservation areas. Livelihood development that addresses the needs of natural resource dependent communities living in and around protected areas is a central component of all USAID Cambodia’s environment activities. Direct grants to Community Based Organizations (CBOs) target the needs of marginalized populations, give local ownership of interventions, strengthen traditional use rights, improve Indigenous community engagement, legitimize CBOs with local governments, and generate social accountability in natural resources management. Private sector engagement including REDD+ development and carbon credit sales have been shown to be a successful approach that could be expanded. Social and behavior change communications (SBCC) campaigns are a way to raise awareness, generate public support and change critical behaviors to support biodiversity conservation and environmental stewardship.

Objectives

USAID Cambodia’s environment program seeks to conserve biodiversity and reduce greenhouse gas emissions from land use change. The domestic and international illegal wildlife trade is widespread as Cambodia remains a source and transit point for wildlife and wildlife parts. Deforestation and land use change continue at an alarming rate especially in areas of remaining primary forest. The new Somros Baitang activity will reduce key threats to biodiversity, forests and sustainable natural resource management through the following objectives:

● Improved livelihoods development including community-based ecotourism,

● Vigorously exploring the possibility of generating “blue carbon" credits for use by the coastal and riparian communities, and

● Reducing human wildlife conflict, snaring, and bushmeat consumption through SBCC and other appropriate programming.

USAID seeks to:

1) Solicit information on the following specific questions to inform the design of this new planned activity. Please ensure comments are concise and specific to the information requested.

• Wildlife trafficking and the consumption of bushmeat are serious threats to Cambodia’s biodiversity including several endangered species. How can activities be designed to thwart this profitable illegal traffic in wild animals?

• The mangrove forests along Cambodia's coast and inland waterways serve an important role in preserving the coast and its habitats for animal and sealife. What scope is there for generating blue carbon credits from protecting and preserving Cambodia's sea coast, inland waterways and other potential sources of blue carbon?

• Littering and waste collection are huge problems in many areas of Cambodia which compromise efforts to implement environmental conservation. What approaches are there for dealing with this waste management challenge?

• Behaviors toward the environment and the management of natural resources need to be improved.

What suggestions are there for changing the behavior of community members with regards to their natural surroundings and introducing educational courses on environmental protection?

• Are there any additional key focus interest areas USAID/Cambodia should consider for this activity?

2) A brief statement of interest and capability statements from interested organizations to include:

• Name, e-mail address and address of organization and primary point of contact (name, title, and e-mail address)

• General organization information

• Statement of capabilities (including staff and technical resources)