Consultant on SFM Practical Implemention in the Province of Quang Nam

SCOPE OF WORK - INDEPENDENT CONSULTANT

A. DAI ORGANIZATION AND VALUES

DAI is a global development company with corporate offices in the United States, the United Kingdom, EU, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Palestine and project operations worldwide. We tackle fundamental social and economic development problems caused by inefficient markets, ineffective governance, and instability. DAI works on the frontlines of global development. Transforming ideas into action—action into impact. We are committed to shaping a more livable world.

DAI and its employees are committed to confronting racism and holding ourselves accountable for positive change within the company and in the communities, cultures, and countries in which we live and work.  DAI is committed to attracting and retaining the best employees from all races and backgrounds in our continued effort to become a better development partner.

DAI upholds the highest ethical standards. We are committed to the prevention of sexual exploitation, abuse, and harassment as well as other ethical breaches. All of our positions are therefore subject to stringent vetting and reference checks.

B. PROJECT BACKGROUND

The USAID Sustainable Forest Management Project (the Project) will work with the Government of Vietnam (GVN) to reduce carbon emissions associated with deforestation, the degradation of natural forests, and poor plantation management. The Project will implement a “Green Prosperity” approach that strengthens local communities’ ability to protect their natural resource base and reduce emissions while building a strong foundation for sustainable livelihoods and equitable economic growth.

The Project will work in seven provinces (Lao Cai, Son La, Hoa Binh, Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Quang Tri, Quang Nam) and focus on five objectives:

1. Improve and expand community forest management
2. Increase conservation-friendly enterprises in forest-dependent communities
3. Increase functionality of law enforcement system for forest crimes
4. Improve production forest management practices
5. Mobilize domestic resources for forest management and protection

The Project will be implemented during the period 2020-2025 by DAI in collaboration with RECOFTC and Preferred by Nature as partners, with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) as the counterpart and the Management Board of Forestry Projects (MBFP) as project owner.

C. DESCRIPTION OF CONSULTANCY SERVICE:

I. Background

Under Objective 4 (Improve production forest management practices), there are three main tasks as follows:

1. Increase the Production of Sustainable Timber by Small-Scale Foresters
2. Increase the Demand from Processors for Certified Timber
3. Develop Market Linkages Between Forest Owner and Timber Producers

The growing domestic and international furniture market has been creating huge demand for sawn timber and wood chips while inadequate domestic supply has caused the situation that the importation of timber from abroad has not been well controlled. The sustainable forest management can improve the outputs of current plantation forests and increase the domestic supply of timber products, indirectly decreasing demand for illegal timber products.

Many forest management practices can improve quality and outputs of plantation forests in the project areas. These practices include increasing of plantation rotation cycles to 8 years or more and prevention of clear cutting or burning of vegetation. Prolonging of rotation cycles requires access to improved planting material as well as application of silviculture techniques. The commonly practiced 3 to 4-year harvesting cycle is due to short-term economic factors and risk of storm damage to the plantations. Short-rotation timber products generally have low quality and quantity and are mainly used for production of wood chips or paper products. Longer rotation with fast growth rates over 8 to 10 years will result in high-quality and high value round timber. Small households constitute the majority of production forest owners (mostly Acacia) in Viet Nam.

The Project will implement activities to promote sustainable timber production by small-scale forest owners which will be achieved by improving management and ensuring quality of inputs (e.g. seeds, fertilizers, etc.) by supporting small-scale nurseries to improve production capacity; improving silvicultural practices, including planting density, tending and management suitable for large-dimension, long-rotation timber plantations. Support activities to ensure standardization and application of good plantation management practices, using modern, low cost and user-friendly monitoring tools, and small-scale planters will also be given priority.

The proper technical interventions will help to improve timber volume and quality, and the environmental value of the plantations. Plantation owners need to be more knowledgeable and skilled in SFM. The improved management practices of plantation forests can increase carbon sequestration, expectedly up to 49 tons of CO2 compared to maintaining business as usual.

Quang Nam is one of the 7 project provinces of the Sustainable Forest Management Component of the VFBC project, and had a total production forest area of 180,724.43 hectares in 2021, of which natural production forests made up 72,711.01 hectares while the plantation area made up 108,013.42 hectares. The main impact of Objective 4 of the VFBC project is to achieve 13,200 hectares with improved forest management practices to reduce emission and increase absorption of carbon dioxide, and at least 2,000 hectares of forests that are certified for sustainable forest management.

Based on the above background, to realize the project's targets in Quang Nam province, the Sustainable Forest Management Component implemented by DAI and its partners posted a short-term consultant to implement practice on Sustainable forest management in Quang Nam province. This activity is part of the plan for the fiscal year 2022-2023 and will directly contribute to the following key indicators: ID1 - Number of people trained; ID4- Number of resources mobilized; ID5 - Number of beneficiaries; and ID8 - Number of forest areas (hectares) improved in terms of plantation management (in 11 targets of the Project).

II.  Purpose of the consulting work

Selection consultant to support Objective 4 to carry out field work in the field of silviculture and forest certification in Quang Nam province: Support capacity building for nurseries; Improve sustainable forest management practices (Establishment of households group Sustainable forest management; Organize training on sustainable forest management/certificates for forest owners; Build models of large timber plantations; build / update/implement sustainable forest management plans for groups of households); support monitoring and assessment of silvicultural activities/forest certification.

III. Expected outputs/results

• At least 10 plantation owner groups, with at least 300 households, established and members trained in sustainable forest management practices, forest certification and monitoring;
• Support at least four nurseries to improve the production capacity of high-quality seedling material, sufficient to support planting of an area of 12,000 hectares of local production forests with improved seedling varieties.
• Technical assistance to establish at least 15 hectares of large-timber plantation demonstration sites, of which 10 hectares is designated to transforming small-dimension to large-dimension timber plantation and five hectares is designated to the establishment of new large-dimension timber plantations (in collaboration with other short-term technical consultants and long-term technical staff of the Project).
• At least 100 hectares of Acacia plantations are tended and pruned;
• Sustainable management plans developed and implemented for at least 10 groups of households;

IV. Location

The consultant will be home-based and implement field tasks in the province of Quang Nam.

V. Tasks

The tasks of the consultant shall  implemented in coordination with the Silviculture Specialist and the wider Project team and in cooperation with the FM-certification Short-term Technical Consultants at the provincial level, to ensure alignment of project activities. The tasks that the consultant is expected to conduct will include, but not be limited to, the following:

1. Collect and analyze secondary data, including the reports (1) “Workplan for fiscal year 2022-2023” and “Capacity-building needs assessment for plantation owners and nurseries” and other relevant data and documents on silvicultural techniques, forest certification as well as procedures and regulations on management of farmer groups; Select the most relevant and priority training topics for the participants, specifically on nursery management and high quality seed production, group management and application of silvicultural techniques in plantations; Prepare training materials according to separate training courses if any;
2. Prepare a work plan and an approach to conducting activities and field work, discuss and reach consensus on plan and agenda with the Project’s technical staff (Objective 4 team) and the PPMU of the province before carrying out field activities;
3. Support the establishment/consolidation of 10 groups of acacia plantation owners, with a total of at least 300 households who are acacia plantation owners cooperating with project partners (including Thien Hoang Forestry Company Limited and Agricultural Cooperative, Hiep Thuan);
4. Carry out capacity building for nurseries: organize training, provide planting material and equipment, transfer techniques, manage production and collect information on production and seedling supply from the nurseries that are cooperating with the Project;
5. Conduct training for 10 groups of households, totaling at least 300 people who are either technical staff of project partners or members of plantation owner groups, on silvicultural practices applied to acacia plantations and sustainable forest management certification;
6. Practical assistance in the establishment of 15 hectares of large-dimension timber demonstration site (10 hectares of transformed forest; 5 hectares of new plantations)
7. Practical support for plantation owners in tending (pruning) of at least 100 ha of acacia plantations;
8. Prepare a report on the implementation of the consultancy.

VI. Anticipated Level of Effort (LOE) and Deliverables

The employment contract has a duration of six months and may be extended, depending on work performance, availability of budget and work demand.

The number of working days shall depend on the implementing of tasks mentioned in Section V above. The working location is Quang Nam province.

The estimated LOE for this assignment is 90 person-days (80 working days + 10 travel days), starting as soon as possible. The required deliverables are listed in the table below. The final report, including deliverables, must be submitted in accordance with the deadlines listed in the table below.

VII.  Qualifications

• Vietnamese National
• Have a bachelor’s degree or higher in forestry or other relevant areas
• Have at least 5 years of practical experience working with the application of silvicultural techniques and sustainable forest management
• Have experience in planning and developing sustainable forest management plans; have experience in conducting surveys and developing sustainable forest management plans in Quang Nam province
• Have skills in the preparation of technical guidelines, presentation, analysis, and report writing as well as presentation of research results.
• Have experience in working with local partners and farmers, especially in Quang Nam province is an advantage
• Have skills and experience in working with local partners and plantation owners
• Have Vietnamese proficiency in speaking and writing. Communicable English is an advantage.
• Candidates from the Quang Nam Province are encouraged to apply

VIII. How to apply and requested documents

Interested candidates are requested to submit:

• A CV in English or Vietnamese.
• A cover letter in English indicating why they are suitable for this position along with salary expectations and current contact details of at least three references.
• Scanned copy of relevant degrees.

Application shall be done by sending an email to our recruitment email at [email protected] [1] / [email protected] [2]

Please quote the position title in the subject line: “Candidate’s full name _ Consultant on SFM practical implementation in Quang Nam province”

Deadline for application: 5.00 p.m. (Hanoi time), 31 August 2022

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To learn more about DAI, please visit our website: https://www.dai.com/  [3]

DAI is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer with a commitment to diversity. DAI does not discriminate in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy and gender identity), national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, parental status, veteran status, or other non-merit factor.