Terms of Reference. For

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1 Terms of Reference For Final Evaluation of the project Sustainable fisheries management for improved livelihoods of the coastal fishing community in Tyre Implementing Organisation: IUCN (and ADR) Project Start: 1 st September, 2013 Project Duration: 4 years Location: Tyre, Lebanon For this mandate, Drosos Foundation seeks to hire a consultant to design, plan and conduct the final evaluation of this four-year project. The terms of reference and details of the mandate are outlined in the document below. The evaluation is planned to be carried out from October Introduction The partners of the project are: 1.1. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) The IUCN created in 1948 and has since grown to include more than 1000 member states and NGOs in its network. The IUCN s mission is to influence globally authorities and communities so to respect the integrity and diversity of nature and to implement strategies towards the protection and conservation of their country s biodiversity. The organisation is committed to ensuring that natural resources are handled in a sustainable and ecological manner. IUCN with its headquarters in Gland, Switzerland, is the biggest global network in the field of nature and conservation, active in 62 countries. The IUCN acts as project manager of the Drosos project, working in cooperation with the Association for the Development of Rural Capacities (ADR), who manage the economic empowerment component of the project. The Association for the Development of Rural Capacities (ADR) is a Lebanese NGO with its headquarters in Sour. ADR was founded in 1998 with the goal of supporting the most vulnerable population in the South of Lebanon. ADR has four main focuses of work: Micro-credit, vocational training, sustainable agriculture and social projects Donor/Financial Partner - Drosos Foundation Drosos Foundation is committed to enabling disadvantaged people to live a life of dignity. The Foundation is active in the following areas: fighting poverty and its consequences, promoting health, supporting ill and suffering people, facilitating the access to education and knowledge, stimulating creative activities of young people, protecting the environment. Working both in Switzerland and abroad, Drosos Foundation places a clear emphasis on international engagements. The geographical priority in terms of the Foundation s commitment is the Near and Middle East and North Africa. The Foundation develops and supports projects that have a direct bearing on improving the living conditions of particular groups of people, seeking a long-term impact of its projects. 1

2 Drosos Foundation was established in Zurich in late 2003, and has been operational since the beginning of The Foundation is a charitable non-profit organisation; it is ideologically, politically and religiously independent. 2. Summary of the Project The coastal fishermen of Tyre and their families are among the poorest of in Southern Lebanon. The South Governorate, to which Tyre Caza belongs, is the second poorest Governorate, with a 42% prevalence of overall poverty. Within this context, the fishing community forms an economically, socially and culturally distinct, highly specialized but also highly impoverished subgroup, which is stable across generations. This community is organized in the Tyre Fishermen s Syndicate, which operates along the entire coast of the Caza. Climate change and invasive species are beyond the control of the communities, while pollution and habitat destruction need to be addressed jointly by coastal municipalities and businesses, resource users and central government. However, there is strong evidence that the extent and technology of the fishermen themselves have been contributing to impoverishing stocks. The strong contribution of the lack of an overall sustainable management regime to over exploitation, reduced catches and impoverished livelihoods mean that the fishermen themselves could hold an important key to improving their situation. The members of the Tyre Fishing Syndicate are largely aware of this, and are willing to address the root causes of the breakdown in their coastal fisheries. The goal of the project is: To assist the members of the Tyre Fishing Syndicate and their families to jointly improve their livelihoods through sustainable fisheries management, better processing/marketing and supplementary income generation The Project Beneficiaries The main beneficiaries of the project are the members of the Tyre Fishing Syndicate and their families (approx. 400 families/2,000 persons in Tyre itself plus a limited number of additional members in nearby communities). Secondary beneficiaries are the relevant staff of the Tyre Office of the Ministry of Agriculture involved in the enforcement of fisheries regulations, the Council of Municipalities of Tyre Casa, and other State agencies with a mandate for fisheries management/enforcement. These beneficiaries will be enabled to play a more effective role in fisheries governance in Tyre Casa The Project Objectives The project has the following components: (i) Objective 1. Livelihood Security & empowerment : Improved livelihood security of fishermen and their families, through sustainable and decentralized governance of natural resources as well as the use of additional income resources families improve their household income by 20 percent by the end of the project through alternative income (micro credit loans). 2

3 - 20 of the fishermen increase their income through the improved fish processing and marketing channels by 30%. (ii) (iii) Objective 2."Tyre Marine Management & Protection": Protected Tyre marine coasts by improving the participatory management decisions and supporting good local governance - A zoning system is established within the Marine Protected Are of Tyre Coast Nature Reserve. Monitoring of the reserve is in place and functioning, including for an additional no-take zone. Objective 3: Sustainable Marine Ecosystem Management : To empower stakeholders on marine management planning and processes for effective and sustainable management of marine ecosystems and livelihood security - The community based governance framework (local governance system for the fisheries of Tyre) is validated by relevant government agencies and applied by the fishermen. - A platform for the enforcement of fisheries legislations and regulations composed of the Syndicate members and relevant government agencies is established. It acts as the steering committee of the project, with regular meetings. - The Fishermen s syndicate is strengthened and generates income through the management of the market and fishing infrastructure (min. USD per year) 3. Evaluation Purpose and Objectives The evaluation carried out in the first phase of the project resulted a new log frame, updating its relevancy (see attached Annex). This final evaluation comes at the end of project implementation (official project end is 31 December, 2016) and will serve (1) to provide recommendations for IUCN and ADR continuing the project s activities and ensuring a long-term sustainable impact. Furthermore, (2) it will serve Drosos Foundation to assess, plan and implement similar projects in the future in a more effective and efficient way. The evaluation will treat the objectives under the following two distinct components: i. Evaluation of the income generation & micro-credit component (Objective 1) ii. Evaluation of the sustainable fisheries management and marine protection component (Objectives 2 & 3). 4. Questions to be addressed by the Evaluation 4.1 Objectives of Component 1: - To what extent was the provision of micro-credit effective in increasing beneficiaries household income through improved fishing conditions. - To what extent was the provision of micro-credit effective in increasing beneficiaries household income through a supplementary source other than through fishing. - What was the main positive/negative impact of loans on the beneficiaries aside from income, (e.g. improved living conditions, indebtedness) and are the effects of increased income durable? 3

4 4.2 Objectives of Component 2: - To what extent has the project contributed to improving the capacity or institutional strength of stakeholders involved (TCNR, Fishermen s syndicate, Municipality, relevant Ministries, coastguard)? - Which activities and project interventions established to manage, monitor and protect Tyre Marine Coasts will be able to continue after project end. Are the stakeholders involved prepared to take over, technically, financially and managerially and if not, for what reason? - How does the institutional framework of government and independent stakeholders affect the level of coordination of members of the Stakeholder platform? What are the challenges faced by individual members that affect the management of the Marine Protected Area? - Are there any recommendations to address these in order to assure the platform s sustainability? 4.4. Strategic questions: - What recommendations can be made regarding guidance to loan beneficiaries, to ensure credit received is used to start businesses adapted and relevant to the local market environment (for this project but also generally)? What type support activities would be useful? - What recommendations can be made regarding the design of projects with two implementing partners to assure coherence and coordination? - To what extent is the revision of objectives during project implementation a useful exercise in adjusting the focus and relevance of the project and what recommendations can be made to ensure that the process is optimal? - The microcredit component will continue after project end. What specific recommendations can be made to better inform how future loans are provided? Are the conditions and criteria of loan disbursement (e.g. average of maturity of 3 years, etc.), appropriate to keep revolving these funds for fishermen and their families in a relevant and sustainable way? 5. Methodology The evaluation shall be participatory. The methodological approach will be designed by the evaluator in coordination with IUCN/ADR and the Drosos Foundation in order to adapt to the requirements and purposes of this assignment, and will include: i. Preparation and preliminary desk study: The evaluator(s) shall study the project documents, the narrative and financial reports to the Drosos Foundation and any other document that might be relevant and provided by IUCN and/or Drosos. ii. Evaluation Plan: The evaluator(s) shall present an evaluation plan to the IUCN and Drosos Foundation two weeks after the start of the mandate. The plan shall cover the following aspects: - Identification of respondents to survey and participants in focus group discussions (including members of fishing community, wives, project partners, Ministries, stakeholder platform members, etc.) 4

5 - Design of survey questionnaire and focus group questions. iii. Project visit & Data Collection: The evaluator(s) are expected to conduct individual interviews and focus group discussions with a sample from all relevant stakeholders. These should include: i) Project partners; ii) Fishermen with and without loans iii) Family members benefitting from the project, ii) Stakeholders: TCNR, Ministry of Environment, Fisheries Union and Syndicate, Coast Guard, Municipality, etc. The evaluator should also visit one stakeholder platform meeting and any other activities held during the data collection period. 6. Responsibilities and qualifications required Drosos Foundation will accept individual applications or applications from a team of two consultants who fulfil the necessary expertise to implement both components. The lead consultant should be able to correspond to the expertise required in component 1. The evaluator(s) are responsible for their own logistical arrangements as well as organising interviews and focus groups with the support from the project partner. The evaluation team should have the following qualifications: i. Required skills: Lead consultant - Experience: 5 to 10 years of demonstrable experience in micro-credit projects and/or development of small business in a development context. - Master degree in economics, business administration or a related field. Required skills: consultant - Experience in the field of natural resource management (preferably water/marine), as well as experience in related assessments, evaluation and analysis. ii. Common skills: - Knowledge of the Lebanese context (knowledge of local government systems is appreciated) - Language: Excellent communication skills in English and Arabic. Good communication and analytical skills. - Good inter-personal and networking skills and experience in working in team environments. - Professional experience in monitoring and evaluation (mid-term, final or postproject evaluations) and impact assessments of projects. - Proven experience with M&E methods and approaches (including quantitative, qualitative and participatory), information analysis and report writing. 5

6 7. Deliverables and Schedule The evaluation shall take place between October and December 2016 according to the tentative schedule below. The offer should include the methodology, a comprehensive work plan with deliverables and detailed budget for the mandate as well as CVs and competences of the evaluation team. Date Task Deliverable 01/10/ Start of contract - Desk review of project document, reports and other relevant documents review by evaluator(s) 15/10/ Mid-term evaluation design, development of draft tools and elaboration of process methodology. - First of two briefing sessions: a first one shall be organized with IUCN and the Drosos Foundation Work plan 10-12/ Field visits - Development of draft report. - Second briefing Drosos 31/01/ Finalization of draft evaluation report and summary Draft report for comment 28/02/ Final report Final report & Drosos Board Summary report The final Evaluation Report in English submitted by 28 February 2017 should include the following: - Executive Summary - Introduction - Presentation of findings - Overall assessment of project implementation - Recommendations - Conclusions - Annexes: A list of consulted stakeholders, key documents, the ToR, surveys, etc.). A summary of the main findings of the evaluation for the Board of the Foundation will be requested with the main report. A template for this shall be provided. 6

7 Deadline for submitting an offer is 31, July Only short-listed applicants will be contacted. Proposals should be submitted via to: - Drosos Lebanon Programme Manager: info@drosos.org Zürich, 7 th July,