The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is the leading global environmental authority that sets the global environmental agenda, promotes the coherent implementation of the environmental dimension of sustainable development within the United Nations system and serves as an authoritative advocate for the global environment. Its mandate is to coordinate the development of environmental policy consensus by keeping the global environment under review and bringing emerging issues to the attention of governments and the international community for action.
UNEP’s Ecosystems Division works with international and national partners, providing technical assistance and capacity development for the implementation of environmental policy, and strengthening the environmental management capacity of developing countries and countries with economies in transition. UNEP’s Ecosystems Division engages with governments and other partners to develop and promote ecosystem-based solutions for sustainable development.
This position is in the Biodiversity, People and Landscapes Unit of the Ecosystems Division and will contribute to the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, Multi-Country Mountain Flagship Project, reporting to the Programme Management Officer in liaison with the UN Decade Multi-Country Mountain Flagship Focal Point for the Virunga Region. The Multi-country Mountain Flagship (UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration) showcases initiatives in three diverse regions across 5 countries (Kyrgyzstan, Rwanda, Serbia and Uganda) that are making mountain ecosystems more resilient so they can support both people and unique upland wildlife.
Uganda and Rwanda have protected the mountain habitats of endangered mountain gorillas, working closely with local communities. That work has helped gorilla numbers double in the last 30 years, and supported a vibrant tourism industry, which has created economic opportunities for local communities. Alongside the protection of prime gorilla habitat, restoration work in the region has included the rehabilitation of more than 1,000 ha in Uganda’s Mgahinga Gorilla National Park. Exotic trees have been removed so that native species can return, and there are plans to restore more habitat in the mountain gorilla range.
Duties and Responsibilities: Under the guidance of the Programme Management Officer in liaison with the UN Decade Multi-Country Mountain Flagship Focal Point for the Virunga Region, the consultant will carry out the following activities:
• Literature and project review of restoration and in the GVL mountains (Uganda and Rwanda); • Identification and analysis of restoration and EbA best practices;
• Identified barriers and lessons learned from interventions that underperformed or lacked sustainability;
• Developed criteria for prioritizing solutions for upscaling, including ecological impact, cost-efficiency, social inclusion, and co-benefits, and replicability in different contexts of the GVL;
• Comprehensive report including: Annotated catalogue of best practices and case studies, Prioritized list of solutions for scaling based on validation by stakeholders and Recommendations for investment, policy support, and capacity development; The consultant is also responsible for delivering/submitting the above mentioned deliverables via email to the supervisor in editable documents (except for final products) for review and input by the project team.
Reporting lines: The consultant will report to the Programme Management Officer, responsible for the project: “Multi-Country Mountain Flagship” under the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, and outputs delivered by the consultant will be evaluated by the supervisor in liaison with the UN Decade Multi-Country Mountain Flagship Focal Point for the Virunga Region.