UNDP

Background

The Government of Zimbabwe, through the Ministry of Environment, Climate, Tourism and Hospitality Industry (MECTHI), in partnership with the UNDP, is implementing a 6-year GEF funded project entitled “Strengthening Biodiversity and Ecosystems Management and Climate-Smart Landscapes in the Mid to Lower Zambezi Region of Zimbabwe,” known locally as the Zambezi Valley Biodiversity Project (ZVBP). The project is implemented under a National Implementation Modality (NIM) where MECTHI is the Implementing Partner. This is a child project being implemented under a global parent programme entitled “Global Partnership on Wildlife Conservation and Crime Prevention for Sustainable Development.” The project seeks to address multiple threats to biodiversity and sustainable community development in the Lower Zambezi which include poaching and associated wildlife trade, retaliatory killing of wildlife, deforestation, and associated land degradation due to unsustainable agriculture and firewood consumption, and uncontrolled veld fires. The Zimbabwe project is therefore a multifocal area project whose objective is to promote an integrated landscape approach to managing wildlife resources, carbon and ecosystem services in the face of climate change in the protected areas and communal lands of the Mid to Lower Zambezi Regions of Zimbabwe. The project has 4 components namely: Component 1. Strengthening capacity and governance frameworks for integrated wildlife and woodland management and wildlife/forest crime enforcement in Zimbabwe; Component 2. Strengthening Zimbabwe's PA estate and CAMPFIRE Wildlife Conservancies in areas of global BD significance; Component 3. Mainstreaming BD and ES management, and climate change mitigation, into the wider landscape; and Component 4. Knowledge Management, M&E and Gender Mainstreaming

One of the outputs of Component 1 of the project is to review and update the national policy and regulatory framework in accordance with the new Zimbabwe Constitution and national development priorities. The policies and legislation to be reviewed include the National Wildlife Policy, the Parks and Wildlife Act, and forest legislation in accordance with National Forest Policy (2017).

The Zimbabwe Wildlife Policy was launched in 1992. The drafting of the new Zimbabwe Wildlife Policy has been necessitated by the need to align it to the new Constitution and also incorporate new and emerging issues. Land tenure and management of wildlife in the country, for example, have changed over the past two decades. One of the activities of the recently launched Zimbabwe National Development Strategy 1 (2021-2025) is to align policies and legislation for wildlife management with the constitution. The NDS1 proposes the creation of community wildlife conservancies and partnerships as one of strategies to achieve improved status of Protected Areas. Cases of human wildlife conflict have increased as some communities have settled close to traditional wildlife areas. Management of human-wildlife conflict and other emerging issues should therefore be incorporated in the reviewed policy.

The ZVPB will support this alignment through implementation of Component 1 of the project. UNDP therefore seeks the services of a consultant to lead the process of reviewing the Zimbabwe Policy for Wildlife.

Purpose of Assignment

The purpose of this assignment is to review the Zimbabwe National Wildlife Policy and align it with the new Zimbabwe Constitution and incorporate emerging issues. The Policy must also incorporate guidance on management of human-wildlife conflict in Zimbabwe.

Duties And Responsibilities

The consultant will be responsible for the following outputs and related activities:

Inception Phase Report

Develop a detailed approach, methodology, and detailed action plan for the Policy Development process.

Conduct a detailed Analysis to establish current situation, gaps and identify Policy Priorities/Recommendations

Taking into account the current Policy for Wildlife, and the Chinhoyi Report; carry out analyses to identify gaps in the current wildlife policy. The analysis should take into consideration the current situation in the country, emerging issues, risks and threats to the sector, changes in land tenure and the rights of communities in wildlife management;

Conduct a stakeholder analysis with a view to identify roles, interest and influence and to guide the stakeholder consultation and possibly inform the policy implementation framework;

Review of current body of knowledge generated from research and science and identify policy pointers emerging to ensure a science/evidenced based policy review;

Review regional policies and best practices to inform the priorities under the new policy;

Analysis of the other relevant national policies and regional and international obligations under relevant MEAs and treaties for possible synergies and realignment requirements;

Conduct analysis of human-wildlife conflict issues in Zimbabwe. The analysis should suggest policy guidance and solutions for striking a balance between conservation priorities and the needs of people who live in areas experiencing encounters or intercations with wildlife;

Conduct analysis of the current policy to identify gaps and opportunities to align to the new Zimbabwe Constitution;

Conduct an analysis of the status of capture fisheries and fisheries management in Zimbabwe.

Draft Policy for wildlife incorporating human-wildlife conflict management

Draft the Policy for Wildlife based on the analysis.

Conduct stakeholder consultations on draft Policy for Wildlife and Validation

The draft Policy for Wildlife will be presented to the Ministry of Environment, Climate, Tourism and Hospitality Industry and UNDP. Comments from this presentation will be incorporated into the draft report before being presentation to relevant stakeholders for validation.

Submit final draft of Policy for Wildlife

The consultant we revise the draft and incorporate comments from the stakeholder consultation and validation meetings. In addition to the Policy Document, the consultant is expected to submit raw data, reports and annexes as required by UNDP

The consultant will work under the guidance of designated officers in the MECTHI and the ZPWMA, in close consultation with the Head of PRECC Unit and the Project Manager.

The duration of the assignment is 60 days, and the work must be completed within 4 calendar months.

Competencies

Corporate Competencies

Demonstrates integrity by modelling the UN’s values and ethical standards;

Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;

Treats all people fairly without favoritism.

Functional Competencies

Judgement/Decision-making

Strong technical skills and analytical capacities, sound judgment;

Strong technical problem-solving skills;

Ability to understand and establish priorities and work by objectives.

Teamwork

Ability to work in a team and establish effective working relationships with people from different nationalities and cultural backgrounds;

Ability to work under stress and work overtime when required;

Self-Management and Emotional intelligence;

Conflict Management/Negotiating and resolving Disagreements;

Appropriate and Transparent Decision Making, builds strong relationships with clients, focuses on impact and result for the client and responds positively to feedback;

Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude;

Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexities.