National Consultant – Protected Areas

Contract

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Result of Service

Under the overall supervision of the National Project Coordinator for the Early Action Support project, the National Consultant – Protected Areas will assess the current state of protected areas in Montenegro. The National Consultant – Protected Areas, will be responsible for the following: • Collecting and studying all available data on protected areas. • Undertaking a comprehensive analysis of the available data and synthesizing information to assess the current state of protected areas of Montenegro. • Conducting an analysis of the current status protected areas in Montenegro. • Assisting in the organization of at least two workshops to collect and verify all available data and present findings of the analysis. • Drafting the relevant chapters of the updated NBSAP. • Providing inputs to the updated NBSAP summary 1) for policy makers and 2) for public dissemination. The National Consultant will work in collaboration with the other consultants engaged under Montenegro’s Early Action Support Project.

Work Location

Montenegro

Expected duration

3 Months

Duties and Responsibilities

The United Nations Environment Programme 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. Under its Western Balkan portfolio, it facilitates the implementation and execution of numerous projects pertaining to climate change, biodiversity protection, land degradation and other environment-related aspects. The consultant will be engaged for the purposes of providing expertise to a project implemented in Montenegro focused on the preparation of an updated National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP), to align with the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF), executed with support from UNEP’s Early Action Support programme team in Nairobi, Kenya. UNEP’s Early Action Support programme team is currently supporting the execution of the GEF funded project implemented in Montenegro focused on the preparation of the update of Montenegro’s NBSAP. The NBSAP and biodiversity frameworks in Montenegro are not fully aligned with the KMGBF. Furthermore, lessons learned from the last round of updating NBSAPs indicate that challenges persist in terms of non-alignment of national targets with global targets, lack of a financing plan for NBSAP implementation, inadequate implementation due to delays in updating NBSAPs, as well as inadequate monitoring. Alignment will help catalyze implementation of the KMGBF and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and its protocols. There are now only six years remaining for Parties and the global community to achieve the agreed KMGBF targets. Within this context UNEP and the Government of Montenegro are implementing this Early Action Support project, with the specific objective to fast-track readiness and early actions to implement the KMGBF. The project provides financial and technical support to Montenegro as a GEF-eligible Party to the CBD in its work to review and align the national targets, NBSAP, policy frameworks, monitoring frameworks and finance with the KMGBF. Under the overall supervision of the National Project Coordinator for the Early Action Support project, the National Consultant – Protected Areas will assess the current state of protected areas in Montenegro. The National Consultant – Protected Areas, will be responsible for the following: • Collecting and studying all available data on protected areas. • Undertaking a comprehensive analysis of the available data and synthesizing information to assess the current state of protected areas of Montenegro. • Conducting an analysis of the current status protected areas in Montenegro. • Assisting in the organization of at least two workshops to collect and verify all available data and present findings of the analysis. • Drafting the relevant chapters of the updated NBSAP. • Providing inputs to the updated NBSAP summary 1) for policy makers and 2) for public dissemination. The National Consultant will work in collaboration with the other consultants engaged under Montenegro’s Early Action Support Project.

Qualifications/special skills

• Minimum qualification of completion of High school diploma or equivalent is required. An advanced academic degree (Master’s degree) in biodiversity conservation, environmental sciences, ecology, or a similar field, is highly desirable. • For the post advertised, a minimum of at least 5 years of relevant professional experience in the fields of biodiversity, nature conservation assessment, protected areas and related topics is required. • In-depth knowledge of protected areas in Montenegro and its management systems is required. • Familiarity with Montenegro's biodiversity context, national policies and institutional setting, and strategies related to biodiversity conservation is required. • Strong analytical and research skills to study and present available existing data is desirable. • Excellent communication and presentation skills to effectively convey complex concepts and recommendations to diverse stakeholders is desirable. • Experience in capacity building and conducting training sessions on biodiversity-related topics is required.

Languages

For the post advertised, fluency in oral and written English and Montenegrin is required.

Additional Information

Not available.

No Fee

THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.