Mitigation International Consultant on AFOLU

Result of ServiceThe final output for the International Consultant on AFOLU sector will be the contribution on the field of his / her expertise to comply with the project's deliverables: ● Deliverable 1: Consolidated technical report on the review and update of Baseline Data and Indicators for the 32 NDC Targets (2021-2030), including methodological fact sheets for each NDC target. ● Deliverable 2: Validated technical document on Baseline Studies for potential new sectors and proposal for NDC 3.0 Targets ● Deliverable 3: Detailed report on the review and analysis of NDC Targets with a Gender Inclusivity Perspective ● Deliverable 4.1: Report on the alignment of NDC Targets with GHG Emission Data by Sector (according to IPCC Methodology). ● Deliverable 4.2: Report of the updated Climate Change Monitoring System and recommendations ● Deliverable 5: Consolidated Document and Final Proposal for NDC 3.0 7-month contract. The consultant is expected to work from home and have regular calls with the Ministry of Environment and Water and the Plurinational Authority of Mother Earth (APMT) of Bolivia. Each payment will be disbursed upon deliverables and invoices duly approved by the Project Manager. The final payment will require a final evaluation duly signed by the Project Manager. PHASE 1: Review and update of Baseline Data and Indicators ● Project Outputs: o Validation of Baseline Data and Indicators for the 32 NDC Targets (2021-2030) o Engagement of key stakeholders, including sub-national governments ● Consultant Activities: o Support the local team in the identification of stakeholders and sub-national governments related to AFOLU sectors to be validated by APMT. In the case of sub-national governments, identification will include mapping key roles, resources, and responsibilities. o Review of the collected updated baseline data for the AFOLU sectors, and the review and adjustment of current indicators and targets, including methodological fact sheets for each target. o Support the Local team in the preparation of the key stakeholders’ consultation and sub-national governments' engagement: both content and logistics for the on-site workshops. PHASE 2: Baseline Studies for Potential New Sectors and Proposal for NDC 3.0 Targets ● Project Outputs: o New sectors with targets for NDC 3.0 o Institutional diagnosis for these sectors, including engagement of key stakeholders, including sub-national governments o Investment plan necessary to achieve the new targets and validate it by the different institutions involved, including the private sector ● Consultant Activities: o Collaborate with local team and expert at UNEP-CCC in the identification of new sectors and proposals for NDC 3.0 o Analyze Baseline Studies for updated NDC 3.0 targets in the AFOLU sector o Provide support to the UNEP-CCC financial experts to develop an investment plan PHASE 4: GHG Emissions Targets ● Project Outputs: o GHG emissions reduction targets for the NDC 3.0 o Updated monitoring and reporting system ● Consultant Activities: o Review of the GHG emission data from the sources used for the First Biennial Transparency Report (BTR1) for the AFOLU sector and identify and collect any missing data necessary to be collected for the modelling. o Develop the FAO tool GHG-DM models (Greenhouse Gas Data Management) and other modelling toolboxes for the AFOLU sector in Bolivia. o Deliver the necessary training on FAO tool models (EX-ACT or NEXT) to government teams. o Identify from previous activities the NDC targets from the AFOLU sector that directly contribute to emission reductions and propose monitoring mechanisms for each of them o Contribute with UNEP-CCC experts with the data collection necessary to update the monitoring and reporting module of the existing Climate Change Monitoring System (SMTCC) PHASE 5: Validation and Consolidation ● Project Output: o Updated and validated NDC 3.0 ● Consultant Activities: o Work closely with all other project consultants, to finalize the information in the NDC 3.0, ensuring that the AFOLU-related targets and indicators are accurately documented both for mitigation and adaptation. o Support the Project Manager and UNEP-CCC team to elaborate a concrete implementation and communication strategy, including all the national circumstances. International travel will not be required for this consultancy. Work LocationRemote (home based) Expected duration7 months Duties and ResponsibilitiesBolivia has requested support for the revision and update of its NDC targets, framed within the country’s commitment to the Paris Agreement. The need to review the 32 NDC targets (2021-2030) arises in response to new challenges and opportunities identified in the agriculture, water, energy, and forestry sectors, along with the inclusion of other key sectors such as waste and industry. This update ensures that Bolivia upholds its international commitments while strengthening its capacity for adaptation and mitigation in the face of climate change. Bolivia expresses a holistic vision in their approach towards interventions to face the climate crisis (articulating a focus on integrating joint mitigation, adaptation, losses and damages, and integral development of the country under one umbrella). However, to maximize effectiveness in the setting of achievable and ambitious targets, and for the identification of viable indicators to track progress towards achieving these targets, an effective local connection between government, local stakeholders and UNEP-CCC’s team is needed. Throughout UNEP's work, the Paris Agreement on Climate Change marks a turning point to an emerging climate regime that brings all the states and actors together to a new global platform to address the growing risks to our planet. According to IPCC reports, warming in the climate system is unequivocal, as is human influence. At a global level, Bolivia is among the countries most affected by the impacts of climate change throughout its territory and in its cultural, social, productive, energy, and industrial structure. The climate crisis poses high risks for human, economic, social, productive, and natural systems, and the negative ecological, economic, and social impacts are expected to be exacerbated. According to the 2021 Global Climate Risk Index (CRI), Bolivia is the tenth most vulnerable country globally, considering the impacts of extreme climate events and associated socioeconomic data. Historically, Bolivia has been exposed to floods and droughts. Approximately four out of 10 people live in flood-prone plots, and more than 16% of the population live in areas at risk of drought. During the last decade, Bolivia’s weather patterns have undergone significant changes: extreme rainfall, floods, landslides, and droughts have pushed the poorest and most marginalized communities beyond their ability to respond and have significantly affected the state of watersheds and other climate-sensitive landscapes. Poverty persists at 55% and is much higher in rural areas than in urban areas at 31%, concentrated in the Altiplano and Valles. Poverty can be attributed to poor access to land and services, both social and productive, and the marginalization of women in organizations and restrictions on women's activities outside the home. Women continue to have less access to decision-making, training, and other services despite their growing role in production. Despite the confluence of the climate crisis and the socioeconomic conditions of the country, Bolivia has made efforts to advance towards a more comprehensive development with a growth in annual public investment in the last 14 years from 629 (2005) to 3,769 million US dollars annually (2019), highlighting that there is a more significant international commitment to confront the climate crisis, including managing losses and damages. Additionally, Bolivia has committed to reducing its carbon emissions and increasing its climate resilience by updating its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), which maintains the characteristic ambition of the first document and commits Bolivia to take actions aligned with a trajectory consistent with the global goal of limiting the increase in global average temperature to 1.5 °C, with climate justice in the framework of the principles of equity and common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capacities, in light of national circumstances. At the same time, the actions resulting from the contributions raised in the update of the NDCs will increase the country's adaptive capacity, strengthen its resilience, and reduce its vulnerability to the climate crisis. The NDC update also includes a commitment to greater transparency in monitoring the proposed adaptation, mitigation, and implementation goals. Through the Plurinational Authority of Mother Earth (APMT, given its acronym in Spanish), Bolivia is prioritizing efforts for the revision and update of the country’s NDC targets. The need to review the 32 NDC targets (2021-2030) arises in response to new challenges and opportunities identified in the agriculture, water, energy, and forestry sectors, along with the inclusion of key sectors such as waste and industry. This update ensures that Bolivia upholds its international commitments while strengthening its capacity for adaptation and mitigation in the face of climate change. By updating the baseline data and indicators, Bolivia strengthens its ability to measure and monitor progress more accurately, contributing to the coherence between national policies. Planning instruments and the Long-Term Low Emission Development Strategy (LT-LEDS) are currently under development. In this regard, the goal is to leverage existing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions modelling analyses and identified mitigation actions, ensuring that the NDC 3.0 targets are both realistic and achievable, while maximizing the efficiency of mitigation actions. This strategic integration between NDC 3.0 and LT-LEDS will enable the identification of synergies and opportunities for efficiency, strengthening both the planning and implementation process, avoiding duplication, and enhancing national efforts towards low-emission development. Furthermore, the integration of a gender perspective ensures that climate policies are inclusive and equitable, aligning with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and international demands for social and climate justice. Similarly, by aligning the NDC targets with the sectoral greenhouse gas (GHG) inventories following the IPCC methodology, Bolivia improves its technical capacity to report progress transparently, ensuring greater alignment with international monitoring and reporting requirements. Finally, the inclusion of new sectors and the alignment of targets with climate finance reinforces NDC 3.0, facilitating investment in concrete mitigation and adaptation projects, and promoting greater climate ambition at both national and subnational levels. This contributes to the strategic alignment between national low-emission development commitments and the goals of the international community. Considering the above, UNEP and the government of Bolivia, through the APMT, designed the project “Enhancement of NDC (NDC 3.0)” for the Partnership Action Fund (PAF), funded by the NDC Partnership (Nationally Determined Contributions Partnership). The fund supports NDC enhancement and implementation by reinforcing technical expertise and capacities to address gaps in developing country members. The PAF will complement the NDC Partnership's implementing and development partners' existing support offerings to catalyze further climate action. Therefore, this project will support the update of the country's NDCs to include additional prioritized sectors to the current four: energy, water, forests, and agriculture, as well as increasing ambition, including gender perspective and defining GHG targets for all the measures within the NDC. In this context, the project may regroup relevant targets into a functional category based on the AFOLU approach (Agriculture, Forestry, and Other Land Use), as commonly used in IPCC reporting, without altering the original structure of Bolivia’s NDCs. This optional classification would facilitate technical analysis and modeling. Although Bolivia’s NDC targets are not originally organized under the AFOLU category, the forestry and agriculture sectors correspond to key components of AFOLU according to the IPCC classification. Therefore, it is technically viable to regroup these targets under a functional AFOLU category to enhance the clarity of the analysis while maintaining consistency with the original NDC framework. This approach would enable a more integrated assessment of the AFOLU sector’s contributions in the NDC update process, facilitating the identification of synergies and efficiency opportunities in both mitigation and adaptation actions. For transparency and consistency, each deliverable may explicitly document how forests and agriculture—officially part of AFOLU under IPCC guidelines—are being addressed as functional subsets within the analysis. In this sense, UNEP is recruiting different local experts in Bolivia and a local coordinator to spearhead the execution of the local activities and support the coordination of all activities between the local team, the government and the Project Manager and Sr. Advisors at UNEP-CCC. The International Consultant AFOLU will report to the Project Manager and the Local Coordinator and will work in close collaboration with the Ministry of Environment and Water and APMT located in La Paz, Bolivia. The consultancy is product-based and allows for a hybrid work model, enabling the local coordinator to work remotely while participating in in-person activities such as meetings and stakeholder engagements as required. This arrangement will be coordinated and approved by the Project Manager and the Director of the Mitigation Mechanism of the APMT. The international Consultant AFOLU will provide technical support in the updating process of Bolivia´s NDC 3.0, in line with the national roadmap and in coordination with the Ministry of Environment and Water, APMT, the national consultant team, UNEP-CCC, and relevant sectoral actors. Although the overall duration of the assignment will be from May to October 2025, the critical phase of NDC development must be completed by August 2025, as established by the MMAyA, which is leading the process. Qualifications/special skills● Bachelor’s degree in environmental management, Agronomy, Public Administration, Engineering, Environmental Sciences, Economics, Political Science, or a related field (Required). ● Postgraduate degree (Masters) in Geographic Information Science and Systems, environmental management, Engineering, Environmental Sciences, Political Science, or a related field (Desirable). ● Minimum seven (7) years of relevant experience with a master’s degree (or nine (9) years with bachelor) on climate change issues, mitigation and MRV systems under the enhanced transparency framework of the Paris Agreement, working in Latin-American countries, focusing on the AFOLU sector (required). ● Minimum four (4) years of relevant experience in planning, implementing, and/or monitoring development initiatives, policies, and programs related to climate change and/or actions for NDC (Required). ● Having been linked to the formulation and/or monitoring of Nationally Determined Contributions is a strong advantage. ● Minimum two (2) years of relevant experience in modelling emission reduction scenarios for the AFOLU sector using FAO or equivalent tool GHG-DM (NEXT is preferred) (Required). ● Adaptation experience and expertise will be an asset. ● Demonstrated analytical capacity to contribute to developing technical products related to climate change planning and financing (Required). ● General knowledge about baseline and mitigation scenarios, their preparation, and emissions calculation systems (Required). ● In-depth knowledge of Bolivia's climate change regulatory and planning framework, including processes and initiatives at the national and local levels (Required). ● Experience working with the public institutions in Bolivia related to climate change planning (Desirable). ● Demonstrated experience in preparing policy and strategy reports for national governments and in the technical review of national reports and relevant international documents (Required). Languages● Fluency in Spanish (Required). ● Confident in English (Required). Additional InformationNot available. No FeeTHE 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.