Data Collection Consultant for Rights-based Conservation Study

The Rights and Resources Initiative (RRI) is a global coalition of more than 150 organizations dedicated to advancing the forest, land, and resource rights of Indigenous Peoples, local communities, Afro-descendant Peoples, and in particular the women within these groups. RRI’s members capitalize on each other’s strengths, expertise, and geographic reach to achieve solutions more effectively and efficiently. RRI leverages the power of its global coalition to amplify the voices of local peoples and proactively engage governments, multilateral institutions, and private sector actors to adopt institutional and market reforms that support the realization of rights.

RRI is coordinated by the Rights and Resources Group (RRG), a non-profit organization based in Washington, DC.

Background

The adoption of the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) opened new opportunities and risks for ensuring that its target to effectively conserve 30 percent of areas by 2030 (“30x30”) is met in keeping with rights-based and community-led approaches to conservation. Human rights language adopted in the GBF opens significant opportunities to advance rights-based pathways to 30x30, but evidence to date suggests that few countries have legislative tools to support community led conservation or ambition to realize as much in their national biodiversity strategies and action plans (NBSAPs).  

Proponents of rights-based approaches to conservation stress that a large proportion of remaining high-biodiversity areas on earth are held under customary governance by Indigenous Peoples and local communities and achieving area-based conservation at scale will require recognition and support for Indigenous and community rights and leadership. While some see opportunities for area-based targets to spur increased support for IP and LC-led conservation action – and the rights recognition that underpins this – others see risks of rights infringements from expanded targets, particularly considering the wide range of national contexts in which new targets would be implemented.  

Currently, at least 1,375 Mha of Indigenous, Afro-descendant, and local communities’ lands have not yet been recognized, leaving many rightsholders at the risk of land grabs and territorial encroachments for the establishment of protected areas and other fortress conservation measures, as governments’ attempts to meet the 30x30 target. 

Working in collaboration with the Forest Peoples Programme (FPP) and the Indigenous and Community Conserved Areas (ICCA) Consortium, RRI will conduct a study on opportunities and pathways for the advancement of rights-based conservation. The study aims to take advantage of ongoing efforts to update NBSAPs and the forthcoming CBD COP in Colombia to support the realization of community-led conservation through informed advocacy and engagement with policymakers, donors, and the broader conservation. The study will include both a data-driven analysis of enabling conditions for the advancement of rights-based approaches in the global south, as well as a narrative case studies to identify best practices for implementation. 

In the first phase of research, RRI will assess entry points and enabling conditions for the pursuit of community-led conservation, as defined in community-based tenure regimes and other relevant national policies across a sub-sample of 26 countries, including jurisdictions with and without conservation-focused tenure regimes. Selected countries will be drawn from RRI’s depth of rights database comprised of 30 low- and middle-income countries. Based on survey results, a living law approach will be used to identify the key enabling conditions that demonstrate the full range of actors, initiatives, systems, and processes required to implement rights-based conservation.  

Purpose and Scope

To support the forthcoming study, RRI is seeking a Consultant to conduct legal and policy research across 26 countries to understand the barriers, gaps, and pathways to community-led conservation. The Consultant will analyze legal frameworks and policies and assess the extent to which the frameworks allow for rights-based conservation. 

Consultant Activities

The Consultant will:  

1. Analyze the most recent submissions of National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs) to collect national policy data for at least 8 Spanish and Portuguese speaking countries. This will include the following indicators: 

• Human rights-based approaches are acknowledged and prioritized. 
• Activities carried out under Target 3 recognize and respect the rights of IPs, LCs, and ADPs over their traditional territories and ensure their effective participation in establishing, managing, and governing conservation areas. 
• Plans recognize and promote benefit sharing with rightsholders as defined under GBF Target 13 and community livelihood rights and wellbeing as defined in Targets 5, 9, 10, and 11.  
• IPs, LCs, and ADPs are consulted in the development of national plans. 
• IPs, LCs, and ADPs are listed as implementation partners.  
• Plans recognize the customary rights of IPs, LCs, and ADPs to sustainably control, use, and manage wild species per Target 5. 
• Plans recognize customary rights of IPs, LCs, and ADPs to sustainably control, use and manage wild species for the social, economic or environmental benefit per Target 9. 
• Rights under Target 23 & Gender Plan of Action are applied, relative to women and girls, including equal opportunity, capacity and rights, equal participation and leadership at all levels, and equal rights and access to land and natural resources.  

2. Analyze the most recent submission of NBSAPs to collect policy data for at least 26 countries. This will include the following indicators: 

• Rights under Target 22 are recognized and defined, including participation of IPs, LCs, and ADPs in planning and decision-making, access to justice and information, the rights of women and girls, children and youth, and persons with disabilities, and the full protection of environmental human rights defenders.   
• NBSAPs include provisions that may undermine community rights - rather than systematically coding this for all countries, Consultant will collect this in narrative form if researchers come across key provisions in their review.  

3. Building off RRI’s 2015 study on Protected Areas and the Land Rights of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities and using RRI’s Depths of Rights methodology on community-based tenure regimes, analyze legal frameworks to collect data on community rights within area-based conservation for at least 26 countries. This will include the following indicators:  

• Does the country have a legal pathway through which IPs, LCs, and ADPs can pursue and obtain legal recognition for community-led area-based conservation? 
• Do legal frameworks recognize IP, LC, and ADP rights to access, and/or use lands and resources within area-based conservation measures (including protected areas (PAs)and Other Effective area-based Conservation Measures (OECMs))? 
• Do legal frameworks recognize IP, LC, and ADP rights to access, manage, and use lands and resources and exclude third parties within area-based conservation measures (including PAs and OECMs)? 
• Do legal frameworks recognize ownership rights of IPs, LCs, and ADPs to land within area-based conservation measures (including PAs and OECMs) ? 

Consultant Deliverables:

The consultant will complete the following deliverables: 

1. Coded data on NBSAPs for 8 Spanish and Portuguese speaking countries (see Activity 1 above). 
2. Coded data on NBSAPs for 26 countries (see Activity 2 above). 
3. Coded data on community rights within area-based conservation for 26 countries (see Activity 3 above). 

Minimum Requirements

• Strong understanding of the international rights of Indigenous Peoples, local communities, and Afro-descendant Peoples and how they translate to national legal frameworks. 
• Demonstrated experience carrying out national-level legal research and analysis of community-based tenure regimes in Latin America, Africa, and Asia. 
• Strong understanding of the legal frameworks and policies associated with PAs, OECMs, and other forms of area-based conservation. 
• Strong understanding of the Global Biodiversity Framework, its 23 Targets, and the IUCN Protected Area classification system. 
• Professional fluency in English, French, Spanish, and Portuguese is required.  

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience conducting legal research using RRI’s Depth of Rights tenure tracking methodology. 

Budget

The anticipated budget for developing the curriculum is between US$19,200 – 20,300.

Proposed Timeline

Activities will begin as soon as the agreement is executed and continue through August 23, 2024.

Key Contract Terms

This will be a time-based contract. The consultant will be paid based on actual level of effort.  

Proposal Requirements

Please submit your proposal through this website with the documents listed below.

1. Summary of qualifications describing how your background, or that of your team, positions you to deliver the project (no longer than 1.5 pages);
2. Workplan in Gantt format (no longer than 1 page);
3. Financial proposal with all costs to deliver the project including level of effort;
4. Annexes, including CVs for relevant team members (each no longer than 2 pages), and any other relevant information.

The deadline for submission is 11:59pm ET on July 21, 2024

Evaluation Criteria

Proposals will be scored based on the following parameters:

• Understanding of the work (35%) 
• Consultant work history and experience (35%) 
• Costs (30%)