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Request for Expression of Interest to Train Community-Based Extension Assistants and local partners in Human-Chimpanzee Conflict Mitigation Measures and Community Livelihoods Alternatives

Introduction

• Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) are a globally endangered species, with several groups inhabiting the forests of western and northern Uganda. At the national level, chimpanzees were assessed and assigned the EN (A4c) threat category. However, current chimpanzee management and conservation efforts are insufficient, resulting in the loss of suitable habitat connectivity and reduction in the chimpanzee population to levels deemed below viability for most sites. Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and the Chimpanzee Sanctuary and Wildlife Trust, also known as Chimpanzee Trust (CT), are implementing a three-year project titled “Recovery of Eastern chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) by de-risking their suitable habitats in the Albertine rift of Uganda” with funding support from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. The project started in June 2022 and aims to reduce the loss and degradation of suitable habitats for chimpanzee conservation in Uganda’s portion of the Albertine Rift, with Chimpanzee habitat recovery and monitoring activities in selected CFRs and avoided deforestation activities in the neighbouring communities. Activities in the communities are implemented through project officers and Community-Based Extension Workers (CBEWs).

Rationale

• Communities adjacent to chimpanzee habitats often bear conservation costs such as crop destruction, livestock killing, human harm or death, and property destruction, which cause conflict between humans and chimpanzees. Therefore, there is a need to mitigate and/or manage the conflicts. WCS is seeking a consultant to train project officers, community-based extension assistants, and selected local leaders in human-chimpanzee conflict mitigation and development of alternative community livelihood enterprises, who will later train their peers.

The training

• The training’s primary objective is to provide project officers, CBEWs, and selected local leaders with sound knowledge and hands-on experiences in implementing appropriate human-Chimpanzee conflict mitigation measures, focusing on securing community livelihoods.

The Specific Objectives are:

• To determine the training needs/gaps by evaluating causes of human-Chimpanzee conflicts in the project area and the trainers' pre-training knowledge capacity concerning reducing conflict between humans and Chimpanzees.

• To impart practical information and experiences about reducing human-Chimpanzee conflict, especially alternative agriculture-based community livelihoods, to project officers, communitybased extension assistants, and selected local leaders.

• To mentor the project officers, Community-Based Extension assistants, and selected local partners who will effectively train the community members.

Duties and Responsibilities

Reporting to Project Manager, the consultant will carry out the following duties and responsibilities:

• Conduct a review of relevant literature about the subject.

• Conduct a rapid assessment of communities' interventions regarding human-chimpanzee conflicts and the agricultural-based mitigation strategies implemented in and around the project sites.

• Conduct a pre-training evaluation of the targeted trainers to determine their training needs.

• Develop a training program for review by WCS and CT project teams.

• Deliver Training of Trainers on efficient and implementable human-chimpanzee conflict mitigation strategies for project officers, Community-Based Extension assistants, and local partners in the project area.

• Mentor the project officers, Community-Based Extension assistants, and local partners to provide extension services in the field efficiently.

Deliverables

• Submission and presentation of the Inception report within a week’s period of contract signing.

• Rapid assessment report on the nature of current human-chimpanzee conflicts and how the communities mitigate them within the project area.

• Training and mentoring reports for the trainees

• Simple, well-organized training materials that the Community-based assistants shall use as reference materials. WCS will print several copies and provide them to the assistants.

Qualifications, Skills, and Competencies Required The consultant will have:

• At least a master's degree in agriculture, forestry, natural resource management, land use and management, rural development, agricultural extension, or closely related fields.

• At least 10 years of experience participating in the development sector, preferably in forestry and agricultural extension or closely related fields.

• Evidence of experience with respect to developing high-quality training materials, specifically in the agricultural extension sector.

• Experience in mentoring and delivering training pieces to non-technical local people.

• Excellent verbal communication, documentation, and good report-writing skills.

• Duration of the Assignment

• The assignment is expected to be completed within a period of two months after the contract signing. The tentative and estimated time for achieving the expected deliverable is presented in the table below. Kindly note that the selected consultant will mentor the CBAs to deliver effectively in the field starting next year.

Submission of applications

• The interested consultants should submit their technical and financial proposals written in English addressed to:

The Chairperson Procurement Committee,

Wildlife Conservation Society, Uganda Country program

P.O Box 7487,

Kampala-Uganda

and submitted by email ONLY to wcsuganda@wcs.org with copies to gnangendo@wcs.org and mnyago@wcs.org no later than 5 pm on Tuesday, October 31st, 2023.

• The subject line should be: “Expression of Interest to train CBAs and local partners.”

• Kindly note that WCS and CT reserve the right to accept or reject any proposals.

• If you don’t hear from WCS by Friday, November 10th, 2023, consider your expression of interest unsuccessful.