REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS – RFP
Terms of Reference

CONSULTANCY FOR WILDLIFE SPECIES CONSERVATION
ACTIONS (ELEPHANTS) IN RUVUMA LANDSCAPE

Background

WWF Tanzania (TCO) strives to conserve Africa’s rare and endangered wildlife species, in partnership with the government and other actors. Work has focused in addressing species conservation challenges such as human-wildlife conflict and effects of climate change which inevitably led to exacerbated exploitation and population decline. Among TCO’s focal areas is the Ruvuma Landscape (RLS) comprised of wildlife populations in the Nyerere NP, Selous GR, Mikumi NP and surrounding GCAs and Community WMAs. The network of Protected Areas hosts globally important populations of Elephants, but at occurrence of far below the ecological carrying capacity. Climate change factors such as erratic, poor rains, prolonged droughts, extensive bushfires are key environmental challenges. Concurrently, anthropogenic factors such as IWT (in the form of ivory poaching and illegal bushmeat harvesting), livestock encroachment, human-wildlife conflict and the spread of zoonotic diseases are key issues facing the wellbeing of elephants in the RLS. WWF believes the challenges can best be addressed through the availability of adequate ecological information, and technology to effectively inform/guide management decisions on conservation.

Through the WWF network, TCO has secured funding in support of species conservation in the Ruvuma Landscape in southeastern Tanzania through the species programme for FY 2023/24. WWF Tanzania is seeking for qualified consultants (individuals, firms and institutions) to conduct assignments on elephant population assessments, development of management tools, and training on technological applications for conservation practices in the Selous Niassa Ecosystem (SNE), southern Tanzania. The objectives of the consultancies are to support wildlife management authorities with relevant and timely information, and strengthen community Natural Resource Management for Wildlife Management Areas (WMA) and Village Land Forest Reserves (VLFR) through policy/framework development for management livestock-wildlife interactions along WMAs, implement conservation actions geared towards elephant and develop plans for long-term management in multiuse areas in the SNE.

ASSIGNMENTS:

1. Elephant Conservation in the SNE

Location: Elephant population assessments will be conducted in the SNWC and Nyerere NP/Selous GR in southern Tanzania. Training on HEC technologies will be done at TAWA Southern zone offices in Masasi District, Tanzania.

Assignment Title: Population assessment and application of technologies for HEC mitigation on the elephant in Nyerere NP/Selous GR and the SNWC, Tanzania Since 2018, elephant population assessments on abundance and demographics have been done, setting a baseline in which population recovery from recent decline can be analyzed over time. WWF in collaboration with scientists endeavors to complement the previous studies, and advance the population assessments further on the elephants in the Nyerere NP/Selous GR and the SNWC. Furthermore, WWF endeavors to assist TAWA and Local Government Authorities to acquire and adopt technologies and innovations for the management of conflict elephant groups in community areas.

The assignment has three main components:

1. From records of the SNE elephant population size, extrapolations to derive from the data the abundance of elephant subset in the SNWC will be made
2. Carry out of demographic survey of the Nyerere/Selous elephant population and make comparative analysis from 2018 records for trends.

• Following the equipping of TAWA with HEC technologies, to offer training and adoption of the tools in Human-elephant conflict mitigation.

2. Wildlife Habitat Conservation in Selous Niassa Wildlife Corridor Location: Habitat conservation to secure species will be done in the SNWC in southern Tanzania.

Assignment Title: Assessment on the livestock pastoralism practices in the SNWC for the securement of ecological functionality of WMA/VLFR network for elephants and other species.

Ove^r the course of the past 15 years, livestock introduction into the SNWC nas taken place, involving hundreds of thousands of cattle, sheep and goats under the practice of traditional pastoralism husbandry regimes. The abundance of livestock and herbivory requires careful management for maintenance of the ecological integrity of the environment, especially as the SNWC is not a region historically associated with heavy presence of livestock. Heavy stocking rates, unrestricted sedentarism in and around WMAs/VLFRs and conflict with farmers characterize the introduction of livestock under a traditional pastoralism regime in the SNWC. WWF Tanzania seeks to inform the integration process through support for evidence-based research that will guide the process in order to safeguard critical habitats for species connectivity in the Selous-Niassa TFCA.

The assignment has three main components:

• Determine and document as quantitatively as possible livestock abundance, stocking rates, and spatial patterns of pastoralist occupancy in the SNWC.
• Model livestock herbivory (grazing) for determinations on carrying capacity, livestock-wildlife interactions and implications on the long-term ecological integrity of natural rangelands in the SNWC.
• Evaluation of perceived and realized community socio-economic benefits derived from dairy and other livestock products through enhanced pastoralist-farmer harmonious co-existence via strategic livestock management planning/practice that explore ideas for how to make livestock pay and benefit economically.

Detailed ToR and more other information including the scope of the assignment, expected outputs, expected deliverables & timelines can be accessed through our website at

Proposal Submission

Please, submit your full proposal (softcopy only) to procurement email at [email protected]

Please, send your application to;

Secretary, Procurement Committee; WWF Tanzania; Kiko Street,

Off Mwai Kibaki Road Plot 252, Mikocheni P. 0. Box 63117, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania;

Tel: +255 22 277 5346/277 2455/270 0077 Fax: +255 22 277 5535;

Website: wwf.or.tz

Deadline for submission:

Applications must be concise and include a combined technical & financial proposal, fully signed, highlighting company profile, concrete evidences of experiences on similar works, the proposed approach and methodologies, work schedule and timings of the process. Team CVs should also be attached. Also apart from one pager application letter, financial proposal should clearly specify time and other expenses both direct and reimbursable, these include unit costs on professional fees and the eligible taxes; kindly submit your applications as instructed 15^th March 2024 at 5.30 pm EAT.

Evaluation of the consultancy applications will be done based on WWF procurement guidelines and that WWF Tanzania is not bound to accept any lowest or highest proposal/bid. WWF has a principle of zero-tolerance for fraud and corruption, if you encounter such an incident, report it by sending an email to [email protected]

Only successful applicant will be contacted.

Go to our Homepage To Get Relevant Information.