81309020-Development of Monitoring, Evaluation and Reporting (MER) Systems for Forest Landscape Restoration (FLR) in India

Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), GmbH - India is implementing a six-year project titled "Restore, Conserve and Protect Forest and Tree Cover for NDC Implementation in India (RECAP4NDC)" under Indo-German bilateral cooperation. The Indian political partner is the Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change (MoEFCC), Government of India. The project involves a consortium of six partners, including GIZ, International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) India, Forest Survey of India (FSI), The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), Indian Council for Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE), and International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD). The project aims to support India in achieving its targets on restoring degraded forests and landscapes inside and outside forests as defined in the National Forest Policy and the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC"s). The approach aligns with the principles of the Bonn Challenge, focusing on restoring the ecological functionality of degraded landscapes while enhancing the well-being of people. By 2029, RECAP4NDC aims to achieve ecological, socio-economic, governance, and climate change benefits across 0.4 million hectares of forest landscape, benefiting 10 million people through improved forest ecosystem services. Four states have been selected for cooperation, each with specific starting conditions: - Delhi NCR: Faces challenges of rapid urban development and encroachment, with potential for urban tree cover restoration and cross-agency collaboration. - Gujarat: Includes diverse habitats like grasslands, mangroves and hill ranges, requiring unique restoration approaches for coastal degradation and grazing pressures. - Maharashtra: Features nine agro-climatic zones, providing opportunities for comparative testing of different FLR approaches. - Uttarakhand: Has a range of elevation zones, with existing community forestry programmes that can be supplemented with targeted interventions. Implementing partners are State Forest Departments (SFD) of the respective states. Project outputs are divided among consortium partners and include FLR model implementation, monitoring, evaluation and reporting (MER) systems, financing models for FLR, policy and planning integration, and capacity building for stakeholders. The assignment is to be carried out in close coordination with FSI, who has responsibility for the MER output. The Terms of Reference (TOR) for this contract focus on developing an integrated MER system to assess the ecological, economic, and social impacts of FLR initiatives. The assignment has three main objectives: - Develop and refine digital monitoring and evaluation systems and tools for FLR. - Build stakeholder capacities through targeted training and development programmes. - Design and deploy adaptive and scalable reporting frameworks for FLR impacts. This project will strengthen MER systems for FLR reporting in India, supporting transparent communication of FLR impacts to inform policy and practice. It aims to develop and refine monitoring and evaluation tools that accurately measure the ecological, economic, and social impacts of Forest Landscape Restoration (FLR) initiatives at various governance levels. The objective is to create monitoring systems, including protocols, measuring tools, guidelines, and frameworks, to generate reliable data that aids decision-makers in setting priorities, making informed decisions, and improving inter-departmental coordination. These systems will help report on national and international targets and commitments and be adaptable to the dynamic landscapes and diverse needs of FLR projects in India. it will incorporate existing monitoring tools and frameworks of key implementing partners at the state level, such as SFDs and other line departments, and national reporting mechanisms implemented by FSI and MoEFCC.