Evaluation Specialist for the Terminal Evaluation of the UNEP/GCF project Enhanced Climate Resilience of Rural Communities in Central and North Benin

## Evaluation Specialist for the Terminal Evaluation of the UNEP/GCF project Enhanced Climate Resilience of Rural Communities in Central and North Benin - Organization:UNEP - United Nations Environment Programme - Office:UNEP Nairobi, Kenya Result of Service:The Evaluation Specialist will submit a concise evaluation report. Actual duration of the assignment is 31 days spread over a period of 8 months to be delivered as follows: Inception Report (30%) Draft report 40%) Final Evaluation Report (30%) Work Location:Home based with field visits Expected duration:8 months (part time) Duties and Responsibilities:ORGANIZATION SETTING. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is the United Nations systems designated entity for addressing environmental issues at the global and regional level. Its mandate is to coordinate the development of environmental policy consensus by keeping the global environment under review and bringing emerging issues to the attention of governments and the international community for action. This consultancy is located at Headquarters in the Evaluation Office which reports directly to the Executive Director. The consultant reports to the Evaluation Manager and the Director of the Evaluation Office. THE EVALUATION The Terminal Evaluation will be an in-depth evaluation using a participatory approach whereby key stakeholders are kept informed and consulted throughout the evaluation process. Both quantitative and qualitative evaluation methods will be used as appropriate to determine project achievements against the expected outputs, outcomes and likelihood of impacts. It is highly recommended that the consultant(s) maintains close communication with the project team and promotes information exchange throughout the Evaluation implementation phase in order to increase their (and other stakeholders') ownership of the evaluation findings. Where applicable, the consultant(s) will provide a geo-referenced map that demarcates the area covered by the project and, where possible, provide geo-reference photographs of key intervention sites. THE PROJECT Benin's rural population was highly dependent on agriculture and natural resources for livelihoods. At project design, agriculture supported approximately 70 percent of the population and generated about 80 percent of export income. Most crop production was rainfed and was therefore sensitive to variations in rainfall and temperature. Central and northern Benin, where the project was implemented, were characterized by comparatively shorter growing seasons and lower annual rainfall than southern Benin. Climate change and variability were identified as increasing pressures on rural livelihoods, agricultural production, water resources and forest ecosystems. Observed changes included rising mean annual temperatures, fewer days with precipitation, and more frequent and intense droughts and floods. Climate projections used in the project design indicated continued temperature increases, particularly in central and northern Benin, together with greater intra-annual rainfall variability, delayed onset of the rainy season and more intense rainfall events. These changes were expected to contribute to soil desiccation, reduced water availability, erosion and flooding, and declining productivity of agricultural and forest landscapes. These climatic pressures interacted with existing socio-economic and environmental conditions. The Funding Proposal reported declining agricultural productivity associated with soil degradation and erosion, flooding, shorter growing periods and changes in rainfall timing. It also identified pressures on forests from drought and wildfire as well as from agricultural expansion, fuelwood harvesting and extraction of non-timber forest products. Between 1990 and 2015, Benin experienced an average annual forest loss rate of approximately 1.2 percent. Forest degradation reduced ecosystem goods and services used by rural communities, including water provision, flood buffering, and protection against soil erosion. The project was formulated around the relationship between climate impacts, reduced agricultural productivity, increased dependence on natural resources, forest and ecosystem degradation, and increased vulnerability of rural communities. It was designed to address these interconnected pressures through an ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) approach combining climate-resilient agriculture with restoration and management of degraded forest ecosystems. The intended results were organized around three areas: improved provision of ecosystem goods and services for climate-change adaptation through forest restoration; increased agricultural productivity to support livelihoods under climate change; and strengthened capacity and awareness to implement EbA and climate-resilient agriculture. The project design identified three principal barriers to the adoption and scaling-up of these approaches: (i) limited knowledge of climate-change impacts on agricultural and forest landscapes and of appropriate adaptation measures; (ii) limited technical and institutional capacity within government institutions and local communities to implement EbA and climate-resilient agriculture; and (iii) limited investment in community forest management and climate-resilient agriculture. Specific constraints included limited coordination between the agriculture and forestry sectors, insufficient extension support for small-scale farmers, limited capacity to prepare and implement forest management plans, and technical and financial constraints affecting community-based forest management. The pre-feasibility study was designed as a public-sector adaptation project targeting GCF result areas related to vulnerable people and communities, food and water security, and ecosystems and ecosystem services. The project was also designed in the context of Benin's national policies and initiatives on climate change, agriculture and forestry, including the Forest Law and the Plan Stratégique de Développement du Secteur Agricole. The objective of the project was to reduce unsustainable land-use practices and deforestation and strengthen the climate resilience of local communities by integrating climate-resilient agricultural techniques with the tailored restoration of degraded forest ecosystems. At impact level, the project was designed to contribute to the GCF adaptation results of increased resilience and enhanced livelihoods of vulnerable people, communities and regions and improved resilience of ecosystems and ecosystem services. The approved framework included final targets of 22,000 direct beneficiaries, comprising 11,000 women and 11,000 men; approximately 1.074 million indirect beneficiaries, with 50 percent women; and 3,600 hectares of degraded forests protected and strengthened in response to climate variability and change. THE EVALUATION TEAM For this Evaluation, the Evaluation Team will consist of a Principal Evaluator and one Evaluation Specialist who will work under the overall responsibility of the Evaluation Office represented by an Evaluation Manager, in consultation with the UNEP Task Manager, the Fund Management Officer and the Coordinator of the Climate Action Subprogramme. SPECIFIC RESPONSIBILITIES In close consultation with the Evaluation Manager, the Evaluation Specialist will make substantive and high-quality contributions to the evaluation process and outputs and ensure that all evaluation criteria and questions are adequately covered. More specifically: Inception phase of the Evaluation, including:preliminary desk review and introductory interviews with project staff;draft the reconstructed Theory of Change of the project;prepare the evaluation framework;develop the desk review and interview protocols;draft the survey protocols (if relevant);develop and present criteria for country and/or site selection for the evaluation mission;plan the evaluation schedule;prepare th