1 Background
The Volta Basin Authority (VBA) invites qualified consulting firms to express their interest in a technical assistance mission within the framework of Component 3 of the project ‘Reversing the Trends of Ecosystem and Water Resources Degradation in the Volta Basin (REWarD-Volta River Basin)’, financed by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and implemented in partnership with UNEP. The project aims to strengthen ecosystem resilience for sustainable livelihoods in the six countries of the basin (Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Mali and Togo).
2 Objectives of the Mission
· Identify and support pilot initiatives for the restoration and conservation of ecosystems.
· Draw up participatory diagnoses of the state of ecosystems and fisheries.
· Support the National Focal Structures (NFS) and the Project Management Unit (PMU) to design and implement sustainable action plans.
· Integrate ecosystem-based approaches into agricultural, fisheries and livestock management systems.
3 Scope of the work
Activities include:
– Assessing the state of riverbank ecosystems and fishing grounds.
– Drawing up action plans for the sustainable use of water for agricultural, livestock and fisheries production.
– Draw up local agreements for the conservation of resources.
– Develop an information system to safeguard fisheries resources.
– Ensure capacity building through training, raising awareness among local communities and capitalising on experience.
The mission’s terms of reference are available on request.
4 Required qualifications
Interested firms or consultancies must demonstrate :
– Proven expertise in sustainable ecosystem management, fisheries management and conservation.
– Experience in similar projects in transboundary basins.
– Skills in GIS, remote sensing and bioeconomic analysis.
– Fluency in French and English is essential.
5 Selection criteria
Expressions of interest will be assessed on the basis of the following criteria:
– Qualification and experience of the consultancy firm (40%).
– References for similar projects carried out in the last five years (30%).
– Demonstrated technical and logistical capacity (30%).
6 Terms and conditions of submission
Applications must include:
- A letter of expression of interest.
- A presentation of the firm or consultancy (profile, organisation chart, experience).
- A detailed list of similar assignments carried out.
- The CVs of the proposed key experts.
Submissions in French or English must be sent no later than 6 February 2025 (Burkina Faso local time), either by email to secretariat.abv@gmail.com following the submission instructions with the subject line: ‘Manifestation d’Intérêt – Assistance Technique REWarD-Volta River Basin’.
Submissions must be submitted electronically in PDF format (with character recognition) unprotected or password protected with the title ‘Request for Expression of Interest No. 002/2024/ABV/REWarD/PI’.
The following points should be noted:
- Information regarding the name of the person holding the password, their telephone/whatsapp, Skype and email address must be communicated by email after submission. The Executive Management of the ABV will contact this person to take part in the session of the tender evaluation committee devoted to the opening of the tender dossiers.
- Before or during the file opening session, the person holding the password must send the password to the dedicated email address (secretariat.abv@gmail.com) or at once so that the evaluation committee can access the file.
- Tenderers must not accept password requests from other people.
- As a precautionary measure and for reasons of security, tenderers must keep with them a version of their bid submitted without a password that is identical in all respects and that could be requested by the committee in the event of problems with the password-protected version.
7 Next steps
Only the shortlisted firms will be contacted to submit a detailed technical and financial offer in accordance with the Terms of Reference.
8 Contact us
For any request for clarification, please contact :
VBA Executive Directorate
Address: Ouaga 2000, Avenue Sembène Ousmane, 10 BP 13621 Ouagadougou 10, Burkina Faso
Email: secretariat.abv@gmail.com
Telephone: (+226) 25 37 60 67 / 25 37 64 85
