REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST

AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK

Immeuble CCIA, Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire

African Natural Resources Centre

E-mail: A.DAGRI-POKOU@AFDB.ORG            Telephone : +225 27 20 26 59 31

Department issuing the request : AFRICAN NATURAL RESOURCES CENTRE (ANRC)

Position : CONSULTANT : THE FUTURE OF MARINE FISHERIES IN THE AFRICAN BLUE ECONOMY

Place of assignment : Home based

Duration of the assignment : 40 Days

Tentative Date of commencement : July 12^th, 2021

Deadline for applications : June 11^th, 2021

Applications to be submitted to : A.DAGRI-POKOU@AFDB.ORG with a copy to P.TOUS@AFDB.ORG

Any questions and requests for clarifications to Philippe TOUS (P.TOUS@AFDB.ORG)

INTRODUCTION :

The African Natural Resources Centre (ANRC) is a non-lending entity of the African Development Bank (AfDB). The AfDB established the Centre to support Regional Member Countries (RMCs) to maximize development outcomes from their natural resources. The ANRC generates high quality knowledge and conducts impactful policy dialogue on harnessing natural resources for accelerated sustainable development in Africa. It also provides technical support to RMCs on natural resources planning, investment and governance, with a focus on land, forestry, fisheries, water, oil, gas and minerals. The ANRC also informs the Bank’s operational work in the natural resources sector.

As part of its Blue Economy Flagship Program, the ANRC now seeks to generate knowledge to help inform public debate, policymaking, planning and investment in blue economy strategies for accelerated sustainable development in Africa. The ANRC seeks to recruit an Individual Consultant to write a background paper for an ANRC publication: The Future of Marine Fisheries in the African Blue Economy.

BACKGROUND AND RATIONALE FOR THE STUDY :

The development of the Blue Economy in Africa offers remarkable prospects for wealth creation and employment, including in areas that have not yet revealed their full potential, such as biotechnology, renewable energy and carbon sequestration technologies. The Blue Economy includes sectors that are independent of ecosystems, such as extractive industries and shipping, while others are highly dependent on them. Of all the Blue Economy sectors, fisheries is the one most dependent on the integrity of the marine environment.

Despite its impressive contribution to the food security and employment of millions of people, the marine fisheries sector is neglected by public policies, especially in view of its real contribution to the economy, its environmental and social fragility, as well as the increasing threats posed by maritime crime, for example.

The primary objective of all sectoral fisheries policies is the conservation of fisheries resources and almost all coastal countries have committed to implementing the FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries and to developing an ecosystem approach to fisheries management. However, the implementation of these measures remains globally very insufficient and the sector is strongly threatened by a growing number of pressures directly or indirectly due to human activities.

The search for sustainable and inclusive development based on the Blue Economy justifies a clear understanding of the issues at stake and giving coastal countries the means to make informed decisions and to arbitrate to ensure that the sectors that contribute most to the quality of life of the people of Africa are favoured.

This paper will be part of a series of background papers by the ANRC in the following areas: (1) Marine Genetic Resources in Areas Beyond National Jurisdictions: Strategy for a Successful Harnessing of Blue Biotechnology in Africa, (2) Assessing the Science and Potential of Offshore Renewable Energy for Africa’s Blue Economy, (3) African Ports and the Blue Economy Nexus: Institutional, Policy and Governance Arrangements, and (4) Towards Climate Resilient Ocean Economies in Africa: Policies, Institutions and Investment Models.

OBJECTIVES AND SCOPE OF THE STUDY :

The study aims to provide an overview of challenges and opportunities for the marine fisheries and policy recommendations for their sutainable management in a context of a blue economy development strategy. The study will focus on marine fisheries on the scale of the entire African continent (all RMCs) and will undertake the following analyses :

• A concise but as exhaustive as possible diagnosis of the situation of marine fisheries in Africa, highlighting the most significant trends over the last decade (state of resources, fishing pressures, governance and management frameworks and key actors, state of knowledge and financing (resources allocated to the sector and source of this financing), etc.) ;
• An analysis of the threats to these fisheries from an environmental (climate change, pollution, epidemics), political and economic perspective ;
• An assessment of the new and emerging challenges facing the marine fisheries sector in the context of the development of the Blue Economy and in particular the potential conflicts between fisheries and other sectors (marine renewable energies, extractive sectors, aquaculture, tourism, shipping, marine protected areas, etc.) ;
• An assessment of the opportunities for better management of marine fisheries, particularly by using alternative approaches (e.g. Balanced Harvesting) ;
• Concrete recommendations to enable the sustainable integration of maritime fisheries into the development strategies of the Blue Economy, as well as on the tools to be developed at national and regional level to guarantee this integration at political, legal and institutional level.

METHODOLOGY :

Desk analysis: The study will consist of a desk review to collect all relevant studies, and statistics already produced by relevant government agencies, development partners, civil society organisations and/or research institutions on marine fisheries and the blue economy. The study will conduct a rigorous analysis of the data and information and provide relevant policy recommendations to address the identified risks and opportunities.

A pre-commencement meeting with the consultant will be held to agree on the study’s methodology, scope and coverage of the analysis, reporting format and content, and format of the draft and final products.

DELIVERABLES :

Key deliverable from this study is a report of maximum of 12,000 words in English (or the equivalent in French), excluding references, notes, figures and tables.

Key milestones in this assignment includes (i) an inception report to be validated by the task manager, (ii) a draft report that will be subject to internal and external peer-review, and (iii) the final report.

CONSULTANT QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE :

• A Master’s Degree in Fisheries Policy and Economics, relevant Natural Sciences discipline or related fields. A PhD is a strong advantage ;
• A minimum of fifteen (15) years’ experience in the fisheries sector, natural resources research, policy analysis and/or practice including at least seven (7) years in Africa ;
• A strong publication record on marine fisheries, blue economy and related fields in international peer reviewed journals and other peer reviewed publications ;
• Established reputation in leading research and or development networks and ability to broker knowledge through partnerships and collaboration ;
• Proven skills and experience as Lead or Contributing Author to high profile international and or regional scientific assessments and or knowledge products ;
• Experience in communicating research results to policy makers. Proficiency in English and/or French.

SELECTION CRITERIA :

REMUNERATION :

The Consultant will be hired for forty (40) working days over a maximum period of six (6) months and paid a contract lump sum based on the AfDB Consultants’ remuneration scale and the schedule and conditions to be negotiated with the ANRC. This consultancy will be home based.

The shortlisted bidders will be requested to quote a daily rate.

SERVICE CONDITIONS :

The African Development Bank conditions for retaining short-term consultants will apply.

Appendix 1:

Please attach an updated Curriculum Vitae on the basis of the template below:

MODEL CURRICULUM VITAE – AFDB BAD PDF