Purpose: Develop a Business Plan for selected Community forestry concessions schemes and for the proposed Oku reserve. The main aim of the consultancy is to identify tools and practical actions to render the villages more financially sustainable by exploring funding strategies that increase the level of self-financing, trust funds or other mechanisms.

Objectives: Under the supervision of the Kahuzi-Biega Project Manager, and in close cooperation with the local coordinators of the future reserve and CFCLs, the consultant will perform the following specific tasks, in addition to other actions that he/she deems appropriate to achieve the objectives of the mission:

· Undertake a literature review of relevant reference documents.

· Undertake semi-structured interviews/consultations with key stakeholders in the forest concession sector (government, NGOs, civil society, local communities, researchers, donors ...) to understand current strategies, opportunities and barriers in relation to financing CFCL’s and the proposed protected area.

· Undertake an analysis of the experiences in other countries with a similar background to that of DRC in terms of financing for protected areas and CFCL’s.

· In collaboration with stakeholders, identify all financing options with potential relevance for DRC.

· Undertake a thorough SWOT analysis of relevant sustainable funding options.

· In a participatory manner, develop a vision for the financing of each of the three CFCL and the proposed reserve with a clear identification of the proportion of funding that could be “sustainable” and not reliant on external grants.

· Analyze current cost structures of CFCL and protected area management.

· Conduct an economic impact analysis for the proposed reserve.

· In collaboration with the CFCLs and future reserve management committees, identify necessary activities in relation to the achievement of the objective of the Business Plan.

· Identify and evaluate the most efficient scenarios to implement these activities and evaluate short-term financial needs (5 years) and projections for medium (10 years) and long term (15 years) needs.

· Submit for discussion the results on sustainable financing options to stakeholders and collect feedback and edits.

· Based on comments, draft a final Business Plan that documents sustainable funding options and describes the technical and financial aspects of strategy implementation as well as the roles of actors in its implementation.

Deliverables: A Business Plan (validated by WCS) including a description of the financing vision and the financial sustainability strategy and funding mechanisms for the short, medium and long term. The final strategy must be submitted by 31 May 2020.

The focus should be on the development of a succinct and practical document that can serve as a tool for CFCL and protected reserve management in DRC.

We envisage the consultancy will require a 1-week literature review, 3-week field visit, followed by a period of desk-based analysis/report preparation, with a maximum of 14 working days. The proposed timeframe is –April – May 2020.

Minimum Qualifications:

· Business qualifications with a minimum of an undergraduate degree in Business or related subject, and five years of relevant experience

· Knowledge of Protected Area Management is desirable

· French language is highly desirable but not essential

Background:

WCS DRC is working to protect approximately one million acres of gorilla forest habitat, which is found outside of established protected areas, in the Oku community forest, adjacent to Kahuzi Biega National Park. WCS is supporting conservation activities in the Oku forest with a local NGO, Réserve des Gorilles de Punia (RGPu), which aims to involve local communities in protection of biodiversity in their lands.

WCS and RGPu, in collaboration with ICCN (Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature) are working to create a formal forest reserve in the Oku community forest to protect core gorilla habitat. Meanwhile, three local community forest concessions (CFCLs) close to villages have been created to form a buffer around the proposed reserve.

WCS is seeking to recruit a short-term consultant to assist in developing a strategy for the sustainable financing of the future reserve and three CFCLs, including business planning to generate sufficient revenue and ensure that biodiversity conservation goals are achieved.