By continuing to browse this site, you agree to our use of cookies. Read our privacy policy

STTA - Silviculture Consultant Implementing SFM field activities in Lao Cai and Son La province

Hanoi

  • Organization: Preferred by Nature
  • Location: Hanoi
  • Grade: Consultancy - Consultant - Contractors Agreement
  • Occupational Groups:
    • Legal - Broad
    • Legal - International Law
  • Closing Date: Closed

Apply by
26 January 12:00 (UTC)
Location

Project background

The USAID Sustainable Forest Management Project (the Project) will work with the Government of Vietnam (GVN) to reduce carbon emissions associated with deforestation, the degradation of natural forests, and poor plantation management. The Project will implement a “Green Prosperity” approach that strengthens local communities’ ability to protect their natural resource base and reduce emissions while building a strong foundation for sustainable livelihoods and equitable economic growth. 

The Project will work in seven provinces (Lao Cai, Son La, Hoa Binh, Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Quang Tri, Quang Nam) and focus on five objectives: 

  1. Improve and expand community forest management
  2. Increase conservation-friendly enterprises in forest-dependent communities
  3. Increase functionality of law enforcement system for forest crimes
  4. Improve production forest management practices
  5. Mobilise domestic resources for forest management and protection

The Project will be implemented during the period 2020-2025 by DAI in collaboration with RECOFTC and Preferred by Nature as partners, with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) as the counterpart and the Management Board of Forestry Projects (MBFP) as project owner.

Description of consultancy service

Background
Under the Objective 4 (Improve production forest management practices), there are three main tasks as follows:

  • Increase Production of Sustainable Timber by Small-Scale Foresters
  • Increase Demand from Processors for Certified Timber
  • Develop Market Linkages Between Timber Producers and Industry

The growing domestic and international furniture market has been creating huge demand for sawn timber and wood chips while inadequate domestic supply has caused the situation that the importation of timber from abroad has not been well controlled. The sustainable forest management can improve the outputs of current plantation forests and increase the domestic supply of timber products, indirectly decreasing demand for illegal timber products. 

Many forest management practices can improve quality and outputs of plantation forests in the project sites. These practices include increase of forest business rotation times/cycles to 8 years or more and prevention of clear cutting or burning of vegetation. The increase of harvesting time requires the access to improved varieties as well as the application of silviculture techniques. The common practice with 3 to 4-year harvesting cycle is due to impacts of existing and short-term economic factors and risks of storm damage. Short-rotation timber products generally have low quality and quantity, mainly for production of wood chips or paper products. Longer rotation with fast growth rate over 8 to 10 years will result in high-quality and high value round timber. Small households which are the majority of production forest owners (mostly Acacia) in Viet Nam. 

The Project will implement activities to promote sustainable timber production by small-scale forest owners which will be achieved by improving planning, ensuring quality of inputs (e.g. seeds, fertilizers, etc.) and supporting small-scale nurseries to improve production capacity; Improving silviculture techniques, including planting spacing, planting density, tending and management suitable for large, long-cycle timber plantations. Support activities to ensure standardization and application of good plantation management practices, using modern, low-cost and user-friendly monitoring tools, and small-scale planters will also be given priority. 

The proper technical interventions will help to improve timber volume and quality, and the environmental value of the plantations. Plantation owners need to be more knowledgeable and skilled in SFM. The improved management practices of plantation forests can increase carbon sequestration, expectedly up to 49 tons of CO2 compared to maintaining business as usual. 

This Scope of Work (SOW) is to recruit the short-term consultant position of Silviculture Consultant to facilitate production of sustainable timber amongst small-scale foresters in the provinces of Lao Cai, Son La and Hoa Binh, by introducing silvicultural practices to forest owners, developing SFM plans and strengthening the technical capacity amongst nurseries to produce high-quality planting material. This activity is under work plan of fiscal year 2022 and would directly contribute to three main indicators: ID1 – Number of people trained; ID2 – Number of institutions improved capacity; and ID8 – Number of forest areas (hectare) under improved plantation management (in 11 indicators of the Project).

 

Purpose of the consulting work
The purpose of the consulting work is to implement a range of silvicultural techniques, from strengthening the technical and management capacity of existing nurseries to producing high-quality planting materials, introducing silvicultural practices to improve forest management amongst forest owners (planting, tending, pruning, thinning, harvesting, pest controls, etc.) and cooperate with the certification consultant in the development and implementation of SFM plans. 

 

Expected outputs/results

  • At least 12 participants in Lao Cai, 15 participants in Son La trained on nursery management and produce hi-quality planting material. The participants including nursery manager and key-staff;
  • At least 03 Cinnamon farmer groups established in Lao Cai with at least 20 households per group and at least 04 Bamboo farmer groups established with at least 15 households in each group in Son La;
  • At least 10 participants in Lao Cai and 15 participants in Son La trained on groups management as group’s leaders;
  • At least 60 forest owners in Lao Cai, 60 forest owners in Son La province trained and coached on Sustainable Forest Management plan and application of the silvicultural techniques promoting sustainable forest management, in which, at least 3 technical staff from SFM entity will be as trainer for each province;
  • At least 50 participants from forest owners organization (Lao Cai 20, Son La 10) trained on Sustainable Forest Management planning and application of silvicultural techniques promoting sustainable forest management, in which, at least 3 technical staff will be as trainer for each province. 

 

Location
The consultant will be home-based and implement the field tasks in Hoa Binh, Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Quang Tri and Quang Nam provinces.

 

Tasks 
The primary tasks of the consultant art to closely with the Silviculture Specialist and the wider Project team as well as cooperative with the FM certification consultants at the provincial level to ensure close coordination of project activities. The tasks that the consultant is expected to conduct will include, but not be limited to, the following:

  1. Collect and analyse secondary data, including the reports (1) “Workplan for fiscal year 2022”  and (2) “Capacity-building needs assessment for plantation owners and nurseries”  and other relevant data and documents on silviculture techniques as well as procedures and regulations on the management of farmer groups; Select most relevant/priority training topics for specific participants on nursery management/ producing high-quality planting material, on group management and applying the silviculture technique in plantation; Prepare training materials according to separate training courses;
  2. Prepare a work plan, an approach to conducting activities and field work; discuss and reach consensus on plan and agenda with the Project’s technical staff (Objective 4 team) and the PPMU of each province before carrying out field activities;
  3. Conduct 03 training courses on training and coaching on nursery management for managers and key staffs on the production of high-quality seedlings, cutting, and tissue culture production in the three provinces (01 course with 12 participants in Lao Cai, 01 course with 15 participants in Son La and 01 course with 15 participants in Hoa Binh); 
  4. Establish/re-enforce 03 farmer groups growing Cinnamon in Lao Cai province and 04 farmer groups managing Bamboo forests in Son La province with the aim to build capacity in the application of silvicultural techniques promoting sustainable forest management. 
  5. Conduct 02 training courses on group management for 10 participants in Lao Cai and 15 participants in Son La. The training shall also include a focus on group management, for the leaders of the targeted farmer groups.
  6. Conduct training and coaching for technical staff of local partners and farmer groups in silviculture practices regarding (i) plantation Cinnamon in Lao Cai; and (ii) Bamboo forest in Son La. This includes to provide training of trainers to technical staff and include them as assisting trainers, in the capacity building of farmers. This will strengthen the project impact, as the technical staff will thereby be able to continue providing training activities to farmers beyond the lifetime of the project. (2 training with 60 participants in Lao Cai, 2 training with 60 participants in Son La, in which, 3 technical staff will be included in training as trainers in each province);
  7. Conduct training and coaching on Sustainable Forest Management planning and implementation for forest owners, which are organizations in Lao Cai, Son La and Hoa Binh provinces. This includes to provide training of trainers to technical staff and include them as assisting trainers, in the capacity building of farmers. This will strengthen the project impact, as the technical staff will thereby be able to continue providing training activities to farmers beyond the lifetime of the project (1 training with 20 participants in Lao Cai, 1 training with 10 participants in Son La, in which, 3 technical staff will be included in training as trainers in each province);
  8. Prepare a final report, detailing the results of the implementation of the beforementioned activities.

 

Anticipated Level of Effort (LOE) and Deliverables

  • The employment contract has a duration of six months and may be extended, depending on work performance, availability of budget and work demand.
  • The consultant working days depending on the implementing tasks mentioned in Section V above.
  • Working location: Lai Cai, Son La provinces
  • The estimated LOE for this assignment is 63 person-days, starting as soon as possible, but no later than Feb 07, 2022. The required deliverables are listed in the table below. The final report, including deliverables, must be submitted in both English and Vietnamese in accordance with the deadlines listed in the table below. Other reports shall be submitted in Vietnamese. 
#
Activities 
LOE (day)
Description of the outputs/deliverables
Deliverables
Due date (of deliverable) 
Means of Deliverable Verification
I
1,2
5
Inception Report, including work plan, implementation approach, and techniques to implement. 
D1: Inception report (Vietnamese and English version)
15 days after ICA signed
Approval by Technical team is required
II
3
9
Report on training and coaching quality assessment before and after training (at least 12 participants in Lao Cai, 15 participants in Son La, of which, minimum 35% of female), including lists of participants with their signatures.
D2: Report in Vietnamese
3 months after ICA signed
Approval by Technical team
III
4
10
Report on establishment/re-enforcement of famer groups for each province: 3 groups in Lao Cai; 4 groups in Son La (03 Cinnamon farmer groups established in Lao Cai with at least 20 households per each group and at least 04 Bamboo farmer groups established with at least 15 households in each group in Son La, of which, minimum 35% of female), including:  a) lists of group members with household’s names, land use right, forest area, species, planting year and location. b) meeting minutes of group establishment and Cooperation Contract of group members with their signature, c) lists of participants in group management training.
D3: Report in Vietnamese
3 months after ICA signed
Approval by Technical team
IV
5
4
Report on training and coaching quality assessment before and after training (at least 10 participants in Lao Cai and 15 participants in Son La, of which, minimum 35% of female), including lists of participants with their signatures
D4: Report in Vietnamese
3 months after ICA signed
Approval by Technical team 
V
6
23
Report on training and coaching quality assessment before and after training (at least 60 forest owners in Lao Cai, 60 forest owners in Son La, of which, minimum 35% female and at least 3 technical staff from SFM entity will be as trainer for each province), including lists of participants with their signatures.
D5: Training Report in Vietnamese
5 months after ICA signed
Approval by Technical team 
VI
7
10
Report on training and coaching quality assessment before and after training (at least 20 participants in Lao Cai, 10 participants in Son La, of which, minimum 35% female and 3 technical staff will be included in training as trainers in each province), including lists of participants with their signatures and lists of participating organizations
D6: Report in Vietnamese
5 months after ICA signed
Approval by Technical team 
VII
8
5
Final Report, including a description of the results of the implemented activities and suggested future activities for further improvement of forest management practices
D7: Final activities report accepted by Technical team
6 months after ICA signed
Approval by Technical team 
Total 
63
 
 
 
 

Qualifications

  • Vietnamese National 
  • Have a bachelor’s degree or higher in forestry or other relevant areas
  • Have at least 5 years of practical experience working with the application of silvicultural techniques and sustainable forest management
  • Have experience in capacity building for nurseries and forest/plantation owners 
  • Have skills in the preparation of technical guidelines, presentation, analysis and report writing as well as presentation of research results.
  • Have skills and experience in working with local partners and farmers
  • Have Vietnamese proficiency in speaking and writing. Communicable English is an advantage.
  • Candidates from one of the three focus provinces are encouraged to apply

How to apply and requested documents

Interested candidates are requested to submit:

  • A CV in English/Vietnamese.
  • A cover letter in English indicating why they are suitable for this position along with salary requirements and current contact details of at least three references.
  • Scanned copy of highest related degrees.

Application shall be done via email to our recruitment at cuho@preferredbynature.org / vietnam@preferredbynature.org

Please quote the position title in the subject line: “Candidate’s full name _ Consultant on Silviculture”

Deadline for application: 5.00 p.m. (Hanoi time), 26 January 2022

DAI organisation and values 

DAI is a global development company with corporate offices in the United States, the United Kingdom, EU, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Palestine and project operations worldwide. We tackle fundamental social and economic development problems caused by inefficient markets, ineffective governance, and instability. DAI works on the frontlines of global development. Transforming ideas into action—action into impact. We are committed to shaping a more livable world.

DAI and its employees are committed to confronting racism and holding ourselves accountable for positive change within the company and in the communities, cultures, and countries in which we live and work.  DAI is committed to attracting and retaining the best employees from all races and backgrounds in our continued effort to become a better development partner.

DAI upholds the highest ethical standards. We are committed to the prevention of sexual exploitation, abuse, and harassment as well as other ethical breaches. All of our positions are therefore subject to stringent vetting and reference checks. 

To learn more about DAI, please visit: www.dai.com

 

 

 

 

This vacancy is now closed.
However, we have found similar vacancies for you: