1.   The Global Environment Facility (GEF), through the World Bank proposes to finance the “Red Sea and Gulf of Aden Strategic Ecosystem Management Project” in Djibouti, Egypt, Jordan, Sudan and Yemen through a small grant. This project will be implemented by the Regional Organization for the Conservation of the Environment of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden (PERSGA). The project objective is to support the transition from current practices to an ecosystem-based approach by demonstrating its added value through community organizations, resource stewardship and compliance supported by institutional technical assistance, enforcement and demonstrated through on-the-ground activities in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.  This will be achieved through four components. Component 1 will involve activities aimed at strengthening the principles of marine managed areas through achieving selected MPA functionality. Component 2 will focus on strengthening coastal communities to use Ecosystem Based management approaches to improve fisheries management and achieve other marine resources benefits. Component 3 will consist of developing environmental and socioeconomic monitoring to support Ecosystem Based Management and enhance community benefits, and finally Component 4 will focus on project management and monitoring and evaluation.

2.   The Project Management Unit (PMU) housed in the main implementing agency, PERSGA, will liaise with the other lead national agencies for each component as well as with technical partners and project stakeholders; implement and facilitate coordination between project components; and be responsible for monitoring and evaluation and project reporting. 

3.   An integral part of the World Bank financing (GEF) is to ensure that a development project will not have detrimental environmental and/or social impacts on the surrounding environment. Therefore, in order to be consistent with the applicable World Bank and national policies and regulations, an Environment and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) and a Process Framework will be developed during project preparation.

4. Detailed Terms of Reference aimed at describing the tasks, deliverables, and time frame for carrying out site specific ESIA, including an Environment and Social Management Plan (ESMP) for the selected sites and public consultations with a range of stakeholders in the project areas; and the requirements for preparing a process framework to address social impacts from restrictions of access to natural resources will be published on PERSGA Web Site within 10 days.

5. Time of the assignment will be around eight (8) consecutive weeks from signing of contract for all activities including: field visits; undertaking consultation workshops with relevant stakeholders and beneficiaries; and report writing.

6. Qualified interested persons, firms, groups of persons or persons and firms from the same country or from different countries are welcome  to express their interest participating in this work writing indicating their qualifications, previous experience in doing similar work, and approach of conducting the study. For time constraints and saving in travel cost experts from different countries are encouraged to team up and submit joint expressions of interest.