Consultant sought for Prespa Lakes Basin

Consultancy: Assessment of transboundary coordination for ecosystem management and sustainable development in the Prespa Lakes Basin

The UNDP GEF Project on Transboundary Ecosystem Management of the Prespa Lakes Basin is seeking an international consultant for the following:

“Assessment of the Role of the Prespa Park Coordination Committee in Transboundary Ecosystem Management, Water Governance and Sustainable Development in the Prespa Lakes Basin of Albania, FYR Macedonia and Greece”.

A brief background and purpose of the assessment is provided below and a more details are contained in the attached Terms of Reference (ToR). The ToR is also available on the global UNDP Jobs website (http://jobs.undp.org/index.cfm) under ‘environment and energy’ and the UNDP-MK website (http://www.undp.org.mk/default.asp) .

The Prespa region is situated in the Balkan Peninsula and is shared among the three neighbouring countries Albania, FYR of Macedonia and Greece. It is considered to be an ecosystem of global significance and has been identified as one of Europe’s major transboundary “ecological bricks”. The entire Prespa region hosts unique habitats and species that are important from both a European and global conservation perspective.

This GEF project aims to mainstream ecosystem management objectives and priorities into productive sector practices and policies. The project is designed to strengthen capacity for restoring ecosystem health and conserving biodiversity first at the national level in Albania and FYR-Macedonian Prespa. The third littoral State, Greece -an EU member- is not a direct beneficiary of the GEF funding but actively participates through parallel financing. The project also aims to strengthen ongoing trans-boundary cooperation in resource management and conservation by empowering the existing transboundary institution (i.e. the Prespa Park Coordination Committee) and piloting / reinforcing trans-boundary management and conservation activities.

The ‘Prespa Park’, established on 2 February 2000 by the Prime Ministers of Albania, Greece and the FYR of Macedonia, has been the first transboundary ‘protected area’ in a politically sensitive region of the Balkans. It covers the hydrological basin of Micro and Macro Prespa Lakes. Besides this trilateral designation, the effectiveness and adequacy of which is the subject of the present consultancy, the Prespa basin includes two Ramsar sites, as well as other nationally protected areas in all three countries. The Prespa Park, according to the founding Declaration of 2 February 2000 has the following ultimate goals:

• The enhancement of living standards of the inhabitants of Prespa through the preservation of its natural and cultural values and the sustainable use of its resources;
• Peace and cooperation among the three countries.

With the support of the Ramsar Convention and its MedWet Initiative, the trilateral Prespa Park Coordination Committee (PPCC) was established in 2001. Members of the PPCC are the representatives of the Ministries for Environment, Mayors or the Local Municipalities, and one NGO from the three countries (with strong local involvement). MedWet/Ramsar participates as an ex officio member of the PPCC with a non-voting status. The PPCC is supported by a trilateral Secretariat.

In the six years of its operation the PPCC convenes biannually, and has held ten regular and two extraordinary meetings. The PPCC serves as a forum for information exchange, collaboration, and coordination of joint actions and interventions in Prespa. Such joint activities have included the preparation of a Strategic Action Plan for the sustainable development of the Prespa Park, and the contribution to the development and submission of a GEF Prespa Park project proposal.

The purpose of this assessment is to review the existing practices and challenges in trans-boundary ecosystem management and water governance in the Prespa Lakes Basin. The emphasis will be placed on an assessment of the (mostly informal) operations of the Prespa Park Coordination Committee (PPCC) over the past six years and the recommendation of options for the appropriate legal and institutional arrangements for formal and effective trans-boundary ecosystem and water governance in the Prespa Lakes Basin.

Kindly distribute this as widely as possible. Thanks.

Best wishes,

Alvin Lopez
International Transboundary Advisor
UNDP-GEF Integrated Ecosystem Management in the Prespa Lakes Basin of Albania, FYR-Macedonia and Greece
Municipality of Resen
Marsal Tito Square No. 20
PO Box 78
7310 Resen
FYR Macedonia
Tel: +389 47 455 190
Fax: +389 47 455 195