ORGANISATION OF EASTERN CARIBBEAN STATES-OECS

Project Title: Regional project for the restoration and preservation of mangroves in the Eastern Caribbean states (REMAR).

Activity Title: Consulting Services to Conduct Mangrove Ecosystem and Management Diagnostic Assessment.

Reference No.: AFD_REMAR_2025_01

CONSULTING SERVICES Request for Expressions of Interest

 

The Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) has received a financing from Agence Française de Développement ("AFD"), and intends to use part of the funds thereof for payments under the following project REMAR: Resilient Ecosystems through Mangrove Restoration. 

The Services of the consultant shall consist of implementing activities under Component 1 of the project (In-depth diagnostics and planning on pilot sites), focusing on the ecological and social aspects of mangrove ecosystem restoration and sustainable management across the six designated sites across the Eastern Caribbean.

 

Site	Territory	Island	Surface	Implementing partners
Petite Rivière, Anse La Raye	Saint Lucia	Saint Lucia	1,6 ha	Directly implemented by OECS
Ashton Lagoon	Saint Vincent & the Grenadines	Union Island	41 ha	Sustainable Grenadines (SusGren)
L'Appelle, Petit Carénage	Grenada	Carriacou	20 ha	Kido Foundation
Anse Meunier	Martinique	Martinique	26,2 ha	Communauté d'Agglomération Espace Sud Martinique (CAESM)
La Lézarde	Martinique	Martinique	3,1 ha	Commune du Lamentin
Jarry	Guadeloupe	Guadeloupe	0,8 ha	Conservatoire du Littoral (CDL) de Guadeloupe

 

The consultant will undertake comprehensive assessments, including ecological, environmental, and socio-economic diagnoses for each site. This will involve evaluating the current health of mangrove ecosystems, identifying causes of degradation, and recommending restorative actions. Specific tasks include conducting floristic and faunal inventories, mapping habitat integrity, analyzing hydrological and abiotic parameters, and developing topographical models where feasible.

A socio-economic and gender diagnosis will be carried out to assess the communities' interaction with mangrove habitats, map stakeholders, identify income sources, and propose sustainable incomegenerating activities, ensuring a gender-sensitive approach throughout.

Based on these assessments, the consultant will prepare detailed intervention plans tailored to each site. These plans will include strategies to restore mangroves to a healthy ecological state, promote socio-economic benefits through environmental education and awareness, and ensure sustainable management post-project. Each plan will incorporate community-based restoration initiatives and gender action plans.

Stakeholder engagement will be a critical component, with the consultant tasked with organizing workshops and preparing reports that reflect stakeholder feedback and secure agreements from site managers. The consultant will also produce comprehensive monitoring plans for each site, coupled with training for site management staff to ensure effective implementation of monitoring activities.

Finally, the consultant will submit a detailed final report summarizing all activities, outcomes, and stakeholder agreements, aligning with the project’s overarching objectives.

The estimated budget for this mission is 600,000 euros. 

The estimated contract period for the consultancy is eight (8) months.

The OECS hereby invites Applicants to show their interest in delivering the Services described above.

This Request for Expressions of Interest is open to:

 

                  X Consulting firms                                      ❑ Individual consultants

                                                                                         X  Joint Venture between

                   ❑ ^NGOs                                NGO(s) and consulting firm(s)

 

Eligibility criteria to AFD financing are specified in sub-clause 1.3 of the "Procurement Guidelines for AFD-Financed Contracts in Foreign Countries", available online on AFD’s website: http://www.afd.fr.

The Applicant shall submit only one application, either in its own name or as a member of a Joint Venture (JV). If an Applicant (including any JV member) submits or participates in more than one application, those applications shall be all rejected. However, the same Subconsultant may participate in several applications.

If the Applicant is a JV, the expression of interest shall include:

− a copy of the JV Agreement entered into by all members, or

− a letter of intent to execute a JV Agreement, signed by all members together with a copy of the Agreement proposal, 

In the absence of this document, the other members will be considered as Subconsultants.

Experiences and qualifications of Subconsultants are not taken into account in the evaluation of the applications.

Interested Applicants must provide information evidencing that they are qualified and experienced to perform those Services. For that purpose, documented evidence of recent and similar services shall be submitted.

Determination of the similarity of the experiences will be based on:

• The contracts size;
• The nature of the Services: conducting assessments (ecological, socio economic), development of intervention plans, gender action plans, and stakeholders engagement reports.
• The technical area and expertise: Experience in mangroves or other coastal ecosystem assessments is mandatory; Project management and implementation; Biodiversity and Ecosystems Expertise; community engagement; Gender Expertise; monitoring, evaluation and capture of lessons, Ability to communicate in English and French. 
• The location: the six sites are located in the following OECS Member States: Grenada, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

The Client will evaluate the Firm based on the following requirements:

• General experience in environmental management, climate change, policy development and advice and in existence for at least 5 years
• At least 5 years of experience in mangrove or other tropical coastal ecosystem assessments, restoration, community management and socio-economic systems needed to support healthy thriving communities and ecosystems.
• At least 2 projects demonstrating experience in ecological assessments of mangrove or other tropical coastal ecosystems and stakeholder engagement with private sector and communities
• Regional experience with institutional, regulatory and organizational aspects of the management of mangroves or other tropical coastal ecosystems, in particular in the Caribbean or similar SIDS context

To obtain the maximum degree of comparison among Expressions of Interest (EOIs) and facilitate the evaluation process, the EOI should include the following information below: 

 

1. Title page with name of firm submitting the EOI: should contain name of firm (or joint venture and/or a sub-consultancy, if applicable), address, email, telephone, name of contact person and date of submission.
2. Expression of Interest (Maximum 30 pages):  
3. 1. 1. Brief description of the background and organization of the Firm, and – in case of a joint venture – of each member for this assignment
4. 1. 2. General and Specific experience of the Firm
5. 1. 3. Similar assignments (Brief Description of main deliverables/outputs, Name of Client & Country of Assignment, Firm's role on the assignment)

Among the submitted applications, the OECS will shortlist a maximum of six (6) Applicants, to whom the Request for Proposals to carry out the Services shall be sent.

 

The Expressions of Interest must be submitted electronically to the address below no later than April  04^th, 2025, with the subject “Expression of Interest - Consulting Services to Conduct Mangrove Ecosystem and Management Diagnostic Assessment (AFD_REMAR_2025_01)”.

Tehillah Bannis, Procurement Officer

Organisation of the Eastern Caribbean States Commission

P.O. Box 179, Morne Fortune, Castries, St. Lucia

Tel: 1-758-455-6418

E-mail: procurementbids@oecs.int Copied to: crispin.dauvergne@oecs.int  

Interested Applicants may obtain further information at the address below during office hours: 8.30am to 4.30pm Atlantic Standard Time:

Chamberlain Emmanuel, Head, Environmental Sustainability Division

OECS Commission, Morne Fortune, P.O. Box 179, Castries, SAINT LUCIA

Email: chamberlain.emmanuel@oecs.int copy : procurementbids@oecs.int ; crispin.dauvergne@oecs.int ; shanna.emmanuel@oecs.int ; simon.delage@oecs.int

 

Please see the attached document below for more details :