Consultancy for a Jurisdictional Approach Expert in Mercury Reduction in Artisanal and Small-scale Gold Mining [ASGM]

Procurement Number: EPASL/GEF/GOPL/ RFP/2025/008

Date of First Issue: 22^nd May, 2025

Background

The Government of Sierra Leone through the Environment Protection Agency has secured funds from The Global Environment Facility (GEF) To hire “Consultant on the Use of the Jurisdictional Approach (JA). The project implementation phase was officially launched in Freetown, Sierra Leone, on 12 November 2024, by the Environment Protection Agency Sierra Leone (EPA-SL) – Execution Agency and the Conservation International (CI) – Implementing Agency.

Artisanal and Small-scale Gold Mining (ASGM) provides an essential livelihood for at least 80,000 miners in Sierra Leone. An increase in the international price of gold and a decrease in alluvial diamond deposits have attracted more people to engage in this sector, especially among rural communities. ASGM generates supplementary cash flows in the farming off-season.

However, this largely informal and unregulated sector poses severe negative impacts on both the environment and the health of people, and its contribution to the GDP is hard to quantify because of the informality. ASGM is the largest user and emitter of mercury into the environment, and this has devastating health and environmental consequences. ASGM operations also degrade land because they leave behind open mine pits, cause deforestation and pollute ground and surface water.

Objectives

The project aims to reduce the use of mercury in the ASGM sector through a holistic, multi-sectoral, integrated formalization approach, and increasing access to finance leading to the adoption of sustainable mercury-free technologies and access to traceable gold supply chains. The Consultant(s) will lead the use of the Jurisdictional Approach to integrate the ASGM sector into broader landscape management, implementing within government administrative boundaries, and promoting active participation of all stakeholders across sectors to address mercury use, deforestation, and land degradation. The Consultant(s) will work closely with the Project Management Unit (PMU), EPA-SL and CI to carry out the following specific objectives:

1. Landscape characterization | Use the jurisdictional approach to make a detailed assessment of policies and economics that identify the root causes and levers that must be changed to facilitate the systemic transformation to sustainability; evaluate the kinds of land and communities present in the area, what the land is used for, where the mining sites and sensitive areas like forests and wetlands are, and who owns or controls the land – both officially and through local customs. Detail how decisions are made and implemented so that improvements can be made to ensure full stakeholder participation, transparency, and accountability in the pursuit of a sustainability vision; assess impacts and ecosystem services to understand the dependencies between productive activities and the surrounding environment in order to fully cost, and in some cases, compensate for negative environmental impacts
2. Landscape Action Plan | Develop or review in a participatory manner the selected Mining Jurisdiction’s Landscape action plan (MJL): Building out specific interventions required to strike a balance between production and protection in a way that allows people to meet their needs without cashing out natural life support systems; The plan should include practical steps, like where mining can happen, where land should be protected or restored, who is responsible for what, how conflicts will be resolved, and how the environment and people’s livelihoods will be safeguarded. It should provide the roadmap for the mining activities within the project sites and guidelines for sustainable mining activities. The jurisdiction where mining activities will be undertaken will be delineated, overlaid with landcover and land use activities. Analyze the soil types, biodiversity and environmental impacts on aquatic systems and other wetlands and develop clear implementation strategy to show the impacts of the mining activities on economic development and environmental sustainability.
   1. Landscape Finance Plan | As part of the action plan for a selected Mining Jurisdictional Landscape’s (MJL), develop a Gender-sensitive, Landscape finance plan, to enable the sustainable financing of the actions outlined in the Landscape Action Plan: Identifying scalable revenue streams that can be knit together in blended financial mechanism to bear the cost of transitioning to a sustainable system – where the money might come from (like mining fees, green investment, or donor support), how funds will be managed, and how benefits will be shared fairly – especially with women and local communities. Where possible, encourage the use of blended finance (e.g., combining donor funds with mining license revenues or carbon finance)
   2. Implementation and Monitoring | Develop a comprehensive monitoring and evaluation framework indicating who will carry out the plan, how progress will be measured, and indicators across the key dimensions of sustainability, that will be used to track results, including human wellbeing, ecosystem health, governance, and sustainable production (Rainforest Alliance). Implement a pilot test.
   3. Learning and Adaptive Management | Provide at least eight 90-minute sessions to the Project Management Unit, one for each of the JA themes; Deliver advanced capacity building training on the most relevant themes in JA, including on delineation and mapping, skills in mapping, data management, surveying, use of mobile and allied technologies (to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA-SL), National Minerals Agency (NMA), Ministry of Environment and Climate Change (MoECC), and Ministry of Mines and Mineral Resources (MMMR).

Specific Tasks:

Consultancy on the Use the Jurisdictional Approach (JA) to Develop:

• Jurisdictional Landscape Maps for Three Artisanal Mine (AM) Sites;
• Landscape Development Map and Land Use Action Plan for one Site and
• Build Capacity of Regulatory Agencies in Relevant JA Themes.

Academic qualifications:

Education:

Advanced degree in environmental science, Geographical Information Systems (GIS), natural resources management, land-use planning, socio-economic development or related fields.

Experiences:   

Applicants should have strong evidence of knowledge and a minimum of Five (5) years in relevant experience.

1. Demonstrated expertise in collection, analysis, and reporting of data specifically for men and women as well as in explaining complex issues to diverse stakeholders.
2. Familiarity with and experience of the Jurisdiction Approach in Land use planning and Management in Sierra Leone and or West African region will be a plus.
3. A demonstrated understanding of CI-GEF’s Policies and principles
4. Strong communication, stakeholder engagement, and project management skills.
5. Knowledge of national environmental and land management policies and regulations.
6. Ability to plan, organize, prioritize, work well independently, and manage work with minimal supervision
7. Strong team player with collaborative approach, excellent interpersonal, organizational, prioritization, and time management skills.
8. Ensuring equal access to services for women and men

Language Requirements:

Fluency in written and spoken English. All documents are expected to be produced in English.

Evaluation method and criteria

Technical Criteria weight 70%

Financial Criteria weight 30%,

Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 70% of the total technical points (49 points) would be considered for the Financial Evaluation.

Financial Proposal:

Financial proposal that indicates all-inclusive fixed total contract price supported by a breakdown of costs (including professional fee, and specified other costs if applicable.

The National consultant/firm is requested to prepare and submit their technical and financial proposal to be submitted to the address not later than 18^th June at (1:30 Pm).

Note: The consultant/firm shall be ranked and the first ranked on the list shall be selected for the proposed assignment given that, their fee rates are within the budget.  The selection process will be based on the Least Cost Selection

Service Required: The Environment Protection Agency Sierra Leone (EPA-SL) is seeking a competent expert with experience in “Enhancing the Formalization and Mercury Reduction in Artisanal and Small-scale Gold Mining (ASGM) in Sierra Leone”., and for advocacy and policy interventions throughout the project implementation. The Agency has secured fund and is therefore inviting consultants who can provide a statement of capability and experience indicating that they are qualified to perform the service (description of similar assignment, experience in similar conditions, availability of appropriate skills among staff, etc.) to submit Technical and financial proposals for the assignment. The Technical Proposals will be publicly opened on [18^th June, 2025] at [1:35 pm], in the presence of the bidders’ designated representatives and anyone who chooses to attend, at the address below.

This advertisement is open to all National Consultants.

Kindly submit the following documents;

• Technical proposal
• Financial Proposal, that indicates all-inclusive fixed total contract price supported by a breakdown of costs (inclusive professional fee and specify other costs if applicable.
• A Cover Letter
• Personal CV indicating educational background/professional qualifications. contact details (email and telephone number) of the Candidate and at least three (3) professional references;
• Individual / firm Profile
• Samples of previous work/ experience from similar project.

Duration of work:

The assignment is expected to be undertaken within 150 days from the date of signing the contract. Spreading over a period of 3 years.

Duty Station: Home Base

Interested consultant may obtain further information and collect the terms of reference (TOR) at the address below between [9am to 4pm Mondays to Fridays] or send an email to the below email address.

Technical and Financial proposals must be delivered either by hand or mail to the address below on or before [18^th June, 2025] at [1:30 pm],

Proposals along with relevant documents must be submitted in sealed envelope boldly marked: “Consultancy for a Jurisdictional Approach Expert’’ at the address below.  Late proposal will be rejected and returned unopened. In addition to the original of the proposals, the number of copies required is 2.

WOMEN ARE STRONGLY ENCOURAGED TO APPLY

Proposals must be delivered to the address below or by email to kamara.isatu2000@gmail.com/isatu.kamara@epa.gov.sl and copied to massaquoiabubakar@gmail.com no later than 18^th June,2025.

Executive Chairperson

Environment Protection Agency-SL;

2^nd Floor

38 Freetown Road, Wilberforce Village, Freetown.