Terms of Reference
For
Training of journalists/media tour

1. Introduction

1.1. The Forest Law Enforcement and Governance (FLEG) II Program focuses on improving forest governance in seven countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Russia and Ukraine) that are included in the European Union’s (EU) European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument (ENPI) East region. The Austrian Development Cooperation (ADC) grant is sought to finance complementary measures in Georgia and Armenia and supplement resources available from the EU-funded FLEG II Program.

1.2. The overall objective of the Program is to promote sustainable forest governance, management, and protection of forests in the participating Program countries, ensuring the contribution of the region's forests to climate change adaptation and mitigation, to ecosystems and biodiversity protection, and to sustainable livelihoods and income sources for local populations and national economies.

1.3. The three specific Program objectives are:

1. implementation of the 2005 St. Petersburg FLEG Ministerial Declaration and ensuring continuation of the process launched in 2005 (regional level),
2. formulation and implementation of sustainable forest sector policies, including legal and administrative reforms for sustainable forest management and protection (national level), and
3. demonstration of best sustainable forest management practices in targeted areas for further replication (sub-national level).

1.4. The Program is under implementation since November 2013 until December 2016, and is undertaking the following tasks:

• Support for the development of policy and legislation
• Capacity building and training
• Forest inventory support
• Forestry case studies
• Pilot activities for sustainable forest management
• Public awareness and dissemination of results

2. Country Context

2.1. Armenia’s forest policy strategy was developed by the respective Ministries of the Republic of Armenia and approved by the Government on September 30, 2004 (for 15 years, until 2019), covering climate change, rural development, landscape and gender issues. A recent legislative development in the forestry sector was the adoption of a regulation, according to which the forest communities will be able to receive up to 8m3 of fuel-wood (from fallen wood) per household per year free of charge. A number of environmental NGOs are actively discussing the issue of restructuring the “Hayantar” (Armforest), forestry sector authority, which has the status of the State non-commercial organization (SNCO), with limited executive power but a wide range of responsibilities.

2.2. The Country Work plan (CWP) for Armenia builds on the following five directions:

• Support for the development of forest Policy and legislation
• Pilot activities for sustainable forest management
• Forest Case Studies
• Capacity Building and Training
• Public awareness and dissemination of results

3. Objective

3.1. The overall objective of conducting a training for media representatives covering environmental aspects with special focus on forestry issues is to enhance journalistic skills of selected individuals to provide accurate, reliable, captivating articles on environmental issues with the emphasis on forestry aspects thus improving the quality of coverage.

3.2. The media is the intermediary between the facts and society, and they do carry the burden of conveying information to wide audience, thus creating certain opinion and attitude regarding developments. Poor skills, lack of specific knowledge of the environmental sector is affecting the overall image, state and perspective of the forestry field in Armenia and Georgia.

3.3. A media training with a subsequent media tour was successfully organized in 2010 during the phase I of the ENPI FLEG Program by IUCN. The activity resulted in a dozen of trained, skilled and educated journalists providing quality articles on the Program and the forestry sector. Current activity strives to replicate the previous success and expand the scope while also inviting journalists from Georgia, thus turning into a regional event.

4. Specific task and scope of work

4.1. The selected firm/organization shall develop and deliver a two day training program for candidates selected through open expression of interest subject to approval/review by the Bank. Selection of media representatives from Georgia shall be carried out by the National Forest Agency (NFA), Georgia.

4.2. After successful completion of training the selected firm/organization shall facilitate a 3 day media tour for the selected candidates through borderline forests and forest adjacent communities of Armenia and Georgia.

4.3. The selected firm/organization shall facilitate the two day training covering following areas:

• Increase the understanding of the environmental and especially forest sectors and their problems/challenges among the participants;
• Facts and figures vs. emotional approach;
• Considering the relevant institutions of the environmental and forest sectors and the respective authorities as a valuable source of information and comments;
• Attracting public interest towards the environmental and forest sector issues and achievements as a result of a quality coverage.

4.4. The selected firm/organization shall work in close collaboration with “Hayantar” SNCO, National Forest Agency of Georgia (NFA) and the ENPI FLEG II Program coordination teams in Armenia and Georgia.

5. Deliverables

5.1. The selected firm/organization shall:

• Develop a training program with modules covering each topic of interest:
  • What is the definition of illegal logging in Armenia/Georgia? How is the legal definition of “illegal logging” different from the public perception in Armenia/Georgia and where is the confusion?
  • Political, economic and social aspects of illegal logging;
  • Legal and institutional issues of the forestry sector in Armenia and Georgia;
  • Public monitoring of forests,
  • Main threats to the forests in Armenia and Georgia;
  • Professional use of resources for journalists: reports websites, databases.
• Select up to 10 journalists (5 per country) from the broad landscape of local media (print, news agencies, electronic) interested in the topics and having some experience of coverage. Selection shall be agreed with the World Bank;
• Invite the lead environmental journalists (from the previous media tour in 2010) who could play the role of co-trainer(s) and share the experiences;
• Invite the lead experts of the sector representing both the state and civic institutions;
• Consider a session which will be specifically focused on the exchange of experiences of the coverage between the Armenian and Georgian journalists;
• Provide at least five quality articles/videos covering different aspects of the forestry sectors of Armenia and Georgia, as well as a factsheet highlighting facts and figures of the sector by the end of the media tour;
• Provide a summary report describing the process and main achievements of the assignment.

6. Timing and contract arrangements

6.1. The total duration of the assignment is 15 calendar days over a time period of four months from April 2016 to July 2016.

6.2. The draft training program shall be provided for comments and approval 7 days after signing the contract.

6.3. The payment shall be made upon completion of the whole assignment and once the summary report is approved.

6.4. All the costs related to the event (i.e. transportation, accommodation and meals) shall be covered by the World Bank directly.

6.5. The summary report shall be provided within 7 calendar days after completion of the assignment. The Consultant shall report directly to Ms. Arusyak Alaverdyan, Project Coordinator (aalaverdyan@worldbank.org) and Mr. Vigen Sargsyan, Senior Communications Officer (vsargsyan@worldbank.org) at the World Bank Yerevan Office.

7. Qualification and Selection Criteria

7.1. The Consultant (firm/ organization) shall meet the following criteria:

• Environment oriented background and mission
• Extensive experience in journalism and media relations
• At least 5 years of experience in developing training materials and delivering trainings
• Excellent knowledge of the forestry field, in particular existing problems and challenges
• Proficiency in Armenian and Russian languages, working level of English among the members of the team
• Computer literacy
• Previous engagement in World Bank or European Union Programs

7.2. The Consultant (firm/ organization) shall be represented by:

• A Team leader with environmental and/or journalist background
• A Media specialist with at least 5 years of work experience
• An environmental specialist, specialized in forestry with at least 5 years of work experience.
• An assistant with previous experience in organizing trainings and workshops.

Further information can be obtained and application documents must be delivered (in a written form) to the address below by 17 April 2016.

Attn.: Sirarpi Haykazyan
shaykazyan@worldbank.org