Consultancy: Mid-term Review of the GEF7 Sustainable Forest Management Project

IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature), a membership Union composed of both government and civil society organisations, is seeking a consultant or team to conduct the Mid-term Review (MTR) of the GEF-7 project titled "Strengthening Forest Management for Improved Biodiversity Conservation and Climate Resilience in the Southern Rangelands of Kenya" (Project ID: 10292). This full-sized project, implemented through the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) and the Ministry responsible for Environment and Forestry, with IUCN as the GEF Partner Agency, commenced on 24th April 2023 and is now in its third year of implementation. The MTR is scheduled for 2026, in line with the IUCN-GEF Guidance on MTRs, and will be initiated ahead of the submission of the second Project Implementation Report (PIR).

The Southern Rangelands of Kenya, covering large areas of Kajiado and Narok Counties, contain globally significant biodiversity, critical forest ecosystems, wildlife dispersal areas, and pastoral production systems that provide essential ecosystem services. These landscapes are increasingly threatened by land degradation, forest loss, unsustainable land-use practices, invasive species, climate variability, changing land tenure, habitat fragmentation, and pressure from agricultural expansion and infrastructure development. Although Kenya has a relatively strong policy framework, implementation is constrained by fragmented institutional coordination, inadequate landscape planning, limited financing for restoration, weak community capacity, and insufficient knowledge management.

The project addresses six interlinked barriers: weak integrated landscape governance; limited enabling environment for sustainable forest and dryland management; insufficient investment in restoration; limited adoption of sustainable land and forest management practices; weak knowledge management and monitoring; and market and livelihood constraints. It operates through three components: Component 1 strengthens the enabling environment for sustainable natural resource management; Component 2 invests in scaling up sustainable dryland management; and Component 3 focuses on programmatic coordination, monitoring, and knowledge management. Implementation is led by NEMA, with responsible parties including KARLO, NETFUND, SORALO, ACC, and ILRI, and works closely with county governments and community institutions.

The MTR aims to provide an independent, evidence-based assessment of project progress, validate the Theory of Change, examine implementation performance, identify bottlenecks, and recommend adaptive management actions. Specific objectives include assessing performance against the Results Framework, evaluating the effectiveness of implementation approaches, assessing efficiency of delivery and financial management, evaluating progress towards integrated landscape management, examining institutional coordination, assessing sustainability and scaling potential, and identifying lessons learned. The review will adopt a utilization-focused, participatory, and mixed-methods approach, combining desk review, key informant interviews, focus group discussions, field missions, and results verification. It will apply OECD-DAC evaluation criteria and cover four assessment categories: Project Strategy, Progress Towards Results, Project Implementation and Adaptive Management, and Sustainability.

The MTR team will conduct a detailed analysis of project strategy, including the logframe indicators and targets, and assess the continued relevance of the project to national and local priorities. It will verify reported progress against indicators, with particular attention to data quality for headline indicators such as hectares under improved management and number of beneficiaries. The review will also assess the effectiveness of institutional coordination, the likelihood of sustainability, and the integration of gender and social inclusion considerations.

The final MTR report must describe the full approach and rationale, and the consultant will be expected to develop an Inception Report for approval before data collection begins. The review will be conducted in close engagement with the Project Management Unit, government counterparts, IUCN Kenya Country Office, and other stakeholders. Field visits will be undertaken in representative sites in Kajiado and Narok Counties to verify progress and assess interventions.

Interested consultants should submit their technical proposal, including their interpretation of the ToR, evaluation approach, methodology, and workplan. The appointed consultant will refine this into a consolidated approach in the Inception Report. The MTR is expected to provide strategic and operational recommendations to improve project delivery and enhance the likelihood of achieving intended outcomes.

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