Land & Tropical Forest Expert (Lao PDR)

2. Scope of work

The Land & Tropical Forest Expert is expected to undertake the work to deliver the Laos proportion for 5 of the interconnected assessments and will support the data needs assessment and gap analysis, identify data requirements and plan a data collection methodology, obtain data from government organizations and other providers collate and support the evaluation all available data for the two catchments for the following assessments:

1. Ecosystem Governance: Review national and local land and forest management policies, mandates, and protected area categories. Evaluate existing policy instruments related to forest conservation and land-use planning. Assess the design and effectiveness of incentives aimed at increasing forest cover and promoting sustainable and stable agricultural practices.
2. Land-use: Clarify the current land-use situation across both catchments, with a focus on tracking and documenting changes in land use, particularly in relation to ongoing and planned irrigation projects. This information is vital for supporting assessments of sedimentation and deforestation trends.
3. Deforestation and Drivers: Quantify spatial and temporal trends in deforestation and afforestation using Earth Observation (EO) data. Identify socio-economic and policy drivers through field engagements.
4. Hazards and Risks: This component will assess the current hazards and risks posed by extreme events such as floods, droughts, and fires. It will utilise historical data on high and low flow records, combined with topographic GIS tools, to map the spatial extent, duration, and intensity of these events. The aim is to evaluate and understand the resilience and vulnerability of communities and the environment to these risks.
5. Ecological Status: This component will focus on identifying and assessing the ecological status of key ecosystems and habitats within the catchments. The assessment will examine the fragmentation and connectivity of these habitats, including freshwater lakes, reservoirs, wetlands (both natural and hybrid, connected and isolated), riparian zones, in-stream habitats, coastal lagoons, in-shore fisheries, and shallow marine areas. The assessment will use the land-use data collected during the project and will involve experts, as well as input from S and I on local ecology and conservation efforts.