Tenders Are Invited For Consultancy To Develop A Western Indian Ocean Regional 30X30 Strategy And Regenerative Seascapes Toolkit

Tenders are invited for Consultancy to Develop a Western Indian Ocean Regional 30x30 Strategy and Regenerative Seascapes Toolkit. Closing Date: 6 Oct 2026 Type: Consultancy Objective of the Consultancy The objective of this consultancy is to support IUCN and its partners to develop a practical, ambitious and action-oriented Western Indian Ocean (WIO) Regional 30x30 Strategy and Roadmap, identifying tangible and scalable pathways through which the region can accelerate progress towards conserving and effectively managing at least 30% of marine and coastal areas by 2030. With only four years remaining to achieve the 2030 target, the consultancy will build on the substantial work already undertaken through the Regenerative Seascapes for People, Climate and Nature (ReSea) project, including regional learning exchanges, national roadmaps and strategic discussions involving governments, local communities and key stakeholders from Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, Madagascar and Comoros. The consultant will review and capitalise on this existing work, assess lessons learned and progress to date, and propose concrete actions and mechanisms for accelerating implementation. The consultancy will assess a range of potential pathways towards 30x30, including Regenerative Marine Seascapes and, separately, Large Marine Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures (OECMs), as well as Locally Managed Marine Areas (LMMAs), community-based marine conservation, marine protected areas and other relevant approaches. The consultancy will also develop a practical and visually engaging Regenerative Seascapes Toolkit, building on lessons and experience from the ReSea project and the IUCN ESARO Coastal and Ocean Resilience Programme. Ultimately, the assignment should result in a practical package of strategy, roadmap, tools and tangible recommendations that can support governments, communities, IUCN and regional partners in accelerating meaningful progress towards 30x30 over the remaining years to 2030. About IUCN IUCN is a membership Union uniquely composed of both government and civil society organisations. It provides public, private and non-governmental organisations with the knowledge and tools that enable human progress, economic development and nature conservation to take place together. Created in 1948, IUCN is now the worlds largest and most diverse environmental network, harnessing the knowledge, resources and reach of more than 1,400 Member organisations and around 15,000 experts. It is a leading provider of conservation data, assessments and analysis. Its broad membership enables IUCN to fill the role of incubator and trusted repository of best practices, tools and international standards. IUCN provides a neutral space in which diverse stakeholdersincluding governments, NGOs, scientists, businesses, local communities, Indigenous Peoples organisations and otherscan work together to forge and implement solutions to environmental challenges and achieve sustainable development. About the Project In support of the establishment of sustainable, resilient and inclusive seascapes in the Western Indian Ocean, Mission Inclusion (Mi) and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) implement the Regenerative Seascapes for People, Climate and Nature (ReSea) project in partnership with local feminist organisations in Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, Madagascar and Comoros. The project is funded by Global Affairs Canada as part of the Partnering for Climate initiative. Its broader goal is to enhance the physical and socioeconomic resilience of coastal communities in these five countries by accelerating the uptake of Nature-based Solutions and gender-responsive conservation practices to protect, restore and sustainably manage marine and coastal ecosystems and unlock a regenerative blue economy. The ReSea project contributes to the Western Indian Ocean-led Great Blue Wall initiative by supporting the development of a network of sustainable, resilient and inclusive seascapes through a people-centred approach. The Great Blue Wall initiative is built around four key pillars that align with the Global Biodiversity Framework and the Paris Climate Agreement. Blue Planet focuses on scaling and improving the management and governance of protected and conserved marine areas, with a strong emphasis on equity, gender-responsiveness and local stewardship. Blue Nature aims to restore and conserve critical ecosystems through gender-responsive Nature-based Solutions. Blue People promotes a regenerative and inclusive Blue Economy by empowering local communities, especially women and youth. Blue Partnerships is a cross-cutting pillar focusing on strengthening connectivity at all levels and across social, ecological, institutional and geographical dimensions. Within this broader context, the ReSea project contributes to the Great Blue Walls ambition for transformative and inclusive ocean governance by strengthening regenerative seascapes, community-led marine governance and other effective and sustainable approaches to marine and coastal conservation. The project is generating practical experience, lessons and evidence across Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, Madagascar and Comoros on how conservation and sustainable management can be strengthened through integrated, people-centred and gender-responsive approaches. As the project moves towards its final phase, there is an important opportunity to capitalise on these experiences and translate them into practical pathways, tools and recommendations that can accelerate progress towards the 30x30 target and support the scaling and replication of regenerative seascapes across the Western Indian Ocean. Existing work on Regenerative Seascapes As part of this work, IUCN ESARO brought together government representatives, local communities and key stakeholders from Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, Madagascar and Comoros to learn from international experiences in the establishment and governance of marine seascapes. A regional learning exchange took place in Fiji in May 2025, followed by a second exchange in Indonesia in February 2026, undertaken in collaboration with Conservation International, which hosted the learning processes. The exchanges explored, among other experiences, the Lau Seascape in Fiji and the Birds Head Seascape in Indonesia. Building on these learning exchanges, participating countries developed national roadmaps and a regional strategic framework to guide further engagement and action. Since then, some countries have made further progress and demonstrated interest in the establishment of marine seascapes, including Madagascar and Comoros. There is now a need to review and capitalise on the work undertaken to date, document lessons learned and identify practical and strategic pathways for moving from planning and learning towards implementation. Other pathways towards 30x30 Regenerative Seascapes are designed to deliver holistic outcomes across biodiversity conservation, sustainable livelihoods, climate resilience and inclusive ocean governance, contributing to multiple targets under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, as well as relevant Sustainable Development Goals and climate commitments. Within this broader contribution, Regenerative Seascapes have strong potential to support delivery of the 30x30 target. One potential pathway is through the formal recognition and reporting of qualifying areas as large-scale marine Other Effective Area-Based Conservation Measures (OECMs). Further work is therefore needed to define practical pathways through which Regenerative Seascapes could be recognised as direct contributions to 30x30, including by drawing lessons from emerging experiences such as the Philippines approach to reporting large-scale marine OECMs. International experience, including from the Philippines, provides important lessons on how networks of locally managed and conserved marine areas, supported by overarching governance and management arrangements, can create the conditions for recognition and reporting as large-scale marine OECMs and thereby contribute significantly to progress towards Target 3 of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), commonly referred to as the 30x30 target. Building on these lessons, the consultancy will assess how Regenerative Seascapes could create the enabling conditions for such recognition in the WIO, including through strengthened ecological connectivity, coordinated governance and management, and integration of locally managed and conserved areas within the wider seascape. This will include assessing the legal, governance, institutional, technical and reporting conditions required for all or part of a Regenerative Seascape to qualify and be reported as a large-scale marine OECM. The consultancy will also examine how existing approaches, including LMMAs, community-based marine conservation and governance systems, marine protected areas, other OECMs, and relevant legal and financing mechanisms, can act as foundations or complementary components of a Regenerative Seascape and support its contribution to 30x30. The consultant will create a report based on these findings. Regenerative Seascapes Toolkit A further major output of the consultancy will be the development of a practical Regenerative Seascapes Toolkit. The toolkit will build on lessons from the ReSea project and the experience of the IUCN ESARO Coastal and Ocean Resilience Programme in Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, Madagascar and Comoros, while also capitalising on relevant work and practical experience on seascapes undertaken by key stakeholders across the WIO. The consultant will work closely with relevant IUCN teams and stakeholders to consolidate practical experience and develop a usable methodology for the establishment, governance, implementation and scaling of regenerative seascapes. The toolk Tender Link : https://reliefweb.int/job/4230338/consultancy-develop-western-indian-ocean-regional-30x30-strategy-and-regenerative-seascapes-toolkit