The Ministry of Water is implementing a project named “Securing Watershed Services Through Sustainable Land Management (SLM) in the Ruvu and Zigi Catchments (Eastern Arc)” with funds from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) through UNDP. The project area is in the Uluguru and East Usambara Mountains of Tanzania. These forest mountains, which give rise to the Ruvu and Zigi rivers respectively, form part of the Eastern Arc mountains forest chain, and are amongst the most important catchment areas in the country. The objective of the project is to ensure that sustainable land management alleviates land degradation, maintains ecosystem services and improves livelihoods in the Ruvu and Zigi catchments; Soil protection and control of erosion. The project has two components; The first one is focused on building institutional capacity and strengthening coordination amongst Water Basin Boards and other relevant stakeholders, and the second one is on implementing practical Sustainable Land Management (SLM) interventions to address land degradation in forests, rangelands and farmlands with the overall purpose of securing watershed services and improving livelihood. The project is being implemented in the districts of Morogoro, Mvomero, Muheza, Mkinga, Korogwe and Tanga for a period of 5 years effectively from January 2016 to 2020.

This project is contributing to the overall goal of the GEF LD Focal Area, which is to arrest and reverse global trends in desertification and deforestation. It will do this by putting in place watershed management approaches that are conducive to the uptake of SLM in over 20,000 ha of land in two globally significant mountain catchments of Ruvu and Zigi. The project is therefore designed to contribute specifically to delivering the global environmental benefits including Improved land cover, improved productivity, improved human wellbeing and water availability. The project area in the Zigi and Ruvu Catchments form important part of the ecosystem of the Eastern Arc Region which is internationally recognized in species richness and endemism. Studies have however shown significant loses in species and degradation of the biophysical factors in the region. The assignment shall establish baseline status of the relevant biophysical aspects in the Ruvu and Zigi catchments including biological diversity, vegetation and habitats, water resources and protected areas. The study shall as well design data forms for collecting data and information for tracking changes of the baseline status that will be established.

The Ministry of Water and Irrigation (MOWI) through UNDP therefore wishes to engage the services of an Individual Consultant who is a bio-physical expert to work with the designated institutions and conduct bio-physical resource inventory in the Ruvu and Zigi catchments. The study is a contribution to project outcome No. 4 which states that “Landscape-level adoption of SLM measures in the Ruvu and Zigi catchments promoted to reduce the effects of land degradation on watershed services and to improve livelihoods”. Further the Bio-physical study will enrich baseline data needed for project monitoring and in development of monitoring protocols for tracking impact of implementing integrated land use management plans.