As part of the Interreg project 'Restoring and managing ecological corridors in mountains as the green infrastructure in the Danube- Carpathian region' (ConnectGREEN), we are looking for a consultant who is able to join to the already started preparation of the TRANSFERABILITY STRATEGY FOR BEST PRACTICES, and finalise it according to the input of project partners and the quality control board comments.
Application deadline: June 16, 2021
Description
The target of this contract is to provide input and contribution of the consultation process to reach the target of a whole European Mountain Area (PA) agreeable result on the Strategy. The final document must be accepted by the Project Partners, the Quality Control Board and the Lead Partner; therefore, it might require many rounds of consultations.
The already existing documentation can be found here.
Requirements
Experience in environmental protection related expert work.
Timeframe
The conference takes place 28-30 September 2021.
Tender conditions and deadline
The bid shall contain the price for the above tasks. Both individuals and private entities are eligible to apply. Consultants submitting bids will be notified of the decision by 20 June 2021 at the latest. Organisations and consultants are invited to submit their bids by 16 June 2021 to:
Dr. Nagy Gabriella Mária
gabriella.nagy@ceeweb.org
with the subject line:
CONNECTGREEN, Transferability Strategy.
ANNEX 1 – Brief project description
CONNECTGREEN
Integrated Transport and Green Infrastructure Planning in the Danube-Carpathian Region for the Benefit of People and Nature
Duration: 1 January 2017 – 31 October 2021
Lead Partner: WWF International Danube-Carpathian Programme
Project Partners: Secretariat of the Carpathian Convention (AT), Friends of the Earth Czech Republic, branch Olomouc, Nature Conservation Agency (CZ), CEEweb for Biodiversity (HU), Szent István University (HU), WWF Danube-Carpathian Programme Romania, State Nature Conservancy of the Slovak Republic, SPECTRA – Centre of Excellence of EU – the Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava, URBAN INCERC (RO), Piatra, Craiului National Park (RO), Slovak Environmental Agency (SK), Institute of Architecture and Urban&Spatial Planning of Serbia(RS), National Park Djerdap (RS), VUKOZ (CZ)
Associated Strategic Partners: Austrian Ministry for Transport, Innovation and Technology, Ministry of the Environment of the Czech Republic, National Infrastructure Developing Private Company Ltd. (HU), Polish Ministry of Infrastructure and Construction, Romanian Ministry of the Environment, Romanian Ministry of Transport, Republic of Slovenia Ministry of Infrastructure, Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Ukraine, Transcarpathian Regional State Administration – Department of Ecology and Natural Resources (UA)
DTP Programme Area 3: Better connected and energy responsible Danube region
DTP Specific Objective 3.1: Support environmentally-friendly and safe transport systems and balanced accessibility of urban and rural areas
Context - needs and challenges
It is expected that in the Danube region, over the next years, economic growth will pick up which is likely to go hand in hand with a massive growth of transportation. This can result in high environmental impact, including loss of biodiversity, as spatial demands for transport infrastructure and the growth of traffic flows cause landscape fragmentation and barriers for wildlife. This situation will lead to conflicts with nature conservation stakeholders. Guidance is needed for project developers, implementers and the nature conservation community for achieving integrated transport planning as prioritized by EU and international legislation to guarantee sound investment.
Project summary
The project aims to contribute to safer and environmentally-friendly road and rail networks in mountainous regions of the Danube Basin with a special focus on the Carpathian Mountains. It will do so by improving planning frameworks and developing concrete environmentally-friendly and safe road and rail transport solutions taking into account elements of Green Infrastructure, in particular ecological corridors. Sharing experience and knowledge will be of great importance. Innovative pilot actions will focus on ecological corridors crossed by EU TEN-T road and rail projects in the Carpathians. An interdisciplinary partnership comprised of planners, economists, engineers, and ecologists will integrate and apply their specific knowledge across the region and cooperate on developing Guidelines on integrated transport infrastructure planning, construction, management and monitoring, taking into account aspects of road safety and biodiversity conservation. Partners will also collaborate on the production of ready-to-use methodologies for stakeholder participation processes, training modules on Environmental Impact Assessment with a focus on ecological corridors, and Catalogues of measures for each of the four pilot sites located in Beskydy (CZ-SK), Miskolc-Kosice-Uzhgorod (HU-SK-UA), Tirgu Mures-Iasi and Lugoj-Deva (RO). An intersectoral dialogue will be fostered at the policy level that seeks for mutual understanding and implementation of recommendations towards integrated transport infrastructure planning from the local to the transnational including EU level.
Objectives
The project main objective is to contribute to a safer and environmentally-friendly road and rail network in the Carpathians as part of the wider Danube river basin by integrating Green Infrastructure elements into TEN-T related transport infrastructure development at the local, national and transnational level across relevant sectors. This will contribute to
- Improved plans and planning security for transport infrastructure projects taking Green Infrastructure into account,
- Deepened coordination and cooperation of relevant players across the sectors and the macro-region, and
- Elaboration and implementation of practical solutions for an environmentally friendly and safer transport network in the Danube region with a focus on the Carpathian mountains and the TENT-T network.
Project main result
The expected main project result is improved cooperation of the various sectors involved in road and rail transport planning including nature conservation, transport and spatial planning at the local, national and transnational level to minimise conflicts between transport infrastructure development and environmental protection. It will contribute to the creation of a safer transport network by minimising animal-vehicle collisions and of tools for monitoring collisions in the Danube region with a particular focus on the Carpathians. Policymakers and stakeholders from involved sectors will collaborate more intensively through intersectoral platforms and meetings at the local, national and transnational levels.
Activities
- Establish a dialogue mechanism involving relevant stakeholders at appropriate levels, in particular within the transnational/sub-regional context and the local level in selected pilot areas and raise awareness for the importance of ecological corridors/connectivity;
- Create a scientifically sound knowledge base for decision making as regards integrated transport infrastructure planning across the target region and the selected pilot areas, which includes assessing the state of the art and conducting a gap analysis, and develop guidance documents on integrated transport infrastructure planning through inputs from experience gained in the pilot areas, desktop research, expert knowledge and stakeholder participation;
- Targeted interventions in the selected pilot areas: verify ecological corridors along the motorway infrastructure development area, produce maps with the involvement of spatial planners and other local stakeholders, assess plans and related documents for transport infrastructure development, develop a catalogue of measures for the motorway company and recommendations for decision-makers involving relevant stakeholders and experts; seek to reach an agreement with relevant authorities from the transport and spatial planning sectors, and start implementing measures.
- Facilitate policy development and support its integration in relevant TEN-T and Green Infrastructure policy papers at the EU and regional level.
Pilot regions
- Beskydy cross-border region Czech Republic – Slovakia: focus monitoring of transport infrastructure related to ecological corridors / Green Infrastructure
- Miskolc-Kosice-Uzgorod cross-border region Hungary – Slovakia – Ukraine: focus on integrated transport planning taking ecological corridors / Green Infrastructure into account,
- Tirgu Mures – Iasi in the eastern part of the Carpathians in Romania: focus on integrated transport planning taking ecological corridors / Green Infrastructure into account
- Lugoj – Deva in the southern part of the Carpathians in Romania: focus on minimising the impact of railway extension on ecological corridors, monitoring of transport infrastructure construction