Expert for the TRANSLATION SERVICES (PROJECT NUMBER: DTP3-314-2.3)

Expert for the TRANSLATION SERVICES Within the framework of the project INTERREG DTP SaveGREEN “Safeguarding the functionality of transnationally important ecological corridors in the Danube basin” Project number: DTP3-314-2.3

Description

1. The OBJECTIVE of the assignment is to translate outcomes of the project from English to Hungarian and partly to other languages as well as to provide them in the required formats.

2. Project languages: source language: English; target languages: German, Hungarian, Romanian, Bulgarian, Czech, Slovak, Ukrainian

3. Deliverables and Outputs:

• Deliverable D.C.2.2 Flyers on project information, and outputs and results
• Deliverable D.C.4.3 Twitter Adventure in the MYOS patterns
• Deliverable D.C.2.4 Layout for project publications (outputs)
• Output T1.1 Standardized methodology for monitoring
• Output T1.3 CB Programme Toolkit EIA SEA CB
• Output T2.2 Local Cross-Sectoral Operational Plans (CSOPs) including concrete measures to safeguard, enhance, restore functionality of ecological connectivity in the pilot areas

The deliverables and outputs will be translated to Hungarian and partly to other languages as follows:

Target value:  5

The translation of the deliverables and outputs is expected from English to Hungarian and partly to other languages within the given document format, keeping the layout of the whole document including the visual elements (photos, figures, tables, etc.), or the provided format in the excel sheets.

The deliverables and outputs will be complex texts with table of contents, pictures (provided), tables and graphic elements and need to have a common identity that matches the DTP rules for publications and the SaveGREEN branding (except where the text is required in xls format). The unit of measure is a rough estimation and can vary slightly. Adaptations will be made according to the final number of pages/charachters. The basis for the final price is the number of characters according to the actual products.

4. TIME HORIZON OF ACTIVITY AND LOCATION

The above-mentioned deliverables and outputs are due on 29 December 2022, in a above mentioned print format. Preferably, the translator is located in Europe. The last invoice must be submitted the latest by 29 December 2022.

5. REQUIREMENTS TO PRODUCT DESIGN

• The publications will be prepared partly separately, by separate orders and separate invoicing
• The publications will be made respecting the visual identity of the project, respectively the sponsor Danube Transnational Programme (please find more information by clicking http://www.interreg-danube.eu/relevant-documents/documents-for-project-implementation).
• The publications shall be available in docx, xls and partly in pdf web and print versions, as well as the editable graphic designs for the final publication in English and all translated languages as well in InDesign file format.

6. RELATED TO WORKING EXPERIENCE

• Experience in quick and qualitative translation in the project languages
• Experience in publicly funded projects (e.g.: EU, foundations)
• Knowledge of using Adobe's graphics package, knowledge of using translation softwares
• Experience in translating, proofreading and quality controlling of documents in the project languages
• Experience in creating/designing digital and print materials

7. REQUIREMENTS FOR A GOOD COOPERATION

For the successful implementation of the tasks agreed upon within the present document, the service provider will:

• Accept that the working language of the project is English or Hungarian.
• Work closely with the contractor CEEweb for Biodiversity based in Hungary
• Communicate and cooperate with the Hungarian project manager

8. REQUIREMENT ON OFFER

The offers are requested to respond only to the respective price request, which will be sent out partly separately for the respective deliverables and outputs.

 The bid shall contain:

• The detailed price offer replying only to the actual price request
  • all fees/costs (including VAT if relevant) of professional services provided by the applicant as in III. Deliverables above,
  • including all technically and physically required materials and equipment, which make able applicants able to fulfil the task (no separate reimbursement will be provided by the project).

9. APPLICATION CRITERIA FOR INDIVIDUALS OR ORGANIZATIONS
   • Knowledge / practical experience in translation
   • Experience of working in international projects
   • Good knowledge of the expected languages
   • The applicant can be an entrepreneur, NGO, or a private company.
   • Applicant shall declare the acceptance that all activity must full-fill all regulations of Interreg DTP as donor expectations and rules.

VII.        APPLICATION AND DEADLINE

Interested entrepreneurs/NGOs /organizations/companies should submit their applications alongside a detailed price offer including time and budget (per deliverable/outcome and character) to be invested to translating and designing the above-mentioned documents, separately for the separate price requests. The separate offers should include a detailed budget of the tasks (including time, all fees, costs and VATs, foreseen expenses, and sub-contracting fees, if such).

The offer will be rejected if the offer does not include all expected documents.

The decision will be based on the best price principle.

Applicants will be announced on the results of the tender continuously - parallelly to the price requests - by 27 September 2022. The winner(s) will be provided with the draft of the contract(s) including all the payment conditions.

All application documents must be written in English or Hungarian and sent by email to Viktória Selmeczy, vselmeczy@ceeweb.org, and/or ceeweb@ceeweb.org at CEEweb for Biodiversity.

CEEweb reserves the right to withdraw the tender if less than 3 applications fulfil all requirements of the tender, or the price-offers exceed the budget allocated to the tasks. In case of an invalid tendering procedure, CEEweb will continue the procurement process with simplified procurement and request offers directly from service providers by the above mentioned timing periods.

The tender is open by 27 September 2022.

More information about the project can be found below (Annex 1), and at https://www.interreg-danube.eu/approved-projects/savegreen. For more information on CEEweb for Biodiversity, please visit www.ceeweb.org. Further inquiries can be made through any of the contact points mentioned above.

Annex 1. Summary of the SaveGREEN Project

Project’s full name: Safeguarding the functionality of transnationally important ecological corridors in the Danube basin

Duration: 1 July 2020 – 31 December 2022

Partners:

• Austria: WWF Central and Eastern Europe, Environment Agency Austria
• Bulgaria: Black Sea NGO Network; Bulgarian Biodiversity Foundation
• Czech Republic: Friends of the Earth, Olomouc branch; Transport Research Centre
• Hungary: CEEweb for Biodiversity; Szent Istvan University
• Romania: Zarand Association;  EPC Environmental Consulting Ltd.; WWF Romania,
• Slovakia: WWF Slovakia; Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava - SPECTRA Centre of Excellence of EU

Associated Partners:

• Austria: Austrian Ministry for Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation, and Technology
• Bulgaria: Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forestry, Executive Forest Agency; Southwestern State Enterprise SE – Blagoevgrad
• Czech Republic: Ministry of the Environment of the Czech Republic; Nature Conservation Agency of the Czech Republic
• France: Infrastructure and Ecology Network Europe (IENE)
• Germany: Bavarian State Ministry of the Environment and Consumer Protection
• Greece: EGNATIA ODOS S.A.
• Hungary: NIF National Infrastructure Developing Private Company Limited; Ministry of Agriculture; Danube-Ipoly National Park Directorate
• Romania: Ministry of Environment, Waters and Forests; Ministry of Public Works, Development and Administration; Ministry of Transport, Infrastructure and Communications
• Slovakia: State Nature Conservancy of the Slovak Republic; Ministry of Environment of the Slovak Republic; Ministry of Transport and Construction of the Slovak Republic; National Motorway Company
• Ukraine: M.P. Shulgin State Road Research Institute State Enterprise – DerzhdorNDI SE; Department of Ecology and Nature Resources of Zakarpatska Oblast Administration

Pilot areas:

1. Kobernausser forest in AT
2. Pöttsching, (AT)-Carpathian (SK) Corridor on the AT side;
3. Beskydy-Kysuce CZ-SK cross-border area, connecting inner Carpathians and the periphery;
4. Novohrad-Nógrád SK-HU cross-border area between South Slovakia and North Hungary;
5. Zakarpattia region in Ukraine connecting Romania and Slovakia;
6. Mures valley (Arad- Deva), corridor area between Apuseni Mountains and main Carpathian arch in Romania;
7. Mures valley ( Târgu Mureş - Târgu Neamţ), Eastern Carpathians in Romania;
8. Rila-Verila-Kreishte corridor in Bulgaria connecting Bulgaria with Northern Macedonia and Serbia,

The PA leaders (EEA for AT, BBF for BG, FoE for CZ, SZIU for HU, EPC and AZ for RO, WWF SK for SK, WWF CEE and CEEweb for UA) will be the key actors in pilot area work supported by all other PPs and respective ASPs in the countries.

Background

In the Carpathians and other mountain ranges of the Danube region, plenty of ecological corridors are under threat — or, even more, have already been impeded — by poorly envisioned economic development. Among a few examples of this, the construction of linear transport infrastructure, energy supply infrastructure and settlements — especially in river valleys — and intensive agricultural, forestry and water management practices. If not adequately planned, all these man-made interventions can bring conflict for not addressing the critical need of maintaining ecological connectivity and the flow of multiple ecosystem services.

Ecological connectivity is the backbone of Green Infrastructure (GI). It provides ecosystem services and contributes to climate change resilience. Its ongoing rupture is, nevertheless, of growing gravity. This is especially the case in Eastern Europe where, due to historic and administrative capacity constraints, inter-ministerial cooperation and stakeholder involvement from different sectors is limited. Consequently, the functionality of GI decreases, impacting both humans and wildlife.

Moreover, mitigation measures, such as green bridges, are either often missing or dysfunctional due to inadequate design, location, and inappropriate land-use management. The most noticeable impacts: traffic-kills and lowered reproductive success of key species dependent on functional corridors.

The challenge ahead: to reduce the pressure from such forms of economic activities on natural areas by minimising the impact on the natural processes and securing eco-connectivity — especially, in bottleneck locations. There is, indeed, some experience in the region on how to mitigate these impacts of economic development, but little is done to comprehensively monitor the functionality of mitigation measures and their effectiveness — so to learn from examples and integrate learnings into future plans.

Summary of the SaveGREEN project

The SaveGREEN project will demonstrate that, through integrated planning, the design of appropriate mitigation measures, and the adequate ways to maintain and improve the functionality of ecological corridors, can be achieved. The monitoring of the impact of such measures will, moreover, allow the project to derive the proper set of recommendations for follow-up actions and policy design.

SaveGREEN will work towards this aim by fostering cross-sectoral collaboration, building capacities for the replication of pilots, and upscaling results through improved policy frameworks. It will, thus, contribute to fostering the conservation of natural heritage and work towards sustainable resource use by strengthening joint and integrated approaches with key players affecting the integrity of these resources — including GI. In addition, SaveGREEN will foster the preservation of ecological corridors and identify where and how action is needed towards restoring connectivity by addressing existing pressures and imminent threats stemming from economic development projects.

Additionally, the project will address these challenges by improving national and European Union (EU) policy and funding frameworks, building capacity of authorities and practitioners, standardising the monitoring of measures, and strengthening cross-sectoral platforms at the local, national and international levels.

The project will focus on the critical ecological corridors of the Alpine-Carpathian Corridor (Kobernausser forest and Pöttsching in Austria), Beskydy-Kysuce CZ-SK cross-border area, Novohrad-Nógrád SK-HU cross-border area, the Mures valley in Romania (Arad-Deva, Târgu Mureş – Târgu Neamţ), Zakarpattia region in Ukraine, and the Rila-Verila-Kraishte corridor in Bulgaria – all  of them impacted by linear transport projects and unsustainable land use. Overall, it will create best practice examples in seven pilot areas with different landscape matrices.

The partnership covers key sectors to be involved in integrated planning of mitigation measures: nature conservation (i.e. ministries, agencies, authorities and NGOs), research and education (i.e. universities and a research institution), transport (i.e. ministries and motorway companies), consultancy business (i.e. a limited company), and Associated Strategic Partners (ASPs) from complementary sectors from Austria, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, and Ukraine.

Main objectives

The project will aim to foster cross-sectoral and transnational cooperation, as well as building a comprehensive know-how, towards the development of concrete solutions aimed at improving, restoring and preserving the functionality of key ecological corridors in Carpathian, Alpine and Bulgarian mountain valleys. It will cover these areas due to the overlapping concentration of both human activities and critical points for wildlife migration, which renders high degrees of conflict.

SaveGREEN’s main objective will be achieved through:

1. Increasing the knowledge and experience of relevant authorities and stakeholders via capacity building programmes and the dissemination of the key results coming from the Danube Transnational Programme (DTP) projects TRANSGREEN, ConnectGREEN, and HARMON, as well as from SaveGREEN itself, on how to maintain and improve the functionality and financing of GI.
2. Cross-sectoral joint planning of robust mitigation measures for securing connectivity. This will be based on careful planning and design, secured funding, cross-sectoral dialogues, and sound scientific knowledge embedded in proper site-management.
3. Establishing international and national governance frameworks, which are more supportive of maintaining ecological corridors for the preservation of Danube’s biodiversity values.

This new approach of involving, in a participatory way, key stakeholders from the relevant sectors (i.e. transport, forestry, agriculture, water management, and hunting) that affect the natural heritage and ecological connectivity creates the basis for generating long-term measures and solutions to the continuous and growing pressure on biodiversity. The aforementioned will be materialized in seven local action plans. Moreover, these will be used to improve the management plans of the relevant Natura 2000 sites, as well as the relevant strategic and development plans at the county/regional and national levels. Finally, they will also be used to formulate higher-level policy recommendations — at the Carpathian, Danube region, and EU levels) and improve the capacities for dealing with fragmentation, climate change and resilience.

Main expected results

The project expects that, through the improvement of cross-sectoral cooperation in the fields of nature conservation, natural assets management (i.e. wildlife, forests, water), transport, and land use/spatial planning, it will enhance GI coherence in the Carpathian, Alpine and Balkan mountain valleys. It will do so by planning and implementing coherent integrated mitigation measures to minimize the negative impact of economic development.

Key stakeholders — including public authorities — will be trained on:

1. Strategic Environmental Assessments (SEAs) targeting ecological connectivity;
2. Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) for projects in ecological corridors;
3. Developing integrated mitigation measures for the maintenance of corridors;
4. Developing action plans for Green Infrastructure improvement in the pilot areas — with clear and adequate technical specifications; and
5. Securing funding for the implementation of mitigation measures.

The local cross-sectoral operational plans developed with stakeholder groups —for at least seven locations across seven countries in the Danube region — will present innovative and integrated solutions for increasing ecological functionality in the respective areas.

The participatory approach for development will create ownership by those who have the power to implement the plans. Moreover, stakeholder groups in the pilot areas will benefit from the uptake of learnings from other pilot areas with complementary foci (e.g. agriculture, forestry, water management) and results of the ConnectGREEN and TRANSGREEN projects at the transnational level.

At the policy level, the new national programmes for the disbursement of EU funds will include financial allocations for environmental measures.

Strategic documents on sustainable transport and green infrastructure, ecological connectivity and large carnivore’s populations and their sustainable management and conservation will be considered by the upcoming 6^th Conference of the Parties to the Carpathian Convention (COP6), while ecological connectivity will be mainstreamed into EU, EU Strategy for the Danube Region (EUSDR), and cross-macro-regional policy.

Activities

• Development of a standardized monitoring methodology for structural and functional connectivity
• Development of an application toolbox for the monitoring of structural and functional connectivity
• Development of a capacity building programme
• Engagement and cooperation with relevant stakeholders of specific pilot areas
• Development of cross-sectoral operational plans to safeguard the functionality of ecological corridors in the pilot areas
• Implementation of selected actions of the local cross-sectoral operational plans
• Support the mainstreaming of ecological connectivity into EU and global policies through cooperation among macro-regional strategies (i.e. EUSDR and the Carpathian Convention)
• Development of recommendations towards the integration of mitigation measures/GI into sectoral policy and decision making
• Strengthening of cross-sectoral cooperation among key players, promotion of project results in the Danube basin and beyond, and capacity building at the national level
• Organisation of public events
• Digital communications & development of promotional materials

Please find more information at www.interreg-danube.eu/savegreen