Individual Consultant – Timber break-bulk yard Legality Framework

ORGANISATION: TRAFFIC International (TRAFFIC)

DUTY STATION: Yaoundé, Cameroon

REPORT TO: Programme Office Director TRAFFIC - Central Africa

PERCENTAGE WORK: 100%

GRADE: Consultant

ENTRY ON DUTY DATE: March 2023

TYPE OF CONTRACT: Fixed term - 30 days (over a 3 month period)

DEADLINE: 22 February 2023

TRAFFIC is the leading non-governmental organisation working globally on trade in wild animals and

plants in the context of both biodiversity conservation and sustainable development. TRAFFIC

International is a charity and limited company registered in the UK. TRAFFIC’s head office, based in

Cambridge UK, provides worldwide leadership, coordination, cross-regional and corporate functions.

TRAFFIC’s local engagement is managed through programme offices operating under the auspices of

the UK charity, with staff based in a hub office and at other strategic locations where necessary.

Programme offices operate within a geographic area of responsibility focused on one or multiple

countries where TRAFFIC aims to help deliver priority programme outcomes.

Since December 2020, TRAFFIC has received funding from the Norwegian Agency for Development

Cooperation (NORAD) to implement a five-year project entitled "Leveraging legality along China's

timber supply to reduce deforestation". The countries involved in the project are Cameroon (CM), China

(CN), Republic of the Congo (CG) and Vietnam (VN). The aim is to capitalise on the important role

played by China and Vietnam in the timber supply chain of source countries in the Congo Basin in order

to reduce unsustainable forestry operations and the illegal timber trade. TRAFFIC's work in the target

countries will include forest governance, timber legality and trade, private sector and indigenous

people and local communities engagement, and training of forest industry members and enforcement

agencies. A priority activity of the project is the updating of national legality frameworks in Cameroon

and the Republic of Congo, in the context of or beyond the signing of their FLEGT VPAs with the EU.

In Cameroon in particular, during the 8th Joint Implementation Council of the VPA-FLEGT held on 27

September 2016, the European and Cameroonian parties recognised the need to revise and complete

the legality frameworks constituting Annex II of the Agreement.

Thus, the process of revising the legality frameworks was initiated in January 2019 with the support of

the FAO-EU FLEGT Programme which supports the implementation of the FLEGT Action Plan. The

projects resulted in a proposal to increase the number of legality frameworks from eight (08) to twelve

(12), as well as to develop a set of ten (10) new regulatory texts aimed at making the revised legality

frameworks immediately applicable.

The results of this work were validated by the Cameroonian side during the 13th session of the National

Monitoring Committee for the implementation of the FLEGT-VPA (NMC) and the members of the Joint

Monitoring Committee (JMC) were informed of them during the 12th session of the JMC held on 3

June 2021 at the European Union Delegation in Cameroon.

During this last JMC, the comments of the European side concerned, among other things, the

marketing of timber in the timber break-bulk yard and the legal status of sales of timber allocated in

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compensation for annual allowable cuts and special sales of timber allocated outside the interministerial commissions. These comments led to the formulation of Resolution No. 2: On the basis of

the detailed comments to be provided by the EU, the JMC decides to establish a joint working group,

with a mandate to finalise the legality frameworks, and to develop additional frameworks to fill the

legal gaps.

It should be noted that with the dynamics underway within the context of the operationalisation of

SIGIF 2, the finalisation and entry into force of these legality frameworks will make it possible to

generalise the delivery of legality certificates to a greater number of forestry companies whose

obtaining of legality certificates is dependent on a few non-applicable verifiers. This will confirm

MINFOF's commitment to improving governance and transparency, and will enable SIGIF 2 to issue

conformity certificates for timber exports.

Given that MINFOF's desire to strengthen forest governance is not solely linked to the implementation

of the VPA with the EU, and considering the importance of the timber trade with other countries and

continents, notably Asia (China, Vietnam), Africa, Great Britain, the United States, etc., it is envisaged

that the legality frameworks will be finalised as a matter of urgency and made enforceable as a

benchmark for the national legality system, which is no longer exclusively linked to the VPA-FLEGT

process, but is built on its principles. This will allow, as with SIGIF 2, for such a reference system to be

applied to all Cameroonian timber products in the domestic timber market and for exports to Europe

and other destinations.

It is therefore in the context of the operationalisation of the above-mentioned JMC resolution of 3

June 2021, and with a view to finalising these legality frameworks as a national reference for verifying

the legality of all timber moving at national level and exported to all destinations, that MINFOF intends

to develop a legality framework for timber break-bulk yards.

1 OBJECTIVE

The Individual Consultant – Timber break-bulk yard legality framework, in support of the forest

governance process initiated by MINFOF and the implementation of TRAFFIC's NORAD project in

Cameroon, will develop a new legality framework for the timber break-bulk yards and contribute to

the finalisation of the legality frameworks as a national reference for the verification of the legality of

all timber in the supply chain at the national level and exported to all destinations. He/she will work

under the supervision of the Programme Office Director of TRAFFIC – in Central Africa and the Head

of the Standards Department, VPA-FLEGT Focal Point at MINFOF.

2 TASKS AND EXPECTED RESULTS

Tasks:

- carry out a diagnosis of the regulatory texts governing the management of timber break-bulk

yards;

- develop a new legality framework for a timber break-bulk yard and submit it to MINFOF for

internal pre-validation;

- consult field actors, including traders associated with timber break-bulk yards, test and

facilitate the validation process of the new legality framework;

- accompany the process of finalising the legality frameworks, basis of the national reference

framework for verifying legality.

Expected results:

- a review of the regulatory texts relating to timber break-bulk yards is done;

- a new legality framework applicable to timber break-bulk yards is developed and prevalidated internally by MINFOF;

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- consultation with field actors and testing of the draft legality framework developed has

enabled a final version to be consolidated;

- the new legality framework tested is validated by national stakeholders;

- the legality framework serve as a national reference for verifying the legality of all timber in

circulation at national level and exported to all destinations.

3 STEPS IN THE DELIVERY

- Submit and have validated the methodology for carrying out the consultancy;

- establish a review report of the texts and consult resource persons;

- Develop a draft legality framework for timber break-bulk yards;

- submit the draft legality framework developed to MINFOF for internal pre-validation;

- consult stakeholders and test the draft legality framework in the field;

- Facilitating national validation meetings for the legality framework and integrating

stakeholders' observations;

- support MINFOF in setting up a framework to make the legality frameworks enforceable as a

national reference.

4 REQUIREMENTS

- A university degree in forestry sciences or equivalent (master or doctorate);

- At least 10 years of experience and expertise in the forest governance sector;

- Knowledge of the timber trade, the timber supply chain, the different actors and issues of

legality and traceability of timber, preferably with a national or international nongovernmental organisation (NGO), intergovernmental organisation (IGO) or timber industry

company;

- Demonstrate a proven knowledge of the VPA-FLEGT process in Cameroon and its progress

based on at least three previous experiences related to the process;

- Have already contributed to the development of framework documents used in the context

of the VPA-FLEGT process in Cameroon will be an advantage;

- Solid knowledge of the Cameroonian forestry law in force and its various application texts

and more specifically those applicable to the said consultancy;

- Strong skills in multi-stakeholder consultation, organisation of meetings

- Strong research, analytical and practical skills, and ability to clearly formulate complex

issues in clearly written reports;

- Good synthesis skills;

- Strong networking and communication skills, and the ability to work in different cultural

contexts;

- Fluency in spoken and written French, with English an advantage;

- A willingness and ability to travel if necessary and to work under pressure in Cameroon.

- Familiarity with standard, spreadsheet and presentation softwares, as well as electronic

communication technologies.

HOW TO APPLY

Candidates are invited to apply by sending their CV, a technical offer and a financial offer to the

following addresses: denis.mahonghol@traffic.org and tcaf@traffic.org

Applications will not be accepted after the closing date.

The vacancy closes at midnight Cameroon time (GMT+1). Please note that only selected candidates

will be personally contacted for an interview.