1 Context and objectives
About Plan Bleu:
This consultation is published by Plan Bleu, Regional Activity Center of the Mediterranean Action Plan (MAP), established in the form of a French association in Marseille, France. The MAP is one of the main components of the Regional Seas Programme of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). It has a legal instrument: the Barcelona Convention and relies on six regional activity centres (“RACs”) responsible in particular for promoting the implementation of the various protocols attached to the convention. Plan Bleu is one of these six centres mandated by the twenty-one countries Parties to the Barcelona Convention and the European Union (Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention). Plan Bleu acts as an observatory of the environment and sustainable development in the Mediterranean, and conducts thematic, systemic and prospective analyses to enlighten decision-makers of the region on the environmental risks and the challenges of sustainable development.
About NaTour4CChange:
The Interreg Euro-Med NaTour4CChange project (2024-2026) started in January 2024 and will build on
successful experiences at the Mediterranean and global level to test solutions for increasing the resilience of coastal destinations in the Mediterranean. The project will set common methods to allow participating regions to assess their tourism-related climate adaptation and mitigation priorities, and take climate action via plans and strategies, supported by cooperative governance. In coastal destinations, cross-sector teams will deliver specific tourism climate action plans, focusing climate adaptation, where Nature-based Solutions will be tested to ensure their feasibility, while innovative destination marketing and communication approaches will engage private stakeholders, visitors, and residents in climate action. The project will also ensure a cross fertilisation among participating regions and destinations, to achieve common methods and to compare the different tested plans and solutions, which will lead to lessons, best practices, and policy recommendations.
In the framework of NaTour4CChange, Plan Bleu coordinates the WP1 “Methods and Learnings” that aims at creating the methods and sharing progress and learnings, designing the Climate Change action planning for project’s Regions and improving the Climate Change-related resilience of pilot tourism destinations.
As part of Activity 1.3, Plan Bleu plans on developing a survey of available best practices on climate action in coastal tourism destinations, which is the main object of this call for interest, in synergy with Activity 1.4 – Approach to the identification and assessment of the main coastal tourism-related issues concerning climate change mitigation & adaptation in tourism at Regional and Destination level also led by Plan Bleu, and in close collaboration with other activities coordinators such as CPMR which leads Activity 1.5 – Approach for drafting Regional and Destinations Tourism Climate Strategies and Plans and Activity 1.6 – Approach for defining the enabling conditions for tourism climate action in regions and IUCN-MED which leads Activity 1.7 – Approach to implement NbS approaches to be tested at Destination level. The 2 Consultant will be expected to interact with CPMR’s external expert who will be in charge of Activity 1.5 and Activity 1.6 and with other project partners involved in this activity.
2 Task description
The objective of the present call for applicants is to select an expert to support the elaboration of a survey of available best practices in the tourism sector related to the assessment of climate change contributions by the sector, risk analysis, climate change mitigation and adaptation, etc. with focus on climate resilience. This will allow the state-of-the-art in the project’s topics and support to develop the methodology for the assessments in the following activities. This activity, coordinated by Plan Bleu will be implemented through literature desk analysis, interviews with experts, questionnaires, etc. The survey should collect best practices at Regions level, on the policy aspects related to plans and strategies for coastal tourism-related issues and at Destinations level in relation to implemented actions that could be labelled as NbS, for instance. Moreover,this survey will make it possible to collect and assess the perceptions of the various Mediterranean stakeholders directly or indirectly involved in and/or impacted by the climate change stressors that are occurring and increasing in the basin.
This activity should lead to the production of a report sheet compiling the selected best practices in a compelling format. The main goal of the resulting report on available best practices is to showcase a range of examples and good practices at Regions and coastal Destinations level which have been successfully incorporated into policies (either at the local, regional or state level) in the Mediterranean with concrete results. The report should be inspirational to support decision-makers and local communities to foster the adoption of the best practices of climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies.
The information for each one of the destinations could be collected through secondary sources through desk research and available documents and primary sources, specifically by interviewing the person managing the destination and those in charge of the Region’s climate policies.
Methodology:
The proposed methodology includes the following steps, that could be refined and improved in the applicants offers:
1. A literature review through a desk analysis of existing initiatives and publications related to climate change impacts on the tourism sector to establish a solid knowledge baseline. Plan Bleu and other project partners will provide recommendations from past initiatives and projects (e.g. Interreg Med projects) to be considered. The Consultant will be expected to contribute to the sorting and the selection of criteria. This review will be based on an initial set of sound criteria related to sustainable tourism and climate changes:
● Environmental vulnerabilities and climate resilience of the identified Mediterranean tourism regions and destinations;
● Level of strategies, measures and other actions to adapt to and mitigate climate change;
● Methods for measuring impact or monitoring in relation to the measures and strategies
implemented;
● Level of transferability and replicability of the implemented actions;
● Level of stakeholder’s involvement;
2. Mapping of a Mediterranean tourism actors network associated with potential best practices.This mapping should ensure a geographical balance for both the northern and southern shores of the basin, as well as for the various types of stakeholders involved (institutional bodies, researchers, local authorities’ representatives, citizens, etc.) at both regional and local levels. Such mapping could be facilitated with the support of NaTour4CChange partners and associated experts.
3. Interviews with sector experts at both regional and destination level, which should include questionnaire(s), to identify the main challenges and barriers as well as to understand the perceptions of the involved stakeholders. Additionally, these interviews aim to reveal how these challenges were addressed, to classify the types of best practices implemented and their induced impact(s) on the territory.
4. When creating interviews and questionnaires, it's important to carefully consider the questions to ask. These questions should help identify best practices and develop criteria by gathering useful data. Ensure the questionnaires are well-structured, with a suitable number of questions and types, based on a literature review. Include a scoring system for the responses, and make room for open-ended answers. Moreover, the interviews and questionnaires should cover all aspects of sustainable development: social, environmental, and economic. Dissemination of the questionnaire to the identified tourism network (as mentioned in the second point). Then, collect and compile the responses from both the questionnaires and interviews.
5. Analysis of the interviews and questionnaire’s replies. According to the Consultant analysis methodology, the latter will bring significant added value to the work, especially for achieving the fifth point above.
6. Identify best practices, based on sound and agreed criteria, which should feed into Activity 1.4, 1.5, 1.6 and 1.7 in cooperation with CPMR and IUCN-MED and the other project partners involved.
Criteria will need to be determined to assess and select best practices. A definition of what we mean by a best practice should be agreed on. The variety of Mediterranean territories, including islands, should be considered to reflect the different geographical, socio-economic and political landscapes and the main threats associated with climate change they face. The number of best practices to be selected will be determined with Plan Bleu and the project partners involved in this task. The best practices should be concrete and provide actionable information for the pilot Regions and Destinations.
3 Expected schedule
| Beginning of April 2024 | Formalisation of the contract | ● Kick-off meeting with Plan Bleu and other project partners to review the proposed work plan, methodology and monitoring system and plan regular coordination meetings to take stock of progress. |
| April – May 2024 | Working on the activities | ● Elaboration of the survey (design, methodology, dissemination strategy, interviews, etc.), identification of pilot Regions and Destinations to focus on.
● Bilateral meetings with partners when necessary. Coordination with CPMR external expert (weekly meetings, bilateral calls, attending important events such as Steering Committee meetings) |
| Mid-May2024 | Submission of first draft | ● Draft D1.3.1 – Report sheet on best practices identification resulting from the implemented methodology. |
| End of May 2024 | Submission of the expected deliverable | ● Final version of D1.3.1 – Report sheet on best practices identification resulting from the implemented methodology, including comments from Natour4CChange partners |
4 Selection of the expert
Plan Bleu is seeking a seasoned consultant with strong interpersonal skills and previous experiences in conducting work on sustainable tourism and climate change adaptation issues in coastal destinations. The
following criteria will be assessed:
Experience:
●Relevant experience (> 10 years) in the field of sustainable tourism, with good knowledge of climate change adaptation issues for coastal destinations.
● Minimum of 5 years of working experience in and specific knowledge of environmental issues in the Mediterranean.
● Experience in designing and conducting surveys related to the assessment of climate action in coastal tourism destinations.
● Experience in the Mediterranean region strongly desired and a good knowledge of stakeholders and multi-level governance processes in Mediterranean countries.
Competences:
● Excellent analytical, synthesis and writing skills in English. Knowledge of other Mediterranean languages is a plus.
● Ability to mobilise and criticise information and existing knowledge in an efficient way.
● Knowledge of the Mediterranean Basin and stakeholders related to sustainable tourism with a focus on climate change adaptation issues.
● Basic or advanced statistical skills for questionnaires and interviews analysis
The selection of the expert will be done based on a presentation of a technical offer, an economic offer, as well as a letter of interest and a resume making reference to these Terms of Reference.
5 Contractual and financial terms
The acceptance of the offer of the successful tender will implicate the acceptation of the conditions and schedules detailed in this ToR.
A duly-issued invoice will be required for payment at the presentation of the final document. The payment term for the invoice will be by bank transfer 15 days after the invoice date (bank account details should be detailed).
The tax legislation in force at the date of acceptance of the offer will be applied.
6 How to apply
● Applications must be submitted by 31 March 2024
● Applications must be submitted through Plan Bleu website: www.planbleu.org and by e-mail at:
[email protected]
● Applications must contain a technical offer, an economic offer (in Euros) including VAT if needed,
as well as a letter of interest and a resume making reference to these Terms of Reference.
