WWF-Myanmar is now inviting applications for a consultant for the mentioned assignment which will be worked starting from end of March to June 2022 with frequent field visits across Myanmar especially in Yangon, Mandalay and Ayeyarwady regions.

Background

WWF-Myanmar was established in 2014 and is working to conserve the country’s biodiversity and build a sustainable future for people and wildlife. The focus is on promoting green economy within national policies, and sustaining and protecting biodiversity and ecological connectivity of the landscape through an integrated landscape approach, and the Ayeyarwady river basin through an integrated river basin approach. Find out more at www.wwf.org.mm. The WWF-Myanmar Freshwater Programme Team supports the aims and objectives of WWF- Myanmar through a series of projects and activities promoting on conserving the last two large free-flowing in south-east Asia – the Ayeyarwady and the Thanlwin, both of which flow through Myanmar. The team is currently leading a regional project on promoting Water Stewardship Initiatives (WSI) with SMEs and local NGOs to achieve more sustainable water management and working on identification of important freshwater biodiversity using Environmental DNA (eDNA) methods.

   Objectives of the consulting assignment

The objective of this assignment is to understand the existing and potential habitat risks of important freshwater species in the designated project areas following the eDNA analysis results in order to support designing water stewardship initiatives to achieve better river governance, improved freshwater ecosystem health and related ecosystem services that support human wellbeing, sustaining businesses and livelihoods.

    Scope of work

The consultant is expected to deliver the below scope of the work is as follows:

1. To participate in the e-DNA sampling training and collect the eDNA samples at the designated project area
2. To conduct the habitat risk assessment of important freshwater species in designated project areas and deliver a comprehensive assessment report and the mappings.

The consultant needs to develop a detailed work plan with a feasible time line within 10 days of signing a contract and submit it to the project for approval.

The detailed outputs & deliverables are posted on WWF-Myanmar website, career tab

Requirements

• Extensive knowledge and expertise in aquatic habitats across Myanmar.
• Extensive knowledge and expertise on data collection, assessment and other relevant professions.
• Experience working with GIS and other relevant tools.
• Knowledge of pollution parameters and level of impacts on biodiversity.
• Candidates with former working experience in Myanmar/Asia regions are strongly preferred.