REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS:VEGETATION CONDITION DAILY MONITORING – KRUGER TO CANYONS BIOSPHERE –  BUSHBUCKRIDGE

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

TITLE: VEGETATION CONDITION DAILY MONITORING – KRUGER TO CANYONS BIOSPHERE –   

BUSHBUCKRIDGE

RFP No: VCDM-K2C

DATE OF ISSUANCE: 17 November 2023

1. Background 

Conservation South Africa (CSA), as a local affiliate of Conservation International (CI), is committed to helping societies adopt a more sustainable approach to development—one that considers and values nature at every turn and improves human well-being through the conservation of healthy ecosystems and the goods and services they provide.  

1. Project Overview 

             CSA seeks to monitor rangelands using planned grazing as part of the Conservation Agreement         

             incentives offered to communities within the project area. The 3 Tier monitoring of the

rangelands includes citizen science of daily monitoring using GPS points, Photos and a description of: Above ground biomass, Bush Thinning, Fence Maintenance, Grazing camp activity monitoring, Alien plant and Rangeland degradation (litter, erosion, wood harvesting, Sand mining).  The project will provide in 3 infield support staff to capture data and accompany consultants in the field. Below is a map of current monitoring sites:

1. Terms of Reference, Deliverables and Deliverables Schedule

Upon conclusion of the Veld Condition Assessment (VCA), the following should be delivered for the period of 2 years on an annual basis. 

Vegetation data for 85 sites including according to the Multi-Indicator-Monitoring method (Peel et al 2005): 

Fieldwork phase  

1. Herbaceous survey  

2. Woody survey   

3. Estimating biodiversity   

Report on current and comparison between baseline data and current data and report any positive or negative trends including the following information:

1. HERBACEOUS SURVEY   

2. Species composition and diversity   

3. Species perenniality   

4. Basal cover estimates  (Measuring distance to-tuft and tuft diameter of individual species measured)

5. Assessment of veld condition and grazing potential   

6. Above-ground grass standing crop at sampling point and enclosure per sample site 

1. WOODY SURVEY   

2. Species composition and diversity  

3. Tree density and canopy cover 

4. Woody structure 

1. ESTIMATING BIODIVERSITY
   1. Estimate biodiversity in terms of species richness and evenness.

1. WORK SCHEDULE

 The above mentioned surveys should be completed with a 4-6 week period during February 2024 – March 2024.  A tentative timeline for work completion should be provided upon submitting the proposal. 

1. Submission Details 
   1. Deadline. Proposals must be received no later than 16h00 SAST on 16 December 2023. Late submissions will not be accepted. Proposals must be submitted via email to csaprocurement@conservation.org All proposals are to be submitted following the guidelines listed in this RFP. 

   2. Validity of bid 30 days from the submission deadline

   3. Clarifications. Questions may be submitted tonreynolds@conservation.org and copy csaprocurement@conservation.org by the specified date and time in the timeline below. The subject of the email must contain the RFP number and title of the RFP. CSA will respond in writing to submitted clarifications by the date specified in the timeline below. Responses to questions that may be of common interest to all bidders will be posted to the CSA website and/or communicated via email.

   4. Amendments. At any time prior to the deadline for submission of proposals, CSA may, for any reason, modify the RFP documents by amendment which will be posted to the CSA website and/or communicated via email.

2. Minimum Requirements 

The individual or small team involved in this study must: 

1. Be familiar with the rural SMME development context in South Africa.

2. Have a strong understanding of VCA methodology MiM.

3. Provide own all travel and logistical requirements within their budget.

4. Be familiar with working in Rural rangelands and monitoring of the activities found  

5. Masters of Science degree or PhD.

there. 

1. Proposal Documents to Include

• A bid application including the qualifications, experience and capacity of the  

• applicant  

• A project work outline for achieving the deliverables under this RFP; 

• A tax clearance certificate 

• A B-BBEE certificate 

• Company reg documents 

• SACNAS registration 

• Detailed costing for the data collection and reporting including travel

1. Evaluation Criteria In evaluating proposals, CSA will seek the best value for money considering the merits of the technical and costs proposals.

1. Proposal Timeline 

1. Resulting Award CSA anticipates entering into an agreement with the selected bidder by1 February 2024. Any resulting agreement will be subject to the terms and conditions of CSA’s Services Agreement. A model form of agreement can be provided upon request.

This RFP does not obligate CSA to execute a contract, nor does it commit CSA to pay any costs incurred in the preparation or submission of the proposals. Furthermore, CSA reserves the right to reject any and all offers, if such action is considered to be in the best interest of CSA. CSA will, in its sole discretion, select the winning proposal and is not obligated to share individual evaluation results.

1. Confidentiality All proprietary information provided by the bidder shall be treated as confidential and will not be shared with potential or actual applicants during the solicitation process. This includes but is not limited to price quotations, cost proposals and technical proposals. CI may, but is not obliged to, post procurement awards on its public website after the solicitation process has concluded, and the contract has been awarded. CI’s evaluation results are confidential and applicant scoring will not be shared among bidders.

1. Code of Ethics All Offerors are expected to exercise the highest standards of conduct in preparing, submitting and if selected, eventually carrying out the specified work in accordance with CI’s Code of Ethics. Conservation International’s reputation derives from our commitment to our values: Integrity, Respect, Courage, Optimism, Passion and Teamwork. CI’s Code of Ethics (the “Code”) provides guidance to CI employees, service providers, experts, interns, and volunteers in living CI’s core values, and outlines minimum standards for ethical conduct which all parties must adhere to. Any violation of the Code of Ethics, as well as concerns regarding the integrity of the procurement process and documents should be reported to CI via its Ethics Hotline at www.ci.ethicspoint.com.