RFP - for the Biodiversity status and Repeat assessment in non-protected areas of Sundarbans, TNC -Nature Conservancy India Solutions Private Limited (NCIS), Sundarbans, West Bengal

INTRODUCTION

The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is a leading conservation organization working to make a positive impact around the world in more than 80 countries and territories. Founded in 1951, TNC’s mission is to conserve the lands and waters on which all life depends. With our core values of integrity beyond reproach, respect for people communities and culture, and commitment to diversity we aim at environmental conservation through lasting tangible results.

TNC has been advancing projects in India since 2017 to support India’s efforts to “develop without destruction”. We work closely with the government, research institutions, civil society organizations, private sector and local communities to develop science-based, on-the-ground, scalable solutions for some of the country’s most pressing environmental challenges. 

Nature Conservancy India Solutions Private Limited (NCIS) is a Private Limited Company incorporated under The Companies Act, 2013. It is a subsidiary of The Nature Conservancy, one of the largest not-for-profit conservation organisations in the world. NCIS was incorporated with the objective of providing research, consulting, technical support, and advisory services to various stakeholders in and outside India relating to conservation of nature, environment, biodiversity, and climate change.  

PURPOSE

The Sundarbans is the largest mangrove forest in the world, spanning 9,630 km² across the borders of West Bengal, India, and Bangladesh. It is the world's largest delta, formed by the rivers Ganges, Brahmaputra, and Meghna. A large part of the Sundarbans is recognized as a Ramsar Site, a wetland of international importance, and the protected areas on the Indian side have been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987. The landscape supports exceptional biodiversity, including the Royal Bengal Tiger, saltwater crocodile, Gangetic and Irrawaddy dolphins, fishing cat, and a wide range of resident and migratory birds, alongside globally significant mangrove floral diversity.

Millions of people depend on the Sundarbans for their livelihoods and for protection from storms, cyclones, tidal surges, seawater intrusion, and flooding. The Indian Sundarbans, particularly its non-protected regions, currently face many threats to ecological integrity, including cyclones, rising sea levels, unsustainable agriculture and aquaculture, reduced freshwater supply, erosion, and depletion of fisheries and other natural resources. This degradation has direct consequences for the wildlife and plant communities that depend on the mangrove habitat, as well as for the coastal communities who rely on it.

NCIS aims to restore 60 ha of degraded mangrove habitat in the Indian Sundarbans, in line with the MISHTI initiative of the Government of India, to rehabilitate degraded mangrove ecosystems, enhance biodiversity, secure livelihoods, and improve climate resilience. Under this initiative, there is a need for robust, field-verified biodiversity evidence to:

Document the flora and fauna present at restoration and reference sites;

Establish a credible biodiversity status against which restoration outcomes can be measured;

Track species-level and habitat-level change as restoration progresses; and

Generate evidence to inform adaptive management, and to support reporting under national and global frameworks (e.g., MISHTI, India's NDCs, Global Mangrove Alliance, and CBD's Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework).  

This ToR outlines the scope, methodology, deliverables, and expectations for a biodiversity status and repeat seasonal assessment covering flora, fauna, habitat condition, and invasive species, status across restoration and reference sites in the Sundarbans.

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