The Global Mechanism is an institution of the UNCCD, mandated to assist countries in the mobilization of financial resources from the public and private sector for activities that prevent, control or reverse
desertification, land degradation and drought. As the operational arm of the Convention, the Global Mechanism supports countries to translate the Convention into action. In September 2015, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Sustainable Development Goals, including goal 15, which aims to “protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss”. The main expected result is defined under target 15.3 to “combat desertification, restore degraded land and soil, including land affected by desertification, drought and floods, and strive to achieve a land degradation-neutral world” by 2030.

In September 2017, the 13th session of the Conference of Parties (COP) of the UNCCD emphasized the critical role of Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) Transformative Projects and Programmes for the implementation of the Convention. This has been reaffirmed at the 14th session of the COP in New Delhi in September 2019. Following the establishment of voluntary LDN targets, several countries are now in the process of planning for LDN implementation, including the design of LDN Transformative Projects and Programmes (TPPs). In this context and based on lessons learned from a previous initial phase, the
Global Mechanism of the UNCCD launched in 2019, a call for requests for support to assist countries in developing LDN TPPs. In response, the Government of Malawi is being supported by the Global  Mechanism of the UNCCD and the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF) to develop a Project Concept Note targeting the Green Climate Fund (GCF). A first draft of the GCF concept note on the “Forests and climate resilient landscapes for sustainable livelihoods” project has been developed by an international consultant. The proposed approach is to bridge the gaps between science, practitioners and
communities for more efficient nature-based solutions on land degradation and climate change mitigation and adaptation. The Project will foster the compounded impact of existing indigenous knowledge, robust science-based methods and the best ecosystem-friendly practices in the country.

The GCF concept note needs to be refined based on solid biophysical, meteorological and human baseline data, including mainstreaming gender under a likely scenario where the long-term impacts of
COVID-19 need to be mitigated during the lifetime of the Project. The Global Mechanism is therefore soliciting the services of a national consultant to provide local research support working closely with the international consultant to finalize the expected GCF concept note and also contribute to the preparation of the required prefeasibility study.