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I. WCS ORGANIZATION BACKGROUND

The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) is a US non-profit, tax-exempt, private organization established in 1895 that saves wildlife and wild places by understanding critical issues, crafting science-based solutions, and taking conservation actions that benefit nature and humanity.

 

With more than a century of experience, long-term commitments in dozens of landscapes, presence in more than 60 nations, and experience helping to establish over 150 protected areas across the globe, WCS has amassed the biological knowledge, cultural understanding, and partnerships to ensure that vibrant, wild places and wildlife thrive alongside local communities.

Working with local communities and organizations, that knowledge is applied to address species, habitat, and ecosystem management issues critical to improving the quality of life of vulnerable rural people whose livelihoods depend on the direct use of natural resources.

II. WCS MONGOLIA PROGRAM OVERVIEW

Established in Ulaanbaatar in 2003, WCS Mongolia has dedicated over two decades to the conservation of Mongolia’s rich wildlife and expansive landscapes. The organization focuses on science-driven, landscape-level conservation, with key efforts in the Southern Gobi and Eastern Steppe, alongside initiatives in Central Mongolia.

At the national level, WCS Mongolia collaborates with government, community groups, civil society organizations, and the private sector to promote biodiversity preservation, landscape connectivity, and sustainable natural resource management. In 2024, WCS Mongolia launched a five-year strategy focused on three key pillars: enhancing ecological function, strengthening landscape connectivity, and building resilience to climate change. These pillars guide the organization’s work, with the overarching vision of ensuring Mongolia’s ecological integrity for future generations.

III. PROJECT BACKGROUND

Project title: Rehabilitating and conserving the mountain landscapes in the Khangai region of Mongolia for improved ecosystem services and community livelihoods

Implementation Agency: The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) 

Execution Agency: WCS Mongolia/Operational Partner

Government partner: the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change (MECC)

The GEF-funded project "Rehabilitating and conserving the mountain landscapes in the Khangai region of Mongolia for improved ecosystem services and community livelihoods" is implemented by the UN-Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and executed by WCS Mongolia as the Operational Partner, in collaboration with the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change (MECC) and other relevant government agencies. WCS Mongolia is responsible for the day-to-day management and technical implementation of the project, ensuring compliance with GEF and FAO fiduciary, technical, environmental, and social standards, as well as WCS’s internal operational procedures and policies.

The project aims to restore the ecological integrity of the Khangai mountain landscapes, enhance ecosystem services such as water and soil health, and strengthen community resilience through sustainable land management and climate adaptation. It also seeks to improve rural livelihoods while conserving biodiversity. More information can be found here. 

In its role as the project’s Operational Partner, WCS Mongolia commissions consultancies and service providers to deliver specialized expertise, support technical implementation, and ensure that project outputs meet GEF, FAO, and WCS quality standards.

IV. OBJECTIVES OF THE ASSIGNMENT

The purpose of this assignment is to support the project to identify practical, viable, and gender-responsive incentive mechanisms for sustainable natural resource management in the eight soums of Khangai target area, based on a participatory assessment of existing implementation, local practices, institutional arrangements, and lessons from current and past interventions.

The specific objectives are to:

1. Undertake a policy/regulatory review of existing incentive mechanisms for natural resource management in Mongolia.
2. Conduct a rapid assessment of existing natural resource management incentive mechanisms in the eight soums of Khangai target area, including formal and informal mechanisms, local financing practices, and community governance relevant to sustainable natural resource management.
3. Identify key stakeholders engaged in these incentive mechanisms and document  challenges/failures as well as good practices at soum and community level with potential for adaptation and piloting under the Khangai project.
4. Assess the feasibility of priority incentive mechanisms for piloting under the Khangai project and provide practical recommendations for their implementation.
5. Analyze and report on the viability of incentive options and support local policy dialogue for validation and uptake, including payments to CBNRM groups, use of natural resource fees, local development funds, livestock taxation, and other local revenue instruments.

V. SCOPE OF THE WORK

The consultant will undertake the following tasks.

Task 1. Inception, desk review, and assessment framework

The consultant will review relevant national policies and regulations, project documentation, local planning and financing frameworks and available evidence from previous and ongoing interventions in the Khangai target area. This should include review of target area local development and planning frameworks noting the importance of aligning project approaches with provincial and soum-level plans and building on existing local planning processes.

Based on the review, the consultant will prepare a concise inception note that sets out:

• the national policy/regulatory situation regarding incentive mechanisms for NRM;
• the assignment methodology and workplan;
• key analytical questions;
• stakeholder mapping and consultation plan;
• assessment criteria for viability, gender responsiveness, implementation readiness, and scale-up potential;
• tools for data collection and validation.

Task 2. Assessment of existing implementation and identification of viable options

• Conduct a rapid field-based assessment of how natural resource management incentive arrangements operate in practice in the Khangai target area, covering existing CBNRM, herder and user groups; watershed and pasture management arrangements; local planning, budgeting, enforcement and coordination; and relevant practices from earlier programs.
• Review current local financing and incentive practices most relevant to the Khangai target soums, including natural resource fees, local development funds, livestock tax-related revenue, PES-like mechanisms, and other incentive-based approaches relevant to sustainable land and natural resource management.
• Identify and document key challenges, failures and functioning good practices with potential for adaptation, replication, or scale-up across target soums, especially those linked to participatory management, co-management, watershed or pasture protection, conservation rehabilitation, and livelihood incentives
• Identify key implementation bottlenecks, governance weaknesses, and capacity gaps affecting uptake and performance of local incentive systems and community-based natural resource management arrangements
• Assess and prioritize the most viable and practical incentive mechanism options that are feasible for piloting in the target area, considering technical, institutional, financial and gender-related factors. These could include PES, local development fund support, natural resource fee use, payments to local groups for conservation and rehabilitation, and other feasible soum-level financing mechanisms 

VI. DELIVERABLES

The consultant is expected to deliver the following outputs:

1. Inception Report: A brief inception report presenting the desk review findings, methodology, workplan, key stakeholders, consultation plan, and assessment framework for the assignment.
2. Assessment Report: A short note summarizing findings on existing implementation and practice of incentive mechanisms in the Khangai target area, key good practices, main gaps, and the most viable incentive mechanism options for target soums. This report must be concise and present, for each incentive mechanism, a table indicating at least the following elements: the category of the incentive mechanism, the legal framework of the mechanism, the targeted natural resources, the expected effect of the mechanism in terms of ecosystem services, the start and end dates of implementation of the mechanism, the list of partners involved, its geographical coverage, the number of beneficiaries each year since the start of its implementation, the qualitative and quantitative benefits obtained by beneficiaries since the start of its implementation, the qualitative and quantitative gains in terms of improvement of the targeted natural resources and the method used to measure them, the difficulties encountered during the implementation of the mechanism, the feasibility of scaling up, suitability for Khangai  and the origin of all the information presented in the table.

 

VII. REPORTING AND SUPERVISION

The consultant will report to the WCS Mongolia Lead Technical Advisor and work closely with the Community Engagement and Natural Resource Governance Expert (covering GRM, Safeguards, and Gender) of WCS’s Khangai team (PMU). Regular progress meetings (virtual or in-person) will be scheduled as needed. All deliverables shall be submitted in Mongolian with summary in English in editable MS Word format.

VIII. DURATION OF THE WORK

Estimated 40 working days over July 2026 to Oct 2026.

IX. THE CONSULTANT SHOULD MEET FOLLOWING CRITERIA

• Advanced university degree (Master’s or higher) in natural resource management, environmental management, agricultural or environmental sciences, land and water management, rural development, public administration, development studies, or another closely related field is required.
• Certified training or degree in environmental economics or finance is an advantage, such as familiarity with PES, local environmental financing, and cost-benefit analysis.
• At least 5-10 years of relevant professional experience in natural resource management, community-based natural resource management, local governance, local development or environmental financing.
• Proven experience in personally implementing an incentive mechanism for the management and use of natural resources in Mongolia is essential and will be thoroughly verified.
• Demonstrated experience in conducting assessments, evaluations, reviews, or analytical studies of environmental projects.
• Professional proficiency in English and Mongolian is essential; reports deemed insufficient in terms of writing will not be accepted.

X. PAYMENT SCHEDULE:

Deliverables	Payment %
Inception report	20%
Assessment Report	80%

 

XI. SELECTION ASSESSMENT WEIGHTING:

Applications will be evaluated using the Combined Scoring Method, whereby the technical proposal will be weighted at 70% and the financial proposal at 30% of the total score.

The technical proposal will be evaluated against the following criteria:

Technical Criteria	Max. Points
Academic qualifications	30
Relevant professional experience	30
Language skills	10
Total technical score	70

 

Financial Proposal	Max. Points
Financial proposal	30
Total financial score	30

 

XII. SUBMISSION DETAILS

Interested consultants are invited to submit a single PDF document containing:

1. Technical Proposal – outlining your understanding of the assignment, proposed methodology, and CV.
2. Financial Proposal – Provide a detailed, itemized budget inclusive of all professional fees, applicable taxes, social insurance, per diem, and travel-related expenses (including transportation, vehicle, and accommodation costs)..
3. Profile/Legal Documents –Proof of legal status.
4. References – at least two references from similar assignments, including contact details.

All proposals must be submitted electronically to WCS Mongolia by 9 August 2026 via email at procurementmongolia@wcs.org and please include the subject line: Assessment of Incentive Systems for Natural Resource Management in the Khangai Landscape.

Only complete applications submitted by the deadline will be considered. Shortlisted candidates may be invited for an interview or follow-up discussion.