Closing Date; March 3,2013.

The Masterplan for Rehabilitation and Revitalisation of the Ex‐PLG area in Central Kalimantan, highlights that poverty is concentrated in specific geographical areas due to a combination of factors. These include socioeconomic challenges, the relative success of former hydrological management efforts. Poverty in Central Kalimantan province is amongst the highest in the country, reaching 36% of the population. In the area of the transmigration settlements, poverty rates rise up to 60‐70%. Poverty is not spread evenly and there is a socio‐economic dimension to poverty and illegal logging. This disparity of poverty levels among communities creates an ethnic dimension to the division between those who profit from unsustainable use of resources and those who are then left to deal with the resulting environmental consequences.

In order to stop further deforestation and to provide alternative sustainable livelihoods to communities living in ex‐PLG area, the Masterplan calls for the revitalization of agriculture and improvement of socioeconomic conditions. Many farmers and inhabitants already have diversified livelihood strategies, for example by planting coconut, harvesting rubber or keeping livestock appropriate to the area likewater‐buffaloes. However, access to education and capacity building still remains a problem. The establishment of community learning centres will enhance the livelihoods of local people and contribute to communities’ longer term resilience to climate change, by facilitating and hosting pilot initiatives that promote sustainable development and which encourage a more efficient use of natural resources. The aim of the action is to promote the exchange of information and increase the local communities’ resilience to climate change impact. 

UNESCO will provide capacity building on sustainable practices that will reduce the incidence of extractive and unsustainable agricultural practices, while at the same time improving the local stakeholders livelihoods, with a long term vision. UNESCO has been conceived with UNOPS and will be closely linked to the proposed UNOPS‐built community learning centre, as a physical platform to build the capacities of local communities, as well as to share scientific and traditional knowledge about ecosystem restoration, sustainable agroforestry and climate change. UNESCO will define together with the community, and combine local/traditional knowledge with scientific knowledge, provided by national and international experts to build the capacities of the local stakeholders. Proposed activities include intergenerational exchange on traditional conservation and farming practices, exhibitions on sustainable livelihoods and renewable energy sources as well as workshops concerned with climate change adaptation and mitigation and REDD+, ecosystem restoration methodologies, and exchange of information with other relevant partners (potentially including Green Schools already active in the province).

The main objectives are:

Outputs expected of the Contractor: