Result of Service
The purpose of this consultancy is to Define the technical foundation for the development of the objective of “conservation, restoration, and sustainable use of biodiversity and ecosystem services” as part of the second edition of Costa Rica’s Sustainable Finance Taxonomy. The Sustainable Finance Taxonomy Expert with a focus on Biodiversity (Costa Rica) is primarily responsible for defining the technical foundation for the development of the objective of "conservation, restoration, and sustainable use of biodiversity and ecosystem services" as part of the second edition of TFS-CR. This role is crucial for ensuring the fully implemented and effectively contribute to the project's objectives: • Identify and prioritize the most relevant economic sectors, economic activities, and measures that substantially contribute to the biodiversity objective within TFS-CR. • Use industrial codes to classify the prioritized and selected economic sectors and activities for inclusion in the TFS-CR. • Identify relevant standards, norms, and indicators that support the definition of the "substantial contribution" criteria to the objective of "conservation, restoration, and sustainable use of biodiversity and ecosystem services," as well as the "Do No Significant Harm" (DNSH) requirements for other environmental objectives included in the TFS-CR. • Propose updates to the existing governance structure, including the incorporation of additional stakeholders and/or the creation of new Sectoral Technical Working Groups. Outcome 1. Strategies for transforming and attracting private sector investment for conservation, restoration and sustainable use of biodiversity and its ecosystemas. Output 1.1: Workplans and constitutive arrangements to develop the second edition of the Costa Rica's sustainable finance taxonomy adding the substantial contribution objective of conservation, restoration and sustainable use of biodiversity and its ecosystems. Deliverable 1: Inception Report and Work Plan. This deliverable will establish the consultancy roadmap, detailing the consultant's understanding of the scope, the proposed methodology, and a comprehensive plan of the activities to be carried out. Output 1.2: Technical baseline and governance for the development of the Sustainable Finance Taxonomy of Costa Rica is developed. Deliverable 2: Technical Report – Identification and Prioritization of Economic Sectors, Activities, and Measures. The Technical Report will focus on identifying and prioritizing the most relevant economic sectors, and economic activities and measures that substantially contribute to the biodiversity objective within Costa Rica's Sustainable Finance Taxonomy. The identification, prioritization, and selection of economic sectors, activities, and measures for the TFS-CR must be grounded in the assessment of the national context and must explicitly consider the interoperability component. Whenever feasible, the prioritized sectors and activities selected for inclusion in the TFS-CR will be classified using industrial codes. Deliverable 3: Technical Report – Substantial Contribution and DNSH Criteria. This Technical Report will delve into the identification of relevant standards, norms, and indicators to serve as a basis for defining the "substantial contribution" criteria for the objective of "conservation, restoration, and sustainable use of biodiversity and ecosystem services", as well as the "Do No Significant Harm" (DNSH) requirements for other environmental objectives included in Costa Rica's Sustainable Finance Taxonomy. Outcome 1. Strategies for transforming and attracting private sector investment for conservation, restoration and sustainable use of biodiversity and its ecosystemas. Output 1.2: Technical baseline and governance for the development of the Sustainable Finance Taxonomy of Costa Rica is developed. Deliverable 4: Technical Report – Recommendations for the Update of the Governance Structure for the second edition of the TFS-CR Technical Report will include concrete recommendations for updating the existing governance structure for the development of the second edition of the TFS-CR, proposing the incorporation of additional stakeholders and/or the creation of new Sectoral Technical Working Groups. For the development of the deliverables, it is suggested that the consultant consider the following documents for reference, among others: • First edition of the Sustainable Finance Taxonomy of Costa Rica. • Common Framework of Sustainable Finance Taxonomies for Latin America and the Caribbean, focusing on the conservation, restoration, and sustainable use of biodiversity and ecosystem services. • Analysis of International Sustainable Finance Taxonomies with a focus on the biodiversity objective. • Public Policy and Institutionality Review (PIR) Report related to Biodiversity in Costa Rica. • Report on the Analysis of the Alignment of Costa Rica's National Biodiversity Strategy with the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (2024). • Report on the Evaluation of Results and SDGs of the National Biodiversity Strategy 2016- 2025 (2024), conducted by MIDEPLAN. • Public Policy and Institutionality Review (PIR) Report related to Biodiversity in Costa Rica (2025). • Analysis of perverse incentives in the agricultural, fishing, and transport sectors contributing to biodiversity loss in Costa Rica (2025). • Analysis of Public Expenditure on Biodiversity 2021 to 2023 (2025). • Evaluation of indicators of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and Mapping of Strategic Partners in Costa Rica (2025), conducted by UNDP. • Chapter 4. Harmony with nature. State of the Nation Report 2024. • Minutes from thematic workshops conducted by the GBF-EAS Project (2024). • Inputs from the process of formulating the Inter-institutional Gender Policy for the Biodiversity Sector. • Most recent version of the Report on the State of Biodiversity in Costa Rica Specific tasks and responsibilities Under the direct supervision of the Programme Management Officer on Sustainable Finance for the LAC region, the consultant shall perform the following key activities: Activity 1. Develop an inception report and a detailed work plan and timeline for the development of the Technical Report. It is necessary to develop a detailed work plan and timeline for the development of the Technical report that will provide the information for the development of the second edition of the Sustainable Finance Taxonomy of Costa Rica with the addition of the substantial contribution objective of Conservation, restoration and sustainable use of the biodiversity and its ecosystems. The inception report must consider the necessary steps for the achievement of all deliverables in the time of the consultancy. This activity will establish the consultancy roadmap, detailing the consultant's understanding of the scope, the proposed methodology, and a comprehensive plan of the activities to be carried out. This document must be approved by the UNEP FI team in charge of the technical assistance, PMO in charge of the process. Activity 2. Conduct an initial exploratory analysis of reference materials The initial exploratory analysis of existing reference materials includes: • The first edition of Costa Rica’s Sustainable Finance Taxonomy. • The Common Framework of Sustainable Finance Taxonomies in LAC for Biodiversity. • A review of sustainable finance taxonomies published at the regional and international levels, with a specific focus on the biodiversity objective. The objective of this exploratory analysis is threefold: • To determine the information required to develop the technical basis for the inclusion of the objective of “conservation, restoration, and sustainable use of biodiversity and ecosystem services” as part of the second edition of Costa Rica’s Sustainable Finance Taxonomy. This includes the information necessary to: o Prioritize economic sectors, activities, and measures that substantially contribute to this objective. o Collaborate with the definition of "substantial contribution" criteria for the biodiversity objective and the “Do No Significant Harm” (DNSH) requirements for other environmental objectives included in the taxonomy. o Generate recommendations for the current governance structure of Costa Rica’s Sustainable Finance Taxonomy. • To gain an in-depth understanding of the methodological approach developed in the Common Framework of Sustainable Finance Taxonomies in LAC for Biodiversity. This methodology is used for identifying and prioritizing economic sectors, activities, and measures that contribute substantially to the conservation, restoration, and sustainable use of biodiversity and ecosystem services (using both quantitative and qualitative criteria). This methodology will be applied in the second edition of Costa Rica’s Sustainable Finance Taxonomy. • To identify the roles and needs of the different levels of the governance structure of Costa Rica’s Sustainable Finance Taxonomy, with special attention to the Sectoral Technical Working Groups. Activity 3. Review biodiversity frameworks and conduct national context analysis Based on the methodology defined in the Common Framework of Sustainable Finance Taxonomies in LAC for Biodiversity, the selected candidate will carry out in-depth research and analysis to: • Identify and prioritize the most relevant economic sectors, activities, and measures that substantially contribute to the biodiversity objective within Costa Rica’s Sustainable Finance Taxonomy. • Support the definition of “substantial contribution” criteria to the biodiversity objective and DNSH requirements for other environmental objectives included in the taxonomy. • Propose updates to the governance structure, including the incorporation of additional stakeholders and/or the creation of new Sectoral Technical Working Groups. The analysis will include, but is not limited to, the following: - Analysis of national and international biodiversity frameworks: • Review Costa Rica’s long-term vision, strategies, and plans on biodiversity. • Map regulatory instruments (laws, regulations, policies), standards, and relevant national indicators related to biodiversity and linked economic sectors. • Update information on sector-specific national planning instruments that address biodiversity either directly or indirectly. - Review of biodiversity trends, drivers, impacts, and dependencies: • Analyze major trends and drivers affecting biodiversity, categorizing them by key ecosystems (e.g., terrestrial, protected areas) and priority species for conservation. • Review trends in environmental crimes and citizen complaints related to biodiversity. • Identify key economic sectors and their impacts and dependencies on biodiversity. • Analyze the estimated economic value of biodiversity in key Costa Rican sectors, when data is available. - Biodiversity finance landscape analysis: • Analyze Costa Rica’s budgetary process related to biodiversity financing. • Identify existing tax incentives, government revenues from biodiversity, and national financing instruments contributing to it. • Estimate private sector investment in environmental protection in Costa Rica. • Summarize the identified financial solutions for biodiversity. • Identify indicators used for reporting data related to biodiversity finance. - Review of the biodiversity institutional framework: • Describe Costa Rica’s institutional framework for biodiversity, identifying relevant mandates and competencies related to the biodiversity objective. • Map key stakeholders involved directly and indirectly in the conservation, restoration, and sustainable use of biodiversity and ecosystem services. This should include a description and classification by type (public, private [including financial sector], academia, civil society, and international cooperation) and level of influence (macro, meso, or micro). • Actively collaborate with members of the Supervisory Committee and other previously mapped stakeholders, as needed, to gather required information or validate research findings. • Consolidate all findings from the above research in an annex to the Preparatory Technical Report with referenced sources, to serve as a justified technical basis for the development of the second edition of Costa Rica’s Sustainable Finance Taxonomy. Activity 4. Conduct Interviews with Relevant National Stakeholders Based on the information identified in Activities 1 and 2, the consultant will conduct interviews with key stakeholders identified in the institutional framework analysis to gather information required for the development of the deliverables. • Develop a clear methodology, questionnaires, and a structured list of interviewees, classifying them by type (e.g., public, private/financial sector, academic). • Conduct targeted interviews with pre-mapped stakeholders, including members of the Supervisory Committee, to gather required qualitative and quantitative data and validate initial research findings. • Consolidate all information and qualitative data gathered from interviews to feed directly into the national context analysis and the final technical annexes. Activity 5. Identify and prioritize economic sectors, activities, and measures that substantially contribute to the biodiversity objective in Costa Rica • Based on the Common Framework of Sustainable Finance Taxonomies in LAC for Biodiversity, the research on biodiversity frameworks and national context analysis, and information gathered from interviews with previously mapped stakeholders, identify and prioritize the economic sectors, activities, and measures to be included in the second edition of Costa Rica’s Sustainable Finance Taxonomy. • This analysis must also include a list of economic activities that are ineligible or explicitly excluded at the national level for contradicting the objectives of conservation, restoration, and sustainable use of biodiversity and ecosystem services, or for being misaligned with the country’s long-term vision as defined in national planning instruments. For each excluded activity, the exclusion rule present in the country and the activity’s major impacts on biodiversity and ecosystems must be specified. Databases such as IPBES, ENCORE, or other relevant sources must be reviewed to justify the prioritization of sectors or activities. • Identify the CNAE codes for the economic activities included in Costa Rica’s Sustainable Finance Taxonomy to serve as a reference point for sector/activity classification. • Classify economic activities by type (e.g., substantial contribution, enabling activities). • Validate the selected economic sectors, activities, and measures with the Supervisory Committee and other relevant stakeholders. Activity 6. Support the definition of Substantial Contribution and DNSH Criteria Taking into account the options suggested in the Common Framework of Sustainable Finance Taxonomies in LAC for Biodiversity for defining technical criteria for substantial contribution to the biodiversity objective and DNSH requirements for other environmental objectives, identify relevant standards, norms, indicators, and certifications that support the definition of: • “Substantial contribution” criteria to the biodiversity objective, and • “Do No Significant Harm” (DNSH) criteria for other environmental objectives included in Costa Rica’s Sustainable Finance Taxonomy. Activity 7. Develop the complete Technical Reports The objective of this activity is to deliver the final Technical Reports that will work as a base for the development of the second edition of the Sustainable Finance Taxonomy of Costa Rica. It is necessary to: • Write the complete Technical Reports, including: o Identification and prioritization of sectors, activities, and measures that substantially contribute to the biodiversity objective. o Substantial contribution criteria for the biodiversity objective and DNSH requirements for other environmental objectives. o Governance recommendations. o Technical annexes with all information collected and analyzed, including references. • Carry out internal review processes for final validation of deliverables. • Incorporate recommendations and comments resulting from these reviews into the final versions of the Preparatory Technical Reports.
Expected duration
5 MONTHS
Duties and Responsibilities
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is the leading global environmental authority that sets the global environmental agenda, promotes the coherent implementation of the environmental dimension of sustainable development within the United Nations system and serves as an authoritative advocate for the global environment. Its mandate is to coordinate the development of environmental policy consensus by keeping the global environment under review and bringing emerging issues to the attention of governments and the international community for action. The UNEP Latin America and the Caribbean Office (LACO), located in Panama City, Panama works closely with the 33 countries of the region and its activities are integrated into the Medium-Term Strategy and the Programme of Work approved by the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA). The overall objective of the UNEP’s Economy Division is to encourage decision makers in government, local authorities, and industry to develop and adopt policies, strategies and practices and technologies that promote sustainable patterns of consumption and production, make efficient use of natural resources, ensure safe management of chemicals, and contribute to making trade and environment policies mutually supportive. It promotes the development, use and transfer of policies, technologies, economic instruments, managerial practices, and other tools that assist in environmentally sound decision making and the building of corresponding activities. In 2022, the Green Climate Fund (GCF) board approved the GCF Readiness Proposal “Aligning financial flows of the financial sector in Costa Rica with the Paris Agreement climate change goals”. The National Designed Authority (NDA) in Costa Rica, the Minister of Environment and Energy (MINAE), has nominated UNEP to be its Delivery Partner for this proposal, where the funds will be disbursed from the GCF to UNEP to undertake the Readiness grant implementation, in close coordination with the NDA and others relevant country authorities involved in the agreed project governance mechanism. This GCF Readiness aims to provide relevant technical assistance for: (1) the development of its GCF Country Programme, (2) the Readiness needs assessment to develop an action plan with strategies for Readiness support, (3) the assessment of climate finance flows (taxonomy); (4) the identification, measurement, and disclosure of climate-related financial risks; (5) the development of the country Terms of Reference for the Readiness and Preparatory Support Programme to be submited to the GCF for approval. This will: (a) improve the contribution of private finance flows to low-emission and resilient development, and (b) strengthen financial stability by incorporating climate factors into investment decision making. In August 2024, the Ministry of Environment and Energy (MINAE) of Costa Rica, the Ministry of Finance, the Central Bank of Costa Rica (BCCR), the General Superintendency of Financial Institutions (SUGEF), the General Superintendency of Securities (SUGEVAL), the Superintendency of Pensions (SUPEN), and the General Superintendency of Insurance (SUGESE) published the first edition of Costa Rica’s Sustainable Finance Taxonomy (TFS-CR). The Sustainable Finance Taxonomy of Costa Rica (TFS-CR) was developed as part of the Green Climate Fund (GCF) Readiness Project titled "Aligning Costa Rica's financial sector flows with the objectives of the Paris Agreement on climate change," and was also financially supported by the European Union through the EUROCLIMA Programme. The technical coordination of its development was led by the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI). The development process was a joint effort involving the public and private sectors, academia, civil society, and international organizations, with the participation of over 300 representatives from more than 180 organizations. The first edition of TFS-CR focuses on climate change mitigation and adaptation objectives. As part of the second edition of the TFS-CR, national authorities have prioritized the environmental objective of “conservation, restoration, and sustainable use of biodiversity and ecosystem services” for inclusion. For this second edition of TFS-CR, the technical coordination for developing the objective “conservation, restoration, and sustainable use of biodiversity and ecosystem services” will be led by UNEP FI, in coordination with UNDP/BIOFIN Costa Rica. These organizations will be part of the second level (technical coordination) of the governance structure for the development of the TFS-CR. The governance structure for the development of TFS-CR is organized into three levels: • Supervisory Committee (SC): This is the highest deliberative body, responsible for coordinating the development and implementation of TFS-CR. It is composed of MINAE, SUGEF, SUGEVAL, SUPEN, and SUGESE. • Technical Coordination: Responsible for coordinating and liaising between the SC and the Sectoral Technical Working Groups (GTs). It provides essential administrative and technical support for TFS-CR and receives technical assistance from UNEP FI and BIOFIN/UNDP Costa Rica. • Sectoral Technical Working Groups: These are responsible for identifying the economic activities and measures to be included in the TFS-CR and for reviewing the technical criteria that define each economic activity as environmentally sustainable. This level ensures the TFS-CR is aligned with the local context, policies, laws, regulations, and national environmental and sectoral strategies, while ensuring interoperability. A total of 12 working groups (WGs) were formed: • Energy, • Construction, • Transport, • Solid Waste, • Manufacturing, • Water and Sanitation, • Information and Communication Technologies, • Agriculture, • Livestock, • Forestry, • Adaptation, • Tourisms These were composed of representatives from the public and private sectors, academia, civil society, and international organizations. Each working group was coordinated by a sectoral leader. One of the first activities in developing the second phase of TSF-CR is the identification and prioritization of economic sectors, economic activities and measures that significantly contribute to the objective of “conservation, restoration, and sustainable use of biodiversity and ecosystem services” and do not significant harm (DNSH) other environmental objectives. To carry out this task, UNEP FI is seeking a Sustainable Finance Taxonomy Expert with a focus on Biodiversity (Costa Rica). The selected candidate will conduct in-depth assessment of the national context regarding biodiversity, with the following specific objectives: • Identify and prioritize the most relevant economic sectors, economic activities and measures that substantially contribute to the biodiversity objective within TFS-CR. • Use industrial codes to classify the prioritized and selected economic sectors and activities for inclusion in the TFS-CR. • Identify relevant standards, norms, and indicators that support the definition of criteria for "substantial contribution" to the objective of “conservation, restoration, and sustainable use of biodiversity and ecosystem services” and the “Do No Significant Harm” (DNSH) requirements for other environmental objectives included in the TFS-CR. • Propose updates to the existing governance structure, including the incorporation of additional stakeholders and/or the creation of new Sectoral Technical Working Groups. The proposed methodology for this technical assistance is the one established in the Common Framework of Sustainable Finance Taxonomies for Latin America and the Caribbean for Biodiversity. The selected candidate must apply this methodology to Costa Rica’s specific context. In this sense, UNEP LACO is looking for a Sustainable Finance Taxonomy Expert with a focus on Biodiversity (Costa Rica) for the GCF Readiness Project “Aligning financial flows of the financial sector in Costa Rica with the Paris Agreement climate change goals”. The consultant will work under the supervision of the Programme Management Officer on Sustainable Finance for the LAC region and will work in close collaboration with the Project Coordination Unit. The incumbent will work from home.
Qualifications/special skills
Academic: • Bachelor’s degree in economics, finance, administration, public policy, political science, international relations, engineering, science, or closely related studies, is required. • Master’s degree in economics, finance, administration, public policy, political science, international relations, engineering, science, or closely related studies, is required. Professional experience: • Five (5) years of professional experience in sustainability analysis, biodiversity analysis or sustainable finance is required. • Two (2) years in sustainable finance, working with strategic stakeholders in the Latin America and Caribbean region is desirable. • One (1) year of relevant experience in the analysis of sustainability policies, with a particular focus on biodiversity-related issues, preferably within the Latin America and Caribbean context is desirable. • Demonstrated experience in conducting diagnostics and technical analyses, with ability to interpret various types of data (economic, financial, environmental, etc.) to formulate well-founded strategic recommendations for the development of public policies on sustainability is desirable. • Experience in managing biodiversity impact indicators in economic activities in the Latin America and Caribbean region is desirable. Language: • Fluent in Spanish. (required) • Fluent in English. (required) Special knowledge and skills: • Familiarity with national and international biodiversity frameworks, including regulations, standards, and reference indicators (e.g., IPBES and ENCORE) is desirable. • Familiarity with the principles of sustainable finance taxonomies is desirable. • Excellent communication skills and a proven ability to actively collaborate with a variety of stakeholders, including the public sector, financial sector, academia, and civil society is desirable. Skills: • Ability to communicate findings to high-level and mid-senior level management. • Initiative, sound judgment, and capacity to teamwork. • Openness to change and ability to receive/integrate feedback. • Creating and promoting enabling environment for open communication. • Excellent interpersonal and communication skills. Competencies: • Professionalism: Ability to apply knowledge of various United Nations administrative, financial and human resources rules and regulations in work situations. He/she shows pride in work and in achievements; is conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines and achieving results; shows persistence when faced with difficult problems or challenges; remains calm in stressful situations. Establishes and maintains productive partnerships with clients by gaining their trust and respect; identifies clients’ needs and matches them to appropriate solutions. • Communication: Speaks and writes clearly and effectively; listens to others, correctly interprets messages from others and responds appropriately; asks questions to clarify and exhibits interest in having two-way communication; tailors’ language, tone, style and format to match audience; demonstrates openness in sharing information and keeping people informed. • Teamwork: Is able to work effectively as part of a multidisciplinary team to achieve organizational goals and to take leadership when appropriate; solicits input by genuinely valuing others’ ideas and expertise; is willing to learn from others; places team agenda before personal agenda; supports and acts in accordance with final group decision, even when such decisions may not entirely reflect own position; shares credit for team accomplishments and accepts joint responsibility for team shortcomings. • Planning and Organizing: Develops clear goals that are consistent with agreed strategies; identifies priority activities and assignments; adjusts priorities as required; allocates appropriate amount of time and resources for completing work; foresees risks and allows for contingencies when planning; monitors and adjusts plans and actions as necessary; uses time efficiently.
Additional Information
Not available.
No Fee
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