Rare Vacancy: Media Relations and Event Organizer Consultancy Work for Bogor 6 Pride – Fish Forever Campaigns Launching

Media Relations and Event Organizer Consultancy Work for Bogor 6 Pride – Fish Forever Campaigns Launching

Fish Forever Initiatives in Indonesia Context

Rare, the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), and the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) have partnered to launch a global initiative – Fish Forever. Central to the Fish Forever model is the proven “TURF-Reserve” system (TURF – Territorial Use Rights for Fishing). This model combines spatial property rights for fishing areas with marine reserves (or No Take Zones – NTZs), protecting key habitats where fish stocks can rebuild.

As fish populations recover in these reserves, a spillover effect can improve catch in the adjacent fishing zones. Additionally, due to the value of their assigned fishing rights within the TURF, fishers have an incentive to protect the NTZ and sustainably manage their fishery, vastly improving upon the outcomes of the typical “race to fish” situation of open-access fisheries. Through the Fish Forever initiative, Rare, EDF, and UCSB are at the forefront of implementing this approach to help address the challenges of developing nations. Indonesia is one of the five initial countries in which Fish Forever is launching.

The importance of improving marine resource management in Indonesia would be difficult to overstate. From an ecological perspective, in sheer biomass Indonesia has the second largest coral reef ecosystem and the largest area of mangrove forests of any country on earth. At the center of the Coral Triangle, Indonesia’s reefs are the beating heart of a vast network of Indo-Pacific tropical marine ecosystems and are at the global hotspot of marine biodiversity. From an economic and livelihoods perspective, Indonesia is the world’s second largest producer of wild-capture fish (60% of which is from small-scale fishers), has more than 1.6 million small-scale fishers, and is one of the most fish-dependent countries in the world with Indonesians deriving more than 40% of their animal protein from marine fish.

More than 140 million Indonesians live in coastal areas, and many of them are dependent on the health of adjacent coral reefs, mangroves, and marine fisheries. Indonesia has more than 15.7 million hectares of marine protected areas (MPAs) and seeks to establish many more. However, currently most of these established MPAs are “paper parks” with insufficient management and enforcement. The government has committed to effectively manage 20 million hectares of MPAs by 2020 to improve the important habitat of the fisheries, and at the same time plans to implement the Ecosystem Approach in Fishery Management (EAFM). More importantly, fisheries reform is essential for the success of marine conservation and MPAs. With 17,508 islands and the world’s second longest coastline, the welfare of Indonesia’s people is intimately linked to the ocean.

The natural resource in Indonesia are heavily impacted by humans, activities such as over-fishing, destructive fishing and poaching of vulnerable species are critically threating the ecosystem functioning and services provide by marine environment. The persistent decline in fisheries due to overfishing and the related deteriorating health of natural infrastructures such as coral reefs and mangroves pose a significant threat to Indonesia’s economy, food security and livelihoods. Artisanal fishers are quite vulnerable to various shocks, including fuel prices, weather and market price fluctuations. As a result, many fishers become indebted to loan sharks and unfair middlemen and feel compelled to participate in the ‘race to fish’. Because this resource is open access, fishers are forced to compete with one another and to fish in unsafe conditions using destructive methods.

This ‘race to fish’ has caused a dramatic decline in fisheries that the Indonesian government now hopes to remedy.

The primary goal of the Fish Forever Initiatives in Indonesia is to demonstrate productive, sustainable, and profitable nearshore fisheries in the developing tropics by 2017; and to develop a truly scalable approach to nearshore fisheries reform. Fish Forever in Indonesia is implemented through capacity building approach by establishing and working together in partnership with 12 local institution in 12 sites in Indonesia, The aim of this partnership is to put into practice combined NTZs with managed-access fishery areas (TURFs)to benefit the nearshore small scale fishing communities, providing compelling social and conservation results, in the context of ensuring sustainable fisheries, enhanced food security, marine biodiversity conservation, and daily livelihood benefits. A means to achieve the goal will be to integrate existing marine conservation areas (MPAs and no-take zones) and fishery management via TURFs into fishers’ community life, eliminating the barrier and perception that reserves threaten and limit a community’s livelihoods, and eliminating the race to fish, thereby ensuring stewardship of community fishing grounds.

Within the 3-year (2014-2017) project duration, this cohort aims to increase nearshore artisanal fishers and local stakeholder participation in fisheries management decision making. It will seek to improve fisheries and reduce nearshore artisanal overfishing/destructive fishing threats in 12 ecologically important sites in Indonesia through adoption of working TURF-Reserves.

The program will build regional capacity for community engagement and fisheries management by training 12 Campaign Fellows (CF) and 12 Technical Fellows (TF) from the Ministry of Forestry, Ministry of Marine Affair and Fisheries, District Fisheries and Marine Office, and necesary local partners who will implement the program at each site (detail in table 1). This cohort is built on the experiences that Rare Indonesia has gained from implementing two consecutive cohorts campaigning for focused on enhancing NTZ compliance and utlize the expertise of EDF and UCSB in fisheries science and rights-based fishery management. The program will contribute to the effectiveness of a total of 4 million hectares under sustainable management that contain a cumulative total of 36,600 ha of NTZ by changing the behaviors and empowering more than 3,500 fishers and reaching out to more than 150,000 community members.

Bogor 6 working sites are:

1. Kolono Bay, Konawe Selatan, South East Sulawesi 
2. Liya Marine Protected Area, Wakatobi, South East Sulawesi
3. Wakatobi National Park, South East Sulawesi
4. Bunaken National Park, North Sulawesi
5. Taka Bonerate National Park, South Sulawesi
6. Bumbang Bay, Central Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara
7. Gili Matra Marine Recreational Area, West Nusa Tenggara
8. Laut Banda Marine Recreational Area
9. Sabang Marine Protected Area, Aceh
10. Anambas Marine Recreational Area, Riau
11. Kepulauan Seribu National Park, Jakarta 
12. Kaimana Marine Protected Area, West Papua

About the Consultancy Work

Objectives
The objectives of Bogor 6 Pride Campaigns Launching as follow:

1. Creating buzz on TURF-Reserve 
2. Raise awareness and improve understanding of the potential partners and media about TURF-Reserve and its contribution to encourage the effectiveness of Marine Protected Area management and sustainable fisheries.
3. Leverage Pride Campaign impacts and strengthen RARE’s visibility in Indonesia through positive media coverage.
4. Help strengthen collaboration with various partners range from the Ministry of Forestry, the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries, to international conservation NGOs (WWF, TNC, CI, WCS, etc.) by working together towards the common goal of protecting the oceans for people and nature. 
5. Provide overall support for Bogor 6 Campaign Managers, Implementing Partners and related target audience in the working sites in the implementation of Pride Campaigns.

Main Concept

The campaign launch will be held during the period of 2nd – 3rd week of February, 2016. It will start with publication on national media in a form of op-ed, publication on media managed by the MoEF and MMAF, as well as content posted on social media accounts.

Mini seminar on TURF-Reserve that take place in Jakarta will become site campaign kickoff. The seminar will be held half day at a neutral venue in Jakarta (to be determined later) to increase the credibility of the campaign launching and strengthen the collaboration of Rare and the MoEF and MMAF.

The seminar will be open by Minister of Marine and Fisheries Affair and Minister of Environment and Forestry. The key spoke persons will be Director General of Ecosystem and Natural Resource Conservation – Ministry of Environment and Forestry, Director General of Marine Spatial Planning – Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries, representative of expert/ figure on TURF-Reserve and/ or small scale fisher’s rights as well as representative of Rare partner for TURF-Reserve prototype. Potential donors, partners (including potential partners for scalling) will be invited to the event to ensure the sustainability of Pride Program in the future. The strong networking with government and media at national level is required.

The compelling press release, the promotional materials for the media kits and the interesting visual aids which convey the appropriate key messages regarding Bogor 6 Pride Campaign Launching based on the needs and preferences of media at national level will be very crucial.

Tentative Rundown of the mini workshop as follows:

• Registration & networking over tea/coffee 
• Opening by Minister of Marine & Fisheries Affairs, Minister of Environment & Forestry
• Keynote Speaker about Regulation Draft of Fisheries Protection
• Video about fisheries trend in Indonesia
• Talkshow: Saatnya Nelayan Kecil Mengelola Laut
• Lessons Learned from the field
• Questions & Answers
• Closing 
• Doorstep Interview

Rare is in close collaboration with MMAF and MoEF to prepare and implement the event. Rare will take advantage of media relation from both ministries to achieve the launching goals.

There will be local community events (and/ or publication) at 12 working sites of Bogor 6 to launch Pride Campaigns and to reach wider target audience. These event will be arranged separately from this consultancy work.

Consultancy period:
The consultancy period is 30 business days, starting from January 25th until March 4th 2016 and it could be extended when necessary.

Scope of Works:
The key deliverable will be to prepare, organize and evaluate the media relations and national launching event of Bogor 6 (referring to figure 1).

Works include:

• To work closely with the key persons of Rare Indonesia to prepare, organize and evaluate the media relations activities and national launching event of Bogor 6 Pride campaigns 
• Together with the key persons of Rare Indonesia, to develop the compelling press releases and op-ed, the promotional materials as the media kit and other visual aids (charts, maps, pictures, etc) for the national launching event
• To assist the key persons of Rare Indonesia, to prepare the spoke persons to deliver the concise and clear key messages of Bogor 6 Pride Campaigns Launching during the national launching event
• To prepare and organize the national launching event 
• To develop the evaluation report of media relations and national launching event of Bogor 6 Pride Campaigns and to communicate progress regularly to Rare Indonesia

Qualifications, Skills & Knowledge Requirements

• This consultancy work is for a team. 
• The team have experience in preparing, organizing and evaluating the media relations activities
• Have strong network of media at national level
• Ability to write press release, journalistic reports; develop the media kit and other visual aids for the mini seminar.
• Proven success in managing event
• Proven success in project planning and management skills
• Ability to work well under tight deadlines and in a team environment
• Hospitable personality with strong interpersonal and networking skills
• Fluency in written and spoken English and Bahasa Indonesia 
• Experienced in using MS Office, databases 

How to Apply

Interested candidate should submit their CV/ team profile, letter of interest, work plan and consultancy budget by January 19th, 2016 close of business, and email to anurhidayati@rare.org, cc yayogi.andry@gmail.com.