118/119 Biodiversity and Tropical Forest Assessment for Angola

APPENDIX B. SCOPE OF WORKI. Purpose and ObjectiveScope of Work118/119 Biodiversity and Tropical Forest AssessmentUSAID/AngolaThe purpose of this task is to conduct an assessment of: (1) the current state ofbiodiversity and forest conservation in Angola, (2) the actions necessary in Angola toconserve tropical forests and biological diversity, and (3) the extent to which theactions proposed for support by USAID/Angola meet or could meet the needs thusidentified. This assessment is intended to serve as a planning tool to assistUSAID/Angola in better integrating environmental concerns into their existing andproposed programs in the short- and medium-term future. The assessment is alsonecessary for the purposes of complying with sections 118 and 119 of the ForeignAssistance Act of 1961, as amended, as well as critical to informing operational plansand the country assistance strategy.The assessment will build on the 2007-2012 National Biodiversity and Strategy Plan(NBSP), and the briefly completed USAID/Angola FAA 118-119 Biodiversity andTropical Forestry Analysis done in March 2006. The 2008 assessment will be carriedout by a team of two international short-term consultants with experience in USAIDstrategic planning and sound knowledge of USAID’s environmental policies andprocedures, legislation and requirements as governed by the Foreign Assistance Act.The team will also include the mission environmental officer, Josefa Gomes and twoAngolan consultants. The regional environmental advisor for USAID/SouthernAfrica, Camilien J. W. Saint-Cyr, based in Pretoria, South Africa, will have anadvisory role.II. Background2.1 Angola Environmental Profiles:Located in southwestern Africa, Angola is divided into 18 provinces bordered by1,650 km of Atlantic coastline on the west, by the Democratic Republic of Congo andZambia on the north and east, and by Namibia to the south. Angola is ecologicallydiverse due to its large size, tropical latitude, and physical variations in soils andaltitudes. Angola has a total land area of 1,246,700 km 2 with nearly three quarters ofthe country situated on a plateau with altitude ranging between 1,000 and 1,300 m.The highest mountain is Morro do Moco with an altitude of 2,620 m. The climate isgenerally tropical but varies with latitude. Coastal zones are moderated by the coldBenguela Current. Rainfall ranges from more than 1,800 mm in the northern part ofthe country to a paltry 100 mm in Namibe Province (in the south, bordering Namibia).The population of Angola is estimated at about 12.3 million people (2007), with 34percent of the population living in the country’s urban areas.Angola possesses valuable and expansive forest resources and a large portion of thecountry was historically covered by natural forests and savannah. There has been nosystematic survey or inventory of forest resources since the 1970s, producing118/119 BIODIVERSITY AND TROPICAL FOREST ASSESSMENT FOR ANGOLA 49