Desertification, along with climate change and the loss of biodiversity were identified as the greatest challenges to sustainable development during the 1992 Rio Earth Summit. Established in 1994, the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) is the sole legally binding international agreement linking environment and development to sustainable land management. The Convention seeks to support countries to address Desertification, Land Degradation, and Drought (DLDD).

At the UNCCD COP13, countries agreed (decision 7/COP.13) on a new global roadmap to address land degradation. The new UNCCD 2018-2030 Strategic Framework includes a set of 5 Strategic Objectives (SO) adopted to guide the actions of all UNCCD stakeholders and partners in the period 2018–2030. The Strategic Objective 5 (SO5), in particular, aims at mobilizing substantial and additional financial and non-financial resources to support the implementation of the Convention by building effective partnerships at global and national level.

As the operational arm of the Convention, the Global Mechanism supports countries in translating the Convention into action. We are mandated to assist countries in the mobilization of resources. We aim to be small but agile team catalyzing solutions [finance, other resources – such as tools and technology, capacity] that are relevant to country Parties and that deliver transformative and tangible benefits to their people and landscapes.

The objective of this consultancy is to produce a technical report that identifies ways to enhance and further develop the Global Mechanism business model. The consultant is expected to present the following elements: 1) an analysis of the existing business model including a review of current institutional weaknesses/gaps in the GM’s ability to mobilize and support Parties access to financing and other resources, taking into account audit requirements and likely future challenges; 2) a proposal with recommendations to streamline the business model and deliver services more efficiently 3) recommended revision of the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP).