Kenneth Luephang, USAID/REDSO/ESA, Unit 64102, APO AE 09831-4102

F -- TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO PROMOTE SUSTAINABLE USE OF NATURAL RESOURCES IN THE BROADER LANDSCAPE SOL 623-98-004 DUE 020398 POC Contact Point: Kenneth Luephang, Regional Contracting Officer and Beatrice Diah, Negotiator, Tel: 254-2-751613, Fax: 254-2-749395 or e-mail: kluephang@usaid.gov and bdiah@usaid.gov. USAID/Madagascar through the Regional Contracting Officer in Nairobi, REDSO/ESA, is soliciting offers from responsible entities to improve natural resources management in critical ecosystems and broader landscapes of Madagascar. USAID plans to award a four (4) year technical assistance contract to achieve the strategic objective no. 3 (SO3), biologically- diverse ecosystems conserved in priority conservation zones of Madagascar, result package no. 1: Landscape ecology approach. The so addresses the global concern to conserve Madagascar's unique biodiversity heritage by reducing natural resources depletion in priority conservation zones, and finding a balance between natural resource use and conservation. Activities and results under the strategic objective are grouped into two results packages (rp): rp#1 -- landscape ecology approach and rp#2 -- national level enabling conditions. To create conditions and incentives for local biodiversity conservation and to address a major cause of biodiversity loss (agriculture extensification), USAID will support through this contract a series of landscape development interventions. These interventions will be targeted to specific areas within the landscape in order to alleviate threats and/or encourage and stimulate alternative, eco-friendly uses of land that increase economic opportunity. USAID will focus on (a) improved agricultural practices and (b) increasing the capacity of conservation enterprises. The strategic objective agreement outlining the natural resource office signed agreement with the government of madagascar can be found at : http://www.Info.USAID.GOV/countries/mg/sntzsoag.Htm the preferred method of distribution of USAID procurement information is via internet or by request of a solicitation on a 3.5" floppy disk (Wordperfect 5.1/5.2 Format). This CBD notice can be viewed and downloaded using the Agency Web Site. The RFP, once issued, can be downloaded from the Agency Web Site. The worldwide web address is http://www.Info.USAID.GOV. Select business and procurement opportunities from the home page, then "USAID procurement." On the following screen, select downloaded via anonymous file transfer protocol (ftp). The FTP address is FTP.INFO.USAID.GOV. Logon using the user identification of "anonymous" and the password is your e-mail address. Look under the following directory for the RFP: pub/OP/RFP/62398004/62398004.rfp. Receipt of this RFP through internet must be confirmed by written notification to the contact person noted above. It is the responsibility of the recipient of this solicitation document to ensure that it has been received from internet in its entirety and USAID bears no responsibility for data errors resulting from transmission or conversion processes. (0307)

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