Consultancy to operationalise direct access to finance for LMMA communities and define the WIO LMMA Alliance’s role as a regional community financing

Terms of Reference for IUCN Consultancy

Title: Consultancy to operationalise direct access to finance for LMMA communities and define the WIO LMMA Alliance’s role as a regional community financing and support platform

Objective of the Consultancy

The main objective of this consultancy is to move from the financing scenarios and recommendations developed during the first phase of work towards a practical, tested and scalable model for improving direct access to finance for LMMA communities in the Western Indian Ocean. The first phase explored existing financing mechanisms, consulted relevant stakeholders and developed potential scenarios for strengthening access to finance for IPLCs and LMMAs. The purpose of this second phase is not to repeat this analysis, but to critically assess the findings, identify the most viable pathway and operationalise and test the selected model in two or three WIO countries, with Madagascar and Tanzania as priority pilot countries. The consultancy will establish how an effective financing model can operate at seascape level and how it can enable LMMA communities to access appropriate and sustainable funding while maintaining strong community leadership, appropriate governance, accountability, safeguarding and fiduciary standards. The work should result in concrete financing propositions for the pilot seascapes, providing a practical basis for engagement with potential funders and future scaling. The consultancy will also define how the WIO LMMA Alliance, now established as a regional community-led platform and hosted by IUCN as its Secretariat, can progressively support LMMA communities across the region to access and manage funding. This includes assessing the institutional, governance, legal, fiduciary and organisational arrangements required for the Alliance to fulfil an appropriate regional role in supporting communities' access to finance, connecting them with donors and providing the capacity, accompaniment and support required throughout the funding cycle. The consultancy should therefore connect practical financing mechanisms at seascape and country level with a longer-term regional model for the WIO LMMA Alliance, creating a pathway from the initial pilots towards a scalable approach across the Western Indian Ocean. Ultimately, the consultancy should contribute to establishing the WIO LMMA Alliance as a trusted regional platform for LMMA communities, where communities can access funding opportunities, strengthen their capacity, connect with donors, have their leadership and achievements recognised, and ensure that their voices are heard in regional and global processes.

ackground

Project Reference: P04216 Donor reference: DR04216.74

About IUCN

IUCN is a membership Union uniquely composed of both government and civil society organisations. It provides public, private and non-governmental organisations with the knowledge and tools that enable human progress, economic development and nature conservation to take place together. Created in 1948, IUCN is now the world’s largest and most diverse environmental network, harnessing the knowledge, resources and reach of more than 1,400 Member organisations and around 15,000 experts. It is a leading provider of conservation data, assessments and analysis. Its broad membership enables IUCN to fill the role of incubator and trusted repository of best practices, tools and international standards. IUCN provides a neutral space in which diverse stakeholders including governments, NGOs, scientists, businesses, local communities, indigenous peoples organisations and others can work together to forge and implement solutions to environmental challenges and achieve sustainable development. Working with many partners and supporters, IUCN implements a large and diverse portfolio of conservation projects worldwide. Combining the latest science with the traditional knowledge of local communities, these projects work to reverse habitat loss, restore ecosystems and improve people’s well-being.

About the Project

In September 2024, the first Western Indian Ocean (WIO) Locally Managed Marine Area (LMMA) Forum was held in Mahajanga, Madagascar, bringing together more than 200 participants from nine countries. The Forum resulted in the adoption of the WIO LMMA Declaration and a strong collective call to establish a regional LMMA Alliance. The WIO LMMA Alliance was subsequently officially launched at the Our Ocean Conference (OOC), with a Steering Committee composed of community leaders from across Africa providing leadership and guidance to the Alliance. The Alliance is designed to ensure that coastal communities and LMMA practitioners have a stronger collective voice in national, regional and global processes and that community leadership remains at the centre of regional LMMA development. The WIO LMMA Alliance aims to address key regional challenges, including the absence of a shared understanding of LMMAs, uneven development across countries, and limited representation of LMMA communities in national, regional and global platforms. It also seeks to promote gender equity and inclusivity in LMMA management, strengthen local leadership and facilitate greater access to knowledge, technical support and financing for community-led marine conservation. The Alliance builds on existing networks and initiatives in the region, avoiding duplication of efforts and working as an umbrella platform to foster collaboration, learning and collective action. It also draws on Madagascar's leadership and lessons learned from MIHARI, the largest LMMA network in Africa, to support the sharing and replication of successful community-led approaches across the region. The broader vision is to contribute to the establishment of a Pan-African LMMA Alliance, with the WIO serving as a starting point and regional learning space. In support of the establishment of the Alliance, Mission Inclusion (Mi) and International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) implement the Regenerative Seascapes for People, Climate and Nature (ReSea) project in partnership with local feminist organizations in Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, Madagascar and Comoros. The project is funded by Global Affairs Canada (GAC) as part of the Partnering for Climate initiative. Its broader goal is to enhance the physical and socioeconomic resilience of coastal communities in these five countries by accelerating uptake of nature-based solutions and gender-responsive conservation practices to protect, restore, and sustainably manage marine and coastal ecosystems and unlock a regenerative blue economy. The ReSea project contributes to the Western Indian Ocean-led Great Blue Wall (GBW) initiative by supporting the establishment of a network of sustainable, resilient, and inclusive seascapes in the target countries through a people-centric approach. The GBW initiative is built around four key pillars that align with the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) and the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement. Pillar 1: Blue Planet focuses on scaling and improving the management and governance of protected and conserved marine areas, with a strong emphasis on equity, gender-responsiveness, and local stewardship—supporting countries to achieve Target 3 of the GBF. Pillar 2: Blue Nature aims to restore and conserve critical ecosystems through gender-responsive Nature-based Solutions (NbS), aligned with GBF Target 2, and guided by the IUCN Global Standard for NbS. Pillar 3: Blue People promotes a regenerative and inclusive Blue Economy by empowering local communities, especially women and youth, in nature-based value chains for climate adaptation, aligned with GBF Target 9. Pillar 4: Blue Partnerships is a cross-cutting pillar focusing on strengthening connectivity at all levels and across different dimensions, including social, ecological, institutional, local, national, regional, international and cross-sectoral connectivity. Within this broader context, the WIO LMMA Alliance contributes to the Great Blue Wall's ambition for transformative and inclusive ocean governance by strengthening community-led marine governance and supporting the development, recognition and expansion of LMMAs across the region. The overall WIO LMMA Alliance initiative aims to drive transformative change through a functional and inclusive Alliance, increased numbers of LMMAs under effective and sustainable management, legal recognition of LMMAs, financial and technical self-sufficiency including mechanisms for direct access to funding, strengthened local leadership, research and knowledge generation, and stronger LMMA visibility and voice. Access to appropriate, sustainable and long-term financing remains a significant challenge for LMMA communities across the Western Indian Ocean. Many community-led organisations and LMMAs face barriers to accessing conventional funding opportunities, including limited organisational and financial capacity, challenges in meeting donor requirements, limited access to appropriate financial systems, and insufficient opportunities to establish direct relationships with donors. As a result, communities may have limited access to the resources required to sustain and expand their locally led conservation and marine governance initiatives. The first phase of work on sustainable financing therefore explored existing financing mechanisms and consulted relevant stakeholders to identify potential approaches for strengthening direct access to funding for IPLCs and LMMAs. This work resulted in a range of financing scenarios and recommendations for consideration. With the establishment and official launch of the WIO LMMA Alliance, there is now an opportunity to build on this first phase and move from scenario development towards the practical operationalisation and testing of a financing model that responds directly to the realities and needs of LMMA communities. The next phase will focus on developing and testing a practical financing model at seascape level in two or three WIO countries, with Madagascar and Tanzania as priority pilot countries. The work will explore how funding can reach LMMA communities more directly, while ensuring appropriate governance, accountability, fiduciary management, safeguarding and community decision-making. It will also generate concrete financing propositions that can be used to engage potential donors and support the future scaling of the model across the region. Following its establishment, the WIO LMMA Alliance is also entering an important phase of consolidation and growth in which its regional role and functions need to be further defined. In relation to financing, there is an opportunity for the Alliance to become a trusted regional platform that supports LMMA communities to access funding opportunities, connect with donors, strengthen their organisational and financial capacity, access technical and fiduciary support, and navigate the requirements associated with receiving and managing funding. The Alliance could also provide a regional space for communities to share their experiences, strengthen their collective voice, showcase their leadership and achievements, and advocate for financing approaches that are more accessible and responsive to community realities. This consultancy will therefore build on the findings of the first phase of financing work to operationalise and test a practical financing model for LMMA communities, while assessing the institutional, governance, legal, fiduciary and organisational arrangements required for the WIO LMMA Alliance to progressively fulfil an appropriate regional role in supporting community access to finance. The experience from the pilot countries will inform the development of a scalable regional approach that can contribute to the Alliance's longer-term ambition of strengthening sustainable financing, local leadership and direct access to resources for community-led marine conservation across the Western Indian Ocean.

Description of the Assignment

• The consultant/team will work in close collaboration with the WIO LMMA Alliance Steering Committee, which provides community leadership and strategic guidance to the Alliance. The Steering Committee should be actively involved throughout the assignment, including in validating the financing approach, identifying community priorities, selecting and engaging with pilot seascapes, reviewing proposed financing and governance arrangements, and shaping the future role of the Alliance. 1. Review and operationalise the financing scenarios developed during Phase 1
• Review the financing assessment, scenarios and recommendations developed during the first phase and assess their feasibility and relevance in light of the current context and establishment of the WIO LMMA Alliance
• Work closely with the Alliance Steering Committee to validate the findings, identify community priorities and assess the strengths, gaps, risks and opportunities associated with the proposed scenarios
• Identify the most viable financing pathway for operationalisation and testing
• Assess relevant existing financing mechanisms, institutions and structures in the selected pilot countries and identify opportunities to build on them. 2. Develop and test a direct-access financing model in selected WIO seascapes
• Develop and test a practical financing model that enables LMMA communities to access funding more directly at seascape level, with Madagascar and Tanzania as priority pilot countries and a third WIO country considered where appropriate
• Work with the Steering Committee, selected LMMAs and relevant national and seascape actors to ensure that the model responds to community priorities and realities
• Define the governance, fund-flow, disbursement, fiduciary, safeguarding, reporting and accountability arrangements required for the model to function effectively
• Develop concrete financing propositions for selected pilot seascapes in Madagascar and Tanzania, including financing needs, proposed mechanisms, governance arrangements, expected results and pathways to potential donor funding. 3. Define the WIO LMMA Alliance’s role in supporting community access to finance
• Work closely with the Steering Committee to define the role and functions of the WIO LMMA Alliance as a regional platform supporting LMMA communities to access funding, connect with donors and strengthen their capacity to receive and manage resources
• Assess how the Alliance could support communities with proposal development, financial and organisational readiness, bank account creation, grant management, safeguarding, technical support and donor engagement
• Identify the functions that should be provided directly by the Alliance and those that should be facilitated through existing national networks, partners and technical institutions
• Develop a practical model for community accompaniment throughout the funding cycle, from identifying opportunities and developing proposals through to implementation, reporting and learning
• 4. Develop the Alliance financing architecture and country-level financing models
• Assess how the WIO LMMA Alliance could progressively function as a regional platform for mobilising, receiving, coordinating and facilitating funding for LMMA communities
• Develop a clear institutional and financial architecture showing the potential flow of funding from donors to the WIO LMMA Alliance, including the current IUCN-hosted arrangement, and onwards to appropriate seascape-level financing mechanisms and LMMA communities
• Clearly define roles, responsibilities, decision-making, fiduciary oversight, safeguarding and accountability at each stage of the proposed funding flow
• Propose an appropriate organisational structure for the Alliance's financing function, including the roles, capacities and staffing required to support fundraising, grant management, community accompaniment, financial oversight, safeguarding, donor relations and reporting
• Assess existing financing mechanisms and opportunities in each selected pilot country and determine how the WIO LMMA Alliance could add value rather than duplicate existing mechanisms. In Madagascar, this should include assessment of relevant mechanisms such as the Community Frontline Fund and LMMA-related financing initiatives, including their accessibility, suitability, scale, community readiness requirements and opportunities for collaboration
• Identify gaps between existing financing mechanisms and the realities of LMMA communities, including barriers related to proposal development, financial management, organisational capacity, eligibility requirements, scale of funding or capacity to absorb and manage resources
• Based on this assessment, propose a country-specific financing model for each pilot country, showing how existing mechanisms, the Alliance, national LMMA networks, communities, donors and other relevant actors could work together
• Clearly distinguish where the Alliance should provide direct support to communities, where it should facilitate access to existing financing mechanisms, where it could act as a regional intermediary or recipient, and where it should help mobilise new funding
• Use the pilot country models to develop a scalable regional architecture that can be adapted across the WIO region
• Develop the WIO LMMA Alliance Fundraising Strategy and Investment Proposition
• Develop a WIO LMMA Alliance fundraising and resource mobilisation strategy based on the financing model, the pilot country propositions and the Alliance's longer-term regional ambitions
• Identify and segment potential donors and funding partners, including philanthropic, bilateral, multilateral and other relevant sources, and assess their potential alignment with community-led marine conservation and the Alliance's financing model
• Define the Alliance's overall fundraising proposition, including the scale and types of investment required, priority funding areas, potential funding windows and the respective financing needs of LMMA communities, seascapes and the Alliance's regional support functions
• Develop a clear investment case for the WIO LMMA Alliance, demonstrating why investing through the Alliance can strengthen access to finance for LMMA communities and generate conservation, social, governance and community leadership outcomes
• Develop indicative investment scenarios and budgets, including the financing required for the pilot mechanisms in Madagascar and Tanzania, the potential regional financing mechanism, and the organisational and support functions required for the Alliance to fulfil its role
• Identify potential funding pathways and develop a practical donor engagement strategy, including priority prospects, entry points, partnership opportunities and recommended approaches for securing initial anchor funding and longer-term financing
• Use the experience from the pilot countries to develop a scalable fundraising approach that can support the expansion of the model across the WIO region

Duration of the Assignment

The assignment is expected to be completed over approximately three months, starting on 21 September 2026 and ending on 30 November 2026, including time for coordination, stakeholder feedback, testing and finalization of deliverables.

Deliverable 1:Deadline - 30 September 2026

1. Deliverable 1 : Inception, Phase 1 Financing Review and Pilot Approach, including assessment of the previous financing scenarios and recommendations, review of relevant existing financing mechanisms, stakeholder mapping, methodology, work plan, consultation approach and proposed approach for operationalising and testi