REQUEST FOR INFORMATION PUBLIC/PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS FOR NATURAL CLIMATE SOLUTIONS ISSUANCE DATE: January 24, 2024 CLOSING DATE: February 23, 2024, at 2:00pm (Lima local time) SUBJECT: Request for Information Notice No. 72052724RFI00003 - Request for Information (RFI): Public/Private partnerships for natural climate solutions. This is a Request for Information (RFI) from the USAID/PERU Mission’s Environment Office in Peru. An RFI is a call for organizations to share technical or other requested information and gather feedback before we issue a formal solicitation/funding opportunity. The RFI is one manner in which USAID explores ideas and plans for future projects in a particular technical area. With this RFI, USAID would like to gather information on opportunities and lessons learned through development and implementation of climate mitigation projects in Peru. Specifically, USAID is interested in forest-based projects with social and environmental co-benefits that were developed and funded with private sector or philanthropic financial support. Submissions with responses to this RFI might be considered to develop a final approach to the program description. USAID intends to use the information received as a result of this RFI for planning purposes and to help make strategic decisions and refine any future approaches of USAID Public/Private partnerships for natural climate solutions. USAID is not seeking technical or cost proposals at this time. Submissions will not be acknowledged, nor will responses be returned. Information provided in response to this RFI must be received in writing via email; telephone calls will not be accepted. The RFI is released in English with courtesy copies available in Spanish. In case of discrepancies between these versions, the English version will govern. USAID will not reimburse RFI respondents for any associated expenses. USAID reserves the right in its sole discretion, without liability to utilize any, all, or none of the RFI response(s) in its planning efforts. USAID sincerely appreciates respondents’ efforts and inputs. This RFI will be open to receive responses for 30 days from the date of release. Responses should be in a Microsoft Word document no more than three (3) pages (Calibri font 12) total in length. Responses to this RFI may be in English or Spanish. Subject line for email responses to
[email protected] must be as follows: “RFI No. 72052724RFI00003 - USAID Natural Climate Solutions Activity. Responses must be received by the date and time indicated in the cover letter. The submitted responses should include the following information: Reference Number: RFI No. 72052724RFI00003 Date: Name/Email: Affiliation/Organization: Address: Phone: Thank you for your interest in USAID programs and helping us make them more successful. We look forward to receiving your responses. Sincerely, Dion Glisan Regional Agreement Officer [THIS SPACE IS INTENTIONALY LEFT BLANK] USAID Natural Climate Solutions Activity I. PURPOSE USAID is conducting market research to inform the development of a new activity focused on climate mitigation through forest management in Peru. USAID requests that any interested organizations or individuals review the information included below and provide responses to the questions contained in the Response Guidelines section. Please note that USAID is particularly interested in responses from nontraditional partners[1], local entities, and locally established partners.[2] This RFI aims to gather information from potential USAID partners who are engaged in ongoing projects or projects in development that utilize public-private collaboration and climate finance mechanisms to reduce deforestation and support sustainable livelihoods in Peru. This is not a request for applications, proposals, or funding. USAID/Peru is interested in understanding such projects and how they contribute to climate mitigation through interventions such as conservation of standing forests, forest rehabilitation, reforestation, afforestation, agroforestry, and zero-deforestation agriculture. USAID Peru plans to use the information collected through this RFI to inform the development of a future climate mitigation/biodiversity conservation project. USAID Peru is also interested in identifying potential resource partners, i.e., entities interested in co-funding or investing in projects that will generate climate mitigation benefits in Peru, such as foundations, investors or investment funds,[3] and organizations experienced in developing and managing said projects. This information will help USAID Peru to broaden collaboration with local and global partners to achieve shared development objectives in Peru. II. BACKGROUND USAID’s Climate Change Strategy 2022-2030 (www.usaid.gov/policy/climate-strategy) was established to advance equitable and ambitious actions to combat climate change. As indicated there, USAID seeks to facilitate increased capital flows toward projects, technologies, and processes that reduce CO2 emissions, improve management of important ecosystems, and increase the resilience of the communities that rely on these resources. Note the key mitigation target of reducing CO2 emissions by 6 billion tons. To meet the critical need for climate change mitigation, it is imperative to explore and unlock the potential of diverse financing avenues for emissions-reduction. In Peru, USAID works with the government, NGOs and private sector partners to implement projects that integrate funding generated through the sales of carbon credits, collection or production of non-timber forest products, and other sustainable economic opportunities that reduce CO2 emissions and improve the livelihoods of indigenous and rural communities. These projects have implemented models for co-financing to achieve development and climate objectives. Still, future projects will need to be significantly larger in scale to achieve the ambitious CO2 emissions reduction targets and avoid the most severe impacts of climate change. Widely reported incidents in Latin America and elsewhere of carbon projects that exaggerated their climate impact and/or abused the trust of local and indigenous communities raise special concerns. Projects must verifiably increase the scale of climate mitigation and provide equitable benefits to local partners. III. RESPONSE GUIDELINES USAID will use the information received from this RFI as a component of market research, with a goal to identify needs, approaches, and opportunities to reduce deforestation and support sustainable livelihoods in Peru. Potential resource partners and organizations with experience designing and implementing carbon mitigation projects in the forestry, land use, and land cover sectors in Peru are especially encouraged to participate. Additionally, this RFI solicits insights on best practices and current approaches for equitable benefit sharing, and other relevant information for developing and implementing successful climate mitigation projects. This is not a request for applications or proposals. Please respond to the questions below that are relevant to your experience. You need not respond to all questions. The suggested maximum length is three (3) pages. Responses to this RFI may be in English or Spanish. Contact Information: Organization name and address Organization point of contact (include name, telephone, and email address) Is the organization Peruvian or International? Please provide years of experience working in Peru. Technical Information: Provide an overview of your current project(s). Recall that USAID is interested in learning about ongoing projects or projects in development that utilize public-private collaboration and climate finance mechanisms to reduce deforestation, promote reforestation, and support sustainable livelihoods in Peru. How does your project complement strategies proposed in Peru by the national and subnational governmental agencies to achieve Peru’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC)? How does your work help the Government of Peru to design and implement policies that could catalyze transformative shifts to net-zero and climate-resilient pathways? How could these changes be adopted? If your organization is planning or implementing a project in Peru that is generating climate mitigation co-benefits through the conservation of standing forests, forest rehabilitation, reforestation, afforestation, or agroforestry, please provide a summary of the project describing the objectives, scale (in hectares and tons of carbon), funding sources, terms, and results to date. Please describe expected or potential investment from the for-profit private sector or philanthropic organizations in your project. Describe this relationship, including the conditions of the investment and the level of investors’ involvement in your project. Are you considering expanding to include additional funding sources? Please describe the benefit-sharing plan for any communities or landowners engaged with the project or potential project. Was this plan developed through a consultative process? Does this plan include a feedback process or ongoing consultation? If so, please describe this process. Does or would your project specifically engage women, youth, or Indigenous communities? If so, what strategies have you used to engage these communities? Please share any examples or results. If your project includes an objective to create sustainable livelihoods or economic development for local communities or landowners, please describe how this component of your project was developed and progress to date. If your project includes an objective to protect biodiversity, please describe how this component of your project was developed and progress to date (if applicable). Apart from the voluntary carbon market, what economic or other incentives could complement or support deforestation reduction in the Peruvian context? IV. WORKING WITH USAID Organizations that have not previously worked with USAID, such as foundations, private sector, NGOs, cooperatives, financial institutions, investors, among others are encouraged to respond to this RFI. USAID is increasing efforts to work directly with local organizations as well as expanding co-financing options with other donors, philanthropic organizations, and institutions with shared development objectives. If your organization is interested in working with USAID Peru to combat climate change through climate mitigation actions that promote the conservation of standing forests, forest rehabilitation, reforestation, afforestation, or agroforestry, you are encouraged to review the information provided through this website: https://www.usaid.gov/partner-with-us. [1] (More information see USAID’s New Partnerships Initiative). [2] (More information see USAID’s Locally Led Development). [3] Refers to a variety of funds including conservation funds, biodiversity funds, equity funds, debt funds, alternative investment funds, venture capitalists, equity investors, infrastructure financiers, investors linked to insurance products, among others