Biodiversity loss and climate change represent two of the most pressing challenges of our era. To address both with urgency, it is essential to make swift strides in implementation, harnessing the synergies between biodiversity and climate action, as well as climate adaptation. The goals of the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the Paris Agreement of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) cannot be achieved without faster progress in implementation and utilization of the synergies between climate and biodiversity protection.

Against this background, the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUKN) has commissioned the "Support project on Implementation Instruments of the Global Biodiversity Framework and the Paris Climate Agreement (BioClime)" with a duration of 01.04.2024 - 30.06.2027.

The overarching goal is to successfully support key actors in shaping the framework conditions for the implementation instruments for biodiversity- and climate protection as well as ecosystem-based adaptation. It supports the BMUKN and partner countries through technical contributions, policy advice, gender-responsive exchange formats, and knowledge products to develop integrated approaches and synergies between biodiversity and climate action and climate change adaptation. The focus is on enhancing the use of synergies between the UNFCCC and the CBD in negotiations, partner countries, as well as within implementation tools (e.g., Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) and National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAP) revision), and the dissemination of knowledge products via strategic partnerships. In essence, good starting conditions, and foundations for the implementation of the GBF and the Paris Agreement have to be created. To achieve this, the project activities are divided into four fields of action:

- Advice on GBF implementation instruments in the context of the CBD negotiations (Output 1)
- Support in preparation for the UNFCCC climate conferences and advice on implementation instruments of the Paris Agreement (Output 2)
- Advice on better use of synergies between biodiversity- and climate protection and ecosystem-based adaptation (Output 3)
- Strengthening and supporting international initiatives, partnerships, and knowledge networks for biodiversity- and climate protection and ecosystem-based adaptation (Output 4)
- Strengthening international forest-related climate finance and deforestation-free supply chains (Output 5)

This is a so-called "support project": on the one hand, four partner countries (Indonesia, Thailand, Mexico, Brazil) are supported in effectively using the implementation instruments of the GBF and the Paris Agreement. On the other hand, the project supports BMUKN divisions on "International Biodiversity Affairs", "United Nations, 2030 Agenda, Developing and Emerging Countries; Environmental Aspects of International Climate and Energy Policy", "International Financing Issues", and "Forest Protection, Sustainable Forest Management and Wildernis" in a needs-based and flexible manner.

The project BioClime is working towards the implementation of the Paris Agreement and the Global Biodiversity Framework, the thematic focus of the requested services is closely tied to the Agreements and corresponding biodiversity and climate policies. A unique feature of the project is its emphasis on synergistic actions in the context of biodiversity and climate action. This entails a range of topics, including but not limited to ecosystem-based adaptation, nature-based solutions, biodiversity and climate mainstreaming, gender, water, forest and climate financing, deforestation-free supply chains, resource efficiency, circular economy, plastics, transformation of energy systems, and UN negotiations. Specifically, in the framework of technical support delivered to the project"s initiatives and its outputs, the contractor"s work will focus inter alia on the following core topics:

- Biodiversity-Climate-(Water-)Nexus
o Alignment between biodiversity and climate change policies and plans such as NDCs, NAPs, NBSAPs (e.g. assessments, goal and target setting, identification of strategies, financing and implementation, monitoring, reporting and stocktaking)
o Synergies and cooperation among climate change, biodiversity and water relevant conventions and bodies at UN level
o Synergies at science-policy level, (e.g. IPBES, IPCC)
o Synergies at national and local implementation level (e.g. governance, spatial planning) with a focus on synergistic actions such as Nature-based Solutions (NbS) and ecosystem-based approaches, ecosystem integrity, ecosystem services.

- Implementation of the requirements of the international climate negotiations of the UNFCCC
o Agriculture, Forestry and other Land use (AFOLU)
o Follow up Process on the Global Stocktake of 2023 under the Paris Agreement (GST)
o Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA)
o Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC), Long-term Strategies (LTS), Low Emission Development Strategies and Carbon Neutrality, National Adaptation Plans (NAP), adaptation communication
o Climate Justice and equity
o Legal aspects of UNFCCC/Paris Agreement; climate negotiations

- Implementation of the requirements of the international biodiversity negotiations of the CBD
o National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs)
o Biodiversity and Climate Change
o Biodiversity Monitoring, Reporting and Review; National Reports
o Biodiversity Finance and incentive systems
o Biodiversity Mainstreaming into sector policies, strategies and plans
o Biodiversity inclusive Spatial Planning
o Protected Area Management and other effective conservation measures
o Ecosystem governance (e.g. via Indigenous peoples and local communities)
o Legal aspects of CBD and UNFCCC; climate negotiations

- Forests and Climate Change
o International forest-related climate finance (e.g. mechanisms and instruments) and related policy processes, especially at international level (e.g. Forest Climate Leaders Partnership, GN2U, forest-related climate finance commitments under the UNFCCC)
o Forest carbon markets (voluntary and compliance)
o Deforestation-free supply chains and related legislation (e.g. EU Deforestation Regulation) as well as policy processes, especially at international level (e.g. Amsterdam Declaration Partnership and FACT Dialogue)

- Further Climate and Biodiversity related Policies
o Sectoral Policies and crosscutting topics: resource efficiency, circular economy, bioeconomy, plastics, sustainable production and consumption, transformation of energy systems as levers for transformational change
o Land and soil management, forest landscape and ecosystem restoration
o Integrated water resource management

- Mainstreaming of biodiversity and climate policies, and coherence with other agendas
o NDC and NBSAP governance and implementation
o Vertical and horizontal mainstreaming of biodiversity protection, ecosystem services, climate mitigation and adaptation into development planning and public budgets
o Climate Finance
o Adaptation-Mitigation-Development-Nexus and Coherence

- BMUKN supported initiatives:
o NDC Partnership
o NBSAP Accelerator Partnership
o ENACT (Enhancing NbS for an Accelerated Climate Transformation) Partnership
o PANORAMA Solutions

- Gender, Diversity and Vulnerable Groups
o Gender and the Biodiversity-Climate-Nexus
o Gender and Climate Linkages
o Gender and Biodiversity Linkages
The general objective of the requested services is to support BioClime in the processing and implementation of specific tasks and consulting services for the BMUKN and partner countries Indonesia, Brazil, Mexico, and Thailand, within these thematic areas and to assume a service provider function. The contractor is responsible for providing the following work packages:

Work package 1: Advisory and technical knowledge services (contributes to Output I, II, III, IV & V)

Work package 2: Technical conceptualization and implementation of events, trainings and capacity development formats (contributes to Output III & IV)

Work package 3: Editorial Services and Communications (contributes to Output I, II, III, IV & V)

GIZ may optionally commission contract amendments and/or increases based on the criteria in the tender documents to the successful bidder of this tender. For details, please see the terms of reference.

According to Article 160, Section 3 of the German Act Against Restraint of Competition (GWB), application for review is not permissible insofar as
1. the applicant has identified the claimed infringement of the procurement rules before submitting the application for review and has not submitted a complaint to the contracting authority within a period of 10 calendar days; the expiry of the period pursuant to Article 134, Section 2 remains unaffected,
2. complaints of infringements of procurement rules that are evident in the tender notice are not submitted to the contracting authority at the latest by the expiry of the deadline for the application or by the deadline for the submission of bids, specified in the tender notice.
3. complaints of infringements of procurement rules that first become evident in the tender documents are not submitted to the contracting authority at the latest by the expiry of the deadline for application or by the deadline for the submission of bids,
4. more than 15 calendar days have expired since receipt of notification from the contracting authority that it is unwilling to redress the complaint.
Sentence 1 does not apply in the case of an application to determine the invalidity of the contract in accordance with Article 135, Section 1 (2). Article 134, Section 1, Sentence 2 remains unaffected.

All communication takes place in English via communication tool in the project area of the procurement portal.