UNDP Jobs - 45676- Consultancy for Mainstreaming of Sea & River Defen

Consultancy for Mainstreaming of Sea & River Defense Risk Management into Development Plans

Location :

GAMBIA

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

15-May-2014

Application Deadline :

24-Apr-14 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

3 months

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

3 months

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence. UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

Background

The Gambia Government has received funding from the Global Environment Facility’s (GEF) Least Developed Countries Fund (LDC-F) for the project Enhancing Resilience of Vulnerable Coastal Areas and Communities to Climate Change.The project is being executed by the National Environment Agency, on behalf of The Gambia Government, in partnership with the UNDP Country Office (CO), which is the GEF’s Implementing Agency for the Project. The ultimate objective of the project is to reduce the Gambia’s vulnerability to climate change and associated risks through, among others, institutional strengthening and capacity development.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the supervision of the National Project Coordinator of the project, the consultant is assigned all of the following responsibilities:

Design of Workable Planning tools for Sustainable Coastal Resilience Practice in view of SRDRM planning
Produce a register or compendium of national and local (city & regional) development plans of concern to the coastal zone; this activity needs to be completed within a week and final list of documents for review agreed to with the project Coordinator. Example of a national development plan in this case is the tourism development master-plan and the Banjul City Development Plan as an example of a local development plan;
For each plan above, assess the adequacy in terms of SRDRM;
For each development plan, assess the adequacy in terms of land use zoning/planning;
For each development plan propose a structure/framework that adequately addresses SRDRM planning as well as land use planning/zoning and the definition of land use set-back zones;
Where they exist, update the current land use planning/zoning map associated with each plan with clear demarcations of set-back zones;
Where they do not exist, produce a land use planning/zoning map for each development plan with clear demarcations of set-back zones;
Present each assessed development plan and associated maps before the Technical Advisory Team of the project and invited expertise;
Present each development plan before the associated Authority for validation.

Coastal development manual and environmental policy guidelines to help NEA deliver SRDRM-P as part of existing environmental regulatory frameworks:

Produce a coastal development guidance manual with a clearly defined objective that, among others;
Describes the physical and geomorphological condition of the coastal zone as defined in the project document;
Provides a detailed description of current and proposed (within five years) developments for each cell of the coastal zone described in ‘i’ above;
Describes the current problems, such as erosion, faced by the various cells of the coastal zone, looking at SRD and land use planning/zoning;
Provides a description of the changing climate of the coastal zone looking at the 30-year climatological period in the past and in the future (i.e. – use of model results);
Describes how the problems identified in ‘iii’ above may be induced or exacerbated by climate change;
Describes the potential consequences of the said problems/risks in relation to climate change over a future thirty-year climatological period, focusing on SRD and land use planning.

Proposes methods for managing defined risks for each cell; the methods should be under the following broad categories: land use planning & construction of defences; for each category:

Describe the legislative context in order to establish responsibilities and key stakeholders;
Establish the criteria, procedure and other key considerations in the selection of the method to be adopted;
Describe community engagement and participation in the methods adopted;
Provides principles for future-proofing of climate change in the decision-making process;
Proposes methods for enhancing understanding, by the population, of potential coastal hazards and associated risks within the context of climate change;
Present the document before a joint session of the Technical Advisory Team (TAT) and the Coastal & Marine Environment-Working Group (CME-WG) for a critical review;
Present the document before a national validation workshop for finalisation and adoption by the Gambia Government;
Produce an environmental policy guideline on SRDRM as an addendum to the current EIA guidelines/procedure that presents a standard procedure for the provision of resources for EIA and delivery of coastal adaptation strategies;
the specific activities are, among others;
Critical review of the current EIA guidelines in particular the decision-making procedure, including the categorisation of projects and the approval of licenses for operations of development activities within the coastal zone.

This review should particularly highlight:

The level of involvement of all stakeholders within the coastal zone;
The actual practise of allocation of space and licenses for development in the coastal zone, especially when this is different from the stipulation in the EIA guideline.
Critical review of current EIA guidelines as in ‘i’ above but focusing only on SRD structures;
Critical review of the EIA Regulation, focusing on how much SRD and other development activities in the coastal zone are addressed.

Based on above reviews, produce a guideline document that addresses deficiencies of, and enhancements for, both the EIA guidelines and Regulation bearing in mind:

Improvement of decision-making process in the allocation of space, and approval of licenses, for SRD and other development activities;
Improvement of stakeholders’ participation in the above decision-making process;
Present the above document before the TAT for review;
Present the document before a national validation for finalisation and adoption by Gambia Government.

Competencies

Functional Competencies:

Excellent team player with good interpersonal skills;
Ability to work under pressure and tight deadlines;
Ability to accommodate additional demands at short notice;
Ability to work in a multi-cultural environment; Strong strategic planning, results-based management and reporting capabilities.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

At least a Master’s degree in development studies, social sciences or related disciplines;
A climate change related degree will be an added advantage.

Experience:

This assignment requires proven experience in the review of policy and development plans backed by expertise in SRDRM;
The team should also have expertise in mapping and map analysis.

Language:

Excellent communication skills in the English language required.