Jobs - 54976- National Consultant - Collection of Ground Control

National Consultant - Collection of Ground Control Data from a Helicopter and interpretation of Remote Sensing Data for a Cannabis Survey in Nigeria

Location :

Ekiti, Lagos, Ogun,Ondo,Osun and Oyo States

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

01-May-2015

Application Deadline :

03-Apr-15 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

National Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

150 Working days within the period of May 01, 2015 and April 30, 2016.

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

150 Working days within the period of May 01, 2015 and April 30, 2016.

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

Summary of description of the assignment:

Consultancy to conduct automatized and visual interpretation of the remotely sensed data taken from satellite sensors and/or aerial photos using photos and data points taken from a helicopter flight which will be collected by the consultant during helicopter flights in the course of the consultancy.

Rationale

In 1999, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) started assisting UN member states in the monitoring of illicit crop cultivation within the framework of the Illicit Crop Monitoring Programme (ICMP). Since then, crop monitoring surveys have been published annually in Afghanistan, Bolivia, Colombia, Myanmar and Lao PDR and for some years in Morocco. An important part of the surveys is based upon images obtained through remote sensing techniques, i.e. satellite images or aerial photos taken from planes or helicopters.

UNODC is presently implementing a large-scale project funded by the European Union under the 10th European Development Fund (EDF). The Project “Response to Drugs and Related Organized Crime in Nigeria” aims at supporting Nigeria’s efforts in fighting drug production, trafficking and use, and in curbing related organised crime including counterfeit narcotics and psychotropic substances. A full scale national cannabis survey is one of the key deliverables of this project as part of a need to provide an evidence base for policy and programming decisions. In 2013, as part of the project commenced an ICMP in Nigeria. These Terms of Reference (ToR) define the assistance in collecting geographic data and monitoring the quality of the data collection for the ICMP in Nigeria, an important exercise to estimate the extent of illicit cannabis cultivation in Nigeria.

Illicit cannabis cultivation in Nigeria is concentrated in five States: Ekiti, Ogun, Ondo, Osun and Oyo. The geographic data collection and quality assurance exercise will be implemented during the collection and processing of digital remote sensing data. The images to be interpreted will come from the surveyed areas that were selected using sampling approach. The consultant will lead the geographic data collection during helicopter flights that are planned to take place in the cultivation areas. The consultant will be supervised by the Research Expert at the UNODC Office in Abuja and with technical guidance from UNODC HQ in Vienna.

Data specifications

UNODC will programme satellite images to be taken at a number of selected locations of 5x5 km2 each. Due to the persistent cloud coverage during the cannabis growing season the acquisition window will be extended for a longer time in order to increase the chances of getting cloud free images. Several satellite sensors will be programmed, e.g. Pleiades, SPOT6/7, Geoeye, WorldView2, Ikonos, and DMC. The images will have 5 spectral bands (infrared, red, green, blue, and panchromatic). The satellite images will be collected with a statistical sampling approach. About 150 images (3,750 km2) will targeted in the dry season and 400 (10,000 km2) in the wet season. The actual number of images to be interpreted is dependent on the success of acquiring cloud-free images, which is a significant challenge for the period that the collection will take place (April-December).

UNODC will programme satellite images with a spatial resolution of about 0.5 meter for the panchromatic band and 2-4 meters for the spectral bands. The satellite images will be systematic randomly collected square segments, about 250 individual images. The images will be delivered in non-orthorectified format (2A or 3A). For locations with cloud problems archive imagery or lower resolution images will be used as a reference for digitizing the field boundaries observed from the helicopter.

As field verification data, the project requires digital photos and geographic location data from aerial over flights at selected sites. The helicopter pictures will be an important source of observation. First, they will be needed in case satellite images cannot be taken at certain locations due to weather constraints (or lack of cloud-free days). And second, they will enable production of data that can be considered as “ground truth” used for verification in the classifications of the satellite images. As a result, these data should be used as a basis for the interpretations and for quality control.

Duties and Responsibilities

Purpose of assignment

Assist in the preparation of the two helicopter overflights that will generate “ground truth” data.
Participate in the helicopter flights and lead the data collection during the flights. About 10 hours will be flown in the dry season (May) and 58 hours in the wet season (August).
Take high quality photos and GPS points that can be used for further interpretation in combination with satellite imagery.
Organize and process the collected geographic data and photos in a structured manned and prepare shapefiles with links to the geotagged photos, tracking paths, etc.
Do any necessary pre-processing of the images (e.g., atmospheric correction, pansharpening);
Set up a standardized method and workflow for interpreting and digitizing the field boundary;
To analyse the images and identify cannabis cultivation fields. For that purpose classification keys should be developed and documented and the workflow should include a mechanism for quality control;
Interpret the images with a visual interpretation technique, eventually preceded by (semi)-automatized classification, using the data obtained from aerial overflights as “ground truth” data.
The boundaries of the identified cannabis fields should be delineated and saved in a digital geographic database;
Write a report on the image interpretation method including the workflow and classification keys;
Give a technical presentation to national counterparts on the applied methods and results.

Expected Outputs

The successful consultant will produce the following outputs:

Two geographic databases (one database per growing season) with polygon data of the cannabis fields in the areas covered with remotely sensed images and/or flown with a helicopter.
Digital geographic data from the helicopter overflights.
A detailed report on the methods used to do the image interpretation.
A presentation on the methods used to the national counterparts.

Dates and details of the deliverables

It is anticipated that the various outputs will be produced from the initial flight in the dry season, followed with interpretation of the accompanying images. The Contractor will be expected to produce the geographic locations of the cannabis fields during the course of interpreting the images. The outputs and service will be assessed against time of delivering and the quality of services and products delivered. The Contractor commits to limit the occurrences of late delivery and unacceptable quality to the bare minimum. The first data should be delivered within 3 weeks after receiving the first images of a test area to be defined in coordination with UNODC.

UNODC will evaluate the results of a first classification and the applied methods after which the UNODC reserves the right to terminate the Contract in case of unsatisfactory performance at no cost. Adjustments in the methodology should be made in consultation with experts from UNODC. The Contractor should give full insights to UNODC experts by means of progress reports, intermediate results and accuracy assessment performed by UNODC experts.

It is anticipated that the various outputs will be produced after the flights in the dry season and when the first satellite images are acquired. The second crop cycle will be monitored with overflights in August and interpretation of the images from then until December 2015. The consultant will be expected to produce progress reports during the course of interpreting the satellite images.

Remuneration

Successful candidate will be remunerated in an agreed ratio of about five (5) instalments tied to different deliverables as will be stated in the contract.

Confidentiality

The consultant is to keep all information and particularly those generated from this contract strictly confidential and will not release any information by any means directly or indirectly to any organization or anybody else without the express written permission of UNODC.

Evaluation Criteria

Shortlisted candidates will be invited for competency (written) assessment as well as oral interview.
Successful candidates from this first stage will further be contacted to submit proposals detailing implementation modalities comprising of both technical and financial. The technical component of the proposal will be rated 70% against financial component that will be rated 30%.
Only technically acceptable proposal will be evaluated financially.
The contract will be awarded to the candidate whose proposal has the highest combined score after adding the technical score and the financial score, which means it is the most responsive to UNODC requirements and offers best value for money.

Competencies

Corporate competencies:

Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
Highest standard of integrity, discretion and loyalty.

Functional Competencies:

Excellent understanding of organisational issues;
Commitment to professionalism;
Excellent research skills;
Commitment to quality;
Commitment to deadlines;
Objectivity, honesty and fairness
Logic and ability to operate systematically;
Excellent oral and writing communication skills;
Timely and accurate submission of reports and other required documents;
Substantive and linguistic quality of documents prepared
Commitment to confidentiality of the assignment and handing over of products and documents paid for by UNODC used in the delivery of consultancy outputs;

Additionally,

Proper identification of the candidate should be provided, including his/or her name, as well as the sponsoring role of European Union and the implementing role of the UNODC and the project context;
The consultant should maintain objectivity and exercise professional integrity with all research materials during and after the conduct of the research.
The consultant will ensure that stakeholders are shielded from avoidable risk of harm or embarrassment; and only proceed with their willing and informed cooperation;

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Post-graduate degree in relevant fields such as Geographic Information Science and Remote Sensing.

Experience:

At least 10 years professional experience with photo and/or satellite image interpretation using state of the art software, including collecting geographic data in the field.
Experience with visual interpretation techniques and interpretation workflows.
Knowledge of crops, crop phenology in combination with remote sensing.
Proactive and able to work with minimal supervision and high degree of initiative, accountability, flexibility, motivation, and resourcefulness.

Language:

Fluency in English;
Working knowledge of some major Nigeria Languages is an advantage.