Background

Communities in South Sudan are vulnerable to climate change. Approximately 86 percent of rural households in South Sudan rely on rain-fed agriculture and animal husbandry as their main source of livelihood. Limited data availability precludes the modelling of specific climate change scenarios in South Sudan, a regional analysis showed that summer rains declined by 15–20 percent, and temperatures rose by >1°C, from the mid-1970s to the late 2000s in parts of the country. If the current trajectories is allow to continue business-as-usual, in the future, rainfall is expected to become increasingly erratic, increasing the incidence of both floods and droughts. Indeed, 62 percent of rural households already claimed to have been severely affected by droughts and/or floods from 2005–2009. Temperatures are also likely to continue rising, which will intensify the effects of droughts. Research on the Sobat River and the Bahr el Ghazal river catchments suggests that an increase of 2°C in temperature might cause the natural flow to fall to 50 percent of the current average. Future increases in the frequency and severity of extreme climate events will likely lead to: i) food insecurity through failed crop yields, loss of livestock and reduced NTFP production; ii) heightened water scarcity for drinking and irrigation; iii) worsening water quality; iv) more soil erosion; v) higher incidences of diseases such as cholera, typhoid and dysentery; vi) higher frequency of fires as a result of droughts; vii) lower availability of fuelwood; and viii) internal conflict as a result of human competition for scarce resources.

Communities and government are extremely constrained in their ability to anticipate, and effectively respond to, climate change-induced disasters (i.e. droughts and floods). South Sudan has one of the worst human development indicators in the world, with at least 80 percent of the population under the poverty line and 65 percent in extreme poverty.  27 percent of the population aged 15 years and above is literate, with significant gender disparities: the literacy rate for males is 40 percent compared to 16 percent for females. 55 percent of the population has access to improved sources of drinking water. Over two thirds of the population is under 30.  Over 80 percent of the communities in South Sudan are particularly reliant on natural resources for their livelihoods. These natural resources include rivers/wetlands and woodlands that provide water, wildlife, fish and a range of timber and non-timber forest products.  But the natural resource base is being degraded and destroyed. Recent maps on land cover changes indicate a dramatic shift from woodland and forest to cultivated land and bare soil for agricultural production and fuel wood and charcoal. This degradation is a result of rapid population growth, a large rural population, limited access to electricity, continued internal conflict, high food insecurity and insufficient levels of natural resource management.

There are a number of constraints that limit the integration of climate change adaptation into institutional frameworks and national policies. Firstly, institutional weaknesses hamper the mainstreaming of climate change across sectors. Currently the Directorate for Climate Change within the Ministry of Environment and Forestry (MoEF) is responsible for drafting a national climate change policy, but it has limited influence on policies and plans emanating from other sectors. Secondly, there are limited climate information and risk assessments available to inform climate change-resilient development planning. Thirdly, there are few experienced and well-trained personnel to undertake and support climate change adaptation. Finally, there is limited knowledge and awareness of climate change among the public, and therefore climate change issue are not highly prioritised.  Lastly, because of damage to infrastructure during the civil war, only three out of a previous 43 hydro-meteorological monitoring stations are currently operating across the country. 

The problem that the proposed LDCF-financed project (hereafter referred to as the LDCF project) seeks to address is that local communities in South Sudan are vulnerable to climate change, and both they and the government have limited technical and institutional capacity to adapt to the predicted effects of climate change. The vulnerability of local communities to climate change is exacerbated by: i) the degradation to, and a reduction in ecosystem goods and services from, natural resources; and ii) the lack of climate information for effective adaptation planning.

The proposed solution is to strengthen the capacity of local communities and government in South Sudan to be able to plan for and implement a suite of adaptation interventions – such as Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA), additional livelihoods and climate-smart agriculture ­–that improve ecosystem services and reduce the vulnerability of communities to climate change. In addition, the project will strengthen capacity of the government to plan for climate change adaptation and to mainstream this into the policy framework in South Sudan across relevant ministries in coordination with the National Adaptation Planning (NAP) process which is due to start later this year.

The project strategy incorporates outputs to address the barriers to climate change adaptation, which the NAPA indicates as follows: i) internal conflict and security concerns ii) lack of  a clear and transparent institutional framework for adaptation, leading to overlapping mandates and responsibilities iii) limited coordination between newly formed ministries and line departments iv) limited institutional, technical and financial capacity of government to plan for and implement climate change adaptation interventions; v) poor infrastructure, making it difficult to access rural areas vi) limited awareness of climate change among government and local communities vii) low level of literacy and high level of poverty.

The project grant value is USD 9 million, funded by the Least Developed Countries Fund, a mechanism of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, which is administered by the Global Environment Facility (GEF). The project was cleared by the GEF CEO on 5 May 2017 and cleared by GEF Council in April 2017. The project document must be submitted not later than 14 December 2018.

Duties and Responsibilities

The national consultant (NC) will support the Lead Consultant in preparation of the South Sudan full size project document. 

The main tasks to be carried out by the National Consultant, working closely with the international consultants, UN Environment South Sudan Office and Ministry of Environment and Forestry are as follows:

Task 1. Assist in organizing and facilitation of national workshops, including the inception, consultation and validation workshops, preparation and guiding focus group discussions, preparation of workshop reports, and other consultation meetings and activities in the project preparatory phase.

Task 2. Liaise with GOSS officials, UN agencies, National and international organizations, donor community to collect relevant documents, statistics, and other data for preparation of the project document.  This includes collating information as requested by the international consultants before the mission in order to better utilize the time and resources while on mission.

Task 3.  Under the direct supervision and guidance of the Lead Consultant, produce the climate risk and vulnerability assessment including security assessment. This task may involve visits to some states. The NC should work closely with the IC in developing the ToC and project strategy (outputs and activities);

Task 4. Under the guidance of the international consultant, pevelop a climate risk and vulnerability assessment as an input to the development of the full size project including the following;

• Undertaking an analysis of climate hazards; profiling the climatology and historic impacts in each area; referencing the types, frequency and intensity of climate hazards witnessed by each target community as well as highlighting future climate projections and trends using existing data and information ;

• Conducting a vulnerability analysis including; preparation of sampling strategy; an exposure analysis to map which assets (communities, infrastructures and natural areas) are exposed to current and future climate trends; a climate sensitivity analysis to identify the degree to which a built, natural or human system is directly or indirectly affected by changes in climate conditions; and an evaluation the current adaptive capacity of the areas by analyzing the ability of built, natural and human systems to accommodate changes in climate with minimum disruption or minimum additional cost;

Task 5. Support the Lead Consultant in assessing the risks to the successful implementation of the proposed LDCF project and develop mitigation measures and management responses to minimize the potential threat posed by the specific risks to minimize the potential threat posed by the specific risks. This will include, among others, the development of a robust strategy to ensure that all project pilot interventions will take into account the risks posed by climate variability and change and political insecurity;

Task 6. Assist the Lead Consultant in developing the project implementation strategy;

Task 7.  Assist in organizing meetings and discussions for the international consultants with various stakeholders in relation to preparation of the project document.

Task 8. Any other related work assigned by the UN Environment South Sudan’s Country Office

Conduct of work

• The NC will work under the guidance and supervision of the UN Environment’s South Sudan country office and he/she will also be working closely with the Lead Consultant on preparation of a full size project document.
• The NC should work closely with the other international consultants tasked with i) the design of the hydro-met component and ii) the design of the tertiary educational component. 
• Regular communication with UN Environment South Sudan Office and international consultants.

The NC will perform his duties in-country.              

• The national consultant should provide technical support to the Lead Consultant in integrating the climate risk and vulnerability assessment in the project document.
• The NC will provide additional information to the above-mentioned tasks as required by the UN Environment up until 30 October 2018.

Competencies

Core Competencies and values:

• Demonstrates integrity and fairness by modelling UN values and ethical standards;

• Demonstrates professional competence and is conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines and achieving results;

• Display cultural, gender, nationality, religion and age sensitivity and adaptability;

• High sense of relational skills, including cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability, with a demonstrated ability to work in a multidisciplinary team.

Functional Competencies:

• Good knowledge and understanding of the UN system, familiarity with UNEP mandate an asset;

• Knowledge of issues concerning the relevant suggest area(s);

• Proven research and data analysis knowledge (e.g. Peer-reviewed publications)

• Excellent analytical and writing skills in an engaging and succinct manner

• Wide experience in quantitative and qualitative data collection methods and –analysis including surveys, focus group discussions, key informant interviews etc.

• Experience and technical skills in ecosystem climate change, restoration and ecosystem based adaptation;
• Maturity and confidence in dealing with senior and high-ranking members of the government, international and national institutions.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Master’s degree in a relevant area such as Natural Resources Management, Climate Change, Disaster Risk Management, Environmental Sciences, Water Resources Management or related fields;

Experience:

• 5 years relevant work experience in natural resource management, climate change adaptation with specific  knowledge of Ecosystem based Adaptation, including  implementation at country and decentralized levels;
• Experience in climate risk and vulnerability assessments;
• Project development and design experience, experience in developing GEF projects will be an added advantage;

• Expertise in stakeholders consultations, facilitation of workshops, meetings and group discussions, and presentations, including a good understanding of the use of evidence-based approaches to influence stakeholders;

• The NC must have strong oral and written communications, good interpersonal skills and ability to work in a multi-cultural and multi-ethnic environment with sensitivity and respect for diversity and finally ability to work independently with minimal supervision and maintain flexibility in working hours.

• Demonstrable experience of operating in areas with accessibility challenges;

• Demonstrable experience in engaging with local community members, using participatory and consultative approaches;

• Demonstrable experience in engaging with government institutions and use of tact and sensitivity when handling sensitive information.

Language:

• Excellent English written communication skills, with analytic capacity and ability to synthesize project outputs and relevant findings for the preparation of quality project document.
• Arabic as a spoken language will be an added advantage.

The technical proposal must include but may not be limited to the following:

Technical proposal: Interested individual must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications:

• Letter of confirmation of interest and availability

• Explain its understanding of the scope of this Assignment

• Proposal on how your qualifications and experience can lead towards the successful deliverable of this assignment within the required timeframe, and provide a brief methodology on how you will approach and conduct the assignment;

• Propose the number of days required to complete the above-mentioned tasks

• Personal CV including areas of expertise and past experience in similar projects and at least three (3) references in the format of UN Personal History Form (P11 form).

• Any other document deemed relevant to this consultancy service.

• The NC should provide a tentative detail work plan, including time frame with list of activities required and resources needed.