Antecedentes
The Okavango River Basin (ORB) remains one of the least human impacted basins on the African continent. Mounting socio-economic pressures in the riparian countries; Angola, Botswana and Namibia, pose threats to its water resources and ecosystems, on which the livelihood of the people in the basin depends. With support from UNDP and GEF the riparian states set out to develop a Transboundary Diagnostic Analysis (TDA) and a Strategic Action Programme (SAP) for the ORB to strengthen the regional coordination and joint management capacity. This was undertaken through a UNDP/GEF project titled “Environmental Protection and Sustainable Management of the Okavango River basin” (EPSMO) 2003-2010, which was executed by FAO. The EPSMO produced a draft TDA and a preliminary draft text for the SAP. To finalise the TDA and SAP there was a need for further discussions and negotiation among the countries.
At an extraordinary Okavango Basin Steering Committee held on 18 August 2010 in Luanda, Angola, the three countries presented the OKACOM Roadmap towards the SAP finalization and formally requested UNDP for its continued support in the TDA/SAP finalization process. The requested support was provided by UNDP through UNDP Angola and UNDP Regional Environment Programme.
The Regional Environment Project (REP) provided support to this process in line with the project’s second output which seeks to develop and strengthen sub-regional mechanisms for managing shared environmental resources and to develop linkages to development and economic benefits for countries and communities where these environmental resources exist.
The project’s support to the OKACOM came to an end with the successful finalization and the OKACOM endorsement of the TDA, finalization of the SAP through country negotiations, and development and validation of the three national action plans (NAPs) – one for each OKACOM member state.
The purpose of this consultancy is to document the process of UNDP’s support to the OKACOM with the aim of bringing out practices and methodologies that can be used in the future in the development of management plans, policies and laws for shared environmental resources. The scope of this assignment is to cover the period of UNDP’s support to the ORB from the EPSMO project to the recent support provided directly by UNDP, including the Regional Environment Project.
Deberes y responsabilidades
Documentation of the process and achievements of the UNDP’s support to the OKACOM in the development of the TDA, SAP and NAPs. The consultant is to develop a publication (communication material) that can be widely disseminated which highlights UNDP’s regional support using concrete examples. For this purpose, the consultant’s report should include:
- Background and situation analysis of the ORB, country situations regarding management regimes of shared resources, with specific reference to the problems identified that needed to be addressed. UNDP’s support (EPSMO); what it achieved and what it did not achieve – summary from the EPSMO Terminal Evaluation Report;
- Achievements of UNDP support to the SAP/TDA development process;
- Regional Environment Project’s support; what it intended to do; interventions identified and used; and results achieved;
- Best Practices from the ESPMO and REP support: practices that can be replicate;
- Lessons learned from the process of UNDP’s support.
Competencias
Development and Operational Effectiveness:
- Works toward creative solutions by analyzing problems carefully and logically;
- Sets priorities, produces quality outputs, meets deadlines and manages time efficiently;
- In depth understanding of development trends and needs of sub-Saharan Africa, in particular in the area of poverty, environment and natural resource management; and governance.
Knowledge and Advisory Services:
- Demonstrates sufficient technical knowledge to perform effectively in own specialty.
Team and Partnership Building:
- Anticipates evolving client needs;
- Writes clearly and convincingly;
- Practices attentive and active listening;
- Acknowledges and responds constructively to the points of view of others.
Core Values and Corporate Commitment
- Communicates effectively and respectfully with individuals of a different culture, races, gender, religion, nationality and age.
Habilidades y experiencia requeridas
The assignment shall be undertaken by an expert with extensive experience in policy and strategy development. In depth knowledge in strategic and, analytical works; and report writing. Knowledge and experience in the management of shared environmental resources and in-depth appreciation of complexities associated with transboundary water governance is highly desirable. Familiarity with the Okavango Basin management issues in general and/or the UNDP/GEF EPSMO project in particular would be highly valuable.
In detail, the consultant should have the following qualifications and experiences:
- A higher university degree in natural resources management, environmental sciences, political science, development management, governance or other related fields;
- Sound understanding of and experience in designing of development programmes, preferably in Africa;
- Experience in working with and relating to governments, inter-governmental organizations and international agencies;
- Sound understanding of International River Basin Management principles and approaches;
- Knowledge or experience in working on issues of governance, policy development , and strategy formulation, preferably in Africa;
- Sound understanding of UNDP for its goal, work, and comparative advantages;
- Sound understanding of the socio-economic, environmental and governance situation in the Okavango River Basin is an advantage.