National Water and Sewerage Corporation is a government parastatal which is mandated to supply water for domestic, institutional, and industrial consumption. Its operations currently cover 262 urban centers which are expected to grow to 300 towns by 2025. Water is a key strategic resource, vital for sustaining life, promoting development, and maintaining the environment. Uganda’s challenge is to manage its water resources in a sustainable manner that maximizes its beneficial use and acknowledges the significant differences in water availability across the country, while ensuring environmental integrity.

Currently, the water resources are under increasing pressure due to a number of issues. Key among these are climate change, population growth and urbanization, catchment degradation, disaster risks and extreme events, pollution, and general water quality degradation, as well as the water-energy-food nexus. Uganda’s National Development Plan III also emphasizes the need to manage and develop water resources sustainably to meet current and future needs of the country. This is in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 6 that advocates for the provision of safe water and sanitation and sound management of freshwater ecosystems which are essential to human health, environmental sustainability, and economic prosperity.   

National Water and Sewerage Corporation completed the construction of a drinking water treatment plant at Katosi in 2020.

Previous feasibility studies (Kampala Water-Lake Victoria, WATSAN Project, 2015) identified the Katosi Peninsula, on the shores of Lake Victoria, as a good location for the project due to a much better water quality than the inner Murchison Bay. The ultimate drinking water production capacity shall be 240,000 m³/day executed in two phases; the completed phase1 provides a capacity of 160,000 m³/day and the second phase shall provide 80,000 m³/day (to be undertaken in the future).

Due to population pressure, the catchment area is facing a lot of degradation impacting on the quality of raw water from Lake Victoria hence the need for development of mitigation actions to protect the Katosi bay ecosystem.

The specific tasks to be performed by the consultant include the following.

Task 1: Update the existing Katosi bay catchment management plan

Basing on the existing information/reports for the project area; the consultant will undertake field assessments within the micro-catchments and assess the existing situation. The consultant shall identify and undertake verification of all the hotspot areas that require urgent attention including the point sources of pollution within the micro-catchment. Focus areas shall include but not limited to; description of the current state of the micro-catchments (assessment for threats and hotspot), water users & uses, mapping of the hotspot areas, water balance studies (previously undertaken by NWSC) and institutional framework.

The consultant shall be required to come up with an updated analysis of the current situation of the Katosi bay as a key output and develop and updated catchment management plan for the Katosi Bay.

Task 2: Stakeholder Engagement

The consultant shall identify all the relevant stakeholders in the project area that shall play a key role in ensuring the success of the project. The roles and responsibilities of all the stakeholders shall be clearly defined.

The consultant shall ensure that all relevant stakeholders are reached including women and other vulnerable groups such as People with Disabilities (PWDs), elderly, relevant authorities, and agencies like DWRM, NEMA, NFA, Mukono District Local Government.

The consultant shall also be required to coordinate stakeholder engagement meetings/workshops to present a road map for the assignment, present draft and final reports and verification of action plans.

Task 3: Preparation of an Action Plan

The consultant shall prepare a comprehensive environmental management plan for the Katosi catchment to protect the water source. This shall involve but not limited to; mitigation measures aimed at protecting the Katosi ecosystem, roles and responsibilities and investment needs that are required in order to protect the Katosi fragile ecosystem.

Task 4: Develop a Policy brief

With reference to the existing policy and legal frameworks applicable to management of environment and water resources (locally and internationally), the consultant shall develop a policy brief to inform policy actions that will be followed up to protect the Katosi ecosystem to ensure sustainability of water supply to the people of Greater Kampala Metropolitan Area.

• The Consultant must possess at least 7 years' experience in training on environment, gender equality, women rights issues within the environment, climate, and energy nexus in Uganda and/or any African country
• Experience in preparing of environmental related solutions, ideas, recommendations and undertaking catchment management review and ecosystem protection interventions
•  Experience in coordinating stakeholders particularly Environmental Agencies and other stakeholders with respect to delivering positive project results including having result-oriented action areas
• The consultant should have undertaken at least 3 previous similar assignments.   
• Ability to organise and deliver presentations/ reports, findings for senior level programme participants from Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies, civil society, UN agencies and other development organisations.
• Demonstrated experience promoting and advocating for environmental sustainability, ecosystem protection, climate, and energy in Uganda and/or any African country.
• Sound knowledge on national, regional, and global environment, climate, and energy frameworks with gender equality as an added advantage

The Consultant must have an advanced University degree (Masters or PhD) in one of the following disciplines: Gender Studies, Development Studies, Environment and Climate Studies, Energy Studies, or other relevant social science