|
Addressing issues related to the natural environment in South Sudan is complex due to the nature and diversity of interacting factors that combine to create adverse environmental impacts. These factors include:
- Unregulated, unplanned and unsustainable exploitation of natural resources;
- Climate change;
- Predation as a result of the two decades of conflict;
- Large numbers of returnees;
- Extraction of oil.
All of these factors play a part in exploiting and destroying the natural resource base of South Sudan, compromising the livelihoods of the communities who depend on the land and its resources for a living, and setting South Sudan on a potentially unsustainable development path.
The Government of South Sudan (GoSS) has recently drafted an environmental policy offering opportunities to mitigate the adverse environmental impacts of the oil industry, charcoal production, poaching, and logging, all of which constitute significant environmental threats and also potential triggers for renewed conflict within South Sudan. This environmental policy, along with an environmental bill, is anticipated to be presented to the GoSS Council of Ministers and Parliament for review and approval in the first quarter of 2011. However, GoSS and the current context of South Sudan as a newly emerging state, remains far from realizing its ambitions made in its Interim Constitution formed in 2005, which states that “…for the benefit of present and future generations, and through reasonable legislative action, [South Sudan] will secure ecologically sustainable development and use of natural resources while promoting rational economic and social development”.
UNDP and other development partners are currently engaged with building institutional and technical capacity within the GoSS. This gradual process seeks to encourage GoSS adoption of environmental control measures that can slow the pace of degradation to the natural environment and critically, to help mitigate the severity of future environmental impacts as South Sudan develops. At the same time, it is essential that more immediate and direct action is also taken to address the myriad of environmental issues. As such, to guide and inform GoSS towards selecting priority environmental projects as a means of delivering direct interventions, specialist support is requested to carry out an Environmental Impacts, Risks and Opportunities (EIRO) assessment that accurately reflects the nature and scale of current and potential environment impacts within South Sudan; identifies the socio-political, economic and environmental risks that may result if insufficient action is taken to address identified environmental impacts; and identifies the most sustainable long term environmental project interventions that will mitigate adverse impacts, and ensure the future risk of human induced natural disasters is reduced.
At present, UNDP administers a GEF-funded Protected Areas Project that will protect large sections of bio-diverse land populated with South Sudan’s impressive flora and fauna. However, a sector-wide approach that captures all of the environment and sustainable energy issues and challenges that take place in South Sudan, is urgently required. In attempting to close this gap, the EIRO assessment will identify project opportunities categorized under two thematic areas:
- Climate Change
- Natural Resources Management.
UNDP South Sudan is seeking the services of qualified individual to undertake the EIRO assessment in South Sudan in its support to GoSS on environment and sustainable energy. The consultant(s) will work closely with the Ministry of Environment, UNEP and the World Bank offices in Juba, and other related stakeholders.
|
|
The objective of the consultancy is to undertake a comprehensive Environmental Impacts, Risks and Opportunities assessment in South Sudan that is targeted within two thematic areas of attention:
- Climate Change (Incorporating Adaptation, Low Carbon Development, Technology Transfer, and in particular Clean Energy Development;
- Natural Resources Management (Incorporating Sustainable Forest Management and Land Degradation).
For each of these two thematic areas, that together comprise the overall EIRO assessment, the consultants(s) will identify any technical, institutional and policy gaps, challenges and opportunities that will enable the Government of South Sudan to formulate pilot projects and strategies, and will advise on the required oversight functions that will help ensure reduced impact of environmental issues faced by the emerging new nation.
Under the guidance of the Crisis Prevention and Recovery Unit (CPRU) Team Leader, and technical support from CPRU Programme Team, the consultant(s) will indentify and undertake consultations with all relevant development partners, members of the international donor community, government ministries and institutions, public and private organizations, civil society and faith groups, and in particular with communities groups and leaders, across South Sudan in order to deliver the following:
I. Phase One: Forty Five (45) Days
1. Conduct a South Sudan EIRO assessment targeting the components of the two thematic areas:
- Identify and review all available information (reports, publications, datasets, consultations, use of climate change models and predictions etc ) for evidence of current or potential environmental impacts in South Sudan and report findings in summary format;
- Develop a detailed work plan/schedule of activities and timeline for the consultancy period, including a schedule of required key stakeholder consultations;
- Undertake a review of all ongoing and planned activities that currently create, or are likely to create, significant environmental impacts - where possible undertake field visits and consultations to verify and assess the nature and scale of activities and impacts caused;
- Assess the risk to the environment and the communities that depend upon the environment, of a ‘do nothing’ approach with regard to identified significant impacts;
- Utilizing the information obtained, and aligning recommendations with current best practice, policy and strategy, provide a detailed report that identifies and recommends a range of potential environment project interventions for each thematic area : (i) Climate Change Adaptation and (ii) Natural Resources Management;
- The assessment should include mapping UNDP South Sudan’s comparative advantage to operate in a coordination capacity for Environment and Sustainable Energy intervention projects; incorporate crosscutting themes such as gender, vulnerable groups, and capacity development; and identify appropriate funding mechanisms and potential implementing partners.
2. Prepare Consultancy report and debriefing:
- Prepare a detailed assessment report covering the two targeted thematic areas;
- Work closely with appropriate environment and sustainable energy professionals and institutions in South Sudan with aim of achieving basic consensus on scale, content and format of the pilot projects to be formulated;
- Organize and conduct stakeholder meetings to present assessment report for validation;
II. Phase Two: Forty Five Days
1. Prepare proposals of Pilot Project based on outcome of the assessment:
- Based on the final assessment report and recommendations prepare proposals of pilot projects including results and resource framework, work plan, and budget for the targeted thematic areas assessed;
2. Debriefing meetings and workshops with the key stakeholders to review of draft project proposals:
- Organize and conduct stakeholder meetings to present proposals of pilot projects prepared for validation.
Note that deliverables under this TOR will be considered acceptable only if the key stakeholders endorsed them from technical, financial, and institutional relevance.
III. Methodology:
The consultants will carry out the stipulated tasks through desk review and consultative meetings with the key stakeholders across South Sudan. He/she will review all available information, national policies, strategies and plans in order to establish existing gaps in environment and sustainable energy in terms of availability of data, existing knowledge, and skills. He/she is also expected to familiarize with overall tasks and responsibilities, development situation and political framework, substantial background, on all relevant baseline information, past and on -going work, projects and documentation on environment and sustainable energy in South Sudan.
IV. Expected Outputs - The expected outputs will be following:
- Phase 1: Assessment report identifying environmental impacts, risks and opportunities;
- Phase 2: Proposals of Pilot projects produced with all its elements and components to be agreed upon by stakeholders and project partners addressing targeted thematic areas.
V. Time Frame and Deliverables:
- Time frame: 90 working days starting from 1st April to 30th June, 2011 details as shown in the table below;
-
A. Phase Activity Time Frame After Signing of Contract:
- Phase one Inception report 7th day
- First draft Assessment Report 25th day
- Debriefing and workshop 26-30th day
- Submission of final Assessment Report 45th day
B. Phase two First draft of Project proposals 60th day
- Review of draft project proposals 75-80th day
- Submission of final project proposals 90th day
|
