Overview of position

Background & context:

• Climate change is among the emerging development issues in Yemen & the project titled “fourth national communication & second biennial update report” responds by contributing towards such priorities while at the same time enables the country to fulfill its commitments under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate change (UNFCCC). This project will enable Yemen to prepare its second Biennial Update Report (BUR) & the Fourth National Communication (FNC) report in accordance with article 12 of the UNFCCC without which it will be difficult to do so. Furthermore, it will assist in building further national capacities to fulfill Yemen’s commitments to the convention on a continuing basis. The second BUR will synergize & complement some components outlined in the FNC. The preparation of the second BUR will follow the guidelines provided by the Conference of Parties (CoP). The process of including the second BUR together with the FNC is technically, economically & timely feasible by ensuring effective use of resources & consistency of the methodologies & information exchange.
• Without this enabling activity project, Yemen will not be able to meet its commitments under the UNFCCC, prepare & submit the second BUR & FNC to the CoP of the UNFCCC. This project under the Global Environment Facility (GEF) enabling activities will enable Yemen to prepare its second BUR after the successful completion & submission of its Third National Communication (TNC) report & the First Biennial Update Report (1BUR) in 2018. It will assist in building further national capacities to fulfill Yemen’s commitments to the convention on a continuing basis, besides increasing the awareness on climate change issues, particularly among policymakers to take into consideration while setting out national & sectoral polices, strategies & programs.
• The project will contribute to strengthening national & institutional capacities to coordinate BUR / NC reporting process through designation of a technical group under the proposed National Climate Change Coordination Committee (NCCCC) to be established. An inter agency technical focal points representing the relevant line agencies will be designated & their capacities will be strengthened particularly for the collection of Green House Gases (GHG) inventory data from their respective agencies. Such capacity building & institutional arrangements which are to be undertaken by the project will support Yemen to coordinate BUR / NC reporting processes in a sustainable manner. The project will also increase levels of awareness on climate change issues particularly among policymakers. Similarly, the introduction of BUR will strengthen national capacities & enable Yemen to fulfil its future reporting requirements. Specifically, the BUR, for instance, will assess existing arrangements for domestic Monitoring, Reporting, Verification (MRV) & make suggestions for enhancement. The project draws on the experiences & results of the previous NCs, in particular, activities are focused on areas & sectors that have been identified as most relevant for the GHG balance in Yemen. A central element of the project strategy is to enhance the cost effectiveness of its planned interventions by capitalizing on its proven track record & experience in addressing environmental & climate change challenges in the country besides it professional working relationships that have been established & maintained with partners & stakeholders including national institutions, donor agencies & local communities as well as civil society organizations.

Purpose of assignment:

• Under previous exercises including the Initial National Communication (INC), the Second National Communication (SNC) & the Third National Communication (TNC), climate vulnerability & risk assessment on water resources have been conducted for selected pilot areas namely Delta Abyan, Wadi Surdud & Wadi Zabid respectively. Also V&A studies under other projects were also conducted for Sana’a basin, Sada Basin, Aden & Wadi Resyan.
• Within the FNC a new pilot area will be identified, selected & studied based on specific criteria to identify the potential climate impacts on water resources, analyze direct & combined climate change impacts on socio economic changes, demographic trends & to develop appropriate adaptation measures. The work to be undertaken under this assignment should be based on the best available scientific methods tools & models.

Role objectives

Objectives:

• The key objective of this assignment is to conduct a climate vulnerability & risk assessment on water resources for a pilot area which will be identified & selected based on consultation with the PM & relevant key stakeholders.
• The work to be undertaken under this assignment should be based on the best available scientific methods tools, approaches & should be in line & in consistency with other climate change related activities.

The assignment will take five (5) months distributed over a period of eight months, during this period the consultant will work under the direct supervision of the Project Manager & the overall guidance of the Climate Change, Energy, & Environment Team Leader (CCEE – TL). An outline of the methodology & scope of work is summarized as follows:

• Conduct a literature desk review of related reports & studies.
• Develop an inception report explaining the approach, methodology, scope of the assignment & detailed workplan with timelines of tasks.
• Participate in the training on the tools & models used for conducting the assessment.
• Carry out data collection for the target area from different sources of data & information.
• Conduct field visits to the relevant agencies & institutions as well as target area for data collection & consultation.
• Carry out a quantitative & qualitative analysis for the collected data & information.
• Work in close collaboration with other consultants working under the FNC – BUR2 project on other sectors to ensure data & information sharing as well as exchange of knowledge & lessons learned.
• Ensure gender engagement & inclusion in the identification of vulnerabilities, impacts & adaptation measures.

The National Climate Vulnerability & Risk Assessment Consultant should work in consultation with & under the guidance & supervision of the Project Manager (PM). Specifically, her / his responsibilities are but not limited to the following:

• Prepare a detailed work plan for this assignment on the basis of the overall project work plan.
• In consultation with the Project Manager (PM), establishes & leads the study team for performing the study on the basis of this TOR.
• Selects & implement, in consultation with the PM the methodologies for conducting the study.
• Produce a list & collate existing studies of climate change impacts on water resources & water resource management practices in Yemen as well as global best practices on climate adaptation water resource management.
• In consultation with PM, select the pilot area(s) for this assignment. The justification & rationale of the chosen pilot area should be confirmed by the PM.
• Identify the main communities & vulnerable groups, water use patterns in the selected basin & catchment area.
• Identify & assess the quality of the available climate data, water resources & water resource management information for the pilot region. This should include reviewing the availability of high resolution topographic, land cover & land management information.
• Assess the exposure & sensitivity of water resources to the range of conditions projected by climate change scenarios taking into account historic climate data & non climatic factors. The assessment would be based on quantitative analysis of the above data.
• Assess the potential impacts of climate change on water resources using the recommended scenarios for climate variability & change.
• Assess the potential impacts of climate change on vulnerable groups within the community in the pilot area with specific focus on women.
• Assess the options & scope for more sustainable water management practices within the communities in the selected pilot area.
• Propose cost effective climate resilient options & portfolios for the local communities drawing on traditional knowledge, past experiences & good practices.
• Ensure to include specific sections on the impacts of climate change & the proposed adaptation measures related to gender issues.
• Propose potential methods for the uptake of the proposed options beyond the pilot area.
• Engage with local government agencies, the governorates & local communities in the process of monitoring climate change impacts on water recourses & sustainable water management practices by promoting climate change risk assessment & analysis.
• Ensure balanced representation of women & men throughout the consultation processes.
• Ensures the timely & effective management of the activities as scheduled.
• Provides periodic progress report “in English language” to the PM.
• Incorporate & consolidate all findings, results, products & outputs of the assignment into a working document to be presented for consultation, comments & discussion at a national workshop for all relevant stakeholders. The consultant is also expected to prepare the necessary presentations & documents for the workshop & summarize the workshop findings into the assignment report.
• Prepare & submit the draft study report for review, comments & finalize the report accordingly.
• Draft the respective chapter of water V&A for Yemen’s FNC along with the respective parts of the executive summary, all in English language.

The consultancy shall be carried out within an allocated time of five months distributed over the period of eight months. The key deliverables, timeframe & requirements are presented in the table below.

Deliverables

Due dates

Submission requirement

Deliverable # 1: Inception report

Within three weeks from commencement

Soft (Word format) in English with a detailed work plan / methodology & desk review

Deliverable #2: Intermediate report

Within four months from the onset of the consultancy

Submit soft (Word format) in English covering implemented tasks including data collection, field visits, consultation meetings, etc.

Deliverable # 3: Draft final report

Within six months from the onset of the consultancy

Submit soft (Word format) in English incorporating & consolidating all finding, results, products & outputs of the assignment & inputs from the national workshop

Deliverable # 4: Final report

Within seven months from the onset of the consultancy

Submit, soft (Word format) in English, the final report based on comments on the draft final report

Project reporting

• This role works under the direct supervision of the Project Manager & the overall guidance of the Climate Change, Energy, & Environment Team Leader (CCEE – TL).

Key competencies

• MSc in hydrology, environment, natural resources or another field relevant to the project with a minimum of 7 years of working experience in the area relevant to climate change & water resources.
• Substantial involvement in preparing similar studies on climate change V&A assessment.
• Enough understanding of V&A models & tools.
• Demonstrable knowledge of MCA, GIS & SWAT.
• Demonstrated ability of analytical & drafting work.
• Familiarity with computers & Microsoft Office processing (Word, Excel, Power Point).
• Fluency in both written & oral English & Arabic languages.

Team management

• This role has no team management responsibility.

Further information

• The PM is responsible for validating deliverables prior to the issuance of payments.
• Qualified female candidates are encouraged to apply for this role.