Request for Expression of Interest (EOI)- Individual Lead Regional Consultant
For
Consultancy for Developing Draft IGAD Regional Plastic Pollution Prevention Strategy and Implementation Plan in a Circular Economy Model
Background
economy of the region is mainly based on the use of its terrestrial natural resources. Marine and freshwater resources are not properly developed and sustainably used to improve the livelihoods and food/nutrition security of the region due various constraints. Blue Economy is a new approach to have sustainable development of water-related socio-economic and ecological services in an integrated manner. This approach needs to be popularized and harmonized.
The Blue Economy Section of IGAD has developed and adopted a 5-year (2021 – 2025) Regional Blue Economy Strategy and its Implementation Plan. The IGAD Blue Economy Strategy intends to structure the Blue Economy implementation at both national and regional levels while increasing cooperation and regional integration and strengthening support to the member states to effectively translate policies into concrete actions. IGAD has also supported all its Member States to develop and endorse their own National Blue Economy Strategy, aligned with the IGAD Blue Economy strategy.
IGAD has signed a project (enhancing blue economy in the IGAD member states for biodiversity conservations and livelihood diversification) aimed at promoting Blue Economy with funding from Sweden. The project will be implemented within three years in the IGAD Member Countries.
The main objectives of the project include:
- improve the governance of the Blue Economy in the IGAD region.
- conduct marine biodiversity situation analyses.
- develop/adopt tools for Blue Economy valuation.
- make inventory of chemical and plastic pollutants from source to sea.
- Develop and adopt IGAD Regional plastic and chemical pollution prevention Strategies.
- Develop and adopt IGAD Regional Plastic Pollution Prevention Strategy
- assess the impact of pollution (Plastic and chemical) and develop mitigation measures on aquatic biodiversity and ecosystems.
- develop and apply tools to monitor and mitigate chemical and plastic pollutions in the concerned coastal member countries.
The project will include implementation of the IGAD BE Strategy, capacity building activities, analysis, and exchange, as well as demonstration activities in pilot sites, supporting all the participating countries in developing and applying best practice for linking management of biodiversity and related coastal ecosystems and livelihoods diversification.
Ministers from the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) Member States whose dockets include the Blue Economy sectors endorsed the IGAD Blue Economy Strategy (2021-2025) on April 1, 2022, in Addis Ababa.
The Next step is to cascade the Regional Blue Economy Strategy to the Member States level. To materialize this national consultant will be recruited to develop their respective Blue Economy strategy.
Rationale
The global annual production of plastic products over the last 20 years has more than doubled despite insufficient waste management capacity globally, and as a result, plastic waste has also doubled. In 2019, roughly 23 percent of global plastic waste was either improperly disposed, burned, or leaked into the environment (OECD, 2022)[1]. Plastic products account for approximately 85 percent of total global marine waste and between 70 and 80 percent of all waste that ends up in land and marine environments combined (NASEM, 2022)[2]. Plastic products in the environment tend to break down over time to form very small pieces called microplastics, which can pose serious threats to wildlife and may potentially harm human health (NASEM, 2022). In 2022, the pervasiveness and persistence of plastic waste in the environment drove the United Nations Environmental Programme’s (UNEP) Environmental Assembly (UNEA) to launch the development of an international, legally binding instrument on plastic pollution (UNEA, 2022)[3].
An estimated 4.8 to 12.7 million metric tons of mismanaged plastic waste entering the ocean annually1, plastic pollution is a global problem that has gained increasing attention in recent years. In 2015, the United Nations General Assembly agreed on a set of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which include a target (SDG 14.1) that member states should “by 2025, prevent and
significantly reduce marine pollution of all kinds, in particular from land-based activities, including marine debris and nutrient pollution.
According to the 2015 IGAD pollution report, coastal and marine pollution is the major concern of the IGAD region. According to the UN definition, marine and coastal pollution is “the introduction by man, directly, or indirectly, of substances or energy to the marine and coastal environment resulting in deleterious effects such as hazards to human health, hindrance to marine activities, impairment of the quality of seawater for various uses and reduction of amenities.” IGAD has a rich coastal and marine environment region that has stretched from the coast of Sudan, Eritrea, Djibouti, Somali to Kenya. These countries are bordered by the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean. Major cities like Mombasa, Mogadishu, Djibouti and Port Sudan are located in the coastal area. There have been rapid urbanization processes in these port cities. As is the case in the capital cities of IGAD Member States, the level of waste management is either non-existent or cannot cope with the rapid population growth. Non-coastal IGAD Member Countries (Ethiopia, South Sudan and Uganda) have transboundary freshwater bodies, such as Nile River, Lake Victoria and Lake Turkana, which carry a lot of plastic wastes.
Plastic pollution was assessed to be a growing problem and severe concern for all the IGAD Region Member States of (Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan and Uganda) with all of them having no effective monitoring programme for inventory and control against the plastic pollutants in marine and aquatic environments. There is therefore a strong need for building the capacities of Member States to monitor and manage the pollutants, right from the source of the plastics to the use and disposal of the same. Because plastic and chemical pollutions transcend geographical boundaries, a regional approach or framework is recommended to have harmonized national strategies and actions.
The Main objectives of the assignment:
The overall objective of this consultancy is to review and analyze the national policies/strategies/regulatory frameworks of IGAD Member States against waste management in general and plastic pollution in particular. Based on the review, the Lead Consultant develops Developing Draft IGAD Regional Plastic Pollution Prevention Strategy in a Circular Economy.
The duration of the assignment:
The assignment will be for 60 working days, implemented over a period of 3 months.
The Required Qualifications:
The lead regional consultant should have an advanced degree (master’s degree or above) in disciplines related to oceanography, Aquatic Ecology, marine/aquatic environmental protection, marine biology, environmental sciences and aquatic sciences. A PhD degree in these disciplines will be an added advantage.
Seven national consultants, one for each Member State (Djibouti, Kenya, Ethiopia, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan and Uganda) that will review national policies and other regulatory frameworks, write national reports in their respective country should have minimum of master’s degree in disciplines related to conservation of marine and aquatic biodiversity and ecosystems, including marine environmental protection, environmental sciences and aquatic sciences.
For further information kindly see attached the terms of refence (TORs).
How to apply:
Interested Individual Consultants who are citizens of the IGAD Member States are invited to send their letters of application with their CVs. Shortlisted applicants will be contacted.
The Expression of Interest (EOIs) shall include the following components:
- A cover letter outlining the suitability of the consultant for the assignment, motivation and summarizing the relevant experience.
- Detailed Curriculum Vitae of consultants who will undertake the assignment, including names, addresses, and contacts (e-mail and telephone numbers) of three referees.
- Copies of relevant work undertaken in the last three years (electronic version).
- No Technical or Financial Proposals Required in this Stage.
- IGAD is an equal opportunities employer. Female candidates are encouraged to apply.
Interested and qualified consultants may send their application that fulfils the above requirements to the following email addresses: procurement@igad.int
Applications should be submitted to the address below no later than Thursday 11 April 2024. Please note that only shortlisted consultants will be contacted.
Download attached ToR document in PDF below.
ToR_PPP Strategy_Consultant-Final TIG (1)
