Disaster Waste Management Proposal Development Consultant

Result of service:

1. Revised project concept, including problem and objective tree, theory of change, baseline narrative and indicative activities. 

Research plan, including primary data to be gathered for the field needs assessment. Deliverables to be submitted 3 weeks after contract is signed:

• Document with revised project concept 
• Document with the research plan

2. Needs assessment, reflecting consultations with the relevant actors, reports of field visits, and refined problem analysis, as described above. Deliverables to be submitted 3 months after signature of contract:

• Document with the needs assessment 
• Field visit reports
• Photo annex

3. Full project proposal, including revised problem and objective tree, theory of change, and full narrative and annexes as described above, in accordance with the level of details of a suitable donor (EU). Deliverables to be submitted 5 months after signature of contract or by 31st October 2019, whichever comes first:

• Document with the full project proposal, including relevant Annexes:
  • Budget (Excel)
  • Workplan (Excel)
  • Procurement plan (Excel)
  • Other TBD 

Note on the outputs/products:

• Since the proposal is not being developed for a specific funding call, it should be as detailed as possible, to facilitate future adaptation to the requirements of unforeseen but demanding donors;
• For the same reason, the proposal and other products should be written in a way that is as “modular” as possible, allowing the future addition or removal of countries from the project, or the assignation of specific countries to specific donors, in the event that the project is funded through multiple donors and funding streams;
• The proposal should also include a sufficient balance in disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation approaches in the waste management sector;
• In the event that the consultant needs to mobilise additional local field researchers to carry out the needs assessment, any associated costs should be included in the consultant’s financial proposal;
• Should a funding call relevant to the project be published during the implementation of the consultancy, it may be necessary to revise versions/formats to apply to the relevant call. This will be discussed with the consultant in the event that this occurs.

Expected duration:

7 Months (1 April to 31 October 2019)

Duties and responsibilities:

The UN Environment is the United Nations system’s designated entity for addressing environmental issues at the global and regional level. Its mandate is to coordinate the development of environmental policy consensus by keeping the global environment under review and bringing emerging issues to the attention of governments and the international community for action. 

The implementation of sustainable waste management (SWM) systems in island nations is critical as waste management has a direct impact on the state of the environment, well-being of humans and ultimately the economy. Despite the undeniable importance, many Caribbean island nations have yet to develop sufficiently funded and comprehensively regulated infrastructures to collect, process, recover and dispose solid waste due to a range of factors, including limited availability of suitable land, remoteness, small and sometimes sparse population, limited institutional and human resources capacity, and lack of sustainable financing systems. Waste management systems have been generally focused in the collection and disposal of household waste, but there is a range of other priority and emergent waste streams that require urgent action, such as disaster waste. 

Caribbean islands struggle with the effects of disasters, many of which have increased in intensity and some of which have been exacerbated by climate change. These disasters can disproportionately affect small islands, and there is a critical need to increase preparedness to manage the extensive amount of wastes these disasters generate. Infrastructure resources available to individual Caribbean islands in order to respond to natural disaster waste has been inadequate to effectively, respond to these crises. Without the necessary resources, affected islands have not fully succeeded in preventing this debris from becoming waste pollution and a health hazard.

Environmental considerations in humanitarian crises often fall into the void between humanitarian and development actors. Disasters often generate large quantities of waste that threaten public health, hinder rescue and reconstruction efforts and may significantly damage overall recovery efforts, and negatively impact the environment. Effective disaster waste management helps manage risks to life and health and presents opportunities for resilience and livelihoods recovery. In view of the increasing number of disasters, both those caused by natural hazards and man-made, there is a need for enhanced action to support national and local partners to be better prepared for managing waste in the aftermath of disasters and/or conflict.

The Caribbean hurricane season of 2017 demonstrated that disaster waste is a significant issue for small island developing states affected by disasters, and yet neither governments nor intergovernmental organisations have the capacity to manage disaster waste appropriately during emergency response, nor the tools and systems to strengthen preparedness for the management of disaster waste when a sudden-onset emergency occurs.

Countries such as Dominica, St Martin, St Kitts and Nevis, the Turks and Caicos Islands and the British Virgin Islands were severely affected. In response to a request from the Caribbean Disasters and Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA), UN Environment deployed two experts in disaster waste management to Dominica in 2017. However, they were only requested two weeks after the hurricane. It was clear from their mission that capacity was limited and that disaster waste issues had significantly worsened as a result of response activities which did not consider waste management from the beginning. Institutional factors, a lack of technical capacity, plans and preparedness, both in the affected countries and CDEMA, meant that the issue was considered too difficult or obscure to be a priority. This has a serious impact on the recovery and future development of an affected country.

In the case of Dominica, the amount of debris generated after Hurricane Maria was approximately 4 million m3, which would cost more than US$12 million dollars and 3 km2 of land for the process, which is equal to 10% of the total available area in the island. Additionally, there is an extra amount that corresponds to the solid waste generation of 10,000 tonnes per year, characterised by poor standards, no sorting at the source, and no recycling. Finally, the expected amount for the years 2030 and 2050, reach up to 5 and 6 million m3 of debris respectively if another Category 5 storm strikes the island.

There is a need to assess existing waste management infrastructure and processes in the Caribbean, and recommend possible options to disaster proof these facilities. Also, it is needed to ensure that disaster waste is understood beyond simply the management of construction debris. Medical waste, hazardous waste, green waste, electronic waste and wastewater are all waste streams that should be appropriately planned for and managed to avoid serious consequences for human and environmental health yet are usually barely considered in emergency preparedness and response. 

There is a need to address disaster waste and the management of the same in broader terms i.e. moving beyond debris removal to a more integrated, environmentally sound and preparedness-recovery based approach – in post disaster contexts as well as during or post protracted crisis. If well planned, disaster waste management can be a means of bridging humanitarian and long-term interventions.

UN Environment proposes to develop a capacity building project to help countries with a high exposure to sudden-onset hazards to improve their planning, preparedness and response in the waste management sector. A concept note, problem tree, objective tree and theory of change for the project covering Dominica and St Martin has been drafted, based on secondary data research and emergency missions from 2017. It is necessary to update the project idea and conduct the full needs assessment and proposal development process, including local and regional consultations, definition of final target countries and the production of a finalised proposal and annexes. The proposal should be of a level of size, quality and detail sufficient for submission to the European Union or similar donor.

Objective:

Under the supervision of the Regional Humanitarian Affairs Officer and the Chemicals and Waste Regional Coordinator in the UN Environment Office for Latin America and the Caribbean, in coordination with the International Environmental Technology Centre (IETC, Osaka) and sub-regional office for the Caribbean (Kingston, Jamaica); this consultancy will support the development of a project proposal on disaster waste management (DWM) in targeted countries in the Caribbean.

1. Develop a revised project concept and research plan on disaster waste management in the Caribbean: 

• Review existing concept note, problem tree, objective tree and theory of change;
• Hold initial consultations with relevant actors within UN Environment;
• Identify relevant calls for proposals and potential project document requirements in accordance with funding opportunities, in particular from the European Union;
• Conduct additional secondary data research in order to develop research plan for primary data gathering for field needs assessment, covering both the disaster and waste related aspects. While the field needs assessment is expected to focus on Dominica and St Martin, the consultant should consider whether or not to include other islands with a similar level of risk which should be included in the needs assessment and final proposal. Some secondary data gathering support can be provided by interns, UN Volunteers and Junior Professional Officers in Panama, Kingston and Osaka

2. Conduct needs assessment:

• Carry out initial consultations with relevant actors, including representatives from the identified countries (Ministries of Environment, civil protection and others as relevant), regional intergovernmental organisations, international and local response actors from relevant disasters, donors, embassies and others as relevant;
• Develop a schedule for field visits for needs assessment, in consultation with UN Environment staff and relevant actors in the country (dates to be finalised one month before departure);
• Conduct needs assessment and finalise a needs assessment annex to the report, using best practice in needs assessment for disaster risk reduction and development programming and the latest tools and data gathering techniques. The needs assessment should refine the problem analysis developed in secondary data, confirm or change (add/remove) the selection of countries and consider relevant regional factors and important regional actors, including but not limited to Caribbean Disasters and Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA), Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility (CCRIF), Caribbean Water and Wastewater Association (CWWA) and others. 

3. Develop a full project proposal:

• Develop revised problem tree, objective tree and theory of change, for which feedback can also be sought from the UN Environment project review committee coordinator;
• Following discussions with the UN Environment project team, develop a full narrative proposal of a style and level of detail sufficient for the European Commission or similar donor;
  • Develop project annexes as per list of products (below). 
  • Project budget (Excel file);
  • Project workplan (Excel file);
  • Procurement plan (Excel file);
• Disaster waste forecasts (may be GIS files and pdf exports) and potential recommendations for improvement to the DWM forecasting methodology (if necessary); 

Available baseline information by UN Environment will be provided to the consultant, including:

• Draft concept note (narrative);
• Draft problem tree, objective tree and theory of change;
• Secondary baseline data already gathered on target countries (Dominica, St Martin and a variety of other Caribbean islands;
• Contacts list;
• Previous mission reports to Dominica;
• Workshop report from regional waste management workshop held in Jamaica in 2018 and questionnaires completed by participant countries;
• Disaster waste management guidelines (MSB) and e-learning;
• Draft methodology for creating disaster waste forecasts using GIS;
• SIDS Waste Management Outlook (being launched at UNEA4); 
• Caribbean Disaster Waste Management Training Summary

Qualifications/special skills:

Academic: Advanced university degree (Master’s or equivalent) in natural resource management, disaster risk management, waste management, conservation, environment, economics, development, or a demonstrably relevant field. A first-level university degree in related fields in combination with qualifying professional experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree. 

Professional: A minimum of eight years relevant work experience (or 10 years in lieu of an advanced university degree). Proven experience in project concept development, project design and budgeting. Demonstrated successful experience in formulation and implementation of projects funded by international donors or funds for environment and development. Experience in disaster risk reduction and response to large disasters or crises. Experience in the policy development process associated with environment and sustainable development will be an asset. Previous work experience in the Caribbean region and knowledge of the United Nation System will be an asset.

Language: Fluent written and spoken English required. Knowledge of other official languages in the United Nations System is an advantage.

Special knowledge and skills: Excellent written and communication skills in English, with attention to detail and analytic capacity and ability to synthesise project outputs and relevant findings. Ability to pick up new terminology and concepts easily and to turn information from various sources into a coherent project document. Competent in computer management. Advanced level in Microsoft Office. Experience using Geographic Information Systems is advantageous.

Additional information

Pre-selected candidates will be invited to present a narrative methodology and financial proposal. The financial proposal will include travel and any other related cost. The final selection decision will be based on a quality evaluation of these proposals.

No fee

THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.