Consultant at Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology (MEST)

Location: Accra, Ghana
Last Date: December 15, 2010.
Email: nicholasiddi@yahoo.com

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REPUBLIC OF GHANA
MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
GHANA SUSTAINABLE LAND AND WATER MANAGEMENT PROJECT (GSLWMP)
Terms of Reference: Technical Assistance on Technical Methodologies


1. BACKGROUND
The Government of the Republic of Ghana has received a Grant from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (“World Bank”), acting as an implementing agency of the Global Environment Facility (“GEF”) towards the cost of implementing the Ghana Sustainable Land and Water Management Project (GSLWMP) and intends to apply part of the proceeds of this grant for the payment under the contract for a procurement specialist to manage procurement activities of the GSLWMP.
The GSLWMP consists of three (3) components, namely:
A. Component 1: Capacity Building for Integrated Spatial Planning. This involves the provision of technical advisory services to establish a spatial planning unit within SADA, carry out mapping and spatial planning exercises, pre-feasibility studies of multi-purpose water infrastructure investments, and strengthen the capacity of SADA and relevant implementing agencies to guide and undertake decision-making for investment across the Northern Savannah region taking into account watershed and ecological systems.
B. Component 2: Water and Land Management. In line with the Government of Ghana Strategies, this component support community flood and land management at the micro-watershed level, including both management of agricultural land and ecological infrastructure. This component has five sub-component including;
I. Strengthening capacities of districts and rural communities for micro-watershed and land use planning;
II. Systems and capacity to promote SLWM;
III. Implementation of SLWM in micro-watersheds;
IV. Management of riparian biological corridors;
V. Monitoring SLWM & environmental services
i. Carrying out of programmes of activities to: (a) strengthen the capacity of District agencies in micro-watershed management techniques, and conduct a participatory micro-watershed planning exercise; and (b) strengthen the organizational and planning capacity of Communities and Districts on watershed issues, small-scale water and flood
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management infrastructure, and potential for application of sustainable land and water management technologies.
ii. Provision of technical advisory services to design systems to encourage local capacity for promotion of sustainable land and water management technologies, including: (a) developing sustainable land and water management technology options and packages appropriate to the Northern Savannah region; (b) developing the District extension approaches and incentive structures for promoting sustainable land and water management technologies, and package of incentives for farmer or Community organizations; and (c) developing a program to develop the capacity of the extension services and training for extension service providers.
iii. (a) Carrying out of a programme of activities (Subprojects) to: (i) encourage adoption of sustainable land and water management technologies by farmers; and (ii) facilitate demonstration and training, input subsidies and output incentives for individual and farmer groups to promote the use of sustainable land and water management technologies, all through the provision of works, technical advisory services and acquisition of goods.
(b) Carrying out of activities to: (i) facilitate the participation of local non-government organizations, District agricultural extension agents and other relevant agencies in the development and monitoring of the use of sustainable land and water management technologies by the Communities; and (ii) strengthen the capacity of Communities to manage infrastructure through water use groups and suitable regulations, all through the provision of technical advisory services, works and acquisition of goods.
iv. Carrying out programmes of activities to encourage natural habitat and wildlife management to maintain and enhance key habitat values as part of the watershed management, by, inter alia:
(a) implementing a corridor management plan in the Recipient’s Western Biodiversity Corridor, including: (i) establishing and operationalizing Community resource management areas in the watershed corridors, (ii) promotion of ecotourism; (iii) provision of training to the local Communities; and (iv) raising awareness for wildfire management; and
(b) implementing selected activities under a management plan for the Gbele Resource Reserve, including: (i) conducting ecological studies and monitoring; (ii) provision of training and building the capacity of the Communities in fire management; and (iii) establishing waterholes for wildlife use.
v. Monitoring sustainable land and water management technologies and environmental services, including monitoring of environmental services generated under the Project, developing simple monitoring systems of the implementation of the Recipient’s broad sustainable land and water management strategies, and identification of the potential buyers of the environmental services generated under the Project and the willingness to pay for the environmental services.
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C. Component 3: Project Management and Coordination. To achieve the objectives of the two components above, the Project Management Unit (PMU) has been established to have the overall responsibility of assisting and coordinating the activities of the Implementing Agencies (IAs) of the three sector-based components. The Project Management and Coordination presently includes a Project Coordinator to assist in strengthening the capacity of MEST and EPA for management, administration and coordination of the Project, through the acquisition of goods, provision of technical advisory services, and operating costs.
The Project will promote the adoption of more sustainable and climate resilient agricultural and land management practices from a menu of appropriate SLWM technology options by offering tailored incentives to farmers in northern Ghana. Support provided for adoption of SLWM technologies will be linked to the scale of environmental benefits expected to be generated by beneficiaries, as approximated by an environmental index. The project is intended to explore the viability or potential future Payment for Environmental Service systems to support sustainable land management investments. More detail on the project is available in the Project Appraisal Document.
The Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology intends to a recruit a Watershed / Land Management Expert to assist the EPA with the development of detailed technical methodologies to be used in the project and captured within an Operational Manual. The consultant will report to the Project Coordinator, and work closely with the wider project preparation team.
Scope of Work:
The consultant will advise and support EPA with development of detailed technical methodologies and procedures for implementation of land and watershed management activities under the GSLWM project. (S)he will identify practical steps and procedures required for successfully project implementation, collect and review relevant international models, identify and adapt appropriate elements for inclusion in the SLWM project in close discussion with the NSLMC and local experts, and take the lead in developing these into usable project documents. If necessary for the completion of this or related tasks, the consultant will assist the EPA to identify specific additional technical expertise and to draft appropriate TORs.
Specifically, the consultant will develop the guidelines for the SLWM subprojects to be appended to the Project Implementation Manual, including:
 Targeting of communities for inclusion in SLWM activities in agricultural lands and development of a District allocation formula. The consultant will consider previous approaches and data used for similar purposes, such as the desertification hazard mapping conducted under the National Sustainable Land Management Committee, and the watershed management targeting under the Community-Based Rural Development Project.
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 Participatory micro-watershed mapping / planning, considering precedents from Ghana (such as those developed by FAO and the Community-Based Natural Resource Management Project), as well as international models.
 Selection of a menu of SLWM technology options to be used under the project, consisting of techniques most appropriate to the conditions in the northern savanna region and the objectives of the project. Manuals / guidelines should be developed for included technologies, complete with standard designs / costs and verifiable implementation indicators.
 Environmental index linked selected SLWM technologies to expected environmental benefits, and indicative incentive structures to effectively promote uptake of the technologies and linked to the environmental benefits produced. The consultant will also assist with preparation of an expert workshop to review and endorse the menu of SLWM options and environmental index developed.
 Subproject cycle for supporting SLWM activities in agricultural land, including the development of agreements, provision of inputs, verification, and reallocation processes over the life of the project.
 Development process and template for MOUs between the project and participating Districts, specifying the intended program of activities within each District to be funded by the SLWM Project, and linked through the Social Opportunities Project or other sources.
The consultant will also assist in refining other sections of the Project Implementation Manual, and other project planning documents, including
 TORs for key TA positions and studies under Component 1: Capacity building for integrated spatial planning.
 Detailed project M&E protocols & appropriate TORs.
 Safeguards instruments for implementation of measures specified under the EAMP and RPF.
 Planning and reporting formats to be used by project implementing agencies in respect of project activities.
 Provide input to the project activity planning and budget to ensure effective implementation of technical activities.
 Provide additional technical support to the project team as required, potentially including training activities to support initiation of project activities.
Qualification and Experience:
- At least Masters in a relevant subject; PhD preferred.
- At least 5 years relevant professional experience; 7-10 years preferred.
- Direct experience of practical implementation of watershed and land management techniques in developing countries including demonstrated contributions to major
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projects, familiarity with projects and approaches from several countries, and links to professional networks; African regional experience (preferably the Guinea / Sudan savanna zones) preferred.
- Substantial experience with project management & M&E systems; experience with World Bank project procedures and safeguards requirements preferred.
- Strong team-working skills and ability to produce clear, concise and timely written outputs in the English language.
Duration
The estimated duration of the consultancy is for three months and is scheduled between May and July. The consultancy will commence in first week of May, 2011 and this assignment is expected to be completed and final manual delivered within 90 days from the date of signing of the contract. The period can be extended depending on need and performance.

Contact details
Applicants should contact:
Dr. Nicholas Iddi,
Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology (MEST)
P. O. Box M 232, Accra, Ghana, email: nicholasiddi@yahoo.com
The closing date is 15th December, 2010.