Date of issue: 19 November 2008 / ISDR/C/10/2008
Post Title & Level:Consultant
Duty station:anywhere, virtual contact
Vacancy Notice number: ISDR/C/10/2008
Deadline for applications:23 November 2008
Date of entry:15 December 2008
United Nations Core Values:
Integrity ● Professionalism ● Respect for diversity
Background:
The International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR) is a multi-disciplinary and multi-stakeholder platform to enable societies to increase their resilience to natural, technological and environmental disasters and to reduce associated environmental, human and economic and social losses. A range of United Nations organizations and international partners participate in cooperation with Governments and civil society organizations. In adopting ISDR, the United Nations General Assembly (Res/54/219) endorsed the establishment of an institutional framework for its implementation consisting of the Inter-Agency Task Force on Disaster Reduction (IATF/DR) and the inter-agency secretariat (ISDR secretariat).
The main functions of the secretariat are policy coordination, advocacy and information management, at the international and regional levels, to ensure synergy between disaster reduction strategies and those in the socio-economic and humanitarian fields.
In January 2005, the World Conference on Disaster Reduction (WCDR, 18-22 January 2005, Kobe, Hyogo, Japan) took place and represents a landmark in worldwide understanding and commitment to implement a disaster risk reduction agenda. This commitment was captured in the Hyogo Declaration and the Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015: Building the Resilience of Nations and Communities to Disasters adopted at the WCDR.
The Hyogo Framework is the essential guide for implementation of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction in the coming years and it constitutes an unprecedented conceptual shift that takes account of the complexity of action in disaster risk reduction and the large variety of actors whose inputs are required in the pursuit of this objective. It provides the basic concepts and prescribes and expected outcome; details three strategic goals for disaster risk reduction and a set of five priority areas for action; and assigns tasks to stakeholders at difference operational levels to reach the expected outcome.
Disaster risk reduction requires the engagement of organizations and actors from diverse specializations, spanning the development, humanitarian and technical/environmental fields, and the development of coherent strategies, programmes and policies across these fields and tailored to the circumstances and needs of specific sectors. The concepts and tools of disaster risk reduction offer significant means to protect development gains, to reduce the demands for humanitarian relief and response, and to cope with the future changes in risks arising from climate change.
The region of Central Asia and the Caucasus (CAC) is highly vulnerable to disasters caused by the impact of natural hazards. Occurrence of natural hazards in all eight countries of the two sub-regions is very high – substantial parts of the territory are covered by mountains and practically all natural hazards, such as earthquakes, landslides, debris flows, avalanches, floods and droughts are present there. Earthquakes are the most dangerous of them. They destroy buildings and infrastructure and result in secondary events such as landslides, rock-falls, and avalanches. The region can provide compelling evidence for this: destructive earthquakes in Almaty (Kazakhstan, 1887, 1911), Ashgabat (Turkmenistan, 1948), Baku (Azerbaijan, 2000), Spitak (Armenia, 1989) and Tashkent (Uzbekistan, 1966), as well as a relatively smaller earthquakes such as in Gissar (Tajikistan, 1989) when most of casualties were caused by landslides, debris flows and rock-falls. In all probability, devastating earthquakes can be expected in any of the Region’s countries in the future. Climate change is expected to exacerbate disaster caused by the impact of natural hazards associated with hydro-meteorological conditions, with associated damages particularly impacting the rural economy. The region is also exposed to a range a man-made disasters, such as industrial accidents, hazardous mine tailings entering downstream water bodies, and potential downstream impacts resulting from the operation of large water reservoirs.
Geographically and geologically, both regions are not only disaster-prone but also have limited financial resources and physical resilience. Central Asia and Caucasus governments are fiscally unprepared to deal with catastrophic losses. Disasters lead to social, economic and environmental losses. It is often the cumulative effect of high-frequency and low-impact disasters that cause most of the losses, particularly among the poorest section of the community. The social impact of disasters includes loss of livelihoods, assets (e.g. homes and livestock), infrastructure and communication, and results in discontinued development programs. Environmental losses are often the most significant, as the poor very much depend on a well functioning environment for their livelihoods. The number of affected people depends, to a large extent, on the vulnerability level of the population concerned. Disasters tend to hit the poorest in the society most. This group has little or no financial and physical resilience, and therefore, has to struggle to rebuild their lives, livelihoods and assets in the aftermath of a disaster.
2.Objectives and Targets (Specific Functions of Consultant/Individual Contractor)
The objective of the proposed assignment is to assess existing capacity and identify capacity strengthening needs (human, institutional, and equipment) for each member country, taking into account a regional approach in data sharing and analysis.
a) Review of all relevant background documents prepared previously on the subject which will serve as the basis for the preparation of the Assessment including technical, institutional, socioeconomic, financial and other aspects.
b) Review the existing capacity of each member state, considering
•institutional issues (cf., human resources, institutional structure, and budget);
•infrastructure issues (monitoring network coverage and quality, equipment age and depreciation, telecoms, modeling expertise, IT);
•Technology and Technical Skills: review the skill of forecast outputs, using standard WMO measures, and coverage of the agency’s forecasts (resolution, number of urban areas covered, forecasts supplied to emergency management, agro-meteorology, climate monitoring, seasonal forecasting).
c) Assess the current and potential “market” and needs for hydromet products and services within each state through the identification of the existing and potential user community (to include agriculture, energy, transport, health, municipal services, emergency management agencies, water resources agencies, tourism, etc.); In this regard, data and findings of the on going WB GFDRR project “Development of An Action Plan for Improving Weather and Climate Service Delivery in High Risk, Low-Income Countries in Central Asia” should be reviewed and taken into consideration based on the information and data already collected by the project.
d) Identify the existing data sharing protocols and data sharing arrangements and requirements among the CAC states considering, for example, the existing standards for ground stations, radar, and emergency warnings, E-AMDAR, etc., standards for hydrological data exchange within and among trans-boundary states, and others that are relevant. Prepare data sharing requirements and standards to be undertaken among the member states based on their needs and assuming that capacity will be improved. The data sharing requirements will be part of proposed capacity building program for each participating state.
The consultant may be required to travel to all member states (identified below), hold meetings with the directors of the Hydromets service as well as other government agencies who are beneficiaries of the hydromet services.
Geographic Coverage: This study will cover the following countries: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. Please note that for Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan information on hydrometereological issues are already available from the GFDRR project (“Development of An Action Plan for Improving Weather and Climate Service Delivery in High Risk, Low-Income Countries in Central Asia”) and should be integrated into the final report in a consistent manner.
The output of the assignment will include:
- Draft report: after 2 months from the start of the assignment.
- Final Report: at the end of the assignment.
Tangible and measurable outputs of the work assignment
(a) Review of Central Asia and the Caucasus hydrometereological services and capacities
(b) Development of data-sharing requirements and standards
Performance Indicators
1. Timely delivery of outputs
2. High technical quality of outputs, as evidenced by their acceptance by the World Bank/UNISDR and WMO project team.
3. High quality and timely ongoing technical support to the UNISDR/WB/WMO project team efforts.
QUALIFICATIONS
Education: Advanced university degree in Environmental Studies, Environmental Engineering or equivalent combination of education and experience in a Hydrometereological area.
Experience: At least 10 years progressively relevant experience in Hydrometereology. Working experience in the CAC Region is a plus.
Language: Excellentwritten and spoken English. Russian and other CAC Region languages is a plus.
Other skills: Knowledge of climate change issues and climatology. Familiarity with disaster risk reduction, the ISDR system and its partners and the Hyogo Framework for Action, a plus.
Applicants will be contacted only if they are under serious consideration.
Applications from qualified female candidates and from nationals of non- and under-represented countries are particularly encouraged.
Please email the following documents to the ISDR secretariat at :
1. Cover letter, explaining why you consider yourself qualified and motivated for this particular assignment.
2. Completed P-11 Form.
It would be appreciated your stating your full name and the ISDR consultancy vacancy notice number (ISDR/C/10/2008) as the subject in your e-mail of application.
Please note that applications received after the deadline will not be accepted.