GUYANA: INDIVIDUAL CONSULTANT: NBS & GIS

INTRODUCTION TO GGGI

The Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) is a treaty-based international, inter-governmental organization dedicated to supporting and promoting strong, inclusive and sustainable economic growth in developing countries and emerging economies. To learn more please visit about GGGI web page. 

GENERAL INFORMATION

• Project: Sustainable Integrated D&I systems in Guyana (GY012-E1)
• Duty Station: Deliverable-based (Global)
• Contract Duration: 16 Dec 2024 – 30 April 2025 (estimated)
• Consultant Level: Level 5
• Total Fees: 45,000 USD

Through support from the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure’s (CDRI) Infrastructure for Resilient Island States (IRIS) program, GGGI is partnering with the Government of Guyana to support its adaptation, coastal protection, and resilience efforts. Under a recently approved project viz: Towards developing a strategic sustainable integrated national drainage and irrigation system, GGGI has been selected to support the implementation of these efforts, more specifically to introduce integrated planning that includes Nature-based solutions (NbS), strengthening capacities and mechanisms for an integrated planning approach to reduce flood-related risks and to introduce green to hard infrastructure works informed by knowledge management for coastal resilience, low emission development, and prioritized ecosystem health. As part of the important value addition and offerings, GGGI has undertaken to include and integrate a strong and innovative GESI component.  

With about 90% of the population living on the coast, Guyana’s coast is inextricably linked to its development. Guyana’s coastal ecosystems offer communities important goods and services and additionally provide protection from storms and erosion. Through a system of seawalls, much of Guyana’s coastal communities lie below the mean sea level. Combined with rising sea levels, unpredictable heavy rainfall events, and sinking land due to development and groundwater extraction, the risks associated with climate change become evident. These coastal ecosystems, which protect people, infrastructure, and economic activities from flooding, erosion, and sea-level rise and are critical for socio-economic well-being, are currently under threat. Traditional strategies to address coastal risk have relied on the use of hard coastal protection structures, often based on historical damages from erosion or in response to a specific disaster event. However, considering the projected climate change impacts, addressing this through conventional infrastructure methods may not be the most feasible or cost-effective approach. A strong understanding of coastal dynamics is therefore required to ensure the design of structures and the development in areas is done well. GGGI’s work stream in this area will be focusing on including Nature-based Solutions (NbS) in Guyana’s approach to coastal protection and flood risk management and adaptation, as well as supporting Guyana’s coastal Drainage and Irrigation systems management in designing a prioritized system for capital projects all aimed at improving Guyana’s flood risk resilience.

Objectives:

This project, “Towards developing strategic sustainable integrated national drainage and irrigation systems in Guyana”, intends to support the design of D&I planning that strengthens the adaptive capacity of the GoG, specifically the NDIA, and reduces the exposure to extreme weather events of vulnerable communities, infrastructure, and the built environment along Guyana’s coast.

The Consultant is expected to interact closely with the GGGI and GoG/MoA team via regular (weekly) meetings during the project. This assignment would be conducted in Guyana on the coastal administrative regions. International consultants and remote working from outside of Guyana would be considered. A consultant based outside of Guyana would be expected to conduct at least one trip to Guyana for a minimum of two weeks.

Justification for the Project:

The project represents a continuation and iteration of ongoing GoG efforts in operationalizing a comprehensive flood management solution. With 3 major components, this project intends to provide assessments as well as offer mechanisms for an integrated approach to reducing vulnerability and ultimately reducing flood-related risks. It will further explore opportunities to introduce Nature Based Solutions (NbS) into Guyana’s drainage and irrigation systems while developing the NDIA staff complement’s capacity. The project will seek to address technical and system-wide challenges in greening and designing a prioritization system for capital works to promote resilience.

By implementing this project, a total of 675,000 people living on Guyana’s coast would be targeted. The need is acute given the effects of recent flooding events in 2005 and 2011 that resulted in serious economic impacts and significant damage to both public and private assets, resulting in an estimated 50M USD in damage.

Building on work done for Guyana’s adaptation and resilience work stream this assignment will deliver the following:

1. Support GGGI and NDIA in developing maps for the NDIA Strategic Plan 2025-30

• The consultant will gather GIS data from secondary sources including national and global data sources as well as from NDIA and other relevant GoG entities to create maps for NDIA’s Strategic Plan.
• Details will depend on decisions by NDIA and data availability but are likely to include socio-economic information, land use assessments, administrative boundaries and other baseline information, watershed boundaries and hydrologic assessments, and priority work areas targeted by NDIA.
• The consultant will create GIS layers for data collected from stakeholders during workshops and through bilateral consultants.

1. Assessment of potential nature-based solutions for enhancing national drainage and irrigation systems (expected 3-4 potential NbS assessments)

• Based on initial findings from GGGI’s D&I background study and consultations with NDIA, the consultant will assess potential sites for recommending NbS interventions across Guyana
• With data gathered from the GoG and international sources, the consultant will map potential NbS interventions (GIS)
• The consultant will create hydrologic and socio-economic impact estimates of the proposed NbS solutions
• The consultant will write up the findings into a technical report including methodologies

1. Hydrologic modeling for potential nature-based solutions

• The consultant will develop hydrologic models using secondary data and, where necessary, primary data collected in collaboration with NDIA to develop surface water models of the impacts of potential NbS interventions. These are expected to center around flood management and estimated reductions in flood inundation areas as well as water quality modeling for drinking water intake. The specifics of each model will depend on the NbS being assessed.

Note: This budget is comprehensive and should include all travel expenses (required as outlined in the deliverables listed herein if the consultant is remote), software, and any other expenses the consultant might incur related to the contract delivery.

Output 1: Inception Report

Prepare a workplan detailing the delivery of this work, showing the methodologies for assessments, scheduling and the specific details of the consultant’s approach.

Output 2: Report and maps

Support GGGI and NDIA in developing maps for the NDIA Strategic Plan 2025-30. The report will include undertaking detailed and a comprehensive review of existing documentation and analyses policies, developmental plans, and strategies.

Output 3: NbS assessment report and 3 hydrologic models

Prepare assessment report and hydrologic models and included conceptual scalable designs and preliminary costings of recommended nature-based solutions and adaptation measures for coastal protection. The assessment report and the NbS assessments should incorporate recommendations along with its annexes and presentation materials.

Output 4: Summary report identifying NbS interventions

Prepare a summary report detailing the recommended NbS interventions suitable for the drainage and irrigation system. Additionally, revise and finalize and delivery any outstanding documentation including reports, data, methodologies, or otherwise.

All documents should be prepared in English and adhere to GGGI's formatting requirements. Additionally, all relevant technical papers, reports, and other documents prepared throughout the assignment should be attached to the Final Report.

The individual consultant is required to fulfill the following criteria :

• Master's Degree in Environmental Science, Coastal Engineering, or a related field, is preferred;
• At least 8 years of experience in managing large-scale environmental and coastal projects. Proven track record in leading multidisciplinary teams and delivering complex projects on time and within budget
• Experience in conducting assessments to identify causes of coastal degradation and other technical studies
• Extensive experience using climate models, including generation of rainfall projections and risk mapping.
• Prior exposure to climate-related policy development processes.
• Deadline driven and results oriented.
• Mastery of Microsoft Word and PowerPoint
• Strong analytical skills to process and interpret survey data effectively;
• Ability to generate insights and meaningful conclusions from survey findings;
• Proficiency in statistical analysis software such as SPSS, SAS, R, or Excel;
• Experience in preparing comprehensive reports and presentations to communicate survey results and recommendations;
• Good command of spoken and written English.

Candidates shall submit the following documents: 

• CV
• Cover letter

Date to close is Korean Standard Time (KST). Applications submitted after the deadline will not be considered Application. Cover Letter, and CV must be sent in English. A consortium, or a firm may not be engaged for the individual consultant assignment.