Article
Vacancy: International consultant for "Climate Change, Peace and Security in Madagascar" project
The project is funded by the Peacebuilding Fund and is jointly implemented by UNESCO with UNICEF (coordinator) and IOM. It envisages responding to the loss of trust of communities in local and regional authorities and state representatives, the lack of local inter/intra-community solidarity, the lack of knowledge and skills in the management of natural resources, especially water and forests. These issues will be addressed through interventions aimed at building trust between communities and state officials by strengthening open dialogue and transparency on the management of financial and natural resources; through more efficient and equitable management of natural resources; and through improving the quality of service delivery for water and forest resources.
In addition, the project will also address water scarcity, degradation of forest reserves and youth and women's unemployment, strengthening community implementation of environmentally sustainable management of water and forest resources, improving the economic status of women, so that they can better cushion the effects of climate change, and involving them in leading the resolution of natural resource conflicts.
In particular, this three-year project aims to alleviate tensions and conflicts resulting from the scarcity of natural resources (water, forests, land) in the Atsimo, Andrefana and Androy regions of Madagascar, intensified by climate change. It seeks to rebuild trust between communities and local authorities, improve the management of natural resources, and strengthen local solidarity. The project also tackles water scarcity, forest degradation, as well as youth and women's unemployment, promoting sustainable resource management and improving women's economic status. Finally, it addresses the impacts of internal migration and community tensions by creating economic opportunities and promoting social cohesion, while addressing gender-based violence.
Rationale and Strategic Approach
UNESCO brings its expertise in education, science, culture and communication to the PBF project. Her experience in vocational training, particularly in the south of Madagascar, as well as in functional literacy, working with universities and community media, will be essential in building local capacity and promoting general well-being. UNESCO's research on natural resources and climate change will be crucial in helping communities adapt to environmental challenges.
UNESCO will improve people's resilience to droughts by transforming the current warning system, which provides a snapshot of aquifers, into one that can predict changes in groundwater several months in advance.
The PBF activity on groundwater, coordinated by UNESCO in collaboration with UNICEF and MEAH, aims to deploy an early warning system for small, poorly documented aquifers in southern Madagascar. The aim is to anticipate sudden drops in water tables, allowing local populations, authorities and NGOs to take preventive measures.
Tasks
The consultant will take care to develop an innovative approach that can be functional for the South of Madagascar which is characterized by a multitude of small aquifers with very little documentation and very few in-situ data. Under the supervision of the UNESCO Regional Hydrologist for Africa, Dr. Alexandros Makarigakis, the consultant, will carry out the following tasks that contribute to the establishment of this drought early warning system for groundwater:
Task 1. Preprocessing of remote sensing data – In addition to in-situ data, the model requires remote sensing data as input. After compilation, remote sensing data requires pre-processing and analysis of the data.
Task 2. Institutional co-participation - The main outcome of the project, a drought early warning system for the region's aquifers, is a decision-support tool that should be available to water stakeholders by the end of the project.
Task 3. Groundwater level forecasting – This task involves the development of an innovative hydrogeological model capable of predicting groundwater levels in the context of poorly documented and poorly instrumented aquifers in southern Madagascar.
Task 4. Technology Transfer Workshop – a face-to-face workshop with stakeholder partners. The workshop will allow the transfer of the tools and information developed during the project for the drought warning system.
Deliverables
Deliverable 1. A technical report documenting the steps taken and the data sources used for remote sensing.
Deliverable 2. A report summarizing the participatory reflections discussed during the institutional co-participation workshop.
Deliverable 3. A technical report justifying the adapted approach for the forecasting of the level of aquifers in southern Madagascar and describing in detail all the steps of the modelling.
Deliverable 4. A synthesis report on technology transfer.
Duration and timetable
3 years
Qualifications and expertise
The consultant must possess the following qualifications and expertise:
- PhD in Hydrogeology
- At least 15 years of experience in the study of groundwater in semi-arid regions.
- Proven experience in the application of remote sensing to groundwater flow modelling in aquifer systems.
- Expertise in research on the effects of climate change and drought on aquifer systems.
- Previous experience in groundwater education and capacity building in Africa and, in particular, in organizing workshops or courses on groundwater modelling.
- Experience in co-supervising PhD students in Africa.
- Previous experience leading the development of a large-scale hydrogeological model for the United Nations.
- Fluent French and English writing & oral communication are mandatory
Application Procedure
Interested individuals should possess the aforementioned professional qualification and experience and prepare an application comprising the following: (1) Concept Brief, (2) Samples of previous work done, (3) Curriculum Vitae, and, (4) Budget proposal associated with the above assignment.
The detailed technical proposal (concept brief) and financial proposal (budget) should be delivered separately (under different heads) along with any previous works or sample product and should be submitted before COB of 11 May 2025 by email to Ms Jemimah Kimitu at j.kimitu@unesco.org
