Somalia: Senior International Hydrological Expert

Aug 23, 2021 | Government of Somalia
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Somalia’s paradox as a country is that it is becoming increasingly water scarce and economically water dependent. In the north, over 80% of the country’s landmass is classified as Arid and Semi-Arid Land (ASAL), making it relatively unproductive for agriculture, with nomadic pastoralism the only potential livelihood option. Somalia’s ASALs house the greatest national proportion of pastoralists in Africa. In the south, the country is considerably more lush with rivers that often flood. The riparian areas are unable to capture and use flood runoff effectively, such as for irrigation.

Water and climate trends show reduced surface water availability, reduced groundwater reserves, and increased occurrences of drought and flood events. National Adaptation Programme of Action (NAPA) revealed that flash flooding has created significant erosion and loss of fertile topsoil into the sea while extensive dry seasons have adversely impacted food security. In recent years, gully erosion has destroyed important valleys creating deep gorges that often restrict mobility of both pastoralists and their animals. Erosion is a growing problem due to Somalia’s alarming deforestation rate at 4%. The recent drought following consecutive seasons of poor rainfall and low river water levels reduced average harvests by 70%, caused significant livestock deaths, contributed to drought-related stress migration.

Issues with water scarcity and flooding are expected to be aggravated by the impacts of climate change; future scenarios project dry periods that are predicted to be less prolonged but more frequent than those that have marked the country over the past decade. And though total annual precipitation is expected to increase, reversing a trend of frequent prolonged droughts that have marked the country over the past decades, it is highly likely that this will be associated with an increased frequency of extreme wet days.

Compounding the economic impacts on agro-pastoralism is the lack of basic water governance structures. Integrated Water Resources Management has been an internationally recognized methodology since 1992 when the Dublin Principals were jointly concluded at the International Conference on Water and the Environment. These principals emphasize that water management and development should be participatory, including with the involvement of women and that water is an essential and crucial economic good. Developing a national strategic plan for IWRM, which focuses on rainwater harvesting, groundwater and surface water capture was highlighted as an urgent need by the Federal Government of Somalia.

On the Component 2: Transfer of technologies for enhanced climate risk monitoring and reporting on water resources in drought and flood prone areas: The main purpose of the component is to support the mitigation of climate shocks, and strengthen resilience through precise and timely hydro-meteorological forecasts.

The expert will Improve to FRISC-DIGNIIN early warning system to enable it to have country coverage and tailored warnings, Undertake a comprehensive assessment of existing centralized and decentralized early warning systems – including existing weather and climate information exchange mechanisms, communication channels and dissemination mechanisms between authorities, user agencies and end-users to establish best practices and gaps suitable for implementation. The expert will work on Period 4 months, reporting to MoEWR and UNDP with day-to-day guidance from the Ministry of Energy and Water Resources. Details of the assignment are presented in subsequent sections of these TORs.

Objectives of the assignment

The scope of the International Hydrologist is to Improve to FRISC-DIGNIIN early warning system to enable it to have country coverage and tailored warnings observation network in Somalia, improved and the process of institutionalizing the network into WMO system is initiated.

The expert will also recommended the Awareness on climate change awareness raised at different levels in the Somali society, effective mechanisms for dissemination of climate and weather information in place and the resilience of communities strengthened.

Scope of work/expected output

Improvements to FRISC-DIGNIIN early warning system to enable it to have country coverage and tailored warnings

• Identified the existing dissemination mechanisms
• Mapping the dissemination systems that enable early warning advisories to reach communities;
• Report the existing mechanism for rural communities’ and their capacities into using the tools created by the project to inform early actions;
• Institutionalize the process through the involvement of local institutions and focal points in various ministries.
• Assess the baseline on climate services capacities at national level, to identify users and providers, map existing services and establish capacities
• Organize a national consultation workshop on Hydrometeorological services to bring together all relevant stakeholders and identify gaps and key elements for the development of a plan of action for implementation

Qualifications and Competencies

Education:

The International Expert should have Master Degree in Hydrology, Meteorology, water resources management, climate change, natural resources management, Geology or engineering.

Experience and Skills:

The Expert will need to have following expertise: i) expertise in analyzing Hydrological Climate Monitoring, Early warning system, Policy Strategy for Hydromet and building cross-sectoral linkages for undertaking the task mentioned in the scope of work; ii) good communications and presentation skills as well as an excellent English language communication skills (written and spoken) as well as computer literacy.

Language requirements:

Fluent in written and spoken Somali and strong written and spoken English.

How to apply

Interested experts who have the qualification to do the job are encouraged to submit the following document: An up-dated and recent C.V. and Cover letter addressing the selection criteria above.

The above documentation should be submitted by e-mail to the: iwrmprocurement.moewr2020@gmail.com and copied to dg@moewr.gov.so