water conservation/natural resources Management specialist (filipino nationals only)Acción Contra El Hambre

ABOUT THE PROJECT
The project, "Resilient Island LGUs Actions for Disaster Preparedness and Climate Change (Resilient IsLA)" is funded by the USAID and is being implemented by Action Against Hunger in partnership with ACCORD in Siargao, Surigao del Norte and Limasawa, Southern Leyte. The project goal is to improve the policies, plans and practices of municipalities, barangays and island communities in terms disaster risk reduction (DRR) and climate change adaptation (CCA).
A component of the project is to improve the capacities of the island barangay communities in adopting water protection/preservation/conservation practices and managing their natural resources as part of their climate change risk mitigation and adaptation strategies. The areas of study for this assessment are:
Siargao, Surigao del Norte - 6 island barangay communities in the municipalities of Dapa (Brgy Bagacay, Buenavista, San Carlos, and Sta Filomena), San Benito (Brgy Maribojoc) and Pilar (Brgy Salvacion).
Limasawa, Southern Leyte, Bgy. Magallanes, Triana, San Bernardo, San Agustin, Cabulihan, and Lugsongan]
Among the project activities are the following:
a) Improving the water conservation, water supply regulation and water quality regulations policies/plans/protocols of barangay LGUs to ensure the long-term and sustainable use of natural freshwater sources on the island barangays. The project will be supporting the rehabilitation, repair and construction of water supply facilities including community and household rainwater harvesting systems.
b) Improve sustainable production of fisherfolks through implementation of nature-based solutions (NBS) focused on resilient natural resource management..
To ensure this, Consultant is needed to conduct the following: * Assessment of community-based natural resource management practices, gaps, cross-cutting issues (gender, conflict / climate / environment risks, socio-economic situation, actors and stakeholders), and enabling policy environment; with special attention to water management.
Review the assessment and validation of the status of water sources access & delivery mechanisms in 12 island barangays and correlate with the lens of NBS.
Assessment of water protection/preservation/conservation management practices, gaps and recommended solutions for barangay communities (both LGUs and fisherfolk communities). This will identifyi opportunities, including viable sites and innovative technologies (e.g., projects implementable by community groups) for improving or establishing climate resilient water conservation plans to protect the natural freshwater sources and sustainably extract the water for household and livelihood use e.g., in agriculture/fishery or aquaculture.
Assessment and analysis of climate resilient action's impacts and natural resources management practices, gaps and recommended nature-based solutions that can be implemented by island barangay communities
Assessment of climate risk and impacts on water and natural resources and recommendations for community-level actions for climate risk mitigation and adaptation. This includes assessing the gaps in the capacity of the island barangay LGU and that communities ToT implements these actions.
Determine existing measures on water supply and water quality regulations and develop measures in ensuring integrated water resource management.
Provide analysis and recommendation the sustainability mechanisms of the proposed initiatives for the WASH sector.
LOCATION: Siargao, Surigao del Norte and Limasawa, Southern Leyte
DURATION: 2 months
SCOPE OF WORK- The Consultant will work closely with the Head of Project [Project Manager] with technical guidance from the WASH, DRR-CCA and FSL Coordinators of Action Against Hunger.
The Consultant will conduct the assessments in Siargao involving 3 municipalities and 6 island barangays and in Limasawa Island involving 1 municipality and 6 barangays simultaneously for approximately 1.5 to 2 months.
1. An initial meeting with the Resilient IsLA Project Team, Head of Base, Head of Security for Siargao and Project Management Team in Limasawa to discuss the details of the consultancy including methodologies and development of assessment tools to be used.
2. Gather related technical documents pertaining to studies and Philippine laws on water conservation.
3. Desk review of available data and reports on abovementioned topics
4. Field assessment and validation of the following in 12 island barangays:
Freshwater supply sources, including capacities of the island barangay LGUs and community groups to sustainably manage these resources. This includes providing the static freshwater contour map and watersheds of the 12 island barangays in Siargao and Limasawa. And provide possible intervention or measures to improv the status of island watersheds including protection and mitigation activities.
Assessment of current water conservation plans and identifying interventions or measures to improve the status of island watersheds including protection and mitigation activities, reducing climate impact on water bodies, including capacity assessment of the island barangay LGUs and/or community groups to implement these plans or projects.
Validate status of the current and identify potential freshwater conservation-related livelihoods projects that the community groups can implement, including needs assessment of their capacity to implement these freshwater supply-based livelihoods in agriculture/fisheries or aquaculture.
Assess the status of natural resources management plans and identify potential nature-based solutions that can be implemented by the barangay fisherfolk communities.
5. Facilitate the internal validation workshop of the assessment result with AAH and ACCORD.
6. Facilitate external validation with partners and stakeholders on the results and recommendations contained in the assessment report.
7. Prepare and submit the final assessment report in the agreed form.
TIMELINE OF ENGAGEMENT
The total engagement of the Consultant will be 6 to 8 weeks with expected final report to be submitted by September 30th. The conduct of field assessments and data processing/analysis in Siargao and Limasawa will be done simultaneously.
KEY COMPETENCY OF CONSULTANT - Preferably water supply/water conservation Specialist has the following key competencies: * With good knowledge and 5-10 years' experience in implementing water conservation activities.
With demonstrated good knowledge of approaches related to water and natural resources management, livelihood and climate change especially in agriculture/fisheries and aquaculture.
Well organized and able to deliver quality outputs in a timely manner.
Conversant in Bisaya/Cebuano and Tagalog. Able to communicate well with locals in Siargao and Limasawa.
Land and water management related expertise desired
Good understanding of national and regional governments policy and guideline on natural resources management, especially land and water resources management and conservation approaches
SCHEDULE OF PAYMENT - The payment will be paid upon the submission of outputs in the following table, and as cleared by the Head of Project and signed off by the WASH Coordinator. The amount is subject to appropriate withholding tax.
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Surigao del Norte Limasawa, Southern Leyte
Permanent
Full-time