Hardship Level (not applicable for home-based)A (least hardship)
Family Type (not applicable for home-based)
Family
Staff Member / Affiliate TypeCONS International
Target Start Date2023-10-01
Job Posting End DateSeptember 5, 2023
Terms of ReferenceTerms of Reference for Individual Contracts
(Individual Contractors, Consultants and Fellows)
(This work assignment description forms an integral part of the individual contract)
1. Requesting Office (hiring entity): PCS unit, supervision under the Technical Coordinator for Climate Action
2. Duration and dates of the assignment: based on the recruitment
3 Months
3. Location(s) (specify if working from home): Home based
4. Assignment and/or Mission travel applicable Yes
If yes, specify destination(s) and period(s): Burkina Faso
5. General Background of Project or Assignment:
UNHCR’s Climate Resilience and Environmental Sustainability operational response strategy contributes to the implementation of UNHCR’s Strategic Framework for Climate Action (SFCA). Mitigating the impact of climate change and environmental degradation on forcibly displaced people and their hosts, supporting their resilience by preserving and rehabilitating the natural environment in displacement settings, and minimizing the environmental footprint of humanitarian assistance, are imperative for UNHCR to fulfil its mandate.
In the context of this strategy, UNHCR’s actions are structured around two key approaches which are to, firstly, recognize forcibly displaced people, and their hosts, as agents of change, and secondly, strengthen their resilience and protect forcibly displaced people, and their hosts, from the impacts of climate change and environmental degradation.
Background
By 2040, around 200 million people in the Sahel will still lack access to decent, durable and adapted housing.
Since the year 2000, the ancestral architectural technique the Nubian Vault (NV) has demonstrated to be a resilient 100% local low carbon eco-construction which has enabled many Sahelian families to obtain affordable and sustainable housing adapted to the extreme effects of climate change.
The Nubian Vault (NV) technical is an architectural construction technique which does not require the use of wood for the framework or iron sheet to cover the roof. It is essentially made with mud bricks and earth mortar. This type of construction is suitable to Sahelian climate in terms of thermal insulation, and it doesn’t use wooden poles with wood being precious in the region.
These low carbon buildings, based on the revival of a 3000-year-old African architectural know-how, have captivated the local populations. The mud bricks are made from a self-regulating material that minimizes temperature exchanges between spaces with the advantage a better balance between the building, the surrounding climate and the comfort of the inhabitant.
The NV houses construction has been piloted by UNHCR in Burkina Faso where 250 Nubian vaults were built, 200 of which are in the Center-North region (in the communes of Kaya, Boussouma, and Korsimoro) and 50 in the North region (in the communes of Yatenga, Gomponsom, Kirsi, Oula, and Bassi).
At the same time, the use of carbon financing to support the transition to greener approaches continues to grow. Carbon credits are used by companies to compensate for their carbon emissions by either adhering to emissions allowances or contributing to sustainable projects. Carbon financing increases the financial viability of projects by creating an additional revenue stream and enabling the effective transfer of technologies. The application of this form of financing has the potential to enable the use of alternative and more sustainable techniques and technologies, but the viability and contribution to reduction in carbon emissions and environmental sustainability must be carefully reviewed in application.
Statement of Purpose and Objectives
Carbon financing is an innovative funding tool that places a financial value on carbon emissions and allows companies wishing to offset their own emissions to buy carbon credits earned from sustainable projects. This allows for the financing of innovative projects for the benefit of people living in developing countries worldwide – in this case, refugees, asylum seekers and Internally Displaced Persons. For UNHCR, this provides a means of increasing the construction of NV houses with the consequent reduction of tensions between refugees and host communities over competition for scarce natural resources.
UNHCR is looking to test the idea is to scale up the construction model of the Nubian Vault Houses through carbon financing as the construction of NV will generate lower carbon emissions compared to usual types of constructions; these in turn can generate carbon credits that can be sold on the market to finance future construction, making the NV project more financially feasible and sustainable.
REQUIREMENTS
The consultant will be responsible for a feasibility study which will include an analysis of the following:
Assessment of whether the project is viable, and why or why not in terms of Carbon Credits and Carbon markets
Carbon Analysis of the project: calculation of the CO2 emission using the NV house construction technique and comparison with the currently most used construction techniques to define the potential CO2 emission reduction building on available literature on the Nubian Vault and other sources. Definition of the methodology used for the CO2 emission calculation (e.g., methodologies conformed to ISO norm 14064-2)
Mapping of applicable national and international regulations in the context of the Sahel and Somalia, including for registering and monetizing carbon credits
Analysis of the Carbon Market Credit and possible options for UNHCR to participate in the trading of carbon credits generated from the construction of Nubian Vault Houses
Overview of legal arrangements necessary for implementation and carbon credit certification in relation who will own the carbon certificate, who can sell it and how this works in practice
Analysis of the possibility to finance the scaling up of the NV market through carbon trading, for example through the identification of the threshold volume of carbon credits to self-financing the projects, and/or the impact of the implementation and monitoring costs on the total value of the project
Any other recommendations for implementation
Planning and inception Phase
The consultant would establish a methodology on how to develop the project, with the definition of a timeline to be presented to UNHCR during a kick off meeting. This is planned to be finalized in the first two weeks after signing the contract for the project, though it may be adjusted and amended over the course of the project as needed with agreement with UNHCR.
Data Collection
The consultant would be responsible for gathering the data to complete the deliverables and feasibility study requirements, including an initial phase of desk research as well as a field visit for more detailed data collection, in coordination with the UNHCR focal point. While it is not currently envisioned that data collection will involve gathering any information from refugees, asylum seekers or other forcibly displaced people, any engagement of them will be subject to agreement with the UNHCR focal point to undertake any necessary preparations and measures, and this must adhere to UNHCR’s policies on safeguarding and data protection.
Data Management and Report Compilation
The consultant would be responsible for synthesizing the data collected and preparing the Final Carbon Credit Feasibility Study Report on Carbon Credit for Nubian Vault project. At the end of the project, all data, materials and notes gathered during the study will be transferred to UNHCR.
Location and travel
One visit to the project site in Burkina Faso is expected (if security permission is allowed). The remain of the work will be remote.
6. Occupational Safety and Health Considerations
To view occupational safety and health considerations for specific duty stations, please visit this link: https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel
Specific Occupational Safety and Health Considerations to this assignment (if applicable):
7. Overall Purpose and Scope of Assignment:
Concise and detailed description of activities, including measurable outputs and delivery dates, impact indicators (what qualitative and quantitative results would be achieved upon completion of individual contract), performance indicators (time lines, value of the service rendered in relation to the cost, timeliness) and work plan:
Expected Outputs
Inception report with detailed methodology presented to UNHCR during a kick off meeting
Draft report for input and comments from UNHCR
Final Carbon Credit Feasibility Study Report on Carbon Credit for Nubian Vault project incorporating feedback
Compiled notes and data collected
All written communication with UNHCR, drafts and deliverables shall be in English.
The project is expected to take [4] months and will comprise the following phases of work:
8. Required level, qualifications and work experience:
The assignment is for an Individual Consultant
Qualification and experience required (degree required, years of work experience, field of expertise, language required):
To meet the following requirements:
Proven track record of completing similar feasibility assessments and experience with assessing design and implementation processes relating to carbon credit-financed projects, including an understanding of applicable legal and regulatory considerations, preferably in developing countries and/or in resource-poor, resource-constrained or humanitarian settings.
Experience in displacement, conflict and fragile settings including experience in environmental management, conservation and restoration is highly desirable.
Experience reviewing shelter and/or environmental sustainability related projects in the Sahel highly desirable.
Capacity to collate and analyse primary and secondary data relevant to the feasibility assessment and to draw conclusions and make recommendations accordingly.
Capacity to deliver concise reports and recommendations with a clear evidence base.
Expertise in the geographies under consideration,
Capacity to assess partnerships with organisations in country and/or region of the studies.
Capacity to read, write and communicate in French is an asset
Expertise in project management.
9. Monitoring and Progress Controls (report requirements, periodicity, format, deadlines):
The final product (e.g. survey completed, data collected, workshop conducted, research documents produced specify):
Final report approved by UNHCR
Work on the basis of time employed: No
If it is to result in a written product specify:
Number of pages:
Language(s):
Number of copies:
10. Supervisor of Project/Individual Contract (Name and title): Elena De Bortoli
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Skills
Education
Certifications
Work Experience
Other informationThis position doesn't require a functional clearance