Background
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in Liberia was created by an act of the Legislature on November 26, 2002, and published as a handbill on April 30, 2003, to ensure sound environmental management and sustainable use of natural resources. The EPA functions to ensure long-term economic prosperity through sustainable development and establish a legal framework for environmental management.
The EPA received funding from the Green Climate Fund to implement a five-year project called “Enhancing Climate Information Systems for Resilient Development in Liberia” (the Liberia CIS Project).
The Liberia CIS Project is a US$11,431,969 GCF, AFDB, and GOL-funded project that aims to increase the resilience of Liberia’s population and infrastructure to climate change. In particular, the project will strengthen the country’s adaptive capacities to integrate better long-term climate risk reduction and adaptation measures in national planning and development through the development of a well-functioning Multi-Hazard Impact-Based Forecasting and Early Warning System (MH-IBF-EWS).
The implementation of the project will entail training and equipping the existing Liberia Meteorological Service (LMS), Liberia Hydrological Service (LHS), Environment Protection Agency (EPA) and National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA) to collect weather and climate data; introduce and maintain modelling, forecast weather events and provide early warnings systems; and scale-up evidence-based climate-informed decision-
Purpose of the Consultancy
The main objective of the consultant is to develop a Policy Study to Transform the Liberia Meteorological and Hydrological Services (LMHS) into a Single Entity. By achieving this objective, it will provide a strategic framework that supports institutional reform in line with the objectives of the Liberia Climate Information Services (CIS) Project. The consultancy will aims to assess the current fragmented structure of Liberia’s meteorological and hydrological services that are currently managed by separate agencies and propose a coherent policy pathway for unifying them under a centralized, efficient, and autonomous body as well as improving coordination, reducing redundancy, and enhancing the quality, accessibility, and reliability of climate services across the country.
The Scope of the Services to be performed
The local consultant will jointly work with the international consultant to deliver this assignment.
A. Policy and Institutional Review
- The local consultant will work with the International Consultant to conduct a thorough assessment of the existing legal, policy, and institutional frameworks that govern meteorological and hydrological services in Liberia. This involves reviewing the relevant laws, regulations, and institutional arrangements to understand their effectiveness and alignment with national needs.
- The local consultant will work with the International Consultant to conduct a comprehensive gap analysis to compare Liberia’s meteorological and hydrological services with international best practices. This analysis should reference the guidelines set forth by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and evaluate successful models implemented in other African countries.
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