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Background: The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is the United Nations system’s designated entity for addressing environmental issues at the global and regional level. Its mandate is to coordinate the development of environmental policy consensus by keeping the global environment under review and bringing emerging issues to the attention of governments and the international community for action. In Sudan, UNEP maintains a programme office under the Disasters and Conflicts Branch, which implements a range of environmental governance and natural resource management projects in partnership with government and non-governmental actors. Climate change and the environment are considered among the greatest risks for peace and security. Temperature rise, extended droughts, rising sea levels, and heavier, more frequent storms disrupt livelihoods, destroy essential infrastructure, displace people and increase vulnerability. Fierce competition over the scarce natural resources often leads to disputes and tensions, especially within communities dependent on natural resources for their livelihood. When combined with other economic, social, demographic or political pressures, the impacts of climate change, environment and natural resources can create conflicts and obstacles to building and sustaining inclusive and durable peace. On 15 April 2023, deadly armed conflict erupted between the two rival security forces: the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary force, Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The fighting over power and the hostilities came amid rising tensions over negotiations to merge RSF into the national army, notably regarding timeline and leadership structure of integrated force. This resulted in massive destruction in Khartoum State, Al Jazirah, Darfur and parts of Kordofan. The ongoing severe fighting has precipitated a humanitarian crisis. Millions of civilians fled to neighboring countries and thousands are being killed, while millions in Khartoum remained trapped amid food, water and electricity shortages. Most of the hospitals across Khartoum shuttered due to fighting and dwindling supplies, while looting and vandalism are widespread. The military activities have disrupted the functioning of critical infrastructure including water, wastewater, and energy services. Industrial facilities including fuel storage depots, transport infrastructure, residential and government buildings have been damaged. Targeting military installations, equipment and the type of munitions employed, as well as the intensity of their use are suspected to have generated substantial contamination. Waste and debris have been accumulating with no collection or management, in addition to the unburied dead bodies which pose serious environmental and health hazards. Agricultural fields, protected areas and biodiversity, forests, river systems and wetlands, and coastal zones have also suffered from military operations, both directly and indirectly. The consequent release of a wide range of pollutants into the environment, and generation of large volumes of waste is amongst the foremost concerns both in terms of immediate exposure risks to human health and environment, as well as implications on future recovery and reconstruction efforts. The ongoing armed conflict is believed to have serious short, medium and long-term environmental consequences for the country and its environment. This is specifically true due to the fact that the military bases and the headquarter of the Sudanese Armed Forces is in the middle of the residential areas, which is witnessing heavy exchange of military ammunitions. The country’s industrial zones are also either surrounded by residential settlements or very close to them. All these factors, in addition to the already fragile country setting and weak infrastructure, give rise to serious concerns about the level of pollution and their consecutive impacts on human health. In May 2023, following the UNEA resolution 6/12 which on the provision of environmental assistance and recovery in areas affected by armed conflicts, the Higher Council for Environment and Natural Resources (HCENR), the leading environmental government institution, requested UNEP support in the assessment of the impacts of the current conflict on the environment. On that basis, UNEP, in collaboration with the Conflicts and Environment Observatory (CEOBS), conducted a remote assessment of the impacts of the war in Khartoum and Al Jazirah States. These remote preliminary assessments were based on collection of satellite images and social media-based citizen science. They include data on individual incidents of pollution or ecosystem service loss, as well as landscape-scale changes. Several UN agencies, NGOs and CSOs conducted similar assessments in different areas, and some efforts are still ongoing. However, there are no coordination mechanisms between the different initiatives, including the UN ones. Considering the tremendous damage to the country as a consequence of the war, robust planning for recovery and rehabilitation is required. This can only be achieved by providing continuous monitoring and analysis of the impacts of the conflicts all over the country, as well as planning for the recovery phase. UNEP, being the leading UN agency in environmental issues, in partnership with UNESCO, is co-establishing an interagency working group for assessing and monitoring the impacts of the war and for recovery planning. UNEP’s Medium-Term Strategy (MTS) 2022-2025 considers "peace and security"as part of the strategic approaches central to the vision of UNEP for achieving the 2030 Agenda. The MTS also envisages that UNEP will assist United Nations peacekeeping, peacebuilding and humanitarian and political missions where dedicated responses to environmental dimensions for a crisis are required. In this context, UNEP Sudan Office is conducting climate security, conflicts and peace assessments which include In-depth subnational conflict analyses which is required to ensure that UN programmes and development financing are conflict sensitive and comply with the principle of do-no-harm, taking account of the evolving political dynamics at both national and sub-national levels and contribute to sustaining durable peace. As conflicts has complex, multifaceted interlinked dimensions and factors, several UN agencies in Sudan are joining the assessments process based on their respective mandate, to ensure in-depth, thorough, robust and comprehensive analysis of the conflicts' dynamics. The results of these assessments support the formulation of UN joint programming on conflicts prevention and resolution, as well as feed into the formulation of joint UN sub-national development plans, decentralization and governance reforms and other initiatives that require a thorough understanding of conflict risks and conflict resilience capacities. Likewise, the assessments will also reveal how natural resources can possibly play an effective role as mechanisms for conflicts transformation, resolution and peacebuilding. The results of the assessments can feed into any recovery and rehabilitation processes via integration of climate change and natural resources into any future plans and strategies. In this context, The UNEP Sudan Office is seeking to engage a Technical Advisor with experience in reporting on environmental issues in Sudan, to provide advisory and technical support services to the UNEP Sudan Office and contribute to the various interventions of the office, as explained in detail in the deliverables and tasks below. |
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Duties and responsibilities:
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Minimum Qualification, Skills and Experience Required:
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