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 managed out of the Disasters and Conflicts Branch, which implements a range of environmental governance and natural resource management projects in partnership with government and non-government actors.

For over a decade UNEP has partnered with Sudanese national, state and local authorities, civil society and international actors to promote sustainable development of Sudan’s natural resources, aiming to support peace, recovery and environmentally sustainable development. UNEP’s work focuses on environmental protection, climate change mitigation and adaptation, natural resources management, and integrated water resources management through participatory community engagement. These interventions support improved environmental governance, rural livelihoods, state-to-federal policy innovation, and economic strengthening aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals.

Around Dinder National Park (DNP) in eastern Sudan, climate change, land degradation and weak agricultural productivity have driven severe food insecurity. Communities increasingly rely on the park’s resources, causing extensive and unsustainable exploitation that degrades biodiversity, ecosystem services and community resilience. Overuse of park resources has intensified conflicts among farmers, pastoralists, communities and park authorities, and increased human–wildlife clashes. Weak governance and poor natural resource management further worsen these pressures and contribute to persistent food insecurity.

The April 2023 conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has compounded the crisis. Pre-existing food insecurity—already affecting roughly 20.3 million people in 2022 per IPC assessments, with 14 million in IPC Phase 3 and 6.3 million in Phase 4—has been aggravated by soaring food prices, sharply reduced production, constrained humanitarian access and forecasts of below-average rainfall, all of which threaten crops, livestock and water availability and risk heightened competition and conflict over scarce resources.

Conflict-driven displacement has intensified pressures on DNP and surrounding states. Reports from late 2023 indicate a large and growing internally displaced population (IDPs) across Sudan; Sennar State alone hosts a significant share, with surveys reporting over 500,000 IDPs there. IDP settlement near the park increases demand for land, fuel and food, and many rely on biomass for cooking as butane gas becomes unaffordable. Inaccessible rangelands in areas such as Blue Nile State further concentrate pressure on park and adjacent resources.

In the absence of alternative livelihoods, unplanned mechanized large-scale rainfed cultivation has expanded into traditional cultivation, grazing lands and the park itself, causing soil degradation and destroying seasonal wildlife habitats. Wildlife are often killed when returning to cleared wet-season habitats. Illegal hunting, poaching, unsustainable wood collection, fishing, and land clearing for cultivation are widespread, threatening species, reducing tree cover, accelerating erosion and sedimentation, and blocking mayas and water feeders linked to the Dinder River. These losses reduce community capacity to adapt to climate shocks and create a reinforcing cycle of vulnerability and resource depletion.

The SAF–RSF conflict has also damaged critical infrastructure (healthcare, schools, water, power, communications) and precipitated widespread looting, diminishing access to essential goods and services and worsening malnutrition and food insecurity. Reports indicate the conflict threatens staple crop production nationwide.

In response, in September 2024 UNEP and the European Union signed an agreement to implement the “Enhancing Food Security and Climate Resilience of Rural Communities in and around Dinder National Park” (Dinder Project). The project aims to strengthen sustainable, resilient livelihoods and food security for communities most affected by food insecurity, climate change and conflict. Its approach emphasizes livelihood diversification, productivity and sustainability to increase food security and incomes, reduce vulnerability to shocks, and lessen pressure on the park. The project also highlights community roles in co-managing shared resources and will promote shared natural resource governance and conflict-resolution mechanisms. The strategy will be delivered through three defined pathways focused on livelihoods, governance and ecosystem protection.  

• Improved sustainability and productivity of livelihoods through climate-smart agro-ecological practices, which will improve livelihoods in general and food security in specifically.
• Improved resilience to climate change through strengthened climate information and anticipatory actions for food security. 
• Increased equal and sustainable access to natural resources in order to contribute to food security and mitigate conflicts
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Through this project, UNEP aims to enhance natural resources management and preserve the biodiversity and ecosystems in and around Dinder National Park and contribute to the reduction of natural resource-based conflicts. This will be achieved through promoting conflict-sensitive and sustainable natural resources management in and around the park, strengthening natural resources governance structures and capacities at the community level as well as local and state technical level authorities. For effective and sustainable management of resources, Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) will be adopted and implemented. This includes the establishment of water harvesting structures and diversion weirs for crops and agricultural irrigation, which will also help improve the soil and longer water retention in addition to the availability of water during the dry season, which will in turn improve agricultural productivity. In this context, UNEP Sudan seeks to engage an IWRM professional to support the project in the fields of natural resources management in general and IWRM in particular, in conjunction with the government, community and other implementing partners.

Objective of this consultancy is to develop and lead the implementation of Natural Resources Management (NRM) in general and Food Security interventions in particular during the implementation Phase of the Dinder National Park project.  The Food Security  consultant will be expected to work closely with other members of the team and provide technical advice and input to ensure Food Security components are  thoroughly integrated into the four-year programme. 

1. Food Security Assessment and Analysis:
2. Program Planning and Implementation
3. Data Management and Reporting
4. Food Systems Analysis

Deliverables 

• Conduct regular food security and livelihood assessments at household, community, and State levels.
• Apply Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) methodology to analyze and classify food insecurity levels.
• Collect and analyze quantitative and qualitative data on food availability, access, utilization, and stability.
• Monitor key indicators such as market prices, agricultural production, nutrition data, climate conditions, and household coping strategies.
• Identify trends, vulnerabilities, and potential hotspots of food insecurity.
• disseminate early warning reports and alerts to support timely decision-making.
• Support the design and implementation of food security, livelihood, and resilience programs based on assessment findings.
• Ensure interventions are aligned with national strategies and food system frameworks.
• Integrate food security objectives into broader humanitarian or development projects.
• Provide technical guidance during project implementation to ensure quality and relevance.
• Develop and maintain databases for food security and livelihood information.
• Ensure data quality through validation, triangulation, and verification processes.
• Produce analytical reports, situation updates, and food security bulletins.
• Analyze the structure and functioning of local and regional food systems, including production, distribution, and consumption chains.
• Identify bottlenecks and opportunities to enhance sustainability and resilience of food systems.

Provide recommendations to strengthen linkages between agriculture, markets, nutrition, and livelihoods.