Background |
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The Black Sea coast possesses a unique recreational potential. This includes a zone of heightening biological productivity also provides a spawning, wintering and inhabit areas for many valuable fish species. As a result, the Black Sea is among the most remarkable regional seas globally and one of the most important natural formations for the country’s general geographical location because of its resource potential and recreational area. Georgia accounts for 9% of the length of the Black Sea coast. Besides, it has a significant influence on the pattern of the Georgian climate. 90% of the Sea is naturally anoxic (contains no oxygen). However, the top 150m of the layer represents an area of great biological productivity. One of the Black Sea pollution’s primary sources is the discharge of wastewater and municipal waste, which contributes to the enrichment of the Black Sea with nutrients and, consequently, to the eutrophication process, which is the biggest challenge for the Black Sea in general. The Black Sea coast monitoring is carried out by the LEPL National Environmental Agency (NEA). However, the Agency lacks a standardised monitoring plan and observation is carried out according to internal annual plan- water samples are taken regularly (once a month or quarterly), and chemical and biological analysis are performed to determine key ions, biogenic elements, heavy metals, organic pollutants, and other ingredients. The EU-Georgia Association Agreement (https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/en/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:22014A0830(02) (AA), within the provisions of six EU directives on water and marine-related aspects, sets several obligations to harmonise our legislation and water resource management policies with EU standards. A particular emphasis is made on strengthening water quality monitoring, which includes the Black Sea. Furthermore, Georgia has committed to follow key international treaties, such as Convention on the Protection of the Black Sea against Pollution. According to the Marine Strategy Framework Directivy *https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32008L0056&from=EN) (MSFD), the monitoring programmes (plan) for the assessment of the marine waters’ environmental status should be developed. The programme includes the choice of the elements to measure, the location of sampling sites, the periodicity of sampling, the collection of field samples and data, processing of the samples in the laboratory and the compilation and management of the data. The programme should take into account the indicative characteristics, pressures and impacts defined by MSFD including several abiotic and biotic elements but also needs to be able to detect and assess emerging issues. The monitoring programme should provide data that support suitable indicators to assess if Good Environmental Status (GES) has been achieved or is maintained, to measure progress towards environmental targets and evaluate the effectiveness of measurements to achieve or maintain GES. A related Commission Decision (https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32010D0477(01)&from=EN) lists 29 criteria and 56 indicators based on which GES should be defined. The programme should integrate existing monitoring programmes and result from assessments comparable within and between marine regions and/or sub-regions. The programme must be adequate, coordinated, coherent and adaptive, and should produce interoperable data, a link with assessments, take account of risk considerations, apply the precautionary principle and acknowledge differences in scientific understanding. Elaboration of the above-mentioned Black Sea monitoring programme is challenging for NEA as the responsible department lacks the relevant Knowledge and technical capacity. Accordingly, the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia (MEPA) has requested UNDP to provide support and technical assistance through an international consultant for the development of the Black Sea monitoring programme. This will create a strong basis for gathering EU standardised data and will enable NEA to observe water quality and prevent any future adverse impacts of potential contamination, especially during the swimming season. |
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Duties and Responsibilities |
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The overall objective of the consultancy is to provide support to NEA in developing the Black Sea Monitoring Programme for Georgia to be in line with the EU standards and requirements, and to create a strong observation system for monitoring the Black Sea water quality. The international consultant should review the existing practices of the Black Sea monitoring, provide recommendations as well as solutions to improve the Agency’s assessment capacities to define the environmental status of their marine waters on the basis of the indicative lists of elements. The scope of work for the international consultant will include, but may not be limited to:
Deliverables and payment modality:
60% of the consultancy fee
Management Arrangements: The International Consultant will work under the overall supervision of the Governance Reform Fund (GRF) Project Manager and the direct supervision of the GRF Environmental Coordinator. The expert will have close working relations with the representatives of NEA and MEPA to make sure that the overall vision and priorities of the Ministry are taken into consideration. The service provider will be directly responsible for, reporting to, seeking approval from and obtaining a certificate of acceptance of outputs from the above-mentioned person(s). In addition, the respective GRF team will be responsible for sharing relevant documents, contact details and other necessary information with the service provider. |
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Competencies |
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Corporate competencies:
Functional competencies:
Leadership and Self-Management skills:
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Required Skills and Experience |
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Education:
Experience:
Language Requirements:
Evaluation: Financial Proposal: The financial proposal shall specify a total lump sum amount, and payment terms around specific and measurable (qualitative and quantitative) deliverables (i.e. whether payments fall in installments or upon completion of the entire contract). Payments are based upon output, i.e. upon delivery of the services specified in the |
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