International Consultant in Relational to Modelling Initiative for Cambodia
Mekong River Commission
Location: Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Last Date: August 29, 2011
Email: mrcs@mrcmekong.org (Reference:
DevNetJobs.org)
Mekong River Commission
The
role of MRC is to promote and coordinate sustainable management and development
of water and related resources for the countries’ mutual benefit and the
people’s well-being
MRC Secretariat is now recruiting a highly qualified consultant for the
following consultancy
International Consultant
in Relational to Modelling
Initiative for Cambodia
Information and Knowledge Management Programme, Technical Support Division
Maximum of 15 working days starting from September to October 2011, based at
the Office of the MRC Secretariat in Phnom Penh, Cambodia
The Term of reference and other information can be obtained at
MRC website
http://www.mrcmekong.org Women are
encouraged to apply. Only short-listed candidates will be notified.
Application procedures:
The application should include (i)
a
cover letter outlining
clearly
how
the candidate meets the requirements of the position,
(ii) a
detailed CV, and (iii)
MRC
Personal History Form.
The position title and division/section must be indicated in the cover letter.
The application should be sent to:
Mekong River
Commission Secretariat
P.O. Box 6101
Vientiane 01000, Lao PDR
Email:
mrcs@mrcmekong.org
Closing date for applications: 29 August 2011
**************************************************************************
TERMS
OF REFERENCE
1.
Project Title : Consultant to formulate options to build up
the water resource modelling capacity in Cambodia
2. Title
of Consultancy : International Consultant in Relational to Modelling
Initiative for Cambodia
Programme : Information and Knowledge
Management Programme (IKMP) and Mekong IWRM Project
3. Duty
Station : Office of The MRC
Secretariat in Phnom Penh (OSP), Cambodia
4.
Duration : 15 working-days. Starting date: tentatively
1 September 2011
5.
Background and Objective
The Mekong River Commission has been helping to build capacity for Water
Resource modelling in the four member countries since the initiation of the
Decision Support Framework in 2002 under the Water Utilization Programme (WUP-A)
funded by the World Bank. The DSF system development aimed to have a
transparent modelling system that could be used by each and any of the member
countries to study and check proposals and strategies for water resource
developments. The system has been developed and expanded under the Information
and Knowledge Management Programme Phase 1 (IKMP 2005-2010) including capacity
building work through Case Studies and an Associate Modeller programme within
the Modelling Team. The original models have been supplemented by the more
detailed models IWRM and 3D modelling developed under the WUP-FIN component and
improved by Syke in IKMP Phase 1. It is expected that such activities will
continue in a second phase of IKMP if current funding application are
successful.
In 2010 a new cross sector Mekong Integrated Water Resource Management Project (IWRM)
regional project began managed by MRCS with the specific aims of improving the
ability of countries to apply IWRM techniques. National components in Laos,
Vietnam and Cambodia complement the regional work.
The pace of change
within the Lower Mekong Basin is increasing, there is increasing concern about
climate change impacts and increasing use of modelling techniques for planning
purposes. The situation for modelling within each country differs markedly.
Vietnam already has a number of large Institutes and significant existing
modelling capability and Thailand has a well developed academic and private
sector modelling capacity. Laos, whilst coming from a low level of modelling
capacity has a clear strategy and commitment to develop a strong modelling group
within the Water Resource and Environment Administration (WREA). In Cambodia
there are issues of flooding and floodplain development, of managing the unique
Tonle Sap and Great Lake system and of irrigation and hydropower development
that would benefit greatly from use of advanced modelling techniques. As one of
the Lower countries Cambodia is potentially the most vulnerable to change in the
Mekong flow and sediment regime and needs to be in a position to understand
likely effects.
In order to ensure
an adequate capacity to plan and study proposals for developments in Cambodia
and those that may affect it, it is necessary to build a stronger modelling
capacity than has been possible to date and thus a specific initiative to speed
up the capacity building process is to be considered. It is unlikely that the
IKMP/IWRM programmes alone could fund a new modelling institute but formaulation
of the initiative needs to give due consideration to the available options and
the synergies with other projects within Cambodia and potential funding
sources.
There are clearly a
number of different potential templates of how a modelling focus point in a
country can be set up:
o
The Institute of Water Modelling in Bangladesh:
Now a semi autonomous trust this facility grew out of an initiative of the
Bangladesh Water Resources Planning Organisation under the Ministry of Water
Resources in 1986. The main objective of the Institute is the enhancement of
hydraulic and hydrologic knowledge base of the country to enable better planning
and design studies of the country’s water management investments. The scope
covered includes rivers, estuaries and coastal, morphology, groundwater and
water quality. The initial set up was strongly supported by a donor Danida and
there were training exchanges to the European institute DHI and full time
international expertise stationed in the centre during the first years so that a
high capacity to serve the country needs was available quickly and the outside
support was gradually reduced over a period of around 10 years.
o
Southern Institute of Water Resource Planning, Vietnam:
The SIWRP and similar Institutes in Vietnam are large government institutions
that have developed full capacity in use of models as well as providing a
facility to have a “National Model” that serves as a reference for all others.
o
Singapore University,:
NUS has developed a centre for excellence in water and coastal management
through collaborative initiatives with DHI and Delft Hydraulics and forms a
good example of capacity building through University based collaborations.
HR Wallingford UK:
Hydraulic engineers returning from India set up the Hydraulics Research Station
along the lines of those already established at Puna and Lahore/Amritsar in
India. The hydrology component split off in the 1970s to form the Institute of
Hydrology which later became the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology supported by
the National Environment Research Council. The Hydraulic Research Station
became a quasi independent company in 1980.
The MRCS is moving towards a new strategic plan to focus on specific core
areas. One of these is modelling which supports analysis for Basin Planning,
Prediction of floods and droughts, analysis of specific proposals and Climate
Change. An example specific project is one of those formally notified as the
first of these proposed projects on the mainstream, the Xayaburi project, and
whilst the MRCS will carry out analysis to support country deliberations, the
potential importance and possible impacts indicate that a good capacity for
assessment is needed within the country.
It is expected that
a single Consultant could complete all necessary tasks.
7.
Responsibilities and Tasks
The (international/regional)
consultant will work in
close collaboration with the MRCS modelling team and the Cambodia National
Mekong Committee and consult with relevant institutions in Cambodia and in the
MRCS.
The main activities
envisaged are as follows:
o
Determine the current
organization within Cambodia of Water Resource Modelling including all relevant
government departments including but not exclusively those associated with
hydrology, hydropower planning, irrigation development, and others such as roads
and highways, forestry water supply and fisheries, River Basin Authorities and
existing initiatives;
o
Determine likely current
and future initiatives in the immediate future including current proposals under
the national and regional component of the M-IWRM project and those being
considered by ADB, World Bank etc.
o
Determine current
University and academic capacity in Cambodia and links to government and other
institutions.
o
Consider the likely needs
for modelling capacity in Cambodia and number of staff/the size of any institute
that may be sustainable.
o
Consider the merits of
various models for building capacity including those in other member countries
and current achievements
o
Following above Present a
number of potential scenarios for capacity building in Cambodia including the
role of MRCS for discussion and to allow CNMC to guide on what is likely to be
possible.
o
Discuss feedback on
proposals
o
Prepare a more detailed
proposal and roadmap of a specific initiative for Model Capacity Building in
Cambodia.
o
Final reporting
All issues should
be put into an integrative context taking into account institutional issues and
long term sustainability of the initiative. The modelling capacity considered
must take account of the needs for a full IWRM approach including not only water
flows but others such as sediment, nutrient, social, environment, and fisheries
aspects.
The roadmap should
show the specific needs of the preferred initiatives so that the resources
needed may be defined and likely funding needs and possible sources outlined.
o
The estimated maximum
number of working days during this period is 15 including travel.
o
The engagement and
mobilization of the Consultant would be expected as soon as practical
(tentatively early September 2011) and work would primarily be in country and
final agreed reporting completed before the end of October 2011 (Could be
updated by MRCS).
o
Working in OSP with
involvement of IKMP Chief Technical Advisor, Senior Modelling Advisor and other
Modelling Staff.
o
Visit and work closely
with Cambodian National Mekong Committee and relevant Line Agencies on Water
Resources Management in Cambodia.
o
Visit and work with Mekong
IWRM project and other MRC programmes if required
Institutional arrangements
o
The consultants work will
be coordinated and managed by the IKMP Modelling Team
o
The M-IWRMP in cooperation
with the respective experts in the MRCS will be responsible to recruit the
consultants.
o
Work with the Cambodia
National MRC and relevant Cambodian government departments is essential
o
Other MRC Programmes/sections
involved in modelling related capacity building that must be consulted include
ICBP (OSV) and FMMP (OSP) .
9. Working
Principle/ Reporting line
o
The consultant reports to
the IKMP Coordinator ;
o
Close guidance will be
given by CNMC;
10.
Qualification/Requirement
o
MSc.
or PhD university degree in hydrology, water resources engineering and
management, Natural Resources Management, mathematic or a related field;
o
At
least 10 years experience in working in relation with computer modelling for
water resource management, natural resources planning and management or a
related field;
o
Demonstrated experience and knowledge in Institutional Development and
Organization Structures in general and Mekong Member Countries in particular;
o
Strong experience and Capacity Needs Assessment and Capacity Development
formulation;
o
Good
knowledge and experience in stakeholder analysis and scenarios assessment
o
Excellent skill in proposal formulation and writing;
o
Experience in the Mekong region and familiarity with the LMB and Mekong River
Commission is an asset;
o
Ability communicate effectively, verbally and in writing with a wide range of
people and to work in a multicultural environment;
o
Excellent written and oral communication skills in English
o
The international or
regional expert will be financed through the M-IWRM Project budget;
o
The involved staff of the
MRC Programs will provide their expertise as MRCS in-kind contribution.
o
Daily subsistence
allowance will be paid for travel days and time in according to normal MRC rules
and regulations.
o
Airfares will be
reimbursed based on provision of original receipts. Other incidental expenses
(visas, taxis to and fro airports) will be paid based on provision of receipts.
o
A Service Fee will be paid
based on provision of invoices, which will be duly certified by the supervisor.
The service fee will be based on a daily rate which will be negotiated
independently by the Finance Section of MRCS.
o
One (final) payment will
be made to the consultant upon submission of the final report and evaluation
form certified by IKMP Coordinator.
The TOR may be updated or amended as necessary by mutual agreement.
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