Marine and Coastal Environmental Management Consultant

Result of Service• An inception report with a detailed work schedule and proposed methodology to undertake the assignment. • A data catalogue and repository of data layers, available datasets, data sources and data gaps for the project area. • A manual detailing the configuration of ArcGIS Online Creator Accounts with assigned users and groups as required for the operation of the Online Atlas. • An audit report detailing the standardized database model including the quality assurance checks done and the proposed system requirements for optimal use of the atlas for the NMC countries. • A live, functional, interactive online atlas and a geospatial database of the Northern Mozambique Channel for the NOCAMO Project with physical, biological, geomorphological and socioeconomic data, web maps of data layers, interactive visualization dashboards with corresponding statistics, story maps, and knowledge maps to inform decision making on marine spatial planning in the Northern Mozambique Channel. • User guidelines for the dedicated NOCAMO online atlas that outline how to maintain and update the online atlas, hub sites and visualization platforms and also how to interact with the Atlas, how to obtain various reports from the dashboards, how to monitor data updates, and have the means to understand the performance of each individual application for capacity building and training of target stakeholders from the Northern Mozambique Channel on the application of the NOCAMO Online Atlas. Work LocationHome-Based Expected duration6 months Duties and ResponsibilitiesOrganizational Setting The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is the leading global environmental authority that sets the global environmental agenda, promotes the coherent implementation of the environmental dimension of sustainable development within the United Nations system and serves as an authoritative advocate for the global environment. UNEP administers the Nairobi Convention for the Protection, Management and Development of the Coastal and Marine Environment of the Western Indian Ocean (WIO). The Contracting Parties to the Convention are Comoros, France, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Seychelles, Somalia, South Africa and United Republic of Tanzania. UN Environment's, Ecosystems Division works with international and national partners, providing technical assistance and advisory services for the implementation of environmental policy, and strengthening the environmental management capacity of developing countries and countries with economies in transition. Background of the Consultancy The Northern Mozambique Channel (NMC) encompasses the coastal areas and territorial waters of Mozambique, Madagascar, Tanzania, Reunion (France), Seychelles and the Comoros, covering an area of approximately 700,000 km2. The NMC region is among the world’s richest regions for biodiversity, containing a large proportion (35%) of the entire Indian Ocean’s coral reefs (about 11,000 km2), and an array of other critical habitats and breeding and foraging grounds for marine and migratory species. The area also provides numerous goods and services to millions of coastal residents whose population is expected to grow even further. Despite the numerous benefits the NMC’s critical ecosystems provide, they are under threat from the combined impacts of climate change, population growth, degradation of critical habitats, overexploitation of marine resources, pollution, coastal infrastructure development and the extraction of resources such as oil and gas. The goal of the NOCAMO project is to maintain and enhance NMC’s high biodiversity value, coral reefs and associated ecosystems through effective spatial management of marine uses, to secure a sustainable future for coastal communities and economies. This will be achieved by laying the institutional and knowledge foundations for the application of multi-stakeholder based Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) across the region. This assignment will contribute to this objective through the delivery of knowledge elements for decision-making on MSP in the NMC region. The main objective of this assignment is to establish a dedicated interactive online atlas that harmonizes, collects and shares data across natural, social, and economic capitals. The dedicated online atlas for the NOCAMO Project will enable countries and stakeholders involved in resource use and protection of the NMC to access the spatial and attribute information of marine and coastal ecosystems and update the data based on the changes on the ground. The NOCAMO Online Atlas will operate on the Nairobi Convention Secretariat ArcGIS Online platform. The NOCAMO Online Atlas will: 1. Gather and harmonize existing national and regional data in the NMC region including: a. Ecological and biological data b. Physical and oceanographic data c. The health status of natural capital d. Priority conservation areas e. Coastal and offshore uses f. Socio-economic data 2. Make this data available via a dedicated Nairobi Convention Secretariat ArcGIS online portal, which will provide functional links to various national and regional databases. The portal will build on existing mechanisms and tools of the Nairobi Convention Secretariat such as the Clearinghouse Mechanism, WIO Symphony and other outputs such as the WIO Regional MSP Strategy. 3. Analyze and combine all the data to produce documents and knowledge maps for decision making including: a. Baseline of ecosystem health b. Underlying threats and pressures related to coral reefs, mangroves, seagrasses and other key species c. Critical habitats and priority areas for conservation d. Areas of conflict between different uses 4. Geo-reference the data and develop visualization products such as story maps and country dashboards (Tanzania, Mozambique, Madagascar, Union of the Comoros) to support the MSP process in the NMC The Nairobi Convention Secretariat, in executing the NOCAMO project, requires a highly motivated international consultant to develop the dedicated interactive, online atlas for the project. Duties and Responsibilities Under the general supervision of the Head of the Nairobi Convention Secretariat, the consultant will be responsible for the following: 1. Project Inception and Situational Analysis The Consultant will assess the available datasets, data gaps, the format, and the countries’ readiness to implement the ArcGIS Online Atlas. This will entail starting with assessing the ICT infrastructure at the designate country focal point institution/department to include available baseline hardware and the baseline software. 2. Data Collation The Consultant will identify and collate existing national and regional data in the NMC region including spatial and attribute data layers and other thematic layers required for the development of the Online Atlas, specified in terms of the data fields gathered, the currency of the data, and the veracity of the data. The collated data will include: a. Ecological and biological data: mangrove forests, seagrass beds, coral reef data, fish and invertebrate species data, flagship species, megafauna, habitat mapping, migratory species corridors, and satellite imagery data. b. Physical and oceanographic data: data on ocean currents, temperature and salinity data, sea level and wave data, wind and atmospheric processes data, sea surface temperature data, salinity and ocean chemistry data, coastal and offshore upwelling data, and oceanographic modelling data. c. Health status of natural capital: overfishing, climate change, pollution, habitat loss/ degradation, coastal development d. Priority conservation areas: marine protected areas and locally managed marine areas e. Coastal and offshore uses: fishing, shipping, oil and gas exploration, tourism, marine conservation f. Socio-economic data: fishing, shipping, oil and gas exploration, tourism, population data, data on livelihoods and economic activities, infrastructure data 3. ArcGIS Online Configuration The Consultant will configure the ArcGIS Online accounts, create and assign users, and create the groups for the different countries with various group characteristics needed for the development and operation of the Online Atlas. 4. Data Migration and Development of a Standardized Database Model All collated thematic layers will be characterized in terms of their visual representations, planned uses in the portal, potential data sources, levels of resolution, and data currency to the greatest extent possible. The defined data will then be standardized, through conversion to a common OGC standard format to enable visibility throughout the portal and enable processing and analysis. The Consultant will also perform quality assurance checks on the migrated data to ensure that the data collected in the Online Atlas is reliable and suitable for marine spatial planning use. 5. Development of the Interactive Online Atlas The Consultant will develop an interactive online atlas based on ArcGIS Hub. The ArcGIS Hub license will be available to the Consultant through the Nairobi Convention Secretariat ArcGIS Online Portal. The online atlas will enable the Nairobi Convention Secretariat and Northern Mozambique Channel countries to: o connect and communicate with internal and public audiences by creating a data portal for sharing internal GIS data across an organization or with a GIS class, o share open data using the Share Open Data template, o showcase content related to a specific topic, such as research to restore local habitats or efforts to increase volunteer work within a community, o share a volunteer sign-up form as part of different sites on increasing volunteer work within a community, and o start an outreach campaign with events, surveys, and emails by creating a call-to-action for people to follow various initiatives. The Atlas will also provide community accounts, which are ArcGIS Online accounts for people who are not members of the NCS ArcGIS Online Portal to access the NCS Hub content and manage GIS applications. Community accounts will enable anyone to view or contribute content belonging to NMC Countries’ initiatives. These community accounts will grant access to community organizations, a designated ArcGIS Online subscription that separates community accounts from NCS ArcGIS online members accounts. Qualifications/special skillsAdvanced university degree (master’s degree or equivalent) is required in Geographic Information Systems, Information Systems and management, Marine Sciences, Ecology, Environmental Sciences, Natural Resources Management or similar disciplines. A minimum of two (2) years of relevant progressive experience in the application of geographic information systems, and information management is required. Demonstrated experience in developing GIS solutions for natural resource management applications and maintenance of existing geospatial databases and related metadata systems is required. Demonstrated knowledge and experience on remote sensing, obtaining biological, geophysical and socioeconomic geospatial datasets and developing geospatial databases is desired. Experience performing quality control assessments for geospatial products is desired Experience working in a multidisciplinary set up with government and non-government stakeholders including international organizations and local communities is desired. LanguagesEnglish and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For the post advertised, fluency in both oral and written English is required. Additional InformationNot available. No FeeTHE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.