Water resources management is a pressing issue in Yemen due to its arid climate and limited water availability. Yemen faces significant challenges in this regard, including limited agricultural productivity, high levels of malnutrition, and vulnerability to natural disasters. With BMZ funding through the German Development Bank (KfW), a partnership has been established focused on enhancing water resources management and food security in the country. This collaboration aims to address the critical challenges faced by Yemen in these areas and contribute to sustainable development.

KfW acknowledges the importance of addressing food security concerns in the country. To tackle these issues, the KfW partnership focuses on promoting sustainable agricultural practices, supporting small-scale farmers, and strengthening local food systems. By enhancing agricultural productivity and ensuring access to nutritious food, these initiatives contribute to reducing hunger and poverty in Yemen.

Recognizing the urgent need to address these challenges, KfW has initiated an integrated water resources management project aimed at enhancing the resilience of agriculture and food security in Yemen. The Integrated Water Resources Management to Enhance Resilience of Agriculture and Food Security (IWRM-ERA) project includes the construction and rehabilitation of water infrastructure to increase agricultural production, promote access to markets, and empower women in the agricultural value chain.

The first outcome of this three-year project will be achieved by investing in new water harvesting infrastructure aimed at augmenting existing supplies to efficiently capture surface water and sustainable groundwater. This also includes contributing to the overall development of the agricultural value chain and market accessibility by rehabilitating farm-market roads.

The second outcome aims to improve water governance by strengthening and supporting Water User Associations (WUAs) and the National Water Resources Authority (NWRA) in both Taiz and Lahj to ensure ownership, operation, maintenance of infrastructure, and accountability. This will be achieved through analyzing their institutional capabilities based on a needs analysis to fulfill their mandate, along with providing specific support for ensuring sustainable infrastructure. This includes identifying gaps and addressing them through mechanisms for operational sustainability across financial, technical, social, environmental, and institutional aspects.

To achieve the project's primary objective, a national consultant will be engaged to support the international consultant in developing a comprehensive Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) Plan for the Tuban catchment and a Sustainability Plan for the IWRM-ERA Project. The plan will cover the entire catchment area, with a particular focus on the four targeted districts within the project scope.

The national consultant will lead in-country processes, including stakeholder consultations, workshops, and meetings. They will provide technical and contextual support to the international consultant in developing the IWRM Plan for the Tuban catchment, ensuring alignment with national policies, frameworks, and priorities while addressing water resource challenges. The IWRM plan will emphasize the four targeted districts, while the Sustainability Plan aims to ensure the long-term functionality and impact of water infrastructure, agricultural value chains, and local water management institutions.

The primary objective of this assignment is to lead the in-country processes necessary for developing an Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) plan for the Tuban catchment, incorporating the Dublin Principles into water resources management. The geographical scope of the IWRM plan will focus on the Tuban catchment, specifically the four target districts: Tuban and Al-Mosaymer in Lahj governorate, and Al-Mawaset and Al-Selw in Taiz governorate.

This plan will align with national development priorities, existing strategies, and plans, as well as the recent hydrological study of the Tuban catchment, infrastructure assessments, and institutional needs assessments of key institutions and community structures in the targeted governorates and districts. The anticipated IWRM plan will prioritize interventions to address current challenges in water resources management, including those exacerbated by climate change and unsustainable practices, and establish an implementation framework for these interventions.

Key stakeholders for the IWRM plan include the Ministry of Water and Environment and the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation, and Fisheries, along with their affiliated authorities in the governorates and districts within the catchment area. Additional stakeholders include the Water Basin Committees in the Tuban catchment and community organizations such as Water User Associations (WUAs), cooperatives, and women’s associations.

The IWRM plan will focus on agricultural water use while also considering other water uses. It is expected to tackle key challenges in three main areas:

• Technical: Imbalanced utilization of surface water and groundwater in the Tuban catchment, driven by climate change and unsustainable practices, compounded by weak water governance.

• Operational: Reduced effectiveness of institutions and community structures in implementing IWRM principles.

• Financial: Lack of financial resources within institutions and community structures to support IWRM principles.

Additionally, the consultant will support the international consultant in developing a detailed Sustainability Plan for the IWRM-ERA project, ensuring the continued functionality and impact of water infrastructure, agricultural value-added initiatives, and local water governance mechanisms beyond the project’s lifespan. 

The sustainability plan will act as a strategy that details how the IWRM-ERA project will continue to operate and generate lasting benefits after the project period ends. It will serve as a roadmap, outlining financial, social, and institutional strategies to ensure the project's longevity, demonstrating to donors that their investment will have a long-term impact.

The consultant will focus on all project components, outputs, and key activities, including but not limited to

• Ensuring the operation and maintenance (O&M) of rehabilitated irrigation infrastructure and water monitoring systems. This includes assessing the functionality, utilization, and maintenance of in-kind support and assets provided to Water User Associations (WUAs) and government water-related institutions.

•  Evaluating the viability of WUAs, water committees, and government water-related institutions. This entails assessing their capacity to establish coordination mechanisms for water resources management, operate and manage water resources and infrastructure independently, and develop long-term plans based on the capacity building and in-kind support provided by the project.

• Identifying mechanisms to ensure long-term funding for WUAs, such as user fees, water use fees, and local government support. Additionally, assessing strategies for the long-term profitability and growth of the value-added food processing initiatives (MSMEs) supported by the project.

• Promoting community ownership, gender inclusion, and conflict mitigation over water resources. This includes evaluating the environmental impact of project interventions.

• Development of the IWRM Plan (50 days)

The national consultant will support the international consultant in the development of the IWRM plan through the following tasks:

1. Leading stakeholder consultation workshops and meetings during the preparation of the IWRM plan and preparing reports and meeting minutes.

2. Collecting and analyzing relevant national and local data on water resources, hydrology, socio-economic conditions, and environmental concerns in the Tuban catchment.

3. Assisting in the development of technical components of the IWRM plan, including water allocation strategies, resource management interventions, and climate resilience measures.

4. Providing input on integrating local knowledge and practices into the plan.

5. Identifying and evaluating priority water resource challenges in the Tuban catchment, including their severity, interdependencies, and frequency.

6. Determining priority integrated water resource management interventions at the catchment and sub-catchment levels.

7. Assessing institutional capacities at national, basin, and local levels to implement the IWRM plan, considering the institutional needs assessment conducted under the IWRM-ERA project, and evaluating opportunities and constraints in water resources management.

8. Collaborating with the communication team to translate and publish the IWRM plan.

9. Addressing any additional requirements requested by the international consultant to support the development of the IWRM plan.

• Development of Sustainability Plan for IWRM-ERA Project (25 days)

The national consultant will support the international consultant in the development of a Sustainability Plan for IWRM-ERA project which encompasses the following tasks:

1. Conduct a comprehensive desk review of ERA project documents, including the Theory of Change, Results Framework, Implementation Plan, and relevant assessments.

2. Conduct consultations with UNDP, RPs, NWRA, MoAIF, WUAs, and other stakeholders.

3. Identify sustainability risks and opportunities across the three project outcomes:

•  Water infrastructure and agricultural production.

•  Agricultural value chains and market access. 

• Water governance and institutional capacity.

4. Review the mid-term evaluation report prepared during the project's midterm phase.

5. Review RPs’ ongoing practices that contribute to project sustainability.

6. Develop sustainability strategies for:

• Operation and maintenance (O&M) of infrastructure.

•  Institutional strengthening of Water User Associations (WUAs), NWRA and offices of agriculture.

• Community ownership and cost-sharing mechanisms.

• Women’s participation and empowerment.

• Climate resilience and environmental safeguards.

7. Recommend monitoring mechanisms and indicators to track sustainability.

8. Facilitate stakeholder consultations and validation workshops.

9. Review RPs’ ongoing capacity-building activities and suggest ways for mainstreaming sustainability business plans for community and government structures involved in the trainings.

10. Support RPs in developing sustainability strategies for the ongoing value-add and food processing initiatives at the four targeted districts in Taiz and Lahj.

The national consultant will report to the Project Manager and will work closely with the project staff in addition to the following consultants:

• Hydrology consultant.

• Environmental and Social Safeguards consultant.

• At least a bachelor’s degree (BSc) or higher in Environmental/Water Sciences, sociology, international development or a related field.

• A minimum of seven years of proven experience in stakeholder engagement and participatory approaches in water sector.

• Proven experience in similar assignments, encompassing either technical, policy, or institutional aspects.

• Proven knowledge and practical experience in developing and implementing sustainability and exist strategies for development project, preferably in water, agriculture and livelihood sectors.

• Demonstrated ability to navigate complex project environments, with a strong understanding of water laws, national policies, and strategies in Yemen.

• Excellent analytical, writing, and communication skills.

• Proficiency in both English and Arabic.

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