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1 Terms of Reference for conducting Participatory Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment in the Chepkitale National Reserve, Mt. Elgon Ecosystem for the Project Scaling Up Mountain Ecosystem Based Adaptation: Building Evidence, Replicating Success and Informing Policy 1. Introduction The Scaling Up Mountain Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) 1 : Building Evidence, Replicating Success, and Informing Policy project ( ) is funded by the International Climate Initiative (IKI) of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU). Its overall goal is to build climate change resilience and promote adaptation in mountains, benefiting mountain people directly and also millions downstream. It is implemented by two core partners: The Mountain Institute (TMI) and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). This initiative builds on the Flagship Program in Mountain EbA that was implemented in Peru, Nepal, and Uganda by a consortium of UNEP, UNDP and IUCN with governments and local partners and ended in early 2016 and is being replicated to the expansion countries, Kenya, Columbia and Bhutan. In Kenya, the project is implemented at Chepkitale National Reserve in Mt. Elgon in addition to engaging in some limited national level policy influencing work towards mainstreaming EbA. Much of the area of Mt Elgon is within national parks, forest and national reserves hence are under the management system of these 3 types of protected area management system: 1] Mt Elgon National Park, Uganda side (gazetted in 1992) is managed by Uganda Wildlife Authority and Mt Elgon National Park, Kenya side (gazetted in 1968) managed by Kenya Wildlife Service; 2] Mt Elgon Forest reserve (Kenya side, gazetted in 1932 during the colonial times) managed by Kenya Forest Service; and 3] Mt. Elgon Chepkitale National Reserve, gazetted in 2000 owned by the local government (under the trust land ownership arrangement), now County Government but being managed by KWS (Fig. 1). In addition, Mt. Elgon (Kenya) side, is one of the Kenya water towers, so it is also managed by the recently established Kenya Water Tower Agency (KWTA). Before its gazettement in 2000 Mt. Elgon Chepkitale was owned by the local Ogiek community and since 2000 the communities have been forcefully evicted from what used to be their homeland. For a long time and with the coming into effect of the 2010 Kenya constitution, the Ogiek community has been having consultations with the Kenyan authorities to have their (home) land back including taking the matter to Court. The matter is still in court but given the Kenya 2010 constitution s provision on land tenure issues, they (Ogiek community) have a strong case because the constitution allows the local community to directly own the otherwise trust lands (i.e. land owned on their behalf by the local authority). Their plan is that once they legally get back their land, then they will manage it as a community conservancy with technical support from KWS. This project will be supporting this process and the project will start with a model Free Prior Informed Consent (FPIC) process to seek the consent of the Ogiek community for the project. 1 EbA is defined by the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) as the use of biodiversity and ecosystem services to help people adapt to the adverse effects of climate change as part of an overall adaptation strategy (CBD 2009). This definition was later elaborated by the CBD to include sustainable management, conservation and restoration of ecosystems, as part of an overall adaptation strategy that takes into account the multiple social, economic and cultural co-benefits for local communities (CBD 2010). Examples of EbA include: restoring coastal ecosystems to lower the energy of tropical storms and protect local communities against erosion and wave damage; wetland and floodplain management to prevent floods, and maintain water flow and water quality in the face of changing rainfall patterns; conservation and restoration of forests and natural vegetation to stabilize slopes and prevent landslides, and regulate water flows preventing flash flooding; and, establishment of diverse agroforestry systems to help maintain crop yields under changing climates. 1

2 Mt. Elgon is a transboundary ecosystem 2 shared between Kenya and Uganda and is also an important watershed that: nourishes a vast array of rivers, including the Nile; maintains water quality, quantity and evenness of flow due to its varied vegetation types and altitudes; is of high biodiversity importance; and provides ecosystem goods and services to a sizeable human and livestock population. Despite its importance, Mt. Elgon Ecosystem is experiencing risks and disasters associated to climate change impacts and the situation is exacerbated by environmental degradation due to human activities with far reaching consequences on the ecosystem and people s livelihoods. A high level Vulnerability Impact Assessment 3 that was conducted by IUCN, UNDP and UNEP for the whole of the Mt Elgon ecosystem identified flooding, landslides and droughts as the major climate risks and hazards affecting the region 4. It is expected that there are climate induced changes in species distributions also exacerbated by human management and livestock impacts. It has been noted, for example, in both National Parks and the Chepkitale area, the expansion of the unpalatable manyatta grass (Eleusine jaegeri) which is degrading the quality of the upland pastures, might be climate or management induced. Similarly, the climate models on Mt. Elgon predict a significant increase in temperatures and a projection on how tree cover would shift upwards to follow current temperature zones. Considering that agriculture in the region is predominantly rain-fed, the ecosystem s capacity to provide food is very vulnerable to the impacts of climate change and extreme climatic events. In addition, the mountain faces a dilemma of ensuring that ecosystem services continue supporting the ever increasing population, which fully depends on them. 2. Rationale and objectives for participatory climate change vulnerability assessment in Chepkitale National Reserve The recent development in the global frameworks and processes such as the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD); the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC); the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP); and the IUCN Resolution and other resolutions taken by the IUCN World Conservation Congress (WCC) are moving towards ensuring that conservation policy and practice respect the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities in ecosystem management, restoration and climate change mitigation and adaptation. In the Lake Victoria Basin that Mt. Elgon Ecosystem is part of, changes in a variety of ecosystems are already being detected at a faster rate than anticipated. Climate change, interacting with human drivers such as deforestation, is a threat to the region s forest ecosystems 5. Vulnerability Assessment has been recognized worldwide as a critical step in adaptation planning and implementation (IPCC, ). Current climate change adaptation measures are usually done by assessing vulnerability. It is one of the most important tools to measure the stability of a particular ecosystem and the vulnerability of human communities, and is essential in planning and implementation of the Ecosystem based Adaptation (EbA) projects. EbA is gaining power as an approach that makes valuable contribution to and fills significant gaps in broader climate change adaptation strategies (CBD, 2009). EbA approaches help in reducing ecosystem vulnerability, impacts of climate change on biodiversity and increases the capacity of the ecosystem for resilience. 2 The major ecosystems identified by local communities in Mt. Elgon region are farmlands, rivers and streams, forests/trees, pasturelands, swamps, moorland, mountains and hills (The Republic of Uganda: Ecosystem Based Adaptation in Mountain Elgon System: Vulnerability Impact Assessment (VIA) for the Mt Elgon Ecosystem, December 2013). 3 Vulnerability Impact Assessment (VIA) has been recognized worldwide as a critical step in adaptation planning and implementation (IPCC, 2014). Current climate change adaptation measures are usually done by assessing vulnerability. It is one of the most important tools to measure the stability of a particular ecosystem and the vulnerability of human communities, and is essential in planning and implementation of the Ecosystem based Adaptation (EbA) projects. EbA is gaining power as an approach that makes valuable contribution to and fills significant gaps in broader climate change adaptation strategies (CBD, 2009). EbA approaches help in reducing ecosystem vulnerability, impacts of climate change on biodiversity and increases the capacity of the ecosystem for resilience. 4 The Republic of Uganda: Ecosystem Based Adaptation in Mountain Elgon System: Vulnerability Impact Assessment (VIA) for the Mt Elgon Ecosystem, December Lake Victoria Basin Climate Change Adaptation Strategy and Action Plan IPCC, (2014). Climate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability. Summaries, Frequently Asked Questions, and Cross-Chapter Boxes. A Contribution of Working Group II to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Field, C.B., V.R. Barros, D.J. Dokken, K.J. Mach, M.D. Mastrandrea, T.E. Bilir, M. Chatterjee, K.L. Ebi, Y.O. Estrada, R.C. Genova, B. Girma, E.S. Kissel, A.N. Levy, S. MacCracken,P.R. Mastrandrea, and L.L. White (eds.)]. World Meteorological Organization, Geneva, Switzerland, 190 pp. 2

3 Vulnerability of any system depends on the exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity. Exposure is the nature and degree of a system or a community being exposed to the natural hazards (CARE, ). Sensitivity is the degree of system or community being affected either directly or indirectly and adversely or beneficially by the climate, and adaptive capacity is the ability or strength of a system or a community to moderate and to deal with the potential climate change impacts based on wise and effective use of available livelihood resources (CARE, 2009). In order to obtain reliable information on ecosystem and communities, it is very important to involve local community members, field expert and other stakeholders so that quick and urgent adaptation actions can be developed to deal with emerging climatic vulnerabilities (Maarten et al., ). Participatory vulnerability assessment (PVA) helps in understanding vulnerability, its root causes and most vulnerable groups and agrees on activities by, with and to people to reduce their vulnerability with the support of scientific information and technologies, through different methods such as transect walks, focus group discussions, seasonal trends, and historical timelines (Action Aid, ND 9 ). The objectives of conducting a participatory climate change vulnerability assessment in Chepkitale National Reserve on Mt. Elgon are: 1. To identify the current and future vulnerability caused by the impact of climate change on the local communities and the ecosystems (farmlands, rivers and streams, forests/trees, pasturelands, swamps, moorland, mountains and hills) of Chepkitale National Reserve; 2. To identify the major drivers of vulnerability on the local communities and ecosystems of Chepkitale National Reserve 3. To identify the major ecosystems and ecosystem services of Chepkitale National Reserve that could help the local community adapt to the impacts of climate change and to prioritize them as per the intervention requirements; 4. To record and document indigenous knowledge of Chepkitale National Reserve communities regarding climate change in terms of past and recent climatic shifts and social-ecological dimensions and 5. To recommend the appropriate EbA options to address the identified impacts of climate change on the local people and ecosystems of Chepkitale National Reserve It is expected that the PVA will be carried out at the same time as, and integrated with (to the extent that is appropriate) with the project FPIC process. 3. Methodology and approaches The consultant will, based on existing models, design or refine an appropriate methodology, and discuss with IUCN ESARO and Chepkitale management, in undertaking the assignment to enable the realization of the above mentioned objectives. It is suggested that the methodology should include, but not be limited to the following: Tasks: Literature review of all the relevant documentation, including (but not limited to): a. Scaling Up Mountain EbA Program Handbook for EbA in Flagship and Expansion Countries, developed by IUCN and TMI, 2018; 7 CARE. (2009). Climate vulnerability and capacity assessment handbook. Retrieved August 10, 2015 from 8 Maarten, K. A., Cannon, T., and Burton, T. (2008). Community level adaptation to climate change: The potential role of participatory community risk assessment. Global Environmental Change. 18, Doi /jgloenvcha Action Aid. (ND). Participatory vulnerability analysis: A step by step guide for the field staff. Retrieved February 25, 2018 from 3

4 b. Vulnerability Impact Assessment of Climate Change Impact in Mountain Ecosystem: A Practical Guideline (TU-CDES, 2016); c. Making Ecosystem-based Adaptation Effective - A Framework for Defining Qualification Criteria and Quality Standards (FEBA Technical Paper, 2017); d. Bungoma County Integrated Development Programme (CIDP); e. Lake Victoria Basin Climate Change Adaptation Strategy and Action Plan ; f. Ecosystem Based Adaptation in Mountain Elgon System: Vulnerability Impact Assessment (VIA) for the Mt Elgon Ecosystem, December 2013, the Republic of Uganda. Development and finalization of PVA methodology with analysis framework, pre structured questionnaire for households interview, data collection checklists in consultation with Up scaling EbA project team, Integrate the model of FPIC processes, Stakeholder consultations in the field guided by questionnaires and checklists for data collection Key informant interview, household interview, focus group discussion, community consultation workshops etc; Stakeholders workshops for data verification and validation; Data analysis and report writing 4. Deliverables: a. Inception report highlighting the detail methodology and PVA analysis framework for the study, work plan and a table of content for the final report, submitted by October 15 th 2018; b. Draft report on PVA containing the results of the consultations and field work analysis submitted by November 15 th 2018; c. Final PVA report incorporating comments from stakeholders and IUCN ESARO submitted by November 30 th How to apply: Submit your CV and a strong justification for your application including 2 samples of a similar work previous undertaken. Also, include the financial proposal for undertaking the assignment. Please, remember, this is a very small project. Submit to: Edith.Mbigi@iucn.org, before October 7 th Consider your application unsuccessful if you don t hear from us. 4

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