ZAMBEZI RIVER WATERSHED STUDY AND DIAGNOSIS 119 views2 applications

I. Context

The French Red Cross in Mozambique

The French Red Cross (FRC) is a French humanitarian aid association created in 1864 and part of the International Movement of the Red Cross and Red Crescent since 1945. In 2018, its activity figure was nearly 1,351 million. EUR. The number of employees stood at 16,719 and volunteers at 60,571. Internationally, the CRF operates in 21 countries for operating income of EUR 92.6 million and 187 employees in international activity. Since 2000, the French Red Cross has been leading the PIROI (Indian Ocean Regional Intervention Platform) regional program, the objective of which is to “reduce the impact of disasters and the effects of climate change on the populations of the area. South- West Indian Ocean” through disaster risk awareness, prevention, preparedness and disaster response activities.

The strategy of the Red Cross movement in Mozambique is based on a holistic approach to Disaster Risk Management (DRM), involving from disaster response to different aspects of Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) to balance the need for preparedness for responses, relief operations and recovery to reduce risk at the local level, empowering communities to address disaster prevention, preparedness and mitigation. Activities implemented include early warning – early action, first aid, social protection, stock pre-positioning and institutional capacity building of the local Red Cross and local DRR actors.

The Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement in Mozambique

The Cruz Vermelha de Moçambique (CVM) was, by Decree No. 087/99 of November 23, 1999, granted the status of a public utility institution. Therefore, it has a recognized role, as an auxiliary of the Public Powers of the Republic of Mozambique, in the humanitarian area. Its existence is based on the principles of independence and defines for itself a mandate to perform, to the maximum, its assisting role throughout the Mozambican territory. It has representation in all 11 provincial capitals and in 133 districts (84% of all districts). The CVM in its humanitarian intervention has in relation to several natural disasters, carried out response activities after the occurrence of a certain event within a timeframe of 72 hours. It participated in the response to several severe floods. As examples, the major floods in 2000 and 2001 (affected Gaza and Maputo provinces), floods in 2013 and 2015 (affected Sofala and Zambezia provinces) and the floods caused by Idai in March 2019 (affected Tete, Manica, Zambezia and Sofala provinces including the city of Beira). Its actions are fully implemented by approximately 170 staff, 5500 volunteers and 70,000 members. The CVM has extensive experience in implementing/co-implementing a vast number of activities, such as resettlement of returning refugees; Disaster Response (leading the shelter cluster in the country); Disaster Risk Reduction; First Aid promotion, Water & Sanitation and Health emergencies.

In addition to the Mozambican Red Cross, four other national Red Cross partner national societies are present in the country including the Spanish RC, the German RC, the Italian RC and the Belgian-Flanders RC, as well as IFRC and ICRC. The French Red Cross is coordinating closely with all the members of the RCRC Movement in the country throughout the project, to ensure the synergies of actions.

The Zambezi River Delta

The Zambezi Delta is a triangular-shaped alluvial plain, about 200 km long along the coast and 100 km inland, covering an area of ​​about 12,000 km² with several tributaries and numerous mangroves, is a remarkable biodiversity area, classified as a RAMSAR zone, with an ecosystem to protect. The vast size of the Zambezi Delta and its unique juxtaposition with different landforms, vegetation types and water bodies gives rise to immense biodiversity value with endemic flora and fauna.

Zambezi Delta is one of the main areas in Mozambique characterized by both biodiversity conservation and natural hazards issues. Finally, numerous studies on the state of ecosystems, including those of the Blue Forest project, exist in this area, making it possible to characterize the situation of the ecosystems and to identify the project’s areas of action. Zambezi Delta is a complex landscape which encompassing conservations area, human resettlements and human economic activities, including the Marromeu Buffalo Special Reserve and hunting concessions in 10, 11, 12 and 14 “Coutadas” in South Bank also known as Marromeu Complex, in Sofala Province side, and extensive agriculture fields and human settlements in North Bank, Zambézia Province side.

Beilfuss & Dos Santos (2001) describes the flow to the Zambezi delta as a function of regulated Cahora Bassa outflows, the Shire River inflows and flashy runoff from the Mozambique plateau. The tributaries are contributors of flows to the delta during the wet season but during the dry season Cahora Bassa is the main source of flows, contributing more than 70%. Water releases from the dam aim for maximizing hydropower production and minimizing floods. With the flow regulation the annual floods were almost eliminated and dry season low flows were drastically increased. Except for the rainy season from December to March where the average discharge is higher at about 2,000 m3/s, the rest of the time in a year the discharge is more or less at a constant level between 1,600 – 1,700 m3/s.

Around 328,000 inhabitants (1.4% of the total population of Mozambique) live in the Zambezi delta region and communities surrounding this river are significantly affected by floods each year. The project focuses on Marromeu, Chinde and Luabo districts.

Vulnerability to flood

After the construction of the Kariba and Cahora Bassa dams the floods became less frequent and timing is less predictable. As a consequence, the population felt safer and moved their settlements to the fertile floodplains and were sometimes caught by surprise during years with high floods resulting in damage and loss of lives. This encroachment results in high exposure of the community and reduced reaction time to flood waves therefore increasing the vulnerability of the population. Cyclones do occur quite frequently in the Mozambican coast. Over the last 75 years before 2005, the Zambezi Delta was hit by 9 to 15 cyclones (MICOA, 2005). But the flooding events recorded in the Delta region were mainly due to high flows in the Zambezi river coming from upstream. Flooding from sea has not been reported to affect the local communities of infrastructure so far. On the other hand, the change in hydrographic regime due to the construction of the dams has led to a drop in the level of fresh water and conversely to an upwelling of salt water in the Delta. These rises lead to salinization of agricultural land which becomes unsuitable for agriculture (phenomenon identified by IRD and UEM studies).

Flood protection

The construction of two large multi-purpose dams in the Zambezi river (Kariba dam in 1958 and Cahora-Bassa dam in 1974) has reduced the magnitude and frequency of floods in the delta. Some of the flood protection infrastructure in the Zambezi delta was built a long time ago. The first embankment for flood protection was built in 1893 around the sugar fields in Mopeia and in the following decades embankments were also built to protect Marromeu and Luabo. These embankments were raised to the maximum level of the observed floods after a large flood event in 1926. There are some dikes built at the beginning of the 20th century on the North and South bank for flood protection. The Marromeu village which is the most vulnerable to floods due to its location and the value of the existing infrastructure (conventional houses, markets, roads, water supply system, sugar factory, etc.) is surrounded by dikes for flood protection. During large floods the dikes are not enough to prevent flooding although they significantly reduce the flood damage. In addition to that a railway and road were built in the floodplains parallel to the Zambezi river between Marromeu and Chupanga which also constrict movement of water and serve as flood protection. On the other hand, the constriction of water movement has negative impacts to the floodplain ecosystem (Belifuss and Brown, 2006) and eventually on the livelihoods of rural communities.

Consultancy location

The high vulnerability to flooding in Mozambique is associated with its geographical location, downstream of nine major river basins on the south eastern African continent. Floods, tropical cyclones, droughts and epidemics are phenomena that occur with some regularity in the country (see Figure 3.1). Cyclical floods of different sizes occur annually in Mozambique. During the period 1980-2019 the country experienced at least 28 floods (INGC), causing considerable damage to several river basins in Mozambique. The floods in Mozambique have been caused by two factors: Depressions and tropical cyclones as well as prolonged rains during the rainy season which increase the levels of the river basins and subsequent discharges downstream.

The consultancy will be conducted in the Zambezi river watershed, in Tete, Zambezia and Sofala provinces, with a special focus on the Delta area targeted by the project activities (Marromeu, Chinde and Luabo districts).

The ECO-DRR project

The overall goal of the project is to contribute to building ecosystem, community and financial resilience to climate change in Mozambique.

The specific objective of the DRR component implemented by the FRC (Outcome1) is to strengthen the capacities of communities and local stakeholders to prevent, mitigate, prepare for and respond efficiently to natural risks in the context of climate change.

A specific feature of the project is to combine traditional disaster risk reduction mechanisms and nature-based solutions to tackle the effects of climate change. The project has to develop operational synergies between these two approaches in order to promote more locally-based response to mitigate the effects of climate change.

All project details are available in the full project proposal approved by the donor: the French Development Agency (AFD). The project is co-funded by the FRC.

The French Red Cross (FRC) is in charge of implementing the first component (Outcome 1) of the project, together and in support of the CVM, as implementing partner and beneficiary.

This component, which lasts two years and started on March 2021, target all level of DRM coordination and focuses on achieving 3 results:

▪ R1 – community: Community-based disaster risk reduction river basin landscape approach is implemented/developed in Luabo district;

▪ R2 – RCRC: The capacity of CVM Branch at national and provincial level to prepare and respond to disasters is strengthened in order to provide timely and effective support to communities;

▪ R3 – district and province: DRM actors respond more effectively to rapid onset disasters at district and provincial level.

In order to ensure that the activities are coherent and relevant to both the context and the needs of the three targeted groups, the FRC has planned 4 preliminary studies during the inception phase:

▪ A Zambezi river flood risk assessment will be carried out, in order to support the development of a DRR action plan that will target the entire river watershed.

▪ A socio-anthropological study on disaster risk perception in the Zambezi watershed and an inclusive KAP survey and in Luabo district, targeting different population groups.

▪ A disaster risk management (DRM) capacity assessment of the CVM, focusing on its provincial branch in Quelimane.

▪ A capacity assessment of local DRM stakeholders (including INGD), in Zambezia province.

II. Study

Objective and Scope of the Consultancy

The scope of the consultancy is to undertake a diagnosis on current flood risk management as well as to deliver on a vulnerabilities and risks assessment in the Zambezi river watershed.

As river flood is identified as one of the main risks in Zambezi river basin, the project will adopt the river basin approach for integrated flood risk management.

In order to support the development of a DRR action plan, the entire landscape of the Zambezi river watershed, prone to flood, will be studied, adopting a multi-layer analysis including the interactions and interdependencies between ecosystems (g.e. mangroves) and human socioeconomic systems. The river basin approach focuses on the catchment upstream of the target communities of Luabo district as the defining geographic area of interest, also takes in to account the area downstream through an analysis; hydrology (groundwater and surface water) and how this affects the community; the execution of initial hazard component (flood focus) river-basin diagnosis and vulnerabilities/risks study.

Specifically, the study shall cover the assessment of exposure, vulnerabilities and existing coping mechanisms and capacities to manage floods of communities and institutions in the target area, based on the compilation of existing secondary data (various studies and/or existing data from the DNGRH, ARA Centro (ex ARA Zambezi), DNAAS, INAM, INGD, WB and others relevant institutions) complemented by additional hydrogeological information and data collection (eg. hydro-meteorological stations). The study will be used to refine the integrated flood management strategy of the project.

As Integrated Flood Management being part of a wider risk-management system, adopting integrated hazard management approaches, the consultant will have to take into consideration all related hazards such as cyclones, landslides, debris flows, mudflows in the target river basin if relevant.

The study will have to identify physical and non-physical interventions for flood mitigation, prevention and preparedness of the Zambezi river watershed and propose concrete recommendations on mitigation and preparedness measures to be implemented at community and institutional level, considering Nature-based solutions (NbS) to flood risk reduction.

The study will include the following:

● A cartography section and a narrative analysis of risks: historical events, flood vulnerabilities and capacities analysis, vulnerability index map, a land use/value index map, modelization of flood and related hazards behavior using relevant software with current hydro- geomorphological status, map of current exposure geomorphological status and hazard’s exposure.

● A review and analysis of the availability and performance of the current flood early warning systems in the Zambezi river watershed (baseline, gaps, and opportunities) at different levels (community, district, provincial, etc) detailing: a description of flood forecast, a gap analysis of the existing flood forecasting system.

● Summary analysis of the government’s and key stakeholders risk reduction plans, policies and mechanisms at different levels (district, provincial, regional, etc)

● Key recommendations on flood risk management, including Nature-based Solutions to flood risk reduction (mixed greens and greys), adapted the Delta context (type of capacity required and proposed timeline).

The diagnosis will enable to:

● Get a better understanding of the landscape of the Zambezi watershed and delta and the interactions and interdependencies between ecosystems (g.e. mangroves) and human socioeconomic systems and traditional knowledge.

● Understanding the flood risk and its prevention and mitigation in its landscape context, within the wider landscape that affects the likelihood of flooding (execution of initial hazard component (flood focus) river-basin diagnosis and vulnerabilities/risks study).

● Analyze the hydrology (groundwater and surface water) and how this affects the communities of Marromeu, Chinde and Luabo districts.

● Assess in the context of this study what is the role of dams in flooding and also to try to understand why cyclonic swells did not generate floods (roles of vegetation in particular).

● Identify the gaps and how to create an improved access to early warning (EW) information for the communities and key stakeholders living in areas at risk of Delta districts (Marromeu, Chinde and Luabo).

● To study the dilapidated state of the dams, to assess the risk that the existing dams fail and generate a “double disaster”.

● Suggest the best mix of measures, both structural and non-structural, to reduce flood risk and mitigate the consequences once a flood occurs in the Zambezi Delta, regarding the water cycle and land management as a whole, while also considering all types of possible floods and other related hazard risks as both have impacts on flood risks.

● Propose and list possible NbS (mixed greens and greys) to flood risk reduction, adapted to Luabo context. Other NbS (greens and greys) could be proposed in the neighboring district of Chinde, if relevant.

Suggested methodology

An appropriate methodology will have to be determined by the consultant(s) in consultations with FRC. It is proposed that consultant(s) will include as a minimum the following sequence of action to achieve the desired results:

Data collection

The consultant will have to collect all the data related to the study area using scientific knowledge and, in particular, Geographical Information System (GIS) and statistical data for the area. Therefore, if these data are not available field surveys would be necessary to extract information from the consultant’s own observations and interviews with local population and stakeholders.

Desk study

The consultant(s) is expected to conduct a detailed desk study on reviewing the existing technical reports and data from various sources, i.e. governmental ministries/ institutions, UEM/IRD, WB, UN agencies, NGOs, international research centers and others. Related technical reports on flood mitigation / infrastructures of the river basins including their management (drainage canals/diversion canal, irrigation system and other facilities) would be encouraged.

Field study to verify the secondary information from the existing documents / maps field study would also be expected to validate information on river geomorphology or the hydro-geomorphological and its floodplain characteristic, drainage canals, flooding depth, flood extent, flood duration.

In addition, the consultant(s) will be expected to conduct stakeholders’ consultation at community/district/provincial and national level. Stakeholder lists will be coordinated with FRC, CVM, INGD, WWF and BIOFUND, but should cover at least the following:

● Key informant interviews with local authority and other participation within the catchment to identify the issues described in the scope of work.

● Focus group discussions with the several local community groups representing the upper, middle and lower part of the river delta, the CVM EVCA results would also be complementary, if undertaken within the same timeframe.

● Potential other stakeholders currently implementing activities in the Zambezi river delta (WB, NGOs, UNs, etc).

Deliverables and Timeline

The consultant will be responsible for the delivery and technical quality of the final products as listed above.

Language: all documents must be provided in Portuguese and English

D1 – Launch workshop : presenting the objectives of the mission, will be organized at the start of the consultancy. This workshop will also serve to exchange with all stakeholders and to collect their recommendations for the smooth running of the mission. A workshop report will be drawn up to compile the key points and recommendations from participants.

D2 – Methodology document (validated by FRC prior to the study): a methodological note presenting the objectives and the format of the study. This note will also include the questionnaires proposed for the interviews with the different stakeholders. It will be written after the launch workshop. The methodology will be sent to the PIROI DRR Regional Manager.

D3 – Feedback workshop: a first presentation (PPT) of the key elements of the findings of the diagnosis will be shared with FRC, INGD, ECO-DRR consortium and partners during the restitution workshop. This presentation will be reviewed and completed for the workshop and validation of the final version of the technical report.

D4 – A technical report: detailing the flood risk analysis taken into consideration hydro-meteorological network, land-use, geomorphological features, vulnerabilities etc. and providing recommendations for flood risk mitigations and preparedness measures at community level. A first draft of the report will be submitted for discussion before the final version. A validation meeting will take place in order to validate the final output.

The report will have to detail all the aspects specified below:

● Methodologies, a working plan and a detailed budget to be validated by FRC prior to the study.

● A detailed desk study of existing reports and data and/or collect and analyze data of the Zambezi river delta.

● Analysis of hydrological condition and future trends in rainfall patterns within catchment and assess how these might influence future flow condition in Zambezi river delta and its respective floodplain.

● Estimation of flooding events and its management within the available data (hydro-meteorology, elevation both river and floodplain, water utilization, etc.), and elaboration on flood risk modeling for the respective issues, also considering predicted implications of climate change.

● Analysis of the resistance of gray infrastructures (dams, dikes and river deviations) put in place in the districts of Luabo and Marromeu, integrating a historical perspective into the analysis of these infrastructures to understand the risk of upwelling.

● Recommendations on early warning system improvement for the Delta communities (Luabo, Chinde and Marromeu districts) and for other communities in the river watershed.

● Recommendations on identification and prioritizations for flood mitigation measures for Luabo district taking into account Nature-based solutions (identifying location, roles and responsibilities sharing and a suggested methodology to undertake these floods mitigation measures). The consultants can also propose flood mitigation measures and infrastructures in the neighboring district of Chinde, if it is relevant and related to other mitigation measures in Luabo.

D5 – Final workshop: to validate the results of the study by the INGD and government authorities, will be organized at the end of the consultancy. This workshop will serve to validate the recommendation of the final report and the findings to all stakeholders. A workshop report will be drawn up.

Deliverables

Target due date

D1 – Launch workshop

27/08/2021

D2 – Methodology document

03/09/2021

D3 – Feedback workshop

08/10/2021

D4 – Technical report

15/11/2021

D5 – Final workshop

30/11/2021

Total duration (indicative) : [BG1] **

Expected period: 3 months (15 weeks). To be adapted if necessary.

Expected starting date: August 16, 2021 (or before if possible)

Expected end date: November 30, 2021

A detailed schedule must be proposed by the applicant and later discussed and finalized with the FRC team in Mozambique.

Role of the consultant(s)

The consultant(s) is responsible to provide his/her technical expertise to produce the expected outputs.

The consultant(s) shall cover all the related costs for his/her mission to the field during the whole assignment. The consultant(s) shall arrange transportation for his/her mobility in Mozambique. The consultant(s) shall be responsible for his / her accommodation in the field.

The consultant(s) shall report on and submit the above deliverables under this assignment to the assigned person, acting as the focal points of FRC.

The consultant(s) needs to maintain weekly communication with the project focal persons as and when problems emerge during the consultancy period, especially if they affect the scope of the work.

The consultant(s) will have as focal points the DRM Delegate of FRC in Mozambique and the PMER Manager of the PIROI (based in Reunion Island).

Bibliography and documents made available

The complete project proposal as well as the technical documents used for its writing will be made available for the study, as well as a (non-exhaustive) list of people who can be contacted in the context of carrying out this study.

III. Profile and required skills

Skills and knowledge required

An appropriate profile for this study would be to have an expertise in hydrology, disaster risk reduction and flood management issues and to be aware of the Mozambican context, and more particularly:

● Advanced university degree in engineering, geosciences or similar

● Experience in hydrology / or coastal/marine field studies essential

● Knowledge of flood risk management issues, including Nature-based Solutions to flood risk reduction

● Knowledge of Geographical Information System (GIS)

● Good knowledge of the Mozambican context

● Good knowledge of disaster risk management in general

● Experience in the international context is essential

● Experience in development or in humanitarian work would be a plus

● Knowledge of the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement actors would be a plus

LANGUAGE: all documents must be provided in Portuguese and English

Profile

● Autonomy and initiative

● Good analytical and synthesis skills

● Good writing skills

● Open-mindedness

● Ability to work in a team and coordinate

● Diplomacy and patience