RESEARCH PIECE ON EARLY WARNING SYSTEMS AND LIVELIHOOD ADAPTATION OPTIONS At Trócaire

. BACKGROUND/INTRODUCTION

1.1 Introduction

Trócaire is an Irish organisation that works in partnership with communities in over 20 countries to

• Defend human rights,
• Achieve climate and environmental justice,
• women’s girls’ protection, voice and influence,
• Save lives and protect human dignity and
• Mobilize the public to achieve global justice.

Trócaire has been working in Somalia for 30 years and established offices in the districts in Gedo in 1991. In Somalia, we work in collaboration with local communities and in partnership with local organisations implementing projects in the following sectors:

• Health
• Nutrition
• Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Promotion
• Education in Emergencies
• Protection
• Resilience

1.2 Contextual Background

Somalia has been one of the countries affected by conflict and drought with widespread humanitarian needs. These calamities have left many without income sources and struggling to meet their basic needs; as a result, they are forced to resort to negative coping mechanisms, e.g., withdrawing children from school, reducing non-food expenses on health (including drugs) and education, borrowing money from a formal lender/bank, and spending savings, amongst others. In some cases, drought and conflict have led to loss of life due to poor health, nutrition, conflict and insecurity. Trócaire has been implementing projects to respond to humanitarian needs in Somalia in the aforementioned thematic areas, which have saved, empowered, and transformed many people’s lives. However, conflict and drought continue to cause massive internal displacement of people who migrate to areas where they can access humanitarian assistance. Trócaire is implementing a programme, which has a component of early warning systems and sustainable livelihoods.

Cognisant that the failure to have effective and efficient early warning systems in place can have a direct impact on the loss of livelihoods, Trócaire is commissioning a study on early warning systems (EWS) and livelihood adaptation options in the Somalia context. The EWS study will cover three areas of Gedo in Somalia: Dollow, Balad Hawa and Luuq districts. The study will assess: whether hazards and vulnerabilities are well known by the communities; whether there are mechanisms/systems to detect, monitor, and forecast risks and their trends over time; whether local knowledge is used in existing systems, if any; the accuracy of forecasting; whether risk maps and data are availed to communities; disaster risk information is shared with all those at risk and packaged in an understandable format; whether the warning information is clear and usable; and the preparedness and readiness of people to react to warnings. The study’s findings will inform how an EWS should look like in the target districts and communities therein, which will be pivotal in confirming the design or redesign of EWS interventions altogether. The livelihood adaptation options will explore current practises across Gedo and Somalia, bearing in mind the impact of climate change on the livelihoods of pastoralists, small-scale businesses, and agriculturalist farming communities in the districts mentioned above. The study will detail mitigation and adaption strategies suitable for different groups (particularly women and the most vulnerable) in the Somalia context and will also involve analysing service providers. For example, weather stations, academic institutions, other I/NGOs, government, private sector (e.g., livestock insurance services), etc., across Somalia while adopting a gender lens.

1.3 Specific Objectives

The specific objectives of this study are:

• Document the status of early warning systems in the three districts.
  • To identify risks experienced by communities in various locations of the three districts,
  • To examine the effectiveness of the existing early warning systems within communities in providing timely and accurate information about potential hazards
  • To collect data on barriers to accessing EW information by the various groups in the community
  • To find out the existing EWS indigenous knowledge
  • To assess the community’s awareness of EWS, its preparedness, and response to hazards
  • To assess the community’s capacity to monitor disaster stages, dissemination of disaster information.
  • To comprehensively detail how communities access information on EWS, presence of EWS institutions in the communities, their capacities, and challenges/gaps and develop actionable recommendations.
  • Map traditional EWS practises and responses to hazards
• Explore the livelihood adaption options.
  • To unearth the linkages between climate change and livelihood activities, exploring existing intersectionality including women and climate change
  • To identify the mitigation and livelihood activities’ adaptation options,
  • Provide practical and feasible linkages of the identified livelihood adaptation options to advice programmatic options and advocacy strategies.
  • Deduce learnings from other organisations on the EWS and livelihoods programming.
  • Map out and identify the barriers and enablers influencing the adoption of livelihood adaptation options for different groups.

1.4 Scope of the Research

The consultancy work will focus on generating relevant and useful data/information about EWS and livelihood adaptation options where Trócaire and partners are implementing the a five-year programme funded by Irish Aid. The target stakeholders for this exercise will include but not be limited to community members, local/district/regional/national leadership, relevant ministries, EWS institutions (e.g., FEWS NET, FSNAU), the business community, and relevant I/NGOs.

2. METHODOLOGY

This research piece will employ a mixed methods approach combining qualitative and quantitative techniques.

(a) Desk research: comprehensive review of relevant documents on early warning systems and livelihood adaptation in Somalia and other similar contexts.

(b) Data collection: gather primary data through key Informant Interviews, Focus Group Discussions and direct observation with relevant stakeholders and different community groups

(c) Comparative analysis: compare and contrast findings from the Gedo region with existing studies or best practices in other regions

(d) Stakeholder findings validation workshop – this will bring various stakeholders together to share their views about the study fundings. Their feedback will be used to optimise the report.

3. OUTPUTS AND DELIVERABLES

• Inception report containing a detailed methodology with accompanying work plan and data collection and analysis tools.
• Conduct training for the data collection team.
• Conduct the data collection.
• Comprehensive report responding to all the research objectives and providing actionable recommendations. The report should be 20 pages max.
• Presentation of the research findings and recommendations in a validation workshop.
• Raw and cleaned datasets and transcripts.

Ethical consideration: data protection including informed consent from participants/ beneficiaries and maintaining confidentiality.

3.1 Trócaire Responsibilities

• Provision of Trócaire-specific organisational and programme documents – for instance, evaluation report and proposal, if need be. Note: this is not exhaustive; it will need to be supplemented with information from credible external sources.

3.2 Consultant Responsibilities

• Prepare and submit the inception report, data collection tools, and research report.
• Train the data collection team.
• Collect data from both primary and secondary sources.
• Incorporate the comments and suggestions from Trócaire into the tools and reports.
• Advise on the robustness and feasibility of the methodology and make proposals where necessary.

4. DURATION AND WORKING SCHEDULE

The study is anticipated to take at most 21 days.

5. BUDGET AND PAYMENT

The Consultant shall specify their proposed assignment fee, including professional fees, reimbursable, and statutory taxes. The proposed budget should also include accommodation, transportation and training costs associated with delivery of the assignment.

5.1 Invoicing and Payment Procedures

An initial payment of 40% of the total costs will be settled as soon as Trócaire approves the inception report and tools. The final 60% will only be paid once Trócaire approves the final report. It is worth noting that each payment tranche will require a submission of an invoice.

6. CONSULTANT QUALIFICATIONS

This consultancy is open to individual National/ International or a team of National and International expert consultants with specialist knowledge and research expertise in Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR)/Early Warning Systems and Livelihoods in Fragile and Conflict Affected States. The Consultant is expected to have the following experience and qualifications:

• A master’s degree in rural development, Disaster Risk Management, Development Studies, Agriculture, business, economics, social sciences, or a related field.
• Significant experience of not less than 8 years conducting DRR/EWS and Livelihood programming/studies.
• Sound knowledge of humanitarian and development theory and/or experience in project management for an NGO(s) or UN agency.
• Previous experiences in practicing participatory methods for planning and conducting research.
• Considerable professional experience working in Somalia at the community, village, and district levels, with a clear understanding of traditional forms of social organisation and systems of local governance, as well as official systems of local administration.
• High level of competence in the English language, particularly in writing, and fluent in both local Somali languages in the region where this research will take place.
• Strong communication skills, with the ability to communicate detailed concepts clearly and concisely in writing and verbally.