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FEASIBILITY STUDY FOR WATER HARVESTING IN MABAN COUNTY, UPPER NILE STATE

TERMS OF REFERENCE FOR A FEASIBILITY STUDY FOR WATER HARVESTING IN MABAN COUNTY, UPPER NILE STATE


1. Introduction

CAFOD (Catholic Agency for Overseas Development) is the official Catholic aid agency for England and Wales. CAFOD and Catholic Development Office of Kosti Pastoral Region have been working in Maban since 2006 supporting the returnees with NFIs and then WASH projects. Maban County is considered a high return area in south Sudan since the end of South-North conflict in 2005, and now with the referendum. At the moment the two partners are implementing a three years Recovery, Reintegration and Sustainable Livelihoods Programme.

The people of Maban are agro pastoralists, and Maban County itself is home to nomads who move from time to time from one location to the other grazing but also searching for sources of water for their animals. In the normal setting this is a complex situation which is likely to result in conflict.
When violent conflict breaks out, development is derailed and the human, societal and financial costs are high. In response to this challenge, there is need to initiate a process to develop guidance on evaluating conflict prevention and peace building activities. Therefore, before proceeding with the project it is important to consider how best to ensure that the risk of likely conflict is reduced by securing the pre-conditions for sustainable development.

A sufficient, clean drinking water supply is essential to life. Thousands of people in Maban County still do not have access to this basic necessity. After at least four years of work by CAFOD, CDO, Local governments and other organisations to bring potable water to the people of Maban, the situation is still dire.

The reasons are many and varied but generally speaking, the geological landscape of Maban is complex. The WATSAN project implemented in the area in 2006 drilled 10 bore holes, 2 motorised water yards in Kidwa and Banjella, and trained community based hand pump mechanics, formed water committees and trained both in hygiene promotion. The boreholes are functioning well as does the water yard in Kidwa. However the water yard in Banjella was declared unfit for human consumption due to high salinity content.

Due to this complex situation, rainwater harvesting (RWH) is one option that the two agencies have thought could be adopted in some areas of Maban, specifically Banjella, Kidwa and Abukoat and Guffa where water supply systems have failed to meet people’s needs. The water could also be useful for agriculture activities such as vegetable growing but also for animals as well.

For this reason CAFOD and its partner CDO are looking for a qualified consultant to conduct a feasibility study to establish the most ideal and relevant water harvesting strategies to meet the needs of poor water stressed communities in Maban, specifically Banjella, Kidwa, Abukoat and Guffa.


2. Objectives of the study
The consultant will be required to establish the most suitable rain water structures depending on the specific agricultural , domestic and livestock needs of the communities; these may range from;
a) Rock catchment systems
b) Earth pans / earth dams
c) Birkads/ community ponds or tanks(
d) Roof catchment systems
It is expected that a combination of site specific conditions and community needs will have influence on the type of structure to be recommended for each location and thus the consultant will be expected to also conduct community assessment and dialogue meetings with the proposed beneficiary communities to establish the socio-cultural context including its acceptability to the community.
The final report by the consultant will make recommendations on the feasibility of the proposed project based on the following parameters;
a) What is the viability of the project considering rainfall data and engineering site conditions in the target locations?
b) What is the total water demand based on, agricultural and livestock needs of the communities in each of the locations above and what kinds of water harvesting structures are recommended to meet the water demand?
c) What sustainable systems and structures are needed to be in place to ensure the sustainability of the proposed project from a technical, social, and environmental point of view?
d) What conflict sensitive approaches will be needed to ensure that this project does not create more conflict and to ensure that this project does not become a source of conflict between the different livelihood groups in Maban. That is:
• The consultant will examine preventative measures which target the underlying causes for potential conflict and how to put in place cross-organizational strategies to prevent this. Who are those groups who can be identified as being at risk?
• engagement with local authorities to identify current strategies and/or services which have a preventative function;
• Assessment of these strategies and/or services to identify if they conflict with the aim of the project.
• development of measures to tackle underlying causal issues, leading to the prevention of conflict


3. Competencies
• University degree (Masters preferable) in a relevant field (social sciences, engineering, environmental sciences.
• At least 3 years of demonstrable experience on working in conflict and development issues.
• Understanding of project cycles and programming is essential
• Extensive demonstrable experience on policy development in areas relevant to conflict and development.
• Demonstrable experience of writing policy and operational documents
• Understanding and knowledge of Catholic Social Teachings highly desirable

The consultants are expected to produce the following by the suggested completion date.

Product/Activity and Suggested Completion Date

1 - Draft literature review and sample draft case studies – End of Feb. 20101
2- Draft report by March 15th 2011
3- Final report by March 30th 2011

4. Deadline for submission of applications or expression of interest

Proposals must be submitted by February 20th, 2011.


Interested candidates are encouraged to submit applications/proposals to:



Programme Officer
CAFOD (Member of Caritas Internationalis)
Juba, South Sudan
P.o.Box 7
Telephone: (249) 900 920 314
Email: ekmorbe@cafod.org.uk