TERMS OF REFERENCE FOR A CONSULTANT IN
ENVIRONMENTAL RISK MANAGEMENT
Introduction
The Government of Mongolia has been implementing policies and programs aimed at promoting sustainable social and economic development in the rural areas, reducing rural-urban migration, and creating a healthy and safe living environment for the local communities. The most significant reforms are set through creation of the Local Development Fund (LDF) as per the Integrated Budget Law in 2013 in order to expand local economic empowerment and to support small scale infrastructure investments in support of soum-level development.
Any project financed by the LDF that contributes to the local development should meet the requirements of sustainable development and ensure that it does not have a negative impact on the environment. Therefore, in the planning stage of the sub-project, it is required to identify potential impacts of the sub-project to the environment and human health and to plan mitigation measures for eventual negative impacts. The Law on Environmental Impact Assessment should be applicable to any sub-project that will use natural resources and any such sub-project should have an environmental impact assessment performed.
A previous consultancy under the Third Sustainable Livelihoods Project (SLP3) developed guideline/methodology for conducting environmental screening and assessment on LDF supported sub-projects in accordance with applicable laws and regulations. Subsequently, a two day training workshop was held for aimag Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) officers, Local Project Officers (LPOs) and Aimag Level Support Team (ALST) members from the 21 aimags in December 2020 and February and June 2021. The overall objective of the environmental screening and assessment is to identify those sub-projects that have an environmental risk and would trigger the requirements of the Law on Environmental Impact Assessment.
Objective of the Assignment:
The objective of the assignment is to review and assist the efforts of the SLP3 Project Implementation Unit in strengthening the LDF sub-project environmental screening and assessment system and capacity toward improving the project’s environmental safeguard performance.
Detailed Tasks:
The consultant will be responsible for undertaking the following tasks:
• Review and become familiar with the environmental and social management framework (ESMF) of the SLP3, including all relevant national laws, World Bank policies, and screening procedures and tools to be applied under SLP3.
• Assist the PIU to take stock and review the environmental and social risk profile of the types of sub-projects implemented in 2021 and planned for 2022. In doing so, the consultant is expected to review the sub-project data and information made available from the recently developed and rolled out LDF Management Information System (MIS) and, in cases it is required, coordinate with the PIU on liaising with the LPOs and ALSTs to obtain further information.
• Review the types of subprojects that are recommended for consideration in relation to the new Livestock Head Tax (LHT) law that would increase LDF resources at soum level and support livestock, livelihoods, and environmental management activities
• Review and suggest updates as needed the existing environmental screening and assessment methodology and guidelines upon discussing with the EIA division of the Ministry of Environment and Tourism and the World Bank’s safeguard team; and
• Assist the PIU to finalize and support operationalization of the rollout training plan for the LDF sub-project environmental screening and assessment.
• Monitoring and evaluation of the LDF sub-project environmental screening and assessment processes at the soum and aimag level and provide professional or practical recommendations how to improve it.
Expected Deliverables:
The consultant will be expected to provide the following outputs at the end of the assignment:
1. Final rollout training plan for Environmental Screening and Assessment of LDF sub-projects at the local level that is operationalized on the ground.
2. Updated ESMF including subproject screening tools, environmental management planning forms, and other relevant guidelines and procedures governing environmental risk management under the project.
3. The Consultant will provide inception and final Reports (by end-October, and mid-December 2022) including Technical Notes and Recommendation to PIU and the World Bank, which will detail issues arising and recommendations made on the agreed assignments. The consultant will also provide professional support as and when agreed with the SLP3 PIU, and will also contribute to mission aide-memoires, as requested and appropriate.
Consultant Qualification & Requirements
• A master's degree or equivalent in biodiversity, environmental management and/or environmental law;
• At the minimum, 5 years of relevant professional experience in the environment management field with special focus on the national and provincial level;
• Work experience in area of project management including planning, implementation and monitoring;
• Detailed understanding of environmental assessment requirements under the LDF Regulation and Law on Environmental Impact Assessment;
• Experience in providing training and advisory services on environmental screening and risk management;
• Familiarity and/or experience with World Bank safeguard policies and procedures; and
• Effective report writing skills in English and Mongolian.
Duration and Supervision of the Assignment
The assignment is expected to commence in February 2023 until the period ending December 31, 2023.
The consultant will report to the SLP3 and, on technical aspects, maintain a regular dialogue with the World Bank Environmental and Social Specialists.
The consultant will be selected in accordance with the World Bank Guidelines “Selection and Employment of Consultants by World Bank Borrowers”, July 2016.
If you possess the indicated qualifications, please submit a cover letter, indicating why you consider yourself suitable for the position, with a detailed CV highlighting skills/experience, copy of diplomas or certificates and two reference letters from last employers no later than 12:00 PM, 6 February, 2023. Only successful candidates will be contacted. Application documents shall be submitted in person to the below address. Submitted documents will not be returned to the applicants. Incomplete applications would not be considered. If you need any further details, please feel free to contact us.
Contact address: Procurement Specialist, Third Sustainable Livelihoods Project 8th floor, Tod Tower Building, Ankara Street-23, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, Tel: +(976)-70009828 (office).
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