Consultancy : Pre-feasibility study to set up a Groundwater Access Facility

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Job organizational context : UNICEF’s West and Central Africa Regional Office (WCARO) based in Dakar, Senegal, is looking for a Pre- feasibility study and development of a road map to setup a groundwater access facility (GAFA) in the Sahel Region. Focusing on investment, data management, governance, and capacity strengthening and identification of up to 50 project pipelines.

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Purpose for the job

Purpose of Activity / Assignment :

Pre-Feasibility Study and development of a Road Map to setup a Groundwater Access Facility (GAFA) in the Sahel Region focusing on investment, data management, governance, and capacity strengthening and identification of up to 50 project pipelines.

Background and Justification

Water scarcity remains one of the most pressing challenges in the Sahel region, affecting millions of people and limiting opportunities for economic growth, food security, health ecosystems and building climate resilience. Groundwater plays a crucial role in meeting the region’s water demands, yet its management remains fragmented, with inadequate infrastructure, limited investment, and insufficient data on availability and quality. Currently, only a limited proportion of Sub-Saharan Africa’s renewable groundwater resources are utilized. Research by the British Geological Survey (BGS) highlights that groundwater is Africa’s key to building climate adaptation capacity, provided that monitoring and governance structures are effectively established, and more certain knowledge of major aquifers is established. Approximately 70% of Africa relies on groundwater for domestic, agricultural, and industrial needs. With an estimated recharge capacity of 5,000 km³ per decade — equivalent to over 50% of Africa’s annual rainfall — the groundwater potential in West Africa is significant . While groundwater storage is important in countries like Guinea Bissau, Niger, Chad, Mauritania, Gambia, and Senegal, Groundwater development should be carefully planned to avoid negative impacts on groundwater-dependent ecosystems and the vulnerable populations that rely on them

Despite this potential, groundwater management in the region faces several challenges, including inadequate data availability and management, weak governance structures, limited investment, and insufficient institutional and technical capacity. Addressing these challenges is essential for achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation) and SDG 13 (Climate Action). The United Nations Integrated Strategy for the Sahel (UNISS) identifies water as an accelerator for development, recommending investment in water infrastructure and governance as a key priority. Groundwater resources in the Sahel remain underutilized due to a lack of investment, weak governance, and limited knowledge. Studies indicate that groundwater recharge in the region is sufficient to support long-term sustainable use if properly managed, while verifying recharge rates at the local level is essential to assess intervention impacts and guide future improvements. However, the rate of groundwater recharge at the micro level should be verified to evaluate the impact of existing interventions and provide guidance for further improvement and sustainability.

The GAFA (Groundwater Access Facility) Sahel initiative is a joint multi-Agency initiative from FAO, UNDP, UNESCO, UNICEF, WFP and CILSS. It is a response to the above findings, aiming to enhance groundwater utilization and develop coordinated solutions to groundwater management, while promoting sustainable transboundary groundwater management, scalable investments, and institutional capacity-building.

The GAFA Sahel initiative is structured around four core pillars :

Groundwater Assessment and Data Management : Strengthening data collection and monitoring systems to ensure sustainable groundwater use. This is essential to avoid both overextraction as well as the opposite, i.e. losing opportunities to use underground water resources sustainably as well as overlooking the potential to harness surface water runoff resulting from accelerated land degradation. The latter is recognized as critical contribution to recharge superficial and intermediate level aquifers – often key for domestic, agricultural and economic purposes across the Sahel and the continent. For this pillar the involvement of the academic community in knowledge acquisition is key.

Investment and Pipeline Development : Identifying and prioritizing key investments for groundwater infrastructure and related complementary interventions to ensure context-specific adequate recharge rates and sustainable management of local natural resources.

Governance and Transboundary Cooperation : Enhancing regional cooperation and legal frameworks for shared groundwater resources.

Institutional Strengthening and Capacity Building : Developing human and institutional capacity to improve groundwater management

This initiative aims to increase access to groundwater, enhance climate and environmental resilience, and foster cooperation among Sahelian countries to manage transboundary aquifers effectively. The GAFA initiative builds upon lessons learned from the Horn of Africa GAFA and complements the World Bank’s DREVE (Development, Resilience, and Valorization of Transboundary Water for West Africa) program.

Scope of Work and Objectives

The service provider will be engaged by UNICEF and report to the Technical Working Group of GAFA Sahel which currently comprises of 5 UN agencies currently involved in this initiative, CILSS and other Institutions currently being identified by the Group. The assignment will be supervised by the Technical Working Group. In case the consultant needs to liaise directly with governmental entities, UNICEF will provide support in contacting these institutions.

The pre-feasibility study will 1) assess the relevance of the GAFA initiative in the Sahel region considering existing initiatives and identifying of potential targeted aquifers, 2) assess it’s institutional, legal, technical, economic and financial, climate, environmental, and social viability and 3) propose a governance model for its operationalization.

This study will lay the foundation for the GAFA Sahel initiative, ensuring it is data-driven, investment-ready, and aligned with regional and international groundwater management frameworks. The findings will directly contribute to the successful integration of GAFA Sahel into the broader DREVE framework and enhance groundwater resilience in the Sahel.

The findings will guide future investments and governance strategies to enhance groundwater access and resilience in the region.

Expected Outputs

The consultancy will appraise the relevance for the setup and implementation of the GAFA initiative in the Sahel region. It will focus on the three objectives below :

Identification of potential aquifers for GAFA implementation : preliminary overview and comprehensive assessment of (transboundary) aquifers in the Sahel. Inventory and mapping of aquifers and hydrogeological characteristics, groundwater utilization and demand analysis (irrigation, drinking water, industry, ecosystem support) based on water demand trends, stakeholders’ analysis (including the private sector), ongoing initiatives, governance mechanisms, map existing groundwater infrastructures and investment projects. This phase will also set the main criteria needed to harness groundwater resources in an environmentally sustainable manner and what constitute a set of critical complementary interventions required to ensure the sound and effective utilization of groundwater resources and their replenishment. The consultant will provide clear recommendations on where to start the GAFA initiative, based on situation analysis, complementarity with other initiatives, stakeholders’ analysis, potential for success, risks, potential interest of donors…

Feasibility Study and recommendations (SWOT Analysis). For the two most relevant aquifer zones identified in #1, conduct a pre-feasibility study for the implementation of the GAFA initiative, including a comprehensive SWOT analysis to evaluate the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats related to the establishment of the facility, a more in-depth stakeholder analysis and consultation. The review and consultations will also focus and build upon existing good practices in ground water resources management for domestic, agricultural and economic purposes, including aspects of water and land governance, regulatory aspects, local agreements and environmental and social safeguards. Develop a Theory of Change to demonstrate the relevance and impact of the GAFA Initiative.

Pre-identification of a robust governance framework for the operationalization of the GAFA initiative. Pre-identify the institutional anchoring of the GAFA and governance structure to ensure its sustainable management; formulate strategic and programmatic recommendations, including criteria for sustainable and climate and environmental resilience management of groundwater resources. Documented evidence, engagement and consultation with research organizations and academia in the Sahel is key to inform the pre-identification of ground water resources utilization framework for action and related strategies. The potential academic partners to support the implementation of GAFA will be identified.

The study will provide recommendations for the GAFA initiative enabling the Technical Working Group (CILSS, UNICEF, UNESCO, UNDP, FAO, WFP and potential additional members) to decide on the pertinency of the initiative and to engage in Phase 2.

Methodology of Consultancy Services

The study will adopt a mixed-methods approach, including desk review to carry out an analysis of existing literature, reports, and policy documents; stakeholder consultations : engagement with government agencies, regional organizations, development partners and potential donors, NGOs, drilling companies, research and academic institutions, rural communities, farmers organizations, Civil society; Financial and Economic Modeling to estimate costs, benefits, and potential funding mechanisms of the Facility.

• Inception. During the inception phase the service provider shall screen available data and information as well as communication lines to confirm whether the originally envisaged implementation approach can be applied. In the event of specific and / or critical findings the consultant is requested to report on these findings and to propose adjustments to their working program. The consultant will provide an Inception Report outlining objectives, expected outputs, methodology, work plan, and key study areas.
• Implementation. The consultant will review literature and consult key stakeholders in close coordination with the members of the Technical Working Group and under the coordination of UNICEF. A Draft Prefeasibility Study Report will be developed and include key preliminary findings and recommendations for the components listed #1 to #3. It will be complemented by the preparation of a Powerpoint Presentation to be presented at (i) an inter-Agency Regional Director level meeting and the development on the preliminary findings to seek for their recommendations followed by (ii) a presentation to the key regional stakeholders, including potential donors.
• Finalization. The Final Prefeasibility Study Report and Final Powerpoint Presentation will be developed. They will have incorporated the stakeholder feedback and will provide the final recommendations summarizing study findings and proposed next steps for Phase 2 if relevant.
• The Service Provider will develop a detailed workplan supported by a provisional budget and a narrative that’s will be submitted to the Technical Working Group for its consideration to engage phase 2 if relevant (see annex to the ToR outlining phase 2).

Work Assignments Overview Deliverables / Outputs Delivery deadline

Inception Report with annexes including : (i) quality statement setting out the objectives of the consultancy, (ii) detailed methodology, (iii) list of relevant literature to be reviewed, (iv) questionnaires and consultation tools, list of data sources (including stakeholders consultation) and information requirements agreed with CILSS, UNICEF and UN agency partners. Inception Report 3 weeks after the commencement of services.

Draft Pre-feasibility Study Report with annexes that will include all details of the prefeasibility components, including details on the GAFA Sahel structure and management framework, details of the four pillars implementation, the road map and workplan and the preliminary list of project pipelines with sites documentation, selection process, prioritized project pipeline, risk assessments, and cost estimates. Draft Pre-feasibility Study Report 12 weeks after the commencement of services

Workshop Consultations with powerpoint presentations with (i) the inter-Agency Regional Directors and the (ii) a presentation to the key regional stakeholders, including potential donors. Workshop Report 14 weeks after the commencement of the services

Development of a detailed workplan supported by a provisional budget and a narrative Detailed workplan and narrative 16 weeks after the commencement of the services

Final Report with annexes Final Report 20 weeks after the commencement of services

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…

Minimum requirements

Education : Advanced university degree or equivalent experience in Civil / Water / Environmental Engineering.

Work experience

Skills

Ability to conduct consultations with regional institutions, governments, and facilitation of meetings.

Language requirements

Fluency in English and French are required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language is an asset.

For every Child, you demonstrate…

UNICEF’s values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability, and Sustainability (CRITAS).

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