Context
According to the Global Climate Risk Index for 2021, Zimbabwe was amongst the world’s 10 most affected countries by climate change in 2019. The last three decades have seen increased variability in the seasonal distribution of rainfall, an increase in day-time and night-time average temperatures, increased incidences of intense rainfall interspaced by long dry spells, and late onset and early secession of rains. Zimbabwe has also seen an increase in extreme weather events such as droughts, floods, flash floods and tropical cyclones. The impacts of climate change in Zimbabwe are being felt throughout all sectors of the economy, including the infrastructure sector.
Zimbabwe – like much of Africa – is constrained by an inability to fully implement sustainable building practices, adopt environmentally friendly technologies and put appropriate measures in place to respond to climate change requirements. This is largely attributed to a lack of institutional and financial resources. The concern of environment and sustainable development within the built environment has increased recently in Zimbabwe. Therefore, the country established different institutions that concern sustainable issues that include environmental, social, and economical besides non-governmental organizations.
There is now, to a greater extent, a desire to develop policies, tools and regulations as an approach ensuring sustainable development within the built environment through waste reduction and efficient provision of infrastructure. There is an urgent need to look at domestic systems and modify them through establishing new building systems and practices based on green thinking and applications. As a result, Zimbabwe needs to develop sustainable practices, there is a need to improve the environmental and economic performance of new and existing commercial, institutional, and residential buildings. In order to make green building practices easier to implement, the ultimate goal is to develop technical services and resources for determining the greenness of buildings based on an appropriate green building compliance system.
CTCN Support
To support the achievement of targets set by the Government of Zimbabwe under various Conventions through the development of the Green Building Standards.
Expected Impact
The Green Building Standards for Zimbabwe will ensure an environmentally responsible construction sector and buildings. The Green Building Standards will also promote positive economic, environmental, health and social benefits through incorporating energy efficiency systems, efficient water systems and integrated waste management within the design and construction sector.
The development of The Green Building Standards for Zimbabwe, which will be aligned to updated Building By-laws and implemented nationally, will result in the energy efficient improvements. This would help to reduce energy consumption. The energy saving interventions will directly contribute towards the attainment of Zimbabwe’s 40% per capita greenhouse gas emissions reduction target in its revised Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC). At the same time, thermal comfort levels can be increased to comply with normal requirements and generate substantial social and economic benefits with the reduction of healthcare costs, reduction of operation and maintenance costs, improvement of productivity of public services and generally better-quality public services for public including the most vulnerable.
Seeking Experts
The UN Climate Technology Centre and Network (CTCN) is inviting its Network members to assist Zimbabwe. Interested Network members are invited to submit a form, ‘Expression of Interest(EoI)’. For those who are interested, please visit the UNGM Portal (https://www.ungm.org/Public/Notice/174094) and click the blue button ‘Express Interest’ on your top right. All applicants should also be registered (free of charge) at United Nations Global Marketplace (www.ungm.org).
In case you are not a CTCN network member yet, you may still apply (further details are found in the document).
Please note that this request for expression of interest (EOI) is not an invitation for submission of tenders. Its purpose is to identify companies that would be interested and eligible to participate in the solicitation when issued. Vendors that are deemed qualified upon completion of an objective evaluation of their EOI submission will receive the final tender solicitation documents.