Ecuador is grappling with a significant drought issue, which has profound implications for its economic, social, and agricultural sectors. Droughts are synonymous with disasters, economic downturns, population displacement, and heightened poverty levels, particularly impacting key sectors such as agriculture, hydroelectricity, and water management. To mitigate these challenges, it is crucial to develop robust tools for drought monitoring, early warning, and assessment.
Within the framework of the National Drought Plan, the "Monitor Nacional de Sequía (MONSE)" serves as a vital resource. However, its current functionality is limited to providing maps that depict the ongoing state and progression of drought conditions. To enhance its effectiveness, there is a pressing need to integrate a module capable of assessing the probability of future drought occurrences. This enhancement would empower decision-makers at the national, sub-national, and local levels to anticipate and respond promptly to potential drought episodes, thereby mitigating their impact on communities and vital sectors of the economy.
CTCN Support
The integration of a module that presents drought occurrence scenarios using parametric statistical methods as an input for the generation of drought risk scenarios is an important step in the development of drought risk scenarios. The purpose of this request for the provision of technical services is to identify a suitable implementation partner to implement the project in Ecuador. The project implementation will happen under the overall supervision of the CTCN. This technical assistance will contribute to:
- Definition and prioritization for the incorporation of at least one additional indicator to those dy implemented in the current MONSE;
- Generation and visualization of drought scenarios with time horizons of 3, 6, 9, and 12 months;
- Extend the current resolution of MONSE (28 km) to the maximum possible;
- The definition of an action/mitigation plan to increase the resilience of affected communities;
- Definition and prioritization of specific products (such as newsletters; among others) for sectors of interest such as agriculture, energy, and drinking water, others;
- Identification of volunteer observers in the framework of the Volunclima platform for the assessment and continuous improvement of MONSE;
Expected Impact
The Technical Assistance will be implemented along the following expected outcome:
- Development of implementation planning and communication documents;
- Diagnosis of the National Drought Monitor and development of a proposal for improvements;
- Establishment of criteria for the optimization of MONSE using INAMHI's internal guidelines and regulations and the integration of the drought scenario module including sector-based thresholds;
- Newsletters generation and establishment of the Drought Task Force;
- Institutional management model for dealing with drought-related events;
- MONSE business and financial sustainability model;
Seeking Experts
The UN Climate Technology Centre and Network (CTCN) is inviting its Network members to assist Ecuador. Interested qualified firms are invited to submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) to participate in the implementation of improvements to the National Drought Monitor of Ecuador (MONSE) for the integration of a drought risk scenario module in Ecuador.
Please refer to the processes and documentation available at the UN Global Market Place (UNGM) and here.
Deadline for submission: 14 February 2024
In case you are not a CTCN network member yet, you may still apply here.
