RFI - Climate Resilience and Governance.pdf

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION

Activity: Climate Resilient Water Governance Activity

Reference Number: 72039123RFI00001

Release Date: August 16, 2023

Response Due Date: August 31, 2023

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Mission in Pakistan is in the process of designing the new Climate Resilient Water Governance activity. By issuing this Request for Information (RFI), USAID/Pakistan aims to consult with the broad community of private sector actors, public institutions, development partners, non-governmental organizations, industry associations, civil society, think tanks, and academia to expand our knowledge about key areas of programming. Your response will be used to develop a design document for the activity.

This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes. It does not constitute a Notice of Funding Opportunity, a Request for Applications, an Annual Program Statement, a Request for Proposal, a Request for Quotation, an Invitation for Bids, a Solicitation, or an indication that USAID/Pakistan will make an award from this RFI. Therefore, responses to this RFI shall not be portrayed as applications and will not be accepted by the U.S. Government (USG) to form a binding agreement. Responding to this RFI will not give any advantage to any firm or organization in any subsequent procurement and will not lead to an organizational conflict of interest. Responses will strictly be held confidential. Issuance of this RFI does not constitute an award commitment on the part of the Government nor does it commit the Government to pay for any costs incurred in preparation or submission in response to this RFI.

How To Submit A Response

Interested parties must submit responses to questions listed in the Attachment A electronically to Mr. Sufyan Javed at Sjaved@usaid.gov. Responses to this RFI will be accepted through August 16 - 31, 2023 by 16:30 (Pakistan Standard Time). Please note that organizations will not receive individualized feedback or suggestions on the submission.

Respondents are responsible for adequately marking proprietary or restricted information contained in their response. No basis for claims against the USG shall arise as a result of a response to this request for information or from the USG 's use of such information. USAID will not respond to any telephone inquiries regarding this notice.

Best regards, Sandro Carrillo Agreement/Contracting Officer Office of Acquisition and Assistance

U.S. Agency for International Development Tel: +92 51 201 4000 Embassy of the United States of America Fax: +92 51 233 8061 & 62 Diplomatic Enclave, Ramna 5, Islamabad https://www.usaid.gov/pakistan mailto:Sjaved@usaid.gov

Request for Information (RFI)

Climate Resilient Water Management activity

Attachment A

Climate Resilient Water Governance

Background & Context:

The 2022 floods showed Pakistan's high vulnerability to climate change despite contributing less than one percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. One-third of the country was submerged under water, and 33 million people were affected. Nearly 8 million people are reportedly displaced. The floods took the lives of more than 1,700 people, one-third of them children. The total damage is estimated at US$14.9 billion, total loss at US$15.2 billion, and total needs at US$16.3 billion. Housing, Agriculture and Livestock, and Transport and Communications sectors suffered the most significant damage, at US$5.6 billion, US$3.7 billion, and US$3.3 billion, respectively. Sindh is the worst affected province with close to 70 percent of total damages and losses, followed by Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Punjab.1

The activity aims primarily to promote more resilient water governance and management systems in Pakistan to combat extreme weather events (floods and drought), exacerbated by climate change. Specifically, the activity plans to focus on improving community-led (bottom-up), cost-effective and sustainable water systems in areas faced with flash floods/hill torrents across the country. The activity envisages active participation of local communities, employing their cultural capital (trust and ownership) and private sector for improvement/development of financially sustainable and/or market-oriented (value-addition, competition, service delivery performance standards and supply-demand) water management systems at local scale.

In terms of hill torrents, the activity will initially identify one basin to develop an integrated water governance and management model (policy advocacy and reforms, capacity building, watershed, green infrastructure, water allocation mechanism, service delivery, drainage) to harness and utilize flood water for wealth creation through economic opportunities (agriculture, energy, industry, recreation), social benefits (safe drinking water/decreased morbidity), and ecosystem services (wetlands, groundwater recharge, revegetation, afforestation, pollution control) on the one hand, and reduction in the damages from flooding on the other. Similarly, for urban flooding, the activity expects to work with public and private sector and communities to manage flood water for better economic, social and environmental outcomes. In case of canal irrigation, small dams and tubewells, the activity aims to build a commercial model to increase water productivity as well as sustainability of service delivery.

The upcoming Climate Resilient Water Governance activity will enable the development of a program factoring in climate change, resilience building, adaptation, and relevant governance

1 Country Climate and Development Report by World Bank Group (2022) https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/bitstream/handle/10986/38277/P17671804998b80030ac4f0233dc0b995ba.pdf ?sequence=11&isAllowed=y https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/bitstream/handle/10986/38277/P17671804998b80030ac4f0233dc0b995ba.pdf?sequence=11&isAllowed=y https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/bitstream/handle/10986/38277/P17671804998b80030ac4f0233dc0b995ba.pdf?sequence=11&isAllowed=y

Request for Information (RFI)

Climate Resilient Water Management activity reforms for improved institutional capacity, accountable and inclusive processes, and efficient participatory planning.

Please provide your responses to the questions below. Note that the submitted information should not exceed 5 pages.

A. General Information: Please provide a short narrative about your organization including name, e-mail, address, website, etc.

B. Technical Information

1. What are the key governance challenges and opportunities to improve equitable and efficient water service delivery?

2. Please describe briefly your work on climate resilient water governance and management in Pakistan, or in other contexts, with special reference to hill torrents and/or urban flooding.

3. What is the experience of your organization in conducting feasibility studies/assessments for commercially viable or financially sustainable water management systems or models (hill torrents, canal irrigation, small dams, tubewells, etc.)? What were the major findings/recommendations? Please share the link of any report if available.

4. How to incentivize (to trigger behavior change) the government (federal, provincial, and/or local) to develop climate-resilient water management policies and plans, and implement them in hill torrents, urban flooding and canal irrigation?

5. Has your organization developed/tested community engagement and other stakeholders involvement to address climate resilient water related issues?

6. Has your organization ever conducted a Gender, Equity and Social Inclusion Analysis with respect to climate resilient water management in Pakistan or similar contexts? What are the lessons learned?