The Nile Basin Initiative (NBI) is a cooperative arrangement initiated and led by the Nile riparian countries to promote joint development, protection and management of the common Nile Basin water resources. One of the key result areas NBI Secretariat implemented Basin Wide Program focuses on trans-boundary groundwater aquifers. With the financial support of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and in collaboration with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the Nile-SEC will implement its first groundwater study project with the objective of enhancing knowledge and capacity for sustainable use and management of trans-boundary aquifers and aquifers of regional significance in the Nile Basin. This project has five components aiming at strengthening the overall water resources management nationally and basin-wide.

Along the Nile Basin countries, reliance on groundwater is rapidly increasing due to the increased demand over water supply. There is ample evidence that groundwater recharge in the Nile Basin is under threat. This is partly attributed to climate change, high rainfall variability, and land use/land cover changes leading to declining amount of surface/ground water interaction in different areas.

 The interaction between groundwater and surface water systems (rivers, wetlands, lakes) has not been adequately considered in most trans-boundary river basin management initiatives, including the Nile Basin. The threats on trans-boundary aquifers are more severe because of lack of common groundwater governance and management mechanisms. Therefore it is of vital importance to build and expand on the understanding of groundwater resources characteristics through detailed investigation, mapping and assessment of the Nile Basin aquifer systems. The Nile Basin Initiative has received funding from Global Environment Facility (GEF) through UNDP to implement a project entitled “Enhancing conjunctive management of surface and groundwater resources in selected transboundary aquifers: Case study for selected shared groundwater bodies in the Nile Basin”. The project aim is to foster the more effective utilization and protection of selected shared aquifers in the selected sub-basin in the Eastern Nile and the Nile Equatorial Lakes region through further improving the understanding of available groundwater resources and demonstrating ‘conjunctive management  that optimizes the joint use of surface and groundwater. The project will also contribute to aid the national achievements and reporting of water-related Sustainable Development Goals; and will be supportive to environmental protection whilst enhancing socio-economic development of the basin’s population.

NBI intends to employ the services of a Consultant Firm to participate in, and support, the design and development of an online Groundwater knowledge and database management system for Transboundary Aquifers in the Nile Basin hereinafter referred to as ‘the Assignment’.

The assignment described in the ToR was funded through NBI member country contributions, and Global Environment Facility through United Nations Development Program. This document presents the Terms of Reference for the Assignment. The Consultant shall be selected competitively based on Nile-SEC’s procurement procedures.

Kindly submit proposals and related documents, to tenders.kampala@undp.org no later than Thursday 23rd September 2021.

For additional information, please contact ug.procurement@undp.org