Pre-feasibility Studies: Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use Specialist (AFOLU) for the GCF Readiness Project: Resilient Recovery Rapid Readiness Support in Honduras

Result of Service

The purpose of this consultancy is to perform a pre-feasibility study based on a prioritized measure in the Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use (AFOLU) from the resilient recovery investment plan, developed under this GCF Readiness Project; and hence to aid the government of Honduras to operationalize the investment plan for the national strategy for reconstruction and recovery, taking into consideration the COVID-19 consequences and the impacts of the Eta and Iota hurricanes.
The consultant will join the Climate Change Unit of the UNEP Latin America and the Caribbean Office under the Technical Team (TT) of the GCF Readiness project and will undertake the following activities:

Activity 1: Develop one (1) inception plan
• Present the appropriate methodology to achieve deliverables 2, 3, 4, and 5 both in terms of its presentation and of the information that will be concluded therein. The methodology must be based on an assessment of the priority measures under the recovery strategy and its investment plan.
• Develop a detailed work plan with milestones, based on the kick-off meeting; it must include progress checks with the PCU and UNEP.
Activity 2: Conduct one (1) pre-feasibility study
• Elaborate a preliminary overview and data collection related to economic information of Honduras, including the business ecosystems, characterization of the Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use (AFOLU) sector in Honduras and special economic/ fiscal regimes/conditions (e.g., tax incentives, migration, etc).
• Elaborate, in a preliminary basis the potential of local investments, including data related to value chains (status/potential), flagship cases, producers / MSMEs, intermediaries, traders, exporters, among other relevant information.
• Elaborate a preliminary identification of barriers and opportunities for the development of businesses, including the identification of growth barriers, market access, conditions that enable investments, certification processes, among others.
• Elaborate a preliminary identification of potential risk in the implementation of programs/investments, including an analysis of the potential impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the demand/promotion of these investments in Honduras.
• Conduct a Cost Benefit Analysis (CBA), which includes the quantification of benefits in terms of social, economic, and environmental indicators against the cost of investment; and the quantification of positive and negative externalities, or co-benefits that will aid Honduras to achieve a resilient recovery in the short and long term.
• Conduct a Project Finance Analysis (PFA), which includes a bankability assessment to study the appetite of the GCF financing or other financial institutions. The assessment should include (but it is not limited to): operational, technological, market demand, budgetary considerations, legal viability, identification of potential risks, technological changes, local financial market appetite, credit rating, potential cash flow, fluctuations of international and national prices, changes in national or state regulations, the cost overruns and time overruns, among others.
Activity 3: Develop one (1) pre-feasibility study summary report
• Write the pre-feasibility studies report, including a high-level policy brief, showcasing the findings and the recommendations for developing (or not) a GCF concept note investments to facilitate financing of Honduras’s resilient recovery strategy. If a GCF concept note is not the adequate source, provide recommendations for other investment sources (national/international, public/private). The report must include the potential Accredited Entities (AEs) and private actors that should be included in the GCF concept note.
• Design a power point presentation.
• Present the findings (report and PowerPoint) to technical specialists and high-level officials under the PSC.

OUTPUTS
Development of one inception plan
Product No 1: An inception report based on the kick-off meeting; it must include progress checks with the PCU and UNEP.

Development of one pre-feasibility study
Product No 2: A pre-feasibility study based on the prioritized measure from the resilient recovery investment plan
Product No. 3: A pre-feasibility studies summary report, including a high-level policy brief, showcasing the findings and the recommendations for developing (or not) a GCF concept note investments to facilitate financing of Honduras’s resilient recovery strategy.

Work Location

Home-based

Expected duration

5 months

Duties and Responsibilities

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is the leading global environmental authority that sets the global environmental agenda, promotes the coherent implementation of the environmental dimension of sustainable development within the United Nations system and serves as an authoritative advocate for the global environment.

The UNEP Latin America and the Caribbean Office (LACO), located in Panama City, works closely with the 33 countries of the region and its activities are integrated into the Medium-Term Strategy and the Programme of Work approved by the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA).

During the XXII Meeting of the Forum of Ministers of Environment of Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) (Barbados, February 2021), the Ministers stressed the need to integrate ambitious climate mitigation and adaptation measures at the heart of the region’s Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) economic recovery strategies, recognizing that an economic recovery aligned with the Paris Agreement would enable countries to build back better, with low-emissions and climate-resilient investments driving economic growth, job creation, and significant environmental and social co-benefits. Therefore, the Ministers requested UNEP, as Secretariat of the Forum, to support LAC countries in developing COVID-19 recovery response measures aligned with low-emission and climate-resilient economies that leave no one behind. To support this formal request, UNEP designed the “Programme to support the post-COVID-19 economic recovery in line with the Paris Agreement on climate change in Latin America and the Caribbean”.

For Honduras, 2020 was a very difficult year not only for the COVID-19 pandemic that left many people jobless but also because of the tropical storm ETA (5 November 2020) and hurricane Iota (18 November 2020). Due to the impact of the pandemic and the natural disasters, the country's landscape is extremely complicated, and it is experiencing an unprecedented setback in the economy, employment, and public finances. Therefore, the National Designated Authority (NDA) of the government of Honduras requested the Green Climate Fund (GCF) assistance to develop the Resilient Recovery Readiness project with the objective of supporting the national policy and strategy on reconstruction, including the translation of these efforts into concrete mid- to long-term investment strategies.
The GCF Readiness project will aid Honduras NDA to:
- Integrate the impacts of COVID-19 pandemic and Hurricanes Eta and Iota, along with climate change with economic recovery models to quantify their impact of action and inaction and identify concrete interventions to re-build the economy based on principles of climate resilience (national strategy on resilient recovery).
- Identify, validate, and prioritize actions in a participatory and transparent process that supports the development of a concrete investment strategy and plan.
- Select prioritized interventions, conduct pre-feasibility assessments, and integrate them into concept notes for GCF finance. This would then facilitate concrete investments that materialize green transformation of the economy.

A Technical Team (TT) will be established, under the lead of the Project Coordination Unit (PCU) and UNEP for the conceptual as well as technical development of deliverables of the project. The TT will be responsible for the overall technical implementation of the project. The TT will be formed by individual consultants under guidance of the PCU, UNEP and close supervision by the Honduras NDA and the Project Steering Committee (PSC). The TT envisions to have a specialist to develop three (3) Prefeasibility studies on prioritized investment projects identified in stakeholder consultation within the investment plan of the national strategy on resilient recovery.

A pre-feasibility study is a quantitative assessment which aims to showcase the institutional, political, economic, social, environmental, and financial viability of developing a specific investment project. In the case of this GCF Readiness Project, the three (3) pre-feasibility studies will cover the evaluation of operational, technological, market demand, and budgetary considerations to inform the convenience of developing a GCF concept note, to facilitate financing of Honduras’s resilient recovery strategy and its investment plan; and hence, materializing the resilient recovery in Honduras.

For these reasons, the Climate Change Unit of UNEP’s Latin America and the Caribbean Office is looking for the Pre-feasibility Studies Specialist for the Green Climate Fund (GCF) Readiness Project approved in Honduras. She/he will develop three (3) pre-feasibility reports to assess the viability of prioritized measures identified in stakeholder consultations within the investment plan of the Honduras’s resilient recovery strategy. The Specialist will: i) present the methodology to be used for the three (3) pre-feasibility studies; ii) conduct at least three (3) project level Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA) and a Project Finance Analysis (PFA) that include social, economic and environmental indicators and their economic valuation; and iii) develop three (3) pre-feasibility study reports with the aim of presenting key findings and recommendations for developing GCF concept note(s) for Honduras’s resilient recovery strategy.

The Specialist will work in close collaboration with the Secretariat of Natural Resources and Environment (MiAmbiente+) of Honduras and other national consultants and government and non-governmental counterparts to fully incorporate the country’s vision and development plan on resilient recovery.
The incumbent will be supervised by the UNEP Programme Management Officer for Climate Finance. The position is home-based with availability during office hours (9 – 18 time zone Tegucigalpa, Honduras).

Qualifications/special skills

ACADEMIC:
- Master's degree (or equivalent degree/experience) in a quantitative field such as economics, finance, business, engineering, or an Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use (AFOLU) Sector related field. (required)

PROFESSIONAL:
- At least 7 years working experience in analysis and formulation of public policies in the Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use (AFOLU)(required)
- Technical specialization and proven experience working on cost-benefit analysis is desired.
- Solid experience, technical specialization and proven experience working on project finance is desired.
- Experience with national planning is desired.
- Experience with integrating knowledge across different economic sectors for climate mitigation and adaptation is required.
- Knowledge of social and environmental evaluations is desired.
- Experience working with recovery economy packages is desired
- Experience working with Latin American and Caribbean countries is required.
- Knowledge of economic and political context in Honduras is desired.
- Experience working with GCF pre-feasibility studies is required.
- Ability to deliver at speed and to adapt to client / country needs.
- Demonstrates strong quantitative skills and the ability to carry out high quality economy research, including public and private financial analysis.
- Possesses proven ability to analyse a net-zero and climate resilient economy, with the ability to offer practical policy advice on issues based on local realities.

LANGUAGE:
- Fluent in Spanish (required)
- Fluent in English (required)

SPECIAL KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS:
- Strong analytical skills with high attention to detail and accuracy, including strategically analysing data; synthesizing findings from diverse materials and sources, diagnosing opportunities, and providing interventions is required.
- Excellent verbal, written, and interpersonal communication skills is required.
- Ability to present complex issues in simple and clear manner is required.
- Ability to communicate trends and impacts to high-level and mid-senior level management is required.
- Demonstrates integrity and ethical standards is required.
- Ability to work under pressure and deliver high quality results on time is required.

No Fee

THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.