PROJECT BACKGROUND:

The EPA is Liberia's principal authority for environmental management. It coordinates, monitors, supervises, and consults with relevant stakeholders and sector Ministries, Agencies, and Commissions (MACs) on all activities related to protecting the environment and sustainable use of its natural resources.

The Government of Liberia (GoL), through the EPA and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), and with funding from the Global Environmental Facility (GEF), received funding for the project “Enhancing Resilience of Vulnerable Coastal Communities in Sinoe County of Liberia (ERVCCS).” EPA is the project's Executing Entity. It is financed by a GEF Trust Fund grant and co-financed by UNDP and the GoL.

The project aims to build on existing projects to strengthen the resilience of vulnerable coastal communities and their livelihoods to the impacts of climate change, focusing on women and youths. Specifically, project interventions include 1) Strengthening Institutional Capacity for Climate Change Adaptation Planning, 2) Supporting Innovative Technologies for Climate Information and Communication Management, 3) Introducing Hybrid Adaptation Solutions, and 4) Supporting Resilient Livelihood Diversification through Training and Improved Access to Finance. The majority of the above interventions will target all coastal counties in Liberia. In contrast, hybrid adaptation interventions will be explicitly implemented in Sinoe County, one of the country’s most vulnerable coastal counties.

The impacts of climate change, combined with non-climatic drivers, such as sand mining, the expansion of agricultural areas, unsustainable fishing, pollution, and inadequate drainage systems, compromise the resilience of Liberian communities' ecosystems along the coastline. Consequently, local communities and ecosystems are experiencing.

OBJECTIVE OF THE ASSIGNMENT:

Currently, accessible information and awareness of Liberia’s climate change risks, as well as SRDRM at local levels, is limited. Consequently, the already high climate vulnerability of Liberia’s population — particularly communities living in coastal counties — is exacerbated by limited knowledge of how to appropriately reduce their vulnerability. Predicated upon this, the project seeks to build the capacity of stakeholders in county-development systems through its climate change and coastal adaption focal persons and working groups in the nine coastal counties. Given this, the specific objectives of this RFP are as follows:

• Develop knowledge products to be used by focal points and working groups to disseminate information on climate change risks, coastal vulnerabilities, climate adaptation, sea and river defense management, and community actions
• Design and develop radio programs to be aired on community radios in all coastal counties
• Design, develop, and produce audio-visual tools and materials to promote climate change adaptation in business opportunities and investment planning, particularly in the agriculture, fisheries, forestry, and hospitality sectors.