Deutschland - Dienstleistungen im Bereich Landwirtschaft - Capacity Development for Strengthened Drought Resilience in Afar/ Mainstreaming the DVRPU approach in Ethiopia

Context Over 15 million people in the arid and semi-arid lowlands of Afar, Somali and Oromia Regions, as well as in the South Ethiopia Regional State (SERS) mainly rely on livestock farming and some crop production. However, rapid population growth and climate change increase pressure on their livelihoods. Overgrazing and extreme weather events, such as droughts and floods, drive land degradation, cause soil erosion and loss of vegetation. In addition, gully erosion in dry valleys (DVs) worsens these impacts, leading to biodiversity loss, sedimentation of water bodies, flooding, and damage to infrastructure. Together, these challenges threaten land productivity and the well-being of local communities. Objective The GIZ project "Capacity Development for Strengthened Drought Resilience of (Agro-) Pastoralists in the Lowlands of Ethiopia" (CDSDR III) promotes sustainable and productive management of dry valleys and adjacent land by pastoralist and agro-pastoralist communities in the Ethiopian lowlands at the operational, institutional and technical levels. Approach The project supports Ethiopian partners through several measures. It: - Improves institutional, technical, and operational capacities for eco-friendly and productive management of dry valleys and adjacent land; - Applies the Dry Valley Rehabilitation and Productive Use (DVRPU) approach, introducing new technologies and involving local communities in planning and implementation; - Refines management models of the DVRPU approach so partner institutions can apply them independently. The main objective of the assignment is to support the implementation, scaling, and institutionalization of the DVRPU approach in the Afar region, with its focus on sustainable dry valley rehabilitation, community and cooperative development, and productive land use. In the first place, the contractor will ensure the participatory establishment and strengthening of four new DVRPU sites (sites recently selected in Kunneba, Wesema, Aba´ala and Telalak woredas). Secondly, in four already existing sites in the Afar woredas Chifra, Yallo, Ewa and Gullina, he shall support the local NGO AISDA through conceptual exchange and some capacity development measures. Aim here is increasing the productive use of rehabilitated land, which has accrued through construction of water spreading weirs (WSWs) years ago. Thirdly, by supporting the GIZ CDSDR teams of the implementation areas in Oromia and SERS in strengthening preconditions for long-term sustainability by contributing to capacity development, policy support, and strategic knowledge management. This objective will be achieved through the three interlinked work packages described below. When? Approximate contract duration: Contract start - December 2026 Where? Afar Region (main focus), Oromia Region, South Ethiopia Regional State (SERS), and Federal level The contractor"s role varies significantly across regions. In Afar, the scope of work is deeper, here the contractor is the main implementer in four newly selected woredas and shall share expertise with the NGO AISDA working in four other woredas, where DVRPU sites have been set up years ago but the productive use of the rehabilitated land is beyond potential. In Oromia and SERS, the contractor has more of an advisory role, with limited direct intervention in those regions, eventually contributing through trainings. Here, the contractor is involved in complementing the activities of the regional CDSDR III GIZ teams as described below. Thereby the contractor contributes to the module objective, outputs and respective indicators. For further details on the objectives and indicators please refer to the annex containing the results matrix incl. foreseen contributions. In Somali Region, CDSDR III has its largest GIZ team, and does not need additional support from the contractor. The contractor is responsible for providing the following work packages and for achieving the corresponding milestones. - Work Package 1: Establishment of up to four new DV sites in Afar following the DVRPU approach - Work Package 2: Sustainable management, productive use and capacity building for 4 already established DV sites in Afar - Work Package 3: Institutionalization, policy support, knowledge management, training materials, and dissemination