REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST
AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK
Immeuble CCIA, Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire
African Natural Resources Centre
E-mail : P.ADERIBIGBE@AFDB.ORG
Telephone : +225 20 26 57 18
Department issuing the request : AFRICAN NATURAL RESOURCES CENTRE (ANRC)
Position : CONSULTANT – Debt-for-nature swaps : feasibility and policy significance in Africa’s
natural resource sector
Place of assignment : Home based
Duration of the assignment : 6 Months
Tentative Date of commencement : July 2021
Deadline for applications : June 18, 2021
Applications to be submitted to: PROMISE ADERIBIGBE (P.ADERIBIGBE@AFDB.ORG )
Any questions and requests for clarifications may be sent to:
MAALI HARRATHI (M.HARRATHI@AFDB.ORG )
ANDRE KAMDEM TOHAM (A.KAMDEMTOHAM@AFDB.ORG )
INTRODUCTION :
The African Natural Resources Centre (ANRC) is an entity of the African Development Bank (AfDB) established to support Regional Member Countries (RMCs) maximize development outcomes derived from their natural resources. The Centre’s scope covers renewable (water, forestry, land and fisheries) and non-renewable resources (oil, gas and minerals).
The ANRC’s desired outcomes are better stewardship of African natural resources through good governance, containment of adverse social and environmental impacts, enhancement of linkages with domestic economies and equitable resources access. To achieve this, the Centre advises the Bank’s RMCs on selected aspects of natural resource management, to enable them to extract greater social and economic value from the development of natural assets. The long-term objective of the Centre is to enhance RMCs capacity to improve development outcomes from the sustainable use of renewable and non-renewable resources. This requires deepening knowledge of natural resource management for RMCs and Bank
lending operations through analytics and policy support in order to create an enabling environment for sustainable development.
THE CONSULTANCY :
The report will be used to raise awareness among the AfDB’s regional member countries (RMCs) on the feasibility and relevance of debt-for-nature swaps as a financing tool in Africa. The report will also help to inform creditor member countries regarding the potential for debt-for-nature swaps in the Africa region and how creditor debt relief initiatives can be designed to realize the potential of swaps.
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES :
The expected outcome of the project is increased knowledge and awareness for the AfDB and its Regional Member Countries on the potential of debt-for-nature swaps as a policy tool for natural resource management. This will strengthen the capacity to design and implement debt-for-nature swap arrangements to support debt sustainability in the medium to long term while incentivizing the conservation of biodiversity and natural capital. Under the supervision of the Division Manager, Policy Analysis ANRC, the consultant will perform the following specific tasks :
- An examination of the implications of debt-for-nature swaps on public debt and economic growth for African countries ;
- Analysis of the opportunities and risks for African resource-rich countries to efficiently utilise debt-for-nature swaps ;
- Analysis of past experiences with debt-for-nature swaps in African countries in the past and explore the introduction of new models for debt-for-nature swaps, building also on any best practice in the world and drawing lessons for Africa ;
- A case-study of two to three African countries on the key aspects of a country-level debt for nature swap ;
- Assessment of the potential of debt-for-nature swaps in the context of broader debt restructuring packages and the emerging green financing market, including an analysis on how debt-for-nature swaps can be addressed beyond biodiversity conservation (e.g. climate resilience, nature-based solutions, sustainable infrastructure) ;
- Review of Africa’s public debt profile to identify debt that could be eligible for debt-for-nature swaps, based on creditor debt swap programs or willingness to engage in swaps ;
- Policy recommendations: (i) for the modalities and the issues to be considered for designing and implementing debt-for-nature swaps, (ii) to inform the Bank’s new debt action plan and specific interventions in African countries, (iii) and to reduce the risks of debt distress and crisis. This will include and examination of the AfDB’s support and intervention frameworks for RMCs to enable them to maximize the potential gains and minimize the risks and constraints associated with debt-for-nature swaps.
The report will include: An Executive Summary; the Report’s body and Annexes; the scope of the research and the process followed (methodology, information, and data sources; supporting and reference documentation).
SELECTION CRITERIA: (including desirable skills, knowledge and experience)
Education : Master’s degree in Economics, International Development, Public Policy, Natural Resource Management, Finance, or related areas.
Work Experience :
- 5 years’ experience working on public and/or private sovereign debt management of African countries with special emphasis on debt negotiations ;
- Good understanding of debt and development issues in Africa, including sovereign debt credit rating frameworks for African countries ;
- Practical knowledge on the design and application of debt-for-nature swaps in Africa or other regions ;
- Strong understanding of current international debt resolution and debt management frameworks (i.e. by the International Financial Institutions, creditor groups, and multilateral organisations) ;
- Demonstrated experience in influencing policies and thinking on debt and/or green finance in Africa ;
- Strong publications track record on debt, fiscal policy, green finance or conservation finance ;
- Strong analytical and report writing skills ;
- Experience with mixed research methods: including analysis of quantitative datasets and conducting key informant interviews ;
- Practical knowledge of using statistical software (e.g. STATA, SPSS, MATLAB, R, E-Views, etc.) for data analysis ;
- Experience in working with the AfDB, multilateral or any other international institutions.
Language : Excellent proven written and spoken English; working knowledge of French is highly desirable; Strong communication skills.
| IV. | CONSULTANT SELECTION | ||
| The Consultant will be selected in accordance with the African Development Bank’s Implementation | |||
| Manual relating to the Procedures for Acquisition of Consulting Services funded by the Administrative or | |||
| Capital Expenditure Budget of the Bank Group. The candidate shall be evaluated based on the following | |||
| technical criteria: | |||
| CRITERIA | Marks (%) | ||
| General qualifications and adequacy for the assignment to be undertaken | 30 | ||
| Similar experience in the area of expertise of the assignment | 50 | ||
| Knowledge of the region (environment of the assignment) | 5 | ||
| Experience with the Bank and/or multilateral institutions | 10 | ||
| 3 | |||
| Language Proficiency | 5 |
| TOTAL | 100 |
Applicants are to submit a cover letter, resume, copies of academic certificates and transcripts, and three samples of written work. Appendix 1 gives a template for submission of CVs. Only the best candidates earning 70% and
above will be shortlisted.
TIMEFRAME :
The study will be carried over a period of six months, from July to November 2021.The timeline and required activities for the delivery of the research project are as follows:
| Activity/sub-activity | Outputs/milestones | Timeline | |
| 1 | Pre-commencement meeting with | Agreed formats, work plan and | 2 weeks after |
| the Consultants | report template | signature | |
| 2 | Provide first draft of report for | Interim report reviewed by the | 12 weeks after |
| review by ANRC and partners | Centre, internal and external peer | signature | |
| reviewers | |||
| 3 | Provide revised draft reports | Corrected reports submitted and | 14 weeks after |
| approved by the Centre | signature | ||
| 4 | Consultant’s report consolidation | Final report | 23 weeks after |
| signature | |||
REMUNERATION : The Consultant will be hired for a period of six (06) months and paid a lump sum according to the agreed deliverables. The consultant’s tasks will be delivered according to the following schedule:
SERVICE CONDITIONS :
The African Development Bank conditions for retaining short-term consultants will apply.
Appendix 1 :
Please attach an updated Curriculum Vitae on the basis of the template below: