Country: Cameroon

The goal of this project is to carry out feasibility studies and support the development of a GCF climate change project in the agriculture sector in Cameroon. Generally, Fokabs will:

• Undertake the feasibility studies of the project while ensuring its consistency with national and international policies, including alignment with donors’ policies;
• Analyze and compare scenarios with and without the project under a climate change projection and against a baseline situation;
• Compare scenarios to determine the impact of the project;
• Based on the relevant policies, conduct a financial analysis and profit / loss calculations
• Provide the climate analysis and rationale to be used for the project proposals;
• Identify and describe existing and planned projects as part of the baseline;
• Undertake an ESIA and a gender assessment for the project;
• Support the project proposal design, using the GCF template.

 

Specific tasks of Fokabs include:

 

1. Feasibility studies

• Review the findings of the existing feasibility studies, if available;
• Provide a technical assessment of the viability of the projects.
• Apply in-depth technical design studies for the proposed technological solutions to present technical, environmental, social, policy assessment of feasible options / solutions for the proposed project, and propose outcomes and recommendations with the most feasible and sound options for the project;
• Apply relevant engineering study/analysis with testing work and on-site appraisals;
• Include deeper analysis and testing of each feasible option.

 

2. Economic and financial analysis

• Conduct an in-depth analysis and specify the expected economic and financial rate of return with and without the Fund’s support;
• Conduct an in-depth analysis of the economic and financial cost-effectiveness of the projects, based on key barriers and relevant factors;
• Describe the key characteristics and dynamics of the sector or market in which the projects will operate;
• Specify the cost–economic benefit ratio of project activity by comparing their positive and structuring effects on the national economy through job and income generation contributing to achieving the project development goals and the emergence of the country;
• Analyze the financial cost–benefit ratios of the project investments;
• Analyze the intrinsic cost-effectiveness of the funding;
• Calculate and analyze the net added value prior to projects financing;
• Identify private sector institutions to engage in the project;
• Propose transformative approaches that will aid in scaling up climate resilience building and low emission activities;
• Develop the project’s financial and economic models.

 

3. Climate analysis and rationale

• Complete the description and analysis of climate change profile and trends, using relevant and recent data;
• Explain and provide evidences of the climate change taking place in Cameroon (e.g. decrease and irregular distribution of rainfall and increase in temperature and its link to events like drought, erosion, etc.);
• Provide recent data and specific indicators (i.e. soil moisture) and/or indices to demonstrate the effects on the physical environment and on agricultural production;
• Expand on the vulnerabilities and the climate change impacts to provide clear evidence and justification of the suggested solutions;
• Characterize and describe the agricultural production and the actual and expected impacts of climate change on this production;
• Demonstrate the relationship between the impacts and climate change needs. For example: How is climate change affecting: crop selection for a specific location; choice of cultivars / varieties ; timing of planting / sowing ; yield; and overall suitability for certain cultivars.
• Propose the prioritized sites for the implementation of the project activities;
• Considering the role of water resources in reaching the project outcomes and expected impacts, provide a hydrological model and proposed interventions to address water demand for agriculture production;
• Contribute to the elaboration of barriers and the solutions proposed to address the climate change impacts and vulnerability of agriculture production;
• Complete the description and analysis of the mitigation needs (GHG emissions profile) and / or adaptation needs (climate hazards and associates risks based on impacts, exposure, and vulnerabilities) related to the projects;
• Propose the climate rationale for the project (both mitigation and adaptation), with links to the required transformational change.

 

4. ESIA

• Description and analysis of the social context in which the project operates. This will include:
  • Analysis of the social diversity and vulnerabilities:
  • Identification and analysis of vulnerable groups;
  • Description of the rights situation of relevant social groups and the legal framework for land and property rights and other legislation and regulations on aspects pertinent to the project;
  • Emphasises on the differences between relevant social groups (including indigenous peoples and vulnerable groups) and their particular needs, concerns and vulnerabilities and relevant differences between men and women;
• Description of identified impacts, including predictions in terms of probability and magnitude of impact and resulting significance. The following impacts should be taken into consideration:
  • direct impacts caused by project activities in the project sites and facilities;
  • indirect impacts – unplanned but predictable activities enabled by the project which will occur immediately or later; this might include inadvertent knock-on effects or side-effects of the project given the complexity of social processes and the human-environment interface;
  • cumulative effects that materialize through interaction with other developments at the project site as well as in the wider area of influence.
• If the Standard on Indigenous Peoples or other relevant standards (access restriction, involuntary resettlement, etc.) are triggered during the assessment, develop an Action Plan to Mitigate these Impacts
• Development of the risk management strategy in form of an Environmental and Social Management Plan (ESMP). The ESMP should have the following content:
  • Project description including logframe and project activities, location and geographic extent of the project;
  • Brief reference to the legal framework in the host country relevant for environmental and social management and how the project ensures compliance;
  • Complete list of identified negative effects that specific project activities may cause and their significance;
  • Planned measures to avoid adverse environmental and/or social impacts, to minimise them to acceptable levels or to compensate for them; including responsibilities (staffing) and schedule for implementing the mitigation measures, their technical feasibility, cultural appropriateness, expected effectiveness in providing mitigation to all affected groups;
  • Reference to plans required by the Standards (e.g. Indigenous Peoples Plan, Action Plan Access Restrictions etc.) and whether mitigation measures have been included or not in the ESMP;
  • Cost estimates for the proposed mitigation measures and for ensuring compliance, to be included in the budget of the project proposal;
  • Description of the executing entities’ capacity to implement the ESMP; where needed, provide for capacity building measures (to be included in the ESMP budget).

 

5. Gender assessment

• Produce a gender-responsive proposal for the project;
• Gather gender information at the national level and develop a gender analysis, focusing in the areas where the project will be implemented;
• Ensure that participatory and inclusive approaches, gender-responsive considerations, and sex disaggregated information are included in the baseline methodologies, tools and analyses;
• Analyse the social context, with special attention to differences between relevant social groups (including indigenous peoples and vulnerable groups) and their particular needs, concerns and vulnerabilities and relevant differences between men and women;
• Develop a gender action plan (GAP) to guide and advise gender mainstreaming in the project.

Duration: 10/2021 – 12/2022

Client: AfDB