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Introduction

Country: Laos   

 

Description of the Assignment:  

Background 

UNDP Lao PDR:

Guided by the global UNDP Strategic Plan (2022 – 2025) and UNDP Country Programme for Lao PDR (2022 – 2026), UNDP in Lao PDR works closely with the line Ministries, mass organizations, civil society, development partners, and the private sector at both national and sub-national levels in pursuit of the national socio-economic development priorities defined in Lao PDR’s five-year National Socio-Economic Development Plan (NSEDP) and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The UNDP’s work is strongly focused on the provision of policy advice and technical support to the Government of Lao PDR in the design and implementation of national legislation and strategies across four broad Priority Pillars – (1) inclusive growth and reduced inequalities, (2) UXO clearance and risk education, (3) natural resources, climate change and disaster risk reduction, as well as (4) effective, responsive, and accountable governance.

UNDP has a long history working in Lao PDR. UNDP’s comparative advantage has been its ability to work closely with a very broad range of government and local-level institutions at all levels. The new UNDP country programme is aligned with the 9th NSEDP and is anchored in UNDP’s long-term partnership with the Government of more than three decades. The new programme builds on the achievements of the previous CPD that saw the incorporation of the SDGs into the national planning architecture. It will aim to support Lao PDR to recover from the economic and social impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and continue its transition from LDC status, with a particular emphasis on supporting inclusive growth and reducing inequality.

 

Climate Promise 2025 Project Description:

As part of the UN Secretary-General’s Climate Action Summit in 2019, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) pledged to support at least 100 countries to enhance their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) ahead of COP26. This pledge turned into UNDP’s Climate Promise, which is now the world’s largest offer of support to developing countries on NDC enhancement, supporting 140 countries and contributing to an increase of climate mitigation and adaptation ambition. This success has led to an overwhelming demand from countries to receive UNDP’s continued support in the NDC 3.0 revision, supporting the countries to enhance their ambitions toward net zero emissions by 2050.

In response, The UNDP Climate Promise 2025 aims to support the UN system's coordinated efforts toward advancing NDC 3.0. The project’s primary purpose is to assist the Government of Lao PDR in revising its NDC with a high level of ambition, integrating nature-climate linkages, gender inclusion, and other critical considerations.  The main project goal is based on 3 pillars: 1.) Scale and Speed: Utilize the NDC as a gateway to   deliver and monitor ambitious climate actions across sectors and thematic areas, enabling the achievement of bold targets outlined in the revised and enhanced NDCs. 2.) Amplifying Ambition: Link robust, integrated NDCs to long-term net-zero and climate-resilient pathways, as well as the next NDC cycle, to chart a path toward climate neutrality. 3.) Lasting Inclusivity: Systematically engage and empower key societal actors to accelerate NDC implementation and establish long-term net-zero and climate-resilient development pathways. The project will be implemented over 1.5 years, from January 2025 to June 2026. 

Under the Climate Promise 2025, Department of Climate Change (DCC), Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE) Jointly UNDP as core team to review the NDC 3.0. The goal of reviewing NDC 3.0 (Nationally Determined Contributions 3.0) is to assess, update, and enhance a country’s climate action commitments under the Paris Agreement, ensuring that they align with the outcomes of the Global Stock take, current climate impacts evidence, and the country’s development objectives, while reflecting higher ambitions beyond the latest NDC.

Objective:

 The objective of this assignment is to provide overall technical support to NDC review process and develop the final NDC 3.0 for government to review and approval including GHG reduction scenarios for mitigation and adaptation components and relevant section required for NDCs development.

·         The consultant will work with other 06 international/national consultants (01 National advisor covers AFOLU, 01 National consultant to support for Energy, Transport, Industry sector, 01 National consultant to support for Waste and water resources,01 National consultant to support for Health, Child protection and Education. 01 consultants to support Loss and damage consultant and gender advisor) And the Department of Climate Change, UNDP to finish assignments on (i) The analysis of the potential natural- based solutions for both mitigation and adaptation components across prioritized sectors, (ii) Develop the NDC review and update approach and methodology across sectors, guiding the five national consultants to consolidate inputs from prioritized sectors to develop GHG emissions scenarios.  (iii) Preparing substantive discussion/issues papers on adaptation progress, future adaptation-mitigation pathways, targets, priority plans and indicators during 2025-2035 for Lao PDR’s NDC for stakeholder consultations (iv) Develop the draft NDC 3.0 and finalize NDC 3.0 timely, with the support of a national consultant.

Scope of Work

The scope of the work of the Technical and Policy Advisor is summarised as below.

(i)The analysis of the potential natural- based solutions for both mitigation and adaptation components across prioritized sectors.

• Conduct a desk review of existing mitigation and adaptation components in the NDC that reflect nature-based solutions (NbS) or ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA).
• Coordinate with key stakeholders to understand their existing and future goals and policies supporting GHG emission reduction.
• Review best practices from other countries in defining NbS mitigation and adaptation objectives, including how they track and achieve targets, to serve as a benchmark for Lao PDR (covering legal pathways, incentives, and methodological frameworks).
• Gather geospatial data on land use, deforestation, carbon sequestration potential, biodiversity hotspots, and climate risks (e.g., from the UN Biodiversity Lab, remote sensing, GIS) to analyze and prioritize NbS interventions.
• Review existing national and international regulations, policies, and standards related to nature-based solutions.
• Assess the economic, social, and environmental costs and benefits of each NbS, explore financing opportunities (e.g., carbon credits, GCF, international donors), and identify policy and governance barriers to implementation.
• Provide policy recommendations for integrating NbS into high-priority areas into NDC 3.0 and suggest a monitoring framework/specific indicator to track the impact of NbS interventions.
• Identify gaps and opportunities for NbS mitigation and adaptation components in Lao PDR.
• Support and facilitate consultations with key stakeholders and national consultant team to gather the feedback before finalization.
• Develop the policy brief of NbS, which should include details below.

o   Context (International and Local): Overview of the global and local context for nature-based solutions (NbS), highlighting the relevance of these solutions to climate change mitigation and adaptation.

o   What is Nature-based Solution and Why Do They Matter? Explanation of nature-based solutions, their importance in addressing climate challenges, and why they are crucial for the selected sectors (e.g., AFOLU, urban planning, etc.).

o   How to Analyze Nature-based Solutions Using Geospatial Data: Description of key steps and methods for analyzing nature-based solutions based on geospatial data, including mapping ecosystem services, land use changes, and carbon sequestration potential.

o   Data Collection and Analysis:

o   Data requirements for nature-based solutions within each priority sector, including approaches such as organizational, territorial, and product-based (goods or services).

o   Procedures and methodology for collecting, validating, and analyzing data to accurately calculate carbon sequestration and emissions reductions from NbS.

o   Metrics and Indicators:

o   Key performance indicators (KPIs) and metrics for measuring the effectiveness of nature-based solutions in reducing carbon emissions and enhancing resilience.

o   Benchmarks and targets to monitor progress and drive continuous integration natural-based solutions that contributed to GHG reduction within each sector.

·      Recommendations for NbS in mitigation and adaptation of each high priority sector in NDC 3.0 along with suggestions a monitoring framework/specific indicator to track the impact of NbS interventions.

·      Gaps and opportunities for NbS mitigation and adaptation components in Lao PDR.

(ii) Develop the NDC review and update approach and methodology across sectors, guiding the national consultant team to consolidate inputs from prioritized sectors to develop and analyze GHG emissions scenarios.

·         Design development framework for the NDC 3.0 thematic work-packages that align with Global NDC 3.0 development guidelines

·         Based on the indicative ToRs of national consultant and, develop the approach for NDC 2.0 review to identify key achievement, gaps, challenges (e.g. technical, financial, and institutional challenges that hindered NDC 2.0 implementation, policy gaps and challenges for tracking)both mitigation and adaptation components  in Lao PDR as well as provide the detail approach for each of the thematic sectors in NDC 3.0 based on NDC development concept.

·         Verify and validate the data together with each key prioritized sectors after data collection and analysis.

·         Ensure the technical components of NDC 3.0 aligns with Lao PDR’s climate policies, national development plans, international commitments (Paris Agreement), the latest Global Stock take insights, and incorporates sectoral priorities, climate finance, MRV (monitoring, reporting, verification), and policy integration.

·         Provide inputs and guide the national consultant teams and line Ministries on report outlines, scoping of thematic work and concept of sectoral mitigation and adaptation targets.

·         Work closely with the modeling teams and provide consolidated inputs to support them in conducting and analyzing the outcomes of the GHG emission scenarios, based on the required inputs from prioritized sectors, with support from national consultants.

·         Analyze the results of GHG modeling and synthesize key findings, highlighting the implications for sectoral emissions reductions, climate mitigation strategies, and policy integration. Provide recommendations for policy adjustments or new initiatives based on the findings.

(iii)  Preparing substantive discussion/issues papers on mitigation-adaptation progress, future adaptation-mitigation pathways, targets, priority plans and indicators during 2025-2035 for Lao PDR’s NDC for stakeholder consultations in key sectors:

• Review and ensure consistency in statements and analytical data inputs/outputs produced by the national/ international consultants that involved NDC 3.0 development.
• Provide substantive review and peer-reviews of the key deliverables to national /international consultants that involved in NDC 3.0 development
• Based on the results and inputs from the national/international consultants, provide a policy discussion on mitigation - adaptation and its synergies for NDC 3.0 of Lao PDR with each key prioritized sector.
• Support the national consultants in developing a thematic policy discussion brief on the relevant themes to ensure the policy brief is reflected in the NDC 3.0 development concept.
• Ensure that the adaptation and mitigation pathways are designed to help meet the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) goals, reflecting the Nature-based Solutions (NbS) or Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) approach, while considering cross-cutting themes (e.g., gender, youth, private sector engagement, education) and aligning with the Global Stock take and other national strategic plans (e.g., National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan, National Action Plan, 10th NSEDP).

(iv) Develop the draft NDC 3.0 and Finalize NDC 3.0 timely with the support of national consultants

·         Develop a draft consolidated version of NDC work packages (mitigation, adaptation, means of implementation, investment plan, MRV and etc) based on the National consultant inputs and NDC 3.0 guideline by global practices.

·         Provide peer review of the sectoral NDC 3.0 draft report prepared by national consultants along with key stakeholders.

·         Support and facilitate the consultation with key stakeholders, UNDP, DCC on final draft of NDC.  

·         Consult with national/international consultants, UNDP, DCC team and adopt the key feedback from key stakeholder consultations organised by MONRE in 3 regions.

·         Final report and policy brief of NDC report for UNDP, Government and facilitate selective high-level dialogues with relevant stakeholders.

(v) Capacity building, consultation and validation workshops.

• Led a capacity-building session on Nature-Based Solution analysis, collaborating with the modeling team to provide training on models/tools for GHG emission reduction scenarios and other training topics that related adaptation in Vang Vieng

Supported and facilitated the initial meeting with key stakeholders to review the draft NDC in Vang Vieng, as well as the final validation and finalization of the NDC 3.0 workshop in Vientiane Capital.

Period of assignment/services: 60 working days. 

 

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