Terms of Reference (ToR)

Consultancy

Study on Climate Change-Induced Loss and Damage

in Keti Bandar Tehsil, District Thatta, Sindh

1. Background

German Red Cross supports Pakistan Red Crescent Society (PRCS) in undertaking a tehsil-level Climate Change-Induced Loss and Damage (L&D) Study in Keti Bandar, District Thatta, Sindh, under the Climate Advocacy and Coordination for Resilient Action (CACRA) project, financially assisted by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). The study will apply an explicit climate-change lens and use a project-developed assessment framework informed by the UNFCCC Loss and Damage architecture, including relevant work of the Warsaw International Mechanism for Loss and Damage (WIM), together with other recognized climate-risk assessment approaches where appropriate. It aims to generate evidence on economic and non-economic loss and damage associated with the adverse effects of climate change and climate-related hazards, including both extreme events and slow-onset processes, to support climate-resilient programming, adaptation planning, policy engagement and advocacy.

The consultant must use the project-developed Research Framework for the Loss and Damage Study in Pakistan as the technical basis, adapting it to the tehsil context and recommending only those refinements required for methodological rigor, feasibility and local relevance. Particular attention in Keti Bandar shall be given to relevant coastal and hydro-meteorological hazards and slow-onset processes, including cyclone/storm surge, coastal inundation, sea intrusion/salinity, water stress, extreme heat and other locally evidenced climate-related risks.

2. Objective

To undertake a comprehensive tehsil-level Study on Climate Change-Induced Loss and Damage in Keti Bandar, applying an explicit climate-change lens to assess the nature, scale, distribution and evolution of economic and non-economic Loss and Damage associated with climate variability, changing climate-related hazards and slow-onset processes, and to examine how exposure, vulnerability, adaptation and residual climate impacts shape Loss and Damage, in accordance with the project’s UNFCCC/WIM-informed assessment framework.

3. Scope of Work

The following A and B sub-sections explain the scope of the assignment. 

A. Climate Risk Context

• Assess historical climate and hazard trends over a minimum of 15 years and preferably up to 20 years, subject to data availability. 

• Examine relevant sudden- and slow-onset climate-related hazards and processes, including coastal flooding, cyclones/storm surges, sea intrusion and salinity, water stress, extreme heat, changing rainfall patterns and other locally relevant climate risks. 

• Assess how climate hazards interact with exposure, vulnerability and adaptive capacity, particularly across climate-sensitive livelihoods and vulnerable population groups. 

B. Climate-related Loss & Damage

• Assess economic and non-economic Loss and Damage to households, livelihoods, productive assets, basic services, ecosystems and communities. 

• Examine recurrent, cumulative and potentially irreversible losses, including residual Loss and Damage where coping and adaptation measures are insufficient. 

• Assess impacts on key climate-sensitive livelihoods and natural resources, particularly fisheries, agriculture, livestock, freshwater, land and coastal ecosystems, including implications for displacement, migration and livelihood changes. Given the high out-migration from Keti Bandar, the methodology must include mechanisms to track and sample displaced households in host areas (e.g., nearby towns or cities) to capture abandoned assets and the full scale of displacement

• Assess relevant coping, adaptation, preparedness, early warning and recovery/support mechanisms, and identify key gaps contributing to or influencing Loss and Damage. 

• Identify community and institutional priorities for averting, minimizing and addressing Loss and Damage. 

4. Expected Deliverables

The consultancy has three main deliverables; a) Inception Report, b) Final agreed L&D Assessment Report, c) PPT of key findings for broader presentation. 

4.1. Inception Report 

The inception report may include; Keti Bandar-specific operationalization of the approved Research Framework; proposed and justified household/qualitative sample; hazard–livelihood stratification; field-team composition and deployment plan; 15–20-year climate/hazard secondary-data analysis plan (including the GIS/remote sensing methodology for land-loss mapping); proposed secondary data sources; data-quality/triangulation approach; ethical and safeguarding measures; and any technically necessary refinements to the existing tools.

4.2. Loss and Damage Assessment Report

The report would have following indicative outlines. As these outlines are indicative and may be refined at the inception stage in consultation with the project team, while ensuring that all key assessment dimensions specified in the Scope of Work are adequately addressed.

1. Executive Summary: Key findings on climate-induced Loss & Damage, Major affected groups, livelihoods and areas, Key conclusions and priority recommendations.  

2. Introduction and Methodology: Assessment purpose, scope and Keti Bandar context, Research framework, methodology and data sources, Coverage, limitations and uncertainties. 

3. Climate Risk Context: Historical climate and hazard trends, covering a minimum of 15 years and preferably up to 20 years, subject to data availability, Relevant sudden- and slow-onset climate-related hazards, Exposure, vulnerability and adaptive capacity, Key climate-risk patterns.  

4. Economic Loss & Damage: Losses to livelihoods, income and productive assets, Housing, infrastructure and basic services, Fisheries, agriculture, livestock and other climate-sensitive sectors, Direct, indirect, recurrent and cumulative losses, as relevant and measurable.  

5. Non-Economic Loss & Damage: Individuals (including life, health, well-being, mobility/displacement and other relevant individual-level losses), Society (including territory, cultural heritage, indigenous/local knowledge, social and cultural identity, traditional ecological knowledge, place-based cultural identity, loss of sense of place and ancestral connections to land/sea, and other relevant societal losses), Environment ( including biodiversity, ecosystems and ecosystem services and other relevant environmental losses). 

6. Coping, Adaptation and Residual Loss & Damage: Existing coping and adaptation practices, and Residual and potentially irreversible Loss & Damage. 

7. Conclusions and Recommendations 

8. Annexes (Must include relevant GIS maps showing historical land-use/shoreline change and hazard exposure).

4.3. Presentation of key findings: It must be framed in a way to present external public and humanitarian stakeholders. 

5. Duration

The consultancy is expected to be completed within approximately two months from the signing of the contract. Bidders may propose a technically justified adjustment to the workplan if required by the final sample size, geographic dispersion or field-access conditions in Keti Bandar.

6. Key responsibilities

The PRCS and GRC will be responsible for:

• Develop liaison with Provincial Head Quarter Sindh. 

• Providing necessary project documents including Loss and Damage assessment framework.

• Facilitating for field-level coordination and introductions to relevant local stakeholders (internal & external), authorities and communities, where needed and feasible. 

• Providing timely feedback on the consultant’s documents or consultancy deliverables.

• Releasing the consultancy fee as per signed agreement. 

The consultant will be responsible for: 

• Completing the assignment as per defined scope in these ToRs.

• Identifying, assessing and documenting the quality and limitations of secondary data used.

• Coordination with relevant stakeholders in consultation with PRCS and GRC. 

• Acquiring primary and secondary data, analysing and reporting. 

• Bearing all expenses associated with this consultancy such as; travel, human resources, logistics, accommodation etc.

7. Required Qualifications, experience, and knowledge

The consultant should have:

• An advanced university degree in Climate Change, Environmental Sciences, Environmental Informatics, Disaster Risk Management, Development Studies, Geography, or degree in related discipline.

• At least 7 years of professional experience in climate change, disaster risk reduction, vulnerability assessments, or Loss and Damage assessments.

• Demonstrated experience designing and leading climate-related mixed-method field assessments, including recruitment/training and management of survey teams, sampling implementation, field quality assurance, KIIs and FGDs.

• Strong understanding of the UNFCCC/WIM Loss and Damage agenda and climate-change adaptation architecture, including economic and non-economic loss and damage, comprehensive climate-risk management, extreme events, slow-onset processes, limits to adaptation and residual Loss and Damage.

• Demonstrated ability to integrate historical/secondary datasets with household and qualitative evidence; experience with GIS/spatial analysis or remote-sensing data will be an advantage.

• Experience working with humanitarian or development organizations, preferably within the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement or similar organizations, will be an asset.

• Prior experience in coastal, deltaic or slow-onset climate-risk contexts, particularly in Sindh or comparable settings, will be an asset.

8. Reporting

The consultant will report to the GRC Programme Coordinator and PRCS Deputy Director Climate Change and will work closely with the project team especially representative of PRCS provincial branch Sindh throughout the assignment. Technical approval of key deliverables will follow the arrangements specified in the consultancy contract.

9. Payment

Payment will be made according to the agreed consultancy contract upon satisfactory completion and approval of the agreed deliverables.

German Red Cross will pay the consultant within 15 days after receipt of the invoice. For payments, the invoice along with other supporting documents shall be sent to the German Red Cross Office, C/o Pakistan Red Crescent Society, National Headquarters, Sector H-8, Islamabad. Payment shall be made in PKR and through cross cheque/online transfer in favour of Consultant/Firm (name): after the deduction of all applicable government taxes. The payment details will be based on offers and mutual discussions with selected consultant/firm. 

10. Application details

10.1. Application details

The interested consultant/firm must submit the following. Applicants must raise questions for clarification in writing two (02) days before the deadline for submission of the quote to the email ID mentioned at the end of these ToRs.

1. Technical proposal: (i) It includesa Statement of eligibility with examples supporting the statement, three work (client) references, including 01 sample (full document or summary) of relevant assignments as annex, (ii) Value addition / suggestion to the scope of the assignment, (iii) Methodology & work plan, (iv) updated CV (s) of the team of this assignment,(Please do not copy paste text from ToRs, follow above guidelines)

2. Financial proposal: The duly signed financial proposal as a lump sum fee in PKR (not split into parts like travel, accommodation, per day, etc. Please use the table below for your financial proposal), covering all associated costs of the consultancy.

10.2 Selection/Awards:

Based on an initial ranking as per the criteria stated below, a minimum of 3 to 5 consultants/ firms with the highest score will be invited for discussion and to present their technical proposal in a meeting (presentation) of approx. 30 minutes.  

Note: The bidders are prohibited from presenting new documents that were not submitted with the offer. 

GRC & PRCS reserves the right to continue further communication for any clarification after the submission of quotes via a combination of media (e.g., post, email, phone). GRC & PRCS may – but is not obliged to – ask each tenderer individually for clarification regarding their quote within a reasonable time limit, to be determined by the evaluation committee.

10.3 Evaluation criteria

The decision for the award of the contract will be determined via credit points assigned to the proposal submitted according to the following criteria: 

• The financial proposal/offered price: 40% (the lower the price gets more points).

• Technical Proposal and Presentation: 60%. 

1. 30% Statement of eligibility, including samples of similar assignments, team profiles. 

2. 20% Methodology and workplan. 

3. 10% Presentation.

10.4 Proposal Submission:

Interested consultants should submit their detailed proposals (Technical & Financial), including a cover letter, by 22 September at 12:00 PM 2026, by hand or by courier in a sealed envelope. Please DO NOT submit your offer by FAX or by email, which will not be accepted. Late bid(s) will not be entertained.

The envelope MUSTclearly identify the sender and receiver names and mention:

Tender Documents – Please do not open!

Quotation

10.5 Confidentiality and publication

• All recipients of tender documents, whether they submit a tender or not, shall treat the details of the documents as confidential as possible.

• According to German/European procurement law, information about the award of a contract (name of company, type of product, extent, and duration of contract) might be made open to the public unless you disagree with your quotation, giving the reason for refusal.

11. General Conditions

11.1 Self-Declaration 

The signee of the attached “Declaration of Conformity” (Annex I) assures that: 

1) No reasons for exclusion as mentioned per EU guideline 2014/24/EU, Art. 57, Paragraph 1 exist. 

2) The tenderer fulfils the GRC claim on good governance, environmental, and social. responsibility, 

3) The tenderer agrees to participate in checks and audits as described. 

11.2 Acceptance/Rejection of Bids

GRC reserves the right to accept or reject any or all tenders without assigning any reason and is not bound to accept the lowest bid. Incomplete/altered/conditional bids/bids with missing prices shall not be entertained in any case and shall be rejected straight away.

11.3 Failure and Termination 

If the Service Provider fails to fulfil the contract within the agreed specifications, GRC reserves the right to take legal action against the Service Provider. The client may even consider blacklisting the Service Provider.

11.4 Good governance and social responsibility 

The tenderer will be excluded if: 

• The Company/Service Provider is bankrupt or being wound up, is having its affairs administered by the courts, has entered an arrangement with creditors, has suspended business activities, is the subject of proceedings concerning those matters, or is in any analogous situation arising from a similar procedure provided for in national legislation or regulations. The Company/Service Provider has been guilty of grave professional misconduct proven by any means that the contracting authority can justify. The Company/Service Provider has failed to fulfil obligations relating to the payment of social security contributions or the payment of taxes in accordance with the legal provisions of the country in which it is established, with those of the country of the contracting organization, or those of the country where the contract is to be carried out. The Company/Service Provider has been the subject of a judgment that has the force of res judicata for fraud, corruption, involvement in a criminal organization, or any other illegal activity detrimental to the organization’s financial interests. The Company/Service Provider has been declared to be in serious breach of contract for failure to comply with its contractual obligations pursuant to another procurement procedure or grant award procedure financed through this organization. 

• The Company/Service Provider fails to sign and agree to the terms mentioned in the “Declaration of Conformity”. 

For any clarification, please feel free to contact: 

To: E: [email protected] 

CC: [email protected] , [email protected] 

TORs accepted and signed:

Acceptance by the bidder:

I hereby confirm that the Terms and Conditions as per TORs for the services mentioned above are acceptable to me and that I shall abide by these Terms and Conditions.

Bid Validity                           days                                         NTN: ___________________________                                                                                

Company/Consultant Name   

Postal Address   

Email Address   

Contact No.

Stamp, Date & Signature ________________________________________________________