Result of Service
The ultimate result will be a quantitative assessment of the economic and social costs of maritime insecurity in East Africa and the Western Indian Ocean, providing governments with impetus for continued investment in regional maritime security.
Work Location
KIGALI
Expected duration
The assignment will last for 2 months, starting from 1 September 2021
Duties and Responsibilities
1. BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION
Healthy and safe oceans are essential to growth and sustainable development. Reliable access to maritime resources provides much of the world’s population with food and livelihoods and facilitates a large and increasingly diverse range of economic activity. Low cost and efficient maritime transport enables participation in global value chains and facilitates external trade. The global maritime economy – or the ocean-based subset of the Blue Economy – includes fishing, tourism, trade, port services, offshore oil and gas, submarine telecommunications, ocean renewable energy, marine biotechnology, and maritime defence, surveillance and security. In East Africa and the Western Indian Ocean (WIO), these activities demonstrate strong growth prospects if maritime assets are secured and managed sustainably. Maritime resources are central to the delivery of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Agenda 2063, as well as helping to meet several national and regional Blue Economy strategies.
A confluence of human activity undermines the safety and security of the waters in East Africa and the WIO. Maritime crime and resource overexploitation (e.g., piracy, human and drug trafficking, and illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing) threaten the potential and sustainability of the region’s maritime economy. Countries in the WIO lose USD200-500 million annually in economic leakage from foreign IUU fishing. Many countries on the coast of East and Southern Africa serve as a source, transhipment point and/or destination for trafficking humans, drugs, weapons and other illicit goods. While these threats impose significant direct costs, for example on traders in the form of lost goods and ransom payments, the indirect and opportunity costs are the heaviest part of the burden. Regional maritime insecurity also undermines the industry’s potential to address larger development priorities such as poverty reduction, food security and increased economic opportunities. Illegal activity decreases revenue and employment across entire value chains in the maritime sector. Increased costs associated with fishing and food trade may also reduce the purchasing power of domestic consumers. More difficult to measure are the costs of lost economic opportunities and potential public revenue, when local and foreign investors are discouraged from exploring newer industries due to the potential insecurity.
A regional approach is necessary for securing the safety and sustainability of maritime activities. At the local level, maritime security is very low and lacks the capacity to counteract these threats. However, multi-country collaborations have been very successful in improving maritime security through enhanced improved monitoring, control and surveillance (MSC). For example, there has been a significant drop in Somali piracy since 2013, which is largely credited to a successful multi-national effort to patrol these waters with regional and international naval forces. As the burden of maritime insecurity is shared by all countries in the region, continued collaboration is necessary and the most effective approach to addressing these threats. Collaborative efforts in the East Africa and WIO region include EUCAP Somalia, the EU-sponsored Maritime Security Programme (MASE) and the EU Critical Maritime Routes Indian Ocean project.
The MASE programme is currently funded to 2022, with an overall objective to enhance maritime security in the East and Southern Africa and Indian Ocean region, contributing to global security and creating a favourable environment for regional economic development. Thus, it contributes to the development and expansion of regional trade and the Blue Economy – two areas of interest for UNECA/SRO-EA. Given this alignment of interests, MASE and UNECA/SRO-EA will collaborate on a study on “The Economic and Social Cost of Maritime Insecurity in East Africa and the Western Indian Ocean” and facilitate a regional discussion on the theme.
2. OBJECTIVE AND SCOPE OF STUDY
The primary objective of this study is to provide governments in East Africa and the WIO, as well as international supporters, with an assessment of the economic and social impetus for continued investment in regional maritime security.
At the regional and country-level, the study should seek to:
Provide a brief overview of maritime economic opportunities and the current maritime security situation in the East Africa and WIO region, and how they have evolved over time;
Discuss regional maritime security issues and implications, including major crimes sucj as: piracy, human and drug trafficking, IUU fishing, and MPA activity
Discuss how regional maritime security situation has evolved over the last 20 years and projections for maritime insecurity the next 5-10 years
Highlight regional efforts to improving maritime security, such as the MASE programme; including a section on the cost of maintaining maritime security (financing human resources, operations, equipment, etc.)
Compare maritime insecurity and the cost of maintaining security in the region verses other parts of the world;
Discuss approaches to quantify maritime security issues globally and/or within the region;
Deliver a quantitative analysis of the economic costs of maritime insecurity, and as much as possible estimate or discuss socio-economic impacts and opportunity costs;
Identify impacted groups: vulnerable populations, workers, traders, etc.; and discuss the transmission mechanisms/channels from maritime insecurity to the different socioeconomic losses;
Offer practical policy recommendations for strengthening national and regional maritime security.
As much as possible, within data availability limitations, the study will seek to cover the following countries: Comoros, Djibouti, Eritrea, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Seychelles, Somalia, South Africa, Tanzania.
3. DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
The research will be supervised by an Officer in UNECA\SRO-EA. Under her supervision, the consultant economist will perform the following tasks:
Conduct literature review on the implications of piracy and other dimensions of maritime insecurity, taking note of any methods used to measure economic and social costs;
Interview relevant stakeholders and experts on challenges, costs and approaches to addressing maritime insecurity in the region;
Identify groups and countries most impacted by maritime insecurity in the region, particularly the most vulnerable subsets of the population;
Identify key threats to maritime security in the region, and prioritize the threats with greatest implications for vulnerable groups;
Design a methodology or approach to the study, and detail this approach in an Inception Report for discussion with UNECA officials;
Develop an estimate of the regional economic impact of maritime insecurity and compare with other regions (if comparable estimates are available). Estimating the economic costs should include direct losses, such as goods lost to piracy and indirect costs, such as insurance premiums, indirect shipping routes. As much as possible, the economic impact estimate should include jobs, public and private revenue lost;
If possible, estimate, or discuss lost economic and investment opportunities and the socio-economic impact of maritime insecurity, for example on national or regional poverty, humanitarian assistance, and consumer purchasing power;
Revise economic and social analyses based on feedback from UNECA project supervisor and other experts;
Collaborate on and co-author a draft version of the study; and contribute substantially to the final version – including leading the write-up of the economic and social impact results;
Contribute practical and relevant policy recommendations for improving maritime security at the national and regional level;
Contribute to a regional Expert Group Meeting (EGM) or webinar on the project theme, including co-presenting the report.
Qualifications/special skills
Academic Qualifications: An advanced university degree in economics, sustainable development studies, accounting, statistics or a related field (PhD preferred).
Experience: A minimum of 10 years of relevant professional experience in economic research and analysis, maritime security or related area, including a demonstrated record of publications and economics-focused research work on maritime security, IUU fishing, or related area. This should include macroeconomic and socio-economic impact analysis and/or policy development.
Also, the consultant should have:
─ Good understanding of the maritime security landscape in the Africa (Eastern Africa and/or Western Indian Ocean knowledge preferred).
─ Familiarity with the MESA programme and other regional security agreements.
─ Demonstrated experience working under tight deadlines and delivering high-quality outputs.
─ Strong oral and written communication skills.
─ Ability to work independently, proactively and with little supervision
Language: English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For this post, fluency in both English and French is required (oral and written)
No Fee
THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.
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