Wildfires information system enhancement project in North Macedonia.

The United Nations Office at Nairobi (UNON), on behalf of Climate Technology Centre and Network (CTCN), United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) invites qualified interested firms to submit Expression of Interest (EOI) to participate in the upcoming solicitation for provision of technical assistance on "Wildfires information system enhancement project in North Macedonia". The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) on behalf of the Climate Technology Centre and Network (CTCN) requires the services of an institution to deliver the technical assistance as approved by National Designated Entity from North Macedonia. The objective of this Technical Assistance is to increase the functionality of the system by adding a wildfire information module(s) to better plan countermeasures to forest fires. The Republic of North Macedonia (North Macedonia) is a country on the Balkan Peninsula bordered by Kosovo, Bulgaria, Albania, and Greece and extending across 25,710 sq. km, of which 39.7% is covered by forests . Recently, these forests have come under severe threat of forest fires caused by higher temperatures and drier weather brought about by climate change. The burnt area resulting from forest fires has increased by 10 times from 11.5 sq. km in 2014 to 114.2 sq. km in 2021. The wildfires that raged in the country in the summer of 2021 prompted the declaration of a state of emergency for 30 days. One system that North Macedonia developed in 2014 to counter forest fires is the Macedonian Forest Fire Information System (MKFFIS) , supported by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). MKFFIS utilizes a web-GIS system for fire prevention and early warning, providing crucial information on hotspots, vegetation, fire-weather index, topography etc. It ensures the availability and exchange of data relating to Fire Risk, i.e. Hazard, Exposure, Vulnerability and Resilience/Capacity and connects all relevant institutions that share responsibilities in forest fire risk management. However, the existing system requires additional modules to cover other lands which are out of forest and forest land and to provide function for wildfires risk management. Also, to reinforce its ability to assess fire damage, map fire hazards, and evaluate the existence of different combustible materials (forest, grassland, brushland, cropland and other wildland vegetation). Therefore, this technical assistance envisions the development of additional modules which will be integrated into the MKFFIS. With that would further strengthen North Macedonia’s capacity for comprehensive wildfires risk management. The main purpose for this technical assistance is to augment the functionality of MKFFIS by assessing the current state of forest fire/wildfires risks and adaptation measures in place, conducting a study the information to be incorporated into the new module(s) of MKFFIS and, based on this, designing one or several modules to ensure their efficacy in addressing forest fire hazards as well as their compatibility with the existing system. Some of the expected outputs are: 1. Development of implementation planning and communications documents. 2. Demonstrate potential modules and specify useful information 3. Modules development on MKFFIS including software development and hardware procurement. 4. Capacity building on software usage to the local agencies. 5. Consider Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) measures, including implications for women and vulnerable groups, and consider additional improvements to be made. 6. Analyze gaps in developing a larger, cross-border climate change adaptation project. The complete details of the requirement will be provided in the tender documents that will be issued to bidders after this request for EOI is closed.