Smart Irrigation & Rainwater Harvesting in Burundi.

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 the implementation of technical assistance on "Resilient Karusi: Smart Irrigation and Rainwater Harvesting in Burundi" funded by the Adaptation Fund under AFCIA 2. 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 Burundi. The objective of this Technical Assistance is to address water insecurity at a cooperative center in Karusi, Burundi, by implementing an integrated IoT-based water management system serving 24 cooperatives (720 families). The operation will deploy smart technology combining rainwater harvesting with automated distribution systems for both drinking and irrigation purposes. A key innovation is the development of a user-friendly dashboard/mobile application that provides real-time data on water availability, quality, and allocation, creating transparency that will reduce community conflicts by an estimated 70-80%. Burundi is highly vulnerable to climate change impacts, with rising temperatures and increasingly unpredictable rainfall patterns threatening its largely agricultural economy. Located in the East African Great Lakes region, Burundi experiences a tropical highland climate but is seeing more extreme weather events, including prolonged droughts followed by intense rainfall. The Karusi province, where this technical assistance will be implemented, is especially affected by water insecurity. Historical climate data indicates a 10-15% increase in rainfall variability over the past two decades, with longer dry spells during critical growing seasons. This variability has severely impacted agricultural productivity, with crop yields declining by up to 30% in recent years, according to the Burundi Ministry of Agriculture. Approximately 90% of Burundi's population depends on agriculture for their livelihoods, primarily through smallholder farming. In Karusi, the 24 cooperatives that will benefit from this assistance involve over 720 families who currently struggle with water access for both domestic use and irrigation. Traditional water management techniques are insufficient to cope with the increasingly unpredictable rainfall patterns. Some of the expected outputs are: 1. Mandatory Output: Project Management. 2. Stakeholder mapping, community engagement and formalization of arrangements. 3. Assessment and design of integrated IoT-based water management system 4. Installation and commissioning of IoT-based rainwater harvesting and smart irrigation system. 5. Capacity building and knowledge transfer for system operation and maintenance. 6. Development of governance mechanisms and sustainable financing models. 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.