Support to West Africa Regional Action on Plastics Management and Circular Economy - 3480386

The IBRD/IDA in USA from Americas region had released this tender for Request for Expressions of Interest (REOI)Background Document towards a West Africa Regional Action Plan on Plastics Management and Circular Economy BackgroundPlastics pollution is a critical and mounting global challenge that requires regional; national and local action. In West Africa; the use of plastic products is strongly increasing as a direct consequence of urbanization; population and economic growth and their unregulated disposal is creating a host of terrestrial and marine environmental problems negatively impacting key economic sectors like tourism and fishing and livelihoods of vulnerable coastal communities. Although the Plastic-waste ratio per habitants in West Africa (12.5kg/capita/year for coastal countries) is comparably low with European OECD countries (114 kg/capita/year for European) or the US (221 kg/capita/year); the Africa region is estimated to be the second largest source of ocean plastic pollution from rivers; with a share of 7.8 percent (after Asia) and could become the largest contributor to global mismanaged plastic waste by 2060. No single country solution can address this transboundary issue. Plastic pollution is a transboundary challenge that is rooted in unsustainable production and consumption patterns; poor solid waste management; lack of infrastructure; lack of adequate legal and policy frameworks; a lack of financial resources; and poor enforcement. Joint action is needed to reduce plastic pollution; while ensuring a market with high environmental standards and legal certainty for businesses. However; there is a lack of regional coordination of policy frameworks and interventions relevant to plastic pollution; and lack of regional vision and targets to address plastic pollution. A regional; coordinated action is needed to improve West Africa’s capacity and preparedness in implementing the outcomes of the legally binding treaty under preparation by the UN Environment Assembly is an urgent need. In this regard; a regional approach has been initiated by West African regional institutions: WAEMU (West African Economic and Monetary Union) and ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) are working jointly on the development of a regional strategy for sustainable plastic waste management; and a Regional Regulation on Plastics Management has been drafted. These initiatives need further support to become operational. The World Bank seeks to contract a consulting firm with strong experience in plastics management; the circular economy and an established expertise in multiple West African countries to develop the background document for the West Africa Regional Action Plan on Plastics Management and Circular Economy. This will occur technical assistance and a series of workshops to be organized; facilitated and reported on by the consulting firm. ObjectivesThe objective of this work is to support ECOWAS and WAEMU in preparation of an Regional Action Plan on Plastics Management and Circular Economy. The Action Plan will be used by countries; regional institutions and development partners such as the World Bank to address the monumental challenge of plastic pollution in the region. This objective will be achieved via technical assistance and a series of workshops with relevant stakeholders (at this stage; mostly policy-makers) from West African countries and institutions ; to be held between October 2023 and July 2024.Scope of StudyTo achieve the above objectives; the selected consulting firm is expected to provide the following services: *       Prior to the consultations; the consultant will stock-take existing policies and mechanisms that can benefit from the economics of scale through regional action and identify the relevant thematic areas & priority areas of focus for the Regional Action Plan; also considering the upcoming zero draft of Global Treaty. Gathered information will be used during consultations to help West Africa converge into a set of concrete actions; such as determination and prioritization of the executing regulations to be drafted to implement the Regulation on Plastics Management.*       Coordinate three workshops to facilitate consultation across the member states; including the following for each workshop:o   Confirm the scope and develop the agenda;o   Develop any relevant materials;o   Organize the workshop logistics; including inviting attendees and organizing speakers;o   Facilitate the workshop; capturing input from all relevant stakeholders; ando   Report on the workshop outcomes.*       Incorporating comments and inputs from the stakeholders; in form of a Background Document to support drafting of Regional Action Plan in consultation with Regional Entities and the World Bank. *       Support Regional Entities in the finalization of the draft Action Plan through series of consultations and incorporating inputs from all relevant stakeholders. with tender notice no. 0002003055 published on 25 Aug 2023. The tender expired on 12 Sep 2023. This tender is sourced from World Bank website and is eligible for suppliers interested in IT services. Interested bidders can obtain further information including complete bid documents or ways to participate by registering on Tender Impulse and referencing via Tender Impulse ID 3480386.