Design of an Integrated Platform for Tropical Monitoring and Forecasting to support technology deployment in El Salvador.

The United Nations Office at Nairobi (UNON), on behalf of the Climate Technology Centre and Network (CTCN) of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), invites qualified and interested firms to submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) to participate in an upcoming solicitation for the provision of technical assistance for the Design of an Integrated Platform for Tropical Monitoring and Forecasting to support technology deployment in El Salvador.

United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), on behalf of CTCN, seeks to engage a qualified consulting firm to provide the technical assistance requested and endorsed by the National Designated Entity (NDE) of El Salvador.

The objective of this assignment is to develop a strategic roadmap and system architecture framework for an Integrated Platform for Tropical Monitoring and Forecasting, and institutional capacity development at MARN through structured training, international knowledge exchange, and the design of a sustainable capacity development framework. El Salvador faces increasing risks from hurricanes, tropical storms, and other tropical weather-related hazards but lacks an integrated, real-time forecasting and early warning system capable of supporting anticipatory action. Current forecasting operations rely heavily on external data processed manually with fragmented tools, limiting operational efficiency, forecast accuracy and lead time, and the effectiveness of early warning services.

El Salvador’s geographic location in Central America, with a long Pacific coastline, places the country in a highly exposed position to tropical weather-related hazards. In addition, its complex topography—characterized by volcanic terrain, fertile valleys, and mountain ranges—and its location within the Pacific Ring of Fire increase its exposure to multiple natural hazards, including tropical cyclones, floods, landslides, earthquakes, and volcanic activity. A large share of the population and critical infrastructure is concentrated in floodplains and low-lying coastal and riverine areas, further amplifying exposure to storm surges, flooding, and landslides.

Beyond these physical hazards, underlying socio-economic conditions—such as overcrowded housing, insecure land tenure and limited access to social protection—interact with high levels of geographic exposure to further compound the impacts of these events, particularly among poor and marginalized communities that are disproportionately concentrated in floodplains, coastal zones and landslide-prone areas.

El Salvador faces high climate risks across key sectors—including urban and rural settlements, transport, agriculture, water resources, and public health—driven by multiple climate change stressors, including tropical cyclones, rising temperatures, changing rainfall patterns, more frequent extreme precipitation and drought conditions, and sea-level rise. These drivers result in impacts such as recurrent flooding, landslides, coastal flooding and erosion, infrastructure damage, agricultural losses, water stress, and heightened risks of climate-sensitive diseases. National adaptation priorities therefore emphasize improved flood management, early warning systems, weather forecasting, and strengthened disease control and surveillance.

However, the full adaptation potential of these measures remains unrealized due to critical technological and institutional gaps. The country lacks an integrated, real-time forecasting and early warning system capable of supporting impact-based and anticipatory decision-making. Forecasting operations still rely heavily on external generated data that are processed through fragmented and manual workflows, with limited data integration, no systematic data assimilation, and no centralized meteorological data infrastructure for large-scale processing and long-term archiving. These gaps constrain forecast accuracy, reduce lead time, and limit the effectiveness of early warning dissemination to key sectors and authorities.

Addressing these barriers through the design of an Integrated Platform for Tropical Monitoring and Forecasting is an essential step towards strengthening climate change adaptation and disaster risk management by enabling risk-informed decision-making, reducing sectoral risks, and supporting timely, evidence-based, and anticipatory action in response to climate-related hazards.

Expected Outputs include:

1. Project Management (Mandatory Output)

2. Strategic roadmap and system architecture and management framework for an Integrated Platform for Tropical Monitoring and Forecasting. 3. Capacity development framework and knowledge exchange programme for the Integrated Platform for Tropical Monitoring and Forecasting.

Detailed requirements will be provided in the solicitation documents to be issued following the closure of this REOI.

Note: At this stage it is sufficient to click on the 'Express Interest' button in UNGM and no documentation is required.

Specific Requirements/Information The Climate Technology Centre and Network (CTCN) is the Operational arm of The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and hosted by United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The mission of the CTCN is to promote accelerated development and transfer of climate technologies at the request of developing countries for energy-efficient, low-carbon and climate-resilient development. CTCN provides technical assistance to the countries using its own funds ( which it receives through voluntary contributions of donor) or through the other funding sources specifically the Green Climate Funds (GCF) through the Readiness Programme. The requests for Technical Assistance (TA) are submitted to the CTCN by the National Designated Entity (NDE) of the respective country. CTCN has developed a response plan and expects to implement the technical assistance.

In case you are not a CTCN network member yet, you may apply for this REOI and subsequent solicitation (Request for Proposal), subject to the condition that you submit your completed application for CTCN membership before the proposal submission closing date, which will be communicated in the subsequent Request for Proposal in due course of time. Furthermore, the contract award – should your proposal be selected – is conditional to your application for CTCN network membership being approved by CTCN management. The requirement to join the CTCN network is only relevant to the main bidder and not subcontractors. Please find more information to join CTCN Network at- https://www.ctc-n.org/network

The purpose of this REOI is to identify suitable firms who may be invited for the Request for Proposal after the REOI is closed. In addition to CTCN registration, all applicants should also be registered (free of charge) at United Nations Global Marketplace (www.ungm.org).

IMPORTANT:

Please note that this REOI is not an invitation for submission of tenders. Its purpose is to identify companies that would be interested and eligible to participate in the solicitation when issued. UNON will examine the outcome of this request for EOI and will consider those companies that have expressed their interest . UNON reserves the right to change or cancel the requirement at any time during the EOI and/or solicitation process. Thus, submitting a reply to this Request for EOI does not automatically guarantee your company will be considered for receipt of the solicitation when issued.