Terms of Reference (ToR): LG Decision support manual for WW

Terms of Reference (ToR)

Consultant for development of a set of “Local Government Decision-Support Manuals for Climate-Resilient and Inclusive Management of Wastewater in Rural Areas of Nepal”.

1. Introduction

SNV is a global development partner deeply rooted in the African and Asian countries where we operate. With 60 years of experience and a team of approximately 1,600 people, we strengthen capacities and catalyse partnerships that transform agri-food, energy and water systems. Working on the core themes of gender equality and social inclusion, climate adaptation and mitigation, and strong institutions and effective governance, we tailor our approaches to different contexts to achieve large-scale impact and create sustainable and more equitable lives for all.

With the funding support of the FCDO-UK, SNV Nepal (in partnership with Water Aid) is implementing the WASH Systems for Health Project (2024-2027) (referred to as “the Project”) in Koshi and Madhesh Provinces. In coordination with the federal Ministry of Water Supply (MoWS) and its Department of Water Supply and Sewerage Management (DWSSM), the Project works with provincial and local governments (LGs) to strengthen WASH systems leading to inclusive, resilient and sustainable WASH services in rural areas.

As part of the Project objectives to support the respective provincial governments to guide local governments in improving the sanitation and hygiene condition of rural municipalities through safe management of all streams of domestic wastewater, SNV Nepal is looking for an experienced Consultant for developing a set of  “Local Government Decision-Support Manual(s) for Climate-Resilient and Inclusive Management of Wastewater in Rural Areas of Nepal”.  In this TOR, safely managed sanitation refers to the safe management of “excreta” as well as other “domestic wastewater streams” produced at premises level including household, institutions (schools, health facilities, offices) and commercial areas.  It excludes industrial wastewater and surface water runoff. Safe management refers to the complete sanitation value chain from point of generation to point of disposal (source to sink). 

The set of manuals is intended to address the specific contexts of the three ecological zones of the country: mountain and high hills; mid-hills, and terai plains.  Koshi Province has all three ecological zones and Madhesh Province is situated in the terai belt.  The manuals will be finalised, endorsed and disseminated by the respective provincial ministries responsible for WASH in Koshi and Madhesh provinces to support local governments of rural municipalities in their decision-making on investments in and management of sanitation value chains.  The manuals will also be shared at the federal level with advocacy for adoption for other provinces in the country.  The manuals are intended to serve as self-help guides for political and executive leaders of the local governments in making decisions on safely managed sanitation (domestic wastewater).

2. Background

Nepal has achieved remarkable gains in sanitation coverage over the past decade, particularly following the nationwide open-defecation-free (ODF) campaign led by the Government of Nepal. While the ODF movement significantly improved access to toilets, the national sanitation agenda has progressively shifted toward achieving safely managed sanitation services in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 6). In recent years, Nepal has embraced the Citywide Inclusive Sanitation (CWIS) approach which emphasizes equitable, service-oriented, and inclusive sanitation solutions across entire urban areas. CWIS initiatives in Nepal are largely concentrating on metropolitan cities and emerging urban centers, focusing on faecal sludge management (FSM), institutional strengthening, and service delivery models. 

SNV Netherlands Development Organisation has supported capacity building of targeted cities in Nepal on safely managed sanitation services focusing on on-site sanitation systems, including development of FSM regulations and their enforcement, professionalised sludge emptying services, promoting behaviour uptake for timely and safe emptying, and technical support for investment in and operation of faecal sludge treatment plants (FSTPs). Furthermore, SNV has worked with numerous rural municipalities on promoting Total Sanitation behaviours that include the timely emptying and safe on-site disposal of faecal sludge. These interventions have generated valuable technical experience and operational lessons for urban and rural settings.

However, despite these advancements, critical gaps remain, namely rural municipalities particularly those outside major urban corridors, lack structured, context-specific planning and investment for safely managed sanitation systems that consider all streams of domestic wastewater and its management from source to sink.  While the national ODF campaign resulted in most households having a robust, improved sanitation facility designed to hygienically separate excreta from human contact (approximately 85% of households are using a toilet nation-wide), there has been no systematic approach to promoting the timely emptying of the containment systems attached to the toilets and the safe and affordable management of faecal sludge across the value chain (emptying, transport, and treatment/disposal/reuse) in rural areas.  Furthermore, in some cases, such as dense bazaar areas or regularly flooded settlements, there are critical questions as to the suitability and sustainability of the existing toilet and containment systems, which ultimately impact the management of the faecal sludge. Such systems may also pose risks to groundwater contamination.

The other key challenge is the exclusion of greywater from the management of the sanitation value chain. While local practices of reusing greywater for kitchen gardens within the homestead exist, in many areas unmanaged greywater is an environmental and public health nuisance (breeding of mosquitoes, smell) and greywater mixed with high organic matter such as urine and manure from domestic animals is typically directed into surface runoff channels that causes eutrophication of downstream water bodies. Finally, a critical source of domestic wastewater produced in rural municipalities are commercial enterprises such as hotels, slaughterhouses, and mechanic workshops, which manage the wastewater in an ad-hoc manner, often polluting nearby open spaces or water bodies.

Existing guidelines and toolkits are largely urban-centric and/or incomplete (focusing only on FSM) and do not adequately consider the institutional capacity constraints, financial limitations, geographic diversity, and climate vulnerabilities faced by rural local governments in proposing options and implementation strategies.

The three different ecological zones (mountain and high hill, mid-hills, and terai) of the country each bring their own complexities in planning, implementation, and operation of wastewater management services. The ecological zones differ significantly in terms of settlement patterns, road accessibility, soil conditions, soil types and strata, groundwater conditions, flood risks, landslide exposure, land availability, climatic variability, and construction materials and methods. Municipalities in the terai face recurrent flooding and high groundwater tables, while hill and mountain municipalities contend with steep terrain, primary erosion and landsliding, land scarcity, extreme cold climates, and difficult transport logistics. Such variations demand ecologically-sensitive, climate-resilient, and financially viable solutions, rather than uniform technology prescriptions.

At present, there are no comprehensive, yet easy-to-follow, step-by-step manuals tailored to rural municipalities across the different ecological zones that provide guidance through a structured, evidence-based framework for planning and investment in the whole value chain for safely managed sanitation.

Without such guidance, municipalities risk investing in inappropriate technologies, underperforming infrastructure, financially unsustainable systems, or systems that don’t address sanitation holistically. The absence of a standardized yet adaptable decision-making framework limits the ability of local governments to fulfil their constitutional mandate for sanitation service delivery and protecting public health under Nepal’s federal system.

Click on the link below for the detailed TOR:

TOR_LG Decision support manual for WW

Application submission deadline: March 24th, 2026, 5:00 PM

Expected start of assignment: March 30th, 2026

Interested national and international organisations are requested to submit both Technical and Financial proposals to the email address nepal@snv.org with subject title: “Local Government Decision-Support Manuals”. For any clarification regarding the Terms of Reference, applicants may contact SNV via email at nepal@snv.org