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THE KUWAIT INDEPENDENT REVIEWERS (IR)
Kuwait NFP has recommended to the UNCC a pool of experts to act as Independent
Reviewers (IRs). The Governing Council of the UNCC will review the IR Team at
its upcoming session (20-22 June 2007) and, if approved, the IRs will thereafter
work in the following environmental remediation/rehabilitation areas.
A.
Rehabilitation of groundwater aquifers contaminated with:-
(i)
petroleum hydro-carbons;
(ii)
high levels of salinity; or
(iii)
a
combination of both, (i) and (ii).
B.
Rehabilitation and revegetation of the desert eco-system.
C.
Remediation, rehabilitation, removal and treatment of the oil lakes and
oil-contaminated soil (including tarcrete) covering but not limited to the use
of mechanical, chemical, thermal and biological treatments.
D.
Remediation and rehabilitation of the oil contaminated coastal areas.
E.
Establishment and operation of the marine long term environmental monitoring and
assessment program.
F.
Public Health monitoring and assessment, and subsequent
remediation/rehabilitation activities.
G.
Experience in developing quality control/quality criteria and guidelines for
ecosystem recovery and rehabilitation.
Role and Responsibilities of the Independent Reviewers pursuant to the
Guidelines
The IRs will undertake an independent review process according to a timeline
agreed with the Kuwait NFP.
The IRs will be involved in two stages. Stage 1 involves the Remediation and
Restoration Projects (also referred to as RRPs) and is the planning phase
wherein, the IRs will be required to assist the Kuwait NFP as follows:
A.
Review the terms of reference for the project planning and supervisory
consultants, the legal services, the financial management, auditing and tracking
services, and technical and field consultants ensuring that the terms of
reference are consistent with the requirements of the Guidelines.
B.
Reviewing and evaluating the final proposals submitted to the claimant
government by vendors/agencies in respect of the RRPs ensuring that
vendors/agencies are taking a phased approach to implement the RRPs with long
duration and providing Kuwait NFP with feedback, suggesting modifications where
necessary, and making final recommendations in respect of these proposals.
C.
Review the environmental quality criteria (QC/QA) and clean up targets as well
as the environmental health criteria and guidelines applicable to Kuwait .
D.
In evaluating the RRP proposals the IRs should also ensure that:
(i)
the vendor will be conducting transparent, competitive and effective procurement
procedures in compliance with applicable national laws and international
practices;
(ii)
RRPs of long duration are to be implemented in phases such that the phasing
would allow a particular restoration approach to be tested and evaluated for a
smaller area before decisions are made to implement the approach across the
entire area proposed to be remediated or restored;
(iii)
implementation of the RRPs will be in accordance with the proposals submitted by
vendors/agencies and approved by UNCC;
(iv)
the RRPs are being implemented according to UNCC approved methodologies with
primary emphasis on restoring the environment to pre-invasion conditions, in
terms of its overall ecological functioning rather than removal of specific
contaminants or restoration of the environment to a particular condition;
(v)
the remediation approaches or techniques that pose unacceptable risks of
ecological harm are avoided;
(vi)
the remediation activities are to be undertaken only if they are likely to
result in more positive than negative effects;
(vii)
the remediation techniques that facilitate natural recovery processes should be
preferred, and active remediation should build on and enhance natural recovery
that has already occurred;
(viii)
the remediation should rely on proven and well-established technologies and
techniques in preference to experimental or untested approaches;
(ix)
the effectiveness of remediation activities should be monitored to ensure that
remediation targets are met;
(x)
the RRPs are designed to be sufficiently flexible and responsive to new
information obtained from such monitoring;
(xi)
where more than one remediation approach or technique is appropriate to achieve
a desired remediation goal, the most cost-effective option should be selected;
(xii)
the remediation decisions should consider both the short-term and long-term
effects of remediation activities on neighboring ecosystems, including
trans-boundary effects; and
(xiii)
the vendor applies Quality Control/Quality Assurance (QC/QA) protocols and the
environmental quality standards/criteria for the various environmental media.
Stage 2 is the implementation and execution phase wherein the IRs will be
required to make available to Kuwait NFP a pool of technical/financial
independent reviewers pursuant to the organization structure mentioned in
Section 3 above. The IRs will be required to monitor and evaluate both the
on-going Monitoring and Assessment Projects (M&A Projects) and the Remediation
and Restoration Projects (RRFs) together referred to as the Projects as outlined
in the section on the Terms of Reference for the IRs below. The IRs will have
to coordinate the activities of the independent review teams to ensure that the
teams are working together in a cohesive and coherent manner to achieve the
objectives of the independent review process as stipulated in the Guidelines.
The IRs will also be
responsible for coordinating the preparation and filing all reports as
stipulated in the Guidelines. In each reporting period, a report for each
Project must be prepared and signed by the individual IRs who participated in
its development. These reports should include the IRs overall assessment of the
project as specified in the Guidelines. Where the IRs identify issues or
concerns, the reports should include their recommendations for resolving them.
Where the IRs may hold different opinions on an issue, the reports should fully
reflect this range of views.
In carrying out its responsibilities covering the Stage 2 implementation phase,
the IRs through individual review teams will:
A.
Monitor the work progress including the technical, financial and administrative
aspects of the Projects.
B.
Monitor effectiveness of remediation activities to ensure that remediation
targets are met.
C.
Ensure adherence to the QC/QA guidelines and environmental and public health
standards/guidelines.
D.
Follow-up each Project closely in cooperation with the KUWAIT NFP and provide
regular monitoring and evaluation reports to the UNCC on the implementation of
the Projects according to the Guidelines.
E.
Review and evaluate the financial monitoring and audit information of all
projects to ensure full transparency in management of funds awarded by the UNCC.
F.
Identify any material modifications in the Projects. Where Kuwait NFP proposes
material changes to the Projects, provide Kuwait NFP with views to the extent to
which the revised approach is better able to achieve appropriate
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