Research position at the Center for International Forestry Research
Study Subject:Forests and Climate Change Mitigation
Employer:CIFOR
Level: Postdoctoral
Scholarship Description: The Post Doctoral Fellow will be responsible for measuring the effectiveness of REDD project sites in reducing emissions of carbon. The post is a joint appointment with Component 2 (REDD project sites) and Component 3 (monitoring and reference levels) in the GCS-REDD. The work will be largely based on field measurements at 20 REDD project sites in Brazil, Cameroon, Tanzania, Indonesia, and Vietnam. The Fellow will work with local partners to undertake these measurements. Comparisons will be made before and after implementation of REDD and incentives, and between intervention and control sites.
The Fellow will report to the Leaders of Component 2 (REDD project sites) and Component 3 (monitoring and reference levels) in GCS-REDD.
Duties and Responsibilities
* In the period prior to the application of REDD incentives (2010):
o Assemble remote sensing and GIS imagery at 20 REDD project sites (including both intervention and control locations) through collaboration with REDD proponent organizations and various national and international research organizations.
o Assemble site-level information on the causes of deforestation and degradation and the approaches pursued by proponents to reduce deforestation and degradation.
o Assemble information at project sites on carbon reference levels and on approaches for measuring carbon flux over time.
* Create a database using these three sets of data to lay the foundation for analysis of REDD effectiveness.
* Participate in regional workshops to raise the capacity of project proponents in MRV.
* Collaborate closely with colleagues working on analysis of efficiency, equity, and co-benefits in REDD.
* In the period after the application of REDD project incentives (2012) make another round of collection of the three types of data specified above.
* Conduct analysis on the basis of the before-after/control-intervention (BACI) model.
* Produce journal articles, research reports, and policy briefs.
* Perform other tasks as requested.
Requirements
Education, experience and technical skills
* PhD in forestry, ecology, natural resource management or other related fields.
* Excellent researcher with strong background in GIS/remote sensing of forest cover change and analysis of the underlying causes of land cover change.
* Experience in the analysis of forest carbon flux is preferred.
* Experience with Monitoring, Reporting and Verification Systems (MRV) is preferred.
* Fluency in English is required. Fluency in other languages used in countries where CIFOR works will be appreciated.
* Experience in working with multiple partners and working in developing countries are preferred.
Personal attributes and competencies
* Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, experience in working with multicultural and multidisciplinary research teams.
* Excellent facilitation skills.
* Have initiative and be capable of working independently as well as in team environments.
* Competency in personal organization, priority setting and managing multiple tasks.
* Values the sharing of information and continuous improvement in a cooperative atmosphere of constructive evaluation and learning.
Scholarship Application Deadline: 10 December 2010