Tuesday, September 28, 2010
ONLINE RESOURCE: AidData for Tracking Development Finance
AidData attempts to capture the universe of development finance and foreign aid, increase the value of data by providing more descriptive information about development activities, provide data in an accessible format, and strengthen efforts to improve donor and recipient strategic planning and coordination. The AidData team is committed to building an easy-to-use, comprehensive, and timely resource describing the universe of development finance project-by-project, including all grants and loans committed by all major bilateral and multilateral aid donors. AidData is currently developing a publicly-accessible interface that will enable researchers, field workers, and policy makers interested in development finance to access detailed project level data in order to increase transparency, accountability, and effectiveness.
FELLOWSHIPS: Sustainability Science Program at Harvard’s Center for International Development
The Sustainability Science Program at Harvard University's Center for International Development invites applications for resident fellowships in sustainability science for the University's academic year beginning in September 2011. The fellowship competition is open to advanced doctoral and post-doctoral students, and to mid-career professionals engaged in research or practice to facilitate the design, implementation, and evaluation of effective interventions that promote sustainable development. Applicants should describe how their work would contribute to "sustainability science," the emerging field of use-inspired research seeking understanding of the interactions between human and environmental systems as well as the application of such knowledge to sustainability challenges relating to advancing development of agriculture, habitation, energy and materials, health and water while conserving the earth's life support systems. This year some preference will be given to applicants whose work addresses challenges of innovation for sustainable development, with special attention to innovation in the energy, health and agricultural sectors. In addition to general funds available to support this fellowship offering, special funding for the Giorgio Ruffolo Fellowships in Sustainability Science is available to support citizens of Italy or developing countries who are therefore especially encouraged to apply. The Sustainability Science Program is directed by Professors William Clark and Michael Kremer, and Nancy Dickson.
Deadline: December 1, 2010
CALL FOR PAPERS: Journal of Cultural Heritage Management and Sustainable Development
The journal seeks to publish high quality articles on immovable cultural heritage and its role in sustainable development, as well as the sustainable development of immovable cultural heritage. Immovable cultural heritage ranges from cultural landscapes to monuments. Other relevant dimensions of cultural heritage will also be considered for publication e.g. rural cultural heritage, indigenous cultural heritage management. The journal welcomes a range of theoretical and practical papers based upon quantitative and qualitative methodological approaches. It disseminates the results of innovative research and practices, contributing to the improvement of current practices while developing and applying new/emerging practices.
Coverage includes, but is not limited to:
- Cultural heritage – assessment, management, marketing and publicity, tangible and intangible dimensions
- Sustainable development – preservation, conservation, restoration, rehabilitation, reconstruction, demolition, best practices, unsustainable development and consequent threats e.g. urban developments, large-scale agriculture, mining activity
- Cultural heritage and sustainable development – legislation, Cultural Heritage Impact Assessment, effects of climate change, ecological sustainability, social sustainability, economic sustainability
- The role of research and scholarship
- Teaching & curriculum development
EMPLOYMENT: PhD Researchers in “Grounding Land Governance”
The African Studies Centre in Leiden has vacancies for 3 PhD researchers in the “Grounding Land Governance” programme. This research programme investigates how land governance evolves in post-conflict situations, as an outcome of the interaction between multiple stakeholders, including government, traditional authorities, NGOs, and local people. Thereby, it looks in particular at how decentralization influences relations of governance, how it impacts the legitimacy and authority of local institutions, and how it affects the resolution of land conflicts. It builds around comparative analysis of case studies from Uganda, Burundi and southern Sudan. A central aim of the project is to foster learning and stimulate exchange on this theme between academics, development organizations, local community institutions, and local governments.
The three vacancies are:
- 'Embedding land conflict - Decentralized land governance and conflict transformation in Uganda'
- 'Shifting legitimacies - Decentralized land governance and legal pluralism in Burundi'
- 'Reconstructing the state - Decentralized land governance and relations of governance in Southern Sudan'
More information (1 MS Word document contains all 3 announcements).
Deadline: October 10, 2010
Monday, September 27, 2010
EVENT: IASC 2011 - Sustaining Commons: Sustaining our Future
Registration is now open for the 13th Biennial conference of the International Association for Study of the Commons: IASC 2011 - Sustaining Commons: Sustaining our Future. The event will take place in Hyderabad, India, 10-14 January, 2011.
IASC invites everyone interested in issues relating to the commons to be a part of IASC 2011. With participation from over 85 countries and presentations touching upon myriad dimensions of the commons, the Conference promises to be an insightful and stimulating experience. Adding to the vitality is an interesting array of pre-conference workshops, field visits and other activities to choose from.
Information on all of these is now available on the website, where you can also find the first issue of Common Voices—the IASC 2011 Newsletter, where you can also find an article on Elinor Ostrom, the event’s inaugural speaker.
Registration at IASC 2011 is required of all attendees. Register early for lower registration fees.
Deadline for early registration: October 15, 2010
TRAINING: Design & Management of Interactive Learning in Rural Innovation
International Centre for development oriented Research in Agriculture (ICRA) offers a 3-week course focusing on enhancing the competencies to trigger, facilitate, and coach experiential, interactive learning in rural innovation. It aims at strengthening the capacities of learning facilitators within the context of existing innovation processes, programmes, and projects.
The course involves participants in hands-on application of integrated and interactive learning, and
builds largely on the participants’ own experiences. Participants bring to the programme their own
on-going or envisaged projects to initiate and coach interactive learning (case studies) that will be
analysed, reflected and improved upon.
The course targets professionals from research, extension, farmer organizations and private sector, working in rural innovation networks and who are involved in designing, facilitating and coaching on-the-job participatory learning processes.
The next course will be held from 28 March - 15 April 2011, Wageningen, The Netherlands
Deadline: November 1, 2010
Friday, September 24, 2010
PUBLICATIONS: Journal of Peasant Studies Special Issue on The Politics of Biofuels, Land and Agrarian Change
The Journal of Peasant Studies Special Issue on the Politics of Biofuels, Land, and Agrarian Change is available for FREE download for a limited time. The issue addresses key questions on biofuels within agrarian political economy, political sociology and political ecology.
Contributions are based on fresh empirical materials from different parts of the world. The collection’s starting point has been four key questions in agrarian political economy: Who owns what? Who does what? Who gets what? And what do they do with the surplus wealth? It also addresses the emergent social and political relations in the biofuel complex, asking, ‘How do people interact with each other’? And, given the impacts on natural resources and sustainability, it also engages with questions about people-environment interactions, asking for example, ‘How do changes in politics get shaped by dynamic ecologies, and vice versa’? At the same time, the collection is concerned with the politics of representation, that is, what are the discursive frames through which biofuels are promoted and/or opposed? And what are the institutional structures, and cultures of energy consumption on which a biofuels complex depends, and what alternative political and ecological visions are emerging to call the biofuels complex into question? Across 16 articles presenting material from five regions across the North-South divide and focusing on 14 countries including Brazil, Indonesia, India, USA and Germany, these questions are addressed within the following themes: global (re)configurations; agro-ecological visions; conflicts, resistances and diverse outcomes; state, capital and society relations; mobilising opposition, creating alternatives; and change and continuity.
Available here. See list of articles below.
Articles:
- Saturnino M. Borras Jr., Philip McMichael & Ian Scoones, The politics of biofuels, land and agrarian change: an introduction
- Ben White and Anirban Dasgupta, Agrofuels capitalism: a view from political economy
- Philip McMichael, Agrofuels in the food regime
- Peter Dauvergne and Kate Neville, Forests, food, and fuel in the tropics: the uneven social and ecological consequences of the emerging political economy of biofuels
- Jennifer Franco, Les Levidow, David Fig, Lucia Goldfarb, Mireille Hönicke, and Maria Luisa Mendonça, Assumptions in the European Union biofuels policy: frictions with experiences in Germany, Brazil and Mozambique
- Gail Hollander, Power is sweet: sugarcane in the global ethanol assemblage
- Sean Gillon, Fields of Dreams: Negotiating an Ethanol Agenda in the Midwest United States
- John Wilkinson and Selena Herrera, Biofuels in Brazil: Debates and Impacts
- Andre Novo, Kees Jansen, Maja Slingerland and Ken Giller, Biofuel, Dairy Production and Beef in Brazil: Competing Claims on Land Use in São Paulo State
- Bernardo Mançano Fernandes, Clifford Andrew Welch and Elienaí Constantino Gonçalves, Agrofuel Politics in Brazil: Paradigmatic and Territorial Disputes
- John McCarthy, Processes of inclusion and adverse incorporation: oil palm and agrarian change in Sumatra, Indonesia
- Oliver Pye, The Biofuel Connection – Transnational Activism and the Palm Oil Boom
- Pere Ariza-Montobbio, Sharachchandra Lele, Giorgos Kallis and Joan Martinez-Alier, The political ecology of Jatropha curcas plantations for biodiesel in Tamil Nadu, India
- Sonja Vermeulen & Lorenzo Cotula, Over the heads of local people: consultation, consent and recompense in large-scale land deals for biofuels projects in Africa
- Ben Richardson, Big Sugar in southern Africa: rural development and the perverted potential of sugar/ethanol exports
- Carol Hunsberger, The politics of Jatropha-based biofuels in Kenya: Convergence and divergence among NGOs, donors, government officials and farmers
Thursday, September 23, 2010
This Week’s Posts
EMPLOYMENT: Opportunities with CIFOR. CIFOR is currently accepting applications for several Scientist and Senior Scientist positions. Deadline: October 31, 2010
EMPLOYMENT: FAO Policy Officer (Policy assistance Support Service). The incumbent will contribute to policy assistance and capacity building activities on selected food security, agriculture and rural development priority issues in collaboration with other concerned units in Headquarters and in Regional and Subregional Offices. Deadline: November 12, 2010
SCHOLARSHIPS: Gates Cambridge Scholarships at University of Cambridge. Scholarships are full-cost awards for graduate study and research in any subject available at the University of Cambridge. The scholarships are highly competitive and are awarded to citizens of any country outside the UK. Deadline: October 15 for US citizens
SCHOLARSHIPS: PhD Scholarships in Dynamics of Complex Property Rights (and others) at University of Technology Sydney. The School of the Built Environment at University of Technology Sydney, Australia has created five special PhD scholarships for 2011 for doctoral applicants in the Faculty of Design, Architecture, and Building, including a research stream in the Dynamics of Complex Real Property Rights. Deadline: October 29, 2010 for domestic applicants.
EVENT: AgKnowledge Africa Share Fair on Agricultural and Rural Development Knowledge in Africa. The Share Fair on will be held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 18-21 October 2010.
EVENT: 117th EAAE Seminar: Climate Change, Food Security, and Resilience of Food Systems. The seminar will take place from November 25th to November 27th, 2010 in the Palace of the University of Hohenheim.
PUBLICATION: Women and Landed Property in Urban India. a recent UNU-Wider Working Paper.
PUBLICATION: Women and Landed Property in Urban India
CAPRi readers may be interested in reading this recent UNU-Wider Working Paper titled Women and Landed Property in Urban India: Negotiating Closed Doors and Windows of Opportunity.
This paper examines land tenure in informal urban settlements in India from a gender perspective through field research conducted in Ahmedabad in collaboration with the Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA). The author describes the formal and informal tenure arrangements that were in place in these settlements and analyses their implications for women. She proceeds to raise key issues that need consideration in developing a gender-equitable vision of urban land rights, tenure and reform. These include more widely established issues such as tenuous inheritance rights of daughters and the challenges of securing joint property titles for married women as well as emerging issues such as the obstacles faced by slum-dwelling rentees, the largely unsubstantiated fears of gentrification and market eviction associated with tenure security, and the legal and practical challenges of translating the ‘right of residence’ into the ‘right of ownership’. In each case, the author also draws out policy recommendations for redressing the discrepancies in women’s ownership of urban land and housing in India.
SCHOLARSHIPS: PhD Scholarships in Dynamics of Complex Property Rights (and others) at University of Technology Sydney
The School of the Built Environment within the Faculty of Design, Architecture, and Building (DAB) at University of Technology Sydney, Australia (UTS) is interested in applicants who would like to participate in three major research streams: (1) Advanced Digital Modelling in Building Delivery; (2) Life Cycle Based Models for Sustainable Buildings; and (3) The Dynamics of Complex Real Property Rights. As part of its ambitious program of research expansion, UTS has created five special PhD scholarships for 2011 for doctoral applicants in DAB. Each scholarship, available to students of exceptional research potential, is for full-time study and provides a tax-exempt stipend (AUD$22,500 per annum plus moving allowance and thesis allowance).
For more information about UTS’s research on complex real property rights, see here. Additional information on the scholarship process available here. More information on the application process here.
If interested in applying to the School of the Built Environment please contact:
- for research stream 1 & 2 - Professor Anil Sawhney, Professor of Construction Project Management, Anil.Sawhney[at]uts.edu.au
- for research stream 3 – Professor Spike Boydell, Director of the Asia-Pacific Centre for Complex Real Property Rights, Spike.Boydell[at]uts.edu.au
Deadline: October 29, 2010 for domestic applicants. International applications may be submitted at any time but must be received by 15 December to be considered to begin in the March semester.
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
SCHOLARSHIPS: Gates Cambridge Scholarships at University of Cambridge
Gates Cambridge Scholarships are awarded to outstanding students from outside the UK to study at the University of Cambridge. The programme aims to build a global network of future leaders committed to improving the lives of others.
Gates Cambridge Scholarships are full-cost awards for graduate study and research in any subject available at the University of Cambridge. The scholarships are highly competitive and are awarded to citizens of any country outside the UK. The Scholarships are awarded on the following criteria:
- intellectual ability
- leadership capacity
- a good fit with Cambridge
- a commitment to improving the lives of others
While at Cambridge Gates Scholars pursue the full range of academic disciplines and are spread throughout all 31 Colleges.
All applicants for the scholarship apply for – and must gain – admission to the University of Cambridge.
Deadline: October 15 (for US citizens), December 1 (non-US citizens)
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
EMPLOYMENT: FAO Policy Officer (Policy assistance Support Service)
Under the general supervision of the Chief, TCSP, and the immediate supervision of a Senior Policy Officer, the incumbent will contribute to policy assistance and capacity building activities on selected food security, agriculture and rural development priority issues in collaboration with other concerned units in Headquarters and in Regional and Subregional Offices. In particular will:
- contribute to the preparation of technical materials, including analytical tools, to support policy and capacity building assistance to member countries in food security, agriculture and rural development policy, and related sector strategy formulation;
- participate in missions for identification, formulation, appraisal and backstopping of policy-related projects in areas of FAO’s mandate; and grant technical backstopping of such projects;
- participate in FAO policy advisory support to FAO member countries and their Regional Economic Integration Organizations, in particular the African Union and its NEPAD Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP), and reports and briefs thereon;
- contribute to the development of the Organization’s field programme;
- monitor key global food, agriculture and rural development policy developments, paying particular attention to major emerging trends and challenges;
- draft technical and methodological papers on selected policy issues, in collaboration with other FAO units and external partners;
- participate in comparative studies on policy experience of member countries and on selected priority themes;
- prepare and review policy-related project proposals and documents;
- perform other related duties as required.
Deadline: November 12, 2010
EMPLOYMENT: Opportunities with CIFOR
CIFOR is an international research and global knowledge institution with a mission to contribute to the sustained well being of people in developing countries in the tropics. It achieves this through collaborative, strategic and applied research and by promoting the transfer and adoption of appropriate new technologies and social systems for national development. CIFOR is currently accepting applications for the following positions. Click for more information.
- Scientist, Impact Assessment
- Senior Scientist, Household Livelihoods
- Senior Scientist, Markets of Forest Products and Services
Deadline: October 31, 2010
Monday, September 20, 2010
EVENT: AgKnowledge Africa Share Fair on Agricultural and Rural Development Knowledge in Africa
The Share Fair on Agricultural and Rural Development Knowledge in Africa will be held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 18-21 October 2010.
Efforts to create, share and communicate ‘rural’ knowledge and information ‘of Africa’ are hardly known beyond the small communities directly involved in them. Yet, there is an enormous amount of innovation and experimentation across the continent. This event will showcase the ways that agricultural and rural knowledge in and of Africa is created, shared, communicated, and put to use.
The meeting will bring together a wide range of people and organizations working with Africa’s agricultural and rural knowledge: Farmer organizations, extensionists, researchers, students, academia, policy shapers, information and communication specialists, commercial advisors and input providers, and governments.
EVENT: 117th EAAE Seminar: Climate Change, Food Security, and Resilience of Food Systems
The title of this seminar is “Climate Change, Food Security and Resilience of Food and Agricultural Systems in Developing Countries: Mitigation and Adaptation Options”. The objective is to bring together agricultural economists and other scientists working in the field of rural and agricultural development in developing and transformation countries in order to analyze the impacts of climate change on food security, and to evaluate relevant options for adaptation to and mitigation of climate change in the food and agricultural sector.
The seminar will take place from November 25th to November 27th, 2010 in the Palace of the University of Hohenheim, and is hosted by the Food Security Center of the University of Hohenheim.
Deadline for pre-registration: October 31, 2010
Thursday, September 16, 2010
This Week’s Posts
EMPLOYMENT: EDRSAIA Project Coordinator (ILRI-Nairobi). ILRI is therefore seeking to recruit a Nairobi-based Coordinator to play a key role in leading and supervising all elements of this multi-partner initiative. Deadline: September 30, 2010
EMPLOYMENT: FAO Natural Resources Management Officer (Environmental Challenges and Safeguards). The incumbent will contribute to the department’s work to assist member countries participate in the UN System-wide mechanism to address global and national environmental challenges, including safeguards. Deadline: October 6, 2010
EMPLOYMENT: FAO Technical Officer (Water Quality). The incumbent will be responsible for the development and implementation of FAO’s programme in the field of water quality management in agriculture, mitigation of adverse environmental effects of agriculture on water and the use of non conventional water in agriculture. Deadline: October 6, 2010
EMPLOYMENT: IFPRI Postdoctoral/Research Fellow. IFPRI seeks a qualified candidate to serve as a Postdoctoral or Research Fellow to work with the Mozambique Strategy Support Program (MozSSP) for a two-year, fixed-term, exempt, renewable appointment. Deadline: October 15, 2010
EMPLOYMENT: FAO Senior Fishery Officer (Governance and Management). The incumbent will form part of a team providing integrated advice on fisheries policy, management and governance, with particular reference to the Latin American and Caribbean region. Deadline: November 5, 2010
Opportunities with UNU-WIDER: Visiting Scholars and PhD Research internships. The UNU-WIDER Visiting Scholars Programme is intended to give qualified scholars an opportunity to undertake research on topics related to development and/or global economic issues. The UNU-WIDER PhD Research Internship Programme aims to provide PhD students the opportunity to utilize the resources and facilities available at UNU-WIDER for their PhD thesis research. Deadline: September 30, 2010
FELLOWSHIP: Georg Forster Research Fellowship for Postdoctoral Researchers. The research proposal must deal with issues of major relevance to the future development of the candidate’s country of origin and, in this context, particularly suited to transferring knowledge and methods to developing and threshold countries.
CALLS FOR PROJECT CONCEPT NOTES: Actions to Achieve Food Security & Reduce Poverty in West and Central Africa (CORAF/WECARD). Project period is 3 years and concept notes may be submitted in English or French. Deadline: September 30, 2010
PUBLICATION: Elites and Institutional Persistence. A recent Working Papaer from UNU-Wider.
Opportunities with UNU-WIDER: Visiting Scholars and PhD Research internships
The UNU-WIDER Visiting Scholars Programme is intended to give qualified scholars an opportunity to undertake research on topics related to development and/or global economic issues, to participate in UNU-WIDER activities, and to contribute to UNU-WIDER publications. It is also designed to aid the dissemination of UNU-WIDER research and to contribute to the UNU-WIDER outreach programme. For some places in the programme, preference will be given to females and to applicants from developing countries. [more information]
The UNU-WIDER PhD Research Internship Programme aims to provide PhD (doctoral degree) students registered at a university and similar research institutions the opportunity to utilise the resources and facilities available at UNU-WIDER for their PhD thesis research, to produce papers suitable for publication in the Research Paper series and elsewhere, and to work jointly with UNU-WIDER researchers in areas of mutual interest. [more information]
Deadline for both: September 30, 2010
PUBLICATION: Elites and Institutional Persistence
CAPRi readers may be interested in reading this recent UNU-Wider Working Paper.
Particular sets of institutions, once they become established in a society, have a strong tendency to persist. In this paper I argue that understanding how elites form and reproduce is key to understanding the persistence of institutions over time. I illustrate this idea with a simple political economy theory of institutions and through examples from Liberia, the US, South Africa and Germany I show how elites influence institutions. To change institutions requires having an understanding of how reforms influence the preferences, capabilities and strategies of elites.
EMPLOYMENT: IFPRI Postdoctoral/Research Fellow (Maputo, Mozambique)
The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) seeks a qualified candidate to serve as a Postdoctoral or Research Fellow to work with the Mozambique Strategy Support Program (MozSSP) for a two-year, fixed-term, exempt, renewable appointment. The position reports to the Director of the Development Strategy and Governance Division (DSGD) and is based in Maputo, Mozambique.
The program focuses on strategic and policy issues in agriculture and rural development and food and nutrition in Mozambique. A primary objective is to enhance the capacity of stakeholders in Mozambique’s food and agricultural sector to undertake evidence-based policymaking in order to foster economic and agricultural growth and reduce poverty, hunger, and malnutrition.
The program supports policy research and capacity strengthening for the implementation of the country’s strategies for agricultural development and nutrition and the CAADP Process. It coordinates its activities with other partners in the country, including Michigan State University and other centers of the CGIAR.
Deadline: October 15, 2010
EMPLOYMENT: FAO Senior Fishery Officer (Governance and Management)
Under the overall supervision of the Director, FIP, the incumbent will form part of a team providing integrated advice on fisheries policy, management and governance, with particular reference to the Latin American and Caribbean region. In particular, will:
- analyse, assess and disseminate information and policy advice concerning the social and economic aspects of fisheries, sustainable fisheries management and governance, taking into account international fisheries instruments, standards and principles such as those reflected in the 1995 FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries;
- undertake applied research and publish high-quality papers, reports and guidelines concerning the social and economic aspects of fisheries, sustainable fisheries management and good governance;
- advise on the policy and governance aspects of, and facilitate administratively and technically, the development of international fisheries instruments;
- organize administratively and technically, meetings, consultations, workshops and capacity-development activities to promote sustainable fisheries management and good governance and assume responsibility for the preparation of related reports and follow-up;
- prepare administratively and technically, and participate in or lead FAO missions to assist developing countries strengthen their capacities to enhance fisheries policies, strategies, management and governance within a well-defined sustainable and responsible fisheries framework;
- cooperate technically with international partners including intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations and international financial institutions to deliver coordinated information, sound policy advice and comprehensive strategies to strengthen and harmonize sustainable fisheries management and enhance good governance;
- in collaboration with FAO regional and/or subregional offices, assist developing countries in identifying and accessing international sources of technical and financial assistance to improve governance and fisheries management;
- provide technical guidance and support to FAO staff in regional, subregional and national offices concerning the evaluation, implementation and improvement of fisheries management and governance tools, measures and strategies;
- contribute to the social and economic analysis and assessment of information concerning the status and prospects of world fisheries;
- serve as the Divisional focal point for fisheries matters relating to the Latin American and Caribbean region;
- perform other related duties as required.
Deadline: November 5, 2010
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
EMPLOYMENT: FAO Natural Resources Management Officer (Environmental Challenges and Safeguards)
Under the general supervision of the Director, NRC, and the direct supervision of a Senior Officer, the incumbent will contribute to the department’s work to assist member countries participate in the UN System-wide mechanism to address global and national environmental challenges, including safeguards. In particular will:
- contribute to the Department’s participation to the UN System-wide effort to address environmental challenges at both global and national level, including mechanism for environmental safeguards, climate neutrality and management of fragile ecosystems;
- contribute to the coordination of FAO’s input to the RIO+20 conference and support the team preparing RIO+20;
- participate in the environmental review and screening of FAO and NR field programmes and projects, including impact assessment;
- assist the Department in its contribution to the Millennium Development Goal on Environmental Sustainability (MDG-7), as well as in the preparation of FAO briefs and documents on environmental and natural resources management issues, environment and climate change linkages and sustainable development;
- contribute to environmental sustainability issues in a crosscutting manner and provide input to technical assistance to national governments, institutions and project beneficiaries on environmental impact and strategic assessment;
- liaise with relevant departments at HQ and decentralized offices to respond to the emerging environmental issues and ensure FAO technical capacity is fully utilized in meeting the emerging challenges;
- perform other duties as required.
Deadline: October 6, 2010
EMPLOYMENT: FAO Technical Officer (Water Quality)
Under the general supervison of the Director, NRL, and in the framework of the FAO water programme the incumbent will be responsible for the development and implementation of FAO’s programme in the field of water quality management in agriculture, mitigation of adverse environmental effects of agriculture on water and the use of non conventional water in agriculture. In particular, will:
- develop information and knowledge products related to water quality in agriculture;
- design and conduct analytical studies on technical and policy issues related to salinization, sources of point and non-point source pollution from agricultural chemicals and the re-use of wastewater;
- prepare framework for national strategies and policies with regard to agriculture water quality;
- lead and contribute to global water quality assessements with respect to agriculture;
- prepare technical documentation and papers for discussion and publication;
- design and implement programmes and projects; co-ordinate joint activities and participate in task forces; participate in the formulation and appraisal of field projects, of the recruitment and technical supervision of field staff and the provision of technical backstopping;
- supervise the development of water quality auditing in agriculture: methods and guidelines;
- plan, organize and participate in related technical meetings;
- build partnerships and networks with professionals inside and outside the UN System;
- advise FAO Member Countries on their programmes through reviews and the provision of policy and technical advice;
- perform other related duties as required.
Deadline: October 6, 2010
FELLOWSHIP: Georg Forster Research Fellowship for Postdoctoral Researchers
Georg Forster Research Fellowships for postdoctoral researchers are the instrument with which the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation enables highly-qualified scientists and scholars who are just embarking on their academic careers and who completed their doctorates less than four years ago to spend extended periods of research (6-24 months) in Germany.
Scientists and scholars from all disciplines from developing and threshold countries (excluding People’s Republic of China and India; c.f. detailed list of countries) may apply. The research proposal must deal with issues of major relevance to the future development of the candidate’s country of origin and, in this context, particularly suited to transferring knowledge and methods to developing and threshold countries.
Applications accepted at any time.
EMPLOYMENT: EDRSAIA Project Coordinator (ILRI-Nairobi)
ILRI’s Early Detection Reporting and Surveillance – Avian Influenza in Africa (EDRSAIA) project started in 2007 and now entered in its last phase up to September 2011. The goal of the last year’s activities will be to consolidate the gains of EDRSAIA to date through:
- Supporting the institutionalization of risk based surveillance approaches such as Participatory
Epidemiology (PE) and Participatory Disease Surveillance (PDS) programs initiated by EDRSAIA
activities. - Conducting an impact assessment of the capacity development in PE conducted by ILRI as part of the EDRSAIA project but also other PE capacity building projects conducted in the past.
- Supporting EDRSAIA project countries with PE studies and possible additional training activities to be conducted by national trainers, trained as part of the project.
ILRI is therefore seeking to recruit a Nairobi-based EDRSAIA Coordinator to play a key role in leading and supervising all elements of this multi-partner initiative.
Deadline: September 30, 2010
Friday, September 10, 2010
CALLS FOR PROJECT CONCEPT NOTES: Actions to Achieve Food Security & Reduce Poverty in West and Central Africa (CORAF/WECARD)
The West and Central African Council for Agricultural Research and Development (CORAF/WECARD) has issued several Calls for Project Concept Notes (PCNs) that may be of interest to members of the CAPRi community. All calls fall under the purpose of “Implementation of Actions to Achieve Food Security and Reduce Poverty in West and Central Africa - Critical Attributes of CAADP Pillar 4”. Project period is 3 years and concept notes may be submitted in English or French. Concept Notes are invited under the following titles (click for more information):
- Natural Resources Management Research and Development
- Fisheries and aquaculture Research and Development
- Farming Systems Research and Development
- Livestock Research and Development
- Research and Development on Policy Market and Trade
- Strengthening Seed Systems Research and Development
More information is also available on the CORAF/WECARD website (English/French).
Deadline: September 30, 2010
Thursday, September 09, 2010
This Week’s Posts
EMPLOYMENT: UNEP Program Officer, Post-Conflict and Disaster Management. This Geneva-based post is located in UNEP’s Division of Environmental Policy Implementation, in the Post-Conflict and Disaster Management Branch (PCDMB). Deadline: September 17, 2010
EMPLOYMENT: IITA Country Manager, Cameroon. The Country Manager (CM) will have increasing responsibility in the next phase of the Sustainable Tree Crops Program (STCP) that cuts across action oriented research coordination, project/financial management and technical support, resource mobilisation and new program development, administration and personnel management. Deadline: September 17, 2010
EMPLOYMENT: Postdoctoral Researcher, Department of Human Ecology, Rutgers University. The project focuses on issues of gender and landscape change in settled regions of the Ecuadorian Amazon. Deadline: October 1, 2010
CALL FOR PAPERS: A workshop on Cooperation on the Ganges: Barriers, Myths, and Opportunities. The objective of the workshop is to bring together a group of top scholars and researchers to present and debate their research on barriers and opportunities in water resource development in the Ganges, and to publish a selection of their articles in Water Policy, one of leading international journals on water policy and governance. Deadline: September 20, 2010
CALL FOR PROPOSALS: East Asian Development Network Individual Research Grants. Research proposals related to economics, human development, political and social dynamics, gender issues, international relations and other topics within the social sciences will be considered. Proposals which are development-oriented and which have implications for policy will be given preference. Deadline: October 11, 2010
ONLINE RESOURCE: Information Directory of Grants for Development: Agriculture, Energy, Environment, Natural Resources. Terra Viva Grants is an internet-based information directory of international grant makers for agriculture, energy, environment, and natural resources in the developing world.
ONLINE RESOURCE: Environment Inside (IIED). A new online resource identifies effective tools and approaches for getting the environment properly included in plans and decisions.
ONLINE RESOURCE: Funding Opportunities Web Portal from Indev. The web portal makes available the latest Request for Proposals, Expression of Interests and other funding information from the local, state, national and international sources.
PUBLICATION: Land Tenure, Gender, and Globalization (IDRC). Drawing from field research in Cameroon, Ghana, Viet Nam, and the Amazon forests of Brazil, Bolivia, and Peru, this book explores the relationship between gender and land, revealing the workings of global capital and of people’s responses to it.
PUBLICATION: Land Tenure, Gender, and Globalization (IDRC)
Drawing from field research in Cameroon, Ghana, Viet Nam, and the Amazon forests of Brazil, Bolivia, and Peru, this book explores the relationship between gender and land, revealing the workings of global capital and of people’s responses to it.
A central theme is the people’s resistance to global forces, frequently through an insistence on the uniqueness of their livelihoods. For instance, in the Amazon, the focus is on the social movements that have emerged in the context of struggles over land rights concerning the extraction of Brazil nuts and babaçu kernels in an increasingly globalized market. In Viet Nam, the process of “de-collectivizing” rights to land is examined with a view to understanding how gender and other social differences are reworked in a market economy.
The book addresses a gap in the literature on land tenure and gender in developing countries. It raises new questions about the process of globalization, particularly about who the actors are (local people, the state, NGOs, multinational companies) and the shifting relations amongst them. The book also challenges the very concepts of gender, land, and globalization.
Download or order the book here.
CALL FOR PROPOSALS: East Asian Development Network Individual Research Grants
The East Asian Development Network (EADN), a network of research institutions in developing countries of East Asia, invites research organizations and independent researchers to submit proposals for the EADN Individual Research Grants. This program aims to strengthen the capacity of institutions and independent researchers in East Asia to undertake high quality, development-focused and policy-relevant research in the social sciences. Research proposals related to economics, human development, political and social dynamics, gender issues, international relations and other topics within the social sciences will be considered. Proposals which are development-oriented and which have implications for policy will be given preference.
Deadline: October 11, 2010
EMPLOYMENT: Postdoctoral Researcher, Department of Human Ecology, Rutgers University
Applications are invited for a three-year postdoctoral position, to begin November 1, 2010, in the Department of Human Ecology at the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences and the Department of Geography, Rutgers University. The project focuses on issues of gender and landscape change in settled regions of the Ecuadorian Amazon. Some field work in Ecuador, fluency in Spanish, and a working knowledge of remote sensing will be required for the position. The position is funded through a grant from the Coupled Natural and Human Systems section of the Biocomplexity and the Environment Program at the National Science Foundation. Interested parties should send a CV and the names of three references to Tom Rudel (rudel@aesop.rutgers.edu) and Laura Schneider (laschnei@rci.rutgers.edu).
Deadline: October 1, 2010
Wednesday, September 08, 2010
EMPLOYMENT: IITA Country Manager, Cameroon
The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) invites applications for the position of a Country Manager. The Country Manager (CM) will have increasing responsibility in the next phase of the Sustainable Tree Crops Program (STCP) that cuts across action oriented research coordination, project/financial management and technical support, resource mobilisation and new program development, administration and personnel management. The STCP pilot project offices will become STCP country offices (CO). The CM will lead a country office management team supporting multiple and multi-sector research-for-development program. The position is based in Yaoundé, Cameroon.
Deadline: September 17, 2010
ONLINE RESOURCE: Information Directory of Grants for Development: Agriculture, Energy, Environment, Natural Resources
Terra Viva Grants is an internet-based information directory of international grant makers for agriculture, energy, environment, and natural resources in the developing world. Over 400 grant makers are profiled -- foundations, corporations, NGOs, government organizations, and international organizations. Application deadlines are posted in a 6-month rolling calendar. Other features: links and resources for grant seekers, and information about new and changed grant programs. Access to the website is free, and there is no advertising.
Visit the website: http://www.terravivagrants.org
Tuesday, September 07, 2010
CALL FOR PAPERS: A workshop on Cooperation on the Ganges: Barriers, Myths, and Opportunities
The workshop on "Cooperation on the Ganges: Barriers, Myths and Opportunities" is organized and hosted by Institute of Water Policy in the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore. The objective of the workshop is to bring together a group of top scholars and researchers to present and debate their research on barriers and opportunities in water resource development in the Ganges, and to publish a selection of their articles in Water Policy, one of leading international journals on water policy and governance. The guest editors for the special issues are Prof. Dale Whittington (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Manchester Business School), Prof. Wu Xun (National University of Singapore) and Prof Seetharam Kallidaikurichi E. (National University of Singapore).
While submissions from a wide range of perspectives are welcome, papers on the following topics as they relate to the Ganges are of special interest:
- Potential for multipurpose infrastructure projects Institutional innovations to cooperation Basin-wide challenges from climate change
- Conjunctive uses of surface water and groundwater in irrigation
- Flood damages
- Innovative flood control strategies
- Operating policies of dams and reservoirs their Implications
- Economic value of water
- Allocation of water resources Institutionalizing collaborative research and knowledge management
- Data management and sharing opportunities
- Ecosystem services
Deadline: September 20, 2010
ONLINE RESOURCE: Environment Inside (IIED)
Governments and other stakeholders can boost sustainable development with the help of a new online resource that identifies effective tools and approaches for getting the environment properly included in plans and decisions.
Environment Inside highlights approaches that deserve to be recognised and built on – for example, public environmental expenditure reviews that identify what a country is getting out of environmental assets, what it is spending on their development, and how to improve cost-benefit ratios. It is intended to help all those involved in development to do just that. It will be rolling resource, updated and expanded on an incremental basis. Environment Inside includes case studies, key documents and links to other sources of information. It is structured to enable new inputs based on diverse experience.
Visit the website: http://www.environmental-mainstreaming.org
ONLINE RESOURCE: Funding Opportunities Web Portal from Indev
The Funding Opportunities web portal is the latest initiative of Indev Consultancy Private Limited (ICPL) to assist civil society organisations by providing timely and reliable information on funding opportunities on mobile phone, email and web platform. The web portal makes available the latest Request for Proposals (RFPs), Expression of Interests and other funding information from the local, state, national and international sources. In addition the web portal also offers many other services including a platform to the registered members to make their work visible to the global development community through our weekly newsletter and group of websites (attracting more than 20,000 unique visitors per day).
Visit the Funding Opportunities web portal at http://www.indevfunds.org/
EMPLOYMENT: UNEP Program Officer, Post-Conflict and Disaster Management
UNEP’s Division of Environmental Policy Implementation (DEPI) works with international and national partners, providing technical assistance and advisory services for the implementation of environmental policy, and strengthening the environmental management capacity of developing countries and countries with economies in transition. UNEP’s Post-Conflict and Disaster Management Branch (PCDMB) is responsible for assessing and addressing the environmental causes and consequences of disasters and conflicts where requested by UN member states or the UN system. This post is located in UNEP/DEPI, PCDMB at the Geneva duty station.
Deadline: September 17, 2010
Thursday, September 02, 2010
This Week’s Posts
- EMPLOYMENT: Postdoctoral Position – Agent-Based Modeling
- Deadline: open until filled
- EMPLOYMENT: Professor in Development Studies, University of Manchester School of Environment and Development
- Deadline: October 4, 2010
- EMPLOYMENT: FAO Gender Officer (Capacity Development and Mainstreaming)
- Deadline: October 11, 2010
- FELLOWSHIPS: The Bentley Cropping System Fellowship (IDRC)
- Deadline: October 1, 2010
- FELLOWSHIPS: Alexander von Humboldt Foundation International Climate Protection Fellowships
- Deadline: December 15, 2010
- CALL FOR ABSTRACTS: 2011 Colorado Conference on Earth System Governance—Deadline Extended
- Deadline: September 15, 2010
- PUBLICATION: The Century Ahead: Searching for Sustainability
- PUBLICATION: Commerce in the Commons: A New Conception of Environmental and Natural Resource Regulation Under the Commerce Clause
- PUBLICATION: Community-Based Adaptation to Climate Change (IIED)
- VIDEOS: Competing for Water
EMPLOYMENT: FAO Gender Officer (Capacity Development and Mainstreaming)
Under the overall supervision of the Principal Advisor, ESWD, and as a member of one or more technical teams, the incumbent will contribute to the achievement of the Organizational Results related to “gender equity in access to resources, goods, services and decision making in rural areas”. Specifically to:
- support the development and implementation of innovative strategies and incentives to catalyze the uptake of gender and socially equitable approaches in agriculture and food security policies, projects and capacity development programmes;
- help to update, produce and disseminate FAO’s capacity development and gender mainstreaming products to enhance the skills of FAO staff and Member States to promote gender and social equality in rural areas, drawing on recent research, policy and programme findings;
- assist in building accountability for gender mainstreaming, monitoring and reporting on gender issues emanating from the implementation of FAO’s programme of work related to all strategic objectives, with special emphasis on the strategic objective (SO K) on “gender equality in access to resources, goods, services and decision-making in rural areas”;
- participate in efforts to assist government’s in formulating agriculture and rural development policies and programmes that promote gender and social equality, participating in field missions and providing technical backstopping as needed;
- assist in the collection, analysis and dissemination of information and sex-disaggregated data on gender, social equity rural employment, rural institutions, and poverty alleviation in relation to sustainable agricultural and rural development;
- contribute to the preparation of clear and concise technical reports, website updates, and other communications in line with the requirements of FAO, the UN system, Governments and financing partners;
- contribute to the organization of meetings, training events and seminars;
- liaise with FAO departments and decentralized offices and partners, as necessary, on issues related to gender, social development and rural employment;
- perform other related duties as required.
Deadline: October 11, 2010
Wednesday, September 01, 2010
FELLOWSHIPS: The Bentley Cropping System Fellowship (IDRC)
This Fellowship provides assistance to Canadian and developing-country graduate students with a university degree in agriculture, forestry or biology, who wish to undertake postgraduate, applied, on-farm research with cooperating farmers in a developing country.
Deadline: October 1, 2010
VIDEOS: Competing for Water
The Competing for Water programme (www.diis.dk/water) is a collaborative research programme which has documented the extent, intensity and nature of water-related conflict and cooperation occurring over a 10-year period in one district in each of the following countries: Bolivia, Mali, Nicaragua, Vietnam and Zambia. The programme has produced the two short documentaries below to illustrate some of its findings. A third video about new water users will be ready in October 2010.
Competing for Water - when more water leads to conflict from Sten Rehder on Vimeo.
Competing for Water - the challenge of local water governance from Sten Rehder on Vimeo. Also available in Spanish.