Tuesday, February 28, 2012
CALL FOR PAPERS: International Conference On Governance of Commons and Livelihood Security
Xavier Institute of Social Service (XISS) in association with All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) is organising an International Conference on “Governance of Commons and Livelihood Security” on17th and 18th August 2012 at XISS, Ranchi, Jharkhand, India.
The conference on Governance of Commons and Livelihood Security will look forward towards (a) better conceptualisation of harmonic cohabitation of resource conservation and livelihood generation and (b) evidences of sustainable reconciliation between governance of commons, conservation of resources and livelihood security of actors.
Papers/Posters are invited for the aforesaid Conference on the following themes:
- Current Challenges of Governance of Commons in India and World
- Governance of commons – Socio-Political Challenges
- Governance of commons – Economic challenges – Privatization vs Collective governance
- Governance of commons – Legal challenges
- Ensuring Livelihood Security in Commons
- Livelihood dynamics of commons – Existing utilisation vis a vis potential
- Livelihood & Commons – Gender dynamics
- Alternative livelihood opportunities within commons
- Governance of Commons in the face of Climate Change
- Environmental Refugees
- Collaborative Ecosystem Governance: Scale, Complexity and Dynamism
- Poverty, Social Exclusion and Commons
- Poverty vis a vis commons
- Social exclusion vis a vis commons
- Success Stories – Commons, Livelihood Security and Conservation of Biodiversity
- Successful commons of recent time
- Successful livelihood securing collective actions
- Successful case of linking biodiversity with livelihood
Deadline for abstracts: April 30, 2012
CALL FOR PROPOSALS: Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA)
Within the framework of its strategy for building comparative knowledge on Africa produced from within the African continent, the Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA) invites proposals from researchers based in African universities and centres of research for the constitution of Comparative Research Networks (CRNs) to undertake studies on or around any of the themes identified as priority research themes within the framework of the Council’s strategic plan for the period 2012 – 2016. The primary purpose of CRNs is to encourage the development and consolidation of a comparative analytic perspective in the work of African social researchers. In so doing, it is hoped to establish a strong corpus of comparative studies produced by African scholars that could help to advance theoretical knowledge and discussion. Priority research themes for the constitution of CRNs for 2012 include the following:
- Re-thinking (African) Development;
- Re-thinking Democracy (in Africa);
- Engendering Democracy and Development;
- Transitions in African Higher Education;
- Reforming the African Public Sector: Retrospect and Prospect;
- The Changing Political Economy of African Natural Resources;
- African Encounters with the Global System;
- The Popular Arts, Identity and Culture in Contemporary Africa;
- Health, Politics and Society in Contemporary Africa;
- Migration Dynamics and the Making of New Diaspora Communities;
- Changing Rural-Urban Linkages;
- African Integration and New Regionalist Impulses in Africa;
- New Institutions of Transitional Justice;
- Conflict and Reconstruction in Africa;
- Law, Politics and Society;
- State, Political Identity and Political Violence;
- Political Pluralism and the Management of Diversity;
- Water and Water Resources in the Political Economy of Development;
- Ecology, Climate and Environmental Sustainability in Africa;
- Transport and Transportation Systems in Africa;
- Africa and the “Emerging” Powers of the Global South (China, India, Brazil...)
- Religion, Spirituality and Power in Africa
- Democracy and Governance in Africa
- Media and New technology of information and communication in Africa
- Agrarian transformation
- Crises of Education
- Roles and dynamics of critical actors
- Critical Thought, epistemologies of knowledge production, theories and methodologies
Deadline: June 15, 2012
Monday, February 27, 2012
WORKSHOP SCHOLARSHIPS: Mobilization for Change: Social Movements in the Developing World
The RLC Campus Bonn offers scholarships for PhD students from developing and transition countries to participate in the “Alternative Nobel Prize” workshop on “Mobilization for Change: Social Movements in the Developing World”, June 2 – 10, 2012, in Bonn, Germany. PhD students from all disciplines who do applied empirical research related to people’s mobilization, social movements and participatory approaches can apply.
Information about the workshop and the scholarships is available here.
Deadline: March 15, 2012
ONLINE RESOURCE: Vocabulary of Commons
As part of its ongoing “Initiative on Commons” in India, the Foundation for Ecological Security (FES) has published a Vocabulary of Commons.
Vocabulary of commons is a socio-linguistic enquiry into the legal and livelihood consequences the term ‘commons’~a search for a vocabulary that reflects a commons approach to a life with dignity in harmony with Gaia and communitarian aspirations. It is to strengthen community articulation and make their voices heard in the ongoing efforts of dialogue between communities, academics, practitioners and decisionmakers. It was coordinated by OpenSpace(openSpace.org.in)
The vocabulary can be viewed below and downloaded here.
EMPLOYMENT: ILRI Head of Capacity Development
The International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) seeks to recruit a dynamic Head for its capacity development initiatives. The Head of Capacity Development will steer ILRI’s ongoing work in this area and ensure that capacity development is embedded in ILRI research themes and contributes towards accomplishing ILRI’s overall institutional strategy. Ongoing capacity development programs in ILRI includes the development of teaching and training modules and learning materials, including on-line multi-media; oversight of graduate fellowship programs comprising over 50 PhD and MSc students working at ILRI; working with multiple ILRI projects to embed capacity strengthening and outreach components.
Deadline: March 16, 2012
Friday, February 24, 2012
EMPLOYMENT: CIMMYT Agricultural Innovation Scientist
Achieving sustainable food security is a major challenge for a world facing climate change, growing populations, and changing diets. The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) is looking for an innovative, results-oriented scientist with excellent skills in agricultural innovation to facilitate technology adoption and maximize CIMMYT’s impact. The scientist will work as a member of CIMMYT’s Global Conservation Agriculture Program (CIMMYT-GCAP), and will play a key role in a large multi-disciplinary and multi-institutional team. The selected scientist will work closely with CIMMYT’s research teams in the different regions where innovation approaches are implemented, and will partner with advanced research institutes, national research and extension programs, NGOs and private sector stakeholders. He/she will be responsible for reinforcing/evaluating and redesigning, if necessary, multi-stakeholder approaches for the co-development and increased adoption of sustainable agricultural practices in Latin America, East and Southern Africa, and South Asia.
Primary responsibilities include:
- Developing and implementing an analytical framework to assess, document, analyze, and refine the functioning of CIMMYT innovation approaches in its various maize and wheat systems-focused projects.
- Enhancing stakeholder participation in co-development and technology and knowledge dissemination through the implementation of sustainable participatory approaches with farmer communities, extension services, national and international research partners and the private sector.
- Guiding and assisting agricultural scientists to implement process-oriented, smallholder and gender-sensitive strategies to enhance technology adoption and transformation and to improve adaptive research practices.
- Evaluating context-specific technical and economic information/knowledge needs for farmers and other stakeholders, and contributing to the development of Decision Support Systems in partnership with project stakeholders and the private sector.
- Collaborating with CIMMYT’s Socio-Economic Program to ensure realistic input/output market-related and value chain approaches where applicable.
- Developing and delivering training modules for the implementation of innovation approaches.
- Supporting cross-regional learning in innovation methods and approaches in agriculture.
- Contributing to research proposal development.
Deadline: March 20, 2012
Thursday, February 23, 2012
This Week’s Posts
EMPLOYMENT: IFPRI Research Fellow/Sr. Research Fellow, CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change. IFPRI seeks a Research Fellow or Senior Research Fellow for a three-year, fixed-term, renewable appointment in its Environment, Production and Technology Division to work on research activities for the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change (CCAFS). Deadline: March 9, 2012
FELLOWSHIP: Community Forestry: Trees and People - John G. Bene Fellowship. IDRC's Fellowships and Awards program offers this fellowship annually to Canadians and permanent residents of Canada pursuing their master’s or doctoral studies at a Canadian university. Deadline: April 1, 2012
SCHOLARSHIP: Australia Awards in Africa, PhD Scholarships in Agriculture. The scholarships, which are implemented by the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID), are part of Australia’s effort to assist African countries realise the Millennium Development Goals. Deadline: April 30, 2012
CALL FOR EXPRESSION OF INTEREST: Successful Projects Related to Forests & Economic Development. Major Groups Representatives engaged in the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF) process are calling for expressions of interest from organizations who have implemented projects that have successfully addressed various dynamics associated with forests and economic development for presentation in an international workshop. Deadline: March 16, 2012
CALL FOR PAPERS: Evidence-Based Decision-Making for Sustainable Development. The Environmental Policy Research Centre, Freie Universität Berlin, in collaboration with the Network of Excellence LIAISE (‘Linking Impact Assessment Instruments to Sustainability Expertise’), invites proposals for papers for the 2012 Berlin Conference that focuses on evidence-based decision-making for sustainable development. Deadline: April 1, 2012
AWARD: Women's World Summit Foundation Prize for Improvement of the Quality of Life in Rural Communities. The Prize honors women and women's groups around the world exhibiting exceptional creativity, courage and commitment for the improvement of the quality of life in rural communities. Deadline: March 31, 2012
PUBLICATION: Spanish Translation of CAPRi sourcebook: Resources, Rights and Cooperation. We are happy to announce the release of a Spanish version of our popular CAPRi sourcebook,Resources, Rights and Cooperation.
PUBLICATION: Enabling Local Successes: A Primer on Mainstreaming Local Ecosystem-based Solutions to Poverty-Environment Challenges. The UNDP-UNEP Poverty-Environment Initiative in cooperation with the World Resources Institute releases a new Primer.
PUBLICATION: Putting Gender on the Map. A new IFPRI discussion paper by Ruth Meinzen-Dick et al. offers methods for mapping gendered farm management systems in Sub-Saharan Africa.
SCHOLARSHIP: Australia Awards in Africa, PhD Scholarships in Agriculture
Australia is committed to developing the capacity and leadership skills of Africans so they can effectively contribute to development in their home countries. The scholarships, which are implemented by the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID), are part of Australia’s effort to assist African countries realise the Millennium Development Goals. They also help build institutional and people-to-people linkages.
As part of the Australian Government’s increasing engagement in Africa, Australia Awards in Africa (AAA) offer study opportunities at post-graduate level to candidates from eligible African countries.
Deadline: April 30, 2012
PUBLICATION: Spanish Translation of CAPRi sourcebook: Resources, Rights and Cooperation
We are happy to announce the release of a Spanish version of our popular CAPRi sourcebook, Resources, Rights and Cooperation. The book combines a great deal of CAPRi research into a format that’s designed for training and educational purposes. The book’s entire contents are freely available online through the CAPRi website (English version, Spanish version). The English version can also be ordered in hard copy, Kindle, and via iTunes for a minimal cost.
A series of educational posters designed to complement the lessons of the book is also available.
Please see the descriptions below in English and Spanish and circulate widely.
Resources, Rights and Cooperation: A Sourcebook on Property rights and Collective Action for Sustainable Development
The sourcebook is based directly on the experiences and lessons of CAPRi research from around the world. Its content is based on sound underlying research, but the presentation is simple, straightforward, and accessible. The objective of the book is to build capacity of research and development organizations to recognize the importance and relevance of CAPRi concepts and to apply the lessons and methods from CAPRi research to their work with communities, policymakers, and other stakeholders. It is our hope that it will serve not only as a relevant and practical guide for development practitioners, trainers, and policymakers, but will also be used in universities and other institutions of higher learning.
Recursos, derechos y cooperación: Manual de herramientas de referencia sobre derechos de propiedad y acción colectiva para el desarrollo sustentable
Único entre otros materiales de capacitación, este Manual de herramientas de referencia se basa directamente en las experiencias y lecciones obtenidas en la investigación de los temas principales de CAPRi, en todo del mundo. Su presentación es sencilla y directa, pero se sustenta en investigaciones subyacentes sólidas. El propósito del Manual es crear, en las organizaciones de investigación y desarrollo, la capacidad para reconocer la importancia de los conceptos de CAPRi y aplicar las lecciones y métodos de las investigaciones de CAPRi en su trabajo con las comunidades, con quienes formulan las políticas y con otras personas interesadas. Es nuestra esperanza que sea útil no solo como una guía relevante y práctica para quienes llevan a la práctica el desarrollo — los capacitadores y los encargados de hacer las políticas —, sino también para que se utilice en las universidades y en otras instituciones de enseñanza superior.
PUBLICATION: Enabling Local Successes: A Primer on Mainstreaming Local Ecosystem-based Solutions to Poverty-Environment Challenges
The UNDP-UNEP Poverty-Environment Initiative in cooperation with the World Resources Institute releases a new Primer on "Enabling Local Successes: A Primer on Mainstreaming Local Ecosystem-based Solutions to Poverty-Environment Challenges".
This primer assembles current knowledge and illustrative case materials on the benefits of and enabling conditions for local ecosystem-based initiatives. It documents how nature-focused activities and enterprises originated and executed by local actors, can sustain ecosystems and improve the livelihoods and well-being of the rural poor. The primer is designed to help development practitioners and others engaged in the mainstreaming challenge communicate to policy makers the positive poverty and environmental outcomes that can result at the local level when environmental mainstreaming efforts at the national and sectoral levels succeed.
In more detail, the Primer:
- describes key features of local ecosystem-based initiatives;
- discusses economic, social and environmental benefits as well as resilience and adaptation benefits
- outlines enabling conditions for local ecosystem-based solutions (enforceable resource rights; market access and favorable regulatory environment; adequate and dependable finance; participatory, accountable and transparent governance; local capacity; appropriate support services; and networks and linkages);
- provides guidance on identifying supportive policy, legal and regulatory frameworks; how to expand access to domestic and external sources of finance; how to facilitate access to support services; how to improve learning and knowledge exchange; and how to ensure results-based monitoring and evaluation;
- introduces a programmatic approach to scaling up impact
The Primer draws on experience and lessons learned by the UNDP-UNEP Poverty-Environment Initiative and other initiatives and projects to promote successful local ecosystem-based solutions to poverty-environment challenges.
The Primer can be accessed here.
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
CALL FOR EXPRESSION OF INTEREST: Successful Projects Related to Forests & Economic Development
Major Groups Representatives engaged in the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF) process are calling for expressions of interest from organizations who have implemented projects that have successfully addressed various dynamics associated with forests and economic development for presentation in an international workshop. These projects are sought as case study for knowledge sharing during a Major Groups workshop to be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 13-17 June 2012 on the Theme Forest and Economic Development: Positioning Forests to contribute to Green Economy.
The global workshop is a Major Groups-led Initiative (MGI) in support of UNFF to develop policy recommendations for United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF) 10 scheduled to take place in Istanbul, Turkey in 2013 hosted by the government of Brazil and funded by the German Ministry of Agriculture (BMELV).
In keeping with the theme of UNFF10, selected projects will be those that explicitly address successful projects that exemplify the relationships between forests and economic development.
The projects being proposed should address the following broad theme of UNFF10: Forests and economic development or any of the sub-themes below:
- Forest Products and Services;
- National Forest Programmes and other Sectoral Policies and Strategies;
- Reducing Risks and Impacts of Disasters;
- Benefits of Forests and Trees to Urban Communities.
BACKGROUND
Since the establishment of the UNFF, a number of Major Groups have been participating in the UN-based forest policy processes and have worked together on several occasions to make inputs into policy discussions. Most recently, the Major Groups-led Initiative held in Accra, Ghana in July of 2010 brought together key representatives from Major Groups, governments and intergovernmental organizations with the objective of providing concrete recommendations for UNFF9 (24 January-4 February, 2011). As a result of the workshop in Ghana, Major Groups were able to make effective and targeted recommendations for the ongoing forest policy process. Thus, the goal of the upcoming MGI to be held in Brazil from 13-17 June of 2012 is to continue and enhance the participation of Major Groups in the forest policy process.
"EXPRESSION OF INTEREST" SUBMISSION PROCESS
Interested persons should submit their proposals following the guidelines below:
- Full name and title of the author (position in the organization), contact address including e-mail and telephone, and name of organization.
- The scope of the project in terms of geographical area, individuals or communities involved, etc.
- Description of the need for the project and the problems or issues that the project sought to address.
- Key issues addressed by the project in terms of the relationship between forests and economic development.
- Highlights of the outcomes of the project.
IMPORTANT DATES
- Submissions should be in English and received by FRIDAY 16 MARCH, 2012 for consideration. Please send expressions of interest to Dr. Lauren Eastwood (lauren.eastwood@plattsburgh.edu). OR (leeastwood@msn.com)
- The submissions will be reviewed and authors of successful entries will be communicated to by FRIDAY 20 APRIL, 2012.
- A memorandum of understanding will be signed between the authors and the organizers for the preparation of the presentation to begin.
COMPENSATION
- A onetime $2000.00 (USD) will be paid for the documentation of successful project upon its acceptance and presentation at the workshop.
- The authors will be sponsored (return ticket, room and board) to participate in the 5 day global workshop in Rio de Janeiro.
For more information on the Major Groups global workshop in Rio de Janeiro Contact:
Lambert Okrah
Canadian Environmental Network
39 McArthur Avenue, Level1-1
Ottawa, ON, Canada, K1L 8L7
lambert@rcen.ca
+1-613-728-9810 Ext. 261
Workshop Website: www.mgi-forests.org
For more information regarding case studies, or to submit a project proposal/description by theMarch 16 2012 deadline, contact:
Lauren E. Eastwood
State University of New York at Plattsburgh,
101 Broad Street
Plattsburgh, NY. USA
lauren.eastwood@plattsburgh.edu or leeastwood@msn.com
+1-518-564-3309
Deadline: March 16, 2012
FELLOWSHIP: Community Forestry: Trees and People - John G. Bene Fellowship
IDRC's Fellowships and Awards program offers this fellowship annually to Canadians and permanent residents of Canada pursuing their master’s or doctoral studies at a Canadian university. Candidates must have an academic background that combines forestry or agroforestry with social sciences. The fellowship is intended to facilitate field research on the relationship between forest resources and the social, economic, cultural, and environmental welfare of people in developing countries. The successful candidate will be the one whose work most benefits less privileged people in developing countries.
Deadline: April 1, 2012
CALL FOR PAPERS: Evidence-Based Decision-Making for Sustainable Development
The Environmental Policy Research Centre, Freie Universität Berlin, in collaboration with the Network of Excellence LIAISE (‘Linking Impact Assessment Instruments to Sustainability Expertise’), invites proposals for papers for the 2012 Berlin Conference that focuses on evidence-based decision-making for sustainable development.
The conference will cover two issues:
- How can the research process be organised to develop evidence that is considered relevant and timely in the political process to meet the challenges of sustainable development?
- How can the policy-science interface be organised in a way that such scientific evidence is taken into consideration?
The conference aims at bringing together scientists from different disciplines and strands of research that produce evidence to support decision-making for sustainable development, and those that study the use of such evidence. Furthermore, we invite policy-makers and practitioners working at the science-policy interface or dealing with issues of evidence use in policy making to share their experiences. In particular, we call for contributions of
- Scholars of political science, law, administrative science etc., studying the use of evidence in decisionmaking;
- Scholars of science and technology studies, studying the construction of evidence and the interaction with decision-making;
- Scholars in the field of modelling of ecosystems, economic modelling and modelling of social impacts, working on the evidence itself to be used in decision-making.
The conference will be organised around the following topics, and submissions of paper proposals are invited to contribute to one or several of the research questions:
- Data, models and tools for decision-making
- Evidence in decision-making
- The interaction of science and policy
Deadline: April 1, 2012
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
AWARD: Women's World Summit Foundation Prize for Improvement of the Quality of Life in Rural Communities
Awarded since 1994 by WWSF Women's World Summit Foundation - an international, non-profit, humanitarian NGO, serving the implementation of women’s and children’s rights and the UN development agenda - the Prize ($ 1000 per laureate and $ 3000 for specific African women’s organisations), honors women and women's groups around the world exhibiting exceptional creativity, courage and commitment for the improvement of the quality of life in rural communities (375 prizes awarded so far). The Prize aims to draw international attention to laureates' contributions to sustainable development, household food security and peace, thus generating recognition and support for their projects. While rural women are vital in providing examples of sound practice in their communities, they still do not have full access to tools needed for development, such as education, credit, land rights and participation in decision making. By highlighting and awarding creative development models, innovations and experiences enhancing the quality of rural life, WWSF participates in addressing the eradication of rural poverty, gender mainstreaming and women’s empowerment.
Deadline: March 31, 2012
PUBLICATION: Putting Gender on the Map
A new IFPRI discussion paper by Ruth Meinzen-Dick et al. offers methods for mapping gendered farm management systems in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Although the different roles of men and women in agriculture in different parts of Sub-Saharan Africa have been widely acknowledged, there have not been consistent efforts to collect data on these patterns. This paper presents a way of classifying gendered farm management systems and then describes pilots of four different approaches to collecting and georeferencing information on the dominant pattern in each area. Case studies from existing literature provided valuable insights but represent a time-consuming method, limited in spatial coverage and often leaving gaps because the original study authors did not report on all of the aspects of interest for a gendered farm management systems analysis. Expert consultations conducted in Ghana and Zambia allowed for dialogue among participants during map development, permitting them to explore nuances and dynamics. However, this technique may be restricted in scale to one country at a time, limiting cross-national comparison. An open online survey, or crowdsourcing, of the information tapped into a wide range of expertise, providing difficult-to-obtain widespread coverage, but had inconsistent data quality. Mapping of georeferenced information from nationally representative data could potentially provide widespread and relatively accurate data, but thus far the relevant underlying data have not been consistently included in large-scale surveys. Gender mapping offers an important step toward greater awareness of the diverse gender roles in agricultural farm management systems, but gaps remain between field reality and the understanding of gender relations in research, on the one hand, and between the researchers‘ understanding and what can be displayed on a map, on the other. Addressing these gaps requires developing a consensus on the key variables that characterize gendered farming systems, collecting these data systematically, and then linking the data to other spatial information for use in planning and prioritizing development interventions.
EMPLOYMENT: IFPRI Research Fellow/Sr. Research Fellow, CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change
The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) seeks a Research Fellow or Senior Research Fellow for a three-year, fixed-term, renewable appointment in its Environment, Production and Technology Division to work on research activities for the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change (CCAFS). This position will report to the program leader, climate change, at IFPRI, and will conduct research on the financial and institutional mechanisms that enhance the practice of climate change mitigation in agriculture and agricultural landscapes. Particular attention should be given to practices that have the potential to improve farmers' productivity and livelihoods and ecosystem services, the economics of mitigation practices, the role of the private sector and REDD finance and activities to sustainable agricultural intensification. This position is located at IFPRI’s headquarters in Washington DC, but will involve travel to countries where IFPRI and CCAFS carries out their research.
Essential Duties:
- Lead and conduct research on how finance can be used to support incentives, compensation schemes, and institutional mechanisms for large-scale climate change mitigation among smallholder farmers in developing countries.
- Develop a network of related research and policy partners to addresses the problem of payments for climate-related services.
- Work closely with donor and senior government stakeholders on the financial aspects of agricultural programs and projects.
- Publish research in peer-review publications as well as communicating research to the broader agriculture, climate and finance communities in various forms.
- Contributing to the preparation of internal and external program reviews.
- Fundraising.
Deadline: March 9, 2012
Thursday, February 16, 2012
This Week’s Posts
EMPLOYMENT: Post Doctoral Fellow Climate Change, ASB Partnership for the Tropical Forest Margins. The successful candidate will be responsible for conducting research on land management experiences at linking climate change adaptation and mitigation through desk reviews, meta-analysis and case studies. Deadline: February 29, 2012
EMPLOYMENT: ICARDA Social Scientist: Research Impact Pathway Analyst. ICARDA is looking for a Social Scientist to conduct analysis of the dynamics of social change in rural agrarian communities and how these affect technological change and the resulting impacts and its equity on rural men and women. Deadline: March 11, 2012
SCHOLARSHIPS: PhD Scholarships exploring the Political Ecology of Forest Protection in Indonesia. Three scholarships, supported by the Royal Society of New Zealand Marsden Fund, are available for PhD study in the School of Geography, Environment and Earth Sciences at Victoria University of Wellington, in Wellington, New Zealand. Deadline: March 1, 2012
SCHOLARSHIPS: 4 Doctoral Students Positions at IAMO Project. IAMO is seeking candidates for four doctoral student positions within the multidisciplinary project "Economic and natural potentials of agricultural production and carbon trade-offs in Kazakhstan, Ukraine, and Russia [EPIKUR]". Deadline: March 15, 2012
CALL FOR PAPERS: Global Symposium on The 1997 UN Watercourses Convention – What Relevance in the 21st Century? The aim of the symposium is to gather together a wide and diverse range of viewpoints from academia, government, international organisations, and civil!society, to debate the existing and potential relevance of this global framework instrument. Deadline: February 29, 2012
FUNDING: Agricultural Commercialization & Innovation Activity (USAID). USAID’s Bureau for Food Security’s Markets, Partnerships and Innovations Office is seeking applicants to implement one part of an activity entitled, “Agriculture Commercialization & Innovation", which will have four components: (a) agricultural technology commercialization; (b) partnership development; (c) investment design and modeling; and (d) knowledge management. Deadline: February 29, 2012
ONLINE DISCUSSION: Equal rights to resources: The key to empowering rural women. But what's stopping it? Wikigender is hosting an online discussion on the topic of “Equal rights to resources: the key to empowering rural women. But what's stopping it?” The discussion will help to inform a side event at the 56th session of the UN Commision on the Status of Women (CSW) on March. Deadline: February 22, 2012
PUBLICATIONS: IIED publications on the global land rush. International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) has recently released four briefing papers on the global land rush.
PUBLICATION: The Future of International Environmental Law: A Law of the Ecological Commons? A chapter in a new textbook for law students, International Environmental Law and World Order: A Problem-Oriented Coursebook.
ONLINE RESOURCE: Toolkit on Collecting Gender & Assets Data in Qualitative & Quantitative Program Evaluations. The Gender, Agriculture, and Assets Project (GAAP), led by IFPRI and ILRI, has published a Toolkit on Collecting Gender & Assets Data in Qualitative & Quantitative Program Evaluations.
PUBLICATIONS: IIED publications on the global land rush
International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) has recently released four briefing papers on the global land rush.
- Farms and funds: investment funds in the global land rush. Investment funds show a growing interest in farmland and agriculture. They are buying up land and agribusinesses in developing countries with the expectation of high long-term returns linked to rising land prices, growing populations and increasing demand for food. While the media has reported extensively on the involvement of these funds in the global land rush, the mechanics remain little understood by the broader public. What is the interest and what is driving it? Who are the players and what processes do their investment decisions go through? What are the impacts in recipient countries? And what action can be taken to promote investments that genuinely support local people?
- Are land deals driving ‘water grabs’? Investors in land often look for land with a high growing potential, which means land with lots of rainfall or land that can be irrigated. In multimillion dollar investments involving irrigation, investors typically want to secure water rights as part of the deal. Motivated by potential revenues from water fees and the prospect of improved agricultural productivity, many African governments are signing away water rights for decades to large investors. But they are doing so with little regard for how this will impact the millions of other users — from fishermen to pastoralists — whose livelihoods depend on customary access to water. Water managers must seriously consider the extent to which water rights should be linked to land in this way before setting a long-term precedent that could compromise sustainable and equitable supply to all users in the future.
- REDD+: Ready to engage private investors? The prospect of gaining carbon credits by acquiring land to implement REDD+ has caught the eye of the private sector. In many countries, including Papua New Guinea and Republic of Congo, there are reports of a carbon rush. In Mozambique, private investors have expressed an interest in acquiring more than 22 per cent of the country’s land for REDD+. But Mozambique, like many developing countries, is still in the early stages of preparing a REDD+ strategy. This briefing warns that encouraging private sector involvement before the country has the right policies and institutions in place to safeguard local environments and people risks undermining the potential of REDD+ for sustainable development.
- Biomass energy: Another driver of land acquisitions? Rapid expansion of biomass energy in the global North is fuelling demand for wood and increasing interest in tree plantations in the global South. But if biomass is sourced from food-insecure countries where local land rights are weak, there is a real risk that people could lose the land they depend on for their livelihoods. This briefing discusses the potential social impacts of biomass plantations in developing countries and calls for greater public scrutiny and debate about the issue.
Expect more IIED publications in this series in the coming months.
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
EMPLOYMENT: Post Doctoral Fellow Climate Change, ASB Partnership for the Tropical Forest Margins
The ASB Partnership for the Tropical Forest Margins has emphasized the need for understanding and developing synergies and trade-offs between mitigation and adaptation at multiple levels. While this is recognized in the literature, little has been done on concrete options for synergies and optimizing trade-offs. Therefore, ASB is developing a Global Research Programme on Linking Mitigation and Adaptation (MITI-ADAPT GLOBAL) which proposes to explore viable conceptual and empirical frameworks for enhancing synergies between mitigation and adaptation at global, national and local levels from a land management perspective. This project aims to provide transformative thinking on linking adaptation and mitigation in the climate change domain with potentially huge global impact and benefits. The work will also contribute to the new CG Consortium Research Projects, especially CRP 6.4 on Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation and CRP7 on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security.
Responsibilities:
The Post Doc Climate Change Scientist will be a member of the ASB’s Global Coordination Office. Under the supervision of the ASB Global Coordinator, the incumbent will be responsible for conducting research on land management experiences at linking climate change adaptation and mitigation through desk reviews, meta-analysis and case studies. The incumbent will be based at the World Agroforestry Centre headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya.
Deadline: February 29, 2012
ONLINE RESOURCE: Toolkit on Collecting Gender & Assets Data in Qualitative & Quantitative Program Evaluations
The Gender, Agriculture, and Assets Project (GAAP), led by IFPRI and ILRI, has published a Toolkit on Collecting Gender & Assets Data in Qualitative & Quantitative Program Evaluations.
Over the past decade, donor organizations, researchers, and development practitioners have recognized the importance of collecting mixed methods gender and assets data using mixed methods in monitoring & evaluation and impact evaluation of development programs. Nonetheless, many researchers and practitioners remain unsure of why or how to do this. This toolkit has been developed as part of the Gender, Agriculture, and Assets Project (GAAP) to assist researchers and practitioners who are either new or unfamiliar with using mixed methods for gender and assets data collection and analysis. In addition to establishing the need for gender and assets research, the toolkit defines key concepts and highlights methods for collection, analysis, and dissemination. It also draws from first-hand insights (opportunities and challenges) from previous research projects. For those interested in more in-depth study, the toolkit also links to additional references. This toolkit is a living document that is intended to develop over the life course of the GAAP project. We encourage you to share your experiences doing gender-assets data collection.
The full version of the Gender and Assets Toolkit can be downloaded here (pdf).
Alternatively, you can download the following segments of the toolkit (i) Gender & Asset FAQ; (ii) Qualitative and Quanitative Methods; (iii) Best Practices; (iv) Resources; and (v) Case Studies.
SCHOLARSHIPS: 4 Doctoral Students Positions at IAMO Project
IAMO is seeking candidates for four doctoral student positions within the multidisciplinary project "Economic and natural potentials of agricultural production and carbon trade-offs in Kazakhstan, Ukraine, and Russia [EPIKUR]".
EPIKUR aims to estimate agricultural production potentials by combing spatially explicit crop growth models, land use allocation models, and farm-level efficiency analyses. EPIKUR is strongly connected to its partners from the study region and to international universities and research institutes. The project contributes to building a strong network for advancing the science and understanding of agricultural potentials in transition economies. All doctoral candidates are expected to complete dissertations of high scientific quality and policy impact.
Deadline: March 15, 2012
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
FUNDING: Agricultural Commercialization & Innovation Activity (USAID)
USAID’s Bureau for Food Security’s Markets, Partnerships and Innovations Office’s (BFS/MPI) role is to promote new approaches to food security through new and innovative partnerships, tools, and methodologies that improve market access for food insecure households in Feed the Future countries. BFS/MPI is seeking applicants to implement one part of an activity entitled, “Agriculture Commercialization & Innovation", which will have four components: (a) agricultural technology commercialization; (b) partnership development; (c) investment design and modeling; and (d) knowledge management. The successful applicant will be awarded a Five-year Cooperative Agreement with responsibility for implementing the BFS/MPI’s flagship program and USAID intends to award $60-74 million.
Deadline: February 29, 2012
CALL FOR PAPERS: Global Symposium on The 1997 UN Watercourses Convention – What Relevance in the 21st Century?
The IHP-HELP Centre for Water Law, Policy Science (under the auspices of UNESCO) and WWF will co/organise a symposium on the 1997 UN Watercourses Convention. The aim of the symposium is to gather together a wide and diverse range of viewpoints from academia, government, international organisations, and civil!society, to debate the existing and potential relevance of this global framework instrument.
Towards this endeavour the convenors of the symposium are inviting papers on a range of topics related to the UNWC. The organisors would be particularly keen to receive abstracts that explore,
- the value of a global framework/regime for the governance of international watercourses,
- the lessons that could be learnt from the experiences of entry into force and implementation of other global or regional treaty regimes (e.g. Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Wetlands), and
- the mechanisms that should be in place to ensure that watercourse conventions are implemented and complied with at the national level.
Paper abstracts of no more than 500 words should be sent to Dr Alistair Rieu-Clarke! (a.rieuclarke@dundee.ac.uk) or Ms Flavia Loures (Flavia.Loures@WWFUS.ORG) by 29th February 2012. Abstracts will then be reviewed by a scientific steering committee, and participants will be notified no later than Friday 30th March 2012.
Deadline: February 29, 2012
EMPLOYMENT: ICARDA Social Scientist: Research Impact Pathway Analyst
The International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) is looking for a Social Scientist to conduct analysis of the dynamics of social change in rural agrarian communities and how these affect technological change and the resulting impacts and its equity on rural men and women. This analysis will provide feedback to research community to better target research and strategies to development community to facilitate large scale impacts of agricultural R&D in dry areas.
The main responsibilities of the successful candidate will be to:
- Conduct research on the processes and practices in which research outputs are scaled out to wider users including growers, herders, market agents and policy makers.
- Analyze and determine the social, intuitional and policy conditions that are necessary for promoting large scale adoption of innovations; and develop strategies to resolve constraints to the adoption of innovations.
- Develop and support strategies for adequately incorporating gender in research programs, with gender disaggregated effects and outcomes.
- Conduct action-research on community-based institutions and their roles in empowering rural communities and disadvantaged groups, including women and the youth, and enabling them to benefit from agricultural and rural innovations.
- Analyze the dynamics of the social change prevailing in dryland agricultural communities and identify how these could enhance adoption of innovations, and adaptation to challenges including climate change, droughts, declining holding size, increasingly diverse sources of livelihoods, and dependence on off-farm income.
- Contribute to capacity development of partners.
- Contribute to fundraising for research projects.
- Produce high quality research publications, in particular, in ISI peer-reviewed journals.
More information available here.
Deadline: March 11, 2012
Monday, February 13, 2012
ONLINE DISCUSSION: Equal rights to resources: The key to empowering rural women. But what's stopping it?
Wikigender is hosting an online discussion on the topic of “Equal rights to resources: the key to empowering rural women. But what's stopping it?” The discussion will help to inform a side event at the 56th session of the UN Commision on the Status of Women (CSW) on March 1.
Wikigender invites its powerful community in participating in the online discussion on rural women’s empowerment and to present the main outcomes of the discussion at the CSW side event organised by the OECD Development Centre. At the side event entitled “Empowering women by transforming social institutions” at the 56th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) will be presented the Social Institutions and Gender Index and findings linking land rights, food security and agricultural production.
The inputs from the Wikigender community will be presented via a summary report presented by community manager Estelle Loiseau at the event. We hope that your inputs will enrich the discussion at the side event in New York on 1 March and increase the centrality of rural women’s role in key areas such as poverty reduction.
The following guiding questions have been offered to stimulate discussion:
- How does discrimination in access to, and control over, resources such as land and property influence rural women and girls’ social and economic outcomes? How does discrimination against rural women and girls relate to broader policy challenges such as food insecurity, climate change and poverty?
- What are examples of successful approaches for ensuring women and girls’ rights to resources (land, credit, other), both in the law and practice on the ground?
- What actions should governments, donors, UN bodies and civil society take to address discrimination against rural women and girls?
The discussion will be open from Monday 13 February at until Wednesday 22 February. Go here to join the discussion.
Friday, February 10, 2012
PUBLICATION: The Future of International Environmental Law: A Law of the Ecological Commons?
Those interested in legal issues pertaining to the commons will be glad to learn that commons scholar David Bollier has contributed a chapter to a new law textbook, International Environmental Law and World Order: A Problem-Oriented Coursebook. Bollier describes the chapter, and adds some thoughts about moving the study of the commons into law schools, in a post on his blog:
The first section of the chapter looks at the conceptual and historical background of the commons, as seen through readings by Garret Hardin and commons scholars such as Elinor Ostrom and Lewis Hyde.
The next section introduces new notions of stewardship over the long term, often in contrast to regimes of private property rights and exclusive individual ownership for market gain. This accounts for the many deep tensions between private property law and the commons.
A third section surveys a number of contemporary ecological commons and proposals for new commons such as acequias (community-operated waterways) that enable Native Americans to steward scarce water supplies in New Mexico; the Potato Park in Peru that empowers indigenous people to assert stewardship rights over a genetically valuable potatoes; community fishing regimes for endangered fisheries; and “stakeholder trusts” and “social charters” as a new paradigms of governance of ecological resources. The point is that we need new sorts of institutional innovation to manage the atmosphere, oceans and fresh water more responsibly.
Finally, a fourth section considers the future of the commons and ecological governance that nation-states should strive to support.
The full chapter is available here (pdf).
SCHOLARSHIPS: PhD Scholarships exploring the Political Ecology of Forest Protection in Indonesia
Three scholarships, supported by the Royal Society of New Zealand Marsden Fund, are available for PhD study in the School of Geography, Environment and Earth Sciences at Victoria University of Wellington, in Wellington, New Zealand.
The aim of this research is to explore how the United Nations’ Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD+) programme is reshaping the politics and economics of forest management in Indonesia. REDD+ seeks to prevent the release of carbon stored in forests by developing financing mechanisms that can provide incentives to slow or stop deforestation and forest degradation, and promote sustainable forest management. The programme has attracted widespread interest from private, public and non-government sectors and is expected to eventually generate US$30 billion annually. With Indonesia having the second highest rate of deforestation in the world, and deforestation being the second highest contributor of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions, there is an urgent need to better understand the impacts this new form of conservation is having upon forest politics, economies and livelihoods.
The successful candidates will be responsible for developing a proposal related to one of the following three research themes:
- The power and politics of REDD+. This theme approaches REDD+ as a new form of power and knowledge that is reshaping forest politics. It traces the genealogy of the programme in Indonesia and focuses on the strategies the new REDD+ networks and institutions are adopting to implement, influence or resist the programme. The project draws from ideas in post-structural political ecology, eco-governmentality, biopower and environmental discourse analysis.
- The economic costs and benefits of REDD+. This second theme approaches REDD+ and associated carbon offsets through a global commodity chain analysis. It seeks to understand how carbon offsets are created, traded and consumed across global networks of actors, and what the implications are for various stakeholders, such as forest-dependent communities and purchasers of REDD+ offsets. The project draws from ideas in political ecology, global commodity chain analysis and ecological economics.
- Impacts and agency of forest-dependent communities. The third project focuses on the participation of forest communities, seeking to understand how they are responding to the new opportunities associated with the programme. It explores the triggers and barriers that are shaping who and how people are choosing to engage. The project draws from ideas in political ecology, participatory research methdologies, and ecological economics.
Students will be based at Victoria University of Wellington where they will receive support from a multidisciplinary international research team.
New PhD applicants should carefully read all application instructions, ‘Notes to Applicants’ and accompanying information available at http://www.victoria.ac.nz/fgr/prospective-phds/applying.aspx. Applicants should then download and complete the form ‘Application for PhD Admission and Victoria Scholarships’ and relevant accompanying forms. Clearly indicate that you wish to apply for one of the three scholarships in the political ecology of forest protection. If you have a preference for one of the three research themes, or would like to be considered for all three, please indicate this as well. Tailor your written ‘Expression of Research Interests’ accordingly.
Please contact Dr Andrew McGregor (andrew.mcgregor@vuw.ac.nz) for project specific enquiries or the Graduate Recruitment Office (phd-applications@vuw.ac.nz) for application and scholarship enquiries.
Deadline: March 1, 2012
Thursday, February 09, 2012
This Week’s Posts
EMPLOYMENT: UN Centre for Alleviation of Poverty through Sustainable Agriculture (CAPSA). CAPSA is accepting applications for two positions in Bogor, Indonesia: a program officer and a knowledge management coordinator. Deadline: February 25, 2012
EMPLOYMENT: Lecturer / Senior Lecturer in Development Economics. The School of Oriental & African Studies (SOAS), University of London, wishes to appoint a Lecturer/Senior Lecturer from the start of the 2012/13 academic year to teach in Environmental Economics. Deadline: February 27, 2012
EMPLOYMENT: IWMI Communications and Research Uptake Coordinator Africa (Ghana). The International Water Management Institute seeks a Communications and Research Uptake Coordinator to assist the institute to achieve impact from its scientific research results and recommendations being acted upon by policymakers, development donors, investors, community groups and others. Deadline: February 27, 2012
EMPLOYMENT: CCAFS Science Officer Pro-Poor Climate Change Mitigation. The CGIAR Research Program, “Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security” seeks a Science Officer to help coordinate and conduct research contributing to CCAFS’ Pro-Poor Mitigation Theme research. Deadline: March 1, 2012
EMPLOYMENT: Postdoctoral Research Fellows in 2012 International Ecosystem Management Partnership (IEMP). IEMP, co-sponsored by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), is the first UNEP collaborative programme in the south and for the south. Deadline: March 31, 2012
SCHOLARSHIP: Doctoral Fellowships at International Max Planck Research School on the Social and Political Constitution of the Economy. Applicants must hold a Diplom or a Masters degree in political science, sociology, organization studies, or related fields. Deadline: March 15, 2012
CALL FOR ABSTRACTS: Forest Tenure in the Drylands: The Human Dimensions of Vulnerability in Asia and Africa. Abstracts are invited to make a contribution to an edited volume with the provisional title ‘Forest Tenure in the Drylands: The Human Dimensions of Vulnerability’. Deadline: March 15, 2012
ONLINE RESOURCE: Water-Related Videos from the UN. The UN Office to support the International Decade for Action ‘Water for Life’ 2005-2015/UN-Water Decade Programme on Advocacy and Communication (UNW-DPAC) has launched a video library.
ONLINE RESOURCES: 2012 International Year of Cooperatives. The UN General Assembly has declared 2012 as the International Year of Cooperatives, highlighting the contribution of cooperatives to socio-economic development, particularly their impact on poverty reduction, employment generation and social integration.
PUBLICATION: Securing the right to land. A recent issue of Farming Matters on a topic that is central to all small-scale farmers: land.
PUBLICATION: Global Land Grabbing and Trajectories of Agrarian Change: A Preliminary Analysis. A new paper in the Journal of Agrarian Change.
PUBLICATION: Economic Development, Land Use and Climate Change. This Virtual Issue showcases a selection of research on economic development, land use and climate change that has been published in eleven different journals.
PUBLICATION: Securing the right to land
A recent issue of Farming Matters on a topic that is central to all small-scale farmers: land. Competition for land and power, and particularly the global increase of large scale land acquisitions, cause contestations about which land is rightfully owned and used by whom. This edition explores a range of responses by different stakeholders to land use in the face of an intensifying struggle for land. Using examples from all over the world, the land issue shows how both farmers’ initiatives and good land governance can have a positive impact on what seems to be an growing problem worldwide.
Articles available here.
SCHOLARSHIP: Doctoral Fellowships at International Max Planck Research School on the Social and Political Constitution of the Economy
The International Max Planck Research School on the Social and Political Constitution of the Economy (IMPRS-SPCE), which is conducted jointly by the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies and the University of Cologne, invites suitable candidates to apply for its doctoral program. Applicants must hold a Diplom or a Masters degree in political science, sociology, organization studies, or related fields. Degrees must be received by September 2012. Up to Seven Doctoral Fellowships in Economic Sociology and Political Economy are available.
Deadline: March 15, 2012
Wednesday, February 08, 2012
EMPLOYMENT: Lecturer / Senior Lecturer in Development Economics
The School of Oriental & African Studies (SOAS), University of London, wishes to appoint a Lecturer/Senior Lecturer from the start of the 2012/13 academic year to teach in Environmental Economics, and to also contribute to teaching in one or more of the following areas: Quantitative Methods, Macroeconomics, Microeconomics, and International Trade.
The successful candidate will have a proven research capability appropriate to a highly-rated Department of Economics, as well as enthusiasm for teaching and an interest in the mission of SOAS and the Department of Economics.
Deadline: February 27, 2012
EMPLOYMENT: Postdoctoral Research Fellows in 2012 International Ecosystem Management Partnership
International Ecosystem Management Partnership (IEMP), co-sponsored by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), was officially launched on Nov 18th 2011 in Beijing. IEMP is the first UNEP collaborative programme in the south and for the south. The core mandate of IEMP is to synthesis science findings for decision making on ecosystem management in all developing countries, this is supported by three inter-linked initiatives: Monitoring and Capacity Building, Integrated Knowledge Management, and Science for Policy. IEMP is hosted by the Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Recourses Research of CAS, Beijing, China.
IEMP’s work in 2012 will focus on Africa, especially on the theme of ecosystem assessment and sustainable ecosystem management, including providing policy and capacity support to African countries.
Four postdoctoral research fellow vacancies in IEMP are open for application, in the domains of Ecosystem Service Valuation, and Ecosystem Management in Africa and Asia-Pacific (see table below). All successful candidates are requested to work for IEMP full time for two years, including project implementation in developing countries. The incumbents will be paid and supported according to the CAS policies and based in Institute of Geographical Sciences and Natural Resources Research of CAS, Beijing, China.
The candidates must have obtained a PhD degree in relevant disciplines specified on the table below, fluent in English, good communication skills and team work. Candidates with experiences of working in Africa and/or Asia-pacific are desirable.
Documents for application:
- An application letter and your CV；
- List of published papers and 1-3 representative papers in PDF format；
- Contact information of two referees
Deadline for application：31 March 2012
Contract Person：Ms Guoqin Wang, Assistant to the Director IEMP
(Tel/Fax)：86-10-6488 9031
E-mail：info@unep-iemp.org
IEMP Postdoctoral Research Fellow Recruitment Plan for 2012
| Research field | Major tasks | Professional background | Supervisor | Vacancy |
| Ecosystem | Study on ecosystem services valuation, tradeoff and management strategy | Economics, Environmental | Linxiu | 1 |
| Ecosystem | Study on the issues of ecosystem management and climate change adaptation | Ecology, Environment, Climate Change | Jian LIU | 1 |
| Ecosystem | Study on issues of ecosystem monitoring and assessment, disaster management, water policy, and food security | Ecology, Environment, Remote Sensing and GIS, Geography | Xiubo YU & Bingfang WU | 2 |
Brief Introduction of IEMP Supervisors
Dr. Linxiu Zhang is the Coordinator of IEMP Science for Policy Initiative. She is a professor of and Deputy Director at the Center for Chinese Agricultural Policy (CCAP) of CAS. She obtained her PhD from University of Reading in England. For the last 30 years, most of her research concentrates on policy relevant studies on agricultural and rural development in China, including public investment in agriculture and its impact on growth, poverty and inequality, poverty and environmental dynamics, and integrated resource management at community level, community governance and public goods investments, the New Cooperative Medical System, and the economics of education.
Dr. Jian Liu is the Director of UNEP International Ecosystem Management Partnership and a visiting professor in Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, CAS, since July 2010. Prior to this appointment, he served as the Chief of UNEP Climate Change Adaptation Unit since January 2008 and the Deputy Secretary of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) since June 2005. His earlier positions include Deputy Director General of the Bureau of Resources and Environment of CAS, Director of the Chinese Ecosystem Research Network, and Manager of Environment Program of the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD).
Dr. Xiubo Yu is the Coordinator of IEMP Monitoring and Capacity Building Initiative. He is a professor in Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, CAS and Secretary General of Chinese Ecosystem Research Network (CERN). He has 20 years’ experience in ecosystem conservation and management policy, including river basin management, and eco-environment economics and policies, as well as long term ecological monitoring and capacity building. He has also served as Director of Freshwater and Marine Programme of WWF China.
Dr. Bingfang Wu is the Coordinator of the IEMP Integrated Knowledge Management Initiative. He is a professor of water resources and remote sensing application, and Director of Division for Agriculture and Ecology in the Institute of Remote Sensing Application of CAS. He also serves as Director of the ‘Information Center of Ecological and Environmental Monitoring Network for the Three Gorges Project’. He got his PhD degree in Tsinghua University, also has 4-years work experiences in Eurosense Belfotop N.V. Belgium in Brussels. He has published more than 100 papers. His research interests include the remote sensing applications in ecosystem management and climate change adaptation.
Deadline: March 31, 2012
ONLINE RESOURCES: 2012 International Year of Cooperatives
The United Nations General Assembly has declared 2012 as the International Year of Cooperatives, highlighting the contribution of cooperatives to socio-economic development, particularly their impact on poverty reduction, employment generation and social integration.
International years are declared by the United Nations to draw attention to and encourage action on major issues. The International Year of Cooperatives is intended to raise public awareness of the invaluable contributions of cooperative enterprises to poverty reduction, employment generation and social integration. The Year will also highlight the strengths of the cooperative business model as an alternative means of doing business and furthering socioeconomic development.
The IYC2012 website includes a great deal of useful information including event announcements, publications, and videos like the one above.
PUBLICATION: Global Land Grabbing and Trajectories of Agrarian Change: A Preliminary Analysis
A new paper in the Journal of Agrarian Change.
‘Land grab’ has become a catch-all phrase to refer to the current explosion of (trans)national commercial land transactions mainly revolving around the production and export of food, animal feed, biofuels, timber and minerals.Two key dimensions of the current land grab -- namely, the politics of changes in land use and property relations change (and the links between them) -- are not sufficiently explored in the current literature.We attempt to address this gap by offering a preliminary analysis through an analytical approach that suggests some typologies as a step towards a fuller and better understanding of the politics of global land grabbing.
CALL FOR ABSTRACTS: Forest Tenure in the Drylands: The Human Dimensions of Vulnerability in Asia and Africa
Abstracts are invited to make a contribution to an edited volume with the provisional title ‘Forest Tenure in the Drylands: The Human Dimensions of Vulnerability’.
The purpose of this volume is to contribute towards new insights on the conceptual understanding of the human dimension of vulnerability in relation to the dynamics of tenure reforms in the dryland forest of Asia and Africa. The book aims to analyse the interaction between biophysical factors such as climate variability (e.g. droughts) and socio-political processes (e.g. new institutions and authority) at various temporal and spatial scales. The book will be based on empirical research on new forest tenure reform and its consequences for forest-dependent people. In particular, the idea is to highlight the interaction between legal, policy, and institutional reform and the inclusion and/or exclusion of local people from deriving benefits from forest resources in the drylands. Broadly, some of the pertinent research questions will focus on how forest tenure policies impact forest-dependent marginal people (individually and collectively); how do forest-dependent people prepare for and respond to vulnerability; and the effect of forest tenure policy reform on human rights and citizenship issues related to forest resources as well as conflict in forest zones. The human vulnerability dimension research in this context focuses on the high-risks of being exposed to climate variability for the marginalised forest-dependent people, and the degradation of their resource base because of climate disasters and progressive forest enclosure.
Deadline: March 15, 2012
Tuesday, February 07, 2012
ONLINE RESOURCE: Water-Related Videos from the UN
The UN Office to support the International Decade for Action ‘Water for Life’ 2005-2015/UN-Water Decade Programme on Advocacy and Communication (UNW-DPAC) has just launched a video library. This video library features water-related videos produced by United Nations agencies, programmes and/or initiatives, and facilitates access to this selection of videos by theme and by region. It also provides access to UN Youtube Water Channels.
Access the Water UN Video library at: http://www.un.org/waterforlifedecade/video_library.shtml
EMPLOYMENT: IWMI Communications and Research Uptake Coordinator Africa (Ghana)
The International Water Management Institute (IWMI) seeks a Communications and Research Uptake Coordinator to assist the institute to achieve impact from its scientific research results and recommendations being acted upon by policymakers, development donors, investors, community groups and others.
We need a highly experienced person to work with our researchers to set up projects that will have a better chance of achieving uptake and ultimately having an impact. Our uptake objectives include getting IWMI’s research into use and practice, so that it can bring about widespread development benefits. The position holder will also work with the Regional Director to drive an Africa-wide strategy that will lead to action on better land and water management. You should also be able to help build an impact culture within the organization, and build knowledge on uptake tools and approaches that are appropriate for a scientific research organization. You will coordinate communications and research uptake activities that will assist IWMI’s research programs to increase the chances of achieving development impact. The position holder will provide conceptual and practical support to research staff to produce communications material and uptake messages that address different audiences in Africa. Monitoring and evaluating progress towards the communications and uptake goals and using this to feedback to adjust program implementation and strategy will also be important.
This position holder will report to, and be co-located with, the Regional Director in Accra, Ghana, and receive direction and support from the Director, Communications and Marketing, Information and Knowledge Group (IKG) at IWMI headquarters in Colombo, Sri Lanka, in developing IWMI’s marketing strategies and campaigns for Africa that are in line with corporate guidelines.
Deadline: February 27, 2012
EMPLOYMENT: UN Centre for Alleviation of Poverty through Sustainable Agriculture (CAPSA)
The UN Centre for Alleviation of Poverty through Sustainable Agriculture (CAPSA) is accepting applications for two positions in Bogor, Indonesia. CAPSA is a regional institute and subsidiary body of UNESCAP, dedicated to strengthening South-South dialogue and intra-regional cooperation on poverty reduction, food security and sustainable agriculture. CAPSA was awarded a project on Technology Transfer for Food Security in Asia. This project will support innovation by strengthening South–South dialogue and intraregional learning on sustainable agriculture technologies and trade facilitation. The project will bring together a diverse mix of key stakeholders to open knowledge silos and to allow better information exchange amongst groups that have a stake in agricultural research innovations for development systems in South and Southeast Asia.
- Programme Officer. The Programme Officer will be responsible for the following duties:
- Participates in the implementation and evaluation of the project; reviews relevant documents and reports; identifies problems and issues to be addressed and proposes corrective actions; liaises with relevant parties; identifies and tracks follow-up actions.
- Manages the project by applying commonly accepted project management standards and liaises with the UNESCAP in administrative matters.
- Accurately analyses current and emerging issues on innovation systems for sustainable agriculture by applying sound principles and concepts, by using valid data and, as necessary, by applying appropriate models.
- Provides substantive support to consultative and other meetings, conferences, etc., to include proposing agenda topics, identifying participants, preparation of documents and presentations, etc.
- Performs other duties as required.
- Knowledge Management Coordinator. The Knowledge Management Coordinator will be responsible for the following duties:
- Implements and evaluates assigned technical cooperation projects by developing a systematic and effective system for knowledge management and learning, geared towards putting in place an effective and efficient project management system that integrates knowledge management for improved impact;
- Researches, analyzes and presents information to strengthen knowledge-sharing and learning processes and promote a supportive knowledge-sharing and learning culture for technical cooperation projects;
i. Liaises with other networks and institutions to maintain up-to-date information on parallel and complementary initiatives; - Provides substantive backstopping to meetings, conferences etc, to include proposing agenda topics, identifying participants, preparation of documents and presentations
- Provides CAPSA with a more supportive knowledge-sharing and learning environment.
- Performs other duties as required.
Deadline (both positions): February 25, 2012
Monday, February 06, 2012
PUBLICATION: Economic Development, Land Use and Climate Change
The issue of climate change has risen to the top of the international development research and policy agenda. This Virtual Issue showcases a selection of research on economic development, land use and climate change that has been published in eleven different journals. The following articles have been made freely available until the end of 2012 in order to give readers a taster of the range of high quality research available in this area.
- Migratory Responses to Agricultural Risk in Northern Nigeria. Andrew Dillon, Valerie A Mueller, and Sheu Salau. Volume 93(4), 2011. American Journal of Agricultural Economics
- Geography Matters: International Trade Patterns and the Indirect Land Use Effects of Biofuels. Nelson B. Villoria and Thomas W. Hertel. Volume 93(4), 2011. American Journal of Agricultural Economics
- Looking into the Future of Agriculture in a Changing Climate. Ana Iglesias, Sonia Quiroga and Agustin Diz. Volume 38(3), 2011. European Review of Agricultural Economics
- Does Adaptation to Climate Change Provide Food Security? A Micro-Perspective from Ethiopia. Salvatore Di Falco Marcella Veronesi, and Mahmud Yesuf. Volume 93(3), 2011. American Journal of Agricultural Economics
- Climate Sensitivity of Indian Agriculture: Do Spatial Effects Matter? K. S. Kavi Kumar. Volume 4(2), 2011. Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society
- A Microeconometric Analysis of Adapting Portfolios to Climate Change: Adoption of Agricultural Systems in Latin America. Niggol Seo. Volume 32(3), 2010. Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy
- Climate Change, Agriculture, and Poverty. Thomas W. Hertel and Stephanie D. Rosch. Volume 32(3), 2010. Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy
- Relaxing Rural Constraints: A ‘Win-Win’ Policy for Poverty and Environment in China? Ben Groom et al. Volume 62(1), 2010. Oxford Economic Papers
- Implications of Climate Change for Agricultural Sector Performance in Africa: Policy Challenges and Research Agenda. Rashid M. Hassan. Volume 19 (suppl 2), 2010. Journal of African Economies
- To Mitigate or to Adapt: Is that the Question? Observations on an appropriate response to the Climate Change Challenge to Development Strategies. Zmarak Shalizi and Franck Lecocq. Volume 25(2), 2010. The World Bank Research Observer
- Economic Impact of Climate Change on Crop Production in Ethiopia: Evidence from Cross-section Measures. Temesgen Tadesse Deressa and Rashid M. Hassan. Volume 18(4), 2009. Journal of African Economies
- Show Me the Money: Do Payments Supply Environmental Services in Developing Countries? Subhrendu K. Pattanayak, Sven Wunder, and Paul J. Ferraro. Volume 4(2), 2010. Review of Environmental Economics and Policy
- Environmental Pollution in China: Status and Trends. Haakon Vennemo, Kristin Aunan, Henrik Lindhjem and Hans Martin Seip. Volume 3(2), 2009. Review of Environmental Economics and Policy
- CESifo Symposium on the Economics of Climate Change: Introduction. John Whalley. Volume 55(2), 2009. CESifo Economic Studies
- Will African Agriculture Survive Climate Change? Pradeep Kurukulasuriya et al. Volume 20(3), 2006. The World Bank Economic Review
EMPLOYMENT: CCAFS Science Officer Pro-Poor Climate Change Mitigation
The CGIAR Research Program, “Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security” (CCAFS, http://ccafs.cgiar.org) is a major collaborative endeavor between the international agricultural (CGIAR) and global environmental change (ESSP) research communities, and their respective partners. CCAFS seeks to overcome the threats posed by a changing climate to achieving food security, enhancing livelihoods and improving environmental management in the developing world.
CCAFS’ Science Officer will help coordinate and conduct research contributing to CCAFS’ Pro-Poor Mitigation Theme research. The position is based at ICRAF headquarters in Nairobi. Primary responsibilities are to:
- Manage, synthesize and report information on Theme budget, program and partners. Liaise with partners and administrative staff at ICRAF, CIAT, and Copenhagen University as needed. (30%)
- Contribute to strategic research within Theme within own areas of expertise and facilitate partner development and regional research (50%).
- Coordinate communications among partners and potential research users in the design, implementation and evaluation of research projects. Coordinate related websites, workshops and capacity building events. (10%)
- Support fundraising, including preparation of proposals and reports to donors and other administrative support functions as needed. (10%)
Deadline: March 1, 2012
Thursday, February 02, 2012
This Week’s Posts
EMPLOYMENT: Senior Program Officer—African Forest Forum (World Agroforestry Centre). The African Forest Forum (AFF) is an association of individuals who share the pursuit and commitment to the sustainable management, use and conservation of the forest and tree resources of Africa for the betterment of the socio-economic wellbeing of its people and for the stability and improvement of its environment. Deadline: February 10, 2012
EMPLOYMENT: Ford Foundation Program Officer, Expanding Community Rights over Natural Resources (Beijing). The Program Officer will develop, monitor, and coordinate grant-making that enhances community access to natural resources in fragile environments in China, particularly among communities in Western China. Deadline: March 12, 2012
SCHOLARSHIPS: PhD Opportunities under the BESTTuna Project at Wageningen University. BESTTuna is a major research programme that supports cooperative research between research groups at Wageningen University (The Netherlands), Bogor University (Indonesia), The University of the Philippines, the University of the South Pacific (Fiji) and the WWF-Coral Triangle Initiative. Deadline: March 1, 2012
TRAINING: PhD Course on International Forestry and Global Issues. This course will address a wide range of forest issues and topics, which rank high on the international and national forest and environmental research and policy agendas. Deadline: February 15, 2012
CALL FOR CONCEPT NOTES: Climate Change in Vietnam (Danida). The Danish International Development Agency (Danida) is calling for research concept notes for Vietnam. Deadline: February 17, 2012
CALL FOR PAPERS: Tapping the Turn: A Conference on Water’s Social Dimensions. This international conference, to be held at the Australian National University, Canberra, Australia, on November 15-16 2012, offers an opportunity to present your research and professional work in an international forum dedicated entirely to social and cultural water research. Deadline: February 24, 2012
CALL FOR PROPOSALS: Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA). OSIWA works to support the creation of open societies in West Africa marked by functioning democracy, good governance, the rule of law, basic freedoms, and widespread civic participation. Deadline: February 27, 2012
CALL FOR PROPOSALS: Disaster Risk Reduction in South Asia. Global Change SysTem for Analysis, Research, and Training (START) announces a Call for Proposals for research on integrating disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation for resilient development in South Asia(Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka). Deadline: February 29, 2012
ONLINE RESOURCE: Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) Contract Clauses Library. A new resource likely to be useful to individuals and organizations involved in the drafting of PES contracts.
PUBLICATION: New CAPRi Book on Collective Action & Property Rights for Sustainable Development. This new CAPRi book draws on case studies from East Africa and South and Southeast Asia to investigate how collective action and property rights have contributed to poverty reduction.
PUBLICATION: The Right to Water and Water Rights in a Changing World. A compilation based on the colloquium on “The right to water and water rights in a changing world”, held in Delft, the Netherlands, in September 2010.
EMPLOYMENT: Senior Program Officer—African Forest Forum (World Agroforestry Centre)
The African Forest Forum (AFF) is an association of individuals who share the pursuit and commitment to the sustainable management, use and conservation of the forest and tree resources of Africa for the betterment of the socio-economic wellbeing of its people and for the stability and improvement of its environment. The purpose of AFF is to provide a platform and create an enabling environment for independent and objective analysis, advocacy and advice on all relevant policy and technical issues pertaining to achieving sustainable management, use and conservation of Africa’s forest and tree resources as part of efforts to reduce poverty, protect the environment and promote economic and social development.
About the position
The African Forest Forum is recruiting for the position of a Senior Programme Officer to be based at its headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya, or some other location, reporting directly to the Executive Secretary.
Deadline: February 10, 2012
PUBLICATION: The Right to Water and Water Rights in a Changing World
The publication has been released based on the colloquium on “The right to water and water rights in a changing world”, held in Delft, the Netherlands, in September 2010. Contents:
- The right to water and water rights in a changing world
by Marguerite de Chaisemartin, Charlotte Herman and Michael van der Valk - Environmental protection and access to water: the challenges ahead
by Laurence Boisson de Chazournes, Christina Leb and Mara Tignino - Climate change adaptation in Mozambique
by Luís Artur and Dorothea Hilhorst - The current status of the human right to water
by Joyeeta Gupta - Sharing water – A necessity for peace in a changing world
by Greg Hobbs, Alison Flint and Christie Henke - What role can law play in safeguarding the right to water?
by Bas ter Haar - “I drink your milkshake!”: A short essay about water troubles and the promise of international law coming to the rescue
by Juan M. Amaya-Castro - Can international law play a role in safeguarding the security of water supply in a changing world, and if so, how?: Concluding remarks
by Marius Enthoven
The full publication is available for download here.
ONLINE RESOURCE: Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) Contract Clauses Library
A new resource likely to be useful to individuals and organizations involved in the drafting of PES contracts.
As private and public payments for ecosystem services (PES) transactions gain wider acceptance as a tool for addressing ecosystem degradation and loss, guidance around negotiating and drafting PES agreements becomes increasingly important. In general, drafting a contract consists of adapting and modifying an existing contract, rather than beginning from scratch. Few examples exist, however, of payments for ecosystem services (PES) contracts. The lack of precedents in contracting for PES makes negotiating and drafting these agreements much more costly and time-consuming. It is also likely to put sellers, who may have little commercial experience and limited resources, at a disadvantage relative to commercially-savvy PES buyers or brokers.
With the support of UNDP South Africa, the Katoomba Group’s Legal Initiative, which is part of Forest Trends, has put together an online Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) Contract Clauses Library to help address this gap. This web-based resource provides background information about PES contracting and the structure of a PES agreement, as well as basic information about 20 different types of clauses that are likely to be used in these contracts, and 33 example clauses. We hope that this resource will continue to grow and will help PES participants to negotiate and draft effective and equitable PES agreements.
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