Monday, April 30, 2012
EMPLOYMENT: OXFAM Research Consultancies in Tanzania, Ghana, and Zambia
1. Context and Background
Over the last three years there has been an unprecedented increase in global investment interest in farm land. Foreign investment in land is not a new phenomenon, what is particularly new is the complex array of drivers for investment. Investments are driven by amongst other factors: i) the demand for agro-fuels as oil prices rise, ii) the need to secure food in the aftermath of the dramatic food price increases that took place in the year 2007-2008, iii) increased demand for food associated with rapid urbanization and population growth and iv) the concurrent financial crisis resulting in a rush for ‘safer’ investment opportunities in developing countries. Rising demand for food is now outstripping increases in agricultural output and food prices continue to be high and volatile.
Globally the continent that has become the major focus of this demand is Africa, which is seen as having large amounts of underutilized land after decades of underinvestment in agriculture. These new demands come on top of existing uses of large tracts of African land by domestic and international investors for purposes such as tourism, conservation, and mining. Investors from industrialized and some of the fast industrializing nations are adding land to the list of natural resources that they need, cheaply if possible, from Africa.
The rising demand for farm land threatens the customary based land rights of African local communities, as these rights are poorly recognized in law and practice. African women are major land users and food producers, but in the context of the current dominant customary land systems, they are marginalized regarding access and ownership of land. Given the existing weak land rights of women and the frequently different nature of women’s rights to land, this new demand for land is likely to have particular risks for women. The particular relationship that women have to land in different contexts has to be understood, such as the common situation of women having informal gathering and user rights on land that may be seen as belonging to others. The access rights of women to associated natural resources such as fire wood, medicinal plants, and water resources, also need to be taken into consideration. Fundamentally patriarchy puts women in a weaker position in terms of their rights and the likelihood of them getting equitable results out of any negotiations around investment in land.
The important contribution of women to agriculture and food security in Africa adds further reason for the rights of women to be defended and enhanced. In responses to investments in land so far the specific impacts on women’s rights and therefore any specific responses to defend women’s rights have generally been neglected. To be able to respond to foreign investment in land in a way that does defend women’s rights and perhaps brings some benefit to women it is imperative to understand and give particular attention to the position of women.
Increasing demand for agricultural products that can be produced in Africa could be an opportunity for African women food producers yet the competition for land and related resources already seems to be a threat. The challenge is to ensure that Africa’s resources of arable land and water are utilized to the long term benefit of African women, building rather than undermining their rights, skills and access to productive assets.
2. Consultant Terms of Reference
AS a member of a small team of country-based researchers, the field researcher will work closely with the research coordinator to deliver timely, fact-based and first-hand experiential findings on the impacts of large-scale land deals on rural women. Each field researcher will be required to:
a) commit to participating in and contributing to a research team meeting in May (venue to be confirmed) to determine and agree upon conceptual framework of research, research methodology, potential challenges and solutions, and effective ways to amplify and articulate women’s voices and perspectives. The outcome of the workshop will include a consensus view on how to proceed with the field research, identification of survey questions at the practical, political and policy levels, agreement on time frame and deliverables and communications with research coordinator, and a generic framework for each field report;
b) visit an identified case study to examine in detail. Information and first- hand perspectives and experiences gathered from rural women will include an assessment of how much they know, how they have been affected, and what their own recommendations might be. This may involve research on:
- Investment details, including where available land investment contract documents (the team may determine how these documents could be shared with the women affected by these investments to assess their response and reactions to these investments)
- When and how women first became aware of the land deal, what consultative processes took place, what information was made available and how women engaged in assessing the land deal;
- How the land deal impacts the community of women, in the immediate and in the long term – in terms of the access to public commons, use of time for alternate livelihoods, implications for farming for food and other factors to be determined at the initial research methodology workshop;
- If there are grievances, where the women have or could turn to for recourse and action;
- What the risks, challenges, opportunities and realities are for women in communities impacted by the investment.
c) supplement the above data-compilation with contextual analysis including:
- Household contexts, e.g. current level of food and water security as they impact women;
- Country context, in economic, social and political terms, especially relevant to women’s economic and social security
- Relevant international terms and criteria that determine climate for land and foreign investments
- Other factors as determined at the initial research methodology workshop.
d) Each case study will also review and outline a set of solutions as articulated by rural women and their representative organisations including:
- Enabling policy environment required for gender equality and women’s resilience, participation and empowerment in the context of land grab;
- Capacity building of social capital and solidarity movements among women and community groups to withstand the increasing pressure on and demand for natural resources;
- Conclusions and recommendations for further action by Governments, bilateral and multilateral organizations, including the UN and the International Financial Institutions, civil society and the private sector.
3. Duration of the consultancy
Final dates for delivery to be negotiated, but work needs to start in June and be completed in July so consultants must have availability from early June.
4. Location of assignment
The consultant will undertake the research in country and complete the writing of the report off-site. It is expected that the consultant will have country-specific knowledge or experience.
5. Expected outputs and deliverables
- Annotated outline of paper, methodology and approach prior to initial research team meeting
- Complete transcript of one-to-one interviews with a representative sample of women in the community, including women who are ‘invisible’ or ‘unheard’
- Complete transcripts of one-to-one or group interviews with other members of communities, plantation labourers, other service employees and local government representatives;
- Complete transcripts of one-to-one interviews with company / investor /middle agents;
- First draft paper with policy recommendations and executive summary for research coordinators’ review, comments, inputs and suggestions;
- Second draft incorporating comments and suggestions received;
6. Requirements and qualifications
- Expertise and knowledge on gender and sustainable development, relevant to the country in question
- An understanding of foreign direct investment and/or private sector development in the region
- Strong analytical, organizational, reporting and writing abilities
- Commitment to plan, prioritize and deliver tasks on time and to collaborate virtually with research coordinator
- Familiarity with conducting participatory field research both at the rural community level and with senior executives (of private or public sector)
- Openness to change and ability to receive/integrate feedback
- Ability to work as a team member with dependable electronic connectivity and receptivity
Education:
- Advanced university degree in economics, social and/or environmental sciences
Experience:
- Five to ten years of progressively responsible experience on gender equality and women’s empowerment in the context of sustainable development.
- An understanding of land use issues on the African continent and women’s status in land access
Language Requirements:
- Excellent English written skills for diverse audiences (demonstrated through publication record).
- Excellent conceptual, writing and presentation skills; Fluency in oral and written English is required.
Selection criteria: The candidates will be evaluated on the basis of the following criteria: (i) educational background and work experience (based on the CV); (ii) cover letter; (iii) phone interview; and (iv) financial proposal.
Interested Applicants should send the following:
- Cover letter expression of interest specifying for which country, what key issues you would address and why you are the most suitable candidate for undertaking this consultancy
- Contact details for three referees
- Comprehensive resume
- Indication of time availability and number of days
- Daily fee and lump sum in USD (all research related expenses covered by Oxfam)
Send to:
Nidhi Tandon at Nidhi@networkedintelligence.com
(pls copy Shannon@networkedintelligence.com)
Networked Intelligence for Development
461 Roncesvalles Avenue, Toronto, ON M6R 2N4
Deadline: May 10, 2012
EMPLOYMENT: RECOFTC Senior Program Officer, Livelihoods and Markets
RECOFTC is seeking a Senior Program Officer, Livelihoods and Markets to work as the focal person for further development and advancement of Livelihoods and Markets. The successful applicant will be based at RECOFTC’s Bangkok headquarters and will be required to travel frequently to RECOFTC’s focal countries and beyond. The contract duration is for 2 years with a possibility of extension depending on performance and availability of funding.
The Senior Program Officer’s responsibilities underline RECOFTC’s desire to strengthen its work and impact in the thematic area of Livelihoods and Markets, contributing significantly to the development and implementation of the area. Reporting to the Unit Manager of Capacity Building and Technical Services Unit, the Senior Program Officer will provide expertise to enhance the role community forestry (e.g. farm forestry, communal forest management, village forests and smallholders) in generating increased benefits and incomes from the sustainable management of forest goods and services, and link to these markets. This will be achieved by developing, among others:
- Robust business models for community forestry and forest‐based enterprises,
- Relevant capacities and technical skills at all levels,
- Conducive institutional and infrastructure support (e.g. micro‐finance schemes, cooperatives, farmer groups),
- Credible information about markets and adequate access to market, and
- Strategies to address regulatory barriers for the success of community forestry in poverty reduction, including strategies to mainstream community forestry in lowcarbon economy and green‐growth.
S/he will play a key role in developing RECOFTC’s strategy for analysis/research and capacity building related to livelihoods and markets that support community forestry or community based natural resource management and will be responsible for:
- Providing strategic direction for the livelihoods and market thematic area and ensuring successful delivery and implementation of on‐going projects.
- Coordinating analysis/research and capacity building in relation to livelihoods and markets, including training delivery
- Maintaining and expanding strategic networks with partners other organizations in Asia and the Pacific region and beyond
- Supporting the development of pilots and demonstration sites of innovative and best practices
- Supervising assigned staff and interns and providing appropriate mentorships
- Providing up‐to‐date information and reviews for RECOFTC’s website, E‐Newsletter and capturing program impacts for annual reports, board reviews etc.
- Leading proposal development and resource mobilization.
S/he is directly responsible to the CBTS Manager and will work closely with other units including communications and monitoring and evaluations teams as well as Country Program Coordinators in RECOFTC’s main countries: Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar and Nepal, where s/he will support country teams to pilot and demonstrate improved practices. S/he will supervise relevant staff like Program Officer(s), Assistant Program Officer(s), consultants and intern(s).
Deadline: May 25, 2012
Thursday, April 26, 2012
This Week’s Posts
EMPLOYMENT: Postdoctoral/MPP/MBA Research Position at the Agricultural Sustainability Institute. This researcher will design and lead stakeholder engagement activities for targeting and prioritizing potential economic, social, and environmental impacts related to agricultural production and commodity sourcing choices and evaluate specific indicators that may be used as proxies to represent target economic, social, and environmental issues and key strategies to address these issues. Deadline: open
EMPLOYMENT: FAO Assistant Director-General, Economic and Social Development Department. The ES department of the FAO aspires to be the foremost global centre of excellence in providing analytical and policy relevant information and support on the economic and social dimensions of hunger, food security and agricultural and rural development. As head of this department, the Assistant Director-General provides leadership and strategic guidance to ensure full delivery on all results within its mandate at headquarters and decentralized levels. Deadline: May 7, 2012
EMPLOYMENT: University of East Anglia Senior Lecturer/Reader/Chair in International Development and Environment. The School of International Development is recruiting a senior post as part of its strategic plan to build its internationally recognised research on environmental change and international development. Deadline: May 11, 2012
SCHOLARSHIPS: IDRC - SDPI Fellowships in Governance, Security and Justice in South Asia. The four-year programme aims to support the students in South Asian countries planning to pursue their Masters, M. Phil and PhD programmes in the fields of governance, Security and Justice. Deadline: open
AWARD: International ReSource Award for Sustainable Watershed Management 2013. The award acknowledges leadership in the implementation of the principles of sustainability in watershed management. NGOs, private, scientific, or public institutions, and similar bodies are invited to apply. Deadline: April 30, 2012
CALL FOR PAPERS: Payment Mechanisms for Ecosystem Goods and Services Provided by Rangelands. A workshop on this topic will take place from June 18 to 20, at the Chengdu Institute of Biology (CIB), the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Sichuan, China. Deadline: April 30, 2012
CALL FOR CONCEPT NOTES: Reducing Food Losses through Post-Harvest Management. The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) is identifying new innovative projects and initiatives that fit into the theme of “Reducing food losses through post-harvest management” and are within its strategic framework 2010-2015. Deadline: May 4, 2012
TRAINING: Gender and Organizational Change. The International Training Centre of the ILO offers a course on Gender and Organizational Change from 11-15 June, in Turin, Italy. Deadline: May 4, 2012
PUBLICATION: Dealing with Disclosure: Improved transparency in large land deal. Global Witness, the International Land Coalition, and the Oakland Institute launched a new report this week on improving transparency in decision-making over large-scale land acquisitions, allocation and investments.
PUBLICATION: Local Case Studies in African Land Law. This publication is edited by Robert Home and is fully available online.
CALL FOR CONCEPT NOTES: Reducing Food Losses through Post-Harvest Management
The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) Global Programme Food Security (GPFS) is identifying new innovative projects and initiatives that fit into the theme of “Reducing food losses through post-harvest management” and are within its strategic framework 2010-2015. The work should link to the GPFS strategic plan and address knowledge gaps on food security in fragile and post-crisis situations in Sub-Saharan Africa. Up to two proposals will be considered for funding depending on the budgets and quality of the proposed concept notes.
Deadline: May 4, 2012
PUBLICATION: Dealing with Disclosure: Improved transparency in large land deal
Global Witness, the International Land Coalition, and the Oakland Institute launched a new report this week on improving transparency in decision-making over large-scale land acquisitions, allocation and investments.
Since 2008, the rush for land in developing countries has rapidly intensified but the sector remains largely unregulated and land deals are frequently agreed in secret between governments and investors. This lack of mechanisms or political will to ensure transparent, accountable, and fair decision-making in the acquisition and allocation of land concessions undermines governance and the democratic process. It fosters an environment where high-level corruption between political and business leaders prevails, where elite capture of natural assets becomes the norm, where human rights are routinely abused with impunity, where environmental destruction is ignored and where investment incentives are stacked against companies willing to adhere to ethical and legal principles.
The report, Dealing with Disclosure, launched today by Global Witness, the International Land Coalition and the Oakland Institute, looks at why it is vital to transform the secretive culture behind large scale land deals and, for the first time, sets out in detail what tools governments, companies and citizens can harness to ensure that this happens.
The report’s key recommendation is that all contractual information be made publicly available unless investors or governments can prove that this would harm commercial competitiveness or public interest – a principle it calls “if in doubt, disclose”. Companies should have to prove they are doing no harm, rather than communities with little information or power having to prove that a land deal is negatively affecting them.
It also reveals how opening up the process around large-scale land deals would not only benefit local communities but also governments and investors. Whilst investors would enjoy a level playing field as well as reduced risks of corruption and expensive and damaging conflicts with communities, greater transparency would enable governments to make more informed decisions and negotiate better deals when allocating commercial rights to land.
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
EMPLOYMENT: FAO Assistant Director-General, Economic and Social Development Department
The Economic and Social Development Department (ES) of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) aspires to be the foremost global centre of excellence in providing analytical and policy relevant information and support on the economic and social dimensions of hunger, food security and agricultural and rural development. The department analyses trends and policy issues related to food and agriculture and keeps member countries and the global community up to date about the latest economic and social developments related to food and agriculture and their policy implications. It directs the organization’s work on Agricultural Policies and Economic Development, Gender, Equity and Rural Employment, Statistics, and Trade and Markets. It leads the organization’s efforts to achieve its strategic objectives in particular creating an enabling environment for markets to improve livelihoods and rural development, and gender equity in access to resources, goods, services and decision-making in the rural areas. It supports FAO’s role as the foremost authoritative source of standards and methods as well as timely and reliable data and statistics on hunger, food and agriculture. It is responsible for monitoring global progress in reducing hunger, producing a number of FAO’s flagship publications, and serves as secretariat for the Committee on World Food Security.
As head of this department, the Assistant Director-General provides leadership and strategic guidance to ensure full delivery on all results within its mandate at headquarters and decentralized levels. As part of FAO’s senior management team, the ADG helps to ensure the coherence and quality of FAO’s policies, messages and work across organizational units and ensures consistency with corporate goals and programmes. He/she sets an example for a positive, innovative and productive work culture within the Department and within the organization. The ADG serves on corporate teams to advance the organization’s objectives and facilitates strategic partnerships with external organizations.
Deadline: May 7, 2012
PUBLICATION: Local Case Studies in African Land Law
This publication, edited by Robert Home, is fully available online. The table of contents is listed below. The book can be downloaded (pdf) here.
- Post-conflict land in Africa: The liberal peace agenda and the transformative alternative Patrick McAuslan
- Land issues in the Rwanda’s post conflict law reform Geoffrey Payne
- Land law, governance and rapid urban growth: A case study of Kisumu, Kenya Leah Onyango and Robert Home
- The impact of the Land Use Act upon land rights in Nigeria Oludayo Gabriel Amokaye
- The evolution of land law and policy in post-independence Namibia John Kangwa
- Land registration from a legal pluralistic perspective: A case study of Oshakati – Namibia Paul van Asperen
- Limits of incremental land tenure reform in Botswana Faustin Tirwirukwa Kalabamu
- Understanding the coexistance of the Tribal Land Act and Town and Country Planning Act in Botswana’s urban villages Chadzimula Molebatsi
- Land registration and poverty reduction in Ghana Raymond T Abdulai
- Gated communities in Ghana: A new institutional economics approach to regulation Kofi Oteng Kufuor
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
CALL FOR PAPERS: Payment Mechanisms for Ecosystem Goods and Services Provided by Rangelands
A workshop on “Experience Sharing and Planning Workshop on Payment Mechanisms for Ecosystem Goods and Services Provided by Rangelands – Testing and Piloting” will take place from June 18 to 20, at the Chengdu Institute of Biology (CIB), the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Sichuan, China.
Rangelands account for more than 60% of the land cover in the Hindu Kush Himalayan (HKH) region. They comprise a mix of woodlands, open grasslands, and wetland habitat offering valuable natural resources. These rangelands also provide varied ecosystem services:
- regulating services such as the control of climate and disease;
- provisioning services such as the production of food, feed, and clean drinking water;
- supporting services such as nutrient cycles and crop pollination; and
- cultural services such as spiritual and recreational benefits.
The development of payment for ecosystem services (PES) programmes or markets for ecosystem services is increasingly considered an important approach to solving global environmental challenges. At the same time, the PES approach provides individuals and communities with financial incentives for resource use decisions that increase the provision of ecosystem services. PES initiatives provide reward mechanisms for ecosystem services provided by the rangelands and maintained by pastoral communities.
The main objectives of the workshop are
- to discuss and update understanding on ecosystem services and PES;
- to discuss the benefits and risks of an ecosystem services approach to rangeland conservation and development;
- to discuss how policy makers can be sensitized about ecosystem services programmes to achieve environmental and economic benefits for pastoral development;
- to share Chinese experiences on rangeland protection and PES mechanisms with ICIMOD’s Regional Member Countries;
- to develop clear recommendations for a future programmatic intervention.
Deadline: April 30, 2012
AWARD: International ReSource Award for Sustainable Watershed Management 2013
Swiss Re invites entry in the annual International ReSource Award for Sustainable Watershed Management, acknowledging leadership in the implementation of the principles of sustainability in watershed management. It is worth US$150,000 in total and is granted to one or several projects selected by an international jury. Swiss Re, a global reinsurance company, established the International ReSource Award in 2002 to actively support the planning, evaluation, and implementation of water-related projects with the aim of promoting awareness and encouraging the efficient use of this resource. The award is an annual competition for innovative watershed management projects. The prize money is to be used exclusively for project implementation.
Non-governmental organisations (NGOs), private, scientific, or public institutions, and similar bodies are invited to apply for the ReSource Award. The award is looking for projects which genuinely seek to contribute to raising awareness of the ecological, social, and economic significance of water sources and watersheds in developing and emerging countries (only projects which are implemented in a non-Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) country are being considered). Preference will be given to those projects which demonstrate innovative preventative measures for protecting water resources, i.e., projects that have a pioneering character in the local context (cultural, institutional, or technological) and involve local community and/or regional institutions. Organisations that submitted their applications in previous years are permitted to re-submit their projects subject to substantial changes regarding the quality of the project.
Deadline: April 30, 2012
Monday, April 23, 2012
EMPLOYMENT: University of East Anglia Senior Lecturer/Reader/Chair in International Development and Environment
The School of International Development at the University of East Anglia (www.uea.ac.uk/dev) is recruiting a senior post as part of its strategic plan to build its internationally recognised research on environmental change and international development. In particular we welcome applications from candidates who can demonstrate outstanding research achievements and potential in the areas of climate change and development, water security, or global environmental justice.
You must have a PhD or equivalent level of qualification, in a relevant discipline or subject area and be able to satisfy all the essential criteria detailed in the person specification for the relevant post. The post is available on a full-time basis from 1 September 2012 or as soon as possible thereafter.
Deadline: May 11, 2012
SCHOLARSHIPS: IDRC - SDPI Fellowships in Governance, Security and Justice in South Asia
The International Development Research Centre in collaboration with the Sustainable Development Policy Institute is going to launch Fellowships in Governance, Security and Justice in South Asia. The four-year programme aims to support the students in South Asian countries planning to pursue their Masters, M. Phil and PhD programmes in the fields of governance, Security and Justice. The programme will also build capacity of local research institutions towards management of competitive grant processes and to seek ways in which such programme can be made more sustainable.
Deadline: open
EMPLOYMENT: Postdoctoral/MPP/MBA Research Position at the Agricultural Sustainability Institute
ASI seeks one researcher to join our sustainable sourcing project team, which currently includes 2 postdocs, an MBA, and several informatics and topical experts. This researcher, in collaboration with our broader research team and stakeholder representatives, will design and lead stakeholder engagement activities for targeting and prioritizing potential economic, social, and environmental impacts related to agricultural production and commodity sourcing choices and evaluate specific indicators that may be used as proxies to represent target economic, social, and environmental issues and key strategies to address these issues. From this work, indicators will be selected to build decision‐making tradeoff frameworks/platforms to enable and promote the inclusion of agricultural sustainability issues in agricultural commodity sourcing decisions and also analyze strategies to counter negative effects. The researcher is also expected to collaborate on writing peer‐reviewed publications.
Deadline: open
TRAINING: Gender and Organizational Change
The International Training Centre of the ILO offers a course on Gender and Organizational Change from 11-15 June, in Turin, Italy.
The workshop proposes to look at how organizations have embraced gender mainstreaming, the success stories and the barriers, but goes much further by looking at gender as part of an organizational change management strategy rather than as a “stand alone” agenda item. In this workshop, we will acknowledge the importance of implementing specific measures to favor equality but we will also look at other strategies at the organizational level to take into account gender issues and women’s rights. We will look at what constitutes the foundation of organization to understand the deep biases underlying change management and decision making processes.
Participants will analyze how organizations manage change, particularly when introducing gender equality policies, strategies and actions. We will review the different types of organizations using leading management theories as well as gender frameworks. We will apply specific change management tools to concrete contexts.
Deadline: May 4, 2012
Thursday, April 19, 2012
This Week’s Posts
EMPLOYMENT: WorldFish Center Post Doctoral Fellow (Sustainable Productivity). This position will focus on increasing productivity by using better inputs and through the adoption of new production and post-harvesting technologies. Deadline: April 24, 2012
EMPLOYMENT: Positions at University of East Anglia’s School of Environmental Sciences. The University is seeking to recruit 18 new faculty members, including Lecturers in Environmental Science and Policy and Readers in Climate Change. Deadline: May 4, 2012
FELLOWSHIP: Mekong Program on Water, Environment and Resilience (M-POWER) Research Fellowship.The program announces its call for concept notes from professionals, researchers, government officials, and others interested in the water resources of the Mekong Region, their management and future. Deadline: April 23, 2012
SCHOLARSHIP: PhD in Land Governance Reform in central Africa. The research will focus 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. Deadline: May 15, 2012
TRAINING: International Forestry Resources and Institutions Training Course at University of Michigan. The course explores theoretical and methodological approaches for exploring human-environment interactions. It focuses on community level forest management, and the interaction of institutional, socioeconomic and ecological factors that influence sustainability. Deadline: open
TRAINING: CSDi Online Field Courses in Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), Community Based Adaptation (CBA) and Rural Development. The Center for Sustainable Development is announcing the May launch of a diploma module of eight online field courses in Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), Community Based Adaptation (CBA) and Rural Development. Deadline: April 30, 2012
FUNDING: Rockefeller Foundation Innovation Challenges program. The second annual Innovation Challenges program will focus on enhanced data practices, irrigation efficiencies, and farming revitalization. Deadline: May 25, 2012
CALL FOR ABSTRACTS: Gender and Sustainable Mountain Development in a Changing World. ICIMOD invites papers that focus on rigorous analyses integrating gender, sustainable development, and natural resource management issues in mountain contexts to an International Conference in Thimphu, Bhutan on 15-19 October 2012. Deadline: May 4, 2012
CALL FOR PAPERS: International Workshop on Corruption, Natural Resources and the Environment. The workshop is Organised by Asia Pacific Network for Environmental Governance, The Australian National University, and the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), and will take place on 25-26 October 2012, Jakarta, Indonesia. Deadline: May 31, 2012
PUBLICATIONS: New Publications from RECOFTC – The Center for People and Forests. Recent publications cover the topics of Free, Prior, and Informed Consent in Redd+; Climate Change, Forests, and You; and Redd+ Safeguards for Vietnam.
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
FELLOWSHIP: Mekong Program on Water, Environment and Resilience (M-POWER) Research Fellowship
The Mekong Program on Water, Environment and Resilience (M-POWER), with the support of the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) through the CGIAR Challenge Program on Water and Food (CPWF), announces its call for concept notes from professionals, researchers, government officials, and others interested in the water resources of the Mekong Region, their management and future.
The main objective of this research fellowships program is to build capacity of people interested in improving research-based knowledge and policy for the fair and sustainable management of water resources in the region. A complementary objective is to ensure research fellows gain experience from at least one other country in the region, in addition to their home country.
Deadline: April 23, 2012
TRAINING: International Forestry Resources and Institutions Training Course at University of Michigan
Every other year, the nine-week IFRI training course is offered at the University of Michigan’s School of Natural Resources and Environment, with Arun Agrawal, the Director of IFRI leading the course. Guest lecturers from within the University and the broader IFRI Network regularly guest lecture. The course explores theoretical and methodological approaches for exploring human-environment interactions. It focuses on community level forest management, and the interaction of institutional, socioeconomic and ecological factors that influence sustainability. It also specifically exposes students to the IFRI research program and provides training in data collection methods, including participatory techniques, individual and group interviews, and forest measurement. Students apply their field research training in a forest community in Southern Michigan. Trainees also gain first hand exposure to the unique IFRI database and learn how to enter data and use queries to create datasets.
This course is designed for graduate students and practitioners who seek to learn theories and methods relevant for social-environmental research, and particularly the approaches of an active, ongoing research program applicable to the human dimensions of environmental change.
Deadline: open
CALL FOR ABSTRACTS: Gender and Sustainable Mountain Development in a Changing World
The International Conference will be held in Thimphu, Bhutan on 15-19 October 2012.
ICIMOD invites papers that focus on rigorous analyses integrating gender, sustainable development, and natural resource management issues in mountain contexts. Papers should be centered on any of the six themes of the conference as outlined below. They may emanate from various critical perspectives and fields of study – including but not limited to gender studies, women’s studies, anthropology, sociology, socioeconomics, political ecology, geography, development studies, governance, and environment studies – in the context of natural resource management and mountain development. We especially welcome papers focusing on the Hindu Kush Himalayas and other mountain contexts, as well as regionally focused comparative studies.
Conference Themes and Key Guiding Questions
The focus of the conference is gender and sustainable mountain development in a changing world. Papers are expected to address some of the most urgent, emerging, and strategic questions pertaining to gender and natural resource management in mountain contexts. The following are some suggested questions centered on the six themes of the conference for consideration by potential paper authors:
- Climate Change: Gender and Adaptation
- Livelihoods: Gender Inclusive and Equitable Sustainable Development
- Governance: Gender-Responsive and Sensitive Policies and Plural Institutions
- Gender-Positive Change: Successes, Challenges, and Agenda-Setting for Gender Mainstreaming
- Ecosystems and Landscapes: Gender-Positive Benefit Sharing, Access, and Equity in Diverse Environments, Landscapes, and Common Property Regimes
- Water: Gender Equitable Access, Control, and Benefits of Water Resources and Management
Deadline: May 4, 2012
EMPLOYMENT: WorldFish Center Post Doctoral Fellow (Sustainable Productivity)
This is a research position in which the results of your work have the opportunity for rapid impact in guiding the establishment and implementation of “Harnessing the development potential of Aquatic Agricultural Systems”, a major new research for development program of the CGIAR. This position will focus on increasing productivity by using better inputs and through the adoption of new production and post-harvesting technologies.
Key Responsibilities
- Conduct literatures reviews, analyse project reports and consult with WorldFish scientists for concepts and evidence of improving benefits of AAS – dependant households through AAS productivity improvements;
- Review project reports and conduct field visits to analyze/validate selected AAS data sets for outcomes, impacts and learning from selected previous WorldFish Center interventions in aquatic agricultural systems;
- Review literature, models and develop methods for assessing the costs and benefits of interventions increasing AAS productivity, taking account of environmental, economic and social indicators;
- Prepare scientific publications, working papers and other CRP AAS communication products; and
- Identify research questions and opportunities in support of the sustainable productivity theme of the CRP AAS program and related implementation strategies as appropriate.
Deadline: April 24, 2012
EMPLOYMENT: Positions at University of East Anglia’s School of Environmental Sciences
Vacancies at the University of East Anglia’s School of Environmental Sciences.
Including this senior position, we are seeking to recruit 18 talented, ambitious and dynamic new faculty members as part of our investment in the Faculty of Science at UEA. These positions will build on existing critical mass in strategic research areas, and foster interdisciplinary collaboration across the Faculty, University and our partner Institutes in the Norwich Research Park. These appointments also further underpin our long-standing commitment to provide an outstanding education environment and responsive student experience. In addition to the advertised posts, we are also interested to hear from individuals who would aspire to win an independent research Fellowship or bring an existing Fellowship to UEA.
More information about these two positions:
Deadline (both positions): May 4, 2012
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
FUNDING: Rockefeller Foundation Innovation Challenges program
The Rockefeller Foundation has announced the launch of a new online effort to find innovative ideas that have the potential to create long-term solutions to ongoing global challenges. The second annual Innovation Challenges program will focus on enhanced data practices, irrigation efficiencies, and farming revitalization. The program aims to uncover and reward ideas that show unique promise for addressing global needs from a variety of geographies, perspectives, and contexts. Fifteen finalists, five in each category, will be selected by a panel of judges and recognized at the 2012 Rockefeller Foundation Innovation Forum this summer. As many as nine of the finalists will be selected to apply for up to $100,000 in grant support to further develop or implement their ideas.
Deadline: May 25, 2012
PUBLICATIONS: New Publications from RECOFTC – The Center for People and Forests
Several recent publications from RECOFTC – The Center for People and Forests are likely to be interesting for CAPRi members.
- Free, Prior, and Informed Consent in REDD+. Respecting the right to FPIC is, by definition, a locally and culturally specific process in which the affected communities themselves determine the steps involved. It is therefore not possible to produce a universally applicable ‘how to do it’ guideline. This publication provides a basis for more specialized information and training materials, targeted at specific audiences in appropriate languages. It will be progressively adapted as the ‘rules of REDD+’ evolve. Also available in in Bahasa Indonesia (pdf) and Nepali (pdf).
- Climate Change, Forests, and You. This publication serves as a resource for community level facilitators to provide explanations about the basics of climate change and the role of forests. It aims to raise the awareness of grassroots stakeholders for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) through answering nine frequently asked questions. The questions because they are frequently asked by grassroots communities, and local level facilitators should be able to answer them in the simplest way in order to deliver a consistent message throughout the project areas and countries. Also available in Bahasa Indonesia, Nepali, Vietnamese, and Lao.
- REDD+ Safeguards for Vietnam: Key Issues and the Way Forward. This brief discusses achievements to date by the Government of Vietnam in REDD+ readiness, issues in the seven safeguards defined by UNFCCC, and the need for a flexible, nationally-owned and inclusive process.
Monday, April 16, 2012
CALL FOR PAPERS: International Workshop on Corruption, Natural Resources and the Environment
The International Workshop on Corruption, Natural Resources and the Environment is Organised by Asia Pacific Network for Environmental Governance, The Australian National University, and the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), and will take place on 25-26 October 2012, Jakarta, Indonesia.
Corruption is thought to have significant negative effects on natural resource management and the environment. However, evidence of the impacts of corruption on the environment is still limited. Even more uncertain is whether policies to reduce corruption in sectors such forestry, fisheries, and water management should be developed and what they may consist of given the risk, for instance, that they might criminalize the rural poor.
The International Workshop on Corruption, Natural Resources and the Environment aims to bring together leading researchers working on corruption in different sectors to shed light on corruption’s impacts and priorities for research and policy development.
The organizers invite papers on the following topics:
- The social and economic impacts of corruption in biodiversity management, climate change activities, fisheries, forestry, and water management;
- The theory and practice of anti-corruption policies in resource and environmental management.
Two types of papers will be considered for oral presentation: research papers and policy papers.
Research papers
Research papers are expected to be of an academic standard to allow their publication in a special issue of an international scientific journal.
The selection process will seek a balance between papers focusing on the impacts of corruption and papers focusing on anti-corruption policies.
Research papers that have already been published (or submitted for publication) will not be considered).
Policy papers
Policy papers address experiences of corruption encountered by natural resource management practitioners. They are not expected to be of an academic standard for publication, but they should shed light on the impacts of corruption and/or how to design and implement anti-corruption policies.
Funding
The organizers will provide funding to the authors of up to twenty papers to attend the wrokshop. Allocation of funding will be based on the academic merit of the paper and authors’ funding needs.
Submission Process
Deadlines
Abstracts of papers should be submitted by 31 May 2012. Authors will be notified about acceptance (including whether funding will be provided) by 30 June 2012. A full draft of the paper will be due by 30 September 2012.
Abstract format
Abstracts of Research papers should:
- Include Author’s name, Affiliation and title, Title of paper, Description of the proposed content of the paper, References (maximum 10)
- Be about 500 words in length, excluding references.
Abstracts of Policy papers should:
- Include Author’s name, Affiliation and title, Title of paper, Description of the proposed content of the paper
- Be less than 300 words in length
Paper format
Research papers should:
- Include Author’s name, Affiliation, Title of paper, Body of paper, References in Harvard style
- Be less than 8,000 words
Policy papers should:
- Include Author’s name, Affiliation, Title of paper, Body of paper, References (if needed) in Harvard style
- Be less than 3,000 words
Submission
Abstracts and selected papers should be submitted (in Word or PDF format) to: apneg.home@gmail.com
Deadline: May 31, 2012
SCHOLARSHIP: PhD in Land Governance Reform in central Africa
The candidate will work in a team with 2 other PhD-candidates and a Post-doc researcher to investigate 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. The research will focus 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. 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.
Preferably, the research project will be carried out in Burundi, yet, proposals for research carried out in DRC, Rwanda, or South Sudan will also be considered, The research includes several periods in the Netherlands for proposal writing and training (6 months) and thesis writing (6 months). For the rest of the time you will be based at your field work site.
Deadline: May 15, 2012
TRAINING: CSDi Online Field Courses in Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), Community Based Adaptation (CBA) and Rural Development
The Center for Sustainable Development (CSDi) is announcing the May launch of a diploma module of eight online field courses in Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), Community Based Adaptation (CBA) and Rural Development. These courses begin as participants use participatory techniques to identify community vulnerabilities, identify climate change risks and hazards, investigate appropriate solutions, develop full projects, launch and manage them.
Students have worked with over 175 different types of challenges as diverse as increasing livelihood resilience, land rights advocacy campaigns, land and water use management plans, disaster risk reduction, health & hygiene, gender, food security, climate smart agriculture, soil conservation, water harvesting, participatory forest management and the formation of community based organizations.
These are online courses that have a local, in-country field component. Northern participants who don't have community access are partnered with Southern participants that do have community access.
Who should attend?
Course participants are of all different ages, genders and professions—and have included Southern and Northern development students, in-country field staff, grant writers, project managers, organizational directors, and donor staff. People from 116 different countries and 350 organizations have used CSDi online courses to develop projects impacting 200,000 people.
Deadline: April 30, 2012
Thursday, April 12, 2012
This Week’s Posts
EMPLOYMENT: IFPRI Director, CGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (CRP2). The International Food Policy Research Institute seeks a visionary, dynamic, and creative Director for the CGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets. Deadline: open
EMPLOYMENT: ILRI Post Doctoral Fellow in Animal Health. The Post Doctoral Fellow will be part of a team designing and evaluating pilot interventions to improve livelihoods, incomes and assets of smallholder households by raising productivity of their pig enterprises based on a package of technical and organizational strategies. Deadline: April 25, 2012
EMPLOYMENT: CIFOR Senior Scientist, Livelihoods and Economics. The Senior Scientist (Economist) will coordinate a new 4-year project funded by the European Union entitled “Opportunities and challenges to developing REDD+ benefit-sharing mechanisms in developing countries”. Deadline: April 27, 2012
EMPLOYMENT: EcoAgriculture Partners Senior Project Manager: Integrated Landscape Management and Capacity Development. EcoAgriculture Partners’ Landscapes and Leaders Program seeks to support and demonstrate the on-the-ground practice of ecoagriculture. Deadline: May 1, 2012
FUNDING: US Department of Agriculture’s Scientific Cooperation Research Program. The objective of SCRP is to reduce global poverty and hunger by supporting applied scientific research, extension, or education projects that aim to address challenges faced by smallholder farmers in emerging economies. Deadline: April 18, 2012
CALL FOR PROPOSALS: Utilizing Human Rights to Combat Violations of Women’s Rights of Land in the Context of HIV/AIDS. The Huairou Commission, UNDP and Open Society Foundation Law and Health Initiative (LAHI) have issued this Call for Proposals, to receive applications from grassroots organizations to utilize human rights law as laid out in the Tools for Change Manual. Deadline: April 20, 2012
CALL FOR CONCEPT NOTES: Canadian Partnerships Small Grants Competition. These grants support research, knowledge-building, and knowledge-sharing projects. Deadline: April 30, 2012
CALL FOR PAPERS: “Global Land Grabbing II” Conference. The Land Deal Politics Initiative (LDPI) is organizing a second international academic workshop on ‘Global Land Grabbing’ to be held on 17-19 October 2012 at the Africana Studies Center at Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA. Deadline: May 31, 2012
AWARD: The Norman Borlaug Award for Field Research and Application. The $10,000 award will be presented in October in Des Moines, Iowa, by the World Food Prize Foundation. Deadline: June 30, 2012.
PUBLICATION: CCAFS/FAO Training Guide on Gender and Climate Change Research in Agriculture and Food Security for Rural Development. The CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture, and Food Security (CCAFS) and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) have developed a new, module- and web-based training guide.
EMPLOYMENT: ILRI Post Doctoral Fellow in Animal Health
The International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) works at the crossroads of livestock and poverty, bringing high-quality livestock science, communications and capacity building to bear on poverty reduction and sustainable development. ILRI seeks to recruit a Post Doctoral Fellow to implement the animal health component of a project which aims to improve smallholder pig value chains in Uganda. The Post Doctoral Fellow will be part of a team designing and evaluating pilot interventions to improve livelihoods, incomes and assets of smallholder households by raising productivity of their pig enterprises based on a package of technical and organizational strategies. The Fellow will be part of the Animal Health Team and reports to the Project Coordinator. S/he will contribute to designing and working closely with national research and development partners to implement the research, with specific responsibility for characterizing the prevalence of pathogens affecting pigs in small holder farming system in multiple sites in Uganda. S/he will be expected to actively contribute to preparing strategic communication products including journal publications.
Deadline: April 25, 2012
EMPLOYMENT: CIFOR Senior Scientist, Livelihoods and Economics
The Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) advances human wellbeing, environmental conservation and equity by conducting research to inform policies and practices that affect forests in developing countries. CIFOR is looking for a Senior Scientist, Livelihoods and Economics. The Senior Scientist (Economist) will be supervised by the Director of the Forests and Livelihoods Programme and will coordinate a new 4-year project funded by the European Union entitled “Opportunities and challenges to developing REDD+ benefit-sharing mechanisms in developing countries”.
The main activities of this project are related to research, including: country-, sector- and site-based and cross-regional comparative studies of REDD+ policies and measures, REDD+ projects and demonstration activities; assessments of performance-based distribution, benefit-sharing mechanisms and enabling governance conditions for REDD+; and assessing rights to REDD+ benefits. Outreach and dissemination activities include science–policy dialogues and south–south exchanges of lessons learned. The main activities are linked to estimated results that are organised in ‘work packages’, which have integrated comparative research, but which will enable comparisons beyond the individual work package.
Deadline: April 27, 2012
FUNDING: US Department of Agriculture’s Scientific Cooperation Research Program
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) has announced the availability of funding through cost reimbursable agreements for the Scientific Cooperation Research Program (SCRP) for fiscal year 2012. The objective of SCRP is to reduce global poverty and hunger by supporting applied scientific research, extension, or education projects that aim to address challenges faced by smallholder farmers in emerging economies. All proposals should focus on addressing agricultural challenges to smallholders. For the purposes of this announcement smallholders, as defined by the World Bank, are farmers that own or lease less than 124 acres of land (less than 50 hectares). This land must be used to support subsistence or cash crop farming. All proposals should address one of the three focus areas: a) improving agricultural productivity, b) creating sustainable agricultural systems, or c) building regional or global trade capacities.
All proposals should also utilize the scientific communities’ accumulated knowledge and technologies to help aid in developing “practical” solutions to these challenges, must include foreign collaborations, and may not exceed two years. Funding may be allocated to foreign collaborators through sub-awards.
Deadline: April 18, 2012
CALL FOR PROPOSALS: Utilizing Human Rights to Combat Violations of Women’s Rights of Land in the Context of HIV/AIDS
The Huairou Commission, UNDP and Open Society Foundation Law and Health Initiative (LAHI) have issued this Call for Proposals, to receive applications from grassroots organizations to utilize human rights law as laid out in the Tools for Change Manual (Please see www.huairou.org for a copy if not received.)
Support given to successful applicants will include both financial resources and technical advise and will give successful applicant groups an opportunity to, for example, enhance their advocacy and awareness raising work towards challenging discriminatory customs and/or lobbying for policy change – utilizing human rights as the primary basis.
Groups will implement an innovative method or activity around human rights over the course of 6 months, as well as engage in mutual sharing of lessons learned on best uses of human rights in the struggle for land rights.
Two members from each group will also attend a meeting of the AU or other regional body (TBD, in 2012) to advocate for women’s rights to land in the context of HIV/AIDS utilizing a human rights framework grounded in grassroots realities.
In total, up to 3 organizations will be selected. Each organization will receive up to $12,000 to carry out the pilot activities.
They invite interested parties to download application guidelines and submit applications (and any questions/comments) to Huairou Commission: TFC.Applications@huairou.org
Deadline: April 20, 2012
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
CALL FOR CONCEPT NOTES: Canadian Partnerships Small Grants Competition
IDRC invites applications for its 2012-2013 Small Grants for Innovative Research and Knowledge-Sharing. Provided through IDRC’s Canadian Partnerships program, these grants support research, knowledge-building, and knowledge-sharing projects. They also fund events and small dissemination activities and products. These grants are open to local, regional, national, and international organizations incorporated and headquartered in Canada that produce or share knowledge for development. Individuals may not apply. Organizations new to IDRC are encouraged to apply.
Deadline: April 30, 2012
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
PUBLICATION: CCAFS/FAO Training Guide on Gender and Climate Change Research in Agriculture and Food Security for Rural Development
The CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture, and Food Security (CCAFS) and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) have developed a new, module- and web-based training guide entitled “Gender and Climate Change Research in Agriculture and Food Security for Rural Development”.
It is widely accepted that agricultural development will be severely curtailed without addressing the risks and capitalizing on the opportunities posed by climate change (FAO, 2010b). The agriculture sector must adapt to the impacts of climate change in order to provide food security to the world’s growing population. At the same time agriculture must mitigate its contributions to climate change (13.5 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions) in order to slow the progression of this global challenge (FAO, 2009).
Concurrently, it is internationally recognized that addressing gender issues in agriculture reduces hunger and poverty. In fact, it is estimated that more than 100 million people could be lifted out of poverty if women had the same access to and control of resources as men (FAO, 2011a). Although they are important food producers and providers, women presently have limited access to and control of resources. However, to date, these ideas – that climate change and gender issues are integral parts of agricultural development – have not been implemented in an effective way.
This guide seeks to fill that gap by supporting work to investigate the gender dimensions of responding to climate change in the agriculture and food security sectors. The final goals are to improve food production, livelihood security and gender equality in the context of the changing climate.
More information about how the training guide was developed here. Download the guide itself (pdf) here.
CALL FOR PAPERS: “Global Land Grabbing II” Conference
The Land Deal Politics Initiative (LDPI) is organizing a second international academic workshop on ‘Global Land Grabbing’ to be held on 17-19 October 2012 at the Africana Studies Center at Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA. The event will be co-organized and hosted by the Department of Development Sociology. Among the confirmed keynote speakers is the new Director-General of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and Brazilian academic, José Graziano da Silva.
This conference is a follow up to the highly successful 2011 conference held 4-6 April at the Institute for Development Studies at the University of Sussex, Brighton, England (www.future-agricultures.org/land-grab.html). At that conference, 120 papers were presented that sketched the broad outlines of land grabs happening across the globe. A convergence of factors has been driving a revaluation of land by powerful economic and political actors. This is occurring across the world, but especially in the global South. As a result, we are seeing a dramatic rise in the extent of cross-border, transnational corporation-driven and foreign government-driven, large-scale land deals unfolding worldwide. The phrase ‘global land grab’ has become a catch-all phrase to describe this explosion of (trans)national commercial and government-driven land transactions revolving around the production and sale of food and biofuels, conservation and mining activities.
The purpose of the 2012 conference is to continue deepening and broadening our understanding of global land deals. As before, we remain open to broader topics around land grab intersections with political economy, political ecology and political sociology, and will convene a series of parallel sessions on a range of themes responding to the issues below (and others):
- Agrarian Change: What changes in broad agrarian structures are emerging? Are land deals motivated by new forms of agrarian capitalism or repeats of the past? What is the nature and extent of rural social differentiation – in terms of class, gender, ethnicity – following changes in land use and land property relations as well as organizations of production and exchange?
- Power and Politics: What are the emerging trends around dynamics of power, elites and corruption; land as a source of patronage? How can we make sense of the politics of land deals in different contexts? What are the dynamics of international politics of land grabs in the broader context of energy, mining, forestry and conservation; and the role of big capital and powerful interests?
- Finance: How are land deal contracts developed between foreign and local companies and national states and financiers? Who finances these deals? What is the role of sovereign funds, hedge funds, pension funds and other financial instrument? Who is involved? How does the money flow? How and to what extent has (trans)national finance speculation played a role in land deals in the context of the convergence of food, fuels, climate and finance crises?
- Policy Narratives: What are the various competing policy and political narratives and discourses around the multiple crises of food, energy, climate and finance, and how have these shaped and been reshaped by the land deal politics? What narratives exist around ‘investment, growth and modernization’ versus ‘marginalization, displacement and impoverishment’, and so on? How do global narratives of ‘scarcity’ drive land investments? How is scarcity constructed in a global political economy of the land rush? How do these narratives differ between key investors and investments?
- Institutional Forms and Business Models: How do different institutional arrangements – and the associated business models for such investments, ranging from estate models to contract farming - influence livelihoods, labour, resource use and agrarian transformation?
- Green Grabbing: What environmental rationales are being deployed to appropriate land and nature? How does nature conservation, carbon sequestration, ecosystem service valuation intersect with land grabbing?
- Land, Tenure and Property: How have competing frameworks and views on land property been deployed by various camps around the contested meanings of ‘marginal lands’ (or, idle’, ‘waste’, ‘unoccupied’ lands)? How is a new dynamic of ‘enclosure’ operating? What assumptions about property rights, tenure and land access are being deployed?
- Displacement and Dispossession: Have development-induced displacement and dispossession occurred? How and to what extent and with what immediate and long-term outcomes and implications for rural livelihoods, including new rural refugees or internally displaced peoples (IDPs)?
- Alternatives: What are some of the relevant emerging alternatives from key actors? Are some of the traditional policies such as land reform, and some of the more recent alternative visions such as ‘food sovereignty’ (and ‘land sovereignty’) relevant and useful in protecting and promoting the interest of the rural poor in the midst of these (trans)national commercial land deals?
- Resistance: What is the range of reactions from local communities to these investments? To what extent have agrarian political struggles been provoked by the new land investment dynamics? What are the issues that unite or divide the rural poor, organized movements, and rural communities around the issue of land deals?
- International Policy Actors: Have global land policies of different overseas development agencies (World Bank, FAO, EU, IFAD, and so on) contributed to facilitating/encouraging or blocking/discouraging land deals? What are the limitations of ‘code of conduct’, certification, regulation, information dissemination, and capacity-building strategies?
The organizers invite papers that offer rigorous and innovative analysis of this list of issues. Papers based on recent, original field research are especially welcomed. We also encourage comparative studies. We welcome proposals for thematic panels. Doctoral students and younger researchers, particularly from the global South, are especially encouraged to participate
The full call is available for download here.
Deadline: May 31, 2012
Monday, April 09, 2012
AWARD: The Norman Borlaug Award for Field Research and Application
The $10,000 Norman Borlaug Award for Field Research and Application, endowed by the Rockefeller Foundation, will be presented every October in Des Moines, Iowa, by the World Food Prize Foundation.
This award will recognize exceptional, science-based achievement in international agriculture and food production by an individual under 40 who has clearly demonstrated intellectual courage, stamina, and determination in the fight to eliminate global hunger and poverty.
The award will honor an individual who is working closely and directly “in the field” or at the production or processing level with farmers, animal herders, fishers or others in rural communities, in any discipline or enterprise across the entire food production, processing, and distribution chain.
Deadline for nominations: June 30, 2012.
EMPLOYMENT: EcoAgriculture Partners Senior Project Manager: Integrated Landscape Management and Capacity Development
EcoAgriculture Partners’ Landscapes and Leaders Program seeks to support and demonstrate the on-the-ground practice of ecoagriculture. This program includes three key components: 1) providing technical assistance to leaders and stakeholders implementing integrated landscape management processes; 2) training a cadre of professionals (from NGOs, government agencies, community organizations, and others) to have the technical skills and leadership abilities to advance ecoagriculture in the communities, organizations, and countries where they work; and 3) working with local, national and international partners to develop tools and methods to support integrated landscape development.
EcoAgriculture Partners is hiring a Senior Project Manager for Integrated Landscape Management and Capacity Development to join their team in Washington, DC as soon as possible.
Deadline: May 1, 2012
EMPLOYMENT: IFPRI Director, CGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (CRP2)
The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) seeks a visionary, dynamic, and creative Director for the CGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets.
The Program, led by IFPRI, brings together 10 CGIAR centers and numerous partners from around the world. The objective of the Program is to enhance food security and income for rural poor while improving outcomes for the environment through improved policy, strengthened institutions, and enhanced markets. The Program Director will report to IFPRI’s Director General, and will be based in Washington, DC.
Deadline: open
Thursday, April 05, 2012
This Week’s Posts
EMPLOYMENT: FFI Socio-economic Adviser, Conservation, Livelihoods & Governance. Fauna & Flora International is seeking a Socio-economic Adviser to support an expanding portfolio of projects in the Asia-Pacific region (principally Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia and the Philippines). Deadline: April 9, 2012
EMPLOYMENT: ICIMOD Environmental Economist. ICIMOD is currently looking for an experienced Environmental Economist with a good understanding of economic concepts related to ecosystem services, valuations methods, green economy, and institutions and policies. Deadline: April 25, 2012
EMPLOYMENT: World Agroforstry Centre Post-Doctoral Fellow – SOIL SCIENTIST. The successful candidate will guide ICRAF’s work on soil infrared spectral methods for rapid prediction of soil functional properties. Deadline: April 30, 2012
EMPLOYMENT: Post-Doc Researcher - IAMO China Center. The Leibniz Institute of Agricultural Development in Central and Eastern Europe (IAMO) is seeking a qualified candidate to join the IAMO China Center as a post doc researcher at the nearest possible date. Deadline: May 15, 2012
CALL FOR PROPOSALS: Second Annual Conference “Formal” and “Informal” Central Asia: Institutions, Identities and Discourses. The conference will take place at the Central Asian Studies Institute of the American University of Central Asia, September 28-29, 2012, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. Deadline: April 25, 2012
SCHOLARSHIPS: 2 PhD scholarships on Property and Citizenship Roskilde University University of East Anglia. The Graduate School of International Development Studies at Roskilde University and the School of International Development at the University of East Anglia advertise two 3-year PhD scholarships on Property and Citizenship. Deadline: April 30, 2012
TRAINING: Land Governance for Development. The 2012 Utrecht Summerschool on Land Governance for Development will be offered from 2 - 13 July, 2012 at Utrecht University, the Netherlands. Deadline: May 1, 2012
CALL FOR ABSTRACTS: Illegal logging and legality verification - the FLEGT / VPA as new modes of governance. This international academic conference will discuss a number of theoretical and empirical issues related to the practice of illegal logging and trade in illegal tropical timber as well as measures to counteract such practices. Deadline: May 15, 2012
PUBLICATION: Rural demography, public services, and land rights in Africa. A new IFPRI discussion paper offers a village-level analysis from Burkina Faso.
PUBLICATION: Rural demography, public services, and land rights in Africa
A new IFPRI discussion paper offers a village-level analysis from Burkina Faso.
This paper uses historical census data from Burkina Faso to characterize local demographic pressures associated with internal migration into river valleys after onchocerciasis eradication, combined with a new survey of village elders to document change over time and differences across villages in local public goods provision, market institutions, and land use rights. We hypothesize that higher local population densities are associated with more public goods and with a transition from open-access to regulated land use. Controlling for province or village fixed effects, we find that villages’ variance in population associated with proximity to rivers is closely correlated with higher levels of infrastructure, markets, and individual land rights, as opposed to familial or communal rights. Responding to population growth with both improved public services and private property rights is consistent with both scale effects in public good provision and changes in the scarcity of land.
EMPLOYMENT: FFI Socio-economic Adviser, Conservation, Livelihoods & Governance
Fauna & Flora International (FFI) is the world’s longest-established international conservation organisation. FFI is now seeking a Socio-economic Adviser to support an expanding portfolio of projects in the Asia-Pacific region (principally Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia and the Philippines). The postholder will work closely with project/programme teams to ensure that the socio-economic and community aspects of our conservation projects are implemented in accordance with international good practice. In particular, this will include compliance with relevant standards, such as the Climate, Community and Biodiversity (CCB) standards for Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD+) projects.
The post will involve both the capacity-building of in-country teams and facilitation of shared learning within the region and more widely within FFI and in external fora. With a postgraduate degree in a relevant subject, you will have extensive social science skills, particularly in the design and implementation of participatory, gendered socio-economic analysis, monitoring and evaluation (M&E). You will be experienced in taking a facilitative approach to supporting colleagues from a wide range of different technical and cultural backgrounds. Your organisational skills will enable you to manage a complex workload, requiring prioritisation and efficient project planning, budgeting, implementation, and reporting. Your inter-personal skills will ensure that you are able to communicate and collaborate effectively with country programme staff and partner organisations, including governments, NGOs, community groups and businesses.
Deadline: April 9, 2012
Wednesday, April 04, 2012
CALL FOR ABSTRACTS: Illegal logging and legality verification - the FLEGT / VPA as new modes of governance
In 2003 the EU adopted its Action Plan on Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT). In order to promote the import to Europe of legal timber, the EU proceeded in 2005 to introduce Voluntary Partnership Agreements (VPAs) with countries that export tropical timber. As of March 2013, timber placed on the European market must be documented legal, and traders will be required to exercise due diligence to ensure that the timber they deal with is from legal sources. At this backdrop, this international academic conference will discuss a number of theoretical and empirical issues related to the practice of illegal logging and trade in illegal tropical timber as well as measures to counteract such practices. Although main focus will be on the EU modalities, presentations on other related initiatives are welcome as well.
Topics of conference
Abstracts are expected to address one or more of the topics below:
- Definitions, types, causes and consequences of illegal logging and the implications of legality verification
- Combining market based and legal instruments – a new mode of governance?
- Legality and sustainability – are they necessarily linked?
- Domestic markets and exports – how may legality verification influence domestic forest governance
- Social, economic and environmental impact of FLEGT/VPA and other regulatory initiatives against illegal logging
- FLEGT/VPA, REDD+ and certification – prospects of synergies?
Deadline: May 15, 2012
EMPLOYMENT: Post-Doc Researcher - IAMO China Center
The Leibniz Institute of Agricultural Development in Central and Eastern Europe (IAMO) is seeking a qualified candidate to join the IAMO China Center as a post doc researcher at the nearest possible date.
The scientists in this group analyze issues of agricultural and rural development, the food industry and food consumption in China. They collaborate with foreign partners, particularly in China. The main task of the successful candidate is to conduct economic research on topics related to these fields, especially in one of the following areas with respect to China:
- Socioeconomic rural development including health, education and environmental issues
- Agricultural production, processing of agricultural and food products, as well as agricultural and food markets
- Consumer studies, particularly related to food
The postdoctoral researcher is welcome to develop his/her own area of research. Teaching is not required but teaching possibilities are offered.
Deadline: May 15, 2012
Tuesday, April 03, 2012
EMPLOYMENT: World Agroforstry Centre Post-Doctoral Fellow – SOIL SCIENTIST
For over a decade ICRAF has being working on soil infrared spectral methods for rapid prediction of soil functional properties. These methods are now being widely applied in land health surveillance schemes that employ a standardized protocol for landscape level measurement and mapping of soil conditions. The framework is being applied throughout sub-Saharan Africa under the Africa Soil Information Service (www.africasoils.net) as well as in an increasing number of land management projects. ICRAF has recently extended these techniques to include laser and x-ray methods under its new Soil-Plant Spectral Diagnostics Laboratory, and is supporting a network of infrared spectroscopy labs across Africa.
The successful candidate will guide our work in the following ways:
- Maintain and further develop ICRAF’s soil infrared spectral calibration models and web-based prediction server.
- Coordinate ICRAF’s growing network of soil infrared spectrometers, including sample exchange, spectral calibration transfer models and training.
- Lead research on new infrared-based methods and instruments, including field applications.
- Research combinations of infrared, laser and x-ray based spectroscopy for rapid prediction of soil functional properties.
- Test new data mining algorithms for spectral prediction of soil and plant properties.
- Further develop spectral interpretation and automated reporting systems with other stakeholders.
- Develop spectrally-based soil testing services for smallholder farmers in partnership with the private sector.
- Publish results in journal articles, assessment reports and web-based forms.
- Participate in preparation of funding proposals to support the above areas of research.
Deadline: April 30, 2012
TRAINING: Land Governance for Development
The 2012 Utrecht Summerschool on Land Governance for Development will be offered from 2 - 13 July, 2012 at Utrecht University, the Netherlands.
In July 2012 LANDac organises the third Utrecht Summerschool Land Governance for Development. The two-week intensive course will introduce students to the multiple dimensions of land governance in Africa, Asia, Latin America and beyond. Students will acquire the most up-to-date knowledge on new land pressures and learn how to place these in broader theoretical debates. In addition, they will learn about best practices in land governance from different contexts and on different levels: local, national and international. The guiding question is how to optimize the link between land governance, sustainable development and poverty alleviation. At the end of this course students will have a thorough knowledge of current problems related to land and development, but they will also have practical knowledge of possible solutions. The topics are discussed in mini-courses including lectures and solution-oriented practicals led by recognised experts from academia, policy and practice. The course is useful for Masters' students, academics and practitioners from anywhere in the world who are interested in or work in the fields of land governance, development studies, natural resource management, conflict studies etc.
Deadline: May 1, 2012
Monday, April 02, 2012
EMPLOYMENT: ICIMOD Environmental Economist
ICIMOD is currently looking for an experienced Environmental Economist with a good understanding of economic concepts related to ecosystem services, valuations methods, green economy, and institutions and policies. While the incumbent will be housed within the Economic Analysis Division to perform core work of economic assessments and concept development, s/he shall also provide socio-economic expertise and perspectives to projects of other interdisciplinary Action Areas and Strategic Programmes at ICIMOD.
Responsibilities and tasks:
- Analyse mountain ecosystem related issues, options, policies, institutions, and laws to enhance understanding and promote actions for more economically productive, socially acceptable, and environmentally sustainable management of natural resources in the mountains.
- Examine recent developments concerning mountain ecosystem services and economic methods, tools, and applications for their valuation, and customize these for valuation of ecosystem services in the HKH context.
- Develop appropriate methodology for economic valuation of provisioning, regulating, supporting, and cultural services of Himalayan ecosystem services.
- Guide and support ICIMOD’s different Action Areas to conduct studies of economic valuation of Himalayan ecosystem services.
- Analyse the economic, social, and environmental causes and consequences of black carbon and explore alternative options to mitigate the impact of black carbon.
- Analyse the economic, social, and environmental impacts and costs of risks, hazards, and economic consequences of loss of mountain ecosystem services (increased floods, biodiversity loss, etc.).
- Analyse economic aspects of cross-cutting issues such as water, biodiversity, climate change, watersheds, livelihoods, and sustainable development.
- Prepare and disseminate reports to feed into policy processes and decisions.
- Examine national and international policies and strategies on mountain ecosystem management, exploring options for green growth and poverty reduction, including mitigation of black carbon.
- Organize and/or contribute to relevant workshops, seminars, and training courses to facilitate trans-border learning, knowledge sharing, and good practices of mainstreaming ecosystem and environment issues in policy decisions.
- Work as a team player within the Economic Analysis Division and ICIMOD to support other relevant activities and promote institutional goals.
Deadline: April 25, 2012
CALL FOR PROPOSALS: Second Annual Conference “Formal” and “Informal” Central Asia: Institutions, Identities and Discourses
The conference will take place at the Central Asian Studies Institute of the American University of Central Asia, September 28-29, 2012, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
The first annual conference of the Central Asian Studies Institute at AUCA initiated discussion on the state of scholarship on and in Central Asia. The second conference continues a discourse on how we make sense of the region by taking the alleged boundary between “formal” and “informal” Central Asia as a starting point. As the terms themselves are being hotly debated elsewhere, this conference firstly encourages scholars to look at the nature, scale and legitimacy of such a binary division. It then calls for the deeper analysis of “formal” and “informal” institutions and identities, which are believed to be of key importance in understanding the processes of socio-political and cultural transformation in the region. How have the Central Asian states succeeded in establishing themselves as legitimate power institutions? How should one account for the variations and similarities among Central Asian states and societies in the development of state and non-state institutions and in the construction of their national and local identities? To what extent do the family and kinship based socio-cultural identities remain important in determining the politics in the region? Whether and how have the twenty years of independent statehood transformed regional institutions and identities, and what are the implications for the years to come? Finally, if the concepts of “formal” and “informal” are questioned, what other alternative discourses can be employed to create richer and more complex understanding of the region?
Deadline: April 25, 2012
SCHOLARSHIPS: 2 PhD scholarships on Property and Citizenship Roskilde University University of East Anglia
The Graduate School of International Development Studies at Roskilde University and the School of International Development at the University of East Anglia advertise two 3-year PhD scholarships on Property and Citizenship.
Scholarship A will look at local politics as they relate to developments at the local level in poorer parts of the world. This may include issues of identity, belonging, citizenship and the state, but may also link in to work on social institutions and local politics more broadly. The research should be ethnographic in orientation. We have a particular interest in empirical work investigating cases from sub-‐Saharan Africa, but are open to proposals involving cases from other parts of the world. The studentship holder will develop the research in close interaction with the Research Unit on Property and Citizenship in Developing Societies at Roskilde University and the Politics and Anthropology grouping at the University of East Anglia.
Scholarship B will examine how demands for environmental justice feed into the social production of property and citizenship. Issues of (mal)distribution and (mis)recognition are at the core of many struggles over environmental (in)justices, whether those deal with land, forest, water, mining, industrial pollution or other natural resource fields. We have a particular interest in empirical work investigating site-‐specific environmental conflicts in Southeast Asia, but are open to proposals involving cases from other parts of the world. The studentship holder will develop the research in close interaction with the Research Unit on Property and Citizenship in Developing Societies at Roskilde University and the Global Environmental Justice Group at the University of East Anglia.
We invite original research proposals exploring these themes on the basis of suitable empirical cases. The research projects are expected to include a significant element of fieldwork-‐based data collection.
Successful completion of the research will lead to the award of PhD degrees at the Graduate School of International Development Studies and the School of International Development. The scholarship holders will be expected to share their time between the two universities, spending a minimum of 12 months at each.
The studentships will be co-‐financed by Roskilde University and the University of East Anglia. At Roskilde, research students are paid a salary according to the agreement between the Ministry of Finance and the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations (AC). UEA Studentships cover tuition fees (UK/EU rates), a tax-‐free maintenance grant (currently £13,590 per year), and a research training support grant. For further details on the UEA funding, see http://www.uea.ac.uk/dev/researchpg/funding/UEAfunding.
Applications are invited from candidates with excellent academic qualifications. Candidates should hold, or expect to hold, a minimum of at least a 2.1 degree or equivalent at undergraduate level and a strong performance in their Masters degree. EU and International applicants may be required to provide evidence of competence in the English Language. Relevant work experience may constitute important additional qualifications.
Applications should be submitted in English to the University of East Anglia, ideally in electronic form (see http://www.uea.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/apply). Applications are required to include a brief research proposal developing the idea, reviewing relevant literature and sketching out methods (max 5 pages).
Applications must be submitted by 30 April 2012. Material received after the deadline will not be considered.
For any further question about the studentships and the involved research units, please contact:
- Scholarship A: Dr Ben Jones (b.w.jones@uea.ac.uk) or Professor Christian Lund (clund@ruc.dk).
- Scholarship B: Dr Thomas Sikor (t.sikor@uea.ac.uk) or Professor Christian Lund (clund@ruc.dk).
In addition, we encourage potential applicants to visit the following websites for further information:
Deadline: April 30, 2012
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