National Consultants (Natural Resource Management & Sustainable Forest Management Specialists) at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) helps developing countries attract and use aid effectively. In all our activities, we encourage the protection of human rights, capacity development and the empowerment of women.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: National Consultant Natural Resource Management & Sustainable Forest Management Specialist on Integrated Analyses for a REDD+ Strategy in Nigeria, with focus on Cross River State

Location: Abuja with travel to Cross River State, NIGERIA
Additional Category: Resilience and Climate Change
Type of Contract: Individual Contract
Post Level: National Consultant
Starting Date: (date when the selected candidate is expected to start) 19-Oct-2015
Duration of Initial Contract: 30 working days
Expected Duration of Assignment: 30 working days

Background
Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) is an international effort to create a financial value for the carbon stored in forests through offering incentives for developing countries to reduce emissions from forested lands and invest in low-carbon paths to sustainable development. REDD+ ("plus") goes beyond deforestation and forest degradation, and includes the role of conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of forest carbon stocks.

Nigeria's forests, which currently extend over 9.6 million hectares, have been rapidly declining over the past decades. The current deforestation rate, estimated at 3.7%, is one of the highest in the world. The Federal Government of Nigeria, reinforced by pioneering efforts from Cross River State, began to engage in REDD+ in 2009 and signed an agreement with the UN-REDD Programme in August 2012.

In February 2015, Nigeria’s REDD+ Readiness Programme was extended through 2016, following two years of stakeholder engagement with little progress towards a REDD+ strategy. It envisions a two-track approach to achieve REDD+ readiness in Nigeria, based on: (i) the development of institutional and technical capacities at Federal level, and (ii) consolidating four key UNFCCC requirements for REDD Readiness on a pilot basis in Cross River State: the four Warsaw Framework elements of Strategy, Safeguards Information System, Forest Monitoring System, and Forest Reference Levels for carbon.

Nigeria’s REDD "readiness" programme entails the participatory development of a national REDD+ Strategy. As a pilot state, Cross River State will develop a REDD+ Strategy that will both inform the national strategy and serve as a model for other states. The Strategy will comprise policy reforms, investment priorities, and a related REDD+ implementation framework, with due monitoring and safeguard systems, as called for under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The REDD+ Strategy intends to enhance the value of standing forests and to incentivize sustainable forest management through a multi-stakeholder approach and a green development perspective.

Duties and Responsibilities

• To identify issues and opportunities for investment in the forest and natural resource sector-including agriculture and agroforestry (crops and NTFPs), energy, and mining/quarrying, and roads-from landscape and ecosystem services perspective. This will include identifying emerging trends and potentially serious threats to forest cover;
• To assess the technical feasibility, risks, and the potential and/or actual impact of existing or proposed opportunities (interventions or options) on the resource base, especially with respect to sustainability, stability, productivity, and livelihoods;
• To document the previous, on-going and planned activities in sustainable forest management with relevance to REDD+ implementation in Nigeria. Thus the purpose of this is to bring together as much of these sustainable forest initiatives as possible and in so doing assemble a clearer picture of those initiatives in terms of their activity types, activity locations, implementing institutions, activity durations, implementation methods and benefits and indicate those that could support REDD+ delivery.

The natural resource specialists will carry out the following tasks:

• Review and assess information, literature and studies in the forest and natural resource sector-including agriculture and agroforestry, energy, and mining/quarrying, and infrastructure (roads) sectors to outline sources of emissions coming from these sectors.This will include reviewing recent and past efforts to identify drivers of deforestation and forest degradation;
• Identify issues requiring attention for inclusion in the issues and options paper, gaps to be filled, and key investment opportunities from a landscape and ecosystem services perspective. The report should draw from prior analyses, including the Drivers Study, the National Communications, and other studies noted in Annex B. Identify and-to the degree possible-fill any gaps in forest, carbon, resource, and/or land use information relevant to the development of a REDD+ strategy for Cross River State. Identify the follow-up analysis needed;
• Prepare a comprehensive Technical Report on Landscape/Ecosystem approach (including agriculture and agroforestry (crops and NTFPs), energy, mining/quarrying, and infrastructure) for inclusion in the national Issues and Options section of the report and CRS REDD+ strategy and;
• Assess the technical feasibility, risks, and the potential and/or actual impact of existing or proposed opportunities (interventions or options) on the resource base, especially with respect to sustainability, stability, productivity, and livelihoods. Provide analyses on specific issues, e.g. banana farming, oil palm, cocoa, quarrying/mining, logging, road infrastructure, etc. and how to address them.

In line with points 1-4 above:

• Review and document relevant information on previous, on-going and planned sustainable forest management related REDD+ initiatives in CRS;
• Identify and analyse the ongoing and planned activities in terms of complimenting REDD+ implementation in CRS;
• Identify with further analysis the possible gaps and challenges to be addressed if any, with a view to further improving the effectiveness of these initiatives for delivery of REDD+;
• Recommend approaches that would facilitate up-scaling of such initiatives in a coordinated manner in order to contribute to the objective of REDD+ in CRS/Nigeria;
• Synthesize the results from works above and make recommendations in key areas of improvements including the efforts already made or being undertaken by the initiatives themselves and identify those to be considered for the delivery of REDD+.

Competencies

• Broad knowledge of climate change mitigation and/or adaptation in Nigeria ;
• Broad knowledge of political and economic development in Nigeria and how REDD+ fits in with that;
• Excellent organizational skills;
• Excellent writing skills;
• Good interpersonal skills;
• Ability to work in a multicultural environment;
• Excellent Team building skills.

Required Skills and Experience
Education:

• Advanced Degree in Agriculture, Forestry, or other relevant natural resource management-related subject.

Experience:

• At least 7 years of experience that aligns with the technical requirements of the assignment;
• Demonstrated experience of similar consultancies (to be verified through traceable records);
• Experience, and knowledge of the REDD+ mechanism, with evidence of similar work in other countries preferred;
• Experience in Africa;
• Experience with the United Nations system preferred;
• Demonstrated experience in drafting reports and action plans.

Language:

• Fluent in English.

Application Closing Date
12th October, 2015.

Starting Date
19th October, 2015.

How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click here to apply online