to this PDRA position, the project will also host a linked PhD studentship. The project leadership team ... Cambridge Un
Conservation Research Institute
Further Information Job title
Research Fellow / Postdoctoral Research Associate
Grade
7
Salary range
£29,301 – 38,183
Employer
Wolfson College Cambridge
University Department
University of Cambridge Conservation Research Institute
This is a joint appointment between Wolfson College Cambridge and the University of Cambridge Conservation Research Institute, and the individual will be employed by Wolfson College.
Role-specific information Role Summary Assessing the Role of Forests and Landscapes in relation to Climate Change, Agricultural Production and Livelihoods The climate change agreement brokered at COP21 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris, and signed by over 200 nations, provides a context for concerted action to reverse trends in tropical forest loss. The Bonn Challenge aims to restore 150M hectares of degraded forest by 2020, the New York Declaration pledges to halt forest loss by 2030, and the British government is promising £4 billion to REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) projects. Translating these political pledges into forest and landscape management that provides environmental and social benefits poses significant challenges. Many interventions aimed at lowering forest loss focus on the forests themselves – seeking to prevent conversion via regulation (by declaring protected areas, for example) or providing financial incentives for forest retention (as in the UN’s REDD+ initiative). However, if this means that people are unable to meet livelihood needs, or if food demands are not met, such efforts may simply displace deforestation elsewhere (a phenomenon termed leakage), rather than reduce forest conversion overall. In contrast, livelihood-focused conservation interventions – alongside many general development activities – often target agricultural production and the wellbeing of rural communities. But if successful, these too may have unintended negative consequences – known as rebound effects – by stimulating further forest conversion (if farming becomes more profitable) or stimulating demand (if commodity prices fall). Recent proposals, therefore, have focused on the need to more explicitly link forest protection with efforts to improve farm yields (production per unit area), so that people’s needs are met alongside a slowdown in deforestation.
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This project will quantify and describe the performance of these contrasting approaches, and specifically test the emerging idea that if they are to be effective and socially equitable, efforts to safeguard (or restore) tropical forests must be linked to compensatory increases in agricultural outputs outside of forests. The focus of the project will be pan-tropical, and the research will concentrate on site-based (rather than policy- or market-orientated) interventions. The initial phase (over the first year) of the project will focus on characterizing ~60 site-based interventions which use one of three contrasting approaches to slowing forest loss: (i) those focused on directly addressing forest loss; (ii) those focused on agricultural intensification and livelihoods; and (iii) those attempting to make agricultural support conditional on forest protection, linking activity across the productive and the protected landscape. In the second phase, site-based research will be used to ‘ground-truth’ and elaborate these coarse-scale assessments through rapid field surveys at ~15 project sites. Where possible, research will focus on longer-established projects for which there is reasonable long-term land-cover imagery, which allow quantification of changes in forest cover and carbon storage over the project duration, and to estimate effectiveness by contrasting this with changes in nonintervention (but otherwise matched) areas nearby. In parallel with this, questionnaire surveys and semi-structured interviews will be conducted with stratified random samples of people in target communities in and near project sites, to quantify and describe project-related changes in livelihoods and in agricultural practices, production and yields. The postholder will work with the linked PhD student and the three lead investigators (Balmford, Coomes and Vira) to develop a detailed project work plan, which includes selection of case studies, refining research methods and field survey instruments, conducting synthesis and analysis of the data, and producing high profile publications and outputs based on the research.
Key Responsibilities Analysis of ecological and socio-economic impacts of interventions using secondary data
25%
Field research and analysis from specific sites
35%
Production of high impact publications and other outputs
25%
Project coordination, communication with partners and support for PhD student
15%
Person Profile Education & qualifications
Essential: A PhD degree in a relevant field of the natural or social sciences, especially conservation science, forest ecology, geography, environmental sciences, development studies or economics.
Specialist knowledge & skills
Essential: An understanding of the drivers of forest loss in tropical contexts, and the socio-economic factors which influence forest and agricultural production systems. Essential: A strong grounding in statistical methods and GIS, and the use of analytical techniques for understanding landuse change. Desirable: Knowledge of techniques for site-level carbon assessment, ecosystem service assessment and assessment of land use and agriculture productivity; as well as the use of household surveys for socio-economic and livelihood assessment. Page 2 of 6
Interpersonal & communication skills
A confident communicator (both written and verbal), who is able to develop and maintain relationships with a wide variety of field research partners across multiple case study sites. Strong publication record in peer-reviewed journals. Enthusiasm, and ability to work both independently and within a small team, sometimes under time pressure, to self-motivate, and to deliver work to a high quality. Ability to network within the University, with conservation organisations and initiatives, to build field research partnerships, and to help with the dissemination of project outputs. Independent post-graduate research experience. Experience of conducting case study research.
Relevant experience
Terms and Conditions Location
University of Cambridge Conservation Research Institute, David Attenborough Building and Wolfson College Cambridge
Working pattern
Monday to Friday
Hours of work
37 hours per week
Length of appointment
Three years; probationary period 6 months
Limited funding
This post is funded by a grant and the funding supporting the post is available for a fixed term of three years.
Probation period
6 months
Annual leave
33 days pro rata
Pension eligibility
Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS)/ Cambridge University Assistants' Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS).
Screening Check Requirements We have a legal responsibility to ensure that you have the right to work in the UK before you can start working for us. If you do not have the right to work in the UK already, any offer of employment we make to you will be conditional upon you gaining it.
Application Process To submit an application for this vacancy, please submit a copy of your Curriculum Vitae and a covering letter setting out your suitability for the role to Dr Bhaskar Vira at
[email protected] as well as a completed Wolfson College Equal Opportunities Form which is at the end of this document. Closing Date for Receipt of Applications: 6 March 2017 Interview date: 7 April 2017
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General Information The University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is one of the world’s oldest and most successful Universities, with an outstanding reputation for academic achievement and research. It was ranked first in the 2011 QS World University Rankings and its graduates have won more Nobel Prizes than any other university in the world. The University comprises more than 150 departments, faculties, schools and other institutions, plus a central administration and 31 independent and autonomous colleges. The University and the Colleges are linked in a complex historical relationship. The Colleges are selfgoverning, separate legal entities which appoint their own staff. They admit students, provide student accommodation and deliver small group teaching (supervisions). The University awards degrees and its faculties and departments provide lectures and seminars for students, determine the syllabi for teaching and conduct research. There is much more information about the University at http://www.cam.ac.uk/univ/works/index.html which we hope you will find helpful.
University of Cambridge Conservation Research Institute The University of Cambridge Conservation Research Institute (UCCRI) was set up in 2013, to establish a multidisciplinary, cross-Departmental research programme at the University of Cambridge, on biodiversity conservation, and the social context within which humans engage with nature. UCCRI has the status of a University of Cambridge Interdisciplinary Research Centre (IRC) is a critical component of the University’s support for, and engagement with, the Cambridge Conservation Initiative (CCI). Over 100 academic staff, postdoctoral researchers and graduate students from across the University are based in UCCRI’s space in the David Attenborough Building, which provides a hub for collaboration and interdisciplinary research on conservation. Further information is available at http://researchinstitute.conservation.cam.ac.uk/ This postdoctoral research associate position is linked to a three year interdisciplinary project funded by the Frank Jackson Foundation and Wolfson College, based at UCCRI. In addition to this PDRA position, the project will also host a linked PhD studentship. The project leadership team consists of three senior academics at the University of Cambridge Conservation Research Institute, Professor Andrew Balmford (Department of Zoology), Professor David Coomes (Department of Plant Sciences) and Dr Bhaskar Vira (Director of UCCRI and Department of Geography).
Wolfson College The post-holder will be simultaneously appointed to a Research Fellowship (RF) at Wolfson College Cambridge. Wolfson was founded (as University College) by the University of Cambridge in 1965, changing its name to Wolfson College in 1973 following a benefaction from the Wolfson Foundation. It is a College for mature undergraduates (aged 21 and over) and postgraduate students. It was the first Cambridge College to admit both men and women as students and Fellows, and it currently has 94 nationalities among its student body. It is outward-looking and egalitarian, with all social spaces being shared equally by Fellows, students and staff. It is based on a ten-acre site in Newnham, close to the University Library and many of the Humanities faculty buildings, as well as being between the University’s new West Cambridge site and the Biomedical Campus. Research Fellows are considered to have outstanding academic achievement with the potential for further intellectual development and scholarly creativity. RFs are full members of the College’s Governing Body, with a responsibility for, and commitment to, the well-being of the College. The Page 4 of 6
tenure of this Fellowship will be initially for one year and it will be renewable for a further two years to match the 3-year duration of the post. RFs are entitled to social privileges at Wolfson College, including an enhanced allowance of four meals a week (under review and subject to change in the future), and certain other dinners at College expense. The assessment for the award of an RF will be included within the interview process for the current post within a single interview, and a separate application will not be required.
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Equal Opportunity Monitoring Form Private & Confidential
Wolfson College is committed to treating all job applications on their merit irrespective of sex, gender, age, marital status, race, colour, disability, religion, ethnic or national origin. Completion of this form is optional and anonymous; this information will not be passed to those making short listing or selection decisions. It will, however, be held manually and on computer for the purpose of equal opportunities monitoring, to ensure that the College is selecting applications on the basis of ability to carry out the duties associated with the post. Position applied for Please add an X to boxes as appropriate: GENDER
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*Includes Church of England/Scotland/Ireland, Catholic, Protestant and all other Christian denominations ADVERTISING – WHERE DID YOU HEAR ABOUT THIS POSITION? Cambridge University website Cambridge Reporter
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