Consultant for Scientific Writing - CIFOR

Join CIFOR and make a difference! Consultant for Scientific Writing Climate Change, Energy, and Low-Carbon Development Team Lima, Peru

The Center

The Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) envisions a more equitable world where forestry and landscapes enhance the environment and well-being for all. CIFOR is a non-profit, scientific institution that conducts research on the most pressing challenges of forest and landscape management around theworld. Using a global,multidisciplinary approach,we aim to improve human well-being, protect the environment and increase equity. To do so, we conduct innovative research, develop partners’ capacity, and actively engage in dialogue with all stakeholders to inform policies and practices that affect forests and people. CIFOR is a CGIAR Research Center, and leads the CGIAR ResearchProgramonForests,TreesandAgroforestry(FTA).OurheadquartersareinBogor,Indonesia, with offices in Nairobi, Kenya; Yaoundé, Cameroon; and Lima, Peru.

Overview

Carbon-rich tropical wetland ecosystems including peatlands are considered as high priorities in climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies throughout the world. The SWAMP project proposes a research/capacity building project to quantify carbon stocks, emissions, baselines, and approaches to their monitoring, reporting, and verification in forested tropical wetlands. The specific

project objectives include: (1) Quantify greenhouse gas emissions arising from intact wetland forests and sites that have undergone land cover change and degradation; (2) Quantify the carbon stocks of representative tropical forested wetlands of the world and associated land uses; (3) Develop ecosystem C dynamics modelling tools suitable for tropical wetlands and scale-up measurements to landscape, province, or country scales utilizing remote sensing approaches; (4) Quantify and define rolesoftropicalwetlandecosystemsinclimatechangeadaptationanddeveloppotentialscenariosfor their inclusion in climate change adaptive strategies; and (5) as an integral part of all research and technical transfer activities incorporate approaches to capacity building and outreach. CIFOR’s support to the SWAMP Program seeks to fill these objectives by understanding how peat forest degradation in the Amazon basin may affect the stocks of carbon and the exchange of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere.

The consultant will conduct the analysis of a dataset of soil fluxes of N2O and CH4 and environmental parameters (rainfall, air and soil temperature, soil moisture, water table depth, litterfall rate, etc.) collected along a palm forest degradation gradient in the Peruvian Amazon. The consultant will produce a scientific article on seasonal and interannual variability in soil trace gas fluxes and analysis of controls.Summary of responsibilities

The consultant will:

• Revise the scientific literature related to soil fluxes of N2O and CH4 and controlling factors in forested tropical wetlands and write a short synthesis addressing current knowledge and remaininggapsrelatedtointerannualandseasonalvariationsofthefluxesinthecontextclimate change and degradation of forested peatlands;

• Complete the database of measurements collected in situ by the project and of long-term climatic data from local weather stations, proceed to statistical analysis of the data, and write a summary of main conclusions and main results including Tables and Figures;

• Produce the outline for the scientific paper based on the conclusions and results, write the methods, discussion and introduction sections of the paper and finalize with the abstract; • Submitthepapertoaninternationalpeer-reviewedjournalandaddresscommentsraisedduring the peer-review process.

Requirements

Education, knowledge and experience

• PhD or Master degree in Forestry, Natural resources, Soil science or relevant field; • Knowledge on soil fluxes of greenhouse gases and affecting variables;

• Good writing skills (first author of at least two papers published in an international peer- reviewed journal);

• Excellent spoken and written English;

• Good knowledge of statistics.

Personal attributes and competencies

• Organizational skills.

• Rigorous and autonomous.

• Interpersonal and communication skills.

Terms and conditions

• This is a consultancy position.

• CIFOR offers competitive remuneration commensurate with skills and experience. • The work location of this consultancy is in Lima, Peru;

• The consultancy period is for 8 months beginning in February 2018.

Application process

To learn more about CIFOR, please visit our website at: http://www.cifor.org