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Regional Legal Consultant

Georgetown

  • Organization: CIFOR - Center for International Forestry Research
  • Location: Georgetown
  • Grade: Consultancy - Consultant - Contractors Agreement
  • Occupational Groups:
    • Legal - Broad
  • Closing Date: Closed

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 the world. 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 Research Program on Forests, Trees and Agroforestry (FTA). Our headquarters are in Bogor, Indonesia, with offices in Nairobi, Kenya; Yaoundé, Cameroon; Lima, Peru; and Bonn, Germany.

CIFOR is looking for

Regional Legal Consultant

Overview

The Sustainable Wildlife Management program is an initiative of the Africa Caribbean Pacific Secretariat, funded by the 11th European Development Fund (EDF), and implemented through a partnership involving the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the International Cooperation Center for Agricultural Research for Development (CIRAD), the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) and the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS).

The program aims to reconcile wildlife conservation issues with those of food security in a set of socio-ecosystems, wetland and savannah), by (i) promoting the sustainable and legal exploitation of resilient animal populations by indigenous rural populations and (ii) increasing / diversifying the supply of protein for rural and urban populations. More specifically, the program is structured around six interconnected results (R):
– R1: The institutional and legal framework for the sustainable use of meat from wild species resilient to hunting or fishing has been improved
– R2: Management of wild species resilient to hunting or fishing is improved
– R3: Supply of alternative protein is improved
– R4: Consumption of wildmeat becomes sustainable
– R5: Monitoring and evaluation mechanisms are developed to define models that are shared widely
– R.6. Knowledge is generated to support the development of public policies that reconcile conservation and food security issues.

The present experience will contribute directly to Result 1 (R1) and to the achievement of the specific objectives of the Site. In Guyana the project seeks to ensure that the Rupunini can continue to offer sustainable options for food security and livelihoods in accordance with traditional lifestyles, while maintaining healthy wildlife populations. In order to achieve this, Sustainable Wildlife Management (SWM) will ensure that local efforts to manage wildlife sustainably are supported by policies, laws and regulations at the national level from different sectors that influence directly or indirectly the sustainable use for wildlife.

This work will be conducted under the overall supervision of the SWM Program Coordinator or the SWM Regional Coordinator at FAO (depending on sites), and the direct technical supervision of the Legal Officer of the FAO Development Law Service (LEGN). The R1 team and the FAO thematic focal points on gender and FPIC (free prior and informed consent) will also provide technical support. At national level, the legal expertise will work in close coordination with the National Focal Point at the Guyana Wildlife Conservation and Management Commission, while at site level he/she will work in collaboration primarily with the Site Coordinator and any other staff and consultant involved in R1 and other Rs, as required.

Duties and responsibilities

National multi-stakeholder dialogue on relevant policies and laws
Promote/facilitate and contribute to national multi-stakeholder dialogue (i.e. through the creation of a specific platform or the promotion of exiting platforms and other mechanisms) to ensure the participation on the legal and policy related work in relation with forest and wildlife in the country.
Legal analysis and development relevant to the sustainable exploitation of Wildlife
  1. Review the legal studies carried out over the last 10 years as part of projects about biodiversity conservation and sustainable use of renewable natural resources. The objective of this review is to identify commitments in terms of social and environmental justice and to food security, and to assess how these commitments are taken into consideration in the legal and institutional context of the country. The documents identified will be archived under the SWM programme Knowledge Management System (KMS) and appropriately mentioned in the analytical documents and the final deliverable (consolidated country profile);
  2. Review and revise the Diagnostic Legal Tools developed by R1 team, to ensure adaptation to the country context, specific site model and work plan. The revision of the customary law matrix should be done with the support of an anthropologist/project staff expert on site’s customs and rules. This work will allow to fine-tune the matrix, add elements that are specific to the site and remove those that don’t and propose a relevant set of matrix to the site.  
  3. Identify, collect and compile existing policies and corresponding legislation/regulations relevant to the sustainable exploitation of wildlife. Identified policies should include those that affect stakeholder procedural and substantive rights and obligations in wildlife and land management, including policies on wildlife, land use, fire management Policy environment, territorial administration, etc…. Relevant legislation should include (inter alia) the Constitution and laws relating to land tenure, land use and management, forest, agriculture, biodiversity, rangelands management, wildlife and nature protection, inland fisheries, environment, rustling, animal production and marketing, water, mining, government structure (including local government), rights of associations, public participation, women’s rights etc… and compile all relevant texts into a comprehensive thematic legal collection;
  4. Further develop the compilation of policies, laws and regulations carried out in 4. into a scheme (Annex 1) that shows for each policy the existing enabling institutional and legal frameworks. A similar structure needs to be developed for relevant laws and regulations. This compilation should facilitate the identification of those areas of policy/law which are currently missing implementing law/regulations;
  5. Based on the overall methodology provided by the R1 team, fill up the matrices of statutory right analysis for the wildlife value chains relevant for the site. Based on these matrices, prepare a Legal Consistency Analysis report based on the legal and regulatory framework applicable to these wildlife value chains (see above mentioned sectors in 3.) and a Legal Gap Analysis report. This should include compliance with ratified international and regional treaties (and policies) and standards of sustainability.
  6. Based on the overall methodology provided by the R1 team, and with the support of the project team, complete the matrices of analysis of customary laws and practices. This will include the mapping of existing customary norms and non-state legal mechanisms to manage wildlife species and avoid/solve human-wildlife conflicts. This will require a field based survey in local communities deemed relevant at the SWM site, in compliance with the FPIC protocol. The planning of the survey will need to be carried out in close concertation with the site coordinator to ensure coherence and avoid duplication with other surveys/activities planned at the same site.
  7. Based on the overall methodology provided by the R1 team, apply the tool for the assessment of law application and enforcement at the site at local and national levels in order to identify the practical and functional challenges related to the implementation of enacted laws and regulations, instead of focusing on the written content of laws only.
  8. Consolidate the different analyses carried out (tasks 4 to 8) into a single country profile report following the plan provided by the R1 team and propose recommendations and strategic intervention options for R1 at local and national level, in the short, medium and long terms.
  9. In coordination with the site coordinator and the national focal point, participate in the organization of a field site workshop to present the results of the analyses and discuss at provincial level the proposals for the R1 action plan until July 2023 to be further discuses at national level.
  10. In coordination with the National Focal Point and the Site Coordinator, participate in the organization of a national workshop to present the results of the analyses as well as the finalised proposal for an action plan for the implementation of the strategic interventions selected for R1 until July 2023, taking into consideration the contributions gathered at site level.
Adaptation of SWM CRBA/FPIC model to the site
  1. Based on the templates available and the Human Rights Council recommendations for the said country, and in close collaboration with the SWM Community Right Based Approach (CRBA)/Gender thematic focal point, contribute to adapt the SWM CRBA models to the site specifics. This will involve researching local laws and involving local authorities to identify when and what is legally binding in relation to CRBA in the country.
  2. Other required tasks.

Education, knowledge and experience

• Bachelors’ degree in statutory law and / or customary law
• A minimum of 2 years of experience in the practice and development of legislations in the fields of forestry, renewable natural resources or any related field;
• excellent spoken and written in English is required
• Good analytical and synthesis skills;

Personal Attributes and Competencies

• displays initiative and is capable of working independently as well as in team environments
• pays attention to detail
• has excellent interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to interact effectively with people of multinational and multicultural backgrounds and is a team player
• is trustworthy and has integrity

Terms and Conditions

• This is a part-time consultancy position.
• CIFOR offers competitive remuneration commensurate with skills and experience.
• The duty station will be in Georgetown, Guyana.

To apply, please visit our career site at:
https://www.cifor.org/careers

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

CIFOR is an equal opportunity employer. Staff diversity contributes to excellence.

Application process

The application deadline is 20 Nov-2019
We will acknowledge all applications, but will contact only short-listed candidates.




This vacancy is now closed.
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