Asia-Pacific Scout – Mangrove Conservation

Start date: ASAP

Contract duration: Fixed term 6-month contract, with the option for extension

Remuneration: Competitive salary based on experience

Organisation overview

Blue Ventures is an award-winning marine conservation organisation working to rebuild tropical fisheries with coastal communities. We’re committed to protecting marine biodiversity in ways that benefit coastal people. We work in places where the ocean is vital to local cultures and economies, and where there is a fundamental unmet need to support human development.

Summary Job Description

Blue Ventures is currently recruiting an experienced conservationist to undertake an evaluation of opportunities for mangrove conservation in the Asia-Pacific region.

The study will entail a rigorous desk and field-based scoping analysis of existing marine management initiatives being supported by community based organisations, NGOs and institutions in priority Asian-Pacific countries (eg. Myanmar, Philippines and Papua New Guinea).

The purpose of this study is to identify potential candidate sites and partners that together may be suitable for future efforts to replicate Blue Ventures’ integrated, incentive-based mangrove forest and fisheries management models in priority mangrove conservation areas in the Asia-Pacific region.

The scoping study will focus on hotspot countries and sites that have been pre-identified through remote sensing analyses as having high rates of anthropogenic mangrove loss that might be averted through locally led conservation efforts. Sites will be assessed according to local interest in, and need for, mangrove and fisheries management initiatives. The potential for incentivised fisheries management initiatives will also be of keen interest. Partners will be assessed based on their capacity for supporting field-based conservation efforts, and their alignment with Blue Ventures’ mission and core values.

This study will form a key output of Blue Ventures’ ongoing mangrove conservation scoping efforts in the region, in advance of subsequent in depth site-based feasibility studies.

The successful candidate will be a creative, open minded, and discerning individual, with excellent analytical skills and a strong technical background in incentive-based environmental conservation.  They will be pragmatic and resourceful in working alone and orientating within the marine conservation context in the target countries; entrepreneurial in identifying opportunities for potential future mangrove conservation interventions; and sensitive to the needs and interests of communities and stakeholders involved in mangrove conservation.

Blue Ventures is a fast growing and mission-driven social enterprise, offering excellent opportunities for further professional development.  While this position is a fixed term role, there will be the opportunity for transition to longer-term employment with Blue Ventures based on performance in this role.