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Title

Environmental Economist

Posted
Reference   (Please mention Stopdodo/Environment Jobs in your application)
Sectors
Location Laos - Asia & M East
Type Temporary / Contract / Seasonal
Status Full Time
Level Senior Level
Deadline 15/07/2009
Company Name United Nations Development Program
Contact Name Human Resources
Website Further Details / Applications
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Directory Entry : UNDP is the UN's global development network, an organization advocating for change and connecting countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life. We are on the ground in 166 countries, working with them on their own solutions to global and national development challenges. For environmental jobs with UNDP visit their website. Or for more environmental jobs search environmentjobs.com
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Description

Lao PDR is situated at the heart of the Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS) bordering all the other five GMS countries (Cambodia, People’s Republic of China, Myanmar, Thailand and Viet Nam). Lao PDR is currently classified as a ‘Landlocked and Least Developed Country’ (LLDC) and is considered by the international community to be one of the poorest countries in the world. With an estimated per-capita income of US $580, a population of around 5.7 million, and a land area of 236,800 km2, Lao PDR has significant natural resources, including forestry and minerals, as well as hydropower potential. In spite of a declining share, agriculture is still the largest sector in the Lao economy, contributing 42 percent to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2006 and employing nearly 80 percent of the labour force. At the national scale, natural resources contribute to three quarters of the per capita GDP, more than 90% of the employment, almost 60% of exports and foreign exchange earning, just under a third of government revenues and nearly half of foreign direct investment inflows.
 
Lao PDR is currently faced with key environmental challenges including deforestation, biodiversity loss, depleting fish stocks, inadequate access to clean water and sanitation to rural populations, inappropriate use of chemicals and climate change and natural disasters. The Millennium Development Goals 2008 Mid-Term Report for Lao PDR indicates that MDG7 is unlikely to be met by 2015 without significant and substantial efforts on behalf of the Government of Lao PDR and donors. Given the close linkages between environmental health and poverty, levels of malnutrition, health, income and others, sustainable natural resource management is critical for the Lao PDR to achieve the MDGs.
 
The recent rapid influx of Foreign Direct Investment has been an important source for government revenues and force for accelerating economic growth. In 2008, USD 2,807 million of FDI has been implemented with a further USD 659 million approved over a combined 146 projects. The increasing demand from other countries for Lao PDR’s abundant natural resources is further accelerating the pace of the exploitation of these resources frequently, with many associated challenges. This rapid development of investment activities is putting increasing pressure on the environment and the natural resource base upon which many rural people rely for their livelihoods. These investments currently include agricultural plantations, mining, hydropower, wood and wood products as well as major infrastructure and industrial development projects.
 
In order to support the efforts of the Government of Lao PDR in addressing these poverty-environmental challenges, the Joint UNDP-UNEP Poverty Environment Initiative (PEI) will focus on strengthening capacity of targeted central and provincial authorities to integrate poverty-environment concerns and opportunities in key development planning processes. The Initiative is not one stand-alone project but has been designed primarily to provide targeted support to ongoing programmes. The PEI Framework outlines four outputs to achieve the expected outcome of PEI Lao PDR. Firstly, PEI will strengthen poverty-environment linkages in the 7th NSEDP, supporting evidence-based and policy relevant research in a manner that places environmental sustainability at the core of the government’s development planning practices (Output 1). Secondly, support will be provided to the Investment Promotion Department of the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) and provincial authorities to manage investments in a manner that seeks to minimize social and environmental impacts (Output 2). Thirdly, a programme of support to the Water Resources and Environment Administration (WREA) will seek to strengthen Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) processes (Output 3). Finally, PEI will target the National Assembly to enhance their awareness of poverty-environment issues and to strengthen the capacities of National Assembly members to actively integrate poverty-environment considerations when reviewing policies and legislation (Output 4). The proposed timeframe for PEI Lao PDR is 31 months: May 2009 to end December 2011.
 
Under the overall guidance of Director General of the Investment Promotion Department of MPI, the Environmental Economist will be responsible for the effective delivery of the PEI Framework. The Environmental Economist will be situated within the Investment Promotion Department of MPI to support the day-to-day management of the Output 2, and to provide technical and managerial input and advice and the effective implementation of the Output 2. The Environmental Economist will also provide expert inputs to the PEI component of the existing NSEDP project as outlined in the Output 1 and the Joint UN programme on support to effective Lao PDR National Assembly (SELNA) as defined in the Output 4.
 
The day-to-day work of the Technical Advisor will be guided by Director General of the Investment Promotion Department to ensure the effective implementation of the project work plans and enhance national ownership and results.  The management of the Technical Advisor performance assessment will be the responsibility of the Deputy Resident Representative - Programmes, working in consultation with the project stakeholders.

 

Duties and Responsibilities

Summary of key functions

  • Strategic guidance and advice to the Government of Lao PDR to develop effectively consider poverty-environment in national planning and budgetary processes
  • Provision of technical, capacity building and institutional support to the Government to ensure effective and timely delivery of the Poverty-Environment Initiative Framework in Lao PDR, with a particular focus on the investment component
  • Provide leadership on poverty-environment issues within the UN and strengthen partnerships/coordination with key stakeholders for better coordinated support for pro-poor natural resource management

Detailed description of responsibilities

Strategic guidance and advice to the Government of Lao PDR to develop effectively consider poverty-environment in national planning and budgetary processes:

  • Provide technical, capacity building and institutional strengthening support to the Government on poverty-environment linkages and the importance of their consideration within national planning and budgetary processes.
  • Provide policy advice, strategic guidance and knowledge-sharing related to poverty-environment linkages to the Government.
  • Ensure the development of cross-project linkages with other relevant projects and programmes for mutually reinforcing impact.
  • Promote information sharing and facilitate dialogue within the donor community by supporting the Government to initiate consultative meetings and prepare briefs and policy papers on poverty-environment linkages.

Provision of technical, capacity building and institutional support to the Government to implement the Poverty-Environment Initiative in Lao PDR:

  • Draft necessary strategic documents concerning project implementation, such as policy papers, and work plans etc.
  • Ensure the participation and involvement of relevant stakeholders in project activities.
  • Ensure the timeliness and quality of the outputs as well as timely preparation of reports on achievements and challenges faced within the project.
  • Ensure delivery of resources and results according to planned targets.
  • Ensure the development of cross-project linkages with other relevant projects and programmes for mutually reinforcing impact.
  • Promote identification and synthesis of best practices and lessons learned for organizational sharing and learning.

Key activities to be undertaken by the Incumbent under Output 1 of the PEI Framework include:

  • Support development of technical policy briefs on priority themes of the 7th NSEDP; 
  • Strengthen capacities to integrate key poverty-environmental issues into national and sub-national planning guidelines and support the implementation of the guidelines through joint workshops at the sub-national level;
  • Support the development of a core list of poverty-environment indicators for approval by the Government and support their inclusion in the 7th NSEDP monitoring & evaluation system through close collaboration with the Statistics Department and the National Statistics Bureau;
  • Support the identification and implementation of policy-relevant researches jointly with relevant national research institutes and the UNEP Division of Environmental Policy Implementation on, e.g. economic valuation of ecosystem services, cost-benefit analysis, environmental fiscal reforms, community-based natural resource management and support the integration of the research findings into the final 7th NSEDP document

Key activities to be undertaken by the Incumbent under Output 2 of the PEI Framework include:

  • Review the institutions and processes of investment management at the national and sub-national levels;
  • Assess national and sub-national level capacities to manage investments;
  • Undertake training for key government staff at the national and sub-national levels to support better informed investment management through analysis and research on social and environmental costs and benefits of investment choices;
  • Developing a national investment strategy and provincial investment strategy for selected provinces;
  • Identify pro-poor and pro-environment investment options;
  • Provide joint technical advisory and capacity building to screen and negotiate investments and to monitor and enforce investment compliance;
  • Strengthening the role of community consultation (at district-kumban-village level) to inform investment decisions, management and monitoring.

Key activities to be undertaken by the Incumbent under Outputs 3 & 4 of the PEI Framework include:

  • Undertake awareness raising activities to improve National Assembly members’ awareness and understanding of key poverty-environment linkages in planning, budgeting and legislative processes
  • Support the National Assembly’s substantive involvement in law making and monitoring of the key poverty-environment related policies
  • Assess and improve the current mechanisms for handling petitions and complaints related to environment and natural resources management by the National Assembly
  • Coordinate PEI’s support to the ESIA Department of WREA under Output 3 of the PEI Framework 

 

Advocacy and Partnerships

  • Strengthen partnerships/coordination with key stakeholders, particularly the donors, private sector, and the government fora to identify opportunities, formulate joint initiatives with maximum impacts and efficiency, minimize duplication of efforts and reduce transaction costs.
  • Provide leadership on poverty-environment issues within the UN in collaboration with other key UN partners.
  • Promote information sharing and facilitate dialogue within the donor community by supporting the Government to initiate consultative meetings and prepare briefs and policy papers on poverty-environment linkages.
  • Perform other duties – related to PEI - as assigned by Management.
     

 

Competencies

Corporate Responsibility & Direction

  • Serves and promotes the vision, mission, values, and strategic goals of UNDP and UNEP

People Skills

  • Recognizes and responds appropriately to the ideas, interests, and concerns of others; gives credit to the contributions of others

Managing for Results

  • Plans and prioritizes work activities to meet organizational goals

Partnering & Networking

  • Builds and sustains relationships with key constituents (internal/external/ bilateral/ multilateral/public/private; civil society)

Innovation & Judgment

  • Conceptualizes and analyzes problems to identify key issues, underlying problems, and how they relate
  • Generates creative, practical approaches to overcome challenging situations
  • Devises new systems and processes, and modifies existing ones, to support innovative behaviors

Communication

  • Demonstrates excellent and effective written and oral communication skills
  • Demonstrates effective communication skills in a multidisciplinary working environment
  • Demonstrate respect to knowledge and culture and religion in a multidisciplinary working environment

Job Knowledge & Expertise

  • Applies the required depth and breadth of knowledge and expertise to meet job demands
  • Uses Information Technology effectively as a tool and resource

 

Required Skills and Experience

Education

  • Master degree or advanced degrees in environmental economics, environmental management/policy or other related fields

Experience

  • A minimum of 7 years of relevant professional experience working on environment/resources management related to economics
  • Experience in conducting policy analysis and providing policy advice on sustainable natural resource management at senior level
  • Knowledge and professional experience in national investment management to maximize social benefits and minimize environmental impacts
  • In-depth understanding of environmental sustainability issues, and their practical implications for sustainable development processes
  • Proven record in the writing of research papers, policy analysis and recommendations, reports and publications
  • Previous work experience in South East Asia or developing countries is desirable
  • Excellent computer skills, including full working knowledge of standard word processing, spreadsheet and presentation software packages

Language Requirements:

  • Excellent oral and written communication skills in English; knowledge of Lao language is an asset 
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