Environmental Specialist (Economics-UN-REDD)

Tanzania is well placed to develop a national Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) programme, because of its: 

• Stable socio-political situation and improving governance reputation;
• Confirmed REDD Readiness funding, especially via the Government of Norway, the UN-REDD process and the World Bank Forest Carbon Partnership Facility;
• Well established participatory forestry management (PFM) programme based on one of the most devolved systems of local governance in Africa[1]; ;
• High rates of deforestation, especially in miombo woodland and coastal forests[2], and degradation (an estimated 500,000 ha of forests or woodlands are degraded annually[3]). , and degradation (an estimated 500,000 ha of forests or woodlands are degraded annually). 

Apart from the global climate change mitigation effect, a successful REDD programme would result in a range of other environmental and social benefits in view of the deleterious effects of deforestation and degradation, many of them impacting disproportionately on the poor. These are issues such as reductions in the quality of hydrological services; soil erosion; loss of construction, fuel and other non-timber forest products (NTFPs) essential for rural welfare; foregone timber/NTFP income; and the loss of biodiversity, which can also impact on eco-tourism.
 
The UN REDD programme for Tanzania is a significant component of the initial package of funding aimed to assist Tanzania get ready for REDD. Initially for a single year (2009-2010) it is expected that the UN REDD investment in Tanzania will actually last for a number of years, building upon the findings on the initial year and the lessons learned in country and the decisions made a the COP15 of the UNFCCC meeting in Copenhagen at the end of 2009.
 
REDD is a market orientated payment system to maintain forest cover and forest condition. As such it contains a significant element of economics. The national leadership authority for REDD in Tanzania is the Forestry and Beekeeping Division, working in partnership with the Vice Presidents Office (Environment).    In order to get ready for REDD Tanzania has requested technical assistance from the UN REDD team. This Terms of Reference covers assistance to Tanzania on the economic issues relating to the potential REDD mechanisms for Tanzania.
 
Under the supervision of the Deputy Country Director; the Environmental Specialist (Economics-UN-REDD), will primarily be responsible for Policy Advice in the areas of Climate change and Natural Resources Management to national counterpart on behalf of the UN. The work will also include coordination and technical inputs to the Government/UN Joint Programmes within the Environment & energy portfolio. During the first year, the  Environmental Specialist will be responsible to deliver UN-REDD programme of work in Tanzania in consultation with government and other in-country stakeholders. The advisor will form an integral part of the Energy & Environment team and therefore contribute to ongoing biodiversity conservation and management of ecosystems; natural resources; climate change adaptation and mitigation programmes under implementation and formulation. The incumbent will provide a primary linkage to partnerships in the CO in the area of energy and environment starting with Joint programmes as well as providing strategic technical advice of the environment and energy portfolio within UN Agencies, Development Partners and Government officials to successfully deliver quality advice.

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[1] Village Councils are legally vested with strong natural resource management powers over ‘village lands’lads’ - the communities effectively own their Village Forest Reserves under the Community Based Forest Management model, although there seems to have been some differences in legal interpretations in the past (Blomley et al., 2008; E&SA Katoomba Group inventory 2008).
[2] According to FBD (2005), deforestation rates could be as high as 13% per annum for miombo woodlands, 7% for Eastern Africa coastal forests, and 2% for mangrove forests. It is estimated that about 91,000 hectares are lost per annum; the national deforestation rate was 1.1% from 2000-2005 according to the 2005 FAO Global Forest Resources Assessment (ftp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/008/A0400E/A0400E00.pdf). Although the deforestation rate is lower for the Eastern Arc Mountains (1%), degradation is also a major problem – the average carbon loss per hectare from degradation of the Eastern Arc Mountain forest is estimated at 223 tons (FBD, 2007).
[3] National Forest Programme, 2001 

In collaboration with the Designated leader of the REDD process in Tanzania, the  Environmental Specialist (Economics-UN-REDD) ensures the strategic policy guidance in the practice area focusing on achieving economic tools (such as cost curves calculation).The  Adviser  will therefore:-

• Review existing models that have attempted to estimate REDD costs (at global and regional) levels and assess applicability to Tanzania;
• Establish and agree categories of REDD costs in Tanzania and determine who will incur the costs (social, private  and budgetary costs etc);
• Identify critical uncertainties;
• Consider establishing an independent group to advise on the methodology(ies) to be followed to estimate the costs of REDD in Tanzania;
• Build capacity of REDD stakeholders to understand the methodology(ies) and participate in the cost analysis;
• Contribute to development of various range of monitoring tools such as an initial REDD cost curve for Tanzania, plotting abatement costs (in $ per tCO2e) against abatement potential (in MtCO2e). Abatement ‘levels’, or opportunities, should be differentiated in terms of land-use as per the McKinsey example.

The Environmental Specialist will facilitate establishment of mechanisms for benefit sharing including payment distribution system through the following process:

• Assess the extent of intergovernmental fiscal transfers, in terms of the efficiency of allocation of financial resources for decentralized public services and its impact on overall macro-stability on one part and social equity on the other part;
• Identify the risks and elements in designing a payment distribution system that is transparent, adequately compensates agents that incur losses as a result of changed forest-resource use, and rewards good performance;
• Consider the options for payment distribution mechanisms, within and outside existing government fiscal transfer mechanisms, and other service delivery mechanisms;
• Support transformations to sustainability for the long term within the local context of options and aspirations;
• Assess the fund management options for a national REDD mechanism, including government controlled, privately controlled, on-shore and off-shore.

The Environmental Specialist  will also be involved in generating, managing and stimulating the uptake of knowledge to ensure that:

• UNDP CO is widely recognized in Tanzania and across the region and within the UN-REDD community for its strategic leadership and quality policy advice on environmental related issues;
• Provision of technical advice on strategies, policies and plans related to delivery of practice advisory, knowledge and learning services;
• Establishment of ways for collaboration with potential partners, resource mobilization for strategic environmental programmes specifically focusing on adaptation and mitigation to climate change;
• Knowledge building and sharing on management of strategic environmental programmes in the CO, contribute to capacity building, synthesis of lessons learnt/best practices, contributions to documentation of lessons and participate in UNDP knowledge networks and communities of practice.

The Environmental Specialist will participate in coordination mechanism(s) for development partners involved in environment work in the Country, and other REDD programmes supported in Tanzania (Norwegian, German and Finnish Governments as well as Clinton Foundation) - including the following:

• Provide technical assistance as necessary for strategic capacity building efforts in the environment and energy based on assessment and upon request from the Government of Tanzania;
• Participate in Programme Steering Committees and EWG on behalf of the UN as appropriate;
• Engagement with the DPG environment and Climate change;
• Focal point for Joint Environmental Programmes managed by UNDP Country Office;
• Contribute to the Government policy dialogue and reviews processes.

• Strong vision, entrepreneurial and leadership skills;
• Good judgment and decision-making skills.
• Ability to coordinate and work in teams

• An understanding of the workings of joint programmes and the REDD approach within the global climate change debate and what will be feasible in the African continent & specifically for Tanzania.
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively with private sector, NGOs and government, communicate and negotiate effectively, and bridge differences between them
• Excellent negotiation skills and ability to persuade and influence others to reach agreement on complex ecosystem, land and natural resource issues;
• Demonstrated experience in the design, implementation and oversight of projects and programmes.
• Strong ability to train and build capacity of others on fundamental and innovative approaches and concepts

• Proven ability to plan and organize work.
• Strong problem-solving and analytic abilities and advocacy skills
• Experience with UNDP and the UN System; good understanding of UNDP programme, finance and operational procedures.
• A self-starter, able to work with minimum supervision, with sound judgment
• Ability to lead strategic planning, results-based management and reporting.
• Ability to lead formulation, implementation, monitoring of development programmes and projects.
• Ability to formulate and monitor budgets, monitor contributions and investments, monitor transactions, conduct financial analysis, reporting and cost-recovery.

• Excellent drafting ability and communication skills, both oral and written; ability to defend and explain difficult and complex issues with respect to key decisions and positions to staff, senior officials and individuals from the private sector.
• Excellent presentation skills.

• Ability to identify needs and propose appropriate solutions as well as establish and maintain effective relationships with UNDP, government, NGOs and private sector staff and employees, as well as individual entrepreneurs.

• Knowledge of the concept of ecosystem services and PES
• Promotes knowledge management in UNDP and a learning environment in the office through leadership and personal example
• In-depth practical knowledge of planning and inter-disciplinary development issues.
• Actively works towards continuing personal learning and development in one or more Practice Areas, acts on learning plan and applies newly acquired skills
• Seeks and applies knowledge, information and best practices from within and outside of UNDP.

• Reputation for dealing honestly and openly with issues and partners; recognized and respected by peers, clients and staff

• Masters  degree in environmental economics, natural resources management, or related discipline;
• A minimum of 7 years of post-graduate professional experience in environment/sustainable development, with knowledge of the developing world preferably including East Africa.;
• Demonstrated expertise in climate change and mitigation strategies desirable;
• Substantive knowledge of UNDP programming tools for planning, monitoring, and general knowledge of the UNDP Practice Area;
• Thorough understanding of the forest and biodiversity conservation issues\environment policies and governance systems in developing countries desirable;
• Proven ability to integrate economic thinking into donor funded environment projects;
• Experience in providing policy advice on sensitive land water and natural resource issues;
• Knowledge of climate change adaptation and mitigation issues;
• Good communication skills. Fluency in spoken and written in both English and Kiswahili.