PhD studentships: Adapting to Climate Change: The Re-greening of the Sahel as a Potential Success Case

The Department of Systems Ecology at Stockholm University announces in collaboration with Stockholm Resilience Center announces one or two externally funded PhD studentship(s) in Natural Resources Management (Reference number: Dnr 10/2010) as from August-September 2010.

Project title
Adapting to climate change: the re-greening of the Sahel as a potential success case.

Project description
We seek to recruit 1-2 PhD candidate(s) for participation in a trans-disciplinary research project analyzing social-ecological systems in Niger and/or Burkina Faso in the Sahel. The project addresses the current trend of increasing biomass production (here referred to as the re-greening) in the Sahel, and aims to improve the understanding of how to adapt to, and cope with, climate variability and change in marginal environments.

Despite a need for continued caution in interpreting the extent and impact of the re-greening trend, the recent positive developments could potentially provide the basis for a new narrative about human-environment interactions in the Sahel, which, in contrast to the long-dominating desertification narrative, is based on the ability of agro-pastoralists to manage their livelihoods under variable rainfall, finite land resources, and limited agro-ecological productivity.

The student(s) will be involved in comparative analyses of different villages and/or landscape segments in the Sahel that have responded to climate variability in contrasting ways (e.g. situated at different places along a degraded? re-greened continuum) to improve the understanding of why a positive change has taken place in some areas, while not in others.

The work will include 1) analysis of the historical development that have led to the current re-greened/degraded state in respective area; 2) analysis of quantity and quality of ecosystem services currently generated in the landscape, including the influence of this on poverty dynamics; and 3) analysis of potential development trajectories in the future, through e.g. scenario planning.

Applications will be assessed based on the following criteria:
- theoretical knowledge of relevance to the research project
- practical experience and knowledge of relevance for the project
- knowledge of scientific theory and method
- analytical ability as demonstrated by a scientific report, paper or degree project thesis
- the applicants personal references
- equal opportunities

French is required (but we can also accept students who are willing to learn French during their first year). Experience of working in a developing country is advantageous. The thesis will be written in English. The student is expected to start in August/September 2010.

Nature of the employment
A Ph.D position lasts four years and is a full time position. After acceptance of the PhD project plan prepared by the student, the student will be awarded a stipend of 15 500 SEK / month (“utbildningsbidrag").

After maximum 2 years, the student is expected to defend his/her licentiate thesis (PhD up-grading). After successful defence of the licentiate, the student will be employed within a PhD position (“doktorandanställning").

Up to 20% teaching or other work may be included in the position (and the position extended accordingly to 5 years). Salaries are set according to the relevant salary scale