Launched by the European Commission in July 2011, the Biodiversity and Protected Areas Management (BIOPAMA) programme is funded through the Intra-ACP (Africa, the Caribbean and Pacific) envelop of the 10th and 11th European Development Fund (EDF). The present phase of 6 years is being implemented jointly by IUCN, and the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission (JRC). The project aims to assist countries in developing a framework for improving technical and institutional approaches to conserve biodiversity, particularly in protected areas, through regional cooperation and capacity building activities. To achieve this aim, the BIOPAMA project proposes to establish in each ACP region, a series of interlinked, but regionally centered, Observatories for Biodiversity and Protected Areas Management. Each Observatory will host a node for a Regional Reference Information System (RRIS), which will work as a platform to facilitate exchange of data/information, as well as to facilitate the planning and implementation of relevant capacity building initiatives for the region among decision makers and managers of protected areas (including MPAs).
The BIOPAMA programme will leverage the Observatories, the RRIS and capacity building to assist partner countries and institutions in developing a framework for improving technical and institutional approaches to conservation through capacity development and regional cooperation, also using the possibilities and opportunities offered by the Convention on Biological Diversity, and in particular the Programme of Work on Protected Areas (PoWPA). It will support national agencies in meeting Aichi target 11 and contribute to the conservation of indigenous biodiversity and to the maintenance of the ecological services provided by protected areas, particularly for the benefit of local people who are highly dependent on the use of natural resources for their livelihoods, and also for wider social benefits. The current position only pertains to the West and Central Africa region.
A Regional Observatory will be established in the Central Africa region in collaboration with the Observatory for the Forests of Central Africa (OFAC) to enable the provision of relevant data and information to assist in better planning and decision making as well as exchanging knowledge. Furthermore, a regional capacity building programme will be developed in partnership with existing institutions, such as regional training centres, in order to train West and Central African decision makers and protected area managers, increase support for protected areas and put in place capacities that enable effective and equitable management of well governed protected areas.
IUCN is implementing BIOPAMA through its Global Protected Areas Programme (based at IUCN Headquarters in Gland, Switzerland), in close collaboration with its European Regional Programme, four of its regional offices and two commissions: the World Commission on Protected Areas and Species Survival Commission. BIOPAMA is looking for a Technical Officer with spatial analysis and GIS expertise to manage geospatial (and auxiliary) data, support the analysis processes for the Observatory in Central Africa. The current position is to work with IUCN’s Regional Office for Western and Central Africa (PACO). It will be based in Yaoundé, Cameroon. The post holder will contribute to BIOPAMA’s spatial and technical activities related to the Observatory in the West and Central African region.
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