CIFOR PhD position in Multiscale monitoring of forest carbonchanges for REDD+

Duties and Responsibilities

The project consists of six work packages: (1) multilevel REDD+ institutions and processes, benefit sharing and incentive mechanisms, (2) tradeoffs in carbon, biodiversity and climate adaptation at the landscape scale, (3) international REDD+ governance, (4) carbon reference emission levels and MRV, (5) integrating subnational and national-level REDD+ monitoring, and (6) knowledge sharing. The candidate would be expected to conduct research in work package 5. The focus of the work will be on comparing coarse- versus fine-scale carbon monitoring systems at ten subnational sites where CIFOR has collected detailed socioeconomic data. Research involves hyper-temporal satellite image analysis, ground based biomass measurements, and nested carbon monitoring. The candidate will use data-driven pixel-based approaches along with ground truthing and high resolution satellite images to validate deforestation, degradation and regrowth events before and after the implementation of REDD+ activities. Biomass measurements will complement quantification of changes in carbon emissions through conventional forest inventory techniques as well as LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) based assessments. These tiered analytical methods will allow us to understand the trade-offs in nested carbon monitoring systems that use coarse- versus fine-scale methods in determining reductions in forest-based emissions and increases in removals.

Requirements

Education, experience, technical skills and competencies:

• Young and motivated researcher with MSc degree
• Related experiences in Forestry, Remote Sensing, Terrestrial surveying, Ecology, Environmental Science, or Geography or a related field.
• A background in time series image analysis, laser scanning, and related data handling and programming is an asset.
• Knowledge about tropical forests and the REDD process is appreciated. Experiences and willingness to work with and in developing tropical countries, and organizing and conducting field work in tropical forests is important.
• Excellent written and spoken English
• Personal attributes and competencies:
• Be self motivated, outgoing and welcome the opportunity to work with significant autonomy
• Be a team player and have excellent interpersonal communications skills

Terms and Conditions:

• The PhD position is supported by CIFOR with a monthly stipend of €1700 for up to 4 years. The PhD research is conducted mainly at the Centre for Geo-Information at Wageningen University (NL) and the related Graduate School (www.pe-rc.nl) under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Martin Herold in close collaboration with CIFOR partners.
• The successful candidate is expected to spend some time at CIFOR’s headquarter in Bogor, Indonesia, and to spend a significant amount of time with field work in different locations. He/she is also required to engage in international exchange and meetings.
• Application process
• The application deadline is 15 March 2014.
• We will acknowledge all applications, but we will contact only short-listed candidates.

To apply, please visit our career page at: cifor.org/careers
and submit your application materials (including a CV and a motivation letter) at the Wageningen University vacancy page

For More scholarships, visit http://scholarships-opportunities.blogspot.com/2014/02/curreent-msc-phd-postdoctoral-vacancies.html