CAR: CAR-Chad Transboundary Land-Use Planning Expert

Oct 31, 2021 | Wildlife Conservation Society
View Original

The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) is a US non-profit, tax-exempt, private organization established in 1895 that saves wildlife and wild places by understanding critical issues, crafting science-based solutions, and taking conservation actions that benefit nature and humanity. With more than a century of experience, long-term commitments in dozens of landscapes, presence in more than 60 nations, and experience helping to establish over 150 protected areas across the globe, WCS has amassed the biological knowledge, cultural understanding, and partnerships to ensure that vibrant, wild places and wildlife thrive alongside local communities. Working with local communities and organizations, that knowledge is applied to address species, habitat, and ecosystem management issues critical to improving the quality of life of poor rural people whose livelihoods depend on the direct utilization of natural resources. The Sudano-Sahel Region presents unparalleled opportunities for WCS to play a direct role in saving some of the last remaining intact wildernesses on the planet and to contribute significantly to the security of people and wildlife. The savannas, forests, and wetlands of the region support key populations of endangered elephant, northern giraffe, lion, eland, chimpanzee, gorilla, bongo, and the second largest antelope migration on the planet. Hundreds of bird species occur in the area, including the shoebill and the crowned crane. Communities also depend on the land for their livelihoods through pastoralism, agriculture, fishing, and hunting. WCS currently has conservation initiatives in Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad, CAR, South Sudan, with new program activities developing in Ethiopia. We work actively to support protected area management and wildlife law enforcement, local livelihoods, develop conservation-security partnerships, enhance anti-trafficking activities, and to implement our policy and scientific programs.

CAR Program Overview:

WCS has recently launched a CAR program in partnership with the government of Central African Republic, CAR. This is a multi-faceted long term program entailing park management, law enforcement and community engagement within the Bamingui-Bangoran and Manovo-Gouda St Floris National Parks in Northeaster CAR. Chad-CAR Program Overview: The Landscape of the central Chari basin includes the Bamingui-Bangoran and Manovo-Gounda St Floris national parks in the CAR, and the Zakouma and Siniaka Minia national parks with the Aouk hunting area in southern Chad (province of Moyen Chari), and 3-4 stable transhumance axes crossing the area. This area is concerned by the EU Project “Ecosystem of the Central Chari Basin: towards an integrated landscape approach (BC-Chari)” and by the EU Project “Support program for regional integration and investment in Africa Central » PAIRIAC - Sections 2.2 and 2.3. The purposes of the Chari Basin's transboundary landscape program are the land-use planning and management, the support for regulation, management, and cross-border control to counter threats to Protected Areas, fauna, and flora.

Job Summary:

The Chad-CAR Transboundary Land-use Planning Coordinator will technically support for developing activities aimed at land management, including participatory land use schemes, protected area management plans, local development plans, and WCS CAR Geographic Information Systems management. He / she is responsible, within the framework of the Specific Objective # 1 of the BC Chari Project "Integrated territorial development and concerted management in the BC Chari Landscape", to lead the process leading to a better allocation of the land that account of protected areas, transhumance corridors and other infrastructure occupations or any other socio-economic activity.

He / she is also called upon to support the development of a spatial planning strategy based on the Landscape Approach. 4.1

Job Location:

This is a full-time position based mainly in the Chadian sector of the landscape of the Chari basin, with frequent work trips and activities throughout the Northeastern sectors of CAR (the Protected Areas Complex of Bamingui-Bangoran National Park and MGSF NP) and the south-eastern sectors of Chad.

Duties and responsibilities:

Under the direct supervision of the Landscape Manager and BC Chari Project Coordinator, and of the Land Use Planning Coordinator, the Chad-RCA Transboundary Land Use Expert will perform the following tasks and responsibilities:

Land use management

• Coordinate land-use planning activities with stakeholders, communities, and the CAR government’s authorities, WCS scientists, and other partners, with the aim of integrating conservation concerns in overall land-use planning and zoning within the Northeastern Protected Areas and surrounding landscape in CAR.
• Update, internalize and implement the Northeastern Protected Areas Complex Land-use Plan (“SDAT”) for the WCS program strategy and implementation in CAR.
• Analyze and revise the current territorial divisions, while preserving and adapting some of the institutions and tools put in place.
• Carry out actions needed for participatory design, adoption, and implementation of the land-use plan, in coordination with stakeholders and corresponding governmental bodies in CAR and Chad.
• Organize, arrange, and facilitate local meetings, workshops, and other participatory processes with communities and local authorities, WCS staff, and other relevant partners to integrate community concerns into conservation and natural resource management, as well as into land-use planning processes.
• Conduct research, data collection and baseline data analysis on community-level socioeconomic factors, community relations, people-wildlife interactions, and traditional land-use patterns in the region, in coordination with the Community Conservation and Livelihoods Coordinator.
• Work with international, national, and local staff and organizations to raise awareness for wildlife conservation, sustainable natural resource management, and conflict resolution, and to address particular land-use management issues in Chad and CAR.

Protected area management plans

• Develop and implement the management plan of the Bamingui National Park and Manovo-Gounda St Floris National Park in CAR.
• Develop and implement management plans for the Wildlife/Hunting Reserves of the CAR Northeastern Protected Areas Complex and of Southern Chad in close coordination with the correspondent Ministry of Environment, Hunting, Water and Forests.

Local development plans

• Develop and monitor the different territorial / local development plans in CAR and Chad.
• Integrate local development plans with conservation tools associated to community management such as Conservation agreements or “Conservancies” in CAR and Chad.

Qualification Requirements

• Master's degree or higher level of education in Land-Use Planning, Natural Resource Management, land tenure, Forestry, geography, or related field.
• Proven experience working on land management, conservation, Forestry Management, and natural resource management issues in Africa, with international organizations (5+ years) at community level. Experience in the Sudano-Sahel Region highly desired.
• Practical experience in developing land and resource management plans in rural settings, forest environment, social science, and land and resource tenure.
• Knowledge of various methods and approaches for developing shared visions for land and resource management involving multiple stakeholders. 
• Technical expertise in GIS and land-use planning.
• Proven experience in conservation-oriented planning linked to corridors and protected area buffer zones.
• Efficiency at coordinating multiple resources to get things done; capable of working on multiple tasks at multiple levels and switching between them; able to foresee and plan around obstacles.
• Commitment to wildlife conservation.
• Advanced knowledge and understanding of logistics and financial management for projects (planning, budgets, implementation, monitoring and evaluation).
• Proven experience in building partners’ capacity.
• Proven ability and comfortable with living and working in a multicultural environment in isolated areas, under difficult field conditions.
• French language, spoken and written fluency required. English language skills strongly desired. Familiarity with languages and culture of Chad and/or CAR (Arab, Fulbe, Sango) will be a valuable advantage. 
• Embrace our Vision and Mission.
• Fully adhere to the core values of WCS, which are: Respect (for colleagues, partners, and local communities); Accountability and transparency (results, responsibility, honesty); Innovation (new ideas and practices, new methods and concepts); Diversity, Equity and Inclusion; Collaboration (teamwork); Integrity (honesty and ethical behavior).

Preferred Qualifications:

Significant work experience in CAR and/or Chad, knowledge of Central Africa and/or Sudano-Sahel environmental and political issues.

Application Process:

Interested candidates, who meet the above qualifications should apply by emailing an application letter and CV, in EuropeAid or Europass format, including names and contact information of three references, plus a passport copy, to: rca@wcs.org by 31 October 2021 deadline. Please include “CAR-Chad Transboundary Land Use Planning Expert” in the subject line of your email.