CAR: National Consultant in Charge of Supporting Communities for the Development of an Application File for the Allocation of Community Forest

Mar 20, 2022 | Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
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The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations is a specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger and improve nutrition and food security.

Organizational framework

The “Forest and Landscape Restoration in Support of Resilient Landscapes and Livelihoods in the Central African Republic” project (GCP/CAF/002/GFF), abbreviated as “TRI Project”, is part of the support for Central African government which has made a commitment to contribute to the objectives of the Bonn Challenge to the tune of 3.5 million hectares restored by 2030.

The realization of land restoration works which have physically started contributes to the achievement of these objectives, the improvement of landscape management practices, for which management plans have been prepared and approved and are being applied, also participate.

In the CAR, the existing legal framework allowing it, community forests (CF) could constitute a framework for the application of good practices in the management of forest landscapes, even if the first initiatives undertaken in this direction have so far not succeeded.

In the short and medium term, the project "Strengthening the adaptive capacity of communities by intensifying integrated landscape management and restoration in the south-west and south-east regions of the Central African Republic", currently under study to be presented to the PMA/GEF Fund 7, targets at least 50,000 ha of CF with simple sustainable management plans.

In the immediate future, the TRI project proposes to support the process of awarding a first FC, until its completion, by accompanying the village communities and the other stakeholders concerned.

The TRI project management team has selected a community forest area that could be the subject of this support. This is the so-called “FC de Boyama 2” project, located on the outskirts of the Pissa agglomeration, which had been identified by the communities and presented to the administrative authorities more than fifteen years ago.

This project was presented to the TRI project management team in April 2021, during its first meeting with the members of the Special Delegation of the municipality of Pissa.

Subsequently, during its field missions, the management team proceeded: to collect the consent of the communities of the three villages: Boyali 1, Boyama 2 and Bombé, concerned by this community forest project; carrying out demo-land surveys, surveying territorial boundaries and developing cartographic products, all in a participatory manner.

Reminder of the institutional framework

The procedures for allocating and managing community forests are set by decree [1] , in application of the Forest Code in the Central African Republic.

In particular, it specifies: the eligibility conditions that must be met by the village or indigenous communities who apply for FC; the categories of land where CFs can be allocated; the documents that must make up the application file for the allocation of a FC, including the simple management plan which will guide the management of the future FC.

Finally, it is indicated that the communities can request the support of non-governmental organizations that have the necessary expertise in the field.

Thus, the FAO wishes to recruit a national expert who will have the mandate to support the communities of the villages Boyali 1, Boyama 2 and Bombé for the development of their CF application file.

Hierarchical position

Under the general responsibility of the FAO Representative in CAR, the general supervision of the Representative's Program Assistant, the technical supervision of the TRI Project Coordinator and in close collaboration with the Principal Technical Advisor of the TRI project, the national expert will have the mandate to accompany the communities and to draw up an application file for the allocation of community forests.

The expert will support the communities throughout the CF allocation process, following the approach indicated in the CF allocation procedure manual [2] and its annexes.

Area of ​​specialization 

  • Forestry

Duties and Responsibilities

The consultant will specifically undertake the following tasks depending on the results to be achieved:

  • Organize and facilitate the start-up meetings of the CF award procedure with local communities, including indigenous peoples;
  • Provide information on CFs and award procedures to local communities;
  • Identify and analyze problems related to forest management and their causes, discuss them and collectively decide to start the process of awarding a CF;
  • Facilitate consultations between local communities and other stakeholders;
  • Support the establishment of the customary council, the women's council, the indigenous council if necessary and discuss the choice of members of the FC management committee;
  • Support the establishment of the management committee and recall its attributions;
  • Support the process and the development of the FC participatory map;
  • Develop communication tools (presentation) on CF mapping and support consultation with neighboring villages and other stakeholders;
  • Conduct community diagnosis and participatory exploration of forest resources and discuss their preparation and implementation methods;
  • Support the development of the PSG in consultation with the communities, according to the regulatory framework;
  • Develop and present a summary of the contents of the file, ensuring the support and participation of the population that will be represented at the official meeting;
  • Ensure a local language translation of the simple management plan;
  • Prepare, read and have signed the minutes of the official meeting;
  • Support local communities in drafting their letter of request to the attention of the Minister in charge of forests;
  • Other tasks as needed.

Applications will be examined against the following criteria:

Minimum conditions to be met   

  • Design Forest Engineer
  • Mastery of the forest legal framework and CF allocation procedures in the CAR
  • Expertise (min 5 years)
    • building the capacities of forest communities on CF allocation procedures;
    • in preparation and realization of multi-resource CF inventories
    • in the development of Simple Management Plans
  • Experiences in supporting forest communities.
  • Central African nationality or resident in the country with a regular work permit.

Basic skills required by FAO

  • Attention to results
  • To have team spirit
  • Communication skills
  • Building constructive relationships
  • Knowledge sharing and continuous improvement

[1] Ministry of Water, Forests, Hunting and Fishing: Manual of procedure for the allocation of community forests in the Central African Republic; August 2011; 94p 

[2] Presidency of the Republic: Decree No. 15,463 establishing the procedures for the allocation and management of community forests in the Central African Republic; December 3, 2015.

Please note that all candidates must adhere to the values ​​of FAO – commitment to the Organization, respect for everyone, integrity and transparency .

Further Information

  • FAO does not charge fees at any stage of recruitment (application, interview, application processing).
  • Incomplete applications will not be reviewed. For any questions or requests for assistance, please contact Careers@fao.org  : .
  • Applications received after the closing date of the notice will not be accepted.
  • Please note that FAO only considers degrees and diplomas issued by recognized institutions listed in the World Higher Education Database, the list maintained by the International Association of Universities (IAU)/UNESCO . To access the list, please click here   www.whed.net/ 
  • For other questions, please consult the Employment at FAO webpage: http://www.fao.org/employment/home/en/

How to Apply


To apply, please complete the online application form on FAO's recruitment website, Jobs at FAO . Incomplete applications will not be reviewed. Only applications received through the recruitment portal will be considered.

Candidates are encouraged to register their application, allowing ample time before the deadline.
For assistance, write to:  Careers@fao.org .