Research staff for the Sixth Phase strategic research programme of IGES
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The Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES) conducts interdisciplinary policy research to support sustainable development in the Asia-Pacific region.
From April 2013, IGES will begin its Sixth Phase Strategic Research Programme and seeks a number of dynamic individuals with extensive knowledge and experience to carry out the research activities.
Position:
Research Staff
Research areas:
• Climate and Energy
• Natural Resources and Ecosystem Services
• Sustainable Consumption and Production
• Green Growth and Green Economy
• Integrated Policies for Sustainable Societies
• Business and the Environment
• Sustainable Cities
Natural Resources and Ecosystem Services - Maintaining and enhancing resilience for local livelihoods
The strategic research operations in this area intend to maintain and improve resilience of natural resources and ecosystem services which are the basis for local livelihoods. The four sectors studied under Natural Resource Management Group of the 5th Phase of IGES, namely forest, biodiversity, water and climate change adaptation, will be further integrated in the 6th Phase under such key concepts as appropriate payment of ecosystem services and community-based participatory governance. IGES will proactively engage itself in a knowledge platform where people can extensively exchange knowledge and experience related to climate change adaptation, REDD+ and payment for ecosystem services. IGES will make every effort to disseminate its research outcomes through substantial collaboration with practitioners and their communities. Moreover, related international frameworks and financial mechanisms will be analysed and assessed so as to make practical proposals to develop an appropriate institutional framework for natural resource prevention.
The following are the primary issues to be covered in this area:
(1) Knowledge platform related to climate change adaptation and natural resource management
IGES will continue serving as the Secretariat for the Asia Pacific Adaptation Network (APAN) hosted by its Bangkok Regional Centre (BRC), and will collect and share the knowledge generated from the adaptation research conducted by IGES in-house and by external communities. Through active networking exercises carried out by APAN, IGES intends to promote its practical proposals to enhance the resilience of those who are vulnerable to climate change in the Asia Pacific region.
(2) REDD+ and other forest-related issues
Analysis will be made regarding the on-going international trend from various viewpoints such as forest and peatland development/conservation, carbon market, and ecosystem services/biodiversity conservation, so as to provide practical proposals for prompting REDD+ in Asian countries. So far, studies have been made on REDD+ on national readiness and demonstration activities, community-based carbon accounting, measures to combat illegal logging, forest conservation policies and MRV of measures taken. Based on the accumulation of research activities in the past few years, IGES will enhance its efforts on impact generation, such as making practical proposals on governance and financial mechanisms related to REDD+. Messages will be targeted to UNFCCC REDD+ negotiation and other related international policy processes including APAN.
(3) Climate change adaptation
Research will be conducted on topics such as mainstreaming climate change adaptation considerations into institutional and policy processes through identification and promotion of synergies for coordinated planning of poverty eradication, climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction. Specific areas include climate-smart development in rural (e.g. climate-smart agriculture) and urban areas, community-based approaches for addressing issues relating to social justice such as fairness and equity in adaptation, and overcoming barriers limiting the scaling-up of tools such as micro-finance and risk insurance. Impact generation will be ensured by inputting research results to capacity building and policy processes at various scales using networks such as APAN.
(4) Water resource management
Contribution to the accumulation and dissemination of knowledge for water resources management will be further enhanced by participating in the World Water Forum, in regional knowledge platforms such as the Water Environment Partnership in Asia, as well as through active involvement in the Water KnowledgeHubs Network of the Asia Pacific Water Forum. Research results in the past few years on groundwater management and water quality management policy will be the basis for new challenges toward such cross-cutting research as adaptation policies and a nexus research on water-energy-food securities.
(5) Biodiversity
Through active participation in the promotion of the International SATOYAMA Partnership, IGES will analyse and assess the elements of sustainable use of human-influenced natural environments in Asian countries. Various practical approaches and policy measures for sustainable use of biodiversity and ecosystem services will be studied and research findings will be promoted through such international policy processes as CBD and IPBES.
(6) Resilience of livelihood: land, water, food and energy
Recognising community-based participatory governance as a common perspective shared among IGES’s research teams on forest, biodiversity, water and climate change adaptation, integrated research will be promoted, seeking suitable policy packages to better maintain and strengthen resilience of people’s lives through sustainable management of renewable natural resources. More precisely, systematic analysis/assessment will be made to examine effective policy measures and necessary activities contributing to sustainable management of forest/land and water resources as well as to conservation of biodiversity and sustainable use of ecosystem services. Governance and financial mechanism for adaptation will be also studied for increased resilience of communities and ecosystems. Based on the above, IGES intends to propose policy measures to enhance the resilience of those living in the respective areas. Quantitative approaches will be strengthened for policy analysis and evaluation, in addition to the existing qualitative analysis skills, through which IGES aims to enhance its impact generation capacities.