Community Forest Expert World Wildlife Fund (WWF)

Job Title:   Community Forestry Expert, WWF Zambia

Department/Projects:   Climate Change Adaptation in Forest and Agricultural Mosaic Landscapes

Location:   Lusaka, Zambia

Project Sites:   Lusangazi, Petauke, Nyimba, Sioma, Mwandi and Sesheke

Report:   Project Manager, WWF Zambia

Contract Tenure:  2 years renewable up to a maximum of 3 years

Supervises:   None

CONTEXT

Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) with funding from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) has awarded World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) to implement the Climate Change Adaptation in Forest and Agricultural Mosaic Landscapes Project. The project will use a landscape approach that engages and strengthens the uptake and diffusion of technologies and practices for adaptive capacity through Forest and Farm Producer Organizations (FFPOs), Farmer Field Schools, viable cooperatives, and other community-based organizations within local communities, including community forestry. The project will be implemented in six districts that are vulnerable to climate risks and hazards (droughts in particular) and have high rates of forest degradation and deforestation, and these are Petauke, Lusangazi and Nyimba in Eastern Province and Sioma, Mwandi and Sesheke in Western Province.

The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Zambia will be responsible for executing the project, in close collaboration with the Zambian Forestry Department (FD), Ministry of Agriculture and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). WWF Zambia will coordinate activities with national bodies related to the different project components, as well as the project partners. The project will be guided by the Project Steering Committee on policy issues and linkage to relevant national bodies. The project will be guided by the Technical Committee, one in Eastern Province and one in Western Province as the main bodies governing the project activities undertaken in the respective provinces.

PURPOSE OF THE POSITION

Scope of Work

The Community Forestry Expert will work under the supervision of the project manager and will perform the following tasks:

• Support the identification of opportunities and challenges for FFPOs to contribute to landscape enhancing measures including assessment of how to improve the organization, spread and functions of different FFPOs in the target landscapes; the policy environment shaping their commercial activities; the state of landscape businesses (inc. agricultural crops, fish products, timber, NTFPs, charcoal and wood energy); the current smallholder production systems (inc. diversity and resilience); the inclusiveness of FFPOs and any social and cultural services offered to vulnerable groups
• Facilitate the process of recognition of the community forest management groups. This process will ensure that rights of households and communities living in close proximity to or deriving their livelihoods from or having strong traditional ties to the forest be given the opportunity to join a Community Forest Management Group (CFMG) which may apply to the Director of Forestry for recognition with the consent of the Chief.
• Facilitate the process of securing tenure through user rights. The CFM Expert shall facilitate the process where the CFMG shall apply to enter into a Community Forest Agreement to secure forest user rights which shall enable the CFMG the right to issue community permits and collect revenue for forest products and uses provided for in the community forest management plan. In addition it is important to ensure that the community forest management area shall be for the exclusive use of the local community represented by the CFMG
• Ensure that there are guaranteed economic rights for forest uses and products: facilitate the process of developing and signing of a community forestry agreement that covers rights to harvest and trade in forest products, including; collection of medicinal herbs; harvesting of honey, grass and grazing of animals; collection of forest produce for community-based industries; operating eco-tourism and recreational activities; establishing plantations; harvesting of timber or fuel wood; and many others as set out in the CF agreement.
• Support the communities to identify non-contested areas to be put under CFM in consultation with all local forest users and other rights-holders of the proposed community forest area and with the consent of the local traditional leaders, with an agreed defined forest area with due consultation with adjacent communities and land owners.
• Facilitate the holding of democratic elections of representatives. Ensure that the operation of the community forest management group, management of funds, sharing of benefits and selection of leaders is based on transparency, fairness, impartiality and non-discrimination.
• Ensure that the CFMGs adhere to sustainable forest management principles of protecting, conserving and managing the community forests pursuant to the community forest agreement and management plan, consistent with traditional forest use rights and in accordance with the principles of sustainable forest management
• Collect and promote sharing of lessons learned and documentation of project experiences through the REM, Regional and Global CFM Platforms, including policy briefs and case studies of successful impact of CFM.
• Lead and facilitate implementation of capacity assessments for forest and farm producer organizations (FFPOs), District Farmers Associations, government forestry, partner NGOs and other support institutions to implement participatory approaches at landscape level, including community forestry
• Develop and implement plans to strengthen the capacity of forest and farm producer organizations, District Farmers Associations, government forestry, partner NGOs and other support institutions
  Participatory assessments and community engagement at landscape level to reach a common understanding of landscape components and their actual and potential use including markets.
• Facilitate the implementation by the target communities, and the FFPOs within them, community forestry management, landscape level planning, participatory climate risk assessments, woodland restoration and water catchment management.
• Support the District Technical Assistant to prepare and implement work plans for district level activities in respect of community forestry
• Monitor and report performance of district level community forestry activities
• Contribute to the creation and sharing of knowledge by synthesizing and documenting findings and lessons learned, success stories and best practices, strategies and approaches of the project on community forestry, drafting relevant materials for dissemination.
• Work closely with the M&E and Knowledge Management Expert to monitor planned activities in order to identify best practices as well as constraints/implementation bottlenecks and to take necessary actions to overcome the constraints.
• Contribute to implementation of Environmental and Social safeguards
• Produce district level technical reports and contribute to overall project technical reporting

REQUIRED QUALIFICATION

• A Bachelor’s degree in Environment, Forestry, Natural Resources Management, Agriculture or a closely related field.
• A minimum of 5 years’ relevant work experience working on community-based projects in relevant sectors.
• Experience in at least four of the following: SLM/SFM, climate smart agricultural practices, agroforestry, woodland restoration, and water catchment management
• A minimum of 5 years’ experience facilitating formation of CFMGs
• Excellent knowledge and skills on the CFM formation process and steps
• Knowledge of landscape level planning and participatory climate risk assessments
• Excellent Coordination and facilitation skills
• Fluency in oral and written English
• Excellent interpersonal and general communication skills in local languages
• Experience in the use of computers and office software packages, (MS Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, etc.).
• Willingness to travel
• Excellent report writing skills and regular reporting

Reporting to the Project Manager, the CFM expert will work as part of the PMU and will ensure the availability of information on progress and performance regarding the implementation of the Community forestry activities of the project at district level. The CFM expert will deliver progress reports on a monthly basis. These reports will include: i) status of district level CFM activities; and ii) challenges encountered on the ground during execution of the CFM activities.

Location: This position is located in Lusaka.