The Department of Forest Economics at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) in Umeå is searching for a Doctoral student. The Ph.D. student will work on the project “Role of conservation interventions in preventing the degradation of Argentina’s Atlantic forests” funded by the Swedish Research Council for Sustainable Development (FORMAS).
REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) initiatives aim to prevent emissions and conserve the area and integrity of forests. Past research has evaluated their effectiveness in preventing deforestation but has largely neglected degradation. This is of critical societal importance as degradation is a major source of carbon emissions from forests and it can lead to the loss of ecosystem services vital to local communities. In this project, they will assess the extent to which REDD+ initiatives have prevented forest degradation in the context of Argentina’s Atlantic forest. The Atlantic forest is one of the terrestrial ecosystems with the greatest endemic biodiversity in the world.
The student's profile is a person fully committed to forest conservation research with foundational training in research methods. The candidate will be responsible for: integrating economics and forest resource management knowledge into relevant research design; developing relevant research questions; applying appropriate econometric and other analytical tools; writing scientific manuscripts and compiling a Ph.D. thesis suitable for examination. Coursework is included in the Ph.D. program. The Ph.D. program consists of 4-year full-time studies with the position contracted based on annual evaluations.
Qualifications: To be eligible, the candidate should hold at least a Master’s degree in economics or a related field (e.g. agricultural economics, natural resource economics, forest economics), or a strong quantitative interdisciplinary program. Knowledge in natural resource economics, demonstrated capacity to integrate forest and economics concepts are considered extra merit. Excellent written and oral communication skills in English are required. Working knowledge of Spanish is preferable but not mandatory. Also considered as extra merit are (a) experience writing scientific manuscripts, (b) advanced documented knowledge using GIS software, (c) advanced document knowledge using, R, SAS, Stata or other analytical software.
Place of work: Umeå, Sweden
Application: Applications are welcome until February 16, 2024.
Applicants must submit:
· a CV
· a two-page research statement
· copies of degrees and transcripts of all academic records
· one copy of the MS thesis
· contact information for at least two referees familiar with the applicant's qualifications
· certified knowledge of the English language
· if relevant, copies of relevant publications
Questions relevant to the application can be sent to Francisco.aguilar@slu.se. Full details on this position are available online at:
https://www.slu.se/en/about-slu/work-at-slu/jobs-vacancies/?rmpage=job&rmjob=9279&rmlang=UK
Francisco X Aguilar
Professor, Department of Forest Economics, SLU, Umeå
University Fellow, Resources for the Future, Washington DC
Postal address: Inst för skogsekonomi, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), 90183 UMEÅ
Visiting address: Skogsmarksgränd 17, Umeå
E-mail: francisco.aguilar@slu.se
Telephone: +46 722479538