CIRAD is recruiting a tropical forester, specialist in ecological restoration

Le CIRAD recrute un.e forestier.ère tropicaliste, spécialiste de la restauration écologique

In West Africa, forests are highly degraded due to a very long history of human occupation that has led to a deforestation rate of more than 80% of the original area. The main reasons for the massive loss of forest cover are diverse, but they are all related to the development of human activities: (i) extensive agriculture based on the traditional technique of slash-and-burn cultivation, (ii) cash crops, and finally (iii) uncontrolled exploitation of fuelwood and lumber which is also an important factor.

CIRAD Forests and Societies (F&S) research unit, with its partners, is conducting several research projects aimed at ensuring sustainable production of timber, fuelwood and non-wood forest products in post-forest systems in West Africa. To participate in this dynamic, the unit is recruiting a forest researcher with experience in forest restoration in tropical environments. You will work in close collaboration with colleagues of the F&S unit, so as to be able to bring your competence as a forester in multidisciplinary teams (ecologist, modeller, political scientist, economist, sociologist).

You will first contribute to the development of innovative technical itineraries:

In forest plantations, to meet the demand for wood and generate sources of income for local populations;
In agroforestry systems, to optimize the tree-perennial crop-food crop system and ensure substantial wood production while maintaining agricultural yield levels;
In secondary forests, to accelerate the reconstitution of the wood resource and limit the conversion of these areas. These technical itineraries will be co-constructed with local stakeholders and decision-makers, so that they are adapted to the socio-environmental contexts of the intervention zones and to reinforce their appropriation by the beneficiaries.

Thereafter, you will broaden your field of expertise to be able to participate in the development of a real tropical forestry for post-forestry systems in order to :

Integrate the new constraints of ongoing climate change in the definition of technical itineraries;
Develop territorial approaches to integrate technical itineraries within supply basins, thus contributing to the support or development of sustainable economic sectors;
To go beyond the traditional agriculture/forest dichotomy in order to develop technical itineraries for wood production that integrate (and benefit from) all the spatial and temporal complexity of post-forest landscapes and that meet local and national demands for wood.

To learn more about the profile sought, the conditions of the position and how to apply, click here.

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