Duties and Responsibilities
Organizational Setting: The United Nations Environment Programme is the leading global environmental authority that sets the global environmental agenda, promotes the coherent implementation of the environmental dimension of sustainable development within the United Nations system and serves as an authoritative advocate for the global environment. Its mandate is to coordinate the development of environmental policy consensus by keeping the global environment under review and bringing emerging issues to the attention of governments and the international community for action. UNEP Ecosystems Division works with international and national partners, providing technical assistance and capacity development for the implementation of environmental policy, and strengthening the environmental management capacity of developing countries and countries with economies in transition. The consultant will work for the Economics of Nature (TEN) Unit in the Ecosystems Division to develop a project proposal for implementation of The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity for Agriculture and Food (TEEBAgriFood), which aims to apply True Cost Accounting principles to measure and value ecosystem services, natural capital, human capital, and social capital in order to make the economic case for sustainable agriculture investments and policies. The consultant will report to Mr. Salman Hussain, TEEB Coordinator and Head of the Economics of Nature Unit (TEN) in the Ecosystems Division. TEEBAgriFood Ecosystems, biodiversity, and natural resources are the basis of agriculture. The agricultural sector provides important benefits such as food for humans and animals, fiber for industrial and artisanal production, materials for fuel, employment, and cultural cohesion. However, it is the main driver of the degradation of ecosystems, the loss of biodiversity, health externalities and greenhouse gas emissions, among others. Many of these impacts, both positive and negative, are economically invisible externalities and do not figure in public and private decision-making. The UNEP Economics of Nature Unit (TEN) within the Ecosystems Division hosts TEEB – The Economics of Nature and Biodiversity - an initiative which aims to demonstrate and capture the value of nature in public policy and private sector decision making. The landmark 2017 TEEB for Agriculture and Food (TEEBAgriFood) study demonstrated that the economic incentive environment in which agricultural producers operate, coupled with a lack of understanding of the dependence of food production on well-functioning ecosystems, threaten the long run sustainability of food production and farmer livelihoods. The TEEBAgriFood initiative seeks to demonstrate that the entire agricultural value chain (production, processing, distribution, consumption and waste) not only has an impact on the environment but also on socio-economic well-being, particularly of small producers, and on public health and food security. The TEEBAgriFood Framework has been designed to guide the evaluation of food systems and their complex linkages to the environment, society and human health. To create real change, this scientific framework of analysis needs to be applied at the ground level and influence current policies and practice. Since 2018, the TEEBAgriFood Framework has been implemented in more than 10 countries, including Mexico, Brazil, China, Colombia, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Malaysia, and Thailand. In Mexico, following the completion of TEEBAgriFood assessments of the maize sector and coffee sector, the Secretariat for Agriculture and Rural Development (SADER) has requested to collaborate with UNEP on the evaluation of cacao production and cacao value chains, in alignment with Mexico’s ambitions to develop sustainable rural livelihoods, reduce deforestation and GHG emissions, restore water quality, and ensure stable agricultural trade relationships. Certification and traceability of deforestation-free tropical commodities is also crucial to ensure continued access to European markets of Mexican products since the recent adoption of the law on deforestation free-products (EUDR). A consultant is required to map cacao production and deforestation trends, model landscape-scale cacao suitability, recommend methods for spatial assessment of ecosystem services in cacao growing regions, and identify relevant data gaps and barriers to cacao traceability for compliance with the EUDR. The resultant maps and report will be used in a financing proposal for a multi-year TEEBAgriFood project aimed at advising public policies to strengthen the cacao sector in Mexico. Duties and Responsibilities: Summary: Conduct a spatial assessment of cacao production and deforestation in Mexico, model cacao cultivation suitability, and propose spatial data management framework for geolocation of cacao production. The spatial assessment will contribute to a baseline status report on agronomic, ecological, and economic aspects of cacao value chains with an aim to support a TEEBAgriFood project proposal . From existing data and GIS layers, the consultant will produce national maps of spatial trends in cacao production and deforestation over the past 30 years. Based on landscape-scale environmental attributes, the consultant will model spatial suitability for cacao cultivation and identify areas suitable for cacao production on a national map. Timeseries maps of deforestation will be overlaid on cacao production trends to identify spatial correlations and determine areas potentially subject to the EUDR. In a brief report, the consultant will make recommendations for methods to model ecosystem services in cacao growing regions, identify the relationship between cacao production and deforestation, and trace cacao products to the farm of origin to satisfy the EUDR. The consultant’s duties and responsibilities will include: 1. Review existing data and spatial layers on cacao production and cacao’s environmental footprint (including deforestation and ecosystem services in cacao production systems) and identify data gaps 2. Produce national-scale timeseries maps (GIS) of cacao production and deforestation 3. Model and map agro-ecological suitability for cacao production, at the landscape scale 4. Evaluate deforestation trends in landscapes suitable for cacao production 5. Recommend methods for mapping provision of ecosystem services in landscapes suitable for cacao production, such as carbon storage, biodiversity habitat, and erosion control. 6. Determine scaleable methodologies and efficient data management systems for spatial traceability of cacao products, to satisfy the EU Deforestation Free Rule 7. Contribute to an agroecological and economic baseline report and fundraising proposal for TEEBAgriFood for cacao in Mexico (To be completed through a separate UNEP consultancy.)
Qualifications/special skills
An advanced university degree in Environmental Science, Agronomy, Environmental Economics, or a related field is required. A first university degree with a combination of two (2) years professional and academic qualifications may be accepted in lieu of the advanced degree. A minimum of five (5) years of professional working experience in the field of GIS, ecosystem services modeling, landcover modeling, or food systems assessment is required An understanding of spatial modeling of deforestation in the context of agriculture is required. An understanding of the political economy of agriculture in Mexico is desired.
