Forest Harvesting Specialist

• CONTEXT
  
• OVERALL PURPOSE
  
• PERSON SPECIFICATION
  
  • Knowledge:
  • Skills & Experience:
• RESPONSIBILITIES:
  
  • Forest Management:
  • Staff/financial management systems:
  • Village mobilization::
  • Liaison with external agencies::
• TERMS AND CONDITIONS
• CONTACT DETAILS

CONTEXT:
The Ekuri Initiative is a Community Based Organisation (CBO) set up by the villages of Old Ekuri and New Ekuri in 1995 to sustainably manage their timber and non-timber Forest resources as a means of improving their livelihoods whilst ensuring the long-term survival of the forest itself. The Ekuri community probably have the largest area of community rainforest in Nigeria (33,600 ha). Since its start up, the Initiative has experienced several challenges. Using only the most basic of timber processing equipment (chainsaws), they have found it difficult to meet the wood buyers stringent quality requirements. Much of the money gained from selling their timber is lost in high transport costs and marketing remains a challenge. Financial transparency to the community has also been difficult because much of the cash transactions are carried out in Calabar, the nearest city some 100 km distant from the village.

OVERALL PURPOSE:
The post holder will assist the Ekuri Initiative with skills training to develop sustainable forest management plans, and carry out low-impact harvesting of timber and non-timber products from the forest in a manner that allows to forest to regenerate naturally. You will assist them with marketing these products and developing greater accountability with respect to the funds generated by the Initiative for community development. You must be dedicated, self reliant and able to work for weeks at a time in a remote community with poor communications. You must be also be prepared to commit at least 2 years to the organization. The Initiative has a project vehicle and so it may be possible to visit the city of Calabar once every 2-3 weeks.

PERSON SPECIFICATION:

Knowledge:

• At least a diploma in a relevant subject (Environmental Education, Community Development, Forestry, Agriculture, Fisheries, Wildlife and Natural Resource)
• A good understanding of environment, development and educational issues

Skills & Experience:
Experience of

• Participatory methodologies such as PRA and participatory land use planning
• Producing sustainable harvesting plans for selective logging from Tropical rainforest areas
• Directional felling of trees (to minimize felling damage)
• Operational and maintenance of portable sawmills
• Working with village communities (village mobilization) in developing countries to facilitate community projects.
• Management systems for CBOs (basic book keeping, financial management and staff management)

RESPONSIBILITIES:

Forest Management:

• Training and assisting the Ekuri Initiative to draw up forest harvesting plans for their inventoried forest plots
• Training and assisting the Ekuri Initiative to fell and process selected trees from their plot (according to the harvesting plan). Processing skills needed by the community include directional felling, portable sawmill operation and maintenance.

Staff/financial management systems:
Assisting the Ekuri Initiative to establish good management systems (staff management and financial management) that are transparent and accountable both to the members of the Initiative and also to the wider community. These include:

• Establishing simple basic offices in Old Ekuri and New Ekuri for the storage of project documents and equipment
• Assistance and training to put in place transparent and accountable systems for the marketing of their processed timber and repatriation of the funds from the sales to the bank accounts of the two communities of Old Ekuri and New Ekuri
• Management assistance and training for the Coordinator of the Initiative to help him put in place job descriptions, contracts and clear work plans for all staff.

Village mobilization::

• Work with the initiative to develop a wood yard/market at Ochon, the nearest roadside village to the community (some 30 km distant from the village), complete with a bench sawmill.
• Work along side Ekuri villagers in the construction of bridges and culverts for their community roads.

Liaison with external agencies::

• Proposal writing to raise funds from various external bodies and organizations such as CIDA, the British High Commission, the EU, USAID, Silva forest Foundation, the private sector and others.
• Regular liaison with CIDA and the Cross River State Forestry Commission in Calabar to foster their support for the initiative's activities
• Facilitate the work of a consultant who will work with them to refine their land use plan and digitize the resulting maps.
• Facilitate the work of a consultant who will establish a micro-credit scheme for the women of the two villages.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS:
This is a two-year posting to Calabar, Nigeria. The Iroko Foundation will provide you with an airfare and insurance. While you are in Nigeria, accommodation will be provided and you will be paid a good Nigerian salary (approx £6,000/yr). While low by western standards, this is a high salary in Nigeria and is more than enough to live very comfortably in Calabar. You will be resident in the Ekuri villages.

Accommodation would be basic. The village is over 100 km from Calabar and consists almost entirely of mud huts (one or two cement houses). There is no running water or electricity and no telephone. The postholder would be staying in one of the mud houses in the village or perhaps in a cement house, neither of which would have electricity. Public transport is possible with land rovers that visit the village weekly to buy forest products. The Ekuri Initiative also has a 4WD vehicle that would be available for the post holder's use.

Calabar then nearest town is very pleasant and quiet (by Nigerian standards) and has a several expatriate run, small Nigerian environmental NGOs. The expatriate community in Calabar is very friendly and supportive.

CONTACT DETAILS :
Please send a CV and a covering letter expelling why you feel you are suitable for this position to: tundemorakinyo@irokofoundation.org.