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The United Nations University (UNU) is the academic arm of the United Nations (UN). It bridges the academic world and the UN system. Its goal is to develop sustainable solutions for current and future problems of humankind in all aspects of life. Through a problem-oriented and interdisciplinary approach it aims at applied research and education on a global scale. UNU was founded in 1973 and is an autonomous organ of the UN General Assembly. The University comprises headquarters Tokyo, Japan, and more than a dozen Institutes and Programmes worldwide.

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WASCAL project: Apply now for doctoral scholarships

The Center for Development Research in Bonn, Germany, offers two doctoral scholarships in the field of "Forestry based Carbon Markets" and "Valuation of Ecosystem Services" in rural West Africa. The scholarships are part of the newly created West African Science Service Center on Climate Change and Adapted Land Use (WASCAL). Application deadline is 30 April 2012.

Valuation of Ecosystem Services in rural West Africa

Land management decisions determine the production of agricultural and forestry outputs. But they also have implications for the production of non‐marketed ecosystem goods and services such as water purification and regulation. Shortages of ecosystem services can substantially curtail the livelihoods of particularly the rural population in developing countries who vitally depend on land productivity and natural resources.

The overall objective of the proposed research is to develop innovative valuation methodologies suitable for application in developing countries and apply the methodologies to value changes of land management decisions with respect to non marketed ecosystem services in the West African Sudanian Savannah region.

Scholarship announcement

Forestry based Carbon Markets in rural West Africa

“Climate change […] is the greatest and widest‐ranging market failure ever seen” (Stern 2007). Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD) and the enhancement of forest stocks within a REDD+ framework or under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) are instruments to mitigate climate change. REDD payments to developing countries could provide a more stable, regular and long term income than other economic activities and they could enhance the security and resilience of the poor in the face of exogenous shocks.

The overall objective of the proposed research is to assess the potential impacts of carbon markets on land use, income generation and poverty alleviation in the West African Sudanian Savannah region.

Scholarship announcement