DSPA Forest Officer At World Wide Fund For Nature

1. Context:

The Dzanga Sangha Protected Areas (DSPA) complex is an area of ​​4,450 km2, comprising the Dzanga Sangha Dense Forest Special Reserve with its various community and other use areas, and the Dzanga-Ndoki National Park. This area is home to spectacular large mammals such as forest elephants, lowland gorillas and chimpanzees, bongos, buffalo, sitatungas, giant forest hogs as well as a wide variety of monkeys and duikers. The area also supports an exceptional diversity of other taxa.

WWF supports the Central African Government in the management of the APDS, both to conserve its exceptional biodiversity and to promote sustainable natural resource management for the well-being of surrounding human populations. The APDS administration and WWF are taking a multidisciplinary approach to managing this important area, including the development and management of infrastructure, human and financial resources; conservation through monitoring and anti-poaching activities; income generation through tourism through a primate habituation programme focusing on lowland gorillas as well as other tourism activities; research and monitoring of threats and socio-ecological impacts of the protected area; and sustainable rural development activities, including agroforestry, to alleviate pressure on natural resources and support livelihoods. Following an inclusive conversation approach, WWF works to support Indigenous Peoples (IPs) and Local Communities (LCs) to manage their resources in a way that benefits them and nature.

In this vein, WWF-RCA has been involved in recent years in setting up community-based forest and landscape restoration initiatives through agroforestry. WWF has carried out several pilot projects since 2018 in Bayanga (20 ha of teak plantation followed by 25 ha of agroforestry plantation with communities) and Mona Sao (185 ha of agroforestry plantation with local communities and indigenous peoples). Building on the achievements of these pilot projects, the APDS management has proposed to scale up community-based agroforestry restoration initiatives. The aim is to contribute to setting up a value chain at the local level that relies on a supply basin on the outskirts of the APDS. To this end, the APDS have received funding from the German Government through IKI to, among other activities, set up 400 ha of agroforestry plots in the APDS over six years. Further continued scaling projects are under development.

Given the scale of forest and landscape restoration activities, the APDS management has decided to set up a dedicated team to ensure the proper execution of activities on the ground.

II. Major Functions:

The DSPA FOREST OFFICER’s responsibility is to implement WWF’s forest and landscape restoration activities in the APDS while contributing to building a solid local forest program in line with the objectives of WWF’s strategic plan in the CAR.

1. Major Duties and Responsibilities:
2. Plan and implement forest and landscape restoration work in APDS (approximately 60%) (via IKI projects and others). This is done via:
3. Supervise the deployment of preliminary activities for the establishment of plantations:

• Carrying out geospatial analyses of land occupation in the APDS landscape and peripheries;
• Location of recent and active forest degradation fronts to determine RFP potential;
• Community consultation and identification of beneficiaries concerned by future RFP activities;
• Carrying out land demographic surveys and socio-economic studies with the customary landowners concerned, both individual and community;
• Instruction of RFP perimeter and activity files (choice of options: community agroforestry, pure plantation, etc.);
• Signing of commitment agreements to guarantee the beneficiary’s land security and investments on the plot.

1. Lead the establishment of nurseries and plantations with local and indigenous communities in the APDS landscape:

• Consultation of communities for the choice of species to plant and food crops to intercrop;
• Establishment of community nurseries for the production of plants;
• Supervision of site sowing and planting work (weeding, staking, digging holes, planting seedlings and food crops).
• Plan and monitor RFP scopes:
• Definition, monitoring of results and impact indicators (area, carbon stock and biodiversity) of RFP initiatives in APDS;
• Planning, monitoring of maintenance and replenishment work on RFP perimeters;
• Planning and monitoring of work to implement plot protection measures (firebreaks, community patrols, combating encroachments, etc.).

1. Identify needs and strengthen technical capacities of beneficiaries

• Identification of technical needs (targeted socio-economic study above) and proposal of training programs
• Mobilization of trainers and organization of training sessions
• Facilitation, support and strengthening of organizational capacities of beneficiary communities.

1. Oversee the implementation of restaurant income-generating activities and incentive measures for the benefit of target communities of RFP initiatives:

• Identification of needs in restaurant AGR;
• Mobilization and deployment of AGR restaurants in collaboration with the APDS community development program.
• Establishment and monitoring of an incentive system to encourage communities involved in RFP initiatives.

1. Ensure that forest projects in APDS are managed to the highest international standards (around 20%):

• Develop work plans and reports for the various forest projects (IKI, etc.) on a quarterly, half-yearly and annual basis or more frequently if necessary and in accordance with WWF programme management standards;
• Support, monitor and report/communicate all forest related activities of IKI projects and others;
• Support the logistics and supply necessary for the proper execution of project activities in the field;
• Ensure compliance with donor requirements and guidelines;
• Manage and supervise forest project budgets in APDS;
• Ensure accountability of funds in accordance with project planning and contractual obligations in collaboration with the F&A Manager;
• Cooperate and support the WWF communications team (website, social media, press, etc.);
• Participate in project-related meetings and workshops (local, regional and international);

1. Cross-functional tasks (approximately 20%)

• Contribute to setting up and implementing a forest program for the APDS with the WWF-RCA Forest Program Officer;
• Lead a team of at least four (04) facilitators of restoration activities across the entire APDS landscape;
• Carry out other tasks at the request of the Head of Department and the APDS management;
• Submit to the Department Head a monthly and quarterly report describing program activities;
• Assist the Department Head in ensuring accountability of WWF project funds in accordance with project planning and contractual obligations in collaboration with the F&A Manager;
• Assist in fundraising, grant writing and donor reporting as requested by APDS management.

Manage (staff, fleet, cash, fuel, etc.) with great independence a satellite office on the outskirts of the APDS (particularly in Monasao).

1. Profile:

Required Qualifications:

• Minimum master’s degree in natural sciences, agronomy, forestry or a related field;
• A minimum of 5 years of professional experience in the field of forest and landscape restoration, agroforestry, forestry or nature conservation;
• Professional experience in forest/agroforestry landscape restoration projects with community participation;
• Strong skills in Geographic Information Systems, particularly the use of QGIS/ArcGIS, would be a major asset.
• Some knowledge of “Other Effective Area-Based Conservation Measures (OECM)” approaches is a plus;
• Strong project management skills (planning, budgets, implementation, monitoring and evaluation, etc.);
• Hold a class B car and/or class A motorcycle driving license
• Some command of English would be a plus.
• Share WWF values: Courage, Respect, Integrity and Collaboration.