pplications are invited for a postdoctoral fellowship with SANBI’s Adaptation Policy and Resourcing Division, also working closely with SANBI’s Biodiversity Information and Policy Advice Division, to support development of biocarbon accounts and indicators at the national level in South Africa. The accounts should be spatially explicit and should enable consideration of the ecological impact of the carbon as well as quantities of carbon stored, sequestered or emitted. Differentiating between “good” and “bad” carbon in terms of ecological impact in African ecosystems is relevant to national policy and reporting, as well as to South Africa’s commitments to international processes linked to the Convention on Biological Diversity, UNCCD and UNFCCC. The postdoctoral fellowship is under the auspices of the project titled ‘Unlocking Climate Finance for Climate Change Adaptation, which has been awarded to SANBI by the Government of Flanders. The purpose of this project is to develop and/or enhance SANBI’s climate change and biodiversity adaptation institutional capacity in its role as a National Implementing Entity for the Adaptation Fund (AF) and Green Climate Fund (GCF) in South Africa. Funding is available until 30 November 2024 dependent on adequate performance

Requirements: The postdoctoral fellowship is open to anyone who has completed a PhD in a relevant field in the last five years, or who will be awarded their PhD in early 2023. Applicants may not previously have held full-time permanent professional or academic posts. Applicants must have a strong ecological background, preferably including work in African biomes. Applicants must be independent and productive with a peer-reviewed publication track record. Applicants must be familiar and comfortable with remote sensing and GIS techniques as well as advanced statistics and spatial modelling. Proficiency in R and Google Earth Engine would be a distinct advantage. Familiarity with the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting (SEEA), including SEEA Ecosystem Accounting, would be an advantage. A background in biological carbon and its links to climate change would be an advantage. Applicants must demonstrate an ability to undertake research, synthesise literature and other data sources, and use scientific evidence to formulate defendable recommendations. The position involves participating in a technical working group on carbon accounting that will include Statistics South Africa, SANBI, the United Nations Statistics Division, and other relevant government entities and experts. It will also involve engagement with relevant stakeholders, including through one or more validation workshops at which draft accounts will be presented and discussed.

Research Areas: The main avenue of research is to explore the conceptual and methodological issues related to accounting for stocks and flows of biocarbon in South Africa. This will include synthesising existing relevant research in order to build an account using best available knowledge; defining the scope of the carbon to be included in the account; piloting the first national biocarbon account in South Africa; testing methods for distinguishing between “good” and “bad” carbon sequestration (linked to ecological condition) and reflecting this distinction in the account, testing and developing appropriate indicators based on the account tables for use in national and international reporting processes; and supporting the development of a feasibility report for comprehensive carbon accounts for South Africa, including recommendations for future work. The work should preferably be published in the peer-reviewed literature. The primary focus will be on accounts in biophysical terms, not monetary terms.

Application procedure: Each application is to be accompanied by a standard bursary application cover sheet (attached to this advert). Applications are to include a full CV; certified copies of ID, degree and academic records; two academic reference letters; record of publications, examples of published work, a proposed project outline and a short application letter describing the applicant’s suitability for the position in terms of skills and experience.

Send all documents to students@sanbi.org.za with “SANBI Biocarbon Accounting postdoctoral fellowship” in the subject line.

Contact details

For academic queries: Dr von Maltitz (g.vonmaltitz@sanbi.org.za) or Aimee Ginsburg (A.Ginsburg@sanbi.org.za)