Internship Opportunity - Protected Areas Internship (ITN053)

We are looking for a conscientious and focused intern to join the Protected Areas Programme. This is a great opportunity to work on the Aichi Biodiversity Target 11.

UN Environment World Conservation Monitoring Centre works with scientists and policy makers worldwide to place biodiversity at the heart of environment and development decision-making to enable enlightened choices for people and the planet.

In 2020 governments will agree a new global biodiversity framework that will replace the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 and its 20 Aichi Biodiversity Targets. This will be a major event, as the post-2020 global biodiversity framework will provide both the context and the level of ambition for action to address concerns about biodiversity and ecosystem services until at least 2030.

It is expected that the process for developing the post-2020 framework will engage a broad range of stakeholders, draw on evidence from multiple sources, and seek to place biodiversity and ecosystem services in the context of other global agendas relating to development, climate change, land degradation and disaster risk reduction.

This internship will focus on Aichi Biodiversity Target 11, which states “By 2020, at least 17 per cent of terrestrial and inland water areas and 10 per cent of coastal and marine areas, especially areas of particular importance for biodiversity and ecosystem services, are conserved through effectively and equitably managed, ecologically representative and well-connected systems of protected areas and other and other effective area-based conservation measures, and integrated into the wider landscape and seascape”.  In order to develop effective post-2020 area-based conservation targets, it will be important to learn lessons from Aichi Biodiversity Target 11, consider progress towards its achievement, and draw on information from meetings, publications and consultations.

In addition to developing the skills of the selected intern, the purpose of this internship is to:

1.     Explore the evidence-base around two specific elements contained within Aichi Biodiversity Target 11 – “equitably managed” and “areas of importance for biodiversity”.

2.     Identify and scope out meetings related to informing a post-2020 biodiversity framework.

3.     Explore progress towards “effectively managed” protected areas, under Aichi Biodiversity Target 11.

4.     Explore opportunities for identifying and documenting “other effective area-based conservation measures”.

If you are interested in this exciting opportunity please send your CV and a short covering letter by clicking on the link below by 12th August 2018. Please note, no application form is required for this post.

Interviews will be held on the 20th August 2018.

We anticipate that the internship will start at the beginning of September and be for 8 weeks.

Please note this is not a UN post and we can only accept applications from those eligible to work in the UK.

The UN Environment World Conservation Monitoring Centre strives for a sustainable world for biodiversity and people. The Centre works towards this vision by providing strategic leadership, technical expertise, and project support to increase capacity and inspire decision makers to manage biodiversity and ecosystem services for people and the planet. The Centre has close relationships with the UN system and other partners in the public and private sector, which combines with the Centre’s extensive understanding of science and policy to produce knowledge on biodiversity and ecosystem services that makes a world of difference.

Internship Description