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Application Deadline: August 12, 2022
Initiative Name: “Technical assistance to support the management of forest fires and to reduce the environmental impact on protected areas and indigenous territories in the Bolivian Amazon and adjacent forest ecosystems” under the Technical Assistance Partnership - Expert Deployment Mechanism (TAP-EDM)
Job Title: Expert in prevention, control and firefighting techniques in protected areas.
Job type: Consultant
Location of Position: Canada (remote) with travel to Bolivia
Reporting to: Project Manager, TAP-EDM
Remuneration: Fees are subject to negotiation and shall not exceed established market rates.
Indicative LOE/Time Frame: Up to 60 days over 4 months period
Citizenship: Applicants must be Canadian citizens or have permanent resident status in Canada.
Language Requirements: English/French - Spanish is major asset
Application Instructions:
- We welcome applications from individuals and from governmental, non-governmental and private organizations.
- A cover letter is mandatory to be considered. Cover letters should detail how you fit the opportunity, your daily fee and current availability.
- Click "APPLY NOW" to submit your application, cover letter and CV.
- Only successful candidates will be contacted. No phone calls please.
At Alinea International we value equity, diversity, and inclusivity in everything we do. We are an equal opportunity employer opposed to all forms of discrimination. We actively seek and encourage applications from people of diverse backgrounds recognizing that an inclusive workforce enriches our organization and achieves smarter, more innovative results.
Alinea is committed to the protection of children and vulnerable adults. Due to the nature of our work, all candidates will be subject to due diligence checks and extensive background checks where appropriate.
About TAP-EDM
The Technical Assistance Partnership - Expert Deployment Mechanism (TAP-EDM) Project provides targeted, short-term (up to 12 months) technical assistance to National Government Entities (NGE) from eligible OECD-DAC countries. The Mechanism is expected to deploy over 250 Canadian experts via 120-150 technical assistance initiatives designed to resolve capacity gaps to bring about the desired changes of the recipient NGEs. Fully aligned with Canada’s Feminist International Assistance Strategy (FIAP), these initiatives will integrate gender equality, climate action/environmental sustainability, human rights and good governance as key objectives. Canadian experts will come from all walks of life, proudly representing world-class technical human resources but also the diversity and multi-culturalism that is Canada.
TAP-EDM is a four-year C$18,750,000-million-dollar project funded by Global Affairs Canada (GAC) and managed by Alinea International.
About the work
Forest fires are a permanent threat to sensitive and biodiverse protected areas, especially in Bolivia's lowlands, as well as to the indigenous peoples and wildlife that depend on them, mainly due to deforestation and climate change. Localized fires have climate variability effects, as they affect microclimates, while extensive forest fires affect larger-scale climatic events, especially in vulnerable ecosystems. Scientists have identified a vicious cycle connecting forest fires and climate change in the Amazon, as higher temperatures make fires more likely, and the burning of forests releases greenhouse gas (GHG) pollution that affects global warming.
Overall efforts to reduce GHG emissions and curb global warming will also help prevent forest fires. Therefore, reducing the number and severity of wildfires will also help curb climate change.
In 2019 and 2020, the Bolivian government had to face a national emergency caused by forest fires and millions of hectares were destroyed, including hundreds of thousands of hectares in protected areas. In 2019 and 2020, Bolivia appealed to the international community for support and technical assistance. In both years, Canada provided support through specialized aircraft for firefighting and aerial firefighting, including a mission of three experts from the Canadian Interagency Wildfire Centre, as well as other European and neighboring countries also provided requested support.
The National Protected Areas Service (SERNAP) is the official entity responsible for the conservation and management of protected areas and for controlling and mitigating forest fires that are prohibited by law in protected areas and reserves. This agency reports to the Ministry of Environment and Water (MMAyA), which is also responsible for developing conservation and risk and forest fire prevention strategies.
The Vice-Ministry of Civil Defense is the official entity responsible for natural disasters in Bolivia, including forest fires, and for responses in indigenous territories. In May of this year, the Bolivian Government created a Joint Command for Reaction to Adverse Emergencies of the Armed Forces (CC-REA) whose objective is to reduce and attend to adverse events in the country and reduce probable damages to the population and the preservation of nature.
Despite the significant and effective regulatory, preventive, reactive and management measures implemented in recent years by the Bolivian government, forest fires are an annual occurrence. Bolivia requires technical support to strengthen its institutional capacity to address this issue and improve its response capabilities, including specialized equipment and trained personnel, both for aerial firefighting and on the ground, and internal capacity for forest fire management and effective responses, as well as more specialized and equipped firefighting brigades.
About the Role
The objective of this initiative is to share Canadian knowledge, experiences, techniques, tools, best practices and lessons learned on ground fire prevention, control and firefighting in order to improve the capacity of the SERNAP and the MMAyA to effectively manage and respond to wildfires.
- In this context, the Expert in prevention, control and ground firefighting techniques in protected areas:
- Will develop a detailed work plan, in consultation with SERNAP, the General Directorate of Forest Management and Development of MMAyA and Alinea International staff.
- Review strategies, action and contingency plans and other key documentation on fire prevention, control and firefighting in Bolivian protected areas to better understand the context and challenges faced by park rangers during forest fires, related to topography, climate and access to natural resources such as water in Bolivia.
- Develop a "train-the-trainer" workshop for SERNAP park rangers and environmental engineers to share Canadian knowledge, tools, best practices and lessons learned in land fire prevention, control and firefighting techniques in protected areas.
- Deliver the "training of trainers" workshop in 4 locations to be agreed upon with SERNAP and Alinea International.
- Provide Alinea International with regular reports on the progress of the initiative, and a final report on the initiative.
- Promote the TAP-EDM project and share its experience with assigned Alinea International staff through public participation activities, before, during and after the TAI in Canada.
Required Qualifications:
Essential
- Graduate studies in a relevant field.
- 10 or more years of experience as a firefighter, brigadier, or wildland fire expert.
- Extensive experience in the management, training and preparation of contingency plans and management of forest fires, as well as adaptation to climate change in relation to forest fires and/or natural disasters in protected areas, nature reserves and/or indigenous territories.
- Extensive experience in land fire prevention, control and firefighting techniques in protected areas.
- Extensive experience in providing technical assistance and training for forest fire fighting brigades to be deployed on the ground in protected areas and indigenous territories, including the use of specialized equipment.
- Extensive experience in developing, adapting, conducting and piloting workshops and/or training courses for trainers of firefighters, park rangers and/or forest fire brigades.
- Experience in capacity building / institutional strengthening.
- Ability to work effectively with diverse and multiple stakeholders at the provincial, territorial or municipal level.
- Ability to work effectively and respectfully in a multi-cultural and multi-disciplinary environment.
- Skill in preparing reports and managing information from diverse sources.
Asset:
- Advanced fluency in Spanish.
- Previous experience in fighting forest fires in Bolivia and/or Latin America.
