Research project Global market-based instruments for the protection of biodiversity

The aim of a newly established and ambitious research team (with funding from a NWO-VIDI grant) is to develop global economic policy instruments to protect biodiversity and ecosystem services. The research team, consisting of two PhD students and a VIDI laureate, will pursue the following three key objectives:

1. development of an indicator for biodiversity as a leverage point for global economic instruments (PhD-project ecology)
2. development of economic policy instruments for protecting global biodiversity and associated ecosystem services (PhD-project economics)
3. development of moral principles for international allocation of responsibilities (burden-sharing) to protect global biodiversity

This project is unique in at least two ways. First, it explicitly investigates the long-term situation at a global level, and second, it takes a truly interdisciplinary approach integrating ecology, economics and moral philosophy.

Tasks
The specific task of the PhD student economics is threefold:

1. to analyze and evaluate different designs of existing global market-based instruments for protecting biodiversity and ecosystem services
2. to analyze and evaluate existing financial transactions and monetary flows between countries and their impacts on biodiversity protection and trade
3. to design and evaluate alternative cost-effective and efficient economic policy instruments for the protection of global biodiversity and associated ecosystem services

The PhD student will be jointly supervised by the lead researcher from IBED and Prof. Roy Brouwer from the Department of Environmental Economics at the Institute for Environmental Studies, VU University Amsterdam.

Requirements

• the candidate has an MSc in (Environmental) Economics or Econometrics
• expertise with mathematical models and/or statistical analysis is recommended, preferably with respect to market-based instruments for environmental protection
• the candidate should have an excellent academic record (including list of examination marks) and a curious, creative mind
• the candidate should be able to write scientific articles and reports (to be proven by your graduation thesis or comparable report) and be fluent in English both in writing and speech

Conditions of employment
The appointment is expected to start in June or July 2011, and will be for a maximum period of four years (18 months plus a further 30 months after a positive evaluation) and should lead to a dissertation (PhD thesis). An educational plan will be drafted that includes participation in relevant (international) courses, conferences and other meetings. PhD students are also expected to assist in teaching under­gra­duates. The salary is in accordance with the university regulations for academic personnel (Collective Labour Agreement, Dutch Universities) and will range from €2,042 (first year) up to a maximum of €2,612 (last year) gross per month (scale P). The annual salary will be supplemented with an 8% holiday allowance and an 8.3% end-of-year bonus.

Department
The Faculty of Science at the UvA is one of Europe’s foremost institutions of higher education and research in its chosen fields of specialization. It plays an active role in international science networks and collaborates with universities and industry. The Faculty has approximately 2,500 students and 1,500 staff members spread over 4 departments and 8 research institutes. Each institute has its own research programme, a substantial part of which is externally funded by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO), the Dutch government, the EU and various private enterprises.

In September 2010, the Faculty moved to new premises in the Science Park Amsterdam. The Science Park is now one of the largest centres of academic research in the Netherlands.

The Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics (IBED) is one of the ten research institutes of the Faculty of Science. IBED covers a wide range of subjects, in both fundamental and applied research. Our scientific studies aim at a better understanding of the dynamics of ecosystems at all relevant levels, from genes to climate change, using a truly multidisciplinary approach.

Additional information
Information on this position can be obtained from Dr Marc Davidson, +31 (0)20 525 7379; M.D.Davidson@uva.nl or Prof. Roy Brouwer, roy.brouwer@ivm.vu.nl.

More information about employer University of Amsterdam (UvA) on AcademicTransfer. Visit official website.

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Disclaimer: Every effort has been made to ensure the above information is current and correct. However, applicants should contact the appropriate administering body before making an application, as details do change frequently.