Science Policy Fellow, Environmental Investigation Agency – Washington, DC

Organization: Environmental Investigation Agency

Position Title: Science Policy Fellow

Location: Washington, DC

Hours and Compensation: Full time from January 5 to June 30, 2015; paid

Application Deadline: November 30, 2014

Description: Over the past 25 years, the Environmental Investigation Agency has pioneered the use of investigative techniques to expose global environmental crime and has successfully campaigned to bring about changes in international laws and government policies.

The Forest Program works to expose illegal logging and transform global supply chains in order to protect the world’s forests, as well as the people, wildlife and global climate that depend on them. EIA led the campaign to pass the world’s first law prohibiting imports of illegally sourced timber products, which was passed in 2008. The Forest Campaign is now on the leading edge of supply chain and trade analysis for timber and wood products. Emerging technologies for timber analysis, including stable isotopes, DNA, near-infrared (NIR), and wood anatomy, have the potential to dramatically shift the global market place by assisting companies and governments to verify supply chains of timber products. As new laws in the US, EU and Australia now prohibit trade in illegally sourced timber, customs officials and forest law enforcement agencies around the world are looking for practical methods to incorporate these emerging technologies, already widely used in the agriculture sector, into forest management and trade monitoring initiatives.

Responsibilities: EIA’s Forest Team is seeking a Science Policy Fellow as a paid, temporary position to support our Washington, DC office. The Science Policy Fellow will assist the EIA Forest Team in evaluating the potential application of these emerging technologies to the real world of compliance and supply chain monitoring and will perform the following duties:

• Research the current science on emerging technologies for timber-tracking and wood species identification; conduct interviews with leading minds in this field; review and summarize results for internal EIA briefing documents;
• Produce fact sheets and briefing papers on emerging timber tracking technologies for a variety of audiences, including policymakers, enforcement officials, NGOs, and the private sector. These briefing papers and campaign materials will showcase recent technological advances and describe emerging technologies, and present a case for how these innovative tools can be used for timber tracking to ensure sustainable and legal sourcing of timber and wood products, building upon existing forest policy frameworks;
• Conduct outreach to relevant stakeholders, including academics, policymakers, NGOs and industry members, in consumer and forest producer countries, to: explore potential applications for new technologies in wood product supply chains; identify new champions for this technology; and to identify potential concerns regarding open access to reference data;
• Research will include how technology transfer of timber tracking and species identification technologies can contribute to international development assistance programs aimed at promoting sustainable forestry in developing countries and access for forest-dependent communities;
• As needed, travel domestically and internationally to obtain information, interview key researchers, and attend and present at meetings.

Qualifications:

• Background in chemistry, biology, environmental science and/or forestry;
• General background in international forest policy;
• Ability and willingness to travel domestically and internationally;
• Understanding of timber and forest product supply chains, with experience working in the industry a plus;
• Detailed understanding of genetic or stable isotopic analysis from wood or other sectors a plus;
• Foundation in community forestry a plus;
• Fluency in Spanish and/or Chinese a plus;
• Strong preference for location in EIA’s Washington, DC office.

How to Apply: Send cover letter and resume/curriculum vitae to [email protected]with the subject line: Science Policy Fellow Application