Title: Cultural Services Analyst
Thematic Area : Livelihoods
Background
The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) is a regional intergovernmental learning and knowledge sharing centre serving the eight regional member countries of the Hindu Kush Himalayan (HKH) Region – Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal, and Pakistan. Mountains are important global ecosystems that are facing rapid socioeconomic and environmental changes, particularly the impacts of climate change. Our aim is to influence policy and practices to meet the associated challenges emerging in the Hindu Kush Himalayan region. To do this, we bring together top researchers from the region and around the globe to generate and disseminate state-of-the-art knowledge in the physical and social sciences, including traditional knowledge, for evidence-based decision making; and we provide a neutral meeting point for transboundary research, knowledge sharing, and collaboration. Working to deliver impacts through six Regional Programmesacross four Thematic Areas – Livelihoods; Ecosystem Services; Water and Air; and Geospatial Solutions – supported by knowledge management and communications, we seek to improve the lives and livelihoods of mountain women and men, now and for the future.
Livelihood Thematic Area focuses on promoting diversified and sustainable livelihood options in the Hindu Kush Himalayan region. It seeks to enhance understanding of the human-environment interface, rural-urban linkages, driving forces of change, and their underlying causes. The Livelihood Thematic Area also provides expertise on strategic institutional functions such as governance, gender, poverty and inclusive development to promote ICIMOD’s goals. Cultural services are one of the important ecosystem services, especially in the culturally rich and diverse landscapes in the Hindu Kush Himalayas (HKH), across national boundaries.
ICIMOD is looking for a qualified professional for the post of Cultural Services Analyst. The selected candidate will work on the assessment of cultural services provided by various landscapes within the HKH region, especially the cultural services associated with the notion of the ‘sacred’. He or she will and also be involved in field testing the available methods for assessing these ‘sacred’ cultural values of the landscape.
Responsibilities and tasks
Under the direct supervision of the Senior Governance Specialist and the overall guidance of the Livelihood Theme Leader and in close collaboration with the Transboundary Landscapes Regional Programme Manager, the Cultural Services Analyst will be responsible for the following tasks:
- Develop a basic framework and selection criteria to identify key sacred and other cultural sites along the different routes in transboundary landscapes;
- Assess sacred sites to build an understanding of the local socio-ecological context and its linkages to cultural, natural and biological diversity;
- Develop a basic applied methodology and instrument for the valuation of bio-cultural services that can be mainstreamed in the existing ecosystem assessment frameworks;
- Prepare an interactive map of the sacred-cultural geography in transboundary landscapes working alongside ICIMOD’s partners and bring out a high-quality publication in collaboration with academics/experts in folklore, sacred geography, and historic-cultural heritage and transitions;
- Analyse local institutions at the sacred sites to understand their role and functions (e.g. who runs these institutions, why, and how, as well as the scope of preserving and increasing their socio-cultural value);
- Identify and compile key data needed from India-Nepal site to support nomination of the KSL landscape as a World Heritage Site of UNESCO (as per the existing Draft Road Map for ICIMOD);
- Coordinate and build partnerships among institutions, researchers and stakeholders for developing a good knowledge base on cultural and natural sites in the HKH.
Minimum Qualifications
- Advanced post-graduate academic degree, preferably in ethnology, natural resources management, sociology, socio-ecology, environmental studies, or any other field linked to local development;
- Experience in working with regional and international organizations. Experience in the HKH region will be an advantage.