NFI and Forest Food System Coordinator

Organizational Setting

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) contributes to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda through the FAO Strategic Framework by supporting the transformation to MORE efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable agrifood systems, for better production, better nutrition, a better environment and a better life, leaving no one behind.

FAO is a specialized agency of the UN that leads international efforts to defeat hunger. FAO's goal is to achieve food security for all and ensure that people have regular access to enough high-quality food to lead active, healthy lives. With 195 Members (194 countries and the European Union), FAO works in over 130 countries worldwide.

FAO Country Offices, working under overall corporate guidance and in line with the Strategic Framework, offer policy advice and support to countries in the mandated areas of FAO, facilitated through partnerships, resources and an active country programme to provide technical assistance, develop capacities and deliver core services while fully observing international standards of accountability to establish leadership and strengthen impact at the country level.
The offices deliver on the programmatic priorities of each country as agreed in their respective Country Programming Frameworks (CPFs) aligned to the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) and ensure effective and efficient operations with adequate human and financial resources.
Specifically, FAO Country Offices\:
(i) advocate, inform and support policies and investments in the areas of FAO’s mandate;
(ii) provide technical assistance and deliver core services;
(iii) assist and catalyse partnership and resource mobilization activities to support agrifood systems transformation;
(iv) position FAO as the specialized/authoritative technical agency in food and agriculture and agrifood systems transformation; and
(v) ensure risk-smart and accountable operations and management.

The Forestry Division (NFO) of FAO leads the work in promoting sustainable forest management and providing leadership on the environmental, social and economic dimensions of forestry, including its contributions to poverty reduction, sustainable food systems, and climate resilience. The Division also collects, assesses and disseminates information on the world's forest resources, the production, trade and consumption of wood and non-wood forest products, and produces assessments of the main forest trends in the context of global challenges. It liaises with member countries, civil society and the private sector to strengthen forest contributions to the Sustainable Development Goals, the Paris Agreement, as well as achievement of the Global Forest Goals of the UN Strategic Plan on Forests. Through normative work and technical cooperation, NFO strives to make available to FAO’s Member countries and other stakeholders its support focused on promoting sustainable management of forests, halting deforestation and enhancing resilience, restoring degraded forests and land, and mainstreaming biodiversity, while striving for sustainable production, use and livelihood benefits from forests and trees. Through its work on forest policy and governance, NFO supports the development of forest policy, legal and institutional frameworks to that effect, with particular emphasis on rights, gender and social inclusion issues.

National Forest Inventory

Papua New Guinea contains the eastern half of the third largest tropical rainforest after Amazon Basin and Congo Basin. It is a globally recognized center of biological and cultural diversity. Despite their extent, size, and rich diversity, there is inadequate scientific information about PNG forests. About 78 percent of Papua New Guinea is covered with forests, three-quarters of which are primary forests. Relative to many tropical countries, deforestation in Papua New Guinea has been minimal, although it has been increasing in the recent decade.

PNG National Forest Inventory (NFI) comprises remote sensing assessment and field inventory. NFI was launched by the then Prime Minister in March 2016. The full-scale field assessment commenced in May 2017. A total of 160 plots in 43 clusters in seven provinces have been assessed. A total of 13 scientific papers produced by PNG researchers were published in an international peer-reviewed journal, and one of them was awarded runner-up of the best paper in 2022. Outputs of the NFI have contributed well to PNG’s international reporting and policies on climate change. Forest Reference Level (2017, 2023), National REFF Strategy (2017), Biennial Update Report (2019, 2022), and the Enhanced NDC (2020) were prepared based on the information derived by the NFI. Such achievements enhance the opportunities for PNG to access REDD Results Based Payments (RBP). PNG submitted a concept note for the GCF RBP Pilot Programme in 2019, claiming the payment for the 6.6 million tCO2e emission reduction achieved in 2014 and 2015. PNG has also successfully completed initial screening by the LEAF Coalition for results-based payments for the estimated potential of over 100 million tCO2e emission reduction during the 2017-2026 period. If funded, PNG is committed to re-investing the proceeds for sustainable community development and will increase its NDC ambition to achieve zero deforestation and forest degradation by 2030. It is essential for PNG to further strengthen its NFMS to enhance the integrity of the carbon credit generated from the REDD activities.

Forest Food Systems

Forests are receiving increased attention for their role in mitigating and adapting to climate change and conserving biodiversity, yet their contribution to sustainable agrifood systems tends to be overlooked in policy and practice. This despite growing evidence illustrating the benefits of forests, trees, and forest- and tree-derived plants and animals to healthy and sustainable agrifood systems. Acknowledging the multiple agriculture-forestry linkages, FAO member countries recently advised its governing bodies to better coordinate issues related to forestry and agriculture, and requested FAO to enhance its work on forests’ contribution to food security and nutrition (i.e. COAG/2022/REP, COFO/2022/REP; CL171/REP). In this context, the Forestry Division (NFO) is fostering the contribution of wild foods and non-wood forest products (NWFPs) to help countries achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, in particular, related to nutrition, biodiversity and climate targets. To this end, FAO recently endorsed the inter-regional TCP/INT/3905 in the Philippines, Papua New Guinea (PNG), Viet Nam, Paraguay and Cameroon, to strengthen institutional capacities to support and upscale interventions to enhance forest-sector contributions to healthy and sustainable agrifood systems. On August 28, 2024, the consultation meeting with project stakeholders was held in Lae, in collaboration with the PNG Forest Research Institute. During the meeting, participants suggested institutions that should be represented in a technical working group for the project in Papua New Guinea.

The assignments will support the Forestry Division in the implementation of the activities of the TCP/INT/3905 “Strengthening country capacities to enable forest-based contributions to healthy and sustainable agrifood systems” and the National Forest Inventory in Papua New Guinea.

The position is located in the FAO Country Office in Papua New Guinea.

Reporting Lines

The incumbent will report to the Senior Forestry Officer/Team Leader of the Forest Products and Bioeconomy Team with direct supervision of the Chief Technical Advisor on Forestry, Climate Change, and Biodiversity, FAO Papua New Guinea Office.

Technical Focus

The incumbent will oversee the implementation of the NFI, managing field assessments, data analysis, reporting, and capacity-building efforts, while ensuring effective coordination of agreements and logistics. For the Forest Food Systems project, she/he will liaise with FAO and national stakeholders, organize workshops, contribute to the identification of key forest foods, and lead resource mobilization initiatives.

Tasks and responsibilities

National Forest Inventory
• Collaborate closely with the partner organizations; PNG Forest Authority (PNGFA), PNG Forest Research Institute (PNGFRI), and Binatang Research Centre (BRC), to coordinate the NFI implementation. This includes planning, reconnaissance, field assessment, data management, and analysis;
• Coordinate the preparation of the field implementation reports;
• Prepare and monitor the Letter of Agreement (LoA) with the partner agencies;
• Strengthen the communication and cooperation with the PNG NFI International Research Committee, which will be coordinated by the Monash University;
• Liaise with the FAO operations team to organize NFI logistics;
• Coordinate the NFI capacity building activities;
• Assist the communication officer to enhance NFI awareness;
• Perform any other related duties as required.

Forest Food Systems
• Liaise between the FAO Lead Technical Unit, the FAO Representation and the national counterpart institution to ensure the timely and effective implementation of the project;
• Liaise with and support the organization of the National Technical Working Group for the project;
• Provide inputs and actively participate (including organization as appropriate) in the global and country-level workshops, coordinating and facilitating the participation of national stakeholders as appropriate;
• Contribute to establishing methodologies for the identification of key forest foods and systems;
• Participate in monitoring the LOA at country level, and provide technical and/or administrative support, identify problems and issues to be addressed and propose corrective action, liaise with relevant parties and identify and track follow-up actions;
• Support the preparation of the Rapid Assessment Report on key forest foods and related agrifood systems;
• Actively identify opportunities for resource mobilization and related donor(s), and support proposal-writing as necessary;
• Support the organization of participatory diagnostic meetings (Output 1.3) and country trainings (output 1.5);
• Support the organization of a national multi-stakeholder consultation/validation workshop in the second semester of 2025 (Output 2).
• Undertake field missions as and when required;
• Perform any other related duties as required.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

• University degree in food security, forestry, agriculture, natural resources, biological and environmental sciences, rural development or related fields.
• At least 5 years working experience in forestry, NWFPs, climate change, biodiversity conservation or other relevant fields.
• Full proficiency (level C) in English.

FAO Core Competencies

• Results Focus
• Teamwork
• Communication
• Building Effective Relationships
• Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION