OVERVIEW OF ASSOCIATION ANOULAK
Association Anoulak (conservation in Lao language) is a French-registered association (registered in September 2014) dedicated to the long-term conservation and study of wildlife in their natural habitats in Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR or Laos), in particular in the Nakai-Nam Theun National Protected Area (NNT NPA), where we collaborate with the Nam Theun 2 Watershed Management and Protection Authority.
Association Anoulak implements activities on:
- Biodiversity research and monitoring for conservation – To understand the distribution, monitor wildlife populations and increase our knowledge on in-situ species ecology of the threatened and endemic species in the Annamite Mountains which will inform conservation management.
- Community anti-poaching patrols – To reduce illegal poaching of species in the wild allow their populations to remain stable or recover from unsustainable hunting.
- Community outreach and awareness-raising – To inform local communities about the links between a healthy environment and nature for people’s sustainable livelihoods.
- Community sustainable livelihoods – To provide alternative and sustainable livelihoods and income to local communities to reduce their reliance on natural resources.
- Capacity building – All our programs include training of Lao nationals and local communities to inspire and train the new generation of Lao conservationists and biologists and ensure the sustainability of and sense of ownership all our projects at the national level
OVERVIEW OF THE PROJECT
Nakai-Nam Theun National Park (3500 km2) is one of the largest remaining contiguous forest blocks in the Indochinese peninsula and holds numerous rare, endemic and highly threatened flora and fauna. It falls in the heart of one of the richest regions of Southeast Asia in terms of biodiversity and endemism (Catullo et al., 2008) and is one of the identified ‘Key Biodiversity Areas’ within the Indo-Burma biodiversity hotspot (Tordoff et al., 2012). In Laos, Nakai-Nam Theun has been ranked as the highest priority for its National and Global biodiversity importance (Robichaud et al., 2001). This is notably due to its geographical location in the Annamite Mountains with a unique climatic pattern and ecosystem characterized by a very high species richness and endemism.
The flora and fauna in the area are severely threatened by illegal and unsustainable hunting and harvesting for the local consumption and for the international trade. Threats to flora and fauna come from villagers from the Nakai Plateau, villagers from the enclave zone and from Vietnamese poachers mainly along the international border. Some species of flora and fauna have already significantly declined or gone extinct locally. and it is expected that without control over unsustainable harvesting, the most harvest-sensitive species and most sought-for species (both flora and fauna) will face local extinction in the near future.
Local communities in the Nakai District (including 16 resettlement villages [10,700 people] on the Nakai Plateau and 31 enclave villages in the National Park [7000 people]). The most recent (2018) socio-economic surveys of these local communities and external audits show that the livelihoods development activities for these communities have not met initial expectations (COTE, 2018; PoE report#27, 2018), including the following main issues observed and demonstrated:
- Local communities are still highly reliant on natural resources for their livelihoods including for trade and local consumption (i.e. hunting of Globally Threatened and endemic species of the Annamite Mountain Range)
- Local communities are still highly reliant on unsustainable agriculture practices (shifting cultivation or cash crop monocultures) that also generally does not provide sufficient yield to meet the basic nutritional needs (for example, over 70% of households from the enclave villages still face rice shortage each year, which forces them to find cash income to buy rice for the rest of the year). Shifting cultivation, although it can be a sustainable agriculture practice because of a rotation cycle between swidden fields (that are left in fallow for between 3 to 7 years), can only remain so on condition of relatively low (e.g. below carrying capacity) and stable human population densities, which isn’t true for these communities that have had especially in the past few decades high population growth rate. The increase in population leads to the need for more land to clear and this practice becomes unsustainable for nature conservation.
- Local communities generally lack diversification of crops and livelihoods (essentially relying on fish, non-timber forest products [including plants and wild animals], rice, maize and cassava, livestock).
- Food security remains highly dependent on foods collected in the wild. Without access to food collected from natural resources, only the families having incomes from salary and trade can reach over the acceptable balanced nutritional requirements showing that the consumption of wild food for villagers, especially those living within the NPA, is utterly important to secure their nutritional diversity.
- The local communities lack the capacity to process, promote and trade local products
There are currently several actors working on livestock, agriculture and fisheries problematics in the Nakai region (i.e. the Nakai Plateau Livestock, Agriculture and Fisheries project [NP LAF] and the livelihood team of the Nakai – Nam Theun National Park with the Consortium of Technical Experts [including Agrisud International supervising the livelihoods activities]). In this context, Association Anoulak is initiating a pilot project (entitled Community resilience and biodiversity conservation in Nakai District) that will focus on:
- Natural resources management including valorization and marketing (with potential cultivation, transformation, and certification) of native Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) and the management of their use by local communities (e.g. regulations on harvest zoning, seasonality, quotas, etc.).
- Development of a demonstration community permaculture farm for training on sustainable farming practices and alternative business development
POSITION CONSIDERED UNDER THIS ToR
Manager of the Social Enterprise Community Sustainable Ecotourism Farm Manager
ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITY OF THE POSITION
- Develop the Nong Boua Kam center according to proposed plans (c.f. report) including land zones: Zone 1: Kitchen gardens and welcoming area; Zone 2: Market garden; Zone 3: community village; Zone 4: Grazing and farm stay; Zone 5: wildlife sanctuary
- Manage and coordinate the development of the Community Sustainable Ecotourism Farm Manager following principles of agroecology and social business enterprise, including the following activities: ecotourism hospitality and services; handicrafts; NTFP and other natural products production and value chain; food production, etc.
- Facilitate dialogue between members of the community to strengthen the community cooperative for benefit-sharing
- Develop business plans
- Coordinate workshops in technical training with external consultants for the development of profitable activities at the center
- Assess the value chain of products with business partners
- Develop partnerships with business partners
- Advertise and market the services and products of the center for the national and international community
- Reporting to the Project Manager, the director of Association Anoulak
WORK SCHEDULE AND LOCATION
This is a full-time position based in Nakai District at the Nong Boua Kham community centre, Khammouan Province, Lao PDR.
The position will involve travels to other provinces to meet with potential partners.
BENEFITS
- This position will be paid a monthly salary of 1000 USD/month
- An additional travel allowance will be provided as necessary
- The position will be covered with a private health insurance
CANDIDATE REQUIREMENTS
The selected candidate must fulfill the following criteria:
- Lao national
- Background/professional experience should include at least one of the following fields: agroecology, social and environmental entrepreneurship management, community cooperative, social and environmental business and marketing, sustainable and alternative livelihoods
- Strong interest, passion, motivation and commitment to participate in Lao community sustainable development
- Team and project management skills
- Able to develop partnerships and communicate with partners
- Outgoing and willing to support a team and community effort
- Able to coordinate activities in an efficient and organized manner
- Creative; cooperative attitude; reliable and honest; capable of working independently
- Fluent in English (spoken and written)
For more information:
Contact:
- ToR is available to Download Here
- Visit the website: https://www.conservationlaos.com/