2013 WWF Science Internships
The following internships are available at the World Wildlife Fund –
United States. They are designed typically for graduate students,
although some may be appropriate for advanced undergraduates. Projects
can be undertaken over the summer (with extensions,
as necessary, into the fall semester). Most projects could also be
extended over the course of one or two semesters as part of a student’s
course work or thesis requirements; advance arrangements would be
necessary with faculty advisors. Internships are typically
unpaid unless otherwise noted, but facilities, library resources, and
computers at WWF headquarters are available. Hours are flexible. To
qualify for an unpaid internship, the student must provide documentation
that they are receiving credit from their university,
or that the work they will be performing is consistent with a course
requirement.
In general, our interns need solid data management and writing skills,
self-motivation, an ability to work both independently and
collaboratively. Specific skills (required or preferred) are listed with
each project, along with the primary contact person.
To apply, please email a cover letter and resume/CV to the contact individual listed for each project, with
“INTERNSHIP” and the relevant internship number listed in the subject line.
1.
Analyzing and Mainstreaming Forest Certification
Intern sought to help consolidate new knowledge and tools at the
business-policy interface for forests and agricultural commodities;
build and synthesize evidence that demonstrates ways to capture
environmental impacts of forest certification; and, mainstream
results by bringing them to the attention of potential users and
decision makers. Specific areas of focus may include:
Using standardized methods for measuring carbon and other co-benefits
Role of various voluntary carbon certification schemes e.g. VCS, CAR
Overlaps with existing certification schemes
The successful applicant will have an interdisciplinary background in
environmental policy or and/or environmental economics. Position
requires excellent research and writing skills, with a preference for
demonstrated expertise in policy analysis or framework
analysis. Must be able to work efficiently and independently.
Experience with agriculture and certification schemes would be a plus.
Stipend: Negotiable
Due date for CV and cover letter:
March 15, 2013
2. Protected Area Research Intern
Protected areas are a cornerstone of global conservation strategy.
Conservation policy assumes that national parks and other protected
areas are permanent fixtures on the landscape, but recent WWF research
demonstrates that a contrary phenomenon is affecting
protected areas worldwide: Protected Area Downgrading, Downsizing, and
Degazettement, or PADDD. WWF is analyzing patterns, trends, and causes
of PADDD, and their implications for the sustainability of conservation
efforts. We are looking for a motivated intern
to help us continue building our understanding of PADDD.
Internship responsibilities may include data collection on PADDD from
existing datasets, popular, gray, and peer-reviewed literatures;
administration of PADDDtracker.org (a wiki-style online database that
integrates spatial mapping tools to collect and deliver
data on PADDD); assistance in editing and producing content for
PADDDtracker; development of new promotional material for outreach to
the conservation community.
This internship is an excellent opportunity to interact with scientists
in WWF-US and around the world; gain exposure to a wide range of
conservation science and policy issues; and play an important part in
contributing to our growing knowledge of the role
of protected areas in conservation.
Minimum Requirements:
A successful candidate
with have strong research, writing, and communication skills; excellent
organizational skills, interest in conservation (particularly in global
protected area systems), and the ability to
work both independently and as part of a team. Knowledge of GIS,
Drupal, database management, reference management databases (such as
EndNote or Mendeley), and website management experience preferred.
Spanish or other language skills preferred.
Duration:
May 2013 through August/September 2013 (Minimum 12 weeks)
Stipend: Unpaid internship. Only enrolled students are eligible for this internship and you must be able to receive
academic credit from your current academic institution.
Due date for CV and cover letter:
April 1, 2013
How to apply:
Please email a resume & cover letter with the subject line “Internship Application” to Roopa
3.
Protected Area Research Intern – Democratic republic of Congo
Protected areas are a cornerstone of global conservation strategy.
Conservation policy assumes that national parks and other protected
areas are permanent fixtures on the landscape, but recent WWF research
demonstrates that a contrary phenomenon is affecting
protected areas worldwide: Protected Area Downgrading, Downsizing, and
Degazettement, or PADDD. WWF is analyzing patterns, trends, and causes
of PADDD, and their implications for the sustainability of conservation
efforts. We are looking for a motivated intern
to help us continue building our understanding of PADDD in the
Democratic republic of Congo (DRC).
Internship responsibilities may include data collection on PADDD from
existing datasets, archival legal documents, and popular, gray, and
peer-reviewed literatures; will include review of legal documents
(including microfilm) at the Library of Congress in Washington
DC.
This internship is an excellent opportunity to interact with scientists
in WWF-US and around the world; gain exposure to a wide range of
conservation science and policy issues; and play an important part in
contributing to our growing knowledge of the role
of protected areas in conservation.
Minimum Requirements:
A successful candidate with have strong research, writing, and
communication skills; excellent organizational skills, interest in
conservation (particularly in African protected area systems), and have
the ability to work both independently and as part of a
team. Fluency in French necessary. Knowledge of GIS and database
management preferred.
Duration:
May 2013 through August/September 2013. (Minimum 12 weeks)
Stipend:
TBD.
Due date for CV and cover letter: April 1, 2013 or until filled.
How to apply: Please email a resume & cover letter with the subject line “Internship Application -
DRC” to Roopa
4. Getting conservation to scale: Research Intern
Despite billions of dollars invested, “getting to scale” remains a
fundamental challenge for conservation donors and practitioners.
Effective community-based projects often struggle to deliver
national-scale results, while a well-recognized “implementation
gap” frequently exists between regional conservation plans and action.
Occasionally, however, a conservation intervention will have widespread
adoption and implementation that transforms the relationship between
people and nature across large areas. Understanding
why an intervention scales up is essential to evidence-based conservation policy and practice.
Internship responsibilities will include:
Review the peer-reviewed social science literature on “getting to scale”, employing a conservation lens.
Provide support to identify specific conservation interventions which
have been scaled up, to better understand the patterns of adoption.
This work will help contribute building our understanding of the social
factors that determine spatial patterns and temporal trends in the
adoption and implementation of conservation policies and practices.
Minimum Requirements:
A successful candidate with have strong research, writing, and
communication skills; excellent organizational skills, interest in
conservation (particularly in global protected area systems), and the
ability to work both independently and as part of a team.
Knowledge of GIS and database management experience strongly preferred.
Duration:
May 2013 through August/September 2013 (Minimum 12 weeks)
Stipend: Unpaid internship. Only enrolled students are eligible for this internship and you must be able to receive
academic credit from your current academic institution.
Due date for CV and cover letter:
April 1, 2013.
How to apply: Please email a resume & cover letter with the subject line “Internship Application: Getting
conservation to scale” to Roopa Krithivasan at
roopa.krithivasan@wwfus.org
5. Evaluating forest certification: Does certification reduce regional deforestation or degradation?
Tropical forests are the store-houses of most of the world’s
biodiversity and carbon dioxide, but have also been under the threat of
deforestation and degradation for many decades. In response to the
rising commercial pressure on forestland, forest certification
(e.g. Forest Stewardship Council) was developed as a conservation tool
to ensure sustainable management of production forests. To better
understand the effectiveness of this policy instrument, we seek an
intern to help conduct a preliminary evaluation on the
degree to which forest certification may have led to a decrease in the
amount of regional deforestation or degradation.
Specific areas of focus may include:
Impact evaluation research design, using spatial counter-factual areas
to set up our comparison/assessment Remote sensing analyses of select
countries or sub-national regions, comparing FSC areas, connectivity,
and deforestation (degradation) rates. Countries
may include Peru, Indonesia, Cameroon, Costa Rica or Colombia Exploring
connections with carbon markets and links to avoided deforestation
carbon emissions estimates Exploring links to agricultural production
and the agricultural-forest frontier with respect
to forest conversion and indirect forest loss.
The successful applicant will meet the following requirements:
Interdisciplinary background in relevant fields, such as conservation
biology, spatial ecology, spatial statistics Excellent GIS and remote
sensing skills
Excellent research, writing, and analytical skills Ability to work efficiently and independently
Demonstrated knowledge of tropical forests, forest certification, or other forest management approaches preferred
Knowledge of impact evaluation methods preferred Proficiency in Spanish is a plus.
Stipend:
Paid-internship
Duration: May 2013 through August 2013
Hours: Negotiable
Due date for CV and cover letter:
April 1, 2013
6. U.S. Climate Change Intern
The WWF climate change team seeks an intern to assist in the development
and advocacy of strong US action on climate change. The intern will
assist with WWF’s
Earth Hour City Challenge
(EHCC) around adaptation, emissions reduction, renewable energy and
public engagement. They will contribute to the formation and execution
of a monitoring and evaluation plan used to measure the effectiveness of
the EHCC program as a tool to engage publics,
motivate local action and increase support for climate change policy
Internship responsibilities may include research, writing & analysis
on various U.S. cities, their climate change plans (with a specific
focus on adaptation, renewable energy and public outreach) and local
climate advocacy groups; crafting communication materials
targeting cities and other audiences; working with local climate
advocacy groups and their staff/membership; performing research into
news archives; communication with local government staff; compiling
database of findings, and working with WWF staff on determining
data needs and program assessment strategy.
Requirements for the position include: Interest in climate change,
environmental policy, economics, city policy or other related field;
interest and willingness to learn about campaigns and public engagement;
excellent written and verbal communications skills;
ability to work in a fast-paced environment, collaboratively and
independently; strong interpersonal skills crucial for developing
working relationships internally and externally; strong organizational
skills; and attention to detail.
Stipend: Unpaid. The intern must receive academic credit through his/her university for their work. Expected to
work at least 25-30 hours per week.
Due date for CV and cover letter: March 15th, 2013,
applications reviewed as received
7. Renewable Energy Intern – Scaling up corporate demand for renewable energy
Intern sought to help research and advance corporate demand for
renewable energy. Companies have significant potential to drive
voluntary use of renewable energy; many have set specific goals to
increase renewable energy use and are making progress toward meeting
them but are also encountering barriers. WWF’s renewable energy work is
focused on helping companies overcome barriers to scaling up their use
of renewable energy, including addressing awareness, policy, finance and
accounting barriers. Internship responsibilities
will focus on gathering information and data on corporate renewable
energy demand, related goals, and corporate progress in meeting goals.
Some research and analysis may also be required on policy and green
power programs.
The successful applicant will have an interdisciplinary background in
environmental policy, renewable energy, climate change, business
sustainability and/or corporate social responsibility. Position requires
excellent research and writing skills, with a preference
for experience in renewable energy and business engagement. Must be
able to work efficiently and independently, remaining flexible to tasks
and shifting priorities. Expected to work at least 25-30 hours per week.
Flexible schedule.
Stipend:
Course credit for full-time student
Due date for CV and cover letter:
April 1, 2013
8. Spatial analysis of ecosystem services
Intern(s) sought to work on mapping ecosystem services using InVEST
(Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs), an ArcGIS
based modeling tool developed by the Natural Capital Project
http://www.naturalcapitalproject.org/InVEST.html). Interns will work on one or more of the following:
Compile spatial and other
data relevant to ecosystem services in WWF priority sites, especially
the Greater Mekong region, the Eastern Himalayas (Nepal, Bhutan),
Brazil, Mozambique, United States, and potentially
other locations. Parameterize InVEST models using a range of sources,
including scientific literature review, Internet searches and contacting
experts.
Format spatial data sets for use with InVEST;
Run InVEST models for a range of ecosystem services under current land
use patterns and future scenarios, and analyze spatial variation in
these services.
Provide feedback on InVEST that will contribute to its further development, and help improve the documentation.
Provide technical support to WWF staff in mapping ecosystem services
This is a great opportunity to gain experience in spatial analysis and
ecosystem services. A minimum of two semesters ArcGIS coursework, or
equivalent work experience required. Optional but helpful: prior
experience with ecosystem services, and advanced spatial
analysis skills (including remote sensing). Must be able to work
independently (e.g., following up on leads for data sources,
troubleshooting technical issues). Graduate students are preferred.
Stipend: Negotiable
Due date for CV and cover letter: Applications reviewed as received
9. Science-Policy Intern – Integrating ecosystem services into decision-making
Intern(s) sought to help consolidate new knowledge and tools at the
science-policy interface for ecosystem services; build and synthesize
evidence that demonstrates the impact of ecosystem service approaches;
and, mainstream results by bringing them to the
attention of potential users and decision makers.
Specific areas of focus may include:
evaluating the impact of ecosystem service approaches and capacity
building mainstreaming ecosystem services into public and private sector
decision-making institutional and policy analysis
scenario
development
connecting
ecosystem services to human wellbeing
The successful applicant will have an interdisciplinary background in
environmental policy, geography, political economy, economics,
organizational development, pedagogy and/or ecology. Position requires
excellent research, writing and communication skills.
Must be able to work efficiently and independently. Experience with
ecosystem services and GIS would be a plus.
Stipend: Negotiable
Due date for CV and cover letter:
March 15, 2012
Contact:
Emily McKenzie,
emily.mckenzie@wwfus.org
