PCAsia is seeking an active and motivated candidate to fill the position of Consultant on Legal Analysis of Mangrove Governance with a high profile and dynamic organization.
PARLIAMENTARY CENTRE OF ASIA
The Parliamentary Centre of Asia (PCAsia), established in early 2021 in Phnom Penh, is the successor of the Parliamentary Institute of Cambodia (PIC) founded in 2011, a transition that reflects an expansion of activities with Parliaments across Southeast Asia. The mandate of PCAsia is therefore to contribute to the strengthening of Southeast Asian Parliaments through capacity building of their staff and Members, based on the demands or requests of each Parliament within a framework of south-south and north-south cooperation. It draws on the expertise of national, regional, and international partners (Parliaments and research centres).
BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON THE RELEVANT PROGRAMME
Environment and Climate Change programme (ECC) works to contribute to achieving the mission of PCAsia which is to strengthen the performance of Southeast Asian Parliaments upon their requests through capacity building of parliamentary staff and the exchange of information and experiences related to the issues of environment and climate change. The programme takes inspiration from the statement from the IPU during the Parliamentary Meeting at COP 22 in November 2015 that emphasized the importance of investing in building the capacity of parliaments as a key prerequisite for sound legislation and action to address concerns over the environment and climate change.
In 2023, ECC received a project called “Parliamentary Studies on the Conservation of Mangroves in 2023-2024” funded by LANDESA with the aim of supporting the parliamentary role of monitoring and improving public policies in the areas of mangrove governance for sustainable livelihoods and climate response. This project lasts from July 2023-June 2025 and aims to deliver four expected outputs:
- Desk research to produce a background paper on an overview of mangrove loss, mangrove tenure conflicts, challenges and lessons learnt on mangrove governance in Cambodia, Thailand and Indonesia
- Legal analysis of the Cambodia mangrove governance issues
- Regional Parliamentary Expert Hearing Seminar on strengthening mangrove governance to support sustainable livelihoods and climate response in Cambodia, Thailand and Indonesia
- Parliamentary outreach activities to organise parliamentary fact-finding outreach activities to priority locations so that Parliamentarians can make contact with the key stakeholders involved in the identified areas.
POSITION DESCRIPTION
Consultant on Legal Analysis of Mangrove Governance is responsible for producing a legal analysis paper and a summary report of the Cambodian mangrove governance issues based on the findings from the Background Paper. She/he will also be responsible for addressing comments or inputs from Landesa’s expert and/or PCAsia’s reviewer for quality assurance and control. She/he will also be required to present the legal analysis findings to a regional parliamentary expert hearing seminar to be organized in May/June 2024.
TIMEFRAME (intermittent)
01 March – 30 June 2024 with a total of 20 days
MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES AND TASKS (In tentative time order)
| # | Responsibility/Task | Location | Start/End Date | Working Days |
| 1 | Producing a legal analysis paper for Landesa that analyzes relevant laws and policies as identified in the background paper that govern mangrove conservation, land tenure, coastal management, forestry and fishery issues, livelihoods and climate change (i.e. forestry laws, fishery laws, protected area laws, coastal laws, natural resource laws, land laws etc.) to identify gaps and overlaps between those laws in support for sustainable mangrove conservation and community rights to mangrove forests (English) | Phnom Penh | 01 March-15 April, 2024 | 12 |
| 2 | Addressing comments/feedback from Landesa and/or PCAsia’s reviewer and engage in any meetings between Landesa, PCAsia or parliaments on the subject if required | Phnom Penh | April, 2024 | 2 |
| 3 | Producing a 5-page summary report from the legal analysis paper (English and Khmer) | Phnom Penh | April, 2024 | 4 |
| 4 | Preparation and deliver a 20-minute presentation and engage in well-informed discussion on the subject with MPs and other stakeholders at the regional parliamentary expert hearing PCAsia Seminar | Phnom Penh | May/June, 2024 | 2 |
EXPECTED DELIVERABLE AND OUTPUTS
- A legal analysis paper in English
- A summary report in both English and Khmer
- PowerPoint presentation on legal analysis on mangrove governance in Cambodia
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS, SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE
Essential
- Experience conducting Cambodia legal analysis on land laws and other related laws on mangrove issues (e.g. forestry laws, fishery laws, protected area laws, coastal laws or natural resource laws etc.), following parliamentary research guidelines or protocols.
- Have strong understanding on operating research analysis for parliament in a strictly neutral, non-partisan manner with interdisciplinary perspectives.
- Hold a degree in laws, political science, or related fields,
- Have good understanding of Cambodian parliamentary structure and operations in the process of supporting legislative drafting and reforms, oversight and representative functions,
- Have strong capacity in policy dialogues and presentation skills to promote mutual respect among parliamentarians, sectoral ministries, policy makers, development partners and/or CSOs in understanding ecological and scientific principles related to mangrove ecosystems.
- Strong spoken and written English and Khmer
Desirable
- A minimum of 6 years of legal and/or policy analysis experience.
- A strong understanding of parliamentary research guideline and protocols
- Fluency in Khmer; strong working knowledge of English.
APPLICATION INFORMATION
Interested applicants should send a cover letter and CV to [email protected] and expectation fee. The application deadline is 12 February 2024. Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.