Dear all, please feel free to circulate to potential candidates, e.g. 
with an interest in political ecology and landscape studies.

Early Stage Research posts (leading to PhD)

Two Early Stage Research posts (leading to a PhD) in Human Geography: 
“Resilience in East African Landscapes” at the Department of Human 
Geography, reference number SU FV-1225-13.
Deadline for applications is May 30, 2013.

The department of Human Geography, Stockholm University, announces 2 
Early Stage Research posts, leading to a PhD in Human Geography, within 
a multidisciplinary and multi-partner research project titled Resilience 
in East African Landscapes: Identifying critical thresholds and 
sustainable trajectories – past, present and future (REAL). This is an 
EU funded Marie Curie Initial Training Network (ITN). The project has 
been invited to negotiations by the European Commission (proposal 
606879, REAL). To fulfil Marie Curie mobility requirements applicants 
must at the time of recruitment by the host organisation not have 
resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc) in the 
country of their host organisation for more than 12 months in the 3 
years immediately prior to the reference date. Compulsory national 
service and/or short stays such as holidays are not taken into account. 
Interviews with shortlisted candidates are expected to be conducted 
between 10-13 June, 2013, via skype or google hangout.

The project focus on the temporal, spatial and social dynamics of 
human-landscape interaction in East Africa over the last millennia, with 
particular reference to the Ewaso Basin and Eastern Rift Valley in 
central Kenya, and the Pangani Basin & Amboseli catchment in 
north-eastern Tanzania & south-eastern Kenya. These two areas cover a 
range of environments, social-ecological histories and probable future 
trajectories. In particular, the strong climatic moisture-balance 
gradient associated with the mixed topography between the Rift Valley 
and adjacent uplands creates a mosaic of landscapes covering the full 
range of ecological and economic carrying capacity. A core consideration 
of the project will be on how societies, landscapes and ecosystems have 
responded to climate change both currently and in the past under 
different conditions, so as to better understand how they may respond to 
future climate change.

Early Stage Researchers (ESRs) in this multi-partner project will be 
part of a network of ESRs and senior researchers involving several 
European and African universities and institutions (e.g. University of 
Uppsala, University of York, University of Cologne, Ghent University, 
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Paris, Jomo Kenyatta 
University of Agriculture and Technology, Nairobi, University of Dar es 
Salaam) as well as industry partners. A number of courses and training 
events will be organised within the project and a fieldwork budget will 
be available for the ESRs.
Each ESR will be attached to one of the research projects (A or B) 
described below, and are expected to commence their posts on 1 September 
2013, provided that the required funding is available. Applicants must 
clearly state which project they are primarily interested in. Both 
positions will include several months of fieldwork in relatively remote 
rural locations in Kenya and Tanzania.

Project A: Recent dynamics and current trends in smallholder and large 
scale irrigation farming in the Baringo & Pangani areas
Project description: This project takes as its starting point the 
diverse, widespread and successful irrigation farming by smallholders in 
East Africa’s drylands over the last few centuries. In both study areas, 
smallholder irrigation systems have been affected, to varying degrees, 
by 20th century establishment of large-scale irrigation, i.e. the 
Perkerra scheme in Baringo and recent expansion of irrigation on the 
footslopes of Mt Killimanjaro. A striking characteristic of smallholder 
irrigation systems in these areas are their adaptability and long-term 
resilience in the face of societal, environmental and climatic changes, 
indicating well-functioning governance structures and forward-looking 
investment and management strategies. However, seen from the perspective 
of large-scale schemes and improved irrigation technologies, smallholder 
irrigation is commonly regarded as inefficient and archaic. This project 
will address this paradox by studying areas where small- and large-scale 
systems co-exist, addressing questions related to competition for 
resources, effectiveness of labour regimes, maintenance of landscape 
modifications, knowledge sharing, gender relations, emergence of local 
innovations and technology distribution. Methodologically, the project 
will build on local oral history, documentary records, participatory GIS 
and landscape change analyses (using aerial photographs and satellite 
images).

Project B: Smallholder investments in the “agro-ecological matrix”: the 
role of local dynamics and external forces in the Pangani and Ewaso basins
Project description: An overarching development challenge facing East 
African nations is the need to improve smallholder agricultural 
productivity. However, in addition to crop and timber production, 
smallholder landscapes are increasingly recognized as key areas for 
generation of ecosystem services (e.g., water quality, biodiversity and 
carbon sequestration) through either market mechanisms (e.g. for carbon 
offsetting) or national accounting and regulation policies. In relation 
to these concerns, this project will focus on the productive capacity 
and ecological and social values embedded in heterogeneous smallholder 
landscapes (the “agro-ecological matrix”). It will investigate 
smallholders’ labour processes, management and investments in 
agricultural landscapes. The project will thus, in relation to 
development and environmental policies and market initiatives, 
investigate farmers’ capacities and motivation to invest in 
multi-functional landscapes. Methodologically the project will build on 
focus groups, landscape interviews, participatory GIS and local to 
regional-scale landscape change analysis using remotely sensed data 
(aerial photographs and satellite images).

For further information see announcement at: 
http://www.humangeo.su.se/english/about-us/vacancies/early-stage-research-posts-leading-to-phd-1.131354

Lowe Börjeson, Dept. of Human Geography, 106 91 Stockholm. E-mail: 
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