Many Internship Opportunities at Conservation International

Internship Opportunities
April 2009
Conservation International (CI) offers internships for graduate and undergraduate students who will contribute to various projects in conservation science, policy and outreach, sustainable business practices, and environmental stewardship. Required hours are project-dependent and will be negotiated between student and mentor. Most internships are unpaid. If students are interested in receiving credit for their work at CI, they should obtain their academic institution’s requirements and discuss these with their mentor. To apply for an internship, please email a cover letter detailing your interests along with a CV/resume to the point of contact (POC) listed under the internship using the subject line, Internship Application.

Assessing Ecosystem Vulnerability to Climate Change
The Center for Applied Biodiversity Sciences (CABS) is seeking an intern to assist with assessing ecosystem vulnerability to climate change. Ecosystems and the services they contribute to human wellbeing have recently come to the fore as a key research theme in conservation and development. There is, however, currently a dearth of understanding of how climate change may impact individual ecosystems, their component species and the ecological processes that define them. Which ecosystems for example are likely to be most susceptible to climate change, and which face the greatest degree of exposure? Using the subset of Global 200 ecoregions across Africa, the intern will synthesize available information from the scientific and grey literature in order to identify critical biotic and/or abiotic drivers that underlie the stability and function of individual ecosystems (e.g. fire frequency in the Fynbos of South Africa; number of cloud days in the montane forests of the Rift; grazing intensity of large herbivores in the Savanna biome). They will then utilize the latest data on climatic shifts (e.g. “novel” and “disappearing” climates), together with assessments of current ecosystem threat (e.g. percentage of ecoregion already transformed) to evaluate the potential magnitude of climate change impacts on identified drivers. This will allow a unique first-cut assessment of ecoregion vulnerability across Africa and identification of those systems most likely to face potentially catastrophic collapse and consequent loss of critical services. It is envisaged that this work will lead to co-authorship on a peer-reviewed publication.
Qualifications:
Good analytical skills
Use of Web of Science/internet data-mining
Genuine familiarity with GIS
Demonstrated knowledge of climate change issues and impacts
Ability to think outside-the-box
POC: David Hole, dhole@conservation.org

Carbon Mitigation in New Caledonia
The New Caledonian Program seeks French-speaking intern to assist with their carbon mitigation program. Recenser les Standards et Références; avec des exemples concrets et pertinents de projets de Compensation Carbone; Décrire les actions éligibles dans le cadre d’un Plan Carbone provincial (Réduction des émissions dues a la déforestation, séquestration CO2, adaptation au changement climatique…); Réaliser les estimations préliminaires: Stocks de Carbone organique (forets, savanes, récifs): Biblio + Travail SIG, Emissions actuelles et projetées: Biblio + Travail SIG (p/r Feux de brousse) + Interviews (émissions industrielles), Capacité de séquestration de Carbone & de réduction des émissions dues à la déforestation: Travail SIG, Coûts et faisabilité des différentes actions éligibles; Identifier les bases de réflexion pour les implications juridiques, commerciales et foncières & l’évaluation des risques; Participer aux Recommandations pour: Mise en place des opérations pilotes de reboisement, Identification des études complémentaires; Contribuer a la rédaction de l’avant-projet détaillé.
Qualifications:
Master of Science – Proficiency in GIS and CO2 mitigation schemes – French is compulsory
Maitrise d’ArcGIS
Lecture courante de l’anglais et du français
Expérience et goût pour la bibliographie en fonds documentaires et sur internet.
Esprit de synthèse, force de proposition et capacités rédactionnelles
Connaissances en matière de gestion forestière, mécanismes de compensation Carbone, droit de l’environnement et en gestion participative des ressources naturelles.
Permis B
POC: Francois Tron, ftron@conservation.org

Climate Change Impacts on Biodiversity in Papua New Guinea
The Center for Applied Biodiversity Sciences (CABS) is seeking an intern to provide HQ support for a field project in Papua New Guinea that attempts to measure climate change impacts on biodiversity. HQ-based support of literature research, bibliography-building, compilation and analysis of data coming in from field and of historical datasets of vertebrate distributions along an elevational cline in Papua New Guinea. Objective is to document elevational range shifts of species over time.
Qualifications:
Undergraduate science majors in junior or senior year a minimum; science students either enrolled or graduated from a Masters Program preferred
Must be independent and able to work on the project in absence of mentor
Competent user of EndNote and Access preferred
Interests should include, if possible: tropical ecology, community ecology
POC: Bruce Beehler, bbeehler@conservation.org

Conservation Cost-Benefit Analysis
The Center for Applied Biodiversity Sciences (CABS) is seeking an intern to assist with conservation cost-benefit analysis. Systematic conservation planning has developed sophisticated methods for the allocation of effort in protecting important sites. However, these methods also need to be scaled up to preserve landscape level processes in order to allow the persistence of biodiversity overall. Our work aims at developing a framework for optimizing conservation investment across landscapes, as well as sites, to meet explicit targets for the reduction of aggregate extinction risk. The intern would be part of a larger collaboration with Conservation International and researchers at the University of Gent (Belgium) and colleagues, aimed at determining how to lower the extinction risk of threatened, forest-dependent bird species with the lowest overall ratio of costs to benefits. The intern’s role in this work would be determining the optimal network of key biodiversity areas (KBAs) that could be connected into a single network at the lowest economic cost. The work developed as part of the internship would be used later in a peer-reviewed publication that the intern could co-author.
Qualifications:
Strong theoretical foundations in mathematical optimization
Proficiency with optimization software including AMPL/CPLEX, MARXAN or other packages
GIS software (ArcGIS)
POC: Elizabeth Selig, eselig@conservation.org

Conservation Planning for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services
The Center for Applied Biodiversity Sciences (CABS) is seeking an intern to assist with conservation planning for biodiversity and ecosystem services. Much research attention has been directed towards developing systematic conservation planning approaches to identify priority areas for conservation of biodiversity. However, our understanding of the extent these priority areas for biodiversity will conflict with or reinforce priorities for ecosystem services is still immature. We’re using data on the global distribution of mammal, bird, reptile, and amphibian species; data on selected ecosystem services (i.e. carbon storage, hydrological services) and conservation planning software to explore the potential for synergies and trade-offs between conservation of biodiversity and ecosystem services. Key intern responsibilities will be data preparation, conservation planning analyses (GIS, relevant conservation planning software) and analyzing results; and general collaboration on the broader project, including potential coauthorship of a peer-reviewed publication.
Qualifications:
Strong analytical skills
Demonstrated proficiency with GIS software (ArcGIS) and conservation planning software (e.g. Marxan)
Strong theoretical foundations in systematic conservation planning
POC: Frank Larsen, flarsen@conservation.org

Digital Strategies
The Strategic Marketing + Global Communications Division seeks an intern to work with the team to format and develop the content on conservation.org and enhance conservation.org webpages with links and supporting material. This position will gain an understanding of CI's content management system, search engine optimization, and other digital technology strategies. Opportunities for technical training include Sharepoint, Convio, Google Analytics & Adwords programs, and Omniture Hitbox software. The intern will produce and optimize legacy press releases and feature stories for the new website, ensure link-rich and searchable web content, format and prepare accompanying photo materials, and work with team members to improve web measurements including search functionality and daily traffic on conservation.org. Other opportunities may be available as time and organizational needs allow. Specific tasks include reviewing, editing and formatting web content; optimizing searchability and richness of web pages throughout the site; editing photos and incorporating these photos into conservation.org content via CI's content management system; working with Digital Strategies team to develop and implement an inline linking system and updating links to correspond with new conservation.org content.
Qualifications:
Interest in web development and/or interactive web technologies
Excellent written communication and attention to detail
Experience with Photoshop (preferred)
Knowledge of HTML

POC: Jen Maceyko, webteam@conservation.org
GIS Analysis on Global Opportunity Cost for Timber Products
The Center for Applied Biodiversity Sciences (CABS) is seeking an intern to assist with literature review and spatial analysis. Specifically, the intern will gather literature on market price for timber products with a focus on Hotspots and high biodiversity wilderness areas (HBWA), review literature on transportation cost and perform spatial analyses of costs of transportation by roads and rivers.
Qualifications:
Graduate work in conservation biology, economics, forestry
Experience with scientific research
GIS skills
POC: Fabiano Godoy, fgodoy@conservation.org

Global News Media
The Strategic Marketing + Global Communications Division seeks an intern to work with the News Media Team at CI Headquarters to track placements of earned news coverage worldwide, and helping to analyze the news coverage for reports to CI executives. The intern will monitor news coverage and preparing clip books and analysis reports of coverage.
Qualifications:
Will be trained to utilize Vocus software
Good working knowledge of search engines
Ability to use programs that can make attractive documents, such as Adobe Acrobat
POC: Lisa Bowen, lbowen@conservation.org

Global Strategies for Conservation of Evolutionary History
The Center for Applied Biodiversity Sciences (CABS) is seeking an intern to assist with global strategies for conservation of evolutionary history. Global conservation prioritization strategies such as biodiversity “hotspots” are derived from data on irreplaceability (for example, numbers of endemic species, often of a single taxon) and vulnerability (for example, proportionate habitat loss). However, it is debated whether such priorities serve as useful surrogates for other taxa, or for evolutionary history, which would maximize their option value and evolutionary potential. We’re using data on the global distribution of 27,767 mammal, bird, reptile, and amphibian species and recent randomization and optimization techniques to test how effectively hotspots capture multi-taxon species-level endemism and whether hotspots are useful surrogates for evolutionary history. Key intern responsibilities include completion (~100 species) of a bird distribution database using GIS in consultation with printed distribution maps; analyses in MS Access and Excel; and general collaboration on the broader project, including potential coauthorship of a peer-reviewed publication.
Qualifications:
Strong GIS and analytical skills
Demonstrated proficiency with GIS software
Experience with quantitative analysis in Excel
Strong written and verbal communication skills
Experience with MS Access or other relational database preferred
POC: Will Turner, wturner@conservation.org

Image Library
To help us organize and make better use of our photos, the Strategic Marketing + Global Communications Division (SMGC) is looking for a volunteer photography intern. This position is unpaid and extremely flexible. Depending on the needs of the candidate, it may be a part-time arrangement—days and times to be determined—and it may be short- or long-term. We do request a minimum of a 40 hour commitment to warrant the investment in training on our part. The job responsibilities will include updating CI’s existing digital asset management tool (image library) by maintaining image rights in library, removing duplicates, identifying and correcting inaccurate captions (this will be done with the support of technical editors), adding captions, keywords and copyright information where appropriate and uploading images into the image library. The photography intern will also be asked to provide feedback on the functionality of the image library to be incorporated into future improvements.
Qualifications:
Some digital photography experience required
Fairly high degree of comfort with computers and technology required
Familiarity with Macintosh platform preferred
Knowledge of Adobe Photoshop and Bridge
Self-starter and team player
POC: Karen Mikosz, kmikosz@conservation.org

IUCN Red List Assessments for Marine Species
The Center for Applied Biodiversity Science’s Biodiversity Assessment Unit seeks an intern to work on IUCN Red List assessments for marine species. The primary functions of this internship will be in assisting in literature research of marine species and threats to feed into IUCN Red List assessments which measure threats of extinction. This will involve literature review, and data manipulation within a database. Some work will involve cleaning post-workshop and pre-workshop databases for scientific content. The work may also involve some basic GIS with species distribution shapefiles. Excellent communication skills are needed for corresponding with expert scientists involved in the program. May also be asked to help organize workshops abroad in terms of logistics and so will require excellent organization skills. May involve some administration assistance.
Either have or are currently carrying out a Masters degree in marine biology, zoology or another relevant biological sciences degree. Undergraduate students with required skills will also be considered.
Knowledge of marine species and ecology
Research skills - literature mining
Database management and experience
Computer skills – Access and Excel etc.
GIS skills useful, and good knowledge of global geography
Excellent written and spoken English. Other languages a bonus.
POC: Suzanne Livingstone, slivingstone@conservation.org www.conservation.org 4 of 6

Ornithological Expeditions in New Caledonia
The New Caledonian Program seeks French-speaking intern to assist with forest expeditions to search for potentially extinct species including bird tagging, bird counting, bird next monitoring, pig radio tracking. The Mont Panie Wilderness Reserve management plan identifies the need for further research on potentially extinct species (2 at local level, 2 at global level). Moreover an invasive control program should start in July 2009 for 5 years, with initial assessment of the environment, with emphasis on birds.
Qualifications:
Bird watching
Ability to mountaineering in tropical rainforest
Some French notions is vital
Preferred qualifications include bird tagging, GIS, French fluency, cross-cultural experiences, statistics
POC: Francois Tron, ftron@conservation.org

Primates Projects
The Office of the President seeks an intern to assist with administrative tasks related to primates research. Duties include updating databases and filing of primate research (reprints, journal articles); scanning and uploading primate newsletters and other information to Primate Specialist Group website, tracking new primate species and Top 25 Endangered Primates in the news media and other sources; scanning/labeling/filing primate slides and digital images.
High school graduate; some college preferred
Photoshop, Microsoft Access and Excel
POC: Jill Lucena, jlucena@conservation.org

Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD)
The Center for Applied Biodiversity Science (CABS) seeks an intern to work on REDD projects. Nearly 20% of global greenhouse gas emissions originate from deforestation. Parties to the UNFCCC are negotiating a mechanism for Reduction of Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD). Quantitative economic analysis of REDD reference level design options is critical for designing a REDD mechanism that is effective, efficient, and equitable. The Collaborative Modeling Initiative on REDD Economics1 has developed a free, transparent and accessible spreadsheet tool to support UNFCCC negotiations on REDD. This tool, the Open Source Impacts of REDD Incentive Spreadsheet (OSIRIS), allows users to compare the emissions reduction and financial impacts of alternative approaches to setting REDD reference levels. More information on OSIRIS can be found at http://www.conservation.org/osiris. Intern will use OSIRIS, a cutting-edge economic model and Excel spreadsheet tool, to provide quantitative input to the UNFCCC negotiations on REDD. Intern will provide research assistance to published articles addressing questions such as: How would different REDD reference level designs contribute to emissions reductions, accounting for deforestation displacement risk (“leakage”)? What are the implications if not all countries are ready to participate in a REDD mechanism immediately? How do design implications differ for a REDD fund of a fixed size rather than a REDD market with a fixed credit price? Additionally, intern will assist in responding to requests from negotiating parties (countries) for quantitative country-specific information on emissions reductions, avoided deforestation, and revenue under alternative REDD mechanism designs.
Qualifications:
Two or more years of university in a quantitative field (math, economics, natural science, engineering)
Experience with MS Excel required
Experience or interest in economics preferred
Interest in forest conservation and international development preferred
Ability to translate short technical documents into Spanish, French, or Portuguese preferred but not necessary
POC: Jonah Busch, jbusch@conservation.org

Threat Status of Alliance for Zero Extinction Sites
The Center for Applied Biodiversity Sciences (CABS) is seeking an intern to assist with the threat status of Alliance for Zero Extinction sites. The Alliance for Zero Extinction (AZE), a partnership of nearly 70 non-governmental environmental organizations, has identified 595 terrestrial sites that harbor the sole remaining populations of 794 Endangered and Critically Endangered species. We’re using various spatially explicit data sets to understand the threat status of these critical sites. To assess threat we will (depending on data availability) look at deforestation, projected human population, climate change and other factors such as resource extraction. Key intern responsibilities include searching and screening for suitable datasets, GIS analyses and general collaboration on the broader project.
Qualifications:
Demonstrated competence using search engines like the Web of Science and Google Scholar
Strong analytical skills
Demonstrated proficiency with GIS software (ArcGIS)
POC: Frank Larsen, flarsen@conservation.org

Threatened Species, Priority Sites for Conservation
The Center for Applied Biodiversity Science (CABS) seeks an intern to assist with threatened species data. The Alliance for Zero Extinction (AZE) www.zeroextinction.org is an alliance of 63 biodiversity conservation organizations in 22 countries that collectively aim to avoid species extinctions by identifying and protecting the last remaining habitats of Earth’s most endangered species. To date, the Alliance has identified 595 sites worldwide where one or more Endangered or Critically Endangered species, as defined on the IUCN Red List, finds its last known refuge. As a member of the Alliance for Zero Extinction, Conservation International is helping to update the original list of AZE species from 2005 with current data. This internship would be involved with updating the 2005 species data to reflect the current (2008) IUCN Red List data, as well as helping to coordinate expert review and comment on AZE species and sites through e-mail and phone.
Qualifications:
Current graduate student in biology, environmental studies, ecology, or equivalent
Experience with MS Access or other database software, especially building queries
Knowledge of the Alliance for Zero Extinction and the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species also useful
GIS knowledge would also be useful, and interest in conservation in the tropics
POC: Matt Foster, mfoster@conservation.org

Water Related Ecosystem Services: Analysis of Risk and Vulnerable Areas
The Center for Applied Biodiversity Science (CABS) seeks an intern to assist in analysis for a research project focusing on ecosystem services, specifically water provision, water quality and flood protection. The specific project is to identify areas that are vulnerable to storms and floods resulting from storms, both currently and using climate change scenarios, and combine this with some population, environmental and economic information to understand areas of growing risk to climate change. The project that the intern would work on will be to identify areas where vulnerable human populations live and would be affected by climate change, using geo-spatial, statistical and analytical methods. The intern will help with the identification, mapping and analysis associated with examining these areas. The intern would have an interest in the human dimensions and water-related effects of climate change, be interested in GIS analysis at a high level and be interested in co-authoring the paper that will result from this analysis.
Qualifications:
High proficiency at GIS software (ArcGIS)
Strong statistical skills—Excel and/or statistical package (SAS or STATA)
Ability to use search engines such as Web of Science, Econlit and social science search engines
POC: Nalini Rao, nrao@conservation.org