Graduate Research Assistantship Opportunities

Vaquita conservation in the Gulf of California

Dr. Marcela Vasquez-Leon has obtained a Fulbright Scholar Fellowship to conduct research in the Upper Gulf of California, Mexico during the 2012-2013 academic year. She will research one of the first large-scale applications of Payment for Ecosystem Services in the global South: the PACE-Vaquita program. Started in 2008 by the Mexican government with support from US and Canada, it aims at conserving the “vaquita”, a porpoise endemic to the Upper Gulf of California. The program involves the large-scale application of economic instruments—including a buyout program to shift fishers into other activities. In collaboration with El Colegio de Sonora, she will conduct ethnographic research on the design, implementation, and local impact of this high-profile conservation program. Research will be conducted in three local communities and will focus on fishing households, as well as the institutions, policymakers, and scientists involved in the conservation program.

Dr. Vasquez-Leon is looking for a GRA to provide general assistance in the project and work in collaboration with a Mexican student from the Colegio de Sonora and a small group of BARA interns. The student needs some flexibility during the semester to go to the field with the project’s PI, be it during break from classes or during long weekends (leaving Thursday/Friday returning Sunday/Monday).

Responsibilities of the GRA include:

  • Literature review
  • Assist in fieldwork activities, including data collection, ability to interview and take excellent field notes
  • Assist in data analysis
  • Assist in the preparation of a report
  • Present project results at the SfAA meetings
  • Identify funding sources for further research and outreach initiatives in the communities

The successful candidate must have excellent organizational skills, experience with fieldwork in Latin America, and be fully bilingual in Spanish and English, with good writing skills in both languages. The position will begin in the fall of 2012 continue through May 2013, based on a review in December 2012.

For more information and to apply, obtain an application from Maria Rodriguez, Business Manager, BARA, 316 Anthropology Building, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721. Applications are due by Friday, August 10.

 

Reviewing BARA’s Participation in the Border 2012 Program and Planning for Border 2020

BARA faculty, staff, and students have been involved in the U.S.-Mexico Border 2012 program since its inception in 2003. The Border 2012 program is the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) – Mexican Secretary for Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT) 10-year border program conducted under the auspices of the 1983 La Paz agreement between the U.S. and Mexico and aimed at improving environmental conditions along the border. Several important initiatives in which BARA has participated (e.g,, biodiesel, composting toilets, fibrous concrete) have received grant support from the Border 2012 program. That program ends in 2012; in August the EPA and SEMARNAT will officially initiate the next program, Border 2020. Looking forward to future participation in Border 2020, during the 2011-2012 academic year, BARA faculty and student interns began an assessment of participation in the Border 2012 program along the Arizona-Sonora border in order to better understand its implementation in the region and lessons for future projects there. During this same period, over 20 organizations from northern Sonora and southern Arizona that have worked together under the umbrella of the Asociación de Reforestación en Ambos Nogales (ARAN), a binational collaboration to address environmental problems in ambos (both) Nogales, reorganized and began to establish priorities for the years ahead. BARA faculty, staff, and students have played a key role in ARAN and will continue to participate in this effort.

We are seeking a Graduate Research Assistant who will work with BARA faculty, staff, and student interns and with ARAN member organizations on two ARAN initiatives planned for the fall 2012 semester: the development of bilingual materials and programs for an education center (“eco-casa”) constructed at the Worker Training Center in Nogales, Sonora; and a workshop on fibrous concrete (a mixture of water, sand, waste paper, cement, and lime) to bring together individuals and organizations who have been working over the past several years to develop this material.

Responsibilities of the GRA include:

  • Work with BARA faculty, staff, and student interns to coordinate BARA’s participation in ARAN; participate in training workshops and team meetings, help read student fieldnotes.
  • Work with BARA faculty, staff, and student interns to develop at least one proposal for the Border 2020 program that will address a need identified by participants in ARAN and/or the assessment of the Border 2012 program

The successful candidate will be highly motivated and bilingual in English and Spanish, and will have excellent organizational skills, experience working with community-based organizations, experience working with university students, and familiarity with grant writing. The position will begin in the fall of 2012 continue through June, based on a review in December.

For more information and to apply, obtain an application from Maria Rodriguez, Business Manager, BARA, 316 Anthropology Building, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721. Applications are due by Friday, August 10.