Deadline: March 15, 2022
The Department of Environmental Social Sciences at ETH Zurich has a vacancy for a PhD Position in Environmental or Ecological Economics (100%, 4 years) within the Swiss National Science Foundation Sinergia Project ‘Transformation toward resilient ecosystems: bridging natural and social sciences (TREBRIDGE)’.
About the PhD Programme
The PhD position is part of one WP in the TREBRIDGE project, where besides the PhD student, there will be a postdoc and three senior scientists involved. Eawag, the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, is a Swiss-based and internationally networked aquatic research institute within the ETH domain (Swiss Federal Institute of Science and Technology). It is committed to the ecologically, economically and socially responsible management of water resources and aquatic ecosystems.
This project addresses the challenge of transforming highly managed Al-pine watersheds toward more resilient ecosystems to meet societal and ecological needs through an inter- and transdisciplinary approach. The project is organized in five work pack-ages (WPs), assembling inter- and transdisciplinary scholars, geologists, geomorphologists, hydrologists, ecologists, economists and policy analysts. The project is highly inter-disciplinary, with many interlinkages between the different WPs. This PhD position therefore offers a great opportunity to interact in an interdisciplinary team with researchers from various Swiss universities and research institutes.
Duties and Responsibilities
- This WP focuses on assessing the monetary and non-monetary value of nature based on societal preferences in three case study regions. More specifically, the prospective PhD student will identify socio-economic factors to be included in the economic analysis and costs of current policy and management practices.
- The PhD student will then assess monetary and non-monetary values of nature for alternative future scenarios, which will differ in terms of resource use/non-use options, trade-offs and climate change impacts.
- This process will include eliciting public preferences for different management alternatives in the case study regions and comparing the economic desirability of future scenarios through cost-benefit analysis. To this end, an online survey, including stated preference valuation methods, will be conducted among the general population living in the case study regions.
- The survey will also aim to capture the non-monetary values of nature (e.g. sense of identity and place) which cannot be expressed in monetary terms. The future scenarios will be developed through a participatory process in another WP, which the team of this WP will also be involved in.
- Apart from regular project meetings, the project foresees three stakeholder workshops, which are expected to provide inputs for this WP and where the results of this WP will be presented.
Eligibility
Applicants for this PhD position are expected to have the following attributes:
- They are looking for a PhD student interested in conducting in-depth, qualitative and quantitative economic research, applied to the ecology, the environment and natural resources. The prospective candidates should have completed or be in the process of completing a master program in economics. Other disciplines may also be considered depending on the skill-set.
- Candidates should have a strong interest in academic research and empirical work. Training in or experience with environmental or ecological economics will be considered an asset.
- The position requires a good command of German and English in speaking and writing. French language skills are an asset.
- Your employment will be contracted according to standard regulations at ETH (funding secured for 4 years). The project will start as soon as possible or upon mutual agreement.
Application
To apply for this position, they look forward to receiving your online application with the following documents:
- a letter of motivation,
- CV,
- diplomas, grades and
- contact details of two referees.
Application Deadline: March 15, 2022
Please note that they exclusively accept applications submitted through their online application portal link below. Applications via email or postal services will not be considered.
Further questions about the position, Questions regarding these positions should be directed to contact Dr Ivana Logar, or Dr Eva Lieberherr (no applications).
For more information, Visit the institution website
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