Ecosystem Services in the Eastern Arc Mountains of Tanzania: socio-economic dimensions

The focus of this work in on identifying the socio economic makeup of the people/wards/villages in the Eastern Arc Mountains. Drawing on several household budget surveys this work would help to disaggregate current TZ poverty mapping efforts and move from the large scale district mapping to a finer grained estimation of poverty. Here poverty is broadly defined, and important aspects of poverty include income, education, ownership of assets, infant mortality, food insecurity, access to fresh water, access to health infrastructure etc... Information for this is scattered, among academic articles, government reports and INGO assessments. Despite the fact that a comprehensive study is years away from reality, coordinating the existing information and making it spatially explicit will highlight gaps, and will give an indicative picture of a broad vision of poverty in the Eastern Arcs. This work will provide a critical first step in improving our understanding of the role of ecosystem services in the quality of life for people in the Eastern Arc. Preferred experience: some social science background, ArcGIS

Stipend: unpaid

Due date for CV and cover letter: April 1, 2008

Contact: Neil Burgess (Neil.Burgess@wwfus.org)