Consultant – Analysis of Perverse Fiscal Incentives to Peatlands

Analyses how taxes, subsidies and other fiscal incentives influence peatland degradation and conservation in the Republic of the Congo and DRC. The consultancy will quantify leakages, consult affected stakeholders and design costed fiscal reforms, conservation instruments and an implementation roadmap.

Department: Biodiversity, Peoples and Landscapes Unit

• Map taxes, subsidies and fiscal instruments affecting land use in Congo Basin peatlands
• Analyse how fiscal frameworks incentivise extraction, agriculture and infrastructure over conservation
• Assess the treatment of ecosystem services, carbon values and biodiversity in fiscal policy
• Quantify fiscal leakages, revenue losses and degradation costs where evidence permits
• Develop costed options for ecological transfers, conservation payments and fiscal reform
• Consult government, business, finance, civil-society and Indigenous and local-community stakeholders
• Align recommendations with national climate, biodiversity and investment processes
• Produce bilingual reports, a policy brief and a stakeholder validation presentation

• Advanced university degree in environmental economics, agricultural economics, public finance, natural resource management or a related field, or bachelor’s degree with two additional years of experience
• At least ten years of progressively responsible experience in fiscal-policy analysis, public finance or environmental economics
• Experience analysing fiscal incentives, tax regimes and economic instruments for natural-resource management, forestry or land use
• Experience addressing policy issues in the Congo Basin or Central Africa and understanding the Republic of the Congo and DRC political economy
• Fluency in written and spoken English and French

• Six-month part-time consultancy
• Work is home-based while retaining the official Nairobi listing duty station