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Impacts of Private Forest Investments in Africa

The AEP group at WUR is looking for MSc students who are interested in doing their internship or writing their thesis as part of its project "Impacts of Private Forest Investments in Africa", as part of a project on the evaluation of the economic, social and environmental impacts of private sector investments in planted forests and associated industrial operations in Mozambique and Tanzania.

Private forest sector investments in East Africa are expected to lead to primary outputs in terms of enhanced plantation (i.e. forest management) and industrial operations, and the products thereof, and community development as a secondary output. These outputs are expected to create improved economic (positive impacts on suppliers and customers, workers incomes, increased government revenues and a good return for shareholders), social (improved worker’s living conditions, safer and healthier working conditions, employment, good stakeholder relations and other social outcomes) and environmental outcomes (climate change mitigation/carbon sink). 

Besides, the project also aims at analysing & modelling the regional timber market in East Africa. The project is conducted in collaboration with the Forest and Nature Conservation Policy Group and the Environmental Economics and Natural Resources Group of Wageningen University.

In this project data will be collected through household and worker surveys and through interviews with customers and suppliers. Secondary data on environmental, social and economic parameters will also be included in the analysis. The quantitative data will subsequently be analysed using econometric and qualitative techniques for impact evaluation. The research will involve field work in Tanzania & Mozambique in cooperation with Sokoine University of Agriculture, Tanzania & Universidad Eduardo Mundane, Mozambique. The first round data collection is planned to take place between January-March 2016 in Tanzania and March-May 2016 in Mozambique. 

The student is expected to cover all his/her travel & accommodation costs. 

We DO NOT provide financial assistance for this.