Research Support on Portuguese Legal Framework regarding Coastal Management

Volunteering

Overview

Assist in researching the Portuguese legal framework on coastal management.

You have:

• Ability to conduct legal and policy analysis particularly in the fields of environmental law, coastal management, climate change policy, and spatial planning.
• Strong research and academic writing skills; ability to collect information from multiple sources and synthesize it into concise, well-structured, and analytical summaries.
• Understanding of Portugal’s governance structure; ability to explain and compare the roles of the State, regions, municipalities, and other stakeholders.
• Knowledge of climate adaptation and coastal risks; familiarity with concepts such as coastal retreat, erosion, flooding, coastal artificialization, and adaptation planning.
• Understanding of nature-based solutions (NbS); especially in the context of coastal adaptation and ecosystem-based approaches.
• Ability to review policy documents and legislation; including laws, national strategies, adaptation plans, municipal plans, and EU policy frameworks.
• Strong English writing proficiency; as the deliverables are expected to follow a professional and analytical policy-summary format.

Contract

This is a UNV contract. More about UNV contracts.

Within the "coastal management" thematic, we have two objectives : - reduce coastal artificialization by fighting against new coastal construction - promote nature based solutions for coastal management instead of traditional "grey" measures

We are currently writing a report on nature based solution (no sepcific target, mainly internal) to gather all the exeprtise we have on the subject, so that this document becomes an internal reference. We detail the issues in France and at the EU level, and also want to highlight some specifities in Spain an Portugal. In the end, it will allow us to develop a global strategy regarding nature based solutions and fight angainst coastal constructions, and more specific actions depending in the context of each country.

The online volunteer will need to :

• gather in an excel document the Portuguese websites that are particularly relevant regarding coastal management and nature based solutions in Portugal, the most important laws, and if relevant, the links to scientific studies, with a short summary of the information we can find on each page.

-Write a summary on coastal management in Portugal, including the existing legal framework addressing coastal management. Indicate whether there is a specific coastal law, a climate law containing provisions for coastal areas, and explain how urbanization laws address coastal risks. Clarify the respective roles of the State and the regions, identify which authorities are responsible for designing local coastal management plans, and explain how these plans are reported, including their frequency and reporting bodies. Beyond municipalities, specify which actors may own coastal land and be responsible for managing coastal areas and coastal risks (such as public institutions, private owners, or NGOs). Also examine whether there are laws or plans specifically addressing coastal risk management, planned coastal retreat, and the reduction or limitation of coastal artificialization. Finally, indicate whether there are dedicated public or private funding mechanisms. Maximum length: 6 pages (+ bibliography).

-Write a summary regarding nature-based solutions in Portugal. Explain whether nature-based solutions are specifically mentioned in climate change adaptation plans, and whether they are explicitly referred to in laws or projects related to coastal adaptation. Also indicate whether there are dedicated funding mechanisms supporting the development of nature-based solutions for coastal adaptation. Maximum length: 2 pages (+ bibliography).

• we can have a first virtual meeting to settle the mission

-Ability to conduct legal and policy analysis particularly in the fields of environmental law, coastal management, climate change policy, and spatial planning. -Strong research and academic writing skills; ability to collect information from multiple sources and synthesize it into concise, well-structured, and analytical summaries. -Understanding of Portugal’s governance structure; ability to explain and compare the roles of the State, regions, municipalities, and other stakeholders. -Knowledge of climate adaptation and coastal risks; familiarity with concepts such as coastal retreat, erosion, flooding, coastal artificialization, and adaptation planning. -Understanding of nature-based solutions (NbS); especially in the context of coastal adaptation and ecosystem-based approaches. -Ability to review policy documents and legislation; including laws, national strategies, adaptation plans, municipal plans, and EU policy frameworks. -Strong English writing proficiency; as the deliverables are expected to follow a professional and analytical policy-summary format.

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Potential interview questions

Added 2 months ago - Updated 1 month ago - Source: unv.org