Environmental Law Specialist

Result of Service

To provide technical legal advice to the Government of Panama on the implementation of the Rio Conventions and the Nature Pledge, focused on the draft legal and institutional instruments to formalize the implementation of Panama’s Nature Pledge at the national level including the three necessary components: the administrative instrument for official adoption (component A); the CONACLABIT governance model with its operating protocol (component B), and the Nature Pledge governance regulations (component C). Together, these instruments constitute the minimum legal and institutional framework required to activate Phase I of the Nature Pledge roadmap.

Work Location

Home-based

Expected duration

4 Months part time

Duties and Responsibilities

Background: The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is the leading global environmental authority that sets the global environmental agenda, promotes coherent implementation of the environmental dimension of sustainable development within the United Nations system and serves as an authoritative advocate for the global environment. UNEP is the United Nations system’s lead entity for addressing environmental issues at the global and regional level. The overall objective of the UNEP’s Law Division is to carry out the functions of UNEP in the field of environmental law, governance, and related policy issues, including those related to Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs). To fulfil its mandate, the work of the Law Division focuses on leading the international community in the progressive development of environmental law; supporting States in the development and implementation of legal, institutional and policy measures that address emerging and important environmental challenges; facilitating cooperation and coordination among MEAs and between UNEP and those agreements; working with MEAs Secretariats to support Parties to the respective MEAs in implementing their treaty obligations; and facilitating policy dialogue among States on issues relating to international environmental law and governance. One of the Law Division’s focus areas is to provide technical assistance and capacity building support to countries to strengthen the development and implementation of environmental law and governance frameworks in a coherent and effective way and to fulfil their obligations as Parties to MEAs. The Montevideo Programme on the Progressive Development and Implementation of Environmental Law serves as a guiding framework for the identification of key environmental law areas and supports the implementation of priority actions in environmental law and governance at the national and regional level. In 2025 Panama presented its Nature Pledge, a strategic framework that maximizes synergies among the three Rio Conventions to which the country is a Party (the Convention on Biological Diversity, the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change).The Nature Pledge represents a comprehensive commitment to address in a synergistic and ambitious manner the environmental challenges faced by the country in terms of climate change, biodiversity and desertification. Through the Nature Pledge, Panama is moving towards a more unified and coordinated environmental governance that will allow it to simultaneously fulfil its commitments on climate change, biodiversity, and combating desertification. This vision responds to the need to overcome fragmented institutional structures and consolidate an articulated, transparent, and participatory system. Panama’s Nature Pledge establishes 30 national targets with a 2035 deadline, organized into a Roadmap with four implementation phases. A dependency analysis of this Roadmap identifies Goal 30 as the goal with the greatest enabling effect. This goal contemplates three separate components: the draft Framework Law on Climate Change and Green Transition (the Framework Law), the National Climate Change, Biodiversity and Land Committee (CONACLABIT), and the formal adoption of the Nature Pledge through an administrative instrument, which can be activated by the Executive Branch without waiting for the Framework Law. To date, none of these components has a formal instrument in force. The three components of the framework are complementary and sequential: the administrative instrument (Component A) establishes the authority; the CONACLABIT model (Component B) defines who makes decisions and how; and the regulations (Component C) put both into practice. UNEP is recruiting an international consultant to support with providing technical legal and policy guidance to formalize the implementation of the Panama Nature Pledge, across all three components of the framework. This work responds to the mandate given to UNEP by resolution 6/6 of the sixth United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) which, inter alia, requested the UNEP Executive Director to: “[…] facilitate coherent and effective implementation of multilateral environmental agreements at the regional and national levels on a Member State driven basis, including through the Fifth Montevideo Programme for the Development and Periodic Review of Environmental Law and through United Nations Environment Programme regional offices [… and …] strengthen cooperation between the United Nations Environment Programme and United Nations country teams, and encourage the latter to mainstream the objectives of multilateral environmental agreements into their work.” Duties and Responsibilities: Under the supervision of the Legal Officer of the Law Division, the consultant will provide specialized technical legal and policy support to the Ministry of Environment of Panama with respect to the Nature Pledge, in particular: - Advice on legal questions relating to the current legal framework and the adoption of the Nature Pledge through the administrative instrument. - Prepare an assessment of existing implementation committees and governance models for integration into the CONACLABIT. - Facilitate consultations with national stakeholders, as relevant. - Provide brief summaries of consultation outcomes, including key comments, areas of consensus and proposed revisions. - Prepare a final consolidated report, including an executive summary and a roadmap for next steps. - Prepare a presentation of the key outcomes and roadmap. The presentation should be suitable for briefing relevant stakeholders, including UN Country Teams, government representatives and MEA focal points. It should also support ongoing discussions and negotiations processes to advance the synergistic and coherent national implementation of the Rio Conventions in international fora, including the Conference of the Parties (COPs).

Qualifications/special skills

An advanced university degree (master’s degree or equivalent) in Environmental Law, Administrative Law, Public International Law or Public Policy is required. A first-level university degree, combined with two (2) additional years of qualifying experience, may be accepted in lieu of an advanced university degree. - A minimum of two (2) years of professional experience in environmental or administrative law, with an emphasis on public policy instruments and institutional design is required. Verifiable experience in drafting executive decrees, ministerial resolutions, regulations, or other high-level regulatory instruments in the environmental field is required. Experience in designing or strengthening inter-institutional coordination mechanisms, technical committees, or multi-stakeholder governance forums is required. Previous experience working with national government entities in Panama and the Rio Conventions is desired. Working knowledge of the UN system and specifically the work of UNEP related to MEAs is desired.

Languages

- Fluency in oral and written English is required. - Fluency in oral and written Spanish is required.

Additional Information

Not available.

No Fee

THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.