ESP Conference South Africa, 9-15 November 2015 Call for abstracts The call for all abstracts is open. The deadline for abstract submission is approaching soon; for oral presentations 30 June, and for posters 31 July. To prepare your abstract submission, please have a look at the workshop overview webpage. To submit an abstract please select three workshops that best suit the theme of your abstract. When a workshop states 'CLOSED' it means no voluntary contributions can be uploaded to that workshop. ESP8 Program All workshop descriptions have been uploaded onto the website and can be viewed on the workshop overview page. Please note that this is overview can still be subject to change. Registration [...]

Researcher (post-doctoral level) Published: 2015-05-25 Uppsala University is an international research university focused on the development of science and education. Our most important assets are all the individuals who with their curiosity and their dedication makes Uppsala University one of Sweden’s most exciting work places. Uppsala University has 45.000 students, 6,800 employees and a turnover of SEK 6,300 million. Dissemination & Capacity Building for Sustainable Ecosystems and Livelihoods The Department of Archaeology and Ancient History, Uppsala University, wishes to recruit an Experienced Researcher at a post-doctoral level. The position is funded as part of a European Union FP7 Marie Curie [...]

The Global Landscapes Initiative is hiring one or more postdoctoral research fellows to study how the connections between land use change, agriculture, and the environment affect risks to the global food system. Our research group of 10+ people draws on a broad set of skills to identify solutions to major global challenges, publish research in high-profile academic journals, and offers great opportunities for interdisciplinary work. The research is highly collaborative both within the team, with other research groups at the Institute on the Environment, and with other leading academic and non-profit institutions. The Global Landscapes Initiative is part of the [...]

Postdoctoral Research Fellowship:  Environmental and Social Dimensions of the Bio-­Economy Applications are invited for a post-­doctoral research fellowship on the bio-­economy, beginning early 2016. The position will be based in the Department of Environmental and Geographical Science at the University of Cape Town, South Africa as part of the Department of Science and Technology and National Research Foundation Research Chair on Environmental and Social Dimensions of the Bio-economy. We seek an energetic and motivated scholar to join a growing team of researchers working on these issues and to conduct her or his own research within one or more of the following inter-­related themes: access and benefit-­‐sharing, bio-discovery [...]

One fixed-term internship and staff position (until 31 Dec 2016) available at AWARD in Hoedspruit, Limpopo Overview of AWARD and RESILIM-O This opportunity is offered through the Association for Water and Rural Development (AWARD; www.award.org.za) under the RESILIM-O programme. AWARD is a research-based NGO that has had a 15-year focus on water resources policy, management and livelihoods. More recently we have an increased focus on biodiversity. We work on systemic and social learning approaches to water issues at local and catchment-scales nationally and internationally, mainly water-sharing between South Africa and Mozambique. AWARD was awarded a 5-year grant from USAID to implement the [...]

Anticipation is coming to the fore as an emerging field of study that is influencing a wide variety of disciplines. This international conference will explore the interaction among anticipation, uncertainty and complexity. Some questions that we intend to raise are these: When does anticipation occur in behavior and life? What types of anticipation can be distinguished? What structures and processes are necessary for anticipatory action? How can anticipation be modeled? A better and more complete understanding of anticipation and its effects will improve theories and models of individual and collective human behavior and its consequences. The ability to anticipate in complex environments may improve the [...]

Leuphana University Lüneburg (foundation under public law), Faculty of Sustainability invites expressions of interest for 8 new PhD positions within a new, trans-disciplinary project funded by the State of Lower Saxony and Volkswagen Foundation entitled: Leverage Points for Sustainability Transformation: Institutions, People and Knowledge About the project Understanding how changes in interconnected social-ecological systems facilitate the transformation to sustainability represents one of the key challenges of sustainability science. Drawing on insights from systems thinking and solution-oriented transdisciplinary research, this project will focus on hitherto under-recognized leverage points – system properties where a small shift can lead to fundamental changes in [...]

MSc/MPhil specialising in Climate Change and Sustainable Development Convened by the African Climate & Development Initiative Global climate change presents daunting and exciting challenges, especially for the developing world, where traditional routes to development are at odds with the need for a low carbon economy. At the same time, building resilience to climate change and variability is fundamental to sustainable development and prosperity. A transdisciplinary approach that integrates the biophysical, technological, socio-economic sciences and the humanities is required to successfully engage with the challenges of climate change. South Africa is well positioned to engage with these issues because of its status as a developing country [...]

PHD STUDENTSHIP Title: Evaluating commercial cattle production as a resilient livelihood option for emergent smallholder farmers in Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. Agrarian reform in South Africa faces serious challenges, many a legacy of historical policies of separate development.  Amongst these is the task of reforming a livestock production sector in which commercial production is undertaken almost exclusively by white farmers on private farms that occupy the majority of agricultural land, but exists in parallel with a relatively neglected subsistence livestock sector consisting of black smallholder farmers located on pockets of communally owned land.  Land reform policies are currently addressing [...]

Post Doctoral Fellowship at University of KwaZulu-Natal Centre for Water Resources Research ECOSYSTEM SERVICES, ECOLOGICAL INFRASTRUCTURE AND THE HYDROLOGICAL CYCLE   Scholarship description: Land, soil and water resources and the production of goods and services upon which society depends are intimately linked. However, rapid and extensive changes in land use and cover are resulting in the degradation of soil and water resources. Sustaining a catchment’s ability to generate benefits depends on recognition of the key processes, the linkages between different components, understanding their structure and function, and the spatial and temporal scales at which these are dominant or dormant, as [...]