INVITATION FOR A SYMPOSIUM PRIVATE INVESTMENTS IN NATURE CONSERVATION: STUDYING MOTIVES AND BENEFITS Date: October 20th, 2014 Time: 09.00 – 16.00 hours Venue: University of Cape Town, Department of Environmental & Geographical Science (room to be announced) Organizers: Maano Ramutsindela (UCT) & Marja Spierenburg (VU Amsterdam)   Nature conservation has long been considered to be incompatible with the interests of the private (profit) sector and was deemed the prerogative of the state. This view changed from the mid-1980s onwards when the focus shifted from species protection to sustainable development. Increasingly environmental organizations started promoting the involvement of private (for-profit) sector organisations [...]

The World Bank’s Forum for Agricultural Risk Management (FARMD) will host its Annual Conference, Managing Agricultural Risks in a Changing Climate in Sub-Saharan Africa, on November 4-5, 2014 in Johannesburg, South Africa.   The objective of the event is to explore how climate change is impacting agricultural production and marketing systems in Africa and to better understand the implications for agricultural risk management. The two-day conference will bring together more than 200 participants from the public and private sectors, academia, farmer organizations, and development organizations. Attendees will have the chance to interact with leading experts in the field and to attend sessions on [...]

The African Doctoral Academy of Stellenbosch University is pleased to offer the 2015 Summer School in Research Methods from 12 to 23 January. Since its conception six years ago we have seen the Summer School grow in scope and popularity, while covering a variety of basic and advanced quantitative and qualitative research methodologies and tools for researchers. The Summer School offers a range of one-week courses aimed at prospective- and enrolled doctoral students, supervisors and other academics involved in research.   6th ANNUAL SUMMER SCHOOL IN RESEARCH METHODS Week one 12 to 16 January 2015 Select one course per week [...]

SANParks is re-advertising the rather exciting post-doc position for someone versed in a combination of complexity thinking, management of social-ecological systems, systems thinking, social/organizational learning and/or institutional change. Closing date is the 30th of September . Please see below for more information: Systemic futures post-doc - readvert (Sept 2014)    

Are you concerned about our future cities? Do you want to discuss theories and explore practices of urban sustainable development across disciplines and experiences? Apply to the Stockholm Resilience Centre for a Masters course in "Urban Social-Ecological Systems", March-June 2015, before October 15. For more information, visit the course website!

Google Earth Outreach is planning some exciting activities for the IUCN World Parks Congress in November 2014 in Sydney, Australia!   Prior to the Congress, we are hosting a 2-day in-depth hands-on workshop to help build the technical capacity of park managers, researchers, and communities. In this workshop, participants will gain technical training on Google mapping software tools “from the ground to the cloud.” Led by the Google Earth Outreach and Earth Engine teams, the workshop will teach participants how to use these tools to raise awareness, reach common understanding, and take action on protected area management and conservation goals. [...]

“Multi-functional farming systems in a changing world” Le Corum conference center, Montpellier, France 7 - 10 September  2015 FSD is an informal interdisciplinary scientific community of practice to promote research and capacity building on farming systems design. The core is science: “The research focus of the FSD community is the farm system level, the interactions and feedbacks at lower and higher levels of integration and the tools and methods required for understanding and implementing multi-functional farming systems expressing good trade-offs between agricultural production and ecosystems services ”. Each symposium brings an applied focus: FSD5 will focuse on “Multi-functional farming systems [...]

About the Course Planetary Boundaries and Human Opportunities: The Quest for Safe and Just Development on a Resilient Planet gives students an overview of a range of emerging concepts within sustainability science, like the Anthropocene, planetary boundaries, and resilience. These concepts are at the core of contemporary research and debate on global sustainability. They are key to frame and understand rapidly changing trends in global environmental change caused by humans, and to assess responses that aim at reversing global environmental change. They also help exploring pathways for ensuring safe and just human wellbeing for present and future generations. The lead [...]

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT & PLANNING CLUSTER ENVIRONMENTALIST REF NO: 21000024 DEVELOPMENT MANAGEMENT & PLANNING UNIT ENVIRONMENTAL PLAN AND CLIMATE PROTECT DEPARTMENT Total Remuneration Package R535 221.00 / R676 637.00 pa Grade 14   Benefits included in the Total Value of Remuneration Package Range (Pension, 13th Cheque, Medical Aid, Housing Subsidy& Locomotion) are payable in accordance with the rules/requirements of the respective benefit schemes and any revisions that may occur from time to time which may alter the Total Value of Remuneration Package. In addition other allowances may be payable (where applicable). Job Purpose: Contributes to the co-ordination, preparation and implementation of an Environmental [...]

This is an announcement for six tenured positions in Australia - in social science, computational biology, and ecology. Also available are six Postdoctoral Fellowships (see below). Coral Reef Research Leaders James Cook University (JCU), in partnership with the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, is seeking to recruit up to six outstanding mid-career to established career coral reef research fellows to tenured positions in Townsville. Appointees will make a major contribution to their field of expertise and drive research development and collaboration with national and international partners. Fellows will develop leadership roles and foster research excellence within [...]