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MEDECOS: Call for proposals
The MEDECOS 2020 Organizing Committee invites proposals for symposia and workshops for the 15th Conference on Mediterranean-type ecosystems (MEDECOS) from 6-11 September 2020 in South Africa. Proposals should strive to be inclusive of more than one Mediterranean region Symposia: a well-integrated synthesis of a given topic or theme with broad applicability to Mediterranean-type ecosystems (MTEs). It can be structured as a series of formal talks or a moderated panel discussion allowing for greater audience participation. Symposia will each be allocated 90 or 120 minutes. Workshops: Workshops are focused sessions, not [...]
SAPECS winter school
Last month, the Centre for Complex Systems in Transition (CST) and Southern African Programme on Ecosystem Change and Society (SAPECS) hosted an introductory course on social-ecological systems for Masters and PhD students doing research at the interface of ecosystems and society. Twenty eight students from around Africa gathered to start their learning journey away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life at the Sustainability Institute, an international living and learning centre which provides learning experiences in ecology, community and spirit, in Stellenbosch, South Africa. The goal of the SAPECS [...]
How to Live Better and Stop Destroying the Planet
A recent United Nations-backed report highlighted the scale of destruction humans are inflicting on the natural world. To reverse these trends, humanity must transform its economic models and food system, treat the world’s oceans far better, and think carefully about the best ways to tackle climate change. STOCKHOLM – Earlier this month, a bleak global assessment of the shocking state of life on Earth made headlines worldwide. According to the report by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), about 12% of all known animal and plant species are now threatened [...]
SAPECS now represented on major national scientific initiative
Alta de Vos, SAPECS Working Group Member and Senior Lecturer at the Department of Environmental Science at Rhodes University, has been appointed to represent SAPECS on the Expanded Freshwater and Terrestrial Environmental Observation Network (EFTEON) Advisory Panel. The EFTEON is a research infrastructure that is being developed under the South African Research Infrastructure Roadmap program of the Department of Science and Technology. EFTEON is conceived as a modular, highly-networked research infrastructure to support studies on coupled ecological social systems in South Africa. EFTEON will focus on setting up a network of [...]
SAPECS winter school in social-ecological systems
15 – 19 JULY 2019, Stellenbosch, South Africa The Southern African Programme on Ecosystem Change and Society (SAPECS) invites Masters’ and PhD students doing research at the interface of ecosystems and society to attend an introductory course on social-ecological systems, to be hosted by the Centre for Complex Systems in Transition (CST) at Stellenbosch University. The field of social-ecological systems aims to support responses to the challenges of global environmental and societal change, particularly in terms of supporting improved environmental stewardship and addressing pressing challenges of poverty [...]
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Call for abstracts: Collaboration and Multi-Stakeholder Engagement in Landscape Governance and Management in Africa – Lessons from Practice
Understanding the social and environmental impacts of multiple drivers of global and local change in Africa requires systemic and longitudinal place-based research. Landscapes provide the ‘ideal’ unit for this purpose, as well as for applying sustainable solutions that tackle complex—sometimes wicked—development and environmental challenges. Through a landscape approach, it is possible to explore the interaction between multiple sustainable development goals (SDGs), enabling understanding of the impacts of change and risk on biodiversity, ecosystem services, and livelihoods, as well as the implementation of locally appropriate and integrated response options. Indeed, landscape [...]
NRF Grant-holder Masters bursary to work in the Tsitsa River catchment
I am looking for an MSc student who in interested in the interface between natural resource science and social science in land and water resource management. The bursary is for R90 000 per year for two years, starting as soon as possible. You will be working in a vibrant Water Governance Development research team that is part of the large DEA-NRM-funded Tsitsa Project (https://sites.google.com/view/tsitsa-project/home). The Governance Development research aims to support the emergence of participatory land and water governance in the Tsitsa River catchment. Your project would address the research [...]
Post-doc position available with the SARChI Chair research group on “Interdisciplinary Science in Land and Natural Resource Use for Sustainable Livelihoods”
The SARChI Chair in Interdisciplinary Science in Land and Natural Resource Use for Sustainable Livelihoods in the department of Environmental Science at Rhodes University focuses on generating interdisciplinary understandings of natural biological resources and their roles in rural and urban livelihoods for poverty alleviation and human wellbeing. This includes the ecological, economic and social dimensions of land and biological resource use in both rural and urban systems. The activities of the Chair are currently led by Professor Charlie Shackleton. The Dept of Environmental Science is one of the smallest at Rhodes University, [...]
Conservation South Africa: Health and Conservation Coordinator
Conservation South Africa vacancy in Matatiele, Eastern Cape Conservation South Africa, as a local affiliate of Conservation International, is committed to helping societies adopt a more sustainable approach to development—one that considers and values nature at every turn and improves human well-being through the conservation of healthy ecosystems and the goods and services they provide. Conservation South Africa seeks to influence policy, develop markets, engage the private sector, and support communities to develop and implement conservation- based economic growth models and long-term human well-being. This position will work closely with [...]
Position available: Conservation Science Officer – EWT
The Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) is seeking to employ a Conservation Science Officer. The purpose of the position is to assist with the development of a Species Distribution Modelling (SDM) database to improve objectivity, accuracy and efficiency in Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs). Through an online web application, this SDM database will allow for a robust measure of biodiversity and increase ability to flag sensitive species for early stage EIAs anywhere in the country. This will ensure that no sensitive species are overlooked in any EIA scoping phase assessment and will [...]