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Postdoctoral fellowship at the CST, Stellenbosch University
Escalating global challenges such as climate change, food and water security, biodiversity loss, socio‐political conflict and economic volatility, demand new approaches to researching and governing our environment and societies. Approaches that account for the complex relationships between human well‐being and ecological sustainability, while dealing with ongoing change and uncertainty, have become critical. It is increasingly apparent that fundamental reorganization of our societies is necessary to achieve a just society for all, while maintaining the environmental conditions that underlie human prosperity. Navigating such a transformation will require a capacity to deal with changes that are fundamentally unknown and unpredictable ‐ a capacity that is central to resilient systems. Building resilience of intertwined social and ecological systems is therefore increasingly regarded as essential to enabling sustainable development at local to global scales, and is a rapidly emerging research area worldwide. The South African Research Chair in Social‐Ecological Systems and Resilience, held by Dr Reinette (Oonsie) Biggs, aims to contribute to this area specifically from a southern African perspective. The Chair is hosted by the newly established Centre for Complex Systems in Transition (CST) at Stellenbosch University. The CST builds on a strong history of [...]
Postdoc position available in the Department of Environmental Science at Rhodes University
The SARChI Chair in Interdisciplinary Science in Land and Natural Resource Use for Sustainable Livelihoods in the Department of Environmental Science at Rhodes University, Grahamstown (South Africa) is currently held by Professor Charlie Shackleton. The broad focus of the Chair’s is interdisciplinary research into understandings of natural resources in rural and urban livelihoods for poverty alleviation. Applications are currently open for a post-doctoral position for social or economic scientists to work primarily on analysis of existing livelihoods panel data collected through a joint project between the departments of Environmental Science [...]
What is a T-lab (Transformation Lab)?
As part of the GRAID research project, the food team at the Centre for Complex Systems in Transition (CST) convened two T-labs (Transformation Labs) designed to interrogate and strengthen an alternative food system in the Western Cape, South Africa. The first was held at Grootbos Nature Reserve from 27-30 November 2016 and the second at Nine Oaks in Paarl 19-21 July 2017. As they are now writing a report and feeding back to the participants who have dedicated a substantial amount of time to this process, it seems a poignant time to offer some reflections on [...]
Masters fellowships in social-ecological regime shifts for 2018
SARChI Research Chair in Social-Ecological Systems and Resilience Centre for Complex Systems in Transitions, Stellenbosch University Regime shifts, long-lasting shifts or changes in the structure and function of social-ecological systems often occur abruptly and unexpectedly. These changes have substantial impact on ecosystem services such as crop production or food regulation that directly impacts human wellbeing. The South African Research Chair in Social-Ecological Systems and Resilience, held by Prof Reinette (Oonsie) Biggs, aims to contribute to theory, methods and understanding that can improve our capacity to assess risks and build [...]
Special issue “Livelihood and Landscape Change in Africa: Future Trajectories for Improved Well-Being under a Changing Climate”
The journal LAND has a special issue on"Livelihood and Landscape Change in Africa: Future Trajectories for Improved Well-Being under a Changing Climate" edited by Sheona Shackleton and several other co-editors. Some of the questions this Special Issue will be focusing on are: What are the changes we are observing in landscapes and livelihoods in rural Africa? What are the multiple, interacting socio-economic, political and environmental drivers of these changes? How are these changes impacting well-being amongst different social groupings within rural communities? What are the responses to these changes and what [...]
RELATED NEWS
Available position: Apprentice Landscape Mobiliser position with Living Lands
The vision of Living Lands is ‘Collaborations working on living landscapes’, which encapsulates the building of relationships amongst landscape stakeholders, through a process of social learning, that ultimately leads to collective action towards a healthy and resilient landscape. This is done by means of employing a social change approach as a way to engage stakeholders. Research and trial experimentation form part of the knowledge created for supporting stakeholders’ decision making. They are currently a team of 20, with offices in the Baviaanskloof, Langkloof and Cape Town. They are [...]
Call for research proposals
BIG DATA AND TRANSBOUNDARY WATER COLLABORATION IN SOUTHERN AFRICA APPLY FOR A SADC-WIDE RESEARCH FUNDING CALL! This is an announcement of a special research funding call that has been released and is live on the WRC website. Attached are the Terms of Reference and Proposal Application template that you may use to complete to respond to the call. Applications are open until: 30 September 2018 For more general programme enquiries please contact: Clara Bocchino - clara.bocchino@gmail.com OR Shanna Nienaber - shannan@wrc.org.za For technical ToR enquiries please contact: Shafick Adams - shaficka@wrc.org.za Please [...]
Call for Research Chair: Coupled Human-Natural Systems (CHANS) in Montane Environments as SES
The South African Environmental Observation Network (SAEON) and the Afromontane Research Unit (ARU; based on the Qwaqwa Campus of the University of the Free State) are calling for comprehensive expressions of interest from suitable candidates for a National Research Foundation (NRF) Research Chair in Coupled Human-Natural Systems in Montane Environments. The focus of the Chair will be to expand/refine the existing observatory protocol and research activities to develop a pragmatic, theoretical, and operational social-ecological framework that integrates multi-scale ecological, social observations and other sources of knowledge, and engages [...]
Post-doc position: Exploring Food Systems Transformations in Africa’s Rapidly Changing Cities
POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIP: EXPLORING FOOD SYSTEMS TRANSFORMATIONS IN AFRICA’S RAPIDLY CHANGING CITIES Location: South Africa and the Netherlands Start: September 2018 The Institute for Environmental Studies (IVM) at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU) seeks applications for a postdoctoral fellowship on African city food systems, beginning early September 2018. The postdoc will be based in South Africa for approximately 75% of the time and work as a guest researcher in the Netherlands for the remaining time. The research forms part of an international collaborative project under the auspices of LEAP-Agri [...]
Postdoctoral fellow position available at Dartmouth College
The Environmental Studies Program (ENVS) at Dartmouth College is looking for a postdoctoral fellow. ENVS is a diverse community of scholars who conduct innovative research within and across the natural and environmental social sciences (https://envs.dartmouth.edu). Faculty within ENVS are members of the novel interdisciplinary EEES PhD Program (https://sites.dartmouth.edu/EEES/). The fellow will have the opportunity to engage with EEES community, a highly interactive group of faculty, graduate students, and post-docs. The fellow will continue their own independent research agenda, as well as explore new research projects in collaboration with ENVS faculty [...]