News2019-04-02T10:26:53+02:00

NEWS

Research on bundles of human well-being in South Africa

Areas with high levels of direct ecosystem service use among households coincides with areas characterized by relatively low levels of human well-being Ecosystem services and human well-being are closely interlinked. After all, ecosystem services are benefits that nature provides to humans, and human well-being is dependent on natural provisions such as clean drinking water. While these two concepts clearly overlap, many questions remain unanswered. For example, do patterns of ecosystem service use in a landscape correspond with particular patterns in human well-being? A study by SAPECS researchers Maike Hamann, Oonsie Biggs and [...]

February 2nd, 2017|

Novel research on social-ecological systems in South Africa – meet the new Doctors!

As the end of 2016 draws near, we’d like to take a moment to highlight the research of three newly-minted Doctors working on social-ecological systems in South Africa. These three female scientists have pushed the boundaries of knowledge to enhance our understanding of resilience, sense of place, and ecosystem services in agricultural landscapes, in regions as varied as the Garden Route, Wild Coast, and the Drakensberg mountains. Their work presents a fascinating cross-section of the diverse research undertaken within the SAPECS network, and we are excited to see what their [...]

December 14th, 2016|

PECS II Conference website now live!

The Program on Ecosystem Change and Society (PECS) was launched in 2011. The principal approach of PECS research is an in-depth understanding of the social-ecological dynamics at landscape scale in a wide variety of situations. PECS uses a broadly set of conceptual frameworks and tools that eventually leads to comparisons of place-based, long-term social-ecological case studies, and reveals general principles for sustainable resource management. Since 2014, PECS is officially part of Future Earth, the newly created global research platform that aims to provide the knowledge and support to accelerate our [...]

September 23rd, 2016|

Resilience Scoping Dialogue held in Stellenbosch

At a recent “scoping dialogue” held at the Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Studies (STIAS) and the Sustainability Institute, more than thirty leading thinkers and practical users of “resilience” were brought together to reflect on, interrogate and explore the concept of resilience, how it is being practically applied in a range of settings to advance sustainability, and how resilience thinking and practice can be supported and advanced in the southern African region in future.   Building resilience of communities, cities, landscapes and systems is increasingly seen as one substantive way of enhancing [...]

August 16th, 2016|

Call for applications: Masters fellowships in food system transformations for 2016

SARChI Research Chair in Social-Ecological Systems and Resilience Hosted by the Centre for Complex Systems in Transition at Stellenbosch University Call for applications: Masters fellowships in food system transformations for 2016 Deadline for applications: 30 July 2016 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 [...]

July 5th, 2016|

RELATED NEWS

Transdisciplinary PhD project in Germany

The Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) are inviting applicants for a three-year, full-time position as a PhD research fellow in the French-German project “A Sea of Connections: Contextualizing Fisheries in the South Pacific Region” (SOCPacific). Starting in May 2018, this interdisciplinary project (anthropology, geography and political ecology in dialogue with marine biology, ecology and geology) is based on synergies between the French National Research Institute for Development (IRD) and the Leibniz Center for Tropical Marine Research (ZMT) and is co-led by Dr. Elodie Fache (IRD, GRED) [...]

February 23rd, 2018|

European Forum Alpbach 2018: Call for Scholarship Applications

There is a call for 2018 Scholarship application through the European Forum Alpbach, which ends on March 30 2018. Scientific exchange and international dialogue A scholarship covers participation in the seminars, breakout sessions and plenary discussions of the European Forum Alpbach. The call for applications is aimed at young people under 30 years of age from all over the world who want to come to Alpbach with their bags filled with fresh ideas for science and society. All information about the application procedure can be found online: www.alpbach.org/scholarships For more information, [...]

February 23rd, 2018|

Post for a Communications Officer at ASSAR

ASSAR (Adaption at Scale at Semi-Arid Regions) are looking for a science communications manager from 1 May - 31 August 2018. ASSAR research project falls under the African Climate and Development Initiative (ADCI), a strategic initiative at the University of Cape Town that coordinates and enhances research and teaching on climate and development across departments and faculties. ASSAR is looking for someone who can write excellently, can readily digest and synthesize information, and produce accurate and impactful communications products. Given that this work will be happening during the final months of [...]

February 6th, 2018|

Short-term postdoctoral research fellowship with ACDI

The African Climate and Development Initiative (ACDI) is looking for a postdoctoral fellow to identify research gaps as well as policy gaps, in the South African and African context using science literature, national and international policies and guidelines, and grey literature. The literature review will be complemented by telephonic and in-person interviews with key researchers, to map the research expertise at UCT, and in South Africa to identify important stakeholders for future engagement. The Fellow will be supported by an advisory committee of senior researchers working in aligned thematic areas. [...]

January 19th, 2018|

Professor in the Department of Environmental Science

Academic, Eastern Cape East London R 819159 Annually Professor in the Department of Environmental Science Recognising that diversity is important in achieving excellence, Rhodes University especially encourages South African members of underrepresented designated groups to apply. Spouses and partners of existing staff members are also encouraged to apply. Please note that this appointment will be made in line with the requirements of the Employment Equity Act of RSA and the University’s recruitment and selection policies and equity strategies. The initial focus will be on equity candidates. In terms of Immigration [...]

October 30th, 2017|
Go to Top