NEWS
Oonsie Biggs receives prestigious rating from the NRF
SAPECS researcher Oonsie Biggs received a prestigious P-rating from the National Research Foundation (NRF) for her outstanding research on social-ecological regime shifts and their impact on ecosystem services. P-rated researchers have demonstrated the potential of becoming future international leaders in their field based on exceptional research performance and output early in their careers. Biggs says the P-Rating is an honour, and a real boost for social-ecological sustainability research in the region. "I hope that this award will open up new opportunities to train students and carry out collaborative research with [...]
Attitudes towards the economic valuation of ecosystem services
My name is Irene Ndobo and I am currently an Honours student in the Department of Environmental Science at Rhodes University. I am working on a project titled Interest Group and Citizen Attitudes towards the Economic Valuation and Commodification of Nature and Ecosystem Services under the supervision of Prof Sheona Shackleton. The aim of this study is to gain insights on the views and opinions of various actors (NGO workers, consultants, academics and students) with a working knowledge of natural resource management, conservation or the economic valuation of nature. Differing [...]
New paper on measuring flood resilience using a composite social-ecological index
SAPECS-affiliated researchers Ilse Kotzee and Belinda Reyers have published a paper in which they present a composite index for measuring flood resilience and apply this approach to three flood-prone municipalities in South Africa. The study was published in Ecological Indicators, and is available here. For more information, please see the abstract below: "Global increases in the magnitude and frequency of flood events have raised concerns that traditional flood management approaches may not be sufficient to deal with future uncertainties. There is a need to move towards approaches that manage the resilience [...]
SAPECS researchers win Engagement Excellence Award
SAPECS-affiliated researcher and working group member Christo Fabricius and his team at the Sustainability Research Unit (SRU) have been awarded the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU) Engagement Excellence Award (Team Award) for 2014. This award recognizes excellence in academic engagement activities that are essentially educational in nature, and aim to promote integration of engagement in teaching, learning and research. Engagement in this context refers to the process of transferring, applying and shaping the university’s knowledge and resources with the broader community. The SRU (www.nmmu.ac.za/sru) received this award for its outstanding [...]
Seeds of Good Anthropocenes: Urban Futures Dialogue
We would like to invite you to attend a workshop and dialogue session on “Seeds of Good Anthropocenes”, focussing on the urban environment. Please see this note for details. We can also confirm that our two keynote speakers will be Prof Mark Swilling from the Sustainability Institute at the University of Stellenbosch and Mr Rashiq Fataar from the Future Cape Town initiative. Venue: Fire & Ice Protea Hotel, New Church Street, Cape Town Date: 12 August 2015 RSVP: Please RSVP online by Monday 20th July Enquiries: Rika@sun.ac.za In [...]
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STEPS Summer School 2017
The STEPS Centre invites applications for its 2017 Summer School on Pathways to Sustainability, which will take place from 15-26 May in the UK. Applications are invited from highly-motivated doctoral and postdoctoral researchers working in fields around development studies, science and technology studies, innovation and policy studies, and across agricultural, health, water or energy issues. Participants will explore the theme of pathways to sustainability through a mixture of workshops, lectures, outdoor events and focused interaction with STEPS Centre members. The Summer School takes place on the Sussex University campus, near Brighton, [...]
Santa Fe Institute Graduate Workshop in Computational Social Science Modeling and Complexity 2017
This workshop at the Santa Fe Institute (June 25-July 7, 2017, Santa Fe, New Mexico, US) will bring together a group of advanced graduate students and a small faculty for an intensive two week study of computational social science modeling and complexity. The workshop will consist of lectures by faculty, special topic seminars by members of the Santa Fe Institute, and presentations of work in progress by graduate student participants. The primary goal of the summer workshop is to assist graduate students pursuing research agendas which includes a computational modeling component. A [...]
Santa Fe Institute Complex Systems Summer School 2017
The Complex Systems Summer School at the Santa Fe Institute (June 11- July 7, 2017 - Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA) offers an intensive four week introduction to complex behavior in mathematical, physical, living, and social systems for graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and professionals in the sciences and social sciences. The school is for participants who seek background and hands-on experience to help them prepare to conduct interdisciplinary research in areas related to complex systems. Application deadline: January 23, 2017 Who is eligible: Graduate students and postdoctoral fellows in any discipline. [...]
Convenor and Lecturer for MSc/MPhil specialising in Climate Change and Sustainable Development
1 Year Fixed term contract, 50% full time equivalent The African Climate and Development Initiative (ACDI) and Department of Environmental and Geographical Science (EGS) at the University of Cape Town is seeking to appoint a convenor/lecturer for the interdisciplinary MSC/MPhil in Climate Change and Sustainable Development, that is convened by the ACDI, and hosted academically by EGS. The Lecturer/Convenor will teach on, and manage academic and administrative aspects of the MSc/MPhil, specifically, academic oversight of the students, teaching, and administrative tasks related to the ACDI MSc/MPhil. The post-holder will work [...]
Resident Lecturer: Undergraduate Study Abroad Programme in Savanna/Fynbos Ecology, Kruger National Park
The Organization for Tropical Studies (OTS) (www.tropicalstudies.org) seeks applicants for its field-based undergraduate programme in Savanna/Fynbos ecology, run in partnership with the Universities of Cape Town (UCT) and Witwatersrand (WITS) and South African National Parks. This course, based in Skukuza, Kruger National Park, accepts students from both South Africa and the USA. We are seeking to fill the post in January 2017. It is a five-year grant-funded contract with probation, and contracts are renewable based on performance. The successful applicant will work closely with other staff and the Programme Director [...]