NEWS

The book "Principles for Building Resilience: Sustaining Ecosystem Services in Social-Ecological Systems" was co-edited by SAPECS-affiliated researcher Reinette (Oonsie) Biggs, and provides an in-depth review of current knowledge around how resilience can be applied in the management of social-ecological systems and the ecosystem services they provide. A number of SAPECS-affiliated researchers contributed to the book, including Georgina Cundill, Karen Kotschy, and Christo Fabricius. A matter of principle With contributions from scholars around the world and across disciplines, the chapters are structured around seven key principles for building resilience: maintain diversity and redundancy; [...]

PECS 2015 CONFERENCE Social-ecological dynamics in the Anthropocene Stellenbosch, South Africa, 3 - 5 November 2015 www.pecs2015.org PECS 2015 will gather scientists from various disciplines, from within and beyond the PECS network, to share cutting-edge research insights on social-ecological dynamics in the Anthropocene. The conference will engage and involve multiple stakeholders concerned with sustainable development and who are interested in developing new solutions and strategies. The conference is intended to highlight PECS achievements and ambitions, and to synthesize and integrate PECS-related research to provide a basis for a future social-ecological [...]

We are delighted to announce the first call for abstracts to the international conference PECS 2015: Social-ecological dynamics in the Anthropocene  held in Stellenbosch, November 3-5 2015. Deadline for session proposal submission is May 11th, and the deadline for talk submission is June 15th. For more details visit the conference website - www.pecs2015.org   About the conference: PECS 2015 will gather scientists from various disciplines, from within and beyond the PECS network, to share cutting-edge research insights on social-ecological dynamics in the Anthropocene. The conference will engage and involve multiple stakeholders concerned with sustainable development [...]

Experts from across the South African food industry recently released a report exploring potential future scenarios for the country’s food industry. The report, entitled Transformative Scenarios Report: The future of food 2015-2030 highlights some dire current realities, while also noting that the system could be recast with political courage, private sector initiative and strong advocacy and support from civil society. “There are a number of critical concerns regarding production of food in South Africa in the coming years,” says Scott Drimie, Director of the Southern Africa Food Lab (SAFL). “Hunger [...]

One Year Fixed Term internship: Supporting an integrated systemic resilience approach to natural resource management in the Olifants River Basin AWARD, Hoedspruit Limpopo This internship opportunity is offered through the Association for Water & Rural Development (AWARD; www.award.org.za) under the 5-year RESILIM programme. AWARD is a research-based NGO that has had a 15 year focus on water resources policy, management and livelihoods. More recently we have an increased focus on biodiversity. We work on systemic and social learning approaches to water issues at local and catchment-scales at both national and international levels (mainly [...]