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 and inequality. Students and researchers who are studying these issues [...]

Science and management co-learning to navigate social-ecological issues  17-19 September 2019  Pine Lake Marina, Sedgefield, South Africa  Background: The Garden Route Interface Meeting (GRIM) is an annual event taking place in the Garden Route and providing a forum for researchers and practitioners interested in better understanding and managing (or navigating) social-ecological systems (SES) and their complex interactions and feedbacks. Three types of interfaces are of particular interest: human-nature (social-ecological systems), theory-practice (scientists and managers), and social-natural (sciences). Previous meetings: The 2017 and 2018 meetings each attracted >70 delegates and key discussion themes during these meetings included the establishment of [...]

Congratulations to Professor Karen Esler from the Department of Conservation Ecology and Entomology at Stellenbosch University for finishing in second place in the South African Women in Science Awards (SAWiSA). This is the 15th edition of this prestigious event that celebrates outstanding women researchers and scientists. This year's theme was 'leveraging science, technology and innovation to enhance inclusive growth and development.' The awards aim to recognise the excellence of women scientists working in South Africa, profiling them as role models for younger scientists.  Karen was honoured for her research in ecology, specifically ecosystem restoration and invasive biology, where [...]

The Young Scholars Spring School follows the 2nd Garden Route Interface Meeting (2-4 Oct 2018) and will build on the same theme of “science and practice colearning to navigate complex social-ecological issues”. The main aim will be to stimulate and capacitate young scholars (master to post-doc levels) interested in social-ecological systems (SES) and transdisciplinary research. Participants will be exposed to a broad spectrum of approaches and methods that can be used to design social-ecological studies as well as hands-on study design in collaboration with peers, managers, experienced academics and dedicated mentors. The school will help to strengthen the [...]

Highlights: 1) There is a need for positive visions of the future to counteract the negative narratives that surround us every day and influence our actions 2) Based on "Seeds of Good Anthropocenes", a diverse mix of scientists, artists and changemakers created hopeful future scenarios for southern Africa at a creative visioning workshop held in Cape Town 3) Participants described the process as deeply transformative, and developed a set of radical scenarios with a strong emphasis on engaged citizenry, decentralized power and local, small-scale production systems   The Anthropocene, or literally the “Age of Man”, is the name [...]

In collaboration with GRAID (Guidance for Resilience in the Anthropocene: Investments for Development, a collaborative project between the Stockholm Resilience Centre in Sweden, the CSIR and Centre for Complex Systems in Transition in Stellenbosch, and other international partners) SAPECS held its second colloquium in Johannesburg on the 8-10th of May 2017, focusing on ‘Resilience for Development’. The event brought together over 150 students, researchers and practitioners from South Africa, Africa, Sweden and elsewhere interested in resilience as an emerging approach towards sustainability. The colloquium was designed to maximize opportunities for dialogue and critical discussions structured around the following research themes: [...]

This article by SAPECS Researcher Jessica Cockburn reflects on a recent workshop held with practitioners working on collaborative landscape-scale stewardship initiatives across South Africa. We came from all different corners of South Africa to find common ground: ...all the way from the West Coast: fynbos vegetation, commercial potato farmers and precious estuaries... all the way from the Marico Bosveld: thorny country with precious water resources, fiercely proud locals and the ever-present threat of mining… all the way from the Midlands of KwaZulu-Natal:  hard-working farmers and agricultural landscapes covered in plantation forestry and dairy … all the way from pastoral grasslands: [...]