Publications

Social capital reduces vulnerability in rural coastal communities of Solomon Islands

This study seeks to measure attributes of social capital in five marine dependent communities of Solomon Islands.

The Ocean Transition: What to Learn from System Transitions

This paper proceeds from the assumption that the ocean is a commons. The problem this paper seeks
to address is the complex challenge of governing the ocean as a commons. Governance systems since the
dawn of modernity have evolved to govern city-states nation-states and international relations. But the
transformations to sustainability require governing interlinkages and interactions that have not previously
existed across sectors, and scales with multiple actors.

TRANSFORMATIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE for Development of a Wellbeing Economy in Africa

African countries face unprecedented challenges of defining a future development pathway in a resource- and carbon-constrained world. This book addresses this challenge, with special reference to the set of infrastructure that most African countries require to meet the sustainable development goals and fulfil the aspirations of Agenda 2063. Infrastructure is a key factor that determines how resource and energy flow and transform through socio-economic systems.

Decisions made today by African countries on their infrastructural configuration will determine the inclusivity, resource intensity and climate resilience of their development pathways for decades to come. This book is a product of a two‑year research conducted by a group of African scholars who have an extensive academic and practical experience on the development of key infrastructure sectors in Africa.

Towards nature-based resilience in infrastructure development and assessment

Infrastructure is critical to Africa’s development and its ability to address poverty. Achieving Africa’s development aspirations hinges on ensuring equitable access, not only to basic infrastructure such as water and sanitation systems, new electricity lines, roads and storm water drainage; but also to enhanced access to telecommunications and modern agricultural technologies for food security.

Exploring resilience through the stories of food innovators in the Western Cape, South Africa

This book explores ‘storymaking’ as a way of unpacking some of the different capacities that social innovators in the food system of the Western Cape, South Africa, are drawing on in their efforts towards resilience.

Impacts of a trophy hunting ban on private land conservation in South African biodiversity hotspots

In southern Africa, where many PLCAs rely on trophy hunting as an income-generating strategy, a
potential ban on trophy hunting locally or abroad holds unknown consequences
for the future conservation of these lands. In this study, we investigate the consequences of a potential trophy hunting ban in private land conservation areas in two biodiversity hotspots in South Africa’s Eastern and Western Cape provinces.

Advancing understanding of natural resource governance: a post-Ostrom research agenda

In our current context of global environmental change, the need for effective institutions (i.e., formal laws, rules, norms and customs) to moderate human impacts, through environmental governance and management, has never been greater.

Adopting process-relational perspectives to tackle the challenges of socialecological systems research

In this paper, we demonstrate that adopting a process relational perspective, which focuses on nonequilibrium dynamics and relations between processes, provides novel opportunities to advance SES research.

Using A Social‐ecological Regime Shift Approach to Understand the Transition from Livestock to Game Farming in the Eastern Cape, South Africa

This study explored the shift in land use from livestock farming to game farming in the Eastern Cape, South Africa, from a social‐ecological regime shift perspective.

Food System Transformation: Integrating a Political–Economy and Social–Ecological Approach to Regime Shifts

It is increasingly apparent that a deep transformation in the way we produce and consume food is needed in order to ensure a more just and sustainable future.

Effectiveness of private land conservation areas in maintaining natural land cover and biodiversity intactness

Private land conservation areas are increasingly looked to for meeting the deficit left by state-owned protected areas in reaching global conservation targets.

Learning for transitions: a niche perspective

Roughly eight hundred million youth are projected to enter the African job market by 2050. By training the youth in new practices and approaches, they could be central to creating new systems and African futures that are more sustainable and just.

Scenarios of Good Anthropocenes in southern Africa

In the rapidly changing and uncertain world of the Anthropocene, positive visions of the future could play a crucial role in catalysing deep social-ecological transformations to help guide humanity towards more sustainable and equitable futures.

Resilience and Sustainable Peace

A system in conflict can also be resistant to peacebuilding efforts, locked into dynamics that reinforce and reproduce causes of tensions. Resilience thinking and the science on transformations can help identify leverage points for change and inform on how to use shocks and disturbances to spur renewal and innovative thinking.

Assessing the sustainable infrastructure of a low carbon community: case study of the Lynedoch ecovillage.

Urban areas are responsible for 70% of global CO2 emissions and the rapid growth in urbanisation presents a significant risk to cities. It is predicted that by 2030 more than 70% of the South African population will be living in cities.