CST Annual Report 2021-2022

Centre for Sustainability Transitions
Publication: CST Annual Report 2021-2022
2021-2022 - Reports & Policy Briefs

The CST’s Annual Report 2021-2022 provides readers with a information on the research, teaching and projects conducted at the Centre over the financial year. It introduces the CST’s vision, core activities and research areas, and provides highlights and achievements of our staff and students.



Science on ecosystems and people to support the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework

Matthias Schröter, Marta Berbés-Blázquez, Christian Albert, Rosemary Hill, Torsten Krause, Jacqueline Loos, Lelani M. Mannetti, Berta Martín-López, Amrita Neelakantan, John A. Parrotta, Cristina Quintas-Soriano, David J. Abson, Rob Alkemade, Bas Amelung,
Publication: Ecosystems and People
2023 - Journal Articles

This journal article highlights the relevance of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) adopted by the Convention on Biological Diversity in 2022. The article emphasises the importance of the GBF in guiding international biodiversity conservation efforts until 2030, with the ultimate goal of achieving a harmonious coexistence with nature by 2050. It also acknowledges the role of the global scholarly community in contributing insights to support biodiversity strategies and action plans.



Varieties of just transition: Public support in South Africa’s Mpumalanga coal community for different policy options

Nthabiseng Mohlakoana, Muhammed Lokhat, Nives Dolsak, Aseem Prakash
Publication: PLOS Climate
2023 - Journal Articles

This article delves into the intricate dynamics of public opinion regarding “Just Transition” policies in South Africa’s coal mining sector. As the world strives for decarbonization, the study explores how these policies, designed to compensate communities impacted by the shift away from fossil fuels, can garner political support. By conducting in-depth interviews with coal miners, power plant workers, and community members in Mpumalanga province, the researchers uncover key insights.



Critical pedagogical designs for SETS knowledge co-production: online peer- and problem-based learning by and for early career green infrastructure experts

Feagan, M., Fork, M., Gray, G. et al.
Publication: Urban Transformations
2023 - Journal Articles

Despite a growing understanding of the importance of knowledge co-production for just and sustainable urban transformations, early career green infrastructure experts typically lack opportunities to practice transdisciplinary knowledge co-production approaches within their normal training and professional development. This paper explores how pedagogical designs can help create favourable conditions for transdisciplinary knowledge co-production.



The Southern African Program on Ecosystem Change and Society: an emergent community of practice

R. O. Biggs et al.
Publication: Ecosystems and People
2023 - Journal Articles

This paper reflects on experiences in building the SAPECS community, with the aim of supporting the development of similar networks elsewhere in the world, particularly in the Global South.



Assessment Report on Diverse Values and Valuation of Nature

Pascual et al.
Publication:
2022 - Reports & Policy Briefs

Decisions based on narrow set of market values of nature underpin the current global biodiversity crisis. 

Many opportunities exist to embed the diverse values of nature into decision making for navigating towards more just and sustainable futures.



Managing biodiversity in the Anthropocene: discussing the Nature Futures Framework as a tool for adaptive decision‐making for nature under climate change

Palacios-Abrantes et al.
Publication: Sustainability Science
2022 - Journal Articles

This article discusses how conservation approaches to social-ecological systems have historically prioritised preserving nature for its instrumental societal benefits, neglecting the complex relationship between humans and nature and the impact of climate change. The Nature Futures Framework (NFF) offers an alternative perspective, which emphasises the diverse positive values of nature and its contribution to people.



How can diverse national food and land‐use priorities be reconciled with global sustainability targets? Lessons from the FABLE initiative

Mosnier et al.
Publication: Sustainability Science
2022 - Journal Articles

How can countries satisfy their demands while jointly delivering the required transformative change to achieve global sustainability targets? Here, we present a collaborative approach developed with the FABLE—Food, Agriculture, Biodiversity, Land, and Energy—Consortium to reconcile both global and national elements for developing national food and land-use system pathways.



Insights for food systems transformation from southern Africa Outcomes of the Southern African Resilience Academy

Sabrina Chesterman, Maike Hamann, Albert Norström
Publication: GRP & CST Publications
2022 - Reports & Policy Briefs

This insights brief presents key themes and recommendations that emerged from the SARA activities and discussions that were convened over the course of 2021 in order to explore ways of addressing barriers and unlocking key actions to transform food systems in southern Africa.



Insights for food systems transformation from southern Africa: Overview of southern African context

Sabrina Chesterman, Maike Hamann, Albert Norström
Publication: GRP & CST Publications
2022 - Reports & Policy Briefs

This report contextualises the actions of the Southern African Resilience Academy (SARA) in 2021, a year covering many pivotal events towards food systems transformation.



Leveraging the potential of wild food for healthy, sustainable, and equitable local food systems: learning from a transformation lab in the Western Cape region

L.M. Pereira, S. Boatemaa Kushitor, C. Cramer, S. Drimie, M. Isaacs, R. Malgas, E. Phiri, C. Tembo, J. Willis
Publication: Sustainability Science
2022 - Journal Articles

Preserving biocultural diversity is central to ensure the nutrition, resilience, and adaptive capacity of indigenous peoples and local communities who collectively maintain the longest ongoing human experiences with the provision of food under environmental change; a core component of global food security.



Climate change and the urgency to transform food systems

Zurek, M, Hebinck, A, and Selomane, O.
Publication: Science
2022 - Journal Articles

Climate change poses one of the greatest threats to human societies, demanding immediate and coordinated actions across all sectors. Food systems are one of the most important contributors to climate change and could compromise efforts to achieve the 2015 Paris Agreement targets. At the same time, food systems themselves will also need to further adapt to climate change impacts.



Using Synergic Methods for Being Methodologically Agile (SM4BMA)

van Breda, J.
Publication: International Journal of Sustainable Development Research
2022 - Journal Articles

The main goal in this paper is to further develop the notion
of methodological agility at the methodical level.
The need for being methodologically agile is rooted in the
global challenges we are facing today in the context of the
Anthropocene – which has been described as a
new human-induced geological epoch introduced / caused by
the net effect of multiple socio-technical human
actions since the dawn of the Industrial Revolution in the 18th
Century in the global north.



Towards an understanding of corporate (dis)engagement with social justice advocacy

Jones, L & Smit, A.
Publication: African Journal of Business Ethics
2022 - Journal Articles

There is increasing focus worldwide on the role of business in society today. Globally, sustainability concerns and shifting value systems are re-shaping expectations of socially responsible business, as seen with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), global corporate initiatives such as the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), and leading standards such as the King IV Report on Corporate Governance



Methodological Agility for Doing Transformative Transdisciplinary Research on Sustainability Transitions in the Context of the Anthropocene

Goh, Z. and Van Breda, J.
Publication: International Journal of Sustainable Development Research
2022 - Journal Articles

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) call for mobilization across global and local levels, and involves
academic actors and societal agents in an emergency response to the planetary challenges facing us in the context of the Anthropocene. Never before in human history have we been required to mobilize ourselves globally around a common set of goals, whilst facing the consequences of our own human actions on a truly planetary scale.