MSc: Sustainability in communal socio-ecological systems

Two MSc bursaries (R30,000 each for two years) are available for ecology/environmental science students to participate in a multi-disciplinary research project titled SUCSES: Sustainability in communal socio-ecological systems.

The aim of the overall project is to gain a better understanding of the dynamic relationship between society and the environment at multiple levels in a rural region of South Africa. Such analysis is necessary for identifying, understanding and responding to threats and opportunities for ecological sustainability and human well-being in these systems in order to inform appropriate policy.

The project is based in the Agincourt Health and Demographic Surveillance Site, in the rural district of Bushbuckridge, Mpumalanga Province, South Africa.

The MSc bursaries will each address one of the following research questions:
Project 1: What are the spatial patterns of ecosystem composition, structure and function in a communal savanna
Project 2: What are the patterns of land cover resilience to shocks (e.g. drought) and stresses, (e.g. resource harvesting) in different landscape units in a communal savanna landscape over the last two decades, and what are the implications of this for the provision of ecosystem services?

For more information visit the website:

http://www.gssa.co.za/postgrad-opportunities/msc-sustainability-in-commu...