Planning ahead: sustainable futures

For a long time, researchers have been engaged in mitigation, but recently there has been a distinct shift towards pursuing adaptation. In order to tackle global change, both mitigation and adaptation approaches are needed to ensure a sustainable future for generations to come.

For GCI, 2016 was a year of intensive engagement with a variety of key decision-makers. Out of these engagement sessions, two key adaptation projects were brokered.

Prof Coleen Vogel, an adaptation specialist with an interest in transdisciplinary research, brokered a partnership between GCI and the City of Johannesburg (CoJ). The project ¡°Building a Resilient Johannesburg to Climate Challenges¡±, focuses on developing long-term and short-term strategies to develop a resilient city in the face of climate variability and climate change. Due to the complexities of adaptation planning on a large scale for a city, a transdisciplinary approach is being undertaken.

Prof Barend Erasmus, the Exxaro Chair in Global Change and Sustainability, has met with Exxaro officials to develop a high level adaptation strategy for Exxaro. This strategy will bear in mind COP21 commitments with regard to carbon emissions, the National Adaptation Strategy policy document and responsible mining practices.

Both these adaptation strategies look at addressing challenges that directly affect society, environment, economics and policy, which speaks directly to GCI¡¯s mandate about using credible research to bring about progressive change ensuring a sustainable future. Another key project output for the Institute concerns developing young African researchers. Postgraduate and postdoctoral researchers will be actively engaged in developing these strategies together with Profs Erasmus and Vogel.