A new transboundary park: Why we’re concerned about Maputo National Park’s plans to merge with iSimangaliso in South Africa BlogFeaturedFeatured BlogHome Slider

A new transboundary park: Why we’re concerned about Maputo National Park’s plans to merge with iSimangaliso in South Africa

Ayanda Madlala To decolonise mainstream conservation — one that is extractive with natural resource ‘grabbing’ traits — an integrated approach is crucial. Three key aspects need to be considered: knowledge, narratives and practices. Professor Tembela Kepe reminded us of this most recently in his lecture on decolonising biodiversity conservation at the Living Landscapes in Action short course in Cape Town…
PLAAS
December 10, 2025
Prof Ralarala displays UWC’s excellence at UNECA’s Conference on Land Policy in Africa 2025 — and wins BlogFeaturedFeatured BlogHome Slider

Prof Ralarala displays UWC’s excellence at UNECA’s Conference on Land Policy in Africa 2025 — and wins

What is the University of the Western Cape's role in achieving the African Union's goal of "Land Governance, Justice and Reparations for Africans and Descendants of the African Diaspora"? "As Africans, each time we engage on this issue of land, we are reminded of our history and the history of dispossession, and the ongoing struggles for inclusion and redress," said…
PLAAS
November 24, 2025
From decolonising to liberating land in Africa’s changing climate BlogFeatured BlogHome Slider

From decolonising to liberating land in Africa’s changing climate

Professor Emmanuel Sulle At the Sixth Conference on Land Policy in Africa (CLPA), the call was clear: Africa must break free from colonial land systems and boldly reimagine its relationship with land. From Supreme Court justices to ministers and scholars, speakers insisted on moving beyond lamentation toward liberation. The call was not simply to decolonise land laws, but to transform…
PLAAS
November 14, 2025
Prof Ian Scoones: Climate change and land – why COP30 must go beyond false solutions BlogFeatured BlogHome Slider

Prof Ian Scoones: Climate change and land – why COP30 must go beyond false solutions

Professor Ian Scoones Opinion Land and the climate are inextricably linked. We know that land-use change contributes between 13 and 21 percent to global emissions, yet only 2.5 percent of overall climate finance is directed to land-use related issues. As we head to COP30 in Brazil this month, this must change. Before that, let’s be clear about the type of climate…
PLAAS
November 6, 2025
Reflections from PLAAS’s Land, Life and Society conference BlogFeatured Blog

Reflections from PLAAS’s Land, Life and Society conference

Bernard Baha Participating in the Land, Life and Society conference at the University of the Western Cape was both intellectually invigorating and deeply affirming. The gathering brought together scholars, activists, and community leaders committed to reimagining land governance through lenses of justice, ecology, and lived experience. It was also a timely event as the Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian…
PLAAS
October 31, 2025
Prof Ian Scoones: Why land redistribution must be central to human flourishing in an era of extreme inequality BlogFeatured BlogHome Slider

Prof Ian Scoones: Why land redistribution must be central to human flourishing in an era of extreme inequality

Professor Ian Scoones Land redistribution is not the flavour of the month. Many see it as impossible, an idealistic position more suited to the 1950s and 60s. Yet in an era of extreme inequality, when land concentration continues to intensify and livelihoods are constrained, gaining access to land remains crucial important in many parts of the world. Click on the…
PLAAS
October 30, 2025
plaas cattle farmer small holder farm
Call for abstracts: ICARRD+20 academic conference in Cartagena, Colombia Blog

Call for abstracts: ICARRD+20 academic conference in Cartagena, Colombia

After our fruitful discussions at the Land, Life and Society conference at PLAAS, we will be meeting at a convening of the same name in the days before the ICARRD+20 conference. We hope that as many people as possible who participated in Cape Town will be able to join the next discussion, in Cartagena in February 2026.    International Academic…
PLAAS
October 16, 2025
Kumi Naidoo: Biodiversity and climate crises are driven by the same extractive & profit-driven economic models BlogFeaturedFeatured BlogHome Slider

Kumi Naidoo: Biodiversity and climate crises are driven by the same extractive & profit-driven economic models

By Kumi Naidoo We live in a moment of profound contradiction. Humanity has never had a greater scientific understanding of the climate emergency and the biodiversity crisis, yet we continue to act as if we have time to spare. The reality is harsh: both crises are accelerating faster than predicted, and their impacts are already devastating lives and livelihoods, particularly…
PLAAS
October 15, 2025
Ancestral land, permission and heritage: three vignettes on access from the Greater Mapungubwe Cultural Landscape BlogFeaturedFeatured BlogHome Slider

Ancestral land, permission and heritage: three vignettes on access from the Greater Mapungubwe Cultural Landscape

Maud Sebelebele “It would be good to set foot on where I grew up, where my family is from. I am happy to go with you, to visit the areas. My heart will find peace”.  I met Mme Sarah Sithole* while investigating how people and families connect their identities, memories, and cultural practices to the Mapungubwe Cultural Landscape in Limpopo,…
PLAAS
October 2, 2025
Land, life and society: what’s at stake in an unequal world, and what could turn the tide BlogFeatured BlogNews & EventsNews & Events Featured

Land, life and society: what’s at stake in an unequal world, and what could turn the tide

Ruth Hall The Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies (PLAAS) at the University of the Western Cape (UWC) is convening an international conference entitled “Land, Life and Society” together with a global network of scholars in the Land Deal Politics Initiative (LDPI) from 7-9 October. #PLAAS30 As climate change reaches a tipping point, inequality in people’s access to land…
PLAAS
October 2, 2025