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 Blog

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
The Bushbuckridge Hiking Club: creating access to nature for Mpumalanga’s young people BlogFeatured BlogHome Slider

The Bushbuckridge Hiking Club: creating access to nature for Mpumalanga’s young people

Kulani Nyakane In a world where conservation has become a global priority, the conversation often revolves around protecting endangered species, saving habitats, or reversing the effects of climate change. Yet, there is another equally important dimension: ensuring that local communities, especially young people, have meaningful access to the very ecosystems being conserved. Without that connection, conservation risks becoming distant, abstract,…
PLAAS
September 23, 2025
Decolonising conservation – where do we begin? A reflection from Prof Kepe’s Masterclass BlogFeaturedFeatured BlogHome Slider

Decolonising conservation – where do we begin? A reflection from Prof Kepe’s Masterclass

Conceptions of conservation are changing in Africa. The meanings change from place to place - in some instances, decolonised conservation looks like withdrawing from colonial powers. To others, it means rejecting conditioned feelings of inferiority and taking back people’s dignity. In his Masterclass on decolonising conservation, Professor Thembela Kepe in May spoke about the need for decolonisation at three primary…
Oluwaseyi Agboola
August 27, 2025
Prof Thembela Kepe: A masterclass in decolonising conservation Blog

Prof Thembela Kepe: A masterclass in decolonising conservation

Image caption: Zodwa Masinga returns from grass cutting on the edge of Lake St Lucia at KwaNibela, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Picture: Screenshot from 'Indalo Yethu' documentary, shot by Shoot the Breeze for PLAAS. 2024 By Professor Thembela Kepe For many people in the conservation sector, discussions about the ugly history of colonial conservation are sensitive. In order to have a…
PLAAS
August 12, 2025
Meeting notes: Merging Maputo National Park with UNESCO World Heritage Site iSimangaliso Wetland Park BlogFeaturedFeatured BlogHome Slider

Meeting notes: Merging Maputo National Park with UNESCO World Heritage Site iSimangaliso Wetland Park

Professor Moenieba Isaacs On 25 June 2025, the Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies (PLAAS) at the University of the Western Cape attended a public meeting on iSimangaliso Wetland Park’s (IWP) expansion programme with Maputo National Park - a new transfrontier park between South Africa and Mozambique to be declared a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).…
PLAAS
July 6, 2025
Livelihood bricoleurs: young people composing livelihoods in post-land reform Zimbabwe Blog

Livelihood bricoleurs: young people composing livelihoods in post-land reform Zimbabwe

To conclude this series and give a flavour of some of the themes explored across the previous nine blogs, this post presents a series of five cases offering in-depth reflections on how livelihoods are composed across a range of activities and in response to a variety of challenges. The cases highlight some of the experiences of different young people in…
PLAAS
June 23, 2025
Pathways of accumulation followed by young people in Zimbabwe’s land reform areas Blog

Pathways of accumulation followed by young people in Zimbabwe’s land reform areas

With limited assets and multiple constraints to access to land, accumulation by young people in our A1 land reform sites is challenging. This blog looks at the multiple pathways followed, highlighting how livelihoods, gender relations and styles of farming are being reinvented in the process. Challenges faced The challenges of generating livelihoods, building up assets and wider accumulation faced by…
PLAAS
June 23, 2025