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SEMINAR: Navigating the green energy dilemma: a case study of geothermal development in Kenya

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Apply: PhD scholarships: Digital Agrarian Futures project

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Call for applications 2026: New Thinking on Integrating Biodiversity and Social Justice short course

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What South Africa’s Constitutional Court ruling on the Tafelberg property means for equitable access to land and spatial justice

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SEMINAR: Navigating the green energy dilemma: a case study of geothermal development in Kenya FeaturedHome SliderNews & EventsNews & Events FeaturedUncategorized

SEMINAR: Navigating the green energy dilemma: a case study of geothermal development in Kenya

Navigating the green energy dilemma: a case study of geothermal development in Kenya Renewable energy technologies are characterised by their low energy density and therefore often require large areas of land. Current literature on the energy transition shows that solar, wind, and geothermal projects frequently lead to new land conflicts, displacements, and a concentration of ecological, spatial, and aesthetic burdens…
PLAAS
August 12, 2026
Apply: PhD scholarships: Digital Agrarian Futures project FeaturedHome SliderNews & EventsNews & Events FeaturedUncategorized

Apply: PhD scholarships: Digital Agrarian Futures project

PhD scholarship in Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies: Digital Agrarian Futures Digital Agrarian Futures is a joint project between the University of the Western Cape and University of Cologne in Germany. The project's purpose is to understand the current unfolding of digital agrarian futures and their politics among farmers in Kenya and Tanzania. PhD topics submitted will need to analyse…
PLAAS
August 11, 2026
Call for applications 2026: New Thinking on Integrating Biodiversity and Social Justice short course FeaturedHome SliderNews & EventsNews & Events Featured

Call for applications 2026: New Thinking on Integrating Biodiversity and Social Justice short course

In-person short course 26-30 October 2026 Cape Town, South Africa Why are so many conservation approaches unable to do justice to people who live in these areas? What could an integrated approach to "living with" biodiversity rather than separating locals from nature achieve? Is conservation caught up in politics instead of focusing on transformation? The Institute for Poverty Land and…
PLAAS
July 8, 2026
What South Africa’s Constitutional Court ruling on the Tafelberg property means for equitable access to land and spatial justice BlogFeaturedHome SliderNews & EventsNews & Events Featured

What South Africa’s Constitutional Court ruling on the Tafelberg property means for equitable access to land and spatial justice

By Nkanyiso Gumede, Ruth Hall, Deshnee Subramany Pictures: Zacharia Mashele/Ndifuna Ukwazi The Constitutional Court judgment on a Tafelberg property in Sea Point, Cape Town, sets an important precedent on equitable access to land and spatial justice. The state is obliged to deliver on equitable access to land as outlined in Section 25(5) of the Constitution. The Constitutional Court confirmed that…
PLAAS
July 2, 2026
Seminar: Decolonising tourism development at Victoria Falls: a new evolutionary economic geography perspective with Dr Mfundo Mlilo FeaturedHome SliderNews & EventsNews & Events Featured

Seminar: Decolonising tourism development at Victoria Falls: a new evolutionary economic geography perspective with Dr Mfundo Mlilo

Dr Mfundo Mlilo, Institute of Geography, University of Cologne Wednesday, 3 June 2026 13:00 – 14:00 SAST PLAAS seminar room, 2nd Floor, Jakes Gerwel Hall, UWC Register for the in-person and online event via Zoom Evolutionary economic geography (EEG) perspectives have become dominant in regional development research, particularly in explaining regional industrial change. However, concerns are growing about EEG's relevance,…
PLAAS
May 28, 2026
Colloquium – Solidarity then and now: African and Norwegian perspectives on scholarly collaboration and social justice amid geopolitical change Home SliderNews & EventsNews & Events Featured

Colloquium – Solidarity then and now: African and Norwegian perspectives on scholarly collaboration and social justice amid geopolitical change

Colloquium invitation Solidarity then and now: African and Norwegian perspectives on scholarly collaboration and social justice amid geopolitical change Thursday, 7 May 2026 12:00 to 13:30 (SAST) University of the Western Cape, Bellville Campus Library Auditorium / livestream Lunch will be served after the event RSVP here Livestream details will be emailed to confirmed RSVPs Can solidarity from a moment…
PLAAS
May 4, 2026
New report launch: Urban conservation from the perspective of justice in Cape Town FeaturedHome SliderNews & EventsNews & Events Featured

New report launch: Urban conservation from the perspective of justice in Cape Town

Urban nature as commons: The case of Cape Town, South Africa Tuesday, 14 April 2026 10:30 – 12:30 Edith Stephens Nature Reserve Govan Mbeki Road, Philippi, Cape Town Location RSVP by 10 April 2026 'How do working class urban communities see nature conservation, and how can it be pursued to meet social justice as well as biodiversity objectives?' Our new…
PLAAS
April 8, 2026
SEMINAR: Putting land redistribution back on the agenda – towards ICARRD 2026 News & EventsNews & Events Featured

SEMINAR: Putting land redistribution back on the agenda – towards ICARRD 2026

Prof Ian Scoones, Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, UK Wednesday, 11 February 2026 13:00 - 14:00 SAST PLAAS seminar room, 2nd Floor, Jakes Gerwel Hall, UWC Register via Zoom Despite claims of its decline, redistributive land reform remains a key policy issue, particularly as economic inequality gains renewed global attention. Building on the work of the Land Redistribution…
Deshnee Subramany
February 2, 2026
Call for 2026 applications: Postgraduate Diploma in Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies News & Events

Call for 2026 applications: Postgraduate Diploma in Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies

The Postgraduate Diploma in Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies is the only programme in the land and agrarian studies field offered at a South African University, and is accredited at NQF level 8. It offers: internationally recognised lecturers with decades of established expertise in poverty, land and agrarian studies; a solid understanding of key concepts in poverty, land, agrarian reform,…
PLAAS
January 12, 2026
LECTURE: Beget caring conservation – searching for meaning in the emerging concept of OECMs in the 2030 race News & EventsNews & Events Featured

LECTURE: Beget caring conservation – searching for meaning in the emerging concept of OECMs in the 2030 race

Date: Wednesday, 10 December 2025 Time: 10.00 - 12.00 SAST It was over 300 years prior to the country's first marine protected area (MPA), when the Western Cape witnessed its first fishing restrictions that had lasting impacts. To date, the majority of local and indigenous coastal communities struggle to discern between contemporary conservation measures from the colonial and apartheid periods.…
PLAAS
December 1, 2025