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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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New Publication: Bridging divides against erratic democratic trajectories

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PLAAS stands in solidarity with African citizens

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Seminar: Land Reform as an Anti-poverty Intervention that Promotes Sustainable Livelihoods News & Events

Seminar: Land Reform as an Anti-poverty Intervention that Promotes Sustainable Livelihoods

Seminar: Land Reform as an Anti-poverty Intervention that Promotes Sustainable Livelihoods Speaker: Dr. Lubabalo Mbekeni Date: Tuesday, 18 November 2025 Time: 13:00-14:00 SAST Venue: PLAAS seminar room, 2nd Floor, Jakes Gerwel Hall (Main Hall), UWC Click to Register via Zoom Abstract Section 25 (5), (6), and (7) of the Constitution of South Africa (1996) outlines the three pillars of land…
PLAAS
October 21, 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
Call for applications: PLAAS seeks a new Finance and Operations Manager FeaturedFeatured BlogHome SliderNews & EventsNews & Events Featured

Call for applications: PLAAS seeks a new Finance and Operations Manager

The Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies (PLAAS) at the University of the Western Cape engages in research, post-graduate teaching and supervision, short-course training and policy advocacy in to land, agriculture, food systems, natural resources management, social protection, and the dynamics of chronic poverty in contexts of structural inequality. We are recruiting for the position: Manager - Finance and…
PLAAS
September 29, 2025
Climate Change and Agrarian Justice featured image
Living Landscapes in Action Masterclass: Kumi Naidoo – Where are we in addressing the climate emergency in Africa and globally? News & EventsNews & Events Featured

Living Landscapes in Action Masterclass: Kumi Naidoo – Where are we in addressing the climate emergency in Africa and globally?

Wednesday, 15 October 2025 10:00 - 13:00 SAST Register on Zoom: https://shorturl.at/yCwdo Where are we in addressing the climate emergency in Africa and globally?   Abstract: The climate emergency is no longer a looming threat — it is a lived reality, with Africa bearing some of the harshest impacts despite contributing the least to global emissions. From prolonged droughts and…
PLAAS
September 25, 2025
Seminar: Medium-scale commercial agriculture and structural transformation in Zimbabwe – evidence for enhanced rural livelihoods News & Events

Seminar: Medium-scale commercial agriculture and structural transformation in Zimbabwe – evidence for enhanced rural livelihoods

Medium-scale commercial agriculture and structural transformation in Zimbabwe: evidence for enhanced rural livelihoods Date: Tuesday, 23 September 2025 Time: 13:00-14:00 SAST Venue: Zoom Click to Register Abstract This study engages with the contribution of Zimbabwe's medium-scale commercial farms to structural transformation, wealth creation, and enhanced livelihoods. Utilising field-based empirical evidence collected from rural Zimbabwe, the study employs a political economy…
PLAAS
September 12, 2025
What happened at the Urban Land Justice Gathering 2025 Home SliderNews & Events

What happened at the Urban Land Justice Gathering 2025

The Urban Land Justice Gathering brought together activists, community leaders, academics, residents, and political parties to address the deep-rooted crisis of land dispossession, spatial injustice, and housing inequality in South Africa, with a specific focus on Cape Town. The discussions traced the historical roots of dispossession from colonialism and apartheid to its contemporary manifestations through gentrification, market-led policies, and state…
PLAAS
September 3, 2025
Zodwa Masinga and fellow grass cutter return from harvesting qumbe on the edge of Lake St. Lucia at KwaNibela that they will use to make mats that they use and sell. Picture: Shoot the Breeze for PLAAS
FREE SCREENING: ‘Indalo Yethu’ at UWC’s EMS Women’s Month event News & EventsNews & Events Featured

FREE SCREENING: ‘Indalo Yethu’ at UWC’s EMS Women’s Month event

Indalo Yethu: Our livelihoods. Our nature. Our heritage. RSVP Date: Wednesday, 27 August 2025 Time: 14:00-17:00 Venue: Library Auditorium, University of the Western Cape, Bellville South Africa boasts its renowned biodiversity worldwide. UNESCO World Heritage Sites of iSimangaliso Wetland Park and Mapungubwe Cultural Landscape, as well as the Cape Floristic Region are touted as conservation oases open for tourism. But…
PLAAS
August 19, 2025
Join us at the Urban Land Justice Gathering in August News & Events

Join us at the Urban Land Justice Gathering in August

Urban Land Justice and Redistribution Gathering  Workshop17 Watershed, V&A Waterfront, Cape Town, South Africa 22 - 23 August 2025 RSVP As landmark court victories on urban land rights face implementation delays, the Urban Land Justice and Redistribution Gathering will convene from 22 - 23 August 2025 at Workshop17 Watershed, V&A Waterfront, a week after the proposed National Dialogue convened by the…
PLAAS
August 4, 2025
ACADEMIC SEMINAR: ‘To bend is not to beg’ – gleaning for remainders between affirmation and emancipation News & Events

ACADEMIC SEMINAR: ‘To bend is not to beg’ – gleaning for remainders between affirmation and emancipation

Gleaning is an age-old practice grounded in the right of the subaltern to the remainder, and the obligation of the dominant to produce and/or grant access to this remainder under conditions of marginality. Drawing on the history of gleaning and contemporary empirical examples from Senegal, this talk aims to elucidate the character of gleaning and to move beyond its portrayal…
PLAAS
July 29, 2025
Call for applications: New thinking on integrating biodiversity and social justice short course News & Events

Call for applications: New thinking on integrating biodiversity and social justice short course

Five-day in person short course 27 - 31 October 2025 Cape Town, South Africa Living Landscapes short course webpage Meet our course participants and lecturers here Why do current conservation paradigms not seem to be able to halt the global biodiversity extinction crisis? Why do many conservation approaches find it so hard to do justice to people and integrate ‘living…
PLAAS
June 12, 2025