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SEMINAR: The green transition in Africa and beyond – a tale of extractivism, fossil capitalism, and green (neo)colonialism

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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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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
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Vacancy: Associate Researcher FeaturedNews & Events

Vacancy: Associate Researcher

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. Applications are invited for a one-year contract post of Associate…
PLAAS
June 11, 2025
Halala! Professor Ruth Hall appointed as new PLAAS Director FeaturedHome SliderNews & EventsNews & Events FeaturedUncategorized

Halala! Professor Ruth Hall appointed as new PLAAS Director

The Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies (PLAAS) at the University of the Western Cape (UWC) welcomes Professor Ruth Hall as the new Director of the research institute. Beginning 1 June, Professor Hall has been appointed as Director of PLAAS, which also celebrates its 30th anniversary this year. Professor Hall will hold the Directorship for five years. New PLAAS…
PLAAS
June 10, 2025
Living Landscapes in Action Masterclass: Decolonising conservation, rights, livelihoods, access – cases from southern Africa FeaturedNews & Events

Living Landscapes in Action Masterclass: Decolonising conservation, rights, livelihoods, access – cases from southern Africa

Thursday, 12 June 2025 10.00 - 13.00 SAST Register on Zoom: https://shorturl.at/jmsAS With the increasing acknowledgement of the legacy of colonialism on conservation, including related land dispossession, race-based exclusionary practices of accessing natural resources, to mention a few, calls for decolonising conservation have become common. Indeed, there are numerous efforts (at least on paper) that aim to redress the imbalances…
PLAAS
May 29, 2025
FREE FILM SCREENING: Mathonga Elizwe – Spirits of the Land News & Events

FREE FILM SCREENING: Mathonga Elizwe – Spirits of the Land

Wednesday, 14 May 2025, 12:00-13:30 Library Auditorium University of the Western Cape, Bellville campus Mathonga Elizwe - Spirits of the Land chronicles the poignant stories of Black families still living under oppression on white-owned land in South Africa, the loss of ancestral lands, and the ongoing fight for its return. Join the Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies and…
PLAAS
May 2, 2025
Call for applications: Africa Writeshop in Critical Agrarian Studies and Scholar-Activism News & Events

Call for applications: Africa Writeshop in Critical Agrarian Studies and Scholar-Activism

The Journal of Peasant Studies and co-organisers are pleased to announce the Africa Writeshop in Critical Agrarian Studies and Scholar-Activism 2025 29 September - 6 October 2025 University of the Western Cape Cape Town, South Africa The Journal of Peasant Studies (JPS), Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies (PLAAS) at the University of the Western Cape (Cape Town), Collective…
PLAAS
March 18, 2025
Can this Budget bring about land justice? Something has got to give BlogFeaturedFeatured BlogHome SliderNews & EventsNews & Events Featured

Can this Budget bring about land justice? Something has got to give

By Nkanyiso Gumede and Ruth Hall Budget allocation is one measure of the government's commitment to deliver on its obligation to enact land reforms - including land redistribution, land restitution and land tenure reform. The government makes resources available to the Minister of Land Reform and Rural Development to fulfill its mandate to implement land reforms. In this section, we…
PLAAS
March 13, 2025