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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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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
Expropriation for land justice: a public dialogue with Land Reform and Rural Development Minister Mzwanele Nyhontso FeaturedHome SliderNews & EventsNews & Events Featured

Expropriation for land justice: a public dialogue with Land Reform and Rural Development Minister Mzwanele Nyhontso

Nathan Adams - UWC Institutional Development Can the Expropriation Act be used as a tool for land justice? The Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies (PLAAS) and Tshisimani Centre for Activist Education (TCAE) at the University of the Western Cape (UWC) hosted a public dialogue on land justice and the newly signed Expropriation Act. The Minister of Land Reform…
PLAAS
March 12, 2025
Expropriation as a tool for land justice: Public dialogue with Rural Development and Land Reform Minister Mzwanele Nyhontso News & EventsNews & Events Featured

Expropriation as a tool for land justice: Public dialogue with Rural Development and Land Reform Minister Mzwanele Nyhontso

Image courtesy of Ndifuna Ukwazi. Venue: UWC, Jakes Gerwel Hall Date: Tuesday, 11 March 2025 Time: 12:00 to 14:00 The Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies and Tshisimani School for Activist Education at the University of the Western Cape, invite you to a public dialogue on land justice, and expropriation as a means of advancing land justice. This is…
PLAAS
March 7, 2025
Climate Change and Rural Livelihoods in South Africa An Agenda for Policy-Oriented Research
Post-doctoral fellowship at University of the Western Cape’s Department of Anthropology News & Events

Post-doctoral fellowship at University of the Western Cape’s Department of Anthropology

The Department of Anthropology from the University of the Western Cape is offering a post-doc position for 18 months with a thematic focus on social justice, environmental politics and socio-ecological transformation, as part of the research project Transforming environmental governance in the Anthropocene: an action research in the field of Access and Benefit-Sharing. The TEGA project was launched in July…
PLAAS
March 7, 2025
NELGA Masterclass: Comparative land law in Africa – legal traditions, colonial legacies, and innovations FeaturedNews & EventsNews & Events Featured

NELGA Masterclass: Comparative land law in Africa – legal traditions, colonial legacies, and innovations

This masterclass forms part of the Network of Excellence on Land Governance in Africa lecture series, hosted by PLAAS. Wednesday, 12 March 2025 10:00 – 13:00 SAST / CAT Register on: https://shorturl.at/NayHx Land law remains the foundation of legal and economic systems across Africa, structuring resource access, economic development and social equity. This lecture comparatively explores the diverse landscape of…
PLAAS
March 3, 2025