A study led by Dr Mary-Jane Bopape, managing director of NRF-SAEON, featured in several media outlets in June this year, ranging from YouTube to South Africa Today (18 June) and IOL Online (19 June) to an interview with Dr Bopape on Power FM’s Power Lunch (19 June).

The research analysed climate and disaster data from 1980 to 2023. The findings reveal a troubling increase in both the frequency and severity of weather-related disasters, with human activity – particularly rapid urbanisation – exacerbating the risks.

Arid Lands Node

An article co-authored by Dr Helga van der Merwe, a researcher at the Arid Lands Node, was published in The Conversation of May 14. Titled Southern Africa’s rangelands do many jobs, from feeding cattle to storing carbon: a review of 60 years of research, the article sets out how local researchers became part of global conversations around rangeland ecology in the early 1990s. Over time, research expanded to become more inclusive of Africa and other parts of the world, while the scope of research diversified.

Rangelands were increasingly seen as multifaceted ecosystems critical in the fight against climate change. Increasing temperatures, increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide levels and changing rainfall patterns pose a threat to all ecosystems and the livelihoods of millions of people. Understanding the response of rangelands is increasingly important in devising management strategies to adapt to these changes.