Basic HTML Version
93
Our World at Risk
There is growing urgency across the globe to address the effects of climate change.
Academic research at the University of Cape Town is rising to the challenge by spear-
heading cutting-edge and proactive programmes and projects on regional and local
issues where climate change is of concern.
C
limate change has become a critical global concern
affecting all countries and continents. Developing
nations are particularly at risk as rising temperatures,
floods and droughts have more devastating effects
in areas afflicted by poor infrastructure, inadequate
housing, poverty and a lack of resources. Because of
the complexity of the problem, the University of Cape
Town has been working to stimulate cross-disciplinary
research and teaching to address a range of dilemmas
raised by climate change.
Principal amongst these initiatives is the university’s
flagship African Climate and Development Initiative (ACDI),
launched in 2011 with the aimof advancing inter-disciplinary
research and graduate training on climate change from an
African development perspective. ACDI harnesses the
research being undertaken across the university under a
unified umbrella and takes a holistic approach towards all
research projects.
The past year represents the first full year of ACDI
being in operation, after the appointment of Professor
Mark New, in mid-2011 as Pro-Vice-Chancellor and
director of the initiative. The aims of ACDI in 2011/2012
were to establish the ACDI master’s programme, to
enhance activities and exchanges within the university’s
many departments, to pilot deeper research enquiries,
and to develop research partnerships with external
stakeholders.
ACDI accepted its first cohort of nine students on the
master’s in Climate Change and Sustainable Development;
all of whomwill graduate in June 2013. This MSc programme
breaks new ground at UCT, offering an integrated
approach to climate-change topics, with contributions to
core and elective courses from a number of departments
representing all UCT faculties.
An ACDI highlight in 2012 was the initiation of research
exploring climate and development issues in the Berg
River area of the Western Cape, supported by the
Carnegie Corporation. This project is unique in bringing
together UCT researchers from seven departments and
a range of actors in the Berg River municipal area
– from regional and local government, commercial
agriculture and industry, to nature conservation.
In addition, serving as a laboratory to explore the
success, challenges and opportunities that inter- and
transdisciplinary research presents to the university, the
project has facilitated the “bottom-up” development
of several collaborative research projects, where the
research questions and methods are co-produced
collectively between researchers and practitioners.
Undoubtedly, climate change is both a global and a very
personal phenomenon. It affects just about every area
of our lives. This interconnectedness is what is driving
UCT’s inter-disciplinary approach to climate-change
studies. From the economics of poverty and inequality
to energy security, palaeosciences and marine and bird
research, there is a wide range of research at UCT that,
impacts upon and feeds into the work of ACDI.
ACDI research projects
undertaken by students
Climate risks and constraints to adaptation for
sustainable livelihoods of the rural poor
The co-benefits of environmental job-creation
projects in Cape Town
The University of Cape Town's food system and
its relation to the institutional carbon footprint
Socio-economic
implications
of
the
implementation of coastal development setback
lines
Urban agriculture in Cape Town and the City of
Cape Town Urban Agriculture Policy 2007
Measuring, reporting and verifying mitigation
actions at the municipal level: City of Cape Town
Energy efficiency and environmental performance
of the South African cement industry since 1980
Mechanisms encouraging transport modal
shifts from private to public transport to reduce
transport emissions in the City of Cape Town
Public perception of climate change in Lavender
Hill, Cape Town
A ground breaking new
postgraduate course at UCT offers
an integrated approach to cl imate
change topics.