Collaborators

Collaborators

SAEON is only able to succeed in their mandate through partnering with external researchers from multiple disciplines. SAEON’s core mandate is to deliver long term in situ monitoring platforms for global change science. As an emerging Facility within the NRF, by definition these platforms are intended to enable research and science capacity development across academic institutions. Collaboration is therefore a central ethos of the GFW node. We see the nodes role as providing the long term routine in situ observations products, infrastructure, technical capacity and facilities, on which researchers can grow and developed academic research towards understanding global change dynamics.

GFW Collaboration

Collaboration is a central ethos in the South African Environmental Observation Network. A particular approach of the GFW node is designing its monitoring network to address a suite of critical interrelated variables that span several key disciplines linked to global change. While these are initially set up as discrete observation projects, the intention is to collaborate with specialists in each field to improve component understanding in each field and work towards integrating outcomes across disciplines to approximate a system level approach to understanding global change dynamics. A major step forward in this approach was the first Cathedral peak Mini Symposium in November 2013. The Mini Symposium brought together current and potential collaborators. This opportunity allowed the researchers to share their work and discuss the way forward building a coherent integrated vision. In addition to academic partners, the GFW node collaborates closely with other government departments, (DWAF, DAE), Education institutions (WESSA, MMEP), land custodians (iSimangaliso Wetland Park, EKZNW), and the Water Research Commission (WRC).

Key Collaborators

List of Key Collaborators: ASSET – Association for Educational Transformation DAE - Department of Agriculture and Rural Development DWAF - Department of Water Affairs EKZNW - Ezemvelo KwaZulu-Natal Wildlife (host to the Grasslands-Forests-Wetlands Node) iSimangaliso Wetland Park MMAEP – Midlands Meander Education Project UKZN - University of KwaZulu-Natal UZ - University of Zululand WESSA – Wildlife and Environmental Society of South Africa Wits University WRC - Water Research Commission