South Africa
The NRF is an independent government agency that aims to promote and support research in all fields of knowledge. It provides services to the research community, especially in the areas of higher education, and has a strong interest in the development of human capital and sustainable development.
Dr. Dorsamy (Gansen) Pillay is the current Council Member representing South Africa. Dr. Pillay leads two of the three divisions within the NRF. These are:
Coleen Vogel, Professor of Sustainability at the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa and member of the South African Scientific Committee for Global Change in South Africa is a member of IIASA Scientific Advisory Committee.
Collaborations with, or research relevant to, South Africa began in the 1970s focusing on forestry, land and water management, nutrition, demographics and human capital, air quality, and international negotiation and conflict resolution.
Today the major collaborations between IIASA and South Africa are in the areas of:
- food and water security;
- land management;
- energy security and sustainability;
- population; and
- climate change.
IIASA's research interests in Africa are not limited to South Africa, and extend to projects across Sub Saharan Africa, Central and Northern Africa.
Key relationships and collaborations
Apart from the NSF, IIASA has collaborations with many South African Institutions, including:
- Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)
- University of Science and Technology
- World Bank, Europe and Central Asia region (SA country office)
- Forestry South Africa, Johannesburg
- African Energy Policy Research Network
- University of Cape Town
- Carbon and Energy, Africa
- African Population and Health Research Centre
- University of Port Elizabeth
- Georgetown University: Department of International health
Select Research Highlights
Land use food security:
- The IIASA, UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) developed Global Agro-Ecological Zones (GAEZ) model has been used to analyze the African and the sub-Saharan (SSA) region to evaluate the impact of climate change on land use and agriculture, with reference to food security. Estimates suggest there will be an increase in severe drying of 5-8 percent of SSA by the 2080s and that a third of the region is at risk of significant declines in crop production. While 200M Ha could be used to expand food and energy production, the key to enhancing food security in SSA will be achieving yield increases on current cultivated land. SSA will have an additional 17 to 50 million undernourished people in the second half of this century. More.
- GAEZ has also been used to calculate crop yields under changing water regimes in South Africa and the impact of biofuels on food security in parts of Africa.
- IIASA and Beijing University calculate that 80 percent of African countries are confronted with nitrogen stress or scarcity, which, along with poverty, causes food insecurity and malnutrition.
- IIASA analyzed the impact of climate change on crop yield and under-nutrition in SSA and identified regional hotspots where early intervention, using adaptive measures, may avert future hunger and improve food security.
Energy security and sustainability:
- Five South African energy experts from the University of Cape Town are Lead Analysts for the IIASA coordinated Global Energy Assessment (GEA). More broadly, Africa contributes to the GEA through the African Energy Policy Research Network contributing a Convening Lead Analyst and two Lead Analysts, while Senegal contributes one Lead Analyst.
- IIASA has conducted energy access research in SSA and maintains an active research and collaboration interest in the region.
- How Africa prepares for and adapts to climate change is a consideration in much of IIASA's research, including issues of Financial adaptation to extreme climatic events.
Population and health:
- Rapid population growth and low human capital (health and education status) are at the heart of many of the problems faced by southern Africa. IIASA, with the Demographic Institute of Vienna have applied multi-state projections to SSA and conclude that education is the key policy variable that can reduce poverty, improve health, and help people and communities move out of the poverty trap.
Capacity Building
IIASA's annual Young Scientists Summer Program (YSSP), offers advanced level PhD candidates the opportunity to work with IIASA scientists over a 3-month period, with the explicit aim of refining or extending their research skills in the area of systems analysis. Since the first South African participant in 1997 a total of 11 South Africans have completed the YSSP. Candidates have been involved primarily in research on population and demography, risk and vulnerability, and land use change.More information and how to apply for the YSSP or IIASA postdoctoral program.
In 2010 Hayley McIntosh from the University of Cape Town, South Africa, completed the YSSP. Her research explored the application of Bayesian networks for the analysis of data resulting from combining individual climate model runs for seasonal forecasts in Southern Africa. The research will ultimately support decision making in agriculture in the region.