The Southern African Young Scientists Summer Program was again the highlight of joint activities between IIASA and South Africa in 2014.
Map of South Africa
Joint activities between IIASA and South Africa in 2014 included:
The second Southern African Young Scientists Summer Program (SA-YSSP) concluded in February 2014 with 36 doctoral students from around the world taking part and supervised by 39 senior scholars from South Africa and the IIASA network.
The third SA-YSSP began in November 2014 with 28 doctoral students from 17 countries taking part.
Joint research studies also included a study of how South Africa can make the transition to a low-carbon economy; smart ways to increase crop yields in South Africa; and the impact of different education policies on South Africa’s future population.
A new book, World Population and Human Capital in the 21st Century, presented the results of the latest population projections from the World Population Program (POP) and the Wittgenstein Centre for Demography and Human Capital. more
The Energy (ENE) Program made important strides in advancing the state of knowledge on energy poverty, the policy costs of expanding universal access to modern energy worldwide, and the synergies and tradeoffs between achieving universal access and other sustainable development goals. more
The Ecosystems Services and Management (ESM) Program’s Agro-Ecological Systems (AES) research group advanced global and regional crop modeling in 2014, implementing and calibrating additional crops in the global EPIC model and also studying the phosphorus cycle. more
Risk, Policy and Vulnerability (RPV) researchers in 2014 investigated the benefits of renewable energy investments, specifically large solar installations in the Middle East and North African (MENA) region. more
The Ecosystems Services and Management (ESM) Environmental Resources and Developments (ERD) research group upgraded the livestock module of the IIASA model GLOBIOM to make it the state-of-the-art global economic model in terms of livestock sector representation. more
Risk, Policy and Vulnerability (RPV) scientists showed how political risks to large-scale solar institutions planned for the Mediterranean and North African region depend on the specifics of the sector, size of project, and type of activity. They also discussed the water shortage challenges facing Iran. more
Gbenga Abiodun of the University of the Western Cape, South Africa, studied the impacts of temperature and rainfall on malaria incidence in sub-Saharan Africa. more
Stephen Eromobor of Central University of Technology, Free State, looked at how universities can become forces of good within a city by reengineering their infrastructure to become green buildings. more
Onalenna Gwate of Lupane State University, Zimbabwe, studied changes in historical streamflow and rainfall patterns with reference to dynamics in land cover in the C52A catchment in South Africa. more
Blessing Silaigwana of the University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, conducted a systematic review of randomized control trials to evaluate the efficacy of anthelmintic plants in treating soil-transmitted helminths (STHs) in humans. more
Olufiasayo Onawumi of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology, Ghana, researched how to establish landscape-scale mitigation projects that fully account for land use change. more
Kgothatso Brucely Shai, University of Limpopo, Turfloop campus, South Africa, found that it would be in the best interests of the USA for African nations to be developed and self-reliant, as this would enhance the capacity of African nations to buy products from the USA. more
Emmanuel Mavhura of the Department of Geography, Bindura University of Science Education, Bindura, Zimbabwe, looked at shrinking rural livelihoods in Muzarabani, Zimbabwe, and found low human wellbeing and low community resilience to flooding. more
Fatima Sumbul of Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India, examined the virtual water trade flow and its importance in informing water governance strategies. more
Gerald Meke of Chancellor College, Malawi, researched the effects on livelihoods of the introduction of co-management to conserve forest resources in the Zomba-Malosa Forest Reserve in Malawi. more
Johanna Schild of VU University Amsterdam, Netherlands, quantified water flow regulation within a semi-arid catchment and investigated the impact of implementing rainwater harvesting for more optimal water flow regulation. more
Gbenga Abiodun of the University of the Western Cape, South Africa, studied the impacts of temperature and rainfall on malaria incidence in sub-Saharan Africa. more
Onalenna Gwate of Lupane State University, Zimbabwe, studied changes in historical streamflow and rainfall patterns with reference to dynamics in land cover in the C52A catchment in South Africa. more
Thomas Schinko of the University of Graz/Wegener Center for Climate and Global Change, Austria, investigated the economic impacts of a financial derisking approach for concentrated solar power (CSP) in four North African countries. more
Olufiasayo Onawumi of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology, Ghana, researched how to establish landscape-scale mitigation projects that fully account for land use change. more
Kgothatso Brucely Shai, University of Limpopo, Turfloop campus, South Africa, found that it would be in the best interests of the USA for African nations to be developed and self-reliant, as this would enhance the capacity of African nations to buy products from the USA. more
Emmanuel Mavhura of the Department of Geography, Bindura University of Science Education, Bindura, Zimbabwe, looked at shrinking rural livelihoods in Muzarabani, Zimbabwe, and found low human wellbeing and low community resilience to flooding. more
Fatima Sumbul of Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India, examined the virtual water trade flow and its importance in informing water governance strategies. more
Johanna Schild of VU University Amsterdam, Netherlands, quantified water flow regulation within a semi-arid catchment and investigated the impact of implementing rainwater harvesting for more optimal water flow regulation. more