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"The Atlas project is an essential platform for facilitating the link between scientific and social research and decision making at the local and national scale." - Claire Davis
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"The feeling of being part of a project which is aimed at being at the centre of every decision-making process in the country can never be fully described in words." - Caesar Nkambule
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Two bright young sparks recently joined the SARVA team and are already making their presence felt.
Claire Davis took up her position as a candidate researcher in the Climate Change Group of CSIR Natural Resources and the Environment in July, and Caesar Nkambule joined the Group as a candidate researcher in September. Both will be contributing to the South African Risk and Vulnerability Atlas.
Young as she is, Claire Davis has managed to notch up considerable experience in global change research. She studied a Bachelor of Environmental Science at the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), majoring in Zoology and Geography. In 2008 she completed an Honours degree (with distinction) in Geography at Wits. Her research project coupled an ecosystem function model with downscaled climate change information in order to assess the impacts of climate change on two sites in the Kruger National Park - Skukuza and Satara.
Claire then completed an internship at AWARD (Association for Water and Rural Development), a non-governmental organisation based in the Lowveld region of South Africa. She was involved in a community-based project that was assessing the sustainability of local subsistence farming in a wetland system.
Some of her other research interests include the impacts of global environmental change on South African landscapes, conservation biogeography and species viability assessments, food security and land-cover change.
Claire says that she considers the Atlas project to be an essential platform for facilitating the link between scientific and social research and decision making at the local and national scale. "South Africa faces a complex set of environmental and developmental issues," she explains, "and as such the Atlas could enable more informed governance that is driven by current data sets and ultimately reduces the vulnerability of communities to global change challenges, such as climate change."
Claire is very excited to be part of this groundbreaking project and hopes she can contribute her own experiences and knowledge. "The SARVA team consists of a diverse set of individuals who each bring unique insight and ideas to the table," she says.
Claire is already a valued contributor to SARVA eNews. Articles she has co-written for this issue are South African position on Climate Change secured for COP15 and SARVA reaches out to expand into SADC.
Caesar Nkambule studied Bachelor of Environmental Science at the University of Venda. After graduating in 2006, he worked for Wandima Environmental consultancy as an environmental officer until January 2007.
In 2007 he enrolled for a BSc (Honours) in Geography at the University of Pretoria. In July 2007 he was employed as a GIS Assistant for Strategic Environmental Focus, and joined SANBI (South African National Biodiversity Institute) as a GIS intern in October 2007.
After graduating with a BSc (Hons) in Geography in 2008, Caesar enrolled for a Masters Degree in Environmental Management at the University of Pretoria. In January 2008 he joined the then Department of Water Affairs as a graduate trainee doing GIS applications.
Caesar says that he is delighted to be part of the SARVA team. "In being part of a team that comprises experts from diverse professional fields, one engages different stakeholders with diverse needs, and also deals with people outside the scientific circle," he comments, adding that this helps to broaden his knowledge about how other fields operate.
"Above all, the feeling of being part of a project which is destined to be at the centre of every decision-making process in the country can never be fully described in words," Caesar states, and says he hopes to learn as much as possible throughout the project life cycle as "great knowledge is departed this way".
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