News

• 2013-01-24 | south africa | Fisheries Parks & Wildlife Policy design 70 million ZAR fund needed to address post-closure pollution from proposed mine Within the unique wetland area Mpumalanga Lake District in South Africa lies the site of a proposed, and controversial, opencast coal mine, the Lusthof colliery. It will require a preliminary ‘set-aside’ of about 70 million South African rands (9 million USD) to fund maintenance of water quality in the area’s rivers and lakes for a hundred years after closure, EfD researcher shows. Such set-asides to meet mine closure costs are required by South Africa’s mining legislation.
• 2012-11-30 Senior research fellow Tony Leiman on SANRAL toll road The SANRAL toll road issue has become a public debate in recent time following the furor over tolling in Johannesburg.
• 2012-11-30 Coal mining in the Chrissiesmeer Mpumalanga wetlands Senior research fellow Tony Leiman provided advice on a proposal to begin coal mining in the Chrissiesmeer Mpumalanga wetlands.
• 2012-11-26 EPRU provides advice on fisheries management It has been a matter of concern for some time that much of the institutional memory of fisheries management and policy guiding attempts to conserve the resource, has been located in a small number of persons. Many of these are close to retirement or indeed retired, and many of the younger persons have moved into the private sector or emigrated.
• 2012-11-26 Political Economy of Fisheries in Developing Countries EPRU Fellow Mare Sarr attended a policy workshop on the political economy of fisheries in developing countries organised by the World Bank Agriculture and Rural Department (April 12-13).
• 2012-09-10 Financing the CBD’s Aichi Biodiversity Targets for 2020 In 2010 parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) adopted the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011 – 2020 which comprised an ambitious set of 20 targets for slowing, halting, and reversing biological diversity loss associated with degradation of ecosystems on a global scale.
• 2012-09-10 Teaching Course in the Albertine Rift Valley EPRU Research Fellow Jane Turpie taught a course in economic valuation and environmental policy instruments as part of a course on the economic tools for conservation and infrastructure planning in the Albertine Rift.
• 2012-09-10 Research Focus Area launched at Rhodes University This week the Economics Department at Rhodes University celebrated the launch of a Research Focus Area in Resource Economics, having won substantial funding from the university over a three-year period.
• 2012-06-15 EfD/EPRU study shows how the Khomani San might benefit from ecotourism in Kalahari In 1994 the Khomani San “bushmen” community successfully reclaimed land inside and outside the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park. Yet despite ownership of a portion of land still part of the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, the Khomani San community has never directly benefited from tourism revenues from entrance fees. EPRU researchers show how voluntary donations earmarked for the Khomani San community by park visitors above their entrance fees can be the first step to a better distribution of park profits among stakeholders. Furthermore, the researchers show that the Khomani San community does value biodiversity conservation in its area making it a reliable partner in conservation.
• 2012-05-28 Collaborative Marine Protected Areas project launched EfD’s first collaborative project on marine conservation started with a meeting of the principle investigators from the Costa Rica, Tanzania and South Africa in Costa Rica during early May.
• 2012-05-28 South African Linefish Conference Jane Turpie attended the national Linefish Conference in Langebaan, which was attended by a range of scientists and managers from around the country.
• 2012-05-28 Climate change impacts on South Africa’s rural areas Jane Turpie and Martine Visser completed a study for the Fiscal and Financial Commission on the impact of climate change on rural agricultural productivity and the relative vulnerability of South Africa’s rural municipalities to climate change.
• 2012-05-28 Climate change and marine protected areas Jane Turpie was invited to give a presentation on “Using economics to support coastal conservation interventions to address climate change” at the Western Indian Ocean Climate Change Workshop for Coastal and Marine Protected Areas, held in Cape Town in February 2012.
• 2012-02-10 | eeu sweden south africa tanzania | Climate change Policy design Briefing Report: EfD Side-Event to the UN Climate Change Conference in Durban This Briefing Report about the EfD Side-Event to the UN Climate Change Conference in Durban 2011 is authored by Mark Purdon, University of Toronto/EfD Research Associate.
• 2012-01-13 Sterner on CNBC Africa/ABN tv show: "Fuel Taxes on the Poor" Thomas Sterner was interviewed in a tv-show on CNBC Africa/ABN yesterday at 17.30. The show, "Beyond Market", was broadcasted via cable throughout Africa and also in England.
• 2011-12-22 | south africa | Climate change Policy design RFF/EfD Book Launch on January 11, 2012 at the University of Cape Town: Higher petrol taxes don’t hurt the poor The book, "Fuel Taxes and the Poor, The Distributional Effects of Gasoline Taxation and Their Implications for Climate Policy" will be launched at the University of Cape Town, School of Economics on January 11, 2012. EfD research fellow Professor Thomas Sterner, who is also the editor of the book, will be accompanied by EPRU research fellows for the book launch.
• 2011-12-21 | south africa | Climate change Policy design Sterner teaches UCT masters course on environmental issues in developing countries Poverty, natural resource management, and environmental degradation are inextricably linked, and this course explores ways that economic analysis can help identify underlying problems and formulate effective policy responses to them. This course, Sustainable Development and the Economics of Climate Change, is a 10-day field course on environmental issues in developing countries, with an emphasis on issues surrounding global climate change. Thomas Sterner, professor in environmental economics at the University of Gothenburg, are among the lecturers.
• 2011-12-02 Climate Change Negotiations and Fairness - EfD side event for COP17 ”What is Fair: An Experimental Guide to Climate Negotiations” is the title of the speech that will be held by Martine Visser, Associate Professor at University of Cape Town/EfD South Africa, at this EfD side event for COP 17 in Durban. Thomas Sterner, Professor of Environmental Economics at the University of Gothenburg and lead author in one IPCC working group will speak about "Building Climate Change Research Capacity in Developing Countries". He will also present the findings of the new book "Fuel Taxes and the Poor, authored by 35 renowned researchers. Mark Purdon, University of Toronto/EfD tanzania will speak about CDM Afforestation Projects in Tanzania, Uganda.
• 2011-11-09 EPRU advises South African government on dealing with Climate Change in rural areas South Africa has developed a set of national goals in which the development of its impoverished rural areas is a high priority.
• 2011-10-12 | south africa | Climate change University of Cape Town Students walk the talk in carbon trading UCT students pile into a VC Beetle, demonstrating the importance of car pooling - and doing their best to limit their carbon footprint.
• 2011-08-29 | south africa | Climate change EfD South African Center EPRU hosts the Cape Town Optimum Energy Future (OEF) The Optimum Energy Future debate hosted by EPRU the 16th of August at the UCT School Economics was the opportunity to discuss with policy decision makers, academics and other relevant stakeholders the future of the City of Cape Town Energy and Climate Action Plan (ECAP). Anthony Black, EfD research associate is particularly involved in the project.
• 2011-05-13 | south africa Sustainable and Responsible Investment taught in Development Finance EfD-EPRU Research Associate Stephanie Giamporcaro lectured in March 2011 on Sustainable and Responsible Investment for the innovative Mphil in Development Finance launched recently by UCT Graduate School of Business and the Africa Growth Institute.
• 2011-05-13 | south africa | Policy design Diamond revenues must improve infrastructure A contribution of EfD/EPRU Research Fellow Edwin Muchapondwa to the policy debate in Zimbabwe
• 2011-05-02 | south africa | Parks & Wildlife Policy design Park Pricing Workshop in Zimbabwe completed Optimal park pricing can help achieve sustainable park management in eastern and southern Africa. The EfD center in South Africa, EPRU, co-hosted the second park pricing workshop in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, from 28 to 29 April 2011, together with Department of Economics at the University of Zimbabwe. It focused on an increasingly important sector with major values at stake due to irreversibilities of some types of biodiversity loss.
• 2011-03-23 | south africa | Policy design Reporting average electricity consumption makes households consume less Reporting to people about their own and the average consumption of electricity caused all kinds of households in suburbs of Cape Town to significantly reduce their electricity consumption. This is the conclusion of initial research results from EfD South Africa. Households in the middle income suburbs were the most responsive, followed by lower income suburbs. The upper income suburbs responded the least.
• 2011-03-16 | south africa | Climate change Adressing climate change through local leadership: a talk by Research Fellow Anthony Leiman Anthony Leiman gave a talk on the economic value of the False Bay Ecology Park and the City of Cape Town nature reserves (including wetlands and green belt) at the conference Local Climate Solutions for Africa 2011 held in Cape Town end of February and coordinated by the organisation: Local Governments for Sustainability.
• 2010-12-29 Mare Sarr new coordinator for EfD in South Africa Mare Sarr takes over as the coordinator of the EfD Center in South Africa. Meet him in this interview!
• 2010-12-07 Hot off the press: A book on water estuaries by Johane Dikgang EPRU junior research fellow Given the overwhelming evidence available on the significance of freshwater inflow to estuary functionality in South Africa, it is clear that an important component of catchment management is the allocation of river water into estuaries. This book provides economic guidance on the matter through valuable comparisons of different estuaries.
• 2010-10-08 Water at stake: EfD-EPRU junior research fellow Johane Dikgang contributes to a Water Research Report EfD-EPRU junior Research Fellow Johane Dikgang contributed to 3 of the 8 chapters (4,6&7) of the report_ The valuation of estuary services in South Africa specifically regarding changes to estuary services as a result of reductions to fresh water inflows_ released by the South African Water Research commission.
• 2010-10-06 UCT Monday Paper: EPRU post-doctoral fellow under the light UCT weekly newspaper The Monday Paper published the 13 September 2010 a profile on EfD-EPRU post-doctoral fellow Dr Stephanie Giamporcaro and her research on environmentally responsible investment:

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