Research Areas

Our research programme aims to develop an in-depth understanding of key processes within rural social formations and of land and agrarian reform, and to provide policy-oriented recommendations. Furthermore, we aim to foster critical yet engaged scholarship, and help build a new cadre of applied social scientists with expertise in these sectors.

      
Research Areas [1]

    Natural Resources Management


The objective of this Specific Support Action (SSA) is to share existing research and experiences in the governance of natural resource commons across different ecosystem types and scales in Southern Africa: including marine and coastal zones; arid and semi-arid grasslands; savannas and forest patches; and aquatic, wetland and floodplain ecosystems.
      
Research Areas [2]

   Chronic Poverty


PLAAS’s research on poverty and chronic poverty intends to inform policymaking by grounding debate in a detailed understanding of the livelihood activities and strategies of poor and vulnerable people, and the ways in which those livelihoods are embedded in the broader political economy of South Africa.
      
Research Areas [3]

    Fishing Rights & Marine Resources


This research aims to investigate the root causes as to why fishing and coastal communities continue to be poor even after 1994.
      
Land Clips
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Debate
The PLAAS Blog:
Another countryside

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www.anothercountryside.wordpress.com
New Publications
Working paper 17: The Case for Re-Strategising Spending Priorities to Support Small Scale Farmers in South Africa by Ruth Hall and Michael Aliber
Hall, R. and Aliber, M (2010) The Case for Re-Strategising Spending Priorities to Support Small Scale Farmers in South Africa. Working Paper 17, April 2010. PLAAS, University of the Western Cape. (WP17) April 2010
Status report on land and agricultural policy in South Africa, 2010 - Research Report 40 (RR40)
Status report on land and agricultural policy in South Africa, 2010. Stephen Greenberg. Research Report 40 (RR40)
Tribal Land Administration in Botswana by Richard White - PLAAS Policy Brief 31 (PB31)
White, R. (2009) Tribal Land Administration in Botswana. PLAAS Policy Brief 31, 2009. PLAAS, University of the Western Cape. PLAAS Policy Brief 31 (PB31)
See the entire folder …