FW: Notification email: CRC Seminar: Friday 25th July12:00 PM Socio-Ecological challenges and opportunities in addressing the inequalities of our colonial past whilst ensuring the conservation of biodiversity.
Elma Marais
Dear SAWMA community,
See below information about a seminar organised for next week, 25 July on Socio-Ecological challenges and opportunities in addressing the inequalities of our colonial past whilst ensuring the conservation of biodiversity.
Kind regards,
Elma
From:
Zishan Ebrahim <Zishan....@sanparks.org>
Sent: Wednesday, July 16, 2025 10:11 AM
To: Nolwazi Mbongwa <Nolwazi...@sanparks.org>
Cc: Emma Wright <Emma....@sanparks.org>; Nkabeng Mzileni <Nkabeng...@sanparks.org>
Subject: Notification email: CRC Seminar: Friday 25th July12:00 PM Socio-Ecological challenges and opportunities in addressing the inequalities of our colonial past whilst ensuring the conservation of biodiversity.
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Dear Colleagues,
I would like to invite you about the exciting seminar next week at the CRC in Tokai. We look forward to seeing you there, or online!
Speaker: Nolwazi Mbongwa, of South African National Parks
Title: Socio-Ecological challenges and opportunities in addressing the inequalities of our colonial past whilst ensuring the conservation of biodiversity.
Date and Time: Friday 25th July 2025, 12h00 - 13h00
Venue: Cape Research Centre Hall; for directions, refer to the map in the attachment.
Online link and MS Teams event page:
Speaker profile:
Nolwazi Mbongwa is a Social Ecological Systems Scientist at SANParks, whereby she is tasked with leading research, collaborations and engagements with Indigenous and local communities, private landowners, traditional leaders and healers to foster adaptive and co-management of biodiversity and cultural heritage for SANParks in the Cape Region. She has previously worked for and South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) and held the Indigenous Knowledge Researcher and Project Coordinator positions, whereby, she led the donor funded projects to preserve Indigenous southern African medicinal plants and culturally significant areas to contribute to inclusive Ecosystem Based Adaptation. She currently completing her PhD at the University of Cape Town looking at the Cultural value and sustainability of wildlife trade among traditional healers and muthi traders in South Africa. The research will contribute much needed information on the cultural and traditional influences on wildlife use in traditional medicine. Nolwazi completed her BSc., BSc. (Hons) (Cum Laude) and MSc. (Cum Laude) at the University of Witwatersrand. She has also collaborated with University of the Witwatersrand, Oxford University, National Zoological Garden and University of Maryland in various projects investigating and monitoring the wildlife trade of priority species.
She has also partnered with WildWall tiles for the regeneration and medicinal plant conservation in the city of Johannesburg by growing medicinal plants vertically to create green-urban corridors at KwaMai-Mai traditional market. She has also offered expert advice on traditional healers and community engagements to strategically rehabilitate Upper Jukskei river catchment in relevant areas of value to both the traditional healers and the environment long-term. She is currently a member of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Species Survival Commission (SSC) Southern African Plant Specialist Group (SAPSG) and the National Medicinal Plant Working group. Whereby, her expertise and experience have added invaluable capacity to the conservation sector with regards to sustainable use (linked to both subsistence and commercial trade), conservation planning, recovery work for critically threatened species, ex situ conservation and restoration and habitat conservation in southern Africa. Nolwazi’s love for the environment stems from a rural background where nature is not only loved for its aesthetic value, but it also holds cultural significance for its inhabitants. She is passionate about the collaborative work between resource users, scientists and conservationists in achieving the sustainable use of natural resources and ensuring that African cultural values are respected and considered in conservation initiatives, so that conflict of interests is mitigated, and communities can also take part in conserving the environment.
Seminar summary:
Previously, conservation policies in South Africa were rooted in fortress conservation, which did not take into consideration the cultural traditions and practices of Indigenous and Local communities and thus imposing limitations on these communities to partake in conservation initiatives – this led to conflict between lawmakers, enforcers and the community, and exacerbated the communities’ disinterest in conservation initiatives. Consequently, there was thus a need for policies to reform and recognise the important role that traditional practices, culture and the overall community has in conservation and the sustainable use of biodiversity. However, the shift has its own complexities – as there are still conflicting views in how we can best conserve biodiversity whilst catering to the intangible and tangible needs of the communities. The seminar by Nolwazi, will therefore explore the challenges and opportunities that currently exist within social ecology, in a quest to address the inequalities of our colonial past whilst ensuring the conservation of biodiversity.
Should you no longer wish to receive emails regarding our seminar series, please let me know. Alternately, if you have an interesting topic that you wish to present or would be interested to hear presented as a seminar at the CRC, please contact me.
Best wishes,
Zishan
Spatial / Geographic Information Systems
Cape Research Centre
SANParks
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