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Above | The Oppenheimer Research Conference brings together people who are reimagining conservation for a changing world.
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Welcome to OGRC News, a quarterly round-up of big ideas and practical steps on the journey towards a sustainable future for people, places and planet. Please share with your networks.
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WHAT'S THE BUZZ AT THE 14th OPPENHEIMER RESEARCH CONFERENCE?
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The 14th Oppenheimer Research Conference brings together headline speakers who are reimagining conservation for a changing world.
As a sample of the heavyweights to look forward to:
South African soil scientist Lindokuhle Dlamini will challenge tree-planting orthodoxy, revealing the overlooked climate power of fire-managed grasslands.
Raptor biologist Merlyn Nkomo will sound the alarm on the jackal buzzard, showing how green energy can imperil raptor populations unless mitigation keeps pace.
Ugandan wildlife vet Dr Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka will share how her pioneering One Health model links gorilla survival to human well-being, transforming conservation across Africa.
Kenyan conservationist Jonah Western will speak on his conservation strategy of integrating traditional pastoralist practices with modern conservation tools to sustain biodiversity across working
landscapes.
Together, their talks weave a powerful vision of conservation that is ecologically sound, economically viable and deeply human.
Excitingly, you can watch all of this year's conference talks online – live and for free. Register for individual talks, or watch each day of the conference in its entirety.
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What the gorillas and a pioneer vet taught us: About disease, scarecrows and the future of conservation
What began as a veterinary mystery with sick mountain gorillas in Uganda’s Bwindi Forest led Dr Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka to uncover a vital truth: human health and wildlife survival are inseparable.
Her discovery that gorillas were catching scabies from scarecrows dressed in villagers’ clothes sparked a shift from species-focused conservation to the integrated One Health approach. Through her organisation, Conservation Through Public Health, she has built
community-driven solutions that improve sanitation, healthcare, family planning and livelihoods, while protecting gorillas and reducing human-wildlife conflict. In her keynote at the Oppenheimer Research Conference, she will share how this model now strengthens
conservation, tourism and resilience far beyond Uganda’s borders.
Read
more here.
Burning for carbon: How fire, trees and soils collide in South Africa's Afromontane grasslands
Dr Lindokuhle Dlamini challenges the popular belief that planting trees is always the best way to fight climate
change, showing instead that South Africa’s fire-managed Afromontane grasslands store more soil carbon and provide stronger climate resilience. His long-term research in the Drakensberg reveals that afforestation, whether through fire suppression or pine plantations,
can degrade soils, increase carbon emissions and damage water resources. By contrast, intact grasslands, maintained by natural fire cycles, act as powerful carbon sinks while safeguarding biodiversity and water security. At the Oppenheimer Research Conference,
Dlamini will present his paper, “Burning for Carbon: Fire, Afforestation and Soil Organic Carbon Dynamics in South Africa’s Afromontane Grasslands”, offering a cautionary yet hopeful blueprint for climate-smart conservation.
Read
more here.
Wings in the wind: Jackal buzzards and the hidden cost of green energy
The jackal buzzard, a striking raptor found only in southern Africa, is quietly becoming a casualty of South Africa’s
green energy transition. As wind farms expand, the very air currents that sustain these birds overlap with turbine blades, putting them at risk of severe population declines within decades. Raptor biologist Dr Merlyn Nkomo warns that “common” doesn’t mean
safe, and her research shows the species could face extinction without stronger mitigation strategies. At the Oppenheimer Research Conference, she will present “Navigating the Green Dilemma”, making the case for protecting biodiversity while pursuing renewable
energy, and for placing overlooked species like the jackal buzzard on the conservation agenda.
Read
more here.
From gourds to satellites: a Maasai-inspired model for reweaving Kenya’s rangelands
Jonah Western’s world is at its most abundant when it dances what he calls “a lazy, ecological minuet”.
Western is a Kenyan conservationist who has spent his life wrestling with the interplay between people and animals on the savannas that used to be under the sway of the Maasai, and who is attempting
an ambitious retrofit of a dwindling landscape to meet expanding needs. The minuet is a dance of decorum and harmony, and to illustrate how it’s performed in the veld, Western reaches for a Maasai saying, “that elephants create grasslands and cattle create
bushlands”. And as each moves forward and back, they “create this tapestry of habitats which maintain diversity”.
Read more here.
New Oppenheimer Chair announced
The University of Mpumalanga (UMP), in partnership with the Benjamin Raymond Oppenheimer Trust through Oppenheimer
Generations Research & Conservation (OGRC), launched the UMP–Oppenheimer Research Chair in Biodiversity Conservation. Led by Professor Dan Parker, the Chair will focus on advancing cutting-edge research and building postgraduate capacity by influencing conservation
policy that supports habitat restoration, promotes species conservation, and addresses the pressing challenges of climate change.
Read
an interview with Professor Parker here.
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Alignment of interests: Transitioning from short-term philanthropy to permanent outcome-based capital through the reduction of
frictional costs
Environmental initiatives remain overly dependent on an altogether small pool of public and philanthropic capital, which often exists at the behest of short-term interests and political cycles. This has
resulted in a substantial gap between global environmental funding needs and actual commitments
–
an $800 billion nature finance gap, to be precise.
After 40 years of efforts to generate “innovative finance” and “market-based solutions”, starting with debt-for-nature swaps in the 1980s, governments still provide over 80% of nature funding, and private
sources contribute less than 20%.
The UN Environment Programme’s State of Finance for Nature 2023 (UNEP Report) found similar percentages based on estimates of investments in nature-based solutions (the definition of which differs somewhat
from the definition of nature funding in the Paulson Report). The UNEP Report estimates that public sources provided 82% of funding for nature-based solutions, while the private for-profit sector provided 16% and philanthropy provided 2%.
Therefore, to establish a sustainable and long-term financing environment that fills this gap, it is essential to reform key frameworks, enabling scientists, policymakers, leaders and capital providers –
public and private – to collaborate effectively in addressing the considerable challenges ahead.
Throughout the conference, we will hear extensively from scientists and researchers about their successes and breakthroughs; this panel gives the opportunity for Ministerial leaders to outline how this science
and research can be most effectively implemented within the framework of political and economic realities, and how we can tackle head-on the challenge of bureaucratic frictional costs and improve their and conservation scientists' access to much-needed funding.
It also gives them the opportunity to share their experiences and discuss the changes they would like to see.
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Three up-and-coming African researchers gave their visions for big environmental solutions on the 34th Tipping Points webinar held
on 28 August 2025.
The three, who are in line to win the 2025 $150 000 Jennifer Ward Oppenheimer Research Grant, which supports up to three years of cutting-edge environmental research, are: Dr Beatrice Tchuidjang Nganso,
Dr Levy Otwoma and Dr Nompumelelo Catherine Baso-Mdiza.
Read more here and
watch the recording here.
The winner will be announced at the 14th Oppenheimer Research Conference (ORC) in Midrand.
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Throughout Africa, many rural communities struggle to live peacefully alongside wildlife. An elephant tramples a subsistence field.
A child walking to school is attacked by a lion. Such negative experiences often result in great financial loss, fear and retaliation.
So, how do you help wildlife and locals to coexist in ways that allow both to thrive? While there are no quick-fix answers, there
are many reasons to be hopeful.
In the 33rd Tipping Points webinar, environmentalists Dr Alexandra Zimmermann, Morris Munene, Nkateko Mzimba and Dr Anna Songhurst discussed
various ways to address this complex issue, from school bus initiatives to financial compensation. Yet, the clear thread throughout was the crucial role of local communities – not just in buying into schemes, but in leading them.
Read more here and
watch the recording here.
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The deep connection: Why even landlocked Africans are defending the seas
The 32nd Tipping Points webinar explored why Africa’s ocean future is everyone’s business – even for landlocked nations. Zambian advocate Autone Mululuma linked El Niño-driven droughts and food insecurity
to ocean health, calling for ocean literacy that connects inland communities to global climate systems. South Africa’s Zandile Ndhlovu shared how bridging fear and exclusion can foster guardianship, while Nigeria’s Olusola Adeoye warned of vanishing fish stocks
and stressed community-led solutions. Together, they argued that Africa’s youth are not future leaders but present actors, reshaping conservation from Lusaka to Lagos to Cape Town.
Read more here and
watch the recording here.
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Conservation servitude registered for protection of speckled dwarf tortoise in Northern Cape
The Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) has registered South Africa’s first conservation servitude on Lokenburg Farm in the Northern Cape to safeguard the critically endangered speckled dwarf tortoise
and its fragile habitat, reports the Cape Times. The servitude designates conservation management areas with restrictions on development and targeted actions such as controlling pied crow populations, which pose a major threat to tortoises. Lokenburg,
a historic working farm in the Bokkeveld, also supports exceptional biodiversity, lying at the transition between the Fynbos and Succulent Karoo biomes, both global hotspots. The Lokenburg Biodiversity Management Plan ensures long-term stewardship, integrating
sustainable farming with biodiversity protection while monitoring other threatened species such as Ludwig’s bustard and the martial eagle.
Read more here.
Elephants retired from zoos
The relocation of Charley, Pretoria Zoo’s last elephant, to a private reserve has ignited protests and petitions, highlighting tensions between animal welfare, public access and social equity.
While SANBI framed the move as a welfare measure, many residents, especially working-class families, saw it as the loss of an affordable civic amenity and a shift of public heritage into elite, inaccessible spaces. The controversy now extends to Johannesburg
Zoo, where three elephants remain at the centre of legal battles that pit welfare concerns against the educational role of zoos. At stake is a broader policy question: how to balance ethical commitments to animal care with the need to ensure inclusive, affordable
access to wildlife in urban Africa.
Read more here.
Environmental quality in Africa: Is the demographic dividend an asset?
Africa’s booming youth population brings both promise and peril for the environment, a new study finds. Analysing data from 44 countries between 1975 and 2021, research published in
Land Use Policy shows that the so-called demographic dividend fuels deforestation through trade liberalisation, foreign investment, rapid urbanisation and resource demand. Yet, the same demographic shift can also curb forest loss when channelled into
sustainable agricultural practices. The authors argue that harnessing Africa’s demographic power requires embedding environmental education and awareness at every level, so that economic growth strengthens – rather than undermines – the continent’s forests
and climate resilience.
Read more here.
Can we undo extinction? A growing effort to restore lost sharks
In Raja Ampat, Indonesia, scientists and local communities are attempting the world’s first shark rewilding through ReShark, a global effort to restore Indo-Pacific leopard sharks. The initiative,
as reported in Mongabay, draws on surplus eggs from aquariums, which are shipped, hatched and raised in custom nurseries before release into protected reefs. Since 2023, 132 eggs have been transported, producing 99 pups and 43 releases, with the goal
of rebuilding a viable population within a decade. Beyond science, the project empowers local “shark nannies” and students, blending conservation with community stewardship and offering a rare dose of optimism in the fight against extinction.
Read more here.
Traditional land use is integral to ecological function
Researchers have found that historical land-use practices are key to understanding present-day patterns of ecological productivity and resilience. A longstanding challenge has been distinguishing
different land-use activities across landscapes using archaeological and historical data, but the team shows that multispectral satellite imagery combined with machine learning can identify past subsistence strategies. In southwest coastal Madagascar – a region
often cited as an example of human-driven ecosystem degradation – they found that centuries of traditional land-use practices are positively correlated with ecosystem function. These findings suggest that efforts to address contemporary ecological degradation
in Madagascar and beyond should take into account historical land-use practices and their long-term ecological impacts, which are fundamental to protecting environmental systems.
Read more here.
Conservation must focus on ecological processes, not just saving species
New research suggests conservation should move beyond saving species from extinction and instead focus on restoring ecosystems.
The study, led by Life Sciences Professor at Imperial College London, Joe Tobias, argues that preserving functioning ecosystems is key to long-term biodiversity.
It warns that safeguarding ecological processes, such as species interactions and dispersal across landscapes, is crucial to maintaining resilient, adaptable ecosystems.
Read more here.
Evolutionary age correlates with range size across plants and animals
Researchers have found that more than 40 000 species of plants and animals worldwide are facing extinction, with range size being one of the strongest predictors of extinction risk, according
to a report in Nature Communications. By analysing over 26 000 species of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, reef fishes and plants, they discovered that older species generally have larger ranges across most groups, except for marine mammals, though
the strength of this relationship varies by taxonomic scale. They also confirmed that species on islands or with limited dispersal abilities tend to have smaller ranges, but showed that the link between species age and range size is stronger in these groups,
suggesting that island dynamics and dispersal ability shape this relationship. Overall, the study reveals that species with small ranges – and thus greater extinction risk – are typically island-restricted, poor dispersers or relatively young in evolutionary
terms.
Read more here.
Distinguishing Asian and African ivory with advanced techniques
In a significant breakthrough, reported in
Bioengineer, researchers have devised a novel approach to reveal the origin of ivory, utilising advanced techniques in Attenuated Total Reflectance Fourier Transform Infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy coupled with sophisticated chemometric analysis. This
study has far-reaching implications, particularly in the conservation of elephants and the regulation of the ivory trade, which has been a longstanding issue worldwide.
Read more here.
What does survival look like for animals who live in the slow lane?
While fast animals often capture attention, many species survive by moving extremely slowly. Sea anemones and dwarf seahorses creep at near-imperceptible speeds, relying on their environment
and defences rather than speed for survival. On land, creatures like banana slugs, giant tortoises and slow lorises also move gradually, but none rival the three-toed sloth, whose Tai Chi-like movements and slow metabolism make it the leading contender for
the world’s slowest animal. Sloths thrive by conserving energy, camouflaging from predators and surviving on low-quality food, showing that slowness can be a successful evolutionary strategy.
Read more here.
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The Phoenix isn’t the only creature to survive the flames
At the end of its life, the phoenix goes out in style, writes Bethany Brookshire in
Sciencenews. With a loud cry, the crimson bird bursts into flames. Then, from a pile of ash, a baby bird pokes out its tiny head. The phoenix has burned, but it is born anew. This story is common to ancient Greek and Egyptian mythology. And references
to the phoenix span fiction today, from Harry Potter to the anime series
One Piece.
There are no real phoenixes hiding anywhere. But science has revealed that some living things can take quite a bit of heat. And, like the phoenix, a few are even born from the ashes.
Read
more here.
Why do cats hate water?
Most cats dislike water, but exceptions exist, with some felines happily splashing in baths or showers. Their aversion stems largely from evolution: domestic cats descend from the African wildcat,
a desert-dwelling species that never adapted to aquatic environments. Upbringing also matters – unlike dogs, cats are rarely introduced to water in positive ways, and negative experiences can reinforce their fear. While cats generally don’t need bathing and
may even become stressed if their scent is masked, gradual, gentle exposure can help some learn to enjoy water on their own terms.
Read
more here.
Hongkongers' squawk-off in city's first bird call contest
The Hong Kong Bird Watching Society has hosted its first-ever bird call contest, with the aim to promote conservation
awareness. It saw bird fanatics dress up and take to the stage to mimic rhythmic calls of the koel, Asian barred owlet, chestnut-winged cockatoo and more.
Read
more here.
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Above | Through collaboration we can work together to preserve our precious planet.
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Our mailing address is:
Oppenheimer Generations Research & Conservation
6 St Andrews Road, Parktown, 2193
P.O. Box 61631, Marshalltown, 2107
Email: in...@opp-gen.com
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communication partner to OGRC
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