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After a decade of visionary leadership, the International Institute for Environmental Studies (IIES) marks a pivotal moment as Professor Douglas Evans steps down from his role as founding Director.
In my opinion, the 2025 Science & Policy Workshop marked a special milestone as the plenary session unraveled themes that speak to the current global environmental challenges and strategic remediation approaches.
The experience was very enriching, being surrounded by great researchers and academics was a privilege, the community is very friendly and open to collaboration. The experience of getting to know another continent, ecosystems and vegetation is amazing, both for the culture and the language.
I really enjoyed re-connecting with professors from other institutions that I had met at the previous conference and meeting other Trent students. It was great that folks knew each other and were open to networking and staying connected after the conference.
The 8th International Graduate Student Forum, co-hosted by the University of the Witwatersrand and UNA Europa, convened this year in the scenic setting of Acornhoek, South Africa, following the 9th Annual Science & Policy Workshop. Hosted at the Wits Rural Facility, the forum welcomed 83 participants representing 18 institutions across 10 countries.
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Participant Articles
Membership Agreements
The IIES is delighted to welcome its newest member, the Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS) in Quebec, Canada.
This new collaboration between the IIES and the University of the Witwatersrand aims to facilitate cooperation in the academic and research missions of IIES’s members in the areas of climate change, legacy challenges from the mining sector, poor governance leading to infrastructural decay and a growing population.
The MOU, signed in April 2024, between the IIES and the INCT-TMCOcean aims to facilitate cooperation in the academic and research missions of IIES’s members in the areas of related ecosystem services, biodiversity, regional and global changes between Brazil and IIES Member countries.
Online Lecture Series
The overarching theme of this series is “improving water security” but the presentations touch on many pillars of the International Institute for Environmental Studies, for example water quality and emerging pollutants relating to environmental health.
Mangroves are one of the most efficient and effective natural tools for mitigating and adapting to global change in tropical and subtropical coasts. This seminar series thus focuses on the environmental impacts on, and mangrove response to, global change and on the outcomes of restoration and improved capacities of mangroves to mitigate pressures from global change.
Of the 7 billion tonnes of plastic waste produced globally, less than 10% has been recycled (UNEP). While there is a huge problem with plastic waste generally, more recently researchers have begun to identify problems associated with microplastics, i.e. very small particles of plastic that are either released directly to the environment or are formed in situ.
