The Afromontane Research Unit: Reaching for New Heights

• Main Authors: V. Ralph Clark, Lethiwe Sokhela, Joao de Deus Vidal
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: International Mountain Society 2019-11-01
• Series: Mountain Research and Development
• Subjects: afromontane research unit (aru)
• Online Access: https://bioone.org/doi/10.1659/MRD-JOURNAL-D-20-00006.1

The Afromontane Research Unit (ARU), based at the Qwaqwa Campus of the University of the Free State, South Africa, continues to grow in research strength and reach. While a core focus on the sustainable development of the Maloti–Drakensberg will be perennial, the ARU is leading the way in growing a robust community of practice for transdisciplinary research on southern African mountains. Combined with a vision for strong science, policy, and action, this is being achieved through exponential growth of partnerships—local, regional, and global—to tackle relevant issues, in particular wicked problems that seemingly defy achievement of the sustainable development goals. An important component in growing this community of practice is the development of our staff and students at Qwaqwa: for instance, in 2018–2019, US$ 270,000 was invested in Qwaqwa research projects; simultaneously, US$ 500,000 was actively sourced by Qwaqwa academics to supplement these internal ARU funds. The investment and effort are showing increasing return in terms of personal academic development and increased quality and quantity of research outputs. Given that the ARU is still a young research group (5 years old), this exponential growth is encouraging for both science and mountains in Africa.