A laboratory with a focus on coastal sustainability in rural areas will be launched today in uMthatha.
It is an initiative of the National Research Foundation (NRF), in partnership with Walter Sisulu University (WSU), funded by the Department of Science and Innovation (DSI) as part of the Joint Marine Laboratories (JML) programme.
Dr Thembinkosi Dlaza, of the Walter Sisulu University’s Biological and Environmental Department, says it is a transformation-orientated infrastructure Programme, driven by the DSI/NRF African Coelacanth Ecosystem Programme (ACEP)/ Phuhlisa initiative, which aims to grow marine science at the four coastal Historically Disadvantaged Universities (HDUs).
Institutions targeted include the University of the Western Cape (UWC), University of Zululand (UNIZUL), University of Fort Hare (UFH) and Walter Sisulu University (WSU).
He says “the JML programme specifically looks to build on the existing in-house expertise at the respective partner universities in collaboration with the South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity (SAIAB), a national facility of the NRF.”
He adds that the WSU, the DSI/NRF-SAIAB/WSU Rural Coastal Sustainability Laboratory was designed to deal with African challenges faced by rural communities.
” The major challenges that will be addressed by the lab are food security and adaptation to climate change. The food security component will be tackled through experimental studies on factors influencing the reproduction, life history and growth of different species under culture conditions. This will not only enable us to rapidly increase biomass of target species but will also afford us the opportunity for discovery of new species for inclusion in South African marine aquaculture.”
Results from this laboratory will contribute towards WSU mission and vision; UN Sustainable goals 1, 2, 3, 13 and 14; South African National Development Plan Vision; and Eastern Cape Provincial Development Plan.
Pic: Freepik