1,720,966 research outputs found
Neonicotinoid Insecticides: Use and Effects in African Agriculture - A Review and Recommendations to Policymakers
Full text linkCite: Network of African Science Academies (NASAC), (2019). Neonicotinoid Insecticides: Use and Effects in African Agriculture - A Review and Recommendations to Policymakers. [Online] Available at: http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11911/131Agriculture is critically important for African societies and economies, but ensuring food security for Africa’s growing population is a major challenge due to climate change, structural changes in land use and management, and intensification of agriculture, including the use
of pesticides. A synergistic relationship between agriculture and the beneficial services offered by nature (such as pollination and natural pest control) is a foundation of sustainable agriculture on which future food security depends. Such ‘ecosystem services’ are provided
mainly (although not exclusively) by invertebrates, and the rapid decline in biodiversity in general and insects in particular globally has implications for productivity and future food security. Beneficial insects increase agricultural productivity and the quality of crops and are as (if not more) important in the African context than the rest of the world.
One factor that has been shown to contribute to loss of ecosystem services in Europe and elsewhere is the increased use of a class of systemic insecticides called neonicotinoids, which act as insect neurotoxins. They are taken up by all parts of the plant, are water soluble and can thus spread in the environment, exposing not only the target pests but also beneficial insects ranging from honey bees and other pollinating insects to natural predators of the targeted
pests. As a result, the use of some of these insecticides has been restricted in the European Union (EU) and some other countries.
The debate preceding the EU restrictions was informed by a study on the impact of neonicotinoids on agriculture and ecosystem services by the European Academies’ Science Advisory Council (EASAC). Building on this foundation, the InterAcademy Partnership (IAP)
and the Network of African Science Academies (NASAC) collaborated in a study to examine the implications of neonicotinoid insecticide use for ecosystem services and sustainable agriculture in Africa. The study was conducted between October 2018 and October 2019 and involved two workshops with scientists from 17 African countries as well as an extensive review of relevant African research. This project has collated an unprecedented amount of information, allowing the current situation relating to neonicotinoids in Africa to be assessed
for the first time. The findings have been subjected to peer review and endorsed by NASAC member academies.German Federal Ministry of Education and Researc
Impact of climate change on food systems: Using transdisciplinary science to drive mitigation and adaptation solutions to protect and promote health
Full text linkMP4 video, Size: 1.41GB; Duration: 1:56:42Please cite as: Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf), InterAcademy Partnership (IAP) and Network of African Science Academies (NASAC) (2022) Impact of climate change on food systems: Using transdisciplinary science to drive mitigation and adaptation solutions to protect and promote health. Available at: http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11911/257A recent systems-based approach to tackling climate change and health issues, from the global InterAcademy Partnership and its regional academy networks, examined how science can guide innovation, policy and practice for climate mitigation and adaptation. Among adverse climate change effects are those mediated by multiple impacts on food production and, consequently, on health and livelihoods. Outputs from the global assessment and specifically from Africa will be presented to exemplify the diverse challenges and opportunities to identify and implement solutions, integrated between agriculture and other sectors, at all levels of governance.Adverse effects of climate change on food and nutrition security are already apparent and projected to worsen. Transformative change for sustainable food systems and nutritional quality, including climate-smart, resilient agriculture, involves improving research capacity, extension services and political commitment, aligned with SDGs. Implementing evidence-based, customised, mitigation and adaptation solutions based on advances in biological and social sciences and informatics to deliver both supply- and demand-side changes, requires engagement with all stakeholders. Other priorities discussed include reconsideration of indigenous and underutilised food contributions and examination of food processing and other steps in the food chain and circular economy.InterAcademy Partnership (IAP); Network of African Science Academies (NASAC
African Academy Development: Strengthening Southern African Development Community (SADC) Science Academies for better service to society workshop
No full text23 pagesThe Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf), Department of Science and Innovation (DSI), SADC Secretariat, and Lesotho Academy for Science and Technology (LAST) jointly hosted a SADC Academies Workshop on 5 December 2022 on the sidelines of the World Science Forum 2022. The Workshop was hosted in Cape Town, South Africa at the Park Inn Hotel. The workshop objective was to facilitate the strengthening of Academies’ role in the development and utilization of the Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) ecosystem, as well as policy formulation and implementation.
Academies from eleven SADC Member States, DSI, SADC Secretariat, and United Nations Technology Bank for Least Developed Countries (UNTB LDC) participated in the workshop. The UNTB LDC and the Network of African Science Academies (NASAC) have been instrumental partners in establishing science Academies in Angola, Lesotho, Democratic Republic of Congo and Malawi. The Angola Academy of Science (AAS), LAST, and Botswana Academy of Science as some of the recently established academies presented on respective progress to date. Progress by the newly established Academies was appreciated as successful and it was agreed that more needs to be done collaboratively to support these Academies, including joint fund raising and science advisory activities with older Academies. Additionally, it was agreed that the African Academy has to establish and strategically maintain partnerships with policy makers (government), business, civil society, and STI ecosystem if the role and value of Academies is to be strengthened.
As a workshop outcome, a SADC Academies Working Group was established to steer the crafting of guidelines; the group consists of ASSAf, LAST, Academy of Sciences in Malawi, Kingdom of Eswatini Academy of Sciences, Academie Congolaise du Sciences, Zimbabwe Academy of Science, and SADC Secretariat. Additionally, UNESCO, NASAC, and UNTB LDC will be invited into the Working Group as they are key partners in operationalization of the African Academy.DSI for International Cooperation contrac
Women for Science: Inclusion and Participation on Academies of Science
No full textCite: Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf), (2016). Women for Science: Inclusion and Participation on Academies of Science. [Online] Available at: http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11911/7Message by Professor Daya Reddy, President: Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf):
Academies of science play a critical dual role. They recognise scientific excellence through election into their membership, eminent scientists in a nation; and mobilise their members to provide objective evidence-based science advice on issues of national, regional and global importance. For academies of science to successfully fulfil their mandate, the inclusion of both male and female members in their operations is of utmost importance.
This report presents the first comprehensive survey of academies of science globally regarding women’s representation in membership, governance and academy activities. The survey findings show that there continues to be low representation of women in all areas stated above.
The findings of this report and its recommendations should be used as a guideline for academies of science, globally, to develop strategies on increasing women’s participation in academy activities. It should also provide stimulus for action by IAP:
The Global Network of Science Academies* and its member academies to collect and report gender-disaggregated data on an annual basis.
The collection, analysis and reporting of gender-disaggregated data allows
academies to introspect on their role as advocates for the increased participation
of girls and women, not only within themselves but also in a nation’s science system.
It also allows for increased discussions on the importance of applying the gender lens
in the conceptualisation and implementation of academy activities, with a specific
focus on their science advisory activities.
The Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf) is honoured to have participated in
the implementation of this global project. The Organisation for Women in Science for
the Developing World (OWSD), the Inter-American Network of Academies of Science
(IANAS), and the Network of African Science Academies (NASAC) are thanked for
partnering with the Academy in carrying out this task
Workshop Proceedings Report GMOs for African Agriculture: Challenges and opportunities
Full text linkCite: Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf), (2010). Workshop Proceedings Report GMOs for African Agriculture: Challenges and Opportunities. [Online] Available at: DOI http://dx.doi.org/10.17159/assaf/0014This proceedings report is the product of a two-day workshop
hosted by the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf)
from 17-18 September 2009. ASSAf, in partnership with the
Union of the German Academies of Sciences and Humanities,
the Network of African Science Academies (NASAC) and
the Uganda National Academy of Sciences (UNAS) received
funding from the InterAcademy Panel (IAP) to conduct a study
on “Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs): Opportunities
and Challenges in Africa”.1. Department of Science and Technology (DST)
2. Global Network of Science Academies (IAP
Increasing Participation of Girls in Science in sub-Saharan Africa
Full text linkCite: Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf), (2011). Inquiry-Based Science Education: Increasing Participation of Girls in Science in sub-Saharan Africa Policy-makers’ Booklet. [Online] Available at: http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11911/76This policy-makers’ booklet is a joint project of the Academy
of Science of South Africa (ASSAf), the Network of African Science Academies (NASAC), the Organisation of Women Scientists for the Developing World (OWSDW) and the Gender Advisory Board of the United Nations Commission on Science and Technology for Development (UNCSTD).Inter-Academy Panel (IAP) global network of science academie
Proceedings report Changing patterns of Non-Communicable Diseases
No full textCite: Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf), (2013). Proceedings report Changing patterns of Non-Communicable Diseases. [Online] Available at: DOI http://dx.doi.org/10.17159/assaf/0008The theme of this conference was a superb example of the various activities in which the academies had been involved. Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) constituted one of the most critical set of health challenges that faced the global community. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), NCDs constituted some 60% of all mortality at the present time, and more worrying was the upward trend. It was clear that there was urgent work to be done in this area.
The timing and appropriateness of the conference theme were of unquestionable pertinence. NCDs provided a set of challenges that could not be successfully addressed through the isolated actions of various institutions and academies, but required collective wisdom, in this case of the group of medical academies.1. Department of Health (DoH)
2. Department of Science and Technology (DST)
3. TIDES
4. Unilever
5. South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC)
6. Network of African Science Academies (NASAC)
7. Crowne Plaza
8. Leopoldina (Natinale Akademie der Wissenschaften)
9. National Research Foundation (NRF)
10. International Council for Science (ICSU)
11. Discovery Vitality
12. Vitality Institute
13. South African Young Academy of Science (SAYAS)
14. The global network of science academies (IAP)
15. The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS
Neonicotinoid Insecticides: Use and Effects in African Agriculture: A Review and Recommendations to Policymakers
Full text linkProceedings Report from a virtual event on Neonicotinoid Insecticides, held on 18 November 2020.Agriculture is critically important for African societies and economies but ensuring food security for Africa’s growing population is a major challenge. One particular concern are pesticides called ‘neonicotinoids’, which render all parts of a plant toxic to all insects and contaminate the soil and water bodies. By exposing all organisms to the toxins, neonicotinoids also harm beneficial insects that provide many important ‘ecosystem services’, such as pollination, soil development, and natural pest control, which are an integral part of sustainable agriculture. Neonicotinoids have contributed to the loss of ecosystem services from pollinators and other insects in Europe and elsewhere, and several of them have been banned in the (European Union) EU and other countries due to their harmful effect on beneficial insects. Africa, with its rich biodiversity and heavy reliance on agricultural production, is one of the fastest-growing pesticide markets in the world, so protecting it from the harmful effects of neonicotinoids is vital to ensuring a sustainable agriculture that provides food security.
The Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf), in collaboration with the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina and the Network of African Science Academies (NASAC) has recently completed a project exploring the use and effects of neonicotinoids in African agriculture. This project brought together experts from 17 African countries, reviewed the relevant African scientific literature, and analysed the state of knowledge on neonicotinoids and their impact on ecosystem services for agriculture and on biodiversity in Africa. The resultant report ‘Neonicotinoid insecticides: use and effects in African agriculture. A review and recommendations to policy makers’ (NASAC, 2019) has collated an unprecedented amount of information, identified gaps in scientific knowledge and research relating to neonicotinoids in Africa, and developed key recommendations from science to policy-makers to ensure the sustainability of African agriculture and thus food security.
One year after the launch of the NASAC report, the purpose of this virtual event was to introduce the report, including an update on recent global scientific and African policy developments regarding neonicotinoids, and to discuss its implications with a wide range of stakeholders, with the aim of stimulating policy and research action on this important issue. The target audience and participants included South African and Southern African Development Community (SADC) policymakers, regulatory agencies, government departments, agricultural associations, extension-service providers, research institutes, international development agencies, representatives of embassies, and other interested stakeholders.German Government through the Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (BMBF
Report on a Strategic Approach to Research Publishing in South Africa
No full textThe effect of globalization on knowledge exchange, which is mediated very largely through scientific journals being published in English, and having their origins in Europe and North America, has resulted in the neglect of regional journals. It has also led to the development of benchmarks based on bibliometric analysis of publication patterns that has resulted in global ranking of tertiary institutions. These trends are being countered in the African context, with its relatively neglected tertiary sector, by a need that is expressed by the African Academies of Science that are members of the Network of African Scientific Academies (NASAC), to consider the publication of high-quality journals that report work of significance to African scientists. The degree to which such a project is feasible, and whether it could be successfully implemented both in South Africa and elsewhere on the continent, needs to be explored.intellectual output, regional journals, bibliometric analysis, tertiary institutions, scientific journals, South Africa
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