ARU secures two Norwegian-South Africa grants for mountain research

The Afromontane Research Unit (ARU) at the University of the Free State (UFS) has achieved another milestone by securing two Norwegian-South African grants. The latest funding, awarded through a combined Norway-South African bilateral programme (NatuRA) and through Norway’s NORPART programme (INTEREST), will support capacity development and knowledge exchange in the field of mountain research in both South Africa and Norway.

The NatuRA programme, titled ‘Sustainable use of natural resources in Alpine and mountain grassland ecosystems under global change’, focuses on bringing together complex ecological data and traditional knowledge in Alpine areas in South Africa (Qwaqwa Maloti) and Norway (Fjordlands) within communally managed mountain rangelands. NatuRA was proposed by the University of Bergen and was co-developed with the ARU (UFS), the University of Pretoria, and the University of Venda, in partnership with local rangeland custodians (including the Royal Houses in Qwaqwa, and Witsieshoek Mountain Lodge).

The “RangeX” project site on top of the Maloti-Drakensberg, at Witsieshoek, on which Norway-South African projects ‘NatuRA’ and ‘INTEREST’ will build on and add to for social-ecological understanding of alpine systems.

Prof Vasu Reddy, Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research and Internationalisation, commented: “This second wave of grants confirms the ARU’s local and international standing. It is a great achievement ahead of other successes, including the looming second Southern African Mountain Conference scheduled from 17 to 20 March 2025. NatuRA is a bilateral project, with NOK4 000 000 (= R6 464 440, valued on the date of the exchange rate). The UFS – via the ARU – is the lead South African partner. I am exceptionally proud of our leadership in the ARU, and even more so, our leadership in mountainscape research.”