Abstract:
The International Geographical Commission (IGU) Commission on African Studies (CAS) held
its second annual conference at the University of Zululand in June 2019. One of the direct
products of the conference is the publication of these conference proceedings, whose authors
are drawn from different parts of Africa, and include post-graduate students. The papers in
this volume engage with various aspects of the conference theme, which is Africa in the global
imaginary: Towards internationally competitive science and research. The authors represent
different disciplinary backgrounds in the natural and social sciences and humanities. The
chapters in the publication are organised under the following themes and sections: climate
change issues in Africa, environmental problems in Africa, environmental conservation,
natural resource use and governance, globalisation and regional economic integration in
Africa, rural development and water resources. The contributions illustrate various research
projects in Africa as well as different debates on natural and social reality on the continent.
Some of the contributions also reveal innovative approaches to the study and/or analysis of
natural and/or social reality, the results and conclusions of which are thought-provoking.
