Sustainability in Communal Socio-Ecological Systems (SUCSES)

This project aims to better understand the dynamic interactions between humans and the environment in rural South Africa. This will enable an assessment of the opportunities and constraints for sustainability in communal socio-ecological systems under different scenarios of demographic, socio-economic and environmental change. The project is based in the Agincourt health and demographic surveillance site in the rural district of Bushbuckridge, Mpumalanga Province, South Africa. A key component of the first phase (years 1–3) of the study is the development of an environment and household livelihoods surveillance system, nested within the well-established Agincourt health and demographic surveillance system (AHDSS). The first round of data collection offers an important contribution to knowledge and understanding, while also providing a platform for long-term socio-ecological research in this linked human-environment system.