INLSA
Malegapuru Makgoba
Universities the world over are increasingly being recognised as drivers of knowledge for both social and economic development. This is because of their capacity not only to produce skilled professionals, leaders, entrepreneurs, critical thinkers, civic-minded citizens and efficient technocrats, but also because of their function as producers of new knowledge and innovation in a rapidly changing world in which knowledge has become the differentiator.
Being a repository of existing knowledge and the generator of new knowledge puts the university in a unique position of leadership in relation to its society. Universities have a responsibility to identify the most pressing issues of the time, anticipate the challenges of the future, and respond sensitively and intelligently to each of them through their research, teaching and outreach programmes. Universities have a moral obligation and, indeed, a responsibility to take the lead and find solutions.
In the past, environmental consciousness tended to be concentrated in certain sectors of the institution. However, we have now reached the point at which we have to recognise the value of mainstreaming sustainability issues. The University of KwaZulu-Natal has identified the development of technology for renewable and sustainable energy as one of its research focus areas, and has entered into partnerships with industry and government to pursue what is called the Integrated Renewable Energy Advancement Programme (IREAP), which will provide a comprehensive energy solution for South Africa using biomass and waste as energy sources.
There are a host of other cutting-edge projects, which range from the use of design robots to reduce the effects of climate change and perform search and rescue operations arising out of climate change disasters to the cryopreservation of plant germplasm as a means to preserve biodiversity. Over the years, our institution and its people have invested both time and resources in academic programmes grounded in the principles of sustainable development, aiming to nurture a new generation of intellectuals who cannot only think sustainability, but live sustainability as well.
We recognise that our challenge is to actively lead the search, not just for scientific and technological solutions which reduce carbon emissions and ameliorate the effects of climate change, but also for strategies and techniques which open up hearts and minds to alternative ways of living in the world. The university’s academics are actively contributing to find solutions to this global emergency. The recently launched book The Politics of Climate Justice, authored by Professor Patrick Bond, and The Atlas of Climate Change and the South African Agriculture Sector: A 2010 Perspective, authored by Professor Roland Schulze, are testimony to the intellectual commitment to this global problem.
While the world’s poor and vulnerable are undoubtedly more susceptible to the effects and impact of climate change, no one remains ultimately untouched by the ramifications and environmental degradation of climate change. Are we ready to explain to future generations how we reached this juncture, a historic moment where scientists, intellectuals, governments, industry and civil societies must lead the way to ensure the sustainability of our planet?
As a nation, we have recognised the importance of climate change at the highest level. The National Planning Commission’s recently-launched National Development Plan, the culmination of a thorough process, which plots South Africa’s path over the next 20 years, states that the country must move away from the unsustainable use of natural resources such as water, and that we must reduce carbon emissions. The document importantly recognises that such a transition cannot be at the expense of the poor in our society, who are potentially likely to be most affected by climate change, which threatens to make South Africa’s drought-prone areas even drier.
Climate change is one of the key issues at a gathering such as COP17, which brings delegates from all over the world to the East Coast of KwaZulu-Natal to discuss a collective future. On behalf of the University of KwaZulu-Natal, I am pleased to extend a warm welcome to all participants. I wish you well in your important deliberations.
l Makgoba is the vice-chancellor principal of the University of KwaZulu-Natal, a member of the National Planning Commission, and a vice-president for Planning and Review
