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ARU researcher Ntebohiseng Sekhele guest edits journal on montane rangelands

06 April 2021 | Story Thabo Kessah | Photo Thabo Kessah

Ntebohiseng Sekhele_web read more — Ntebohiseng Sekhele is the Associate Guest Editor of the recent Special Issue of the African Journal of Range & Forage Science.

The Director of the Afromontane Research Unit (ARU), Dr Ralph Clark, and researcher, Ntebohiseng Sekhele, recently became part of a guest editorial team for the African Journal of Range & Forage Science. The Special Issue titled, ‘Montane rangelands in a changing world’, was published on 3 March 2021.

“I feel privileged to have been part of the team that assembled this special issue. The experience was daunting at first, as I had never been part of an editorial team before. However, with the support of the guest editors and the journal’s administrator, I was able to overcome the imposter-syndrome feeling and allowed myself to learn and enjoy the ride. My ‘aha’ moments were the critical comments from the reviewers on each paper. It was amazing to witness how this feedback would enhance the quality of an article,” said Ntebohiseng Sekhele, Geography lecturer on the Qwaqwa Campus.

Journal focus

This issue focused on the applied management of montane rangelands for production in Southern Africa and the broader world. Submissions could include original research, reviews, and meta-analyses. This has culminated in contributions that centred on the impact of policy on pastoral practices by montane communities, fire management regimes, cumulative effects of poor governance on rangeland degradation, and sustainable grazing systems – including in ecological infrastructure such as montane wetlands and communal rangeland.

“The process took almost a year, as the first call for abstracts was made in December 2019 and final revisions of accepted papers were concluded in November 2020. There were 32 submissions with only 12 articles and one book review of Prof Rodney Moffett’s book, A Scientific Bibliography of the Drakensberg, Maloti and Adjacent Lowlands. Of the 12 contributions, nine focus on the Maloti-Drakensberg, with papers on Lesotho, KwaZulu-Natal, and the Free State,” she revealed.

Submitted papers

“All papers advocate for the sustainable management of sensitive montane systems, which ties well with my own research that makes a contribution to the limited scholarship of natural resource-related conflicts between montane communities and their adjacent protected areas, as well as climate change impacts on natural resources,” said Sekhele, a PhD candidate through the ARU’s US-SA University Staff Development Programme (USDP). The special issue allowed for a closer link between the US and SA USDP through the involvement of Dr Kryan Kunkel – Ntebohiseng’s US co-supervisor – as one of the guest editors.

News Archive

UFS student missing after being accosted in Phuthaditjhaba

2014-10-15

The University of the Free State’s (UFS) management and Student Representative Council (SRC) at the Qwaqwa Campus are working around the clock to find Sinethemba Shezi, third-year BEd student, who was accosted on Friday 10 October 2014 at approximately 20:30 whilst walking to the campus with a friend.

The students wanted to study at the campus facilities, as they stay off-campus.

The matter was immediately reported to the university’s Campus Protection Services, who alerted the South African Police Service (SAPS). A search party, made up of members of the SAPS, the UFS Protection Services and the SRC, searched the area throughout the night.

Mr Shezi is still missing, despite various SAPS units – dogs, helicopter and divers – searching the area over the weekend until this afternoon (Tuesday 14 October 2014).

The campus community and the SAPS are doing everything possible to find Mr Shezi. His family is receiving support from the university.

The university management appeals to anybody with information to assist by calling one of the following persons:

Prof Prakash Naidoo
Campus Principal
+27(0)72 621 7135

Mr Teboho Manchu
Campus Vice-Principal: Support Services
+27(0)83 629 9343

Mr Tautona Moloi
Head: Protection Services
+27(0)81 015 3299

Issued by: Lacea Loader (Director: Communication and Brand Management)
Tel: +27(0)51 401 2584
E-mail: news@ufs.ac.za

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