IMAGINE

Community Feedback **What is the IMAGINE program?** IMAGINE is an interdisciplinary research and training program for advanced students that was initially funded by the University of Pretoria and North Carolina State University (Led by PIs McHale and Ebersohn). Faculty and students from the United States and South Africa work together with rural communities to conduct research on resource use and health and well being. We aim to answer questions that will lead to the creation of resilient communities and ecosystems, in the wake of challenges such as economic crises, environmental degradation, and climate change.
 * International Mentoring of Advanced Graduates for INterdisciplinary Excellence** **(IMAGINE) Developing science that directly contributes to the health and well being of communities in-need.**

**Mission Statement** To establish a trans-disciplinary research and education program that contributes to the sustainability and resilience of the greater Kruger National Park socio-ecological system. Through co-learning and benefit- sharing we will develop research that enhances the well- being of people living in the region. Our collaborative research network will expand comparative understanding of complex socio-ecological systems located along a rural-urban gradient.

**Director** Melissa McHale (NCSU) **Key Collaborators -** Liesel Ebersohn (UP), David Bunn (KNRD, UWits) Wayne Twine (UWits), Louise Swemmer (SAN Parks), Harry Biggs (SAN Parks), Rina Grant (SAN Parks), Dan Childers (ASU), Steward Pickett (The Cary Institute), Mary Cadenasso (UC Davis), Louie Rivers (NCSU), Colleen Cluett (OTS), Scott Beck (NCSU), Bram Buscher, Shaddy Hlatshwayo (OTS), April James (NCSU), Elizabeth Nichols (NCSU), Laurence Kruger (OTS ), Karen Vickers (OTS), Jolanda Roux (UP), Toddi Steelman (NCSU), Mike Wingfield (UP), Larry Nielsen (NCSU), Paxie Chirwa (UP) __The Tshulu Trust__ and __Kruger to Canyons Biosphere Reserve__ are important partners. Baobabs at Sunset in Mapungubwe


 * VISION AND BACKGROUND**

Ecological and cultural systems in South Africa are at serious risk of degradation and challenged by a growing population in long-term economic crisis, with some of the highest unemployment rates and HIV infection in the world. Shifts in social values, increasingly consumptive lifestyles, land use change, resource exploitation, and a changing climate are just several examples among a growing list of threats to the integrity of these complex Socio-Ecological Systems (SES). Furthermore, global sustainability is dependent on these communities as they transition into increasingly urbanized and exploitative lifestyles. Viable solutions will take science that contributes more than the typical case study analysis associated with a couple of publications. __//We need interdisciplinary teams working closely with communities on comparative, long-term studies that produce scientific publications, as well as, products that contribute to the health and well-being of communities in-need.//__ Although, we know that the long-term interdisciplinary collaborations are needed, we have not yet made significant investments in training our future scientists to do this work or to build the infrastructure and data platform necessary for its continual success.


 * GOALS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS**

__//We aim to create an interdisciplinary and collaborative research and graduate training program in SES studies that develops science-based solutions for building sustainable and healthy communities. Students will learn through active participation with a trans-disciplinary team of mentors from all interest groups during the entire scientific process.//__ We envisage that this form of social process learning will provide students with exceptional experiences where they build advanced skill sets for solving real world problems. Furthermore, persistent engagement between scientists and communities will lead to targeted research that translates into actions benefitting communities in-need. __//The data platform we will build while conducting this research will result in the establishment of highly productive socio-ecological research sites that publish cutting edge science.//__

Key collaborators from University of Pretoria, North Carolina State University, University of the Witwatersrand, the Organization of Tropical Studies, South African National Parks, and Public Nature ran a pilot program in May and June, 2011. Since then we have run a program every year that attempts to understand the complex feedbacks between ecosystem integrity and human health and well-being. In 2012 undergraduate and graduate students and researchers engaged in a group project in HaMakuya (Mutale Municipality) with an aim to assess the social and ecological challenges of water provisioning in the area. In 2013, a smaller subset of the team returned to HaMakuya to follow up with the community and tribal authorities, providing and receiving feedback on the research efforts. In 2014, NCSU and the Knowledge Hub for Rural Development (KHRD) and the University of the Witwatersrand (UWits) funded a workshop for key players in the region. The international team spent a week together, working with key stakeholders, writing papers, and coordinating potential future long-term funding for the IMAGINE program. In 2015 we will return to the communities on the border of Kruger National Park with students from NCSU to continue our evaluation of the complexities associated with water management and use in the region.

//__We have developed a strong team of people from NCSU, UP, UWits in a diversity of fields__// including, ecology, policy, phytoremediation, forestry, biotech, tourism, psychology, education, mathematics, hydrology, conservation, and cultural anthropology. We have also formed essential collaborations with organizations like South African National Parks (SAN Parks), the Organization of Tropical Studies (OTS), Tshulu Trust, and the Kruger to Canyons Biosphere Reserve that will permit access to resources and infrastructure in and around key communities in South Africa. Furthermore, //__this broader network of individuals has allowed us to develop strategic research goals that will actually inform management decisions and community engagement activities.__//


 * CONCLUSION**

We have begun to develop the collaborative network needed to build a long-term SES research program in South Africa, in which the seed funding provided by NCSU, UP, UWits, and NSF (National Science Foundation) has been pivotal. Although, many organizations and researchers have indicated a need for a scientific program that engages communities in solving real-world problems, thus increasing the resilience of human systems to adapt to socio-ecological stresses, there has yet to be a central collaborative force to make this idea a reality. **We believe that this program’s success is a function of its interdisciplinary nature, strong collaborative network, and focus on true community engagement, and this diverse network will result in a sustainable long-term research program.**




 * This page was last edited on September 19, 2014**