Following the successful RP-PCP/AHEAD TFCA conference held in May 2014 in the Hwange Socio-ecosystem (see here for more information), the FSP-RenCaRe and EU-DREAM projects through the Research Platform  “Production and Conservation in Partnership” (RP-PCP) organise a follow-up meeting in the South-East Lowveld on the 22-27th of May 2017. The Research Platform RP-PCP was established in 2007, formally associating the University of Zimbabwe, National University of Science and Technology Cirad and CNRS. Beginning 2016, 3 other Zimbabwean universities and University of Zambia joined the platform and students from Botswana, Mozambique and South Africa are also involved.

From the beginning this conference adopted a participatory process to identify issues at stake for local communities living within the Kavango Zambezi (KAZA) TFCA and Great Limpopo TFCA (GLTFCA). Relevant issues for research were then translated into research questions that are currently addressed by postgraduate students from Zimbabwe, Botswana, Mozambique, Zambia and France. Outputs so far are more than 100 postgraduate students supported (MSc, MPhil, Phd), a fair amount belonging to universities staff and governmental agencies and more than 100 scientific articles or book chapters published.

Abstract submission

Therefore, abstracts submitted to this conference will be selected according to an innovative process: a combined scientific and community-based selection process. After an assessment of the eligibility and the basic scientific quality of the abstracts by the conference committee in March 2017, local communities and stakeholders in Malipati/Mabalauta (GLTFCA) and Dete/Main Camp (KAZA TFCA) will be invited to select the communications and finalise the program of the conference during participatory workshops. Each conference session will then be co-chaired by an academic and a representative of the communities from TFCAs.

The conference committee will consider abstracts for two types of presentations:

• Full-time presentation (15mn presentation + 5mn discussion).
• Poster presentation (A0 portrait format; including a 2mn speed presentation during plenary sessions to convince participants to come and see the posters.

Abstracts submitted as MS Word document, Arial 11pt, with the following sections: Preferred thematic session (as list in leaflet); Type of presentation (Full-time/Poster requested); Title (in bold), Authors with affiliations (speaker’s name underlined); Summary of 300 words, single spacing.

Submission: rencanreconf2017[at]gmail[dot]com before the 27th of January 2017.

• Conference leaflet
• Abstract guidelines