
© Nelson Mandela University
REHABS aims to be a hub for innovative research on socio-ecosystems and the biosphere in the Anthropocene. It focuses on four research themes:
1. Humans as hyper-keystone species: understanding how responses of biodiversity and ecosystems to human practices form a dominant force in the functioning of the biosphere in the Anthropocene.
2. Nature’s contribution to humans and humanity: reconciling perspectives on development, innovation, risk and wellbeing with biosphere foundations and cultural pluralism.
3. Environmental governance and co-viability in multifunctional landscapes conditions for active stewardship of landscapes, seascapes and urbanscapes in the new context of the Anthropocene.
4. Methods and approaches for long-term social-ecological studies and engaged research: developing frameworks, co-designing protocols, analyses, co-learning and engagement.
REHABS is the CNRS’s third International Research Laboratory in Africa, out of a total of 70 such labs across the world. This presence on the African continent is expected to increase in the coming years, as the CNRS is committed to stepping up and improving its collaboration with African countries.