Behind the lens
In October 2021, we announced the creation of the Oppenheimer Programme in African Landscape Systems (OPALS), a six-year programme of applied research to tackle social-environmental challenges that are exacerbated by climate change in Africa.
Over several years, through OPALS, we have been focusing the University’s research power on translating scientific tools and insight to support real-world impact across the continent. Critically we are helping to empower our African partners to lead on these issues, strengthening African voices in understanding, mitigating, and adapting to environmental change.
The project aims to support a strong, credible, and connected voice for African communities, land managers and researchers in the global climate and ecological crisis. It does so by focusing on the co-production of science-based solutions to understand, mitigate and adapt to environmental change, growing sustainable and resilient social-environmental systems in Africa. Alongside supporting leadership in environmentally sustainable land management across Africa, the programme delivery is built around training opportunities for graduate students; 90% of which benefit African nationals with a total of 44 years of advanced training.
We spoke to Oppenheimer Senior Research Fellow and OPALS leader at the University of Exeter, Dr Andy Cunliffe, to find out more about what being involved in the project has been like for him: “It has been the most rewarding (and challenging) experience of my career. We work closely with our partners and co-founders to ensure that our activities contribute to the wider positive impact for people in Africa. I provide ‘wraparound’ support to ensure equity in the trainee’s abilities to excel in undertaking advanced degrees in different countries and cultural settings, and it’s wonderful seeing them develop as they progress.”
One of the key principles underlying the OPALS project has been its collaborative approach in tackling climate challenges knowing that bringing individuals and organisations expertise together can bring real change. As such, we are working with 14 partner organisations across Africa. Some projects have undertaken in-depth research through doctoral scholarships, whilst others are delivered through funding and co-supervision of MSc projects at African partner institutions. An exciting and unconventional element of the programme is our impact scholars, whereby trainees are supported through MSc programmes at the University before undertaking funded knowledge transfer placements with partner organisations.
OPALS’ focal impact areas include:
- Building African leadership in sustainable environmental management;
- Improving the representation of African landscapes in data and decision support tools;
- Helping African conservation projects access payments for ecosystems services;
- Supporting the upscaling of resilient and sustainable smallholder farming systems;
- Developing techniques to improve the monitoring of rangelands and the management of land for people, livestock, and wildlife.
Reflecting on the programme and his involvement so far Andy shares that: “OPALS is a large and complex programme, delivered through solutions-orientated projects that are led by predominantly African postgraduate students. I ensure OPALS is larger than my own personal research agenda, embracing a role as a ‘knowledge broker’ to coordinate activities with University colleagues, external industry partners and in the third sector to help ensure societal relevance and meaningful impact.”
The transformative gifts given to set up the programme* have already had a significant impact so far. To date, OPALS has supported 13 scholars and a further three will be recruited in the coming years.
*The OPALS programme was enabled by generous donations of £1 million from Oppenheimer Generations Research and Conservation, £400,000 from alumna, and former Chair of Council, Sarah Turvill (Law, 1975), and support from the University of Exeter.
We have also supported Africans undertaking training in environmental sustainability and land management. This includes mentoring early career African researchers on their proposals and launching a new Funding Finder signposting 217 funding awards that African Nationals can apply for to undertake study. We’re delighted to have already had 240 users from 21 countries across Africa.
In October 2023, Exeter was well represented at the Oppenheimer Research Conference (ORC) in Johannesburg, SA: one of the continent’s leading scientific / conservation meetings. Eight of the OPALS team attended, and received positive feedback from contributions to press briefings, and more. Many Exeter-led studies also informed key discourses throughout the meeting. The OPALS team then spread across southern Africa for a week visiting collaborators before reconvening to lead a six-day workshop, at Oppenheimer’s Shangani Holistic property in rural Zimbabwe, on undertaking applied social-ecological research for impact in Africa.
“I provide ‘wraparound’ support to ensure equity in the trainee’s abilities to excel in undertaking advanced degrees in different countries and cultural settings, and it’s wonderful seeing them develop as they progress.”
OPALS has also been strengthening the integration of African voices and perspectives into discourses about Tipping Points globally. “Tipping Points” are thresholds which, once crossed, trigger irreversible changes. For example, Exeter’s Global Systems Institute published the first global ‘State of Tipping Points Report’ ahead of COP28 in November 2023.
This report, funded by the Bezos Earth Fund, compiled state-of-the-art understanding of tipping point risks and impacts in climate, ecological and social systems, as well as assessing opportunities for ‘positive’ tipping points towards rapid decarbonisation and sustainable development pathways. Oppenheimer Research Impact Fellow, Dr Tom Powell, was a lead author of the positive tipping points section and worked to ensure strong representation of African perspectives and authors.
Turning our gaze to the future, we are proud of what we are achieving in partnership with Oppenheimer Generations Research and Conservation and look forward to many years working together. We are delighted that we have been able to expand significantly on the OPALS platform to provide additional opportunities to engage with new partners and amplify our positive impacts. For instance, Quiver Tree, founded by Sarah Dusek (Law, 1998), have supported another studentship project embedded within OPALS. The advanced doctoral project will look at developing evidence-based insights into the sustainable use of baobabs (Adansonia digitata) trees, and how their unique role in providing ecosystem services in African landscapes might be safeguarded for future generations.
