SARChI Cities, Law & Environmental Sustainability

CLES is hosting a Critical Convo Webinar on Integrating Disaster Management into Urban Planning: Addressing Vulnerability & Risk in Cities, featuring Dr Fidelis Udo & Prof Dewald van Niekerk. 🗓 15 April 2026 | ⏰ 14:00–16:00 👉 Register: tinyurl.com/CC2026one

Local Government Training Workshop | 10–11 March 2026 We hosted a two-day workshop that equipped municipal councillors and staff with insights into local government law, climate change, and administrative justice.

📚 Local Government Training Workshop | Day 1 of 2 Today marked the start of our Local Government Training Workshop. Participants engaged in insightful discussions and collaborative activities. We look forward to continuing the conversations tomorrow on Day 2.

The 6th Annual Prestige Lecture Speaker: Danielle Midgley Topic: Promoting Environmental Justice: Legal Advocacy and the Role of Lawyers Beyond the Courtroom 13 May | Senate Hall, Building F1, NWU Potchefstroom Campus Register: tinyurl.com/49fuupvu

✍🏾📚 Writing Retreat | 23–26 Feb 2026 From 23–26 Feb, our researchers gathered at Grootbosch Guest Farm & Venue for a focused writing retreat, advancing journal articles, book chapters, doctoral research, LLM chapters, proposals & more. #WritingRetreat #AcademicWriting #CLES

✍🏾📚 Writing Retreat | 23–26 Feb 2026 From 23–26 Feb, our researchers gathered at Grootbosch Guest Farm & Venue for a focused writing retreat, advancing journal articles, book chapters, doctoral research, LLM chapters, proposals & more.

On 10 February 2026, CLES (Faculty of Law) hosted its first training session at North-West University (Potchefstroom Campus), focusing on Mental Well-being: How to Deal with Postgraduate Study Pressure, presented by Ms René van Heerden, Intern: Student Counselling & Development.

🎙️ New CLESTalk Episode 14 Alert! Join Ms Ledile Sekwakwa in conversation with Rotondwa Mashige on menstrual health management at the intersection of law, sustainability & urban development. 📺 Watch now on YouTube: lnkd.in/dpzJd8SE

Our final newsletter for the year is now out! 🎉📰 We are excited to share that our latest and final newsletter for 2025 has been published! Please read it here: nextcloud.nwu.ac.za/index.php/s/qm…

while protecting workers, communities, and local economies, with lessons drawn from Germany's Ruhr Region, Spain, and the UK Valleys. SARChI CLES congratulates Fredua Agyemang, PhD., on this outstanding achievement. 6/6

shape social license outcomes. 📚 Just energy transition in South Africa: Balancing environmental sustainability and mitigation strategies to prevent ghost towns An exploration of how coal-dependent municipalities, particularly in Mpumalanga, can navigate decarbonisation 5/6

He contributed two important chapters: 📚 Evaluating the determinants of positive community engagement in mining communities A comparative analysis of Waihi (New Zealand) and Xolobeni (South Africa), illustrating how trust, transparency, and culturally grounded engagement 4/6

The new Juta publication, Community Agency in Mining Governance: Pathways from Participation to Power, brings together leading scholarship on community rights, extractive governance, and the future of mining in Africa. 3/6

Two of his peer-reviewed chapters were officially launched at the Mineral Law in Africa (MLiA) Colloquium, held from 12 to 14 November 2025, in Swakopmund, Namibia. 2/6

SARChI CLES is proud to celebrate its postdoctoral fellow, Fredua Agyemang, PhD., for his remarkable contribution to a new Juta volume on Community Agency in Mineral Resource Governance. 1/6

For more information, contact: Professor Oliver Fuo - oliver.fuo@nwu.ac.za Dr Lourens Erasmus - lourens.erasmus@nwu.ac.za 3/3

- Local government and climate change law - Administrative justice in the South African local government context Capacity: 30 participants Cost: Free (including food and accommodation) Register here: forms.gle/Shq2hPFcoPCiAP… 2/3

Upcoming Local Government Training Workshop! 10 - 11 March 2026 North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus The SARChI CLES invites municipal councillors and officials to a two-day training workshop exploring: - The constitutional mandate of local government 1/3

Our latest Critical Conversation, "Pollution, Climate, and People: Intersections of Air Quality and Human Wellbeing in South Africa," is now available on YouTube! Watch the full discussion here: youtu.be/-yZ9XUEc8yg

Click the link to read more: tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.10… 2/2