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The implementation of mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policies by several South African public universities highlighted the interpretive struggles of a secular polity regarding freedom of religion or conscience. Such workplace policies relied on the claim that society's collective interests took precedence over the individual's constitutional rights. In essence, the policies allowed for accommodating conscientious objectors, but in reality, the conditions for objection went beyond prioritizing collective interests and neglected the constitutional duty to protect human rights. This article examines how the restrictive vaccination policies of public universities reveal the shortcomings in secular polity's engagement with and appreciation for individual religious self-determination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ngqushwa Local Municipality smallholders and households are confronted by climate variability. The aim of the study was to assess the perceptibility of climate variability and the factors influencing adaptation strategies. From four villages, 308 households were selected to participate. A questionnaire and focus group discussions were used to study the general perceptions of climate variability and adaptation strategies adopted by farming households. The multiple regression model was used in assessing the socio-economic factors that affect the adopted adaptation approaches that assuage the effects of climate variability. Seventyfour per cent perceived climate variabilities to be taking place at an alarming rate, while 26 per cent were undecided about whether there was any climate variability. Age, education, and farm/household size were the predominant determinant variables that influence the choice of adaptation strategy. The study recommends that for better adaptive capacity, the participation of rural communities in climate governance be given policy attention and that grass-roots level knowledge systems be given equal weighting in policy formulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of international criminal law and its nexus to the protection of human rights, a "religious group" is considered a "protected group", and an adherent's resultant "religious identity" is a "protected ground" of human existence. Consequently, serious measures of discrimination imposed on persons for reasons of their religious identity constitute a severe deprivation of fundamental human rights, and establish the individual criminal responsibility of the instigators for religious persecution as a crime against humanity ("grievous religious persecution") in terms of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC). The inherent problem is that persecution on the basis of religion is not the only mode or ground of persecution criminalised by the Rome Statute, nor does it usually constitute the only ground for persecution in any specific situation. The mode or ground of persecution, or the multiplicity thereof, is based on a protected aspect of the victim's identity, which made him or her the target of the persecutor's discriminatory intent in the first instance. Therefore, religious persecution must be recognised and differentiated from other modes of persecution. In this regard, an assessment of the role that an individual or collective religious identity has in relation to the persecutor's discriminatory intent in any given situation, is essential for determining the mode of persecution. However, the complexity of human identity often makes it difficult to identify the specific basis causing the perpetrator to select and target his victims in a discriminatory manner. A person's identity comprises multiple "identifiers", including religion. "Religious identity" is best understood in the context of the right to freedom of "thought, conscience, religion or belief". In general, "religious identity" relates to the derivative effect of holding a certain deep existential view, which becomes part of their identifying label, whether in a person's own mind or that of others, or in terms of social standing. This fundamental right to one's individual or communitarian identity is a core aspect of protection against discrimination and unequal treatment under international human rights law. In relation thereto, the discriminatory nature of persecution signifies that a person is reduced to their identification or an identifying element, and deliberately targeted for discriminatory treatment. Religious persecution is distinguishable from other modes of persecution based on the primacy of the victim's religious identity, which resulted in him or her becoming the target of the persecutor's discriminatory intent. Consequently, the perpetrator's discriminatory mindset and his subjective perception of the victim's religious identity are the most crucial elements in establishing the ground of persecution. However, a person's "religious identity" is not limited to mere identity semantics, but may have a number of important functions and consequences. Firstly, a religious identity may inspire an adherent's conception of life and inner consciousness (i.e. religion as a belief - deep existential view). Secondly, a religious identity may influence an adherent's sense of personal or collective identity and belonging (i.e. religion as an identifying element). In the context of religious persecution, this means that a victim's religious identity becomes the identifying factor for which he or she is discriminatively targeted. Lastly, a religious identity may affect concomitant individual or communitarian ideologies and practices, which may influence or even dictate an adherent's way of life and how they relate to, or perceive others (i.e. religion as a way of life). While most religious identities impose a commitment to a belief and the exercise of religious behaviours contributing to a positive sense of moral behaviour, other religious identities may be the root cause of manifestations of intolerance, discrimination and persecution in instances where a religious ideology negatively motivates interaction. In this regard, it is crucial to differentiate, where applicable, between religiously motivated persecution (persecution in the name of religion), and religious persecution (persecution on the basis of religious identity). By itself, a persecutor's "religious motive" does not necessarily imply that the persecutor's conduct is directed at targets because of their religious identity. Thus, persecution is committed and justified in the name of the persecutor's self-righteous religious identity, yet his persecutory conduct may be directed at any collective cause, belief, and/or identity that threaten his self-righteous aspirations. In such instances, the relevant ground of persecution will depend on the group or identity that is discriminatively targeted, which may be, for example, homophobic, xenophobic or otherwise. Thus, religiously motivated persecution may very well intersect with other grounds of persecution. In such instances, religiously motivated persecution is distinguishable from, and does not constitute, religious persecution. Religious persecution is a form of persecution in terms of which the "religious identity" of those persecuted constitutes the primary or predominant reason for their suffering. In order to assess the nexus between the victim's religious identity and the persecutory conduct, the point at issue is whether the victim's religious identity was the primary factor resulting in him or her becoming a target of discrimination and persecution. If one were to ignore the victim's religious identity, does the basis of discrimination and persecution also disappear, or not? Depending on the result, religion may constitute the primary basis for persecution, or it may amount to an auxiliary factor. The required nexus is satisfied if the perpetrator, at the time of committing the persecutory acts, specifically targeted the victim based on his/her actual, perceived, or assigned religious identity. The primacy of the persecutor's religious discriminatory mindset is the core aspect that determines or contextualises persecutory acts as religious persecution. Such a discriminatory intent may be directed at a person, identifiable group or collectivity with a particular religious identity ("specific religious discriminatory intention"), or that lack an accepted religious identity ("negative religious discriminatory intention"), either based on objective criteria or in the mind of the accused, provided that such a religious discriminatory intent constituted the primary (not necessarily exclusive) basis for targeting those victims. Thus, its quintessential nature requires that religious persecution must be based on religious discriminatory intent, which may be provided through proof of a direct or inferred discriminatory intent. The inference is therefore that in terms of international criminal law, religious persecution is an accurate classification of the context of persecutory conduct if the victim's "religious identity", whether actual, perceived or assigned, was the primary basis for discrimination, regardless of the persecutor's motive for such conduct and irrespective of the existence of other possible intersecting identifiers. Based on this reasoning, it may be possible to identify "religious identity" as the specific ground of persecution in a given situation, provided that it is possible to acquire proof of a religious discriminatory intent on the part of the persecutor; and that the discriminatory intent is sufficiently tethered to the victim's identifiable religious identity, or lack thereof. Thus, classifying a situation as religious persecution requires an understanding of the victim's religious identity and how it relates to the perpetrator's discriminatory mindset. An assessment of the role of religious identity in a given situation is therefore essential in order to determine the mode of persecution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From the earlier reviews it is clear that a strong tectonic and macro-geomorphology theme dominated research in the first half of the last century with erosion, land degradation and applied research gaining prominence in the latter half (Beckedahl et al., [1]). Targeting the imminent inauguration of the International Association of Geomorphology (IAG) planned for I The Second International Geomorphology Conference i in 1992 in Canada, the 1988 local geomorphology symposium in Mthata provided the platform to launch the Southern African Association of Geomorphologists (SAAG). Holmes et al. ([9]) summarize the more recent research into six dominant sub-themes, namely fluvial geomorphology, glacial and periglacial geomorphology, rock weathering, arid and semi-arid geomorphology, coastal and estuarine geomorphology and applied geomorphology. Studies on the geomorphology of southern African have a long history extending back to the pioneering work in the early parts of the 20 SP th sp Century by Dixey, Wellington and King, amongst others (see Beckedahl et al., [1]). [Extracted from the article]

Marion Island is a peak of a shield volcano located in the southern Indian Ocean. The island is strategically important for the collection of climatological data and marine and terrestrial research in a vast, oceanic region of the globe. This paper reviews the series of earth science programmes on Marion Island over the last 25 years, provides a synthesis of the research outcomes and demonstrates how field and laboratory methods have developed over time. Marion Island has, globally, one of the most active soil frost environments in a distinctive periglacial setting and understanding this contemporary periglacial environment has been a key objective of the research programmes. Geomorphological processes have important implications for local ecosystem functioning and define the regional and global significance for diurnal soil frost environments and climate change. Keeping abreast with the advancements of appropriate methodologies and technologies and the continued employment of a mix of new and established methods has driven the earth science research in this unique island environment. A series of short vignettes present the most recent advancements on old key questions and indicate that new techniques continuously challenge us to re-evaluate the most basic of assumptions that exist within our research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Particular incidences of religious persecution are, because of their scale, severity, and discriminatory motivation, so heinous that they may be justifiably categorised as inhumane acts of crimes against humanity. Despite this proscription under international criminal law, religion-based persecution remains a serious human rights concern; yet the international criminal justice system appears reluctant to enforce prosecution measures. This paper argues that the continuing pattern of impunity for persecution stems primarily from definitional instability and legal vagueness. To address this problem, this paper formulates a comprehensive and nuanced conceptualisation of the definitional elements of crimes against humanity of religious persecution or, more simply, “grievous religious persecution.” [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mauritius is a Small Island Developing State (SIDS) with a high population density and increasing agricultural, urban and infrastructural demands, superimposed over limited physical resources. Soil and coastal erosion are recognized as an important environmental challenge facing the island. Here we review the studies on soil erosion over the past two decades and more recent advances in understanding the coastal erosion dynamics. Soil erosion studies have focussed on catchment erosion rates using recognized modelling techniques that have also permitted the mapping of erosion risk for the island. Rainfall assessments using six-minute rainfall data have detailed erosivity conditions for a section of the island but these findings still need to be incorporated into island-scale models. On Round Island, an off-shore Nature Reserve, erosion forms and rates have been measured in support of conservation and restoration programmes. Along the coastline, erosion had been long-recognized as a concern, particularly where development encroaches on the shoreline, and ongoing monitoring is assisting in understanding coastal sediment changes. Further research opportunities are noted and these include a coastal vulnerability assessment and modelling catchment sediment source-sink attributes where there is an impact on lagoon and coral structures. Climate-change scenarios, notably the effects on rainfall erosivity and sea level, are still to be incorporated in studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Round Island, a small (219‐ha) volcanic island 22.5 km north of Mauritius, has steep slopes and thin soils. This small tropical island was previously subjected to overgrazing by goats and rabbits, which detrimentally affected ecosystem functioning. Classified as a nature reserve since 1957, Round Island houses the last remnant of palm savannah that has been lost on mainland Mauritius and is a refuge to several endemic and endangered species. Landscape restoration and ecosystem functioning on Round Island are key conservation objectives, but soil erosion remains a significant hindrance to habitat restoration and ecosystem functioning. Here, we investigate soil erosion on Round Island and assess the implications for conservation and management. Sediment movement was monitored monthly (2015–2018) at seven soil erosion plots coupled with rainfall and erosivity measurements. A mean annual sediment movement rate of 0.2136 t ha−1 yr −1 is calculated. Although this rate of sediment movement is low for humid tropical regions, the barren landscape and low contemporary rates of soil erosion suggest that most of the erodible soil has already been eroded. Interrill erosion of the shallow soils and friable parent material is closely correlated with rainfall erosivity and exacerbated by limited vegetation cover. Continued revegetation is recommended to retard soil erosion and restore ecosystem functioning. The paper also emphasises that rainstorms are the greatest single phenomena affecting earth surface processes on and around the island of Mauritius. As such, long‐term monitoring of the interaction between the surface and climate is required to provide insights for conservation management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]