The symposium held at Mandela University’s Ocean Sciences campus brought together community leaders, environmental activists, researchers and students to engage in critical discussions on ocean sustainability, climate justice, heritage, transdisciplinary knowledge systems and regenerative approaches to coastal futures.
Professor Andre Keet, Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Engagement and Transformation, said in his opening remarks: “The ocean matters deeply. Not as an abstract object of study, but as the ocean is a living system tied to livelihoods, food security, memory, migration and loss. Oceans carry stories of connection, but also histories of extraction and dispossession. They have always been political.”
He explained that Nelson Mandela University had declared the study of oceans a transversal strategic priority, with a dedicated ocean sciences campus, state-of-the-art infrastructure, and fit-for-purpose curricula and pedagogies to support this work. “However, while there is some evidence of transdisciplinary engagement in our ocean research and activism, it is not clear that universities are maximising the possibilities for an expansive transdisciplinary research and practice agenda to meet the challenge of protecting our oceans.”
Prof Keet pointed out that beyond universities, coastal communities and ocean activists are actively involved in grassroots measures to fight the exploitation of oceans, climate change, flooding, forced removals of working-class people and shoreline gentrification. “Some universities have forged meaningful horizontal relationships with community-based organisations to advance these goals. Others have infused these approaches in pedagogies across the educational lifecycle from early childhood to adult education.”
Professor Heather Nel, Interim Senior Director of Ocean Sciences, built on this by emphasising that transdisciplinarity is not merely collaboration across disciplines, but a deeper convergence between science and society — where knowledge is jointly produced with stakeholder communities in response to real-world challenges. Her framing of an “ecosystem of convergence” positioned universities as living networks of ideas, people and practices working across boundaries to generate impactful and socially responsive knowledge.
For Professor Hugo ka Canham, Director of the Centre for Black Planetary Studies at UNISA, several communities have a spiritual connection to the ocean. “Many people worship at the ocean. Oceans communicate with people.” He urged scholars to listen to plants, animals and water because we share the world with other ocean species and our duty to care is expanded when we take them seriously. He explained that Black Planetary Studies is about surfacing these relations in the interests of an open and curious scholarly agenda that destabilises anthropocentric or human-centred lenses that dominate scholarship and to advance environmental justice and sustainability.
He asked participants to “consider reaching across disciplines in the interests of curiosity to understand broader ecologies of knowledge that knit shallow waters to deep water and coastal ecologies where knowledge is not static but, like the water, sand, kelp and wind – is in motion.” He suggested that the natural sciences can illuminate and enrich the humanities' orientations to knowledge, and that the humanities can deepen ocean sciences beyond the laboratory.
During a panel discussion on “Challenges and Opportunities for Transdisciplinary Ocean Sciences”, Professor Nelson Odume, Director of the Institute for Water Research at Rhodes University, argued that transdisciplinarity should be understood not merely as a research methodology but as a philosophy centred on relationships and collaboration. “It is about decentring oneself. You come with a particular discipline and that should not be at the centre. Relationality becomes the centre of what we do.” For Prof Odume, “there is a need for a coalition and network within institutions of like-minded people to champion transdisciplinarity.”
Dr Philile Mbatha, lecturer at the Environmental and Geographical Science Department of the University of Cape Town, said researchers need to co-design questions and research methodologies with communities, from the outset, as opposed to communities “being called in by the way. It is not easy, but people are doing it. Take a step back and ask what can I do to embrace different knowledges to make this truly transdisciplinary.”
Dr Denise Schael, Director of the Institute for Coastal and Marine Research at Mandela University, highlighted the University’s commitment in collaborating with communities to address complex societal challenges. “We have moved beyond science for society to science with society,” she said. “We work with people to identify where the problems are and how we solve them together.” She added that partnerships with non-governmental organisations, government stakeholders and coastal communities are critical to protecting both cultural heritage and biodiversity.
However, panellists also acknowledged that institutional processes and structures can sometimes hinder transdisciplinary work, because the approach may not be understood and has not been integrated into all research frameworks.
During the discussion, environmental activist and Director of Sustaining the Wild Coast, Sinegugu Zukulu, said that when researchers interview environmental activists, they anonymise their contribution instead of naming them in their journal articles. He called on universities to reform their research ethics protocols as community activists want their knowledge recognised and attributed.
He also reflected on a landmark Constitutional Court case his organisation is involved in, which entailed the halting of the renewal of offshore exploration rights by a multinational company, after lower courts found that affected communities had not been adequately consulted. “There is customary law. You need the consent of neighbours. People who depend on and have a connection to the ocean were ignored. They were not seen nor heard,” said Zukulu. He argued that coastal communities should have a meaningful voice in decisions that affect their environment and livelihoods.
Other sessions of the symposium on Day One provided a platform for researchers to present their projects on transdisciplinary ocean studies and activism. In addition to Nelson Mandela University and UNISA, researchers included established scholars and graduate students from several universities, including the universities of Cape Town, KwaZulu-Natal, Rhodes, Witwatersrand, Toronto and Stellenbosch University.
On day two, the Centre for Integrated Post-School Education and Training facilitated an ocean field visit and conversation with local fishers and ocean defenders. Using a popular education mapping approach, the session focused on indigenous knowledge systems as forms of situated knowledge that incorporate deeply relational practices of planetary care.
Community activists highlighted the complex social realities surrounding resource extraction, expressing concern that oil and gas, and other mining projects could bring environmental degradation, increase traffic, noise pollution and disrupt traditional fishing and other sustainable livelihood practices. Participants also noted that while some community members oppose mining activities, young people may view them as a potential source of employment, and this could create divisions within communities.
Ocean Defender, Otto Nozewu, the Chair of Kiwane Fishing Cooperative, at Ncera and Phozi villages, said he was an environmental activist and ocean defender, because he did not want nature to be destroyed. “I am fighting against pollution of the air, water and soil… The ocean is feeding us. The ocean is life.”
Prof Heather Nel
Prof Hugo Ka Canham
Prof Hugo Ka Canham, Prof Heather Nel and Viwe Kambule, of the Ocean Sciences Project Office
Field trip