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14TH OPPENHEIMER RESEARCH CONFERENCE

15 -17 October 2025

Randjesfontein Cricket Ground, Midrand

REGISTER FOR CONFERENCE

The Oppenheimer Research Conference (ORC), hosted by Oppenheimer Generations Research and Conservation, is a leading platform for natural and environmental science in Africa. Since 2010, it has brought together researchers, practitioners, and organizations to share knowledge, spark collaboration, and inspire action.

Through plenaries, presentations, posters, and panel discussions, ORC tackles urgent issues including biodiversity loss, landscape ecology, climate change, wildlife economies, and heritage. By amplifying Africa-led research and scientific voices, the conference contributes to conservation and sustainable solutions that benefit both the continent and the world.

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ONLINE SESSIONS

The following items will be live-streamed. Click on the links to see the recordings.

ONLINE SESSION 1

Wednesday, 15 October 2025: 09h00 - 17h00

DAY 1: Wednesday, 15 October 2025

Session 1: Chair | Duncan MacFadyen (09:00 – 10:20)

WELCOME & INTRODUCTION

  • NICKY OPPENHEIMER

KEYNOTE ADDRESS

  • Hon. Bogolo Kenewendo

    Hon. Bogolo Kenewendo

PLENARY

  • Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka

    Integrating health and people in gorilla conservation

FULL PRESENTATION

Climate change and southern African birds: 15 years of the Hot Birds Research
Full presentation Andrew McKechnie

Session 2: Chair | Rendani Nenguda (10:50 – 12:50)

PRESENTATIONS

Conservation insights drawn from a millennium of grazing dynamics at Hluhluwei-Mfolozi Park, South Africa
Results presentation Abraham Dabengwa
 
Bending the curve of biodiversity loss: What are we trying to change?
Full presentation Belinda Reyers
 
Navigating the green dilemma: Stakeholder-driven research priorities to curb biodiversity loss in South Africa’s green energy transition
Results presentation Merlyn Nkomo
 
Soil fungal diversity of Tswalu Kalahari Nature Reserve based on high throughput sequencing
Results presentation Eduard Venter
 
Unknown, unseen, unprotected: Why taxonomy and baseline biodiversity surveys still matter
Full presentation Ara Monadjem
 
Seasonal variation and drivers of parasite prevalence in migratory Serengeti wildebeest
Results presentation Gareth Hempson

Session 3: Chair | Pumla Dlamini (14:00 – 15:30)

PRESENTATIONS

Advancing One Health through the African Microbiome Project
Full presentation Thulani Makhalanyane

 

RESULTS PRESENTATION

Evaluating cheetah reintroduction success: A comparative study of two reserves in KwaZulu-Natal
Results presentation Dorette Pretorius
 
Evaluating conservation corridor success for rare and common dragonflies using zeta diversity
Results presentation Gabriella Kietzka
 
Biological responses to climate and land use changes in the KwaZulu-Natal rivers
Results presentation Lwandile Ngozi
 
Burning for carbon: Fire, afforestation and soil organic carbon dynamics in South Africa’s Afromontane grasslands
Results presentation Lindokuhle Dlamini

Session 4: Chair | Maxwell Gomera (16:00 – 17:00)

PANEL DISCUSSION

Alignment of interests: Transitioning from short-term philanthropy to permanent outcome-based capital through the reduction of frictional costs

FACILITATOR:

  • Maxwell Gomera

MINESTERIAL PANEL:

  • Hon. Bogolo Kenewendo

  • Hon. Dr. Rodney Sikumba

  • Hon. Jiwoh Abdulaia

  • Hon. Dr Evelyn Ndlovu

ONLINE SESSION

ONLINE SESSION 2

Thursday, 16 October 2025: 08h30 - 17h00

DAY 2: Thursday, 16 October 2025

Session 1: Chair | Peter Makumbe (08:30 – 9:40)

PLENARY

  • David Western:

    Linking wildlife, conservation and people across landscapes

SPEED PRESENTATION SESSION

Moss bioindicators: Factors influencing species diversity and community assembly along a rural-urban gradient in Madagascar’s capital city
Antonio Razafindramboa
 
Temminck’s pangolin (Smutsia temminckii) habitat use in a dryland environment
Benjamin Melamdowitz
 
Climate change and cyanobacteria: How construction of artificial waterholes can influence bloom potential in a semi-arid system
Laurene van Dijk
 
Spatial and temporal gradient effects on ant and spider diversity in the Natal Midlands
Asande Hadebe

White-browed sparrow-weaver structures as a resource to avian communities in the Kalahari
Lesedi Moagi

Wetlands provide a stable forage resource for ungulates in a variable Highveld ecosystem
Daleen Steenkamp

Legacy and emerging contaminants in an ecologically critical southern African river catchment
Shaskia John
 
SPEED PRESENTATION GROUP Q&A

Session 2: Chair | Tracey Webster (11:00 – 13:00)

PRESENTATIONS

Origins and invasion debt of Quilted melania (Tarebia granifera) (Lamarck, 1822) in Southern Africa
Results presentation Sive Kolisi
 
African lions: Safe and sound?
Full presentation Paul Funston
 
Should wild animal welfare be considered in conservation?
Results presentation Dilys Roe and Amy Dickman
 
Applicability of Environmental Management Systems (EMS) for effective management of Transfrontier Conservation Areas involving Zimbabwe
Full presentation Patience Gandiwa
 
Triggering rapid scaling of agroforestry: A case of The International Small Group and Tree Planting Program (TIST) in Uganda
Results presentation Antony Emenyu
 
Morally contested conservation
Results presentation Darragh Hare

Session 3: Chair | Wendy Panaino (14:00 – 15:30)

PRESENTATIONS

Assessing nitrogen dioxide in the highveld trophosphere: Pandora insights and TROPOMI Sentinel-5P evaluation
Results presentation Refilwe Kai-Sikhakhane

Big data’s big daddy! Aerial-born multi-sensor data collection beyond the curve!
Results presentation Steven Johnson

How doth the little crocodile
Full presentation Stephan Woodborne

Improving AI for wildlife tracking: The value of expert tracker knowledge and training data
Results presentation Tinao Petso

Ecophysiological responses and projected climatic suitability of Podocarpaceae in South Africa
Results presentation Thando Twala

Session 4: Chair | Sally Archibad (16:00 – 17:00)

PANEL DISCUSSION

Future ecosystems for Africa: Lessons, impact and the path forward

FACILITATOR

  • Sally Archibald

PANEL MEMBERS

  • Laura Periera

  • Odirilwe Seloane

  • Senankpon Tcheton

  • Tatenda Gotore

  • Mohammed Armani

  • Kim Zoeller

  • Mulako Kabisa

NEW JWO RESEARCH GRANT RECIPIENT AWARD  PRESENTATION (17:20 – 18:00)

  • Jonathan Oppenheimer

ONLINE SESSION

ONLINE SESSION 3

Friday, 17 October 2025: 08h30 - 16h00

DAY 3: Friday, 17 October 2025

Session 1: Chair | Andre Tranquelini (08:30 – 10:40)

PLENARY

  • Francois Engelbrecht

    Dawn of the era of 1.5° C of global warming

PRESENTATION

Stuck in a rut: Variation in reproductive behaviour, spatial patterns and endocrine activity in impala (Aepyceros melampus)
Results presentation Juanita Wessels

Drugs, guns and eels: The decline of anguillid eels in East Africa and beyond
Full presentation Lee Baumgartner
 
Understanding climate change adaptation policy, barriers and readiness in South Africa
Results presentation Vhalinavho Khavhagali
 
Smuggled hitchhikers: Ticks on trafficked pangolins and scales pose a hidden pathogen threat
Results presentation Zwannda Nethavhani
 
Thulamela: Gold, human burials and a forgotten African kingdom
Results presentation Tim Forssman

JWO RESEARCH SNAPSHOT

  • Shanon Conradie

    Biophysical approaches to wildlife conservation - One year of interdisciplinary work

Session 2: Chair | Max Makuvise (11:10 – 14:00)

PRESENTATIONS

How dehorning reduces rhino poaching
Results presentation Timothy Kuiper

What evidence exists for the financial performance of wildlife-based land use in southern and East Africa
Results presentation Susan de Witt

Fire frequency and experimental warming changes soil microbial diversity in alpine grassland, South Africa
Results presentation Sibusiso Dlamini
 
Clicks and the environment: Journalism’s responsibility to deepen climate literacy
Full presentation Journalism panel

The potential of legume cover crops to improve soil acidity and nutrients in South African sugarcane fields
Results presentation Naledi Zama
 
Understanding the cognitive consequences of climate change in wild animals
Results presentation Ben Ashton

Estimating large carnivore densities using spatial capture-recapture in the arid Tswalu Kalahari Reserve, South Africa
Results presentation Marna Visagie
 
Human-centred conservation: Communities at the core
Full presentation Katie MacKenzie and Lessah Mandoloma
 
 
CONFERENCE AWARDS

  • Nicky Oppenheimer

CLOSE

  • Jonathan Oppenheimer

Session 3: Chair | Jonah Western (15:00 – 16:00)

COMMUNITY SCIENCE ROUNDTABLE

How can conservation win space for wildlife beyond parks by engaging and improving the wellbeing of communities?
Duan Biggs, Victor Mose and Lucy Waruingi
ONLINE SESSION