SAAG | 2025 Biennial Conferene

SAAG BIENNIAL CONFERENCE 2025

The 2023 Biennial Conference was held from 15-18 July in and around Oudtshoorn in the Swartberg Mountains, Western Cape, South Africa. The 15th was set aside for the pre-conference excursion, while presentations and the BGM occurred on 16 & 17 July. The workshop was held on the morning of 18 July.

Conference Summary

On Wednesday morning (16 July) Professor Eckardt gave the Plenary on the topic ‘Geomorphology Sans Frontiers'. Thursday after the afternoon tea was set aside for the SAAG Biennial General Meeting, followed by the conference dinner that evening where the winners of the two best student presentations were announced. Suzanne Serfontein from Stellenbosch University received the award for the best MAsters presentation and received the book prize of Geomorphology of Southern Africa. Lefa Morake received the award for the best Doctoral presentation and received the book prize of Veld Management. The conference was also registered with SACNASP for two CPD credits under Category 1 (validation number 2024-0681-003298). The conference Program & Book of Abstracts is available here.

The conference consisted of a variety of talks across 6 sessions. We thank the IAG by supporting two of our Young Geomorphologists to attend the conference. Recipient of the IAG Travel Grants were Celani Mabuza from Eswatini, and Tatenda Musasa from Zimbabwe.

During the biennial general meeting on Thursday afternoon (17 July) the new SAAG Council was voted into office. SAAG would like to take this opportunity to thank the previous council consisting of Elizabeth Rudolph (UFS; President), Marike Stander (UFS; President-Elect), David Hedding (Unisa, Treasurer), Christel Hansen (UP; Secretary), Renée Grundling (UP, SAYG Representative), Abuyiselwe Nguna (SAPRI, Media Officer), Mthobisi Masilela (Eswatini representative), Thomas Marambanyika (Zimbabwe representative), and two ordinary members of Suzanne Grenfell (SUN), and Carel Greyling (UNISA). The new council consists of Marike Stander (UFS; President); Carel Greyling (Unisa; President-Elect), David Hedding (Unisa; Treasurer), Ryan Anderson (Unisa; 2nd Treasurer/Secretary), Mthobisi Masilela (eSwatini representative), and three ordinary members of Edmore Kori (UNIVEN), Febe Jansen van Vuuren (UFS), and Colby Weiss (UFS).

Pre-conference Field Excursion

The pre-conference field excursion held on 15 July on the Swartberg Circuit was a self-drive guided tour lead by Paul Rixom (paulrixom@gmail.com) in collaboration with Jasper Knight, as a contribution by WiSH, an INQUA funded project. The route took participants over the iconic Swartberg Pass to Prince Albert and returned via Meiringspoort, offering spectacular geological and geomorphological features and discussions along the way. The excursion was registered for for 1 CPD credit under Category 1 with SACNASP (validation number 2025-0681-003541).

Post-conference Workshop

The SAAG 2025 workshop provided a vital platform for researchers, professionals, and community members to explore effective stakeholder engagement strategies. Recognising that impactful projects, particularly in geomorphology, hinge upon collaboration with local communities, policymakers, and industries, the workshop focuses on "ground-up" approaches. Drawing on expertise from the Garden Route Biosphere Reserve, participants gained insights into best practices, acquired practical tools for fostering productive collaborations, examined successful case studies, and discussed common challenges and solutions for effective engagement. A key objective was to facilitate networking among professionals encountering similar challenges.

SAAG thanks Dr Bianca Currie from the Garden Route Biosphere Reserve for their contribution to the workshop. We also thank Debbie Fordham for her role in Chairing and helping develop the workshop content. The IAG is thanked for enabling our young geomorphologists to attend the workshop at no cost. Dr Currie's and Dr Hansen's presentations can be accessed here and here.

The workshop program is available here. The workshop is registered for 0.5 Category 1 CPD credits with SACNASP under reference 2025-0681-003382.

Organising Committee & Sponsors

SAAG would like to thank the 2025 Organising Committee consisting of the entire 2023-2025 SAAG Council for their work on organising such a successful conference.

SAAG gratefully acknowledges the contributions of the individuals and organisations or institutions listed below.
The IAG for supporting two of our Young Geomorphologists to attend the conference.
Paul Rixon and Jasper Knight for organising the field excursion.
African Climate Stories for sponsoring one of the Young Geomorphologists' best presentation book awards.
Christel Hansen for sponsoring one of the Young Geomorphologists' best presentation book awards.
The Garden Route Biosphere Reserve for their contribution to the workshop.
The Department of Geography, Geoinformatics and Meteorology of the University of Pretoria for sponsoring the printing of the programs.
Finally, Kleinplaas Resort for hosting us.

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