Fortunate Mafeta Phaka
Fortunate Mafeta Phaka | |
---|---|
Born | 12 July 1987 Mamelodi, South Africa |
Nationality | South African |
Other names | The Scribe |
Alma mater | University of South Africa Hasselt University |
Awards | Mail & Guardian 200 Young South Africans (2016)
South African Breweries Environmental Media Awards and Environmentalist of the Year (2019) Mail & Guardian Greening the Future Award (2022) Golden Shield Heritage Award (2022) |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Herpetology Biocultural diversity research |
Thesis | Biocultural diversity of herpetofauna in South Africa: State and relevance as a science-based policy tool for conservation and social inclusion (2022) |
Doctoral advisor | Louis du Preez, Jean Hugè and Maarten Vanhove |
Fortunate Phaka (born July 12, 1987, in
Early life and education
This section of a biography of a living person does not include any references or sources. (August 2023) |
Phaka spent most of his childhood in Mamelodi township on the outskirts of
Career
Frog book and scientific publications
From 2016, Phaka's research has focused on investigating biodiversity and the complex relationship it has with people's cultural diversity with the aim of understanding how South African traditional cultural practices that are based on herptiles can be used to inform policy for socially inclusive conservation planning as
Books
- A Bilingual Field Guide to the Frogs of Zululand (or Isiqondiso Sasefilidini Esindimimbili Ngamaxoxo AkwelaKwaZulu in IsiZulu), 2017 (ISBN 9781928224198 )
Selected scientific publications
- Phaka, Fortunate M., et al. "Folk taxonomy and indigenous names for frogs in Zululand, South Africa." Journal of ethnobiology and ethnomedicine 15.1 (2019): 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13002-019-0294-3
- Phaka, Fortunate Mafeta, and Dax Ovid. "Life sciences reading material in vernacular: lessons from developing a bilingual (IsiZulu and English) book on South African frogs." Current Issues in Language Planning 23.1 (2022): 96–111. https://doi.org/10.1080/14664208.2021.1936397
- Phaka, Fortunate M., et al. "Reviewing taxonomic bias in a megadiverse country: primary biodiversity data, cultural salience, and scientific interest of South African animals." Environmental Reviews 30.1 (2022): 39–49. https://doi.org/10.1139/er-2020-0092
- Ovid, Dax, and Fortunate Mafeta Phaka. "Idwi, Xenopus laevis, and African clawed frog: Teaching counternarratives of invasive species in postcolonial ecology." The Journal of Environmental Education 53.2 (2022): 69–86. https://doi.org/10.1080/00958964.2022.2032564
- Phaka, Fortunate M., et al. "Library books as environmental management capacity building opportunities exclude most South African languages." Environmental Science & Policy 141 (2023): 61–68. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2022.12.020
Conservation career
Phaka began his conservation career in 2006 as a volunteer at the
Television career
Due to the cost of undergraduate studies being too high for his mother to afford by herself, Phaka dropped out to learn wildlife documentary filmmaking in 2009 and afterwards he was hired as the trainee researcher/producer for South Africa's longest running environmental TV show,
Filmography
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2010 | 50/50 | Trainee Producer/Researcher | Environmental TV series |
2010 | Life and Wonder of Odonata[19] | Script Advisor | Wildlife Documentary |
2011 | Green Darkies[20] | Director | Short documentary for Environmental TV series |
2011–2013 | 50/50 | Freelancer | Environmental TV series |
2014 | Not on my Watch[21] | Producer and screenWriter | Wildlife Documentary |
2020–2021 | Imvelogy[22] | Content Producer | Environmental TV series |
Outreach and policy
The research produced by Phaka generally has recommendations that inform integrative conservation approaches. In 2020 Phaka started an initiative to communicate herptile knowledge in South Africa's 9 officialised Indigenous languages as the country's wildlife field guides are mostly published in English with comparatively fewer being published in Afrikaans.[23] He has also written a technical brief based on his research meant to demonstrate to South African policymakers how Indigenous people's perspectives can be incorporated into conservation policy.[24] Some of the Indigenous South African language names coined for frogs through Phaka's work appear on online information sources, such as the iselesele page on Zulu Wikipedia and AmphibiaWeb, next to English and scientific names.[25]
Awards and honours
Phaka received multiple honours for his commitment to research that is inclusive of Indigenous South African cultural practices as these are practices of people who are generally marginalised from issues relating to South Africa's natural environment and conservation planning generally does not consider their perspectives.
2022: Mail & Guardian Greening the Future Award[26]
2022: Enviropeadia's Ecologic Award (Runner-up for Eco-Angel category)[27][28]
2022: Golden Shield Heritage Award (Runner-up for ‘Voice of Heritage’ category)[28]
2020: Enviropeadia's Ecologic Award (First prize for Eco-Angel category)[5]
2019: Environmental Community Award (South African Breweries Environmental Media Awards and Environmentalist of the Year)[29]
2019: One of the 100 Young Mandelas of the Future (Curated by News24)[30]
2018: National Wetland Indaba Young Professional Award[31]
2017: Future Leader of Amphibian Conservation Award (Amphibian Conservation Research Symposium)[32][33]
2016: One of the Mail & Guardian 200 Young South Africans[34]
References
- ^ "Fortunate Phaka | natural-sciences.nwu.ac.za". natural-sciences.nwu.ac.za. Retrieved 2023-08-04.
- ^ "Fortunate Mafeta Phaka". Biodiversity Lab. Retrieved 2023-08-04.
- ^ "Dr Fortunate Phaka – South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity". Retrieved 2023-08-04.
- ^ says, Y. 4 A. W. (2014-10-14). "The Team – Youth 4 African Wildlife". Retrieved 2023-08-04.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ a b "The Scribe – Fortunate Phaka". SuperScientists. 2023-03-15. Retrieved 2023-08-04.
- ^ "NWU visionary is one of Top 100 Young Mandelas | news.nwu.ac.za". news.nwu.ac.za. Retrieved 2023-08-14.
- ^ "Fortunate M. Phaka | Producer, director, writer". IMDb. Retrieved 2023-08-07.
- ^ a b Phaka, Fortunate Mafeta (2022). Biocultural diversity of herpetofauna in South Africa : State and relevance as a science-based policy tool for conservation and social inclusion (Thesis thesis). North-West University (South Africa).
- ^ a b Phaka, Fortunate (2022). "Biocultural diversity of herpetofauna in South Africa: State and relevance as a science-based policy tool for conservation and social inclusion".
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(help) - ^ Phaka, Fortunate Mafeta (2018). Amphibian diversity and community-based ecotourism in Ndumo Game Reserve, South Africa (Thesis thesis). North-West University (South Africa), Potchefstroom Campus.
- ^ "Here's how frogs communicate our need for connection". SowetanLIVE. Retrieved 2023-08-04.
- ^ liezlscheepers (2017-12-04). "Twee nuwe boeke vertel meer oor paddas". Parys Gazette. Retrieved 2023-08-04.
- ISSN 1181-8700.
- hdl:1942/39332. Retrieved 2023-08-04.
- PMID 30914047.
- ^ "Dr Fortunate Mafeta Phaka". scholar.google.com. Retrieved 2023-08-04.
- ^ Nordien, Debbie (2019-09-10). "Safari Giants". Safari Giants. Retrieved 2023-08-04.
- ^ elizeparker (2016-08-17). "Eco-interns show how bees can protect trees from elephants". Lowvelder. Retrieved 2023-08-04.
- ^ Films, Veldkijker (2010-10-14), Life and Wonder of Odonata, retrieved 2023-08-04
- ^ Phaka, Fortunate M. (2011-05-18), Green Darkies (Documentary, Short), Ntokozo Mbuli, retrieved 2023-08-04
- ^ Durn, Sarah (2014-10-02), Not on My Watch (Documentary, Short), Youth 4 African Wildlife, retrieved 2023-08-04
- ^ Imvelogy (Documentary), Sugar Bean Pictures, 2021-09-13, retrieved 2023-08-04
- ^ "Wildlife in Vernacular". www.wildvernac.org. Retrieved 2023-08-04.
- )
- ^ "AmphibiaWeb Search". amphibiaweb.org. Retrieved 2023-08-27.
- ^ theethicalagency (2022-11-30). "Dr Fortunate Mafeta Phaka". Mail & Guardian Greening The Future. Retrieved 2023-08-04.
- ^ "The 'Glamorously Green' Ecologic Awards". Business Media MAGS. Retrieved 2023-08-04.
- ^ a b https://natural-sciences.nwu.ac.za/sites/natural-sciences.nwu.ac.za/files/files/uesm/ENVIRA/ENVIRA-Spring-Edition-2022.pdf
- ^ "#SABEnvironmentalAwards2019: All the winners". Bizcommunity. Retrieved 2023-08-04.
- ^ "Fortunate Phaka". mandela100.news24.com. Retrieved 2023-08-04.
- ^ "Awards". SA Wetland Society. Retrieved 2023-08-14.
- ^ Hansen, Candace. "Future Leaders of Amphibian Conservation Award". Amphibian Survival Alliance. Retrieved 2023-08-04.
- ^ Hansen, Candace. "Getting to know Fortunate Phaka". Amphibian Survival Alliance. Retrieved 2023-08-04.
- ^ https://mg.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/2016-Young-South-Africans.pdf
External links
- Fortunate Mafeta Phaka publications indexed by Google Scholar