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SAQA All qualifications and part qualifications registered on the National Qualifications Framework are public property. Thus the only payment that can be made for them is for service and reproduction. It is illegal to sell this material for profit. If the material is reproduced or quoted, the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) should be acknowledged as the source.
SOUTH AFRICAN QUALIFICATIONS AUTHORITY 
REGISTERED QUALIFICATION: 

Master of Science in Mountain Environments 
SAQA QUAL ID QUALIFICATION TITLE
125453  Master of Science in Mountain Environments 
ORIGINATOR
University of the Free State 
PRIMARY OR DELEGATED QUALITY ASSURANCE FUNCTIONARY NQF SUB-FRAMEWORK
CHE - Council on Higher Education  HEQSF - Higher Education Qualifications Sub-framework 
QUALIFICATION TYPE FIELD SUBFIELD
Master's Degree  Field 10 - Physical, Mathematical, Computer and Life Sciences  Environmental Sciences 
ABET BAND MINIMUM CREDITS PRE-2009 NQF LEVEL NQF LEVEL QUAL CLASS
Undefined  180  Not Applicable  NQF Level 09  Regular-Provider-ELOAC 
REGISTRATION STATUS SAQA DECISION NUMBER REGISTRATION START DATE REGISTRATION END DATE
Registered  EXCO 0638/26  2026-03-10  2029-03-10 
LAST DATE FOR ENROLMENT LAST DATE FOR ACHIEVEMENT
2030-03-10   2033-03-10  

In all of the tables in this document, both the pre-2009 NQF Level and the NQF Level is shown. In the text (purpose statements, qualification rules, etc), any references to NQF Levels are to the pre-2009 levels unless specifically stated otherwise.  

This qualification does not replace any other qualification and is not replaced by any other qualification. 

PURPOSE AND RATIONALE OF THE QUALIFICATION 
The purpose of the Master of Science in Mountain Environments is to prepare learners to play an active role in creating sustainable mountain environments, a knowledge niche area that has not yet been developed in Africa as a whole. The qualification will provide learners with critical analytical skills for assessing the impact of human populations on vulnerable, sensitive, and fragile mountain environments. In South Africa, skills involving such tools are rare yet increasing in demand - primarily in national, provincial, and local government departments - often lacking appropriately qualified personnel. Therefore, the qualification targets environmental practitioners and professionals working in different capacities, including government departments, community organisations, Non-governmental Organisations (NGOs), and other people who intend to forge related careers.

The niche of mountain studies is poorly developed in South Africa. This is partly due to the complex nature of mountain environments, which require multidisciplinary approaches to environmental analysis. Unfortunately, at both intellectual and practical levels, knowledge hubs have been designed in silos, with set boundaries that limit comprehensive analyses of complex environments. The qualification will create the multidisciplinary research platform required to understand mountain environments and their associated challenges better. Being a multidisciplinary qualification, this qualification has been designed to equip the learner with skills that deal with multifaceted and complex issues arising from the bio-physical and social domains but linked to multidisciplinary fields requiring the application of artificial intelligence (including machine learning and remote sensing), biostatistics, environmental assessments and natural resource conservation, all of which contribute to the production of an all-round mountain environment scientist, with the capacity to tackle contemporary environmental challenges facing mountain environments.

The qualification will address the shortage of relevant skills to deal with complex issues both systematically and creatively, design and critically appraise research, make sound judgements using data and information at their disposal and communicate their conclusions clearly to specialist and non-specialist audiences, demonstrate self-direction and originality in tackling and solving problems, act autonomously in planning and implementing tasks with a theoretical underpinning and continue to advance their knowledge, understanding and skills.

The qualification supports national initiatives that promote skills development that enhances South Africa's global competitiveness. The qualification is a coursework degree comprising both taught modules and a mini dissertation. The taught modules will provide the intellectual material and cognitive knowledge that will prepare learners and develop the skills they need before embarking on their research projects. This approach will provide a progressive way of nurturing learners since they will be better equipped with the skills and knowledge they will acquire for their research from the coursework. This is particularly important for those postgraduate learners who come from a monodisciplinary background, which is the case with the vast majority who enrol at the Qwaqwa Campus. Very few learners enrolled at the Honours level are exposed to multidisciplinary research approaches. Hence, most often find it challenging to cope with situations where integrated analyses are the mode of scientific inquiry. Due to these limitations, time-to-degree is often long. The shortcomings of learners from monodisciplinary backgrounds become even more evident when the research results are incorporated into decision-making and, eventually, policy development, a requirement for action-based research. The lack of an integrated scope often limits learners' comprehension of critical elements for rural development. The qualification is based on Systems Thinking, an ideal component for comprehensively understanding the processes that shape mountain societies and their environments. However, it is poorly developed due to the siloed nature of knowledge hubs in South Africa. The degree will be guided by the Global Land Project Model (GLPM), widely embraced by mountain researchers worldwide due to its capacity to simplify and integrate information regarding complex environmental systems.

The qualification will lead learners to careers that require the practical application of knowledge and skills, whether as professionals in established organisations, promoters, or new ventures where they are self-employed. This qualification will prepare qualifying learners for numerous career and employment opportunities in the public, private, and academic sectors, including those related to nature conservation, the renewable energy sector, environmental education, forestry, geo-computing and machine learning, natural resource management, environmental remediation, policy and advocacy, sustainable development, urban and rural planning, and environmental research in mountain environments.

Upon completion of this qualification, a qualifying learner will be able to:
  • Assess integrated approaches and principles of biodiversity control and management.
  • Apply skills needed to prevent biodiversity loss and ecosystem disruption while ensuring ecosystem restoration and environmental rehabilitation.
  • Build sustainability capacity within environmental and biodiversity management programmes, especially those incorporating citizen science.
  • Evaluate the best available options for using mountain biodiversity to promote sustainable development.
  • Identify potential hazards and conduct risk assessment.
  • Categorize hazards and risks for disaster preparedness and management purposes.
  • Develop risk-averse measures based on mechanical, biological and social approaches.
  • Demonstrate an understanding of policy frameworks on the management of hazards experienced in mountain regions.
  • Demonstrate an understanding of different frameworks to explain the interaction between mountain communities and their environment.
  • Identify gaps between worldviews and relevance to environmental needs.
  • Promote collaborative approaches to the management of mountain ecosystems through adaptive learning and collaborative natural resource management.
  • Building capacity in community engagement and empowerment to ensure their full stakeholder participation in sustainable development.
  • Apply holistic thinking in environmental and natural resource management contexts.
  • Apply multi-criteria decision-making skills under a diversity of contexts and skills involving the application of Integrated Environmental Management (IEM) tools.
  • Develop planning skills suitable for complex environments.
  • Strengthen the scope for collaborative research and citizen science.
  • Apply skills in the environmental assessment that can be used in monitoring montane environments.
  • Assess undesirable change in mountain environments.
  • Design cost-effective and efficient mitigation measures based on sound and effective monitoring procedures.
  • Incorporate participatory methodologies in designing measures for mitigating undesirable land use and resultant environmental change.
  • Apply environmental monitoring, control, and management skills.
  • Apply negotiation skills for advancing the protection of mountain ecosystems and environments.
  • Empower mountain communities to participate in mountain management.
  • Utilize a mixed methods approach in studies on mountain environments.

    Rationale:
    The worsening of environmental problems in mountain regions is interconnected with severe global environmental problems such as climate change, unsustainable development, resource profligacy and degradation, and poor waste management practices, among other complex problems that nature society has always grappled with because they are difficult to understand. The worsening of environmental hazards in mountain environments and the depletion of natural resources in mountain environments have become a serious concern globally. This is why the United Nations declared 2002 "the year of the mountains", which became a starting point for concerted global efforts to promote sustainable development in mountain environments. The increasing frequency of environmental hazards emanating from mountain environments, including landslides, volcanic and seismic hazards, biohazards (biosecurity threats), climate-related hazards (droughts and floods), and those arising from the interaction between mountain people and the environment is indisputable. Still, these hazards pose a threat to both mountain and downstream communities. Besides, mountain environments are an essential source of critical resources indispensable for life, including those central to life support systems such as water and biodiversity. For instance, 40% of all non-marine bird species in southern Africa are found in the Drakensberg Mountains.

    In contrast, 25% of the water supply in the Gauteng Region of South Africa is harnessed from the Drakensberg Mountains. Hence, mountain environments are critical for the sustenance of social-ecological systems. Besides, mountain environments are a refugium for rare and threatened species, which could be facing global extinction, such as the Cape Vulture (Gyps coprotheres), Wattle crane (Grus carunculata), and Lesser Kestrel (Falco naumanni), Bald Ibis (Geronticus calvus), and Bearded vulture (Gypaetus barbatus). Some of these are endemic to the mountains. For instance, of the 2520 native angiosperms found in the Drakensberg Alpine Centre alone, 334 are endemic species, while 595 are near-endemic species of angiosperms. The qualification will equip learners with skills in tackling these problems and restoring the affected environments.

    Globally, the increasing awareness of environmental issues, such as pollution and global warming, will guarantee job opportunities for qualifying learners in environmental.

    The qualification will be housed in the Department of Geography, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences. The Department comprises eight academics: two associate professors, two senior lecturers, and four lecturers. Lecturers in the proposed qualification have published on a wide range of topics, including climate change in mountain environments, tourism, sustainable development, water resource management, conservation, remote sensing, Geographic Information Systems and other fields and are members of a wide range of academic bodies including the South African Society for Atmospheric Sciences (SASAS); Society of South African Geographers (SSAG); Africa Alliance for Disaster Risk Institutes (AADRI). Additional teaching staff from the Departments of Plant Sciences, Zoology, and Sociology will be drawn. The administrative staff supporting this qualification consists of one administrative officer and a technician. The Department has the academic capacity and infrastructure to deliver a qualification of high quality.

    Typical professions in which the qualifying learner will operate:
  • Community development directors and administrators.
  • Local government administrators and planners.
  • Parks and recreation officials.
  • Cooperative extension professionals.
  • Non-preorganisation professionals.
  • Engaged citizens and community leaders.
  • Educators and grassroots activists.
  • Consulting firms. 
    		•

    LEARNING ASSUMED TO BE IN PLACE AND RECOGNITION OF PRIOR LEARNING 
    Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL):
    Learners who do not meet the selection and/or admission requirements for the qualification can access the qualification through an RPL route.

    RPL for access:
    Where applicants do not meet the minimum admission requirements, RPL may be used to grant access to the qualification. RPL will be applied according to the Recognition of prior learning, Credit Accumulation and Transfer, and assessment (CHE 2016), and the institution's RPL policy. The central RPL Office, in collaboration with the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, will manage the qualification will be admitted through an RPL process.

    Not more than 10% of a cohort of learners in the MSc (Mountain Environments) will be admitted through an RPL process.

    Through its RPL policy and RPL Office, and in collaboration with the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, the institution will ensure that quality assurance processes that address the specificities of the RPL process (including applications, assessment, and reporting and management systems) are implemented; and that administrative and support systems, both before and after RPL assessment, are in place.

    Entry Requirements:
  • Bachelor of Arts Honours in Environmental Sciences, NQF Level 8.
    Or
  • Bachelor of Arts Honours in Geography and Environmental Studies, NQF Level 8.
    Or
  • Bachelor of Environmental and Natural Resource Science, NQF Level 8.
    Or
  • Bachelor of Arts Honours in Environmental Geography, NQF Level 8. 
    		•

    RECOGNISE PREVIOUS LEARNING? 
    Y 

    QUALIFICATION RULES 
    This qualification consists of the following compulsory and elective modules at the National Qualifications Framework, Level 9, totalling 180 Credits.

    Compulsory Modules, NQF Level 9, 160 Credits:
  • Montane Ecosystems and Biological Diversity, 20 Credits.
  • Research Methods, 20 Credits.
  • Land Use and Land Cover Changes in Mountain Environments, 20 Credits.
  • Tools for Montane Environmental and Natural Resource Management, 20 Credits.
  • Mini-Dissertation, 80 Credits.

    Elective Modules, NQF Level 9, 20 Credits (Select one module from the following):
  • Montane Natural Hazards and Threats to Mountain Environments, 20 Credits.
  • Participatory Approaches to Environmental Management, 20 Credits.
  • Integrated Natural Resource Management in Mountain Environments, 20 Credits.
  • The Political Ecology of Mountain Environments, 20 Credits. 
    		•

    EXIT LEVEL OUTCOMES 
    1. Identify, assess, and employ critical thinking in solving complex problems affecting mountain environments, including transboundary issues.
    2. Organise, manage, and plan projects for the well-being of the industry, the community, and mountain environments, including transboundary ones, in an integrated manner.
    3. Collect, analyse, and evaluate information to improve the economic, social, and environmental viability and sustainability of the industry, agriculture, tourism, and conservation at entrepreneurial, local government, community, and regional levels.
    4. Employ multidisciplinary and systems thinking in problem-solving within the context of mountain environments. 

    ASSOCIATED ASSESSMENT CRITERIA 
    Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 1:
  • Assess the scope for integrated approaches and principles in biodiversity control and management.
  • Evaluate management options and identify the best available options/ practices for mountain biodiversity and sustainable development.
  • Apply negotiation skills for advancing the protection of mountain ecosystems and environments.
  • Incorporate multi-criteria decision-making in diverse contexts and skills involving the application of IEM tools.
  • Apply holistic thinking in environmental and natural resource management.
  • Apply skills in reversing biodiversity loss and ecosystem disruption, ecosystem restoration, and environmental rehabilitation.
  • Identify potential mountain hazards and hazards risk assessment.
  • Categorize mountain hazard risks for disaster preparedness and management.
  • Develop risk-averse measures based on mechanical, biological, and social management options.
  • Apply policy frameworks on the management of hazards experienced in mountain regions.

    Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 2:
  • Plan complex environments and scenarios.
  • Apply environmental monitoring, control and management skills.
  • Incorporate participatory methodologies in designing measures for mitigating undesirable land uses and resultant environmental change.
  • Build sustainability capacity within environmental and biodiversity management programmes through stakeholder participation and citizen science.
  • Promote collaborative approaches to the management of mountain ecosystems through adaptive learning and collaborative natural resource management.
  • Build the capacity in community engagement and empowerment to ensure their full stakeholder participation in sustainable development.

    Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 3:
  • Incorporate multi-criteria decision-making in diverse contexts and skills involving the application of IEM tools.
  • Manage frameworks for an ideal for a healthy community-environment nexus.
  • Analyse worldviews and their relevance to environmental needs.

    Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 4:
  • Apply holistic thinking in environmental and natural resource management.
  • Assess the scope for integrated approaches and principles in biodiversity control and management.
  • Design cost-effective and efficient mitigation measures based on sound and effective monitoring procedures.
  • Utilize mixed methods approaches in research on mountain environments.

    INTEGRATED ASSESSMENT:
    Learner assessments will be undertaken without the learners necessarily being in physical contact with their instructors. This approach to learning is already being effectively implemented via the Blackboard and ancillary platforms such as Global Protect and has already proved to be a viable alternative to the conventional university learning delivery based which is based on a face-to-face approach or physical contact. The virtual learning platform has already proved to be extremely effective in combating challenges induced by the onslaught of the COVID-19 pandemic.

    The driving factor behind assessment is the expected outcomes at the exit level, as well as the specific module learning outcomes. Thus, assessments will be goal-oriented and used to determine levels of skills and knowledge acquired by individual learners. Overall, the Exit Level Outcomes (ELO) will be linked to the purpose of the qualification, which is to prepare learners to play an active role in creating sustainable mountain environments, a knowledge niche area that has not yet been developed in Africa as a whole.

    Online assessment strategies will be employed. Learners will submit written work, including essays, practical's, and quizzes, on the Blackboard via Turnitin. This work will be assessed online, with minimum physical contact between lecturers and learners. The assessed work will be made available online and accessible to the learners. Thus, feedback on learners' performance will be available online.

    Formative assessment:
    Formative assessment will take the form of feedback on essays and learners' projects or feedback given by lecturers during class discussions. This feedback should enhance the overall competencies of the learners participating in the qualification. To ensure that high-quality standards are maintained, examinations will be moderated by external examiners, who are carefully selected and appointed based on their knowledge of the subject area. Each module will have its own external moderator who will check on the quality of the examination papers, the quality of the answers, consistency in marking, and fairness in mark allocation. Examiners will be expected to provide a marking guide for the modules they examine. During the moderation process, the marking guides will be made available to the external moderators, who will make recommendations before the publication of results. Formative assessment will also be a critical aspect of summative assessment. Through their mini dissertations, learners will be expected to adequately demonstrate that they have acquired the skills and knowledge to manage mountain environments. Feedback is given to the learners regularly.

    Summative Assessment:
    While summative assessment will be done through periodic tests, practical's, and quizzes that will be administered online, and an examination that will be written at designated centres, considerable emphasis will be placed on skills development. The assessment of the mini dissertation will be summative, involving three external examiners, and the recommendation of most of the examiners will be considered as the basis for awarding the final mark. In each module, except for the mini dissertation, three tests, three assignments, and four case studies will be given. Each category of assessment tools will have a total of 100%. All summative assessment tools will be in essay form or based on scenario cases. The scores obtained by the learners will be available on the grade book and accessible to them individually. Underperforming learners will be easily identified and remedial actions undertaken timeously. 
    		•

    INTERNATIONAL COMPARABILITY 
    This qualification was compared to to the follwing qualification:

    Country: United Kingdom.
    Institution name: University of the Highlands and Islands.
    Qualification title: Master of Sustainable Mountain Development.
    Duration: Full-time: 18 months, Part-time: 2.5-3 years, Part-time modular: 6 years.
    Credits: 180.

    Entry requirements:
  • Honours degree in a relevant subject.
    Or
  • Bachelor's degree in a relevant subject.
    Or
  • Postgraduate diploma or professional qualification in a relevant subject.
    Or
  • A minimum of three years' relevant professional experience for other qualifications.

    Purpose/Rationale:
    Mountains are an essential component of landscapes at a range of scales, providing distinctive environments that underpin the provision of essential ecosystems and support highly diverse combinations of species. The specific qualities of mountain areas influence local land management practices, livelihoods, services, and infrastructure, and community development is inextricably linked with the sustainable management of natural and cultural resources in mountain areas.
    Sustainable development in mountain areas requires an understanding of environmental, ecological, and socio-economic dynamics.

    Qualification structure:
    Compulsory Modules:
  • Global mountain geographies.
  • Understanding sustainability discourses.
  • Understanding the policy environment.

    Elective Modules:
  • Agroecology: regenerative food systems.
  • Biodiversity management.
  • Communities, nature, and sustainability.
  • Extreme weather.
  • Qualitative inquiry.
  • Quantitative research and data analysis.
  • Sustainable deer management.
  • Sustainable land use.
  • The economics of community wealth building.
  • Water resources in a changing climate.
  • Working with communities.
  • Any elective from any of the university's master's qualifications.

    Similarities:
  • The University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI) and the South African (SA) are both offered at 180 Credits.
  • The UHI and SA qualifications both focus on the sustainability of mountain environments and natural resource management.
  • The UHI and SA qualifications both offer research modules and dissertations as part of their qualification structure.
  • Both the UHI and SA qualifications have a broad range of entry qualifications in a relevant subject.

    Differences:
  • The UHI qualification is offered for a full-time period of 18 months, whereas the SA qualification is offered for a duration of 1 year.
  • The SA qualification is more generic and provides scope that has the potential to benefit learners working in mountains in any part of the world, whereas the UHI qualification focuses on its country.
  • The UHI qualification has provision for placement and experiential learning through placement or internship, whereas the SA qualification does not.

    Country: Japan.
    Institution name: University of Tsukuba.
    Qualification title: Master of Mountain Studies.
    Duration: 2 years.

    Entry requirements:
  • Bachelor's degree in a relevant field.
  • Basic academic foundation in the natural sciences or social science.
  • Work experience related to mountain science.

    Purpose/Rationale:
    This qualification aims to cultivate learners capable of addressing the specific needs of mountainous areas, including those related to environmental issues and sustainable ecosystem management. It will train learners who can contribute to finding solutions for problems associated with natural variation and human activity affecting the geosphere/hydrosphere, ecosystem, and natural resources of mountainous areas. It also aims to train learners who understand the problems specific to mountainous areas and are equipped with the knowledge and skills necessary for developing prosperous and robust local communities in these areas. Learners will be equipped with skills needed to perform precise and targeted development of response measures based on both a broad perspective and specialized knowledge.

    Qualification structure:
    Compulsory Modules:
  • Introduction to Mountain Science A.
  • Mountain Science Field Course A.
  • Field Safety Management Science.
  • Field Safety Management Science.
  • Advanced Research Experience (Study Tour).
  • Mountain Studies Seminar IA.
  • Thesis.

    Electives:
  • Mountain Meteorology.
  • Mountain Microbiology.
  • Environmental Field Work.
  • Soil Genesis and Classification.
  • Nature Conservation Administration.

    Similarities:
  • The University of Tsukuba (UT) and the South African (SA) qualifications focus on the challenges that are experienced in the environment in which their respective countries.
  • The UT and SA qualifications are based on multidisciplinary and integrated approaches to environmental management, embracing geosciences, biosciences, and environmental sciences.
  • Both the UT and SA qualifications offer summative and formative assessments.

    Differences:
  • The UT qualification offers an internship and seminar that exposes learners to real-life work experience.
  • The UT qualification requires a bachelor's degree, whereas the SA qualification requires an honours degree. 
    		•

    ARTICULATION OPTIONS 
    This qualification provides opportunities for horizontal and vertical articulation options.

    Horizontal Articulation:
  • Master of Science in Environmental Management, NQF Level 9.
  • Master of Arts in Geography, NQF Level 9.
  • Master of Arts in Geography and Environmental Science, NQF Level 9.
  • Master of Earth Science, NQF Level 9.

    Vertical Articulation:
  • Doctor of Philosophy Environmental Science, NQF Level 10.
  • Doctor of Philosophy in Environmental Management, NQF Level 10.
  • Doctor of Philosophy in Geography, NQF Level 10.

    Diagonal Articulation:
  • Occupational Certificate: Environmental Monitor, NQF Level 5. 
    		•

    MODERATION OPTIONS 
    N/A. 

    CRITERIA FOR THE REGISTRATION OF ASSESSORS 
    N/A. 

    NOTES 
    N/A. 

    LEARNING PROGRAMMES RECORDED AGAINST THIS QUALIFICATION: 
     
    NONE 


    PROVIDERS CURRENTLY ACCREDITED TO OFFER THIS QUALIFICATION: 
    This information shows the current accreditations (i.e. those not past their accreditation end dates), and is the most complete record available to SAQA as of today. Some Primary or Delegated Quality Assurance Functionaries have a lag in their recording systems for provider accreditation, in turn leading to a lag in notifying SAQA of all the providers that they have accredited to offer qualifications and unit standards, as well as any extensions to accreditation end dates. The relevant Primary or Delegated Quality Assurance Functionary should be notified if a record appears to be missing from here.
     
    1. University of the Free State 


    All qualifications and part qualifications registered on the National Qualifications Framework are public property. Thus the only payment that can be made for them is for service and reproduction. It is illegal to sell this material for profit. If the material is reproduced or quoted, the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) should be acknowledged as the source.