The EfD centre in South Africa, known locally as the Environmental Policy Research Unit (EPRU), has won accreditation as an independent research unit at the University of Cape Town.
This means that EPRU now operates as an independent research unit at the university. This brings alongside the advantages of being able to access resources from the university and beyond, increased visibility of environmental economics research. EPRU can now claim some space and posts just like any other university department.
With accreditation, EPRU is now formally run by a Director, currently Martine Visser, who is assisted by an executive committee.
The proposal for accreditation was discussed during a meeting of the University of Cape Town’s Committee on Research Reviews on 7 October 2008. The application was approved after the committee had noted that this research grouping had made tremendous progress in its research activities.