List of active policies

Full policy

1. Acceptance of Terms

By registering for an account, accessing, or using the eBioNet platform at ebionet.org (the "Platform"), you agree to comply with and be bound by these Terms of Use. If you do not agree with any part of these terms, you must not use the Platform.

2. About eBioNet

eBioNet is a biodiversity information and learning network. The Platform is operated and maintained by the Association for Water and Rural Development (AWARD) NPC (Registration No. 98/03011/08), a registered non-profit company based in Mpumalanga, South Africa. AWARD serves as the technical host and data custodian on behalf of the eBioNet network partners.

3. User Accounts

3.1. You must provide accurate and complete information when creating an account.

3.2. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your login credentials and for all activities that occur under your account.

3.3. You must notify the site administrator immediately if you become aware of any unauthorised use of your account.

3.4. AWARD reserves the right to suspend or terminate accounts that violate these terms or that have been inactive for an extended period, with reasonable notice where practicable.

4. Acceptable Use

You agree to use the Platform only for lawful purposes related to biodiversity education, training, and collaboration. You must not:

• Upload, post, or transmit any content that is unlawful, defamatory, obscene, or infringes on the rights of others;
• Attempt to gain unauthorised access to any part of the Platform, other users' accounts, or connected systems;
• Use the Platform to distribute malware, spam, or other harmful content;
• Interfere with or disrupt the Platform's infrastructure or functionality;
• Use automated tools (bots, scrapers) to access the Platform without prior written consent;
• Share your account credentials with third parties;
• Use the Platform for commercial purposes unrelated to eBioNet's mission without prior approval.

5. Intellectual Property

5.1. Course materials, content, and resources made available on the Platform are the intellectual property of eBioNet, AWARD, or the respective content creators, unless otherwise stated.

5.2. You may access and use course materials for personal educational purposes. You may not reproduce, distribute, or create derivative works from Platform content without the express permission of the rights holder.

5.3. Where you upload content to the Platform (e.g., assignments, forum posts), you retain ownership of your original work but grant eBioNet and AWARD a non-exclusive licence to use, display, and store that content as necessary for the operation of the Platform.

6. Course Participation and Assessment

6.1. Enrolment in courses may be subject to specific requirements or approval by course facilitators.

6.2. Course completion, grades, and certificates are subject to the assessment criteria defined within each course.

6.3. Academic integrity is expected. Plagiarism, cheating, or misrepresentation of work may result in sanctions, including removal from courses and account suspension.

7. Availability and Modifications

7.1. AWARD endeavours to maintain the Platform's availability but does not guarantee uninterrupted access. Scheduled maintenance will be communicated in advance where possible.

7.2. AWARD reserves the right to modify, suspend, or discontinue any part of the Platform at any time, with reasonable notice to users.

7.3. These Terms of Use may be updated from time to time. Continued use of the Platform after changes constitutes acceptance of the revised terms.

8. Limitation of Liability

8.1. The Platform and its content are provided "as is" without warranties of any kind, whether express or implied.

8.2. To the fullest extent permitted by South African law, AWARD shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, or consequential damages arising from your use of the Platform.

8.3. AWARD's total liability for any direct damages shall not exceed the fees paid by you (if any) for access to the Platform.

9. Governing Law

These Terms of Use are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Republic of South Africa. Any disputes arising from the use of the Platform shall be subject to the jurisdiction of the South African courts.

10. Contact Information

For questions or concerns regarding these Terms of Use, please contact:

• Email: dpo@award.org.za
• Website: https://award.org.za
• Postal Address: AWARD, P.O. Box 1919, Hoedspruit, 1380, Mpumalanga, South Africa

These Terms of Use are effective as of February 2026 and replace any prior terms.

Full policy

1. Introduction

The Association for Water and Rural Development (AWARD) NPC ("AWARD", "we", "us", "our") is committed to protecting your personal information in accordance with the Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013 (Act No. 4 of 2013) ("POPIA") and other applicable South African legislation.

This Privacy Policy describes how we collect, use, store, share, and protect your personal information when you use the eBioNet Learning Management System ("the Platform") hosted at ebionet.org.

2. Responsible Party

For the purposes of POPIA, the responsible party is:

• Name: Association for Water and Rural Development (AWARD) NPC
• Registration No.: 98/03011/08
• Address: P.O. Box 1919, Hoedspruit, 1380, Mpumalanga, South Africa
• Data Protection Officer (DPO): dpo@award.org.za

3. Personal Information We Collect

We collect the following categories of personal information:

3.1. Information you provide directly

• Account registration: First name, surname, email address, username, and password (stored in hashed form);
• Profile information: City/town, country, description, profile picture, and any additional fields you choose to complete;
• Course activity: Assignments, quiz responses, forum posts, and other content you submit;
• Communications: Messages sent through the Platform's messaging system.

3.2. Information collected automatically

• Access logs: IP address, browser type, operating system, pages visited, and timestamps;
• Learning analytics: Course progress, completion status, grades, and time spent on activities;
• Cookies and session data: Essential cookies required for the Platform to function (login session, user preferences). We do not use tracking or advertising cookies.

4. Purpose and Legal Basis for Processing

We process your personal information for the following purposes, each with a lawful basis under POPIA Section 11:

Purpose	Legal Basis (POPIA)
Creating and managing your user account	Necessary for contract performance (s11(1)(b))
Providing access to courses and learning resources	Necessary for contract performance (s11(1)(b))
Recording course progress, grades, and completions	Necessary for contract performance (s11(1)(b))
Issuing certificates of completion	Necessary for contract performance (s11(1)(b))
Communicating with you about your courses and account	Legitimate interest (s11(1)(f))
Maintaining security and preventing abuse	Legitimate interest (s11(1)(f))
Generating anonymised usage statistics and reporting	Legitimate interest (s11(1)(f))
Complying with legal obligations	Legal obligation (s11(1)(c))

5. Sharing of Personal Information

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information. Your information may be shared in limited circumstances:

• Course facilitators and instructors: May access your name, email, course submissions, and progress for courses in which you are enrolled;
• eBioNet network partners: Anonymised and aggregated statistics may be shared with eBioNet partner organisations for reporting purposes;
• Service providers: We may use third-party service providers (e.g., email delivery, hosting) who process data on our behalf under appropriate data processing agreements;
• Legal requirements: Where required by South African law, court order, or regulatory authority.

We do not transfer personal information outside of South Africa unless adequate safeguards are in place as required by POPIA Section 72.

6. Data Retention

We retain your personal information for as long as:

• Your account remains active on the Platform;
• It is necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected;
• Required by applicable law or regulation.

When your account is deleted or you request erasure, your personal information will be removed or anonymised within a reasonable period, except where retention is required by law. Course completion records may be retained in anonymised form for statistical purposes.

7. Security Measures

We implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal information, including:

• HTTPS/TLS encryption for all data in transit;
• Passwords stored using secure one-way hashing algorithms;
• Access controls limiting data access to authorised personnel;
• Regular security updates and patches applied to the Platform;
• Server hosted in a secure environment with restricted access.

While we take all reasonable steps to protect your information, no system is completely secure. In the event of a data breach that poses a risk to your rights, we will notify you and the Information Regulator as required under POPIA Section 22.

8. Your Rights Under POPIA

As a data subject under POPIA, you have the following rights:

• Right of access (s23): You may request confirmation of whether we hold your personal information and request access to it;
• Right to correction (s24): You may request that inaccurate, irrelevant, or outdated personal information be corrected or deleted;
• Right to deletion (s24): You may request that your personal information be deleted where it is no longer necessary for the purpose for which it was collected;
• Right to object (s11(3)(a)): You may object to the processing of your personal information on reasonable grounds;
• Right to withdraw consent: Where processing is based on your consent, you may withdraw consent at any time, without affecting the lawfulness of processing prior to withdrawal;
• Right to data portability: You may request your personal information in a structured, commonly used format;
• Right to complain: You have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator (see Section 11 below).

To exercise any of these rights, please contact our Data Protection Officer at dpo@award.org.za. We will respond to your request within 30 days.

9. Cookies

The Platform uses only essential cookies required for its operation:

• MoodleSession: Maintains your login session while you use the Platform;
• MOODLEID_: Remembers your username for convenience (optional).

We do not use analytics, advertising, or third-party tracking cookies. You may configure your browser to block cookies, but this may prevent the Platform from functioning correctly.

10. Children's Information

The Platform is not intended for children under the age of 18. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If we become aware that a child's personal information has been collected without appropriate consent from a competent person (as defined in POPIA Section 35), we will take steps to delete that information.

11. Information Regulator

If you are unsatisfied with how we handle your personal information, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the South African Information Regulator:

• Website: https://inforegulator.org.za
• Email: complaints.IR@justice.gov.za
• Phone: 012 406 4818
• Address: JD House, 27 Stiemens Street, Braamfontein, Johannesburg, 2001

12. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or legal requirements. When we make significant changes, we will notify you through the Platform and request your renewed acceptance where required.

13. Contact Us

For any questions, concerns, or requests related to this Privacy Policy or the processing of your personal information, please contact:

• Data Protection Officer: dpo@award.org.za
• General enquiries: info@award.org.za
• Postal address: AWARD, P.O. Box 1919, Hoedspruit, 1380, Mpumalanga, South Africa

This Privacy Policy is effective as of February 2026.