insert_link Africa Black rhinos moved to Kenya’s Loisaba Conservancy as species recovers A black rhino in Loisaba Conservancy. Image courtesy of San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance. By Graeme Green via Mongabay Twenty-one critically endangered black rhinos have been safely delivered to Loisaba Conservancy in northern Kenya from other parts of the country, part of a wider mission to secure the long-term future of the species in Kenya. “It’s been a massive operation,” says Tom Silvester, CEO of Loisaba Conservancy, who oversaw the […] todayFebruary 13, 2024 29
insert_link Environment Heavy rainstorm destroys homes in Oshikoto and Ohangwena region Heavy rainstorms have destroyed homes in Oshikoto and Ohangwena regions. According to councillor Ferdinand Shifidi of Endola constituency on Sunday, heavy storms coupled with rain and wind affected about 200 houses in Onepandaulo village, in the Ohangwena region, where the roofs of most structures were ripped off. Separately, Iikokola village headman I-Ben Nashandi says the storm uprooted homes, schools, and trees, a situation which left the residents in the Oshikoto […] todayFebruary 12, 2024 27
insert_link Environment Global warming tops 1.5°C for the first time The average global temperature has for the first time breached the 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels mark for an entire year - as 2024 saw the hottest January on record. Professor Morgan Hauptfleisch, an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Natural Resources and Spatial Sciences at Namibia University of Science and Technology, reacts to the news. Meanwhile, other scientists say the world is now closer to breaching the […] todayFebruary 8, 2024 40
insert_link Environment UK’s opposition Labour Party scraps environmental pledge The UK's opposition Labour Party is scrapping a flagship environmental pledge after months of uncertainty. It's stepping back from a promise to spend £28bn a year on green investment. Here’s Deputy political editor at the Financial Times Jim Pickard. todayFebruary 8, 2024 32
Africa Ghana: Kumasi city’s unplanned boom is destroying two rivers – sewage, heavy metals and chemical pollution detected By Stephen Appiah Takyi, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) and Owusu Amponsah, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) Ghana’s urban population has more than tripled in the past three decades, from 4 million to nearly 14 million people. Competition for land in cities has increased among various land uses. These trends have led to encroachment in ecologically sensitive areas such as wetlands. Kumasi, […] todayFebruary 8, 2024 16
insert_link Environment Orca whales trapped in drift ice in northern Japan About 10 Orca whales are trapped in drift ice in far northern Japan. According to local officials, the pod was seen through a small gap in the ice about one kilometer off the coast of Hokkaido. todayFebruary 7, 2024 42
insert_link Africa Livelihoods at stake as Lake Victoria’s papyrus swamps come under pressure: Photos By Patrick Newcombe, via MongaBay The papyrus swamps at the edges of Lake Victoria in East Africa have for generations provided a livelihood to communities living here. While some harvest reeds to make into mats, baskets, and handicrafts, others catch the plentiful fish that nurse in the shelter of the reedbeds. The swamps are also home to birds that have become specialized to live amidst the papyrus reeds in a […] todayFebruary 7, 2024 27
insert_link Business / Economics Fashioning a circular future for traditional and alternative leather By Sean Mowbray via MongaBay Crafting leather from animal hides is an age-old industry, but its production today continues to mostly follow a linear model often mired in a range of environmental problems, including pollution, the creation of huge amounts of waste, high water use, and climate change-causing emissions. Applying cleaner and circular economy-based solutions to the leather industry is needed to change this paradigm and make the supply chain […] todayFebruary 7, 2024 16
insert_link Environment Microplastics found in Nile River’s tilapia fish: new study A fisherman on the River Nile. Khaled Desouki/AFP via Getty Images Dalia Saad, University of the Witwatersrand The Nile is one of the world’s most famous rivers. It’s also Africa’s most important freshwater system. About 300 million people live in the 11 countries it flows through. Many rely on its waters for agriculture and fishing to make a living. The Nile’s two main tributaries, the Blue Nile and the White […] todayFebruary 7, 2024 15