Orca whales trapped in drift ice in northern Japan

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.

February 7, 2024 55

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 […]

February 7, 2024 35

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 […]

February 7, 2024 18

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 […]

February 7, 2024 18

Environment

‘Healthy humans without a healthy planet is a logical fallacy’

A nomadic community preparing a meal in Ladakh, India. Image by Prabhu B Doss via Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0). By Sonam Lama Hyolmo via Mongabay Dr. Sakib Burza says his fondest memories are climbing the majestic pine trees in the Kashmir Valley where he spent most of his childhood with his family. On a normal day, he would go trekking up the hills into the mountains above the tree line, watching over […]

February 7, 2024 18

Environment

From exporting coral to restoring reefs, a Madagascar startup rethinks business

Koraï divers prepare to install a frame housing young hard corals in the protected waters of Antsoha Island, off northwestern Madagascar. Image courtesy of Koraï. By Valisoa Rasolofomboahangy via Mongabay With coral cover declining in Madagascar, Koraï, a Franco-Malagasy startup, has shifted its focus to coral reef restoration from its predecessor’s specialization in coral export. Jeimila Donty, its founder and CEO, is part of a young “pro-climate” generation keen to […]

February 7, 2024 17

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Environment

Tuhafeni encourages northern farmers to start growing buffalo grass

Okapya Livestock Development Centre Manager, Sheuyange Tuhafeni has encouraged northern subsistence cattle farmers to start growing buffalo grass for their cattle instead of buying it from commercial farmers at a high price. Tuhafeni said during a demonstration to farmers on how to plant buffalo grass at Okapya in the Nehale Lya Mpingana constituency of Oshikoto that buffalo grass is favoured by livestock and farmers lack the knowledge on […]

February 6, 2024 38 2

Environment

‘A deeply troubling discovery’: Earth may have already passed the crucial 1.5°C warming limit

By Malcolm McCulloch, The University of Western Australia Global temperatures have already exceeded 1.5°C warming and may pass 2°C later this decade, according to a world-first study I led. The worrying findings, based on temperature records contained in sea sponge skeletons, suggest global climate change has progressed much further than previously thought. Human-caused greenhouse gas emissions drive global warming. Obtaining accurate information about the extent of the warming […]

February 6, 2024 24

Africa

Livelihoods at stake as Lake Victoria’s papyrus swamps come under pressure

Sarah Oginga harvesting papyrus reeds. Image by Patrick B. Newcombe. By Patrick Newcombe via Mongabay As the sun rises over the wetlands on the shores of Lake Victoria, papyrus harvesters set out into the swamps to harvest stalks of papyrus. At the docks, fishermen returning from a night’s work haul their boats onto the shore. The deep, ringing song of the papyrus gonolek (Laniarius mufumbiri) and the hooting of the […]

February 6, 2024 17