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 […]

6 February, 2024

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 […]

6 February, 2024

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 […]

6 February, 2024

Environment

California faces “life threatening” floods

The US state of California is facing heavy rain and snowfall, with authorities issuing flood warnings authorities are describing as "life-threatening". Around 94% of the population - 37 million people - are now under flood alerts, while some communities have been told to evacuate. Nancy Ward is California's Director of Emergency Service.

5 February, 2024

Africa

Madagascar: giant tortoises have returned 600 years after they were wiped out

By Grant Joseph, University of Cape Town A six-year-old project to return giant tortoises to the wild in Madagascar could result in thousands of the 350kg megaherbivores re-populating the island for the first time in 600 years. The first group of Aldabra giant tortoises (Aldabrachelys gigantea) were brought in from the Seychelles in 2018, and have been reproducing on their own since. Ecologist Grant Joseph explains how reintroducing […]

5 February, 2024

Africa

Three new species of frogs found nestled in Madagascar’s pandan trees

Guibemantis rianasoa, a new frog species from Madagascar. Image courtesy of Hugh Gabriel By Liz Kimbrough via MongaBay Scientists have described three new frog species that dwell exclusively in the spiky leaves of pandan trees in Madagascar’s eastern rainforests. Lead researcher Hugh Gabriel, from the Technical University of Braunschweig in Germany, described the frogs’ sounds as “soft clicks that sound like rain falling on leaves.” And he would know. Gabriel […]

2 February, 2024

Environment

Building a resilient farming business

By Hanks Saisai, Technical Advisor: Crops & Poultry Farmers in Namibia face numerous challenges including climate change. This is evident in the form of erratic rainfall, recurring droughts, crop, and livestock losses, which have continuously led to financial losses for farmers across the country. As we navigate through the early days of 2024, farmers are encouraged to create resolutions that can transform their farming businesses into resilient enterprises. […]

1 February, 2024

Business / Economics

Bridging the climate finance gap through collaboration and innovation

Government, labour, business, and civil society must collaborate and innovate if South Africa is to raise the R535 billion required to meet its NDC target by 2030. In light of estimates that South Africa will require, on average, R334 billion and R535 billion annually to achieve its net zero goal by 2050 and NDCs by 2030, respectively, it is clear that something radical needs to change and quickly if we […]

1 February, 2024

Environment

Tropical forests share similar mix of common and rare tree species, study shows

A flowering tree in the Amazon rainforest canopy. Photo credit: Rhett A. Butler By Liz Kimbrough via Mongabay A new study has for the first time identified the most common tree species in the tropical forests of Africa, the Amazon and Southeast Asia — and their similarities have surprised scientists. “The [study] shows some uncanny similarities among the world’s great tropical rainforests,” said tropical ecologist Bill Laurance, a co-author of […]

1 February, 2024