insert_link Africa Western Cape leader advocates for climate action collaboration with Africa Western Cape premier Alan Winde says Africa should not be left behind in global climate talks, as it is the breadbasket of the world. Currently in the United States as Africa's co-chair for New York Climate Week, Winde says the continent bears the brunt of greenhouse gas emissions and climate change impacts, despite contributing less to the problem. The eight-day event concludes on Sunday. todaySeptember 24, 2024 34
Africa Female elephants rumble to say ‘let’s go!’ New study in Namibia shows males do too, a sign of unexpected social bonds By Caitlin O'Connell-Rodwell, Harvard University In elephant family groups made up of related females and their young, it is clear that the animals produce vocal sounds to coordinate action. This happens when it’s time to leave a waterhole, for example. The matriarch or dominant female steps away from the waterhole and turns to the direction she intends to move in. Then she flaps her ears as she […] todaySeptember 23, 2024 70
insert_link Environment World Meteorological Organization warns of 3°C global warming risk Amid renewed warnings from leading climate scientists that global warming could reach 3 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels this century, the head of the UN World Meteorological Organization insisted on Wednesday that new technology and AI offer the opportunity to implement the drastic action needed to resist the existential crisis. WMO Chief, Celeste Saulo. todaySeptember 19, 2024 42
insert_link Africa Ahead of COP16, groups warn of rights abuses linked to ‘30×30’ goal By Aimee Gaba, via Mongabay Two years since global policymakers agreed on the concept of protecting 30% of the world’s land and waters by 2030, there’s still little clarity on how achieving this goal will impact Indigenous communities who safeguard some of the most biodiverse areas on Earth. In October this year, government representatives are set to meet at the U.N. Biodiversity Conference (COP16) in Colombia to talk […] todaySeptember 19, 2024 16
insert_link Environment A lonely and ancient plant needs a female partner and researchers are using drones and AI to find it – podcast By Gemma Ware, The Conversation The only known specimens of Encephalartos woodii (E. woodii), a species of cycad, are all clones of the same male plant found over 100 years ago in a South African forest. Now a team of researchers is on a mission to find an elusive female version of the plant, with the help of drones and artificial intelligence. In this episode of The […] todaySeptember 19, 2024 17
insert_link Africa Lithium mining in Zimbabwe: a story of loss for one community By Joshua Matanzima, The University of Queensland Lithium is an essential component of electric vehicle batteries, which are becoming more important as the world moves to a low-carbon energy future. Large deposits of lithium exist in Argentina, Chile, Brazil, Bolivia, Canada, the US, Australia, Portugal, Namibia, Zimbabwe and Ghana. Zimbabwe is the largest producer of lithium in Africa, and the ninth largest in the world. The Zimbabwean […] todaySeptember 19, 2024 41
insert_link Africa Four ways Africa is already seeing the effects of climate change – and what can be done about it By Moina Spooner, The Conversation Africa is already being heavily affected by climate change. Between 1991 and 2023, the African continent warmed at a rate of 0.3°C per decade, a rate slightly faster than the global average. This has brought more frequent and severe weather extremes. The cost of adapting to these changes and events is also immense. This was emphasised in a recent report by the World […] todaySeptember 17, 2024 19
insert_link Africa Nigerian farmers lack insurance: payouts triggered by weather data offer a solution By Ifedotun Aina, University of Cape Town and Opeyemi Ayinde, University of Ilorin Agriculture is hugely important to Nigeria. It makes up about a quarter of the country’s economy, and almost half of the population are smallholder farmers. Most farm on less than 10 hectares of land. It can be a tough way to make a living. Smallholder farmers in Nigeria regularly lose crops and livestock to floods […] todaySeptember 17, 2024 42
insert_link Environment Fungi to the rescue: South African scientists use innovative approach to protect apple trees Woolly apple aphids are destructive pests, threatening South Africa’s apple-growing industry. Westend61/Getty Images By Antoinette Paula Malan, Stellenbosch University; Letodi Luki Mathulwe, Stellenbosch University, and Nomakholwa Faith Stokwe, Stellenbosch University Gardeners the world over dread the appearance of aphids on their plants. There are around 4,000 species of these sap-sucking insects and about 250 are pests that can wreak havoc on crops in a garden or orchard. One […] todaySeptember 17, 2024 23