insert_link Environment Extreme weather in South Africa is disrupting tourism – research tracks the impact on coastal areas By Kaitano Dube, Vaal University of Technology South Africa has experienced some extreme weather events in recent months. These have included floods and an uncommon tornado in South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal province, floods in the Eastern Cape and mid-latitude cyclones in the Western Cape. Kaitano Dube, a human geographer who has researched tourism, extreme weather and resilience to climatic threats, says these severe storms are […] todayJuly 15, 2024 30
insert_link Environment Lions in a Uganda park make a perilous journey across a 1.5km stretch of water: study suggests the drive is to find mates By Alexander Richard Braczkowski, Griffith University; Christopher J. O'Bryan, Maastricht University; Duan Biggs, Northern Arizona University, and Robynne Kotze, University of Oxford Domestic cats will do almost anything to avoid contact with water. Not so for their wild cousins, though. Lions, tigers and jaguars have had to adapt to water and sometimes take the plunge for survival. And this is what we observed on […] todayJuly 12, 2024 28
insert_link Environment Mercury to hit 50 in parts of Iraq Temperatures across parts of Iraq are expected to top 50 degrees Celsius on Thursday. Iraq’s meteorology and seismology organisation announced that temperatures are set to reach 50 degrees Celsius, prompting a public holiday on Thursday in several provinces. William Denselow reports from Baghdad. Thursday is a workday in Iraq; however, public offices and most businesses are closed on Friday and Saturday. According to the organization’s forecasts, eight provinces will […] todayJuly 11, 2024 22
insert_link Environment Allegations widen against Indonesian palm oil giant Astra Agro Lestari By Hans Nicholas Jong ,via Mongabay Subsidiaries of Indonesia’s second-biggest palm oil company, PT Astra Agro Lestari (AAL), are running illegal plantations, grabbing community land, and intimidating critics, according to a new report by NGOs. The report is a follow-up to a 2022 report by Friends of the Earth, and identifies at least 1,100 hectares (2,718 acres) of the subsidiaries’ concessions that lie inside forest areas that should be […] todayJuly 9, 2024 34
insert_link Environment We used 1,000 historical photos to reconstruct Antarctic glaciers before a dramatic collapse Looking up Crane Glacier, December 21 1968. PGC, UMN, CC BY By Ryan North, University of Wollongong and Tim Barrows, UNSW Sydney In March 2002, the Larsen B Ice Shelf collapsed catastrophically, breaking up an area about one-sixth the size of Tasmania. In a paper published today in Scientific Reports, we used nearly 1,000 film photographs of Antarctica from the 1960s to reconstruct exactly […] todayJuly 9, 2024 9
insert_link Environment City of Windhoek warns of heightened risk of veld fires The City of Windhoek says that most veld fires are caused by people and are preventable. With Namibia experiencing a drought, the City’s spokesperson, Lydia Amutenya, has advised residents in fire-prone areas to avoid actions that could lead to the destruction of the environment and property damage. todayJuly 3, 2024 21
insert_link Environment As the world burns, can we learn to live with wildfire health risks? By Ruth Kamnitzer, via Mongabay Climate change is driving or contributing to increased risk of extreme wildfires in many parts of the world, and experts say urgent action on climate change is needed. Finding ways to better manage land use can help reduce the likelihood and severity of wildfires: In landscapes where fire is natural, experts say we should bring back historic fire regimes through cultural burning […] todayJuly 3, 2024 39
insert_link Africa South Africa’s new agricultural leadership should focus on getting things done, not designing new policies By Wandile Sihlobo, Stellenbosch University South Africa’s primary agriculture sector accounts for nearly 3% of GDP and about 8% when considering the value of agro-processing. But it can contribute even more to economic growth that delivers benefits fairly across society and creates jobs. This can’t happen, however, if new policies and plans keep getting introduced. Fortunately, the views of the new agricultural minister, John Steenhuisen, may […] todayJuly 3, 2024 27
insert_link Environment South Africa’s 70,000kg rhino horn stockpile must be burnt to prevent illegal trading By Jason Gilchrist, Edinburgh Napier University Despite a global ban on international buying and selling of rhino horn since 1977, the South African government and owners of private rhino reserves continue to stockpile it. A new report by the EMS Foundation, a South African social justice and conservation organisation, advocates strongly against this practice. Ecologist and mammal conservation researcher Jason Gilchrist discusses what the […] todayJuly 3, 2024 14
