insert_link EnvironmentWildfires in South Africa are set to increase: how legal action can help the country adapt better to climate change By Tracy-Lynn Field, University of the Witwatersrand As climate change drives temperature increases and lower precipitation in southern Africa, research has found that there is likely to be an increase in the number of wildfires in regions that are already hot, dry and water scarce. Massive wildfires broke out in South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal province on 12 and 13 July 2024, killing six firefighters who were […] today18 July, 2024 53
South AfricaSouth African communities vs Shell: high court victories show that cultural beliefs and practices count in climate cases Oyster gatherers on a Wild Coast beach at low tide. The sea is integral to these communities’ lives and culture. PaulGregg By Louise Du Toit, University of Southampton; Brewsters Caiphas Soyapi, North-West University, and Louis Kotzé, North-West University When the Shell petroleum company announced in 2021 that it wanted to explore for fossil fuels off South Africa’s pristine Wild Coast, Indigenous communities in the area immediately fought […] today20 May, 2024 51
insert_link EnvironmentSouth Africa’s laws aren’t geared to protecting against climate change: judges are trying to fill the gap By Melanie Murcott, University of Cape Town and Clive Vinti, University of the Witwatersrand South Africa has plenty of environmental laws but none that specifically oblige government officials to consider the risks and impacts of climate change when they approve new developments. In their research, environmental law experts Clive Vinti and Melanie Jean Murcott set out how judges are dealing with this gap in the law. What are […] today2 April, 2024 50
insert_link EnvironmentImpunity for Cambodia’s exotic pet owners as trade outpaces legislation By Gerald Flynn On the outskirts of the western Cambodian city of Pursat, some 180 kilometers, or 110 miles, north of Phnom Penh, tourists and travelers stream out of minivans parked in the forecourt of a PTT gas station. The Cambodian subsidiary of Thailand’s state-owned oil and gas conglomerate, PTT stands out as one of the country’s more modern gas station chains, sporting retail outlets popular in […] today12 March, 2024 69
insert_link EnvironmentEU to introduce 10-year prison terms for environmental crimes The European Union has become the first international body to criminalise the most serious cases of environmental damage that are “comparable to ecocide”. Ecosystem destruction, including habitat loss and illegal logging, will be punished with tougher penalties and prison sentences of up to 10 years under the EU’s updated environmental crime directive. Here is local Ecologist Peter Cuningham. today28 February, 2024 72
insert_link AfricaClimate change, extreme weather & conflict exacerbate global food crisis Global food insecurity has risen substantially since pre-pandemic times, exacerbated by extreme weather, climate change, war and conflict. What the U.N. World Food Program calls “a hunger crisis of unprecedented proportions” plays out differently around the world. In this story, three of Mongabay’s Y. Eva Tan Conservation Reporting Fellows detail the local situation in their region – from rising inflation and flooding in Nigeria to diminished local food […] today22 February, 2024 44