wildlife

Etosha fire destruction draws global attention

Werner Pillich/AP Photo via Al Jazeera The fire in Etosha National Park has gained both local and international attention after destroying more than a million hectares of land. Authorities are facing criticism over what many view as a slow response to the blaze, which has spread across vast areas despite ongoing firefighting efforts. Professor Morgan Hauptfleisch, Associate Professor in the Faculty of Natural Resources and Spatial Sciences at the Namibia […]

30 September, 2025

Africa

South Africa’s conservation model: why expanding the use of biodiversity to generate money is a good idea

By Hayley Clements, Stellenbosch University; Alta De Vos, Stellenbosch University, and Matthew Child, University of Pretoria South Africa’s government is calling for public comments on an updated version of its existing biodiversity economy plan. The National Biodiversity Economy Strategy aims to conserve biodiversity while also contributing to job creation and economic growth. It proposes to do this by promoting sustainable use of the country’s natural resources. The strategy […]

8 April, 2024

Entertainment

South Africa’s conservation model: why expanding the use of biodiversity to generate money is a good idea

By Hayley Clements, Stellenbosch University; Alta De Vos, Stellenbosch University, and Matthew Child, University of Pretoria South Africa’s government is calling for public comments on an updated version of its existing biodiversity economy plan. The National Biodiversity Economy Strategy aims to conserve biodiversity while also contributing to job creation and economic growth. It proposes to do this by promoting sustainable use of the country’s natural resources. The […]

5 April, 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

Mozambique’s cyclone flooding was devastating to animals – we studied how body size affected survival

By Jason P. Marshal, University of the Witwatersrand and Francesca Parrini, University of the Witwatersrand Anyone who watches the news will have seen the devastation that tropical cyclones can cause when they reach land, with very strong winds, high rainfall and flooding. A cyclone like this, Idai, moved over Gorongosa National Park in central Mozambique in March 2019. At that time, it was the deadliest storm in Africa. Rainfall […]

18 January, 2024

Environment

Who protects nature better: The state or communities? It’s complicated

By Shreya Dasgupta via Mongabay In a new study, more than 50 researchers conducted a review comparing the effectiveness of state-managed protected areas and areas managed by Indigenous peoples and local communities. The review found that comparing the two was very challenging for various reasons, including the difficulty in figuring out who was managing an area, as well as a lack of comparable data and different groups of researchers measuring […]

9 January, 2024

Environment

Do carbon credits really help communities that keep forests standing?

By John Cannon via Mongabay Communities play a critical role in REDD+, a forest conservation strategy that aims to reduce emissions that can be sold as credits to raise money for forest protection. REDD+ projects often include components for the benefit of the communities, such as a focus on alternative livelihoods and provision of health care and education. But reports that REDD+ communities have faced abuses and rights violations have emerged […]

9 January, 2024

Environment

‘No end in sight’ for potential of conservation tech: Q&A with Megan Owen

By Abhishyant Kidangoor via MongaBay For the past seven years, the conservation technology lab at the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance has been working to develop and deploy technology that can automate the collection and processing of wildlife data. Running a tech lab in a zoo has the benefit of providing scientists with a setting where they can use the wildlife in their care to validate the data and calibrate […]

9 January, 2024