January 23, 2023
Africa: Continent Has a Major New Carbon Market Initiative - What You Need to Know #AfricaClimateHope
Climate finance for the African continent got a boost at the 2022 United Nations Climate Conference (COP27), with the launch of the African Carbon Markets Initiative. This aims to… Read more »
January 20, 2023
South Africa: Tigers in South Africa - a Farming Industry Exists - Often for Their Body Parts
A tiger escaped from a residence and roamed the countryside outside Johannesburg, South Africa, for four days this month. It attacked a man and killed several animals, and was… Read more »
January 19, 2023
Africa: Installing Solar-Powered Refrigerators in Developing Countries Can Reduce Hunger and Slow Climate Change
Food loss and waste are major problems around the world. When food is tossed aside or allowed to spoil, it makes economies less productive and leaves people hungry. Read more »
Madagascar: Famous Forests Threatened by #AfricaClimateCrisis - Our Study Shows How Serious It Is
Global climate change doesn't only cause the melting of polar ice caps, rising sea levels and extreme weather events. It also has a direct effect on many tropical habitats and the… Read more »
January 17, 2023
Africa: Extreme Storms and Flood Events Cause Damage Worth Billions to Ports - and They Are Most Disruptive to Small Island Developing States #AfricaClimateCrisis
Shipping ports are crucial for the global economy. They handle the majority of trade, are industrial and transportation hubs and provide employment. But ports, by their nature, are… Read more »
Angola: Peatlands Trap Carbon and Clean the Region's Water - How We Mapped This Newly Found Landscape #AfricaClimateHope
Ask most people what they picture when thinking about natural "carbon sinks" - ecosystems that absorb and store greenhouse gases - and they'll probably describe a forest.… Read more »
Africa: Underwater Noise Is a Threat to Marine Life
Oceans are full of sound. Waves, earthquakes and calving icebergs all contribute to the underwater soundscape. But so do human activities, and this can be a problem for marine life… Read more »
January 16, 2023
Kenya: Kenya's Rift Valley Lakes Are Rising, Putting Thousands At Risk - We Now Know Why
The East African Rift Valley sits between the Afar Triangle in Ethiopia and Mozambique. Within it lie a series of freshwater and alkaline lakes organised like a string of pearls. Read more »
January 13, 2023
Congo-Kinshasa: Mining and Armed Conflict Threaten Eastern DR Congo's Biodiversity in a Complex Web
The Democratic Republic of Congo's (DRC) conflict-affected eastern provinces are home to numerous protected areas. These areas host unique biodiversity and a range of threatened… Read more »
January 11, 2023
Africa: Elephant Poaching Rates Vary Across Africa - 19 Years of Data From 64 Sites Suggest Why
It's a grim and all too common sight for rangers at some of Africa's nature reserves: the bullet-riddled carcass of an elephant, its tusks removed by poachers. African elephant… Read more »
Africa: Penguin Feathers Help Inspire New De-Icing Techniques
Walking down a road during a white winter comes with its own set of challenges: the frigid cold, stepping around slippery ice on roads and the need to switch sidewalks to avoid… Read more »
January 10, 2023
South Africa: First Study to Estimate 'Blue Carbon' Storage in South Africa Is Useful for Climate Strategy #AfricaClimateHope
Marine ecosystems have a valuable role to play in mitigating the effects of climate change. That's because such ecosystems - and, particularly, vegetated tidal ecosystems like… Read more »
January 11, 2023
Africa: Mountain Environments Are Key to Biodiversity - but the Threats to Them Are Being Ignored #AfricaClimateCrisis
Mountains are home to more than 85% of the world's amphibian, bird and mammal species. Lowland slopes are rich in animal and plant species. And rugged, high-elevation environments,… Read more »
Tanzania: Why Solar-Powered Cold Storage Could Be a Sustainable Solution to Tomato Harvest Waste #AfricaClimateHope
Feeding Africa's growing population is a big development challenge for governments, policy makers and agriculture experts. Adding to the challenge is the high level of food loss… Read more »
January 09, 2023
Africa: Invasive Rats Are Changing Fish Behaviour On Coral Reefs - New Study
Coral reefs are degrading rapidly to the extent that their marine inhabitants must either adapt or die. For many animals, including reef fish, behaviour is one of the first… Read more »
January 06, 2023
Africa: Deforestation - Proposed EU Import Ban May Fail to Protect Tropical Rainforests and Farmers - Here's How It Should Work
Most European consumers' shopping baskets tend to include items linked to deforestation in tropical regions, involving agricultural commodities such as beef, soybeans, palm oil,… Read more »
Africa: Extinction Rebellion Says 'We Quit' - Why Radical Eco-Activism Has a Short Shelf Life #AfricaClimateCrisis
The protest group Extinction Rebellion (XR) has released a statement with the clickbait headline "We Quit". Dashing the hopes of climate denialists everywhere, the group is not… Read more »
January 09, 2023
Ghana: Why Ghana Relies Heavily On Used Cars
The sale of electric cars is growing. Globally, some 2 million electric vehicles were sold in the first quarter of 2022 - 75% more than in the first three months of 2021. Most,… Read more »
January 06, 2023
Africa: Amazing System Plants Use to Shape Their Roots, Why It Could Help Protect Crops From Climate Change #AfricaClimateHope
Plants have colonised the vast majority of the Earth's surface. So what is the key to their success? Read more »
January 08, 2023
Zambia: Climate Change Action Could Set Off a Copper Mining Boom - How Zambia Can Make the Most of It
At last year's US Africa leaders summit in Washington the US signed an historic memorandum of understanding with Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo to develop an electric… Read more »
January 05, 2023
Africa: Quiet, Please - Human Noise Is Interfering With the Sex Lives of Grasshoppers
Grasshoppers have a bad reputation. They're not popular with gardeners And locusts, a type of swarming grasshopper, can do huge damage to vegetation and crops when they're in a… Read more »
Africa: Climate Change Is Leaving African Elephants Desperate for Water
African elephant numbers have dropped from about 26 million in the 1800s to 415,000 today. While this is largely due to European colonisation, poaching and habitat loss, these… Read more »
January 04, 2023
Africa: COP27 in Review - Climate Talks Delivered Big Gains for Africa, but Also Several Challenges
Africa has contributed negligibly to the changing climate, with less than 4% of global emissions. Yet it stands out disproportionately as the most vulnerable region in the world. Read more »
December 30, 2022
Nigeria: Nigeria Has a Coastal Litter Problem - It's Time to Clean Up
Bottles. Plastic bags. Surgical facemasks. These are just some of the 29,029 items we found along the 180km Araromi coastline Nigeria in nine months while studying marine litter.… Read more »
December 21, 2022
Africa: Biodiversity Treaty - UN Deal Fails to Address the Root Causes of Nature's Destruction
A major biodiversity conference, recently concluded in Montreal, Canada, was billed as the event that will decide the "fate of the entire living world". All well then that the… Read more »