July 21, 2022
Congo-Kinshasa: Congo Peat Swamps Store Three Years of Global Carbon Emissions - Imminent Oil Drilling Could Release It
Democratic Republic of the Congo's government is preparing to auction off a series of licenses to drill for oil in the Congo basin. This threatens to damage around 11 million… Read more »
July 25, 2022
East Africa: Dam Dispute - Five Key Reads About How It Started and How It Could End
The US has revived diplomatic efforts to resolve the dispute sparked by Ethiopia's Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) project on the Nile. Sudan and Egypt, which rely most… Read more »
July 24, 2022
South Africa: Fish in a Major River Are Full of Microplastics
We are living in the plastic age. Plastics are literally everywhere: clothes, furniture, computers, phones and more contain plastic materials. It's no wonder, then, that the food… Read more »
July 22, 2022
East Africa: Moving the Maasai - Tanzania Is Repeating Kenya's Colonial Past
Images of distressed members of the Maasai community being forcibly moved from their homes, beaten and harassed by police and the army in northern Tanzania in June set social media… Read more »
July 21, 2022
East Africa: Saving East Africa's Wildlife From Recurring Drought
Over the past two decades, the Horn of Africa - specifically Ethiopia, Somalia and Kenya - has experienced more intense and frequent droughts. Read more »
July 20, 2022
Africa: Giving Rivers Rights Aims to Protect the 'Voiceless' - But There's a Catch
Worldwide there has been a wave of initiatives to grant rivers rights as a way of protecting them - and the communities that rely on them. River rights laws aim to change the legal… Read more »
July 11, 2022
Africa: Climate Change Is White Colonisation of the Atmosphere. It's Time to Tackle This Entrenched Racism
"Climate change is racist". So reads the title of a recent book by British journalist Jeremy Williams. While this title might seem provocative, it's long been recognised that… Read more »
July 12, 2022
Africa: Africa Is a Treasure Trove of Medicinal Plants - Here Are Seven That Are Popular
Plants have directly contributed to the development of important drugs. The antimalarial treatment artemisinin, pain medication morphine, and cancer chemotherapy taxol are just… Read more »
West Africa: Herder-Farmer Conflict in the Sahel Needs a New Description - Why 'Eco-Violence' Fits
The Sahel - a 5,000km long strip of the African continent stretching from the Atlantic coast to the Red Sea - has become the most neglected and conflict-ridden part of the planet.… Read more »
July 11, 2022
South Africa: Caracals Are Exposed to Harmful 'Forever Chemicals' Through Their Diet
If you live near or have visited Cape Town's urban edge - where urban and natural areas meet - you may have been lucky enough to spot a caracal. These adaptable, medium-sized wild… Read more »
July 06, 2022
East Africa: How #AfricaClimateCrisis Will Affect Conflict in the Horn of Africa - What Researchers Found
The Horn of Africa, on the eastern coast of the continent, is currently being battered by an intense and sustained drought thanks to which around 20 million people are going… Read more »
Kenya: Why U.S.-Kenya Cooperation On Wildlife and Drug Trafficking Matters
Kenya and the United States have worked very closely against terrorism since the targeting of the American embassy in Nairobi in 1998 by Al-Qaeda. But much less debated is US-Kenya… Read more »
July 05, 2022
South Africa: Sandfish Are On the Brink of Extinction - How Farmers Are Helping Rescue Them
Sandfish are migratory freshwater fish found only in South Africa that can grow to over half a metre in length. They sport a pronounced downturned mouth which is used to graze… Read more »
July 03, 2022
South Africa: How Beetles Trick Bees Into Feeding Them Food Rich in Nutrients
Honey bees are useful not only to humans but to other "free riders" attracted to their stored resources. The small hive beetle (Aethina tumida) is one of the species that rely on… Read more »
June 30, 2022
Africa: How Marine Fisheries Can Add Millions of Tonnes to Africa's Catch
The African continent produces seven million tonnes of marine fish a year. This capture has increased in recent years thanks to improved catches in west Africa and the end of… Read more »
June 29, 2022
Africa: Trophy Hunting Will Not Save Africa's Lions - So the UK Ban On Imports Is a Positive Step
Over the past 25 years, I have spent a lot of time counting lions as part of my job. Only last month, I spent three hours with two males - possibly brothers - right next to my car… Read more »
June 27, 2022
Nigeria: Plastic Pollution in Nigeria Is Poorly Studied but Enough Is Known to Urge Action
In recent years, the amount of plastic in the environment has become a global concern. With the world population approaching eight billion, more and more plastic and… Read more »
June 26, 2022
East Africa: Is Eastern Africa's Drought the Worst in Recent History? And Are Worse Yet to Come?
Large areas of Ethiopia, Somalia and Kenya are currently in the grip of a severe drought. An estimated 16.7 million people face acute food insecurity. That's more than the combined… Read more »
June 24, 2022
Africa: Lakes Emit Far Less Greenhouse Gases Than Feared
One of the keys to predicting climate change is the modelling of how greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from natural ecosystems might evolve. This first requires estimating as… Read more »
Nigeria: Nigeria's Latest Lithium Find - Some Key Questions Answered
High-grade lithium has been discovered in Nigeria. In 2019 the total production volume of lithium, not high grade, in Nigeria reached 50 metric tons This is small compared to… Read more »
June 23, 2022
South Africa: Gardeners in South Africa May Hesitate to Use Greywater - but It Can Be a Crop Saver
After three consecutive dry winters from 2015 to 2017, "Day Zero" - when the taps would run dry - loomed large for the South African city of Cape Town and its surrounds in 2018. Read more »
June 19, 2022
South Africa: The Air in South African Highveld Cities Smells Foul in the Winter - Here's Why
People living in South Africa's biggest city Johannesburg have been subject to pungent smells in the air similar to rotten eggs. It's not the first time citizens have complained… Read more »
June 16, 2022
Africa: China to Adopt Genetically Modified Maize and Soy - Why It Matters for South Africa
Something important for global agriculture happened this past week but received minimal media coverage. The Chinese National Crop Variety Approval Committee released two standards… Read more »
West Africa: How Climate Change, Overfishing and Covid Drove Irregular Migration From West Africa
Throughout 2020, 23,023 irregular immigrants arrived on the coast of the Canary Islands, 757% more than the previous year. In 2021 the figure fell slightly to 22,316 people but it… Read more »
June 15, 2022
Africa: Why It's Crucial to Safeguard the Ancient Practice of Finding Wild Honey With Birds
In parts of Africa, a small bird called the Greater Honeyguide (Indicator indicator) helps people search for honey. It approaches people and chatters and flies in the direction of… Read more »