April 05
Africa: South Africa's Crucial Water Supplies From Lesotho - What the Six-Month Shutdown Means for Industry, Farming and Residents
The main water supply to South Africa's economic hub, greater Johannesburg in the Gauteng province, and to the country's breadbasket in the Free State, is scheduled to be cut off… Read more »
April 01
Africa: After 10 Years of Work, Landmark Study Reveals New 'Tree of Life' for All Birds Living Today
The largest-ever study of bird genomes has produced a remarkably clear picture of the bird family tree. Published in the journal Nature today, our study shows that most of the… Read more »
April 04
Africa: South Africa's Conservation Model - Why Expanding the Use of Biodiversity to Generate Money Is a Good Idea
South Africa's government is calling for public comments on an updated version of its existing biodiversity economy plan. Read more »
April 03
Kenya: Kenya's Wildlife Conservancies Make Old Men Rich, While Making Women and Young People Poorer
Kenya once had an exceptional abundance and diversity of wildlife. But as the country's population boomed, wildlife lost space to people, buildings, roads and agriculture. Read more »
Africa: Africa Now Emits As Much Carbon As It Stores - Landmark New Study
A landmark new study has found that, in the last decade, the African continent has started emitting more carbon than it stores. When the total amount of carbon that is sequestered… Read more »
Nigeria: Microplastics in Nigeria's Osun River - New Study Flags Alarmingly High Levels
The Osun River is one of the major rivers in southern Nigeria. It flows from its source in Ekiti State, through several states, before emptying into Lagos state's Lekki Lagoon. It… Read more »
April 01
Africa: El Niño Disasters - Govts Know What's Coming, but Are Unprepared - What Must Change
Drought disasters in southern Africa are mainly attributed to a lack of preparedness, inadequate response and mitigation and poor risk reduction measures. With little to no… Read more »
South Africa: South Africa's Laws Aren't Geared to Protecting Against Climate Change - Judges Are Trying to Fill the Gap
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… Read more »
March 31
South Africa: Stingray Sand 'Sculpture' On South Africa's Coast May Be Oldest Example of Humans Creating an Image of Another Creature
South Africa's Cape south coast offers many hints about how our human ancestors lived some 35,000 to 400,000 years ago during the Pleistocene epoch. These clues are captured in the… Read more »
March 27
Africa: Venomous Snakes Could Start Migrating in Large Numbers If We Hit 5ºc Warming
A global group of scientists has predicted that climate change may cause dramatic movements in venomous snake populations across many countries in Africa. The scientists took into… Read more »
March 26
Madagascar: We Built an AI Tool to Help Set Priorities for Conservation in Madagascar - What We Found
Artificial Intelligence (AI) - models that process large and diverse datasets and make predictions from them - can have many uses in nature conservation, such as remote monitoring… Read more »
March 21
Africa: Pangolins in Africa - Expert Unpacks Why Millions Have Been Traded Illegally and What Can Be Done About It
Pangolins are fascinating creatures known for their unique appearance and distinctive scales. They are mammals belonging to the order Pholidota and are native to Africa and Asia.… Read more »
March 20
South Africa: Dehydration - How It Happens, What to Watch Out for, What Steps to Take
Dehydration is a big issue during unusually hot weather and outbreaks of diseases such as cholera that lead to life-threatening diarrhoea. Anastasia Ugwuanyi is a family physician… Read more »
Africa: Chimpanzees Stayed in an 'Invisible Cage' After Zoo Enclosure Was Enlarged - South African Study
Captive chimpanzees are one of the most popular species kept in zoos because of their charismatic appeal and similarity to humans. They are the closest living relatives of humans… Read more »
March 13
Africa: It's a Myth That Male Animals Are Usually Larger Than Females - New Study
Males are bigger than females, right? Generally, this is true of humans - imagine the extremes of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and singer Kylie Minogue. It is also true of other… Read more »
March 19
Nigeria: Nigeria's Forests Are Fast Disappearing - Urgent Steps Are Needed to Protect Their Benefits to the Economy and Environment
Nigeria's forest cover has been dwindling fast for decades. With one of the highest rates of deforestation in the world, there are concerns about the survival of its forest… Read more »
March 17
Africa: Snakebites - We Thought We'd Created a Winning New Antivenom but Then It Flopped. Why That Turned Out to Be a Good Thing
Snakebites kill over 100,000 people each year, and hundreds of thousands of survivors are left with long-term disabilities such as amputations. Read more »
March 11
Africa: Why Do Trees Need Sunlight? an Environmental Scientist Explains Photosynthesis
Curious Kids is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you'd like an expert to answer, send it to curiouskidsus@theconversation.com. Read more »
Africa: The Next Pandemic? It's Already Here for Earth's Wildlife
I am a conservation biologist who studies emerging infectious diseases. When people ask me what I think the next pandemic will be I often say that we are in the midst of one - it's… Read more »
March 12
South Africa: Is My Water Safe to Drink? Expert Advice for Residents of South African Cities
In early March 2024 the residents of Johannesburg, South Africa's largest city and the economic capital of the country, were hit by extended cuts in water supplies. This was a new… Read more »
Nigeria: Lagos Bans Single-Use Plastics - Why I Think Nigeria Should Have Taxed Them Instead
Waste pollution is a huge problem in Nigeria, with serious impacts on the environment. In response, the Lagos state government has banned styrofoam (a type of plastic widely used… Read more »
March 11
Nigeria: Nigeria Risks Losing All Its Forest Elephants - What We Found When We Went Looking for Them
Nigeria is one of 37 African countries where elephants are found in the wild. Savannah elephants (Loxodonta africana) can be found in the north and forest elephants (Loxodonta… Read more »
East Africa: East Africa Must Prepare for More Extreme Rainfall During the Short Rainy Season - New Study
East Africa has recently had an unprecedented series of failed rains. But some rainy seasons are bringing the opposite: huge amounts of rainfall. Read more »
March 07
South Africa: Women Battle When Trying to Take Climate Change Cases to Court - South Africa and Nigeria Study Shows Why
Across domestic courts in Africa, climate cases have been decided in South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya, with some cases pending in Uganda. However, climate litigation is still fairly… Read more »
February 28
Africa: The True Cost of Food Is Far Higher Than What You Spend At the Checkout Counter
After several years of pandemic-driven price spikes at the grocery store, retail food price inflation is slowing down. That's good news for consumers, especially those in… Read more »