August 14
South Africa: Air Pollution in South Africa - Affordable New Devices Use AI to Monitor Hotspots in Real Time
Air quality has become one of the most important public health issues in Africa. Poor air quality kills more people globally every year than HIV, TB and malaria combined. And… Read more »
August 13
Africa: Réunion Is a Tropical Island Getaway - Our Climate Study Shows That It Could Attract More Tourists During European Summers
You're scrolling through Instagram, only half paying attention to your friends' updates, when a photo of a beautiful, pristine beach grabs your eye. Somebody you know is lounging… Read more »
August 12
South Africa: Some Solitary Mammals Have Surprisingly Social Lives - What I've Learned From a Tiny South African Rodent
We probably all know someone who lives a solitary life. But not everyone realises that there are solitary individuals in the animal kingdom, too. Examples of solitary species are… Read more »
August 01
Senegal: Giant Pangolin Rediscovered in Senegal
In March 2023, temperatures in eastern Senegal soared to 40°C, with the cooling rains still months away. Yet, for the dedicated field team from the NGO Panthera - committed to… Read more »
July 31
South Africa: Bacteria and Plants Could Help Clean Up Toxic Waste From Gold Mines - South African Study
Highly toxic metals are leaking out of nine abandoned mines in Krugersdorp, 32km west of Johannesburg, South Africa. The metals include uranium, arsenic, cadmium, chromium and… Read more »
July 28
Africa: Hippos Don't Fly - but the Massive Animals Can Get Airborne
In 1872 Leland Stanford, the founder of California's Stanford University, hired an eccentric inventor named Eadweard Muybridge to help resolve a supposed (but undocumented) bet:… Read more »
July 24
Lesotho: Fossil Algae Show a Lake Once Existed On Lesotho's Mafadi Summit but It Vanished About 150 Years Ago
Lesotho is a small, land-locked, mountainous country located in the middle of South Africa. Its Eastern Lesotho Highlands are often referred to as the region's "water tower"… Read more »
Madagascar: New Fish Found Off Madagascar - Remarkable Long-Nosed Skate Discovered in the Deep Ocean
The Madagascar Ridge, in the southwestern Indian Ocean, is a remote, elevated area of seabed south of Madagascar. In 2016, my colleagues and I discovered a new cartilaginous fish… Read more »
July 22
Africa: Urban Greening in Africa Will Help to Build Climate Resilience - Planners and Governments Need to Work With Nature
Nature-based solutions are actions that use nature to solve environmental problems. Examples in cities would be setting up a wetland near a group of buildings to absorb floodwater,… Read more »
Africa: False Stereotypes Mean Endangered Animals Are Being Protected in the Wrong Places
Giant panda reclining in cloudy hills eating bamboo, European bison picking their way through gloomy and lichen-draped forests and Cape mountain zebra roaming arid mountains. Ideas… Read more »
South Africa: Invasive Wasps Threaten South African Ecosystems - What the Public Can Do to Help Stop the Spread
The sight of a swarm of wasps, or even just a single wasp, strikes fear into many people's hearts. Most wasp species aren't dangerous to humans (unless you're allergic), but their… Read more »
July 17
South Africa: Wildfires in South Africa Are Set to Increase - How Legal Action Can Help the Country Adapt Better to Climate Change
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… Read more »
July 16
South Africa: South Africa's New Environment Minister Must Focus On People, Not Profits From Fossil Fuels - Climate Ecologist
There are huge profits to be made in exploiting South Africa's natural resources, but these come at a cost to society and the environment. Pollution, greenhouse gas emissions and… Read more »
July 11
Uganda: Lions in a Uganda Park Make a Perilous Journey Across a 1.5km Stretch of Water - Study Suggests the Drive Is to Find Mates
Domestic cats will do almost anything to avoid contact with water. Not so for their wild cousins, though. Lions, tigers and jaguars have had to adapt to water and sometimes take… Read more »
July 10
Zimbabwe: Double Tragedy - the Zimbabwe Farmers Affected By Illegal Mining and Climate Change
Smallholder farmers in rural Gwanda, a region in Zimbabwe that borders South Africa, have been affected by a double shock - a combination of heat, droughts and floods caused by… Read more »
July 08
Africa: We Used 1,000 Historical Photos to Reconstruct Antarctic Glaciers Before a Dramatic Collapse
In March 2002, the Larsen B Ice Shelf collapsed catastrophically, breaking up an area about one-sixth the size of Tasmania. Read more »
Africa: Power-Hungry AI Is Driving a Surge in Tech Giant Carbon Emissions. Nobody Knows What to Do About It
Since the release of ChatGPT in November 2022, the world has seen an incredible surge in investment, development and use of artificial intelligence (AI) applications. According to… Read more »
Southern Africa: Southern Africa Is Seen As a Leader in Wildlife Conservation, but Its Market-Driven Approach Is Deeply Flawed
Southern Africa's wildlife economy is often hailed as a successful model. The idea behind this model is that biodiversity and wildlife are used as the basis of sustainable economic… Read more »
Africa: Extreme Weather in South Africa Is Disrupting Tourism - Research Tracks the Impact On Coastal Areas
South Africa has experienced some extreme weather events in recent months. These have included floods and an uncommon tornado in South Africa's KwaZulu-Natal province, floods in… Read more »
July 01
Africa: Honey Bees Vote to Decide On Nest Sites - Why We Should Listen
When people think of honey bees, they often think of classic wooden hives, in which beekeepers are having to breed more and more bees just to keep managed populations stable. These… Read more »
July 02
South Africa: South Africa's 70,000kg Rhino Horn Stockpile Must Be Burnt to Prevent Illegal Trading
Despite a global ban on international buying and selling of rhino horn since 1977, the South African government and owners of private rhino reserves continue to stockpile it. A new… Read more »
June 27
Africa: A 'Trilobite Pompeii' - Perfectly Preserved Fossils of Ancient Sea Critters Found Buried in Volcanic Ash
If you've ever visited the fossil gallery of a natural history museum -- or its gift shop, for that matter -- you've probably seen the armoured body remains (or exoskeletons) of an… Read more »
June 25
Africa: Maths Makes Finding Bat Roosts Much Easier, Our Research Shows
Finding bats is hard. They are small, fast and they primarily fly at night. Read more »
June 26
South Africa: Shell Didn't Consult Communities Properly About Mining the Wild Coast - but How Much Legal Protection Do South Africans Have?
South Africa's Supreme Court of Appeal recently dismissed an appeal by Shell, Impact Africa and the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy to overturn a High Court judgment… Read more »
June 20
Africa: Elephants Use the Tips of Their Trunks to Grasp Things With Great Precision
An elephant uses its trunk for eating, drinking water, communicating, exploring the environment, social behaviour, and making and using tools. The trunk, which contains six muscle… Read more »