Our website use cookies to improve and personalize your experience and to display advertisements (if any). Our website may also include cookies from third parties like Google Adsense, Google Analytics, and Youtube. By using the website, you consent to the use of cookies.

Can Nigeria turn the tide on plastic pollution?

Can Nigeria turn the tide on plastic pollution?

WHEN it rains heavily in Lagos, the torrents of water gushing down streets and sidewalks sweep up disposable drink cups, plastic bottles and packaging and dump them into the coastal city's drains and waterways. "Most floods in Lagos happen because of blockages of non-biodegradable polystyrene packages and not the volume of rainfall," said Joshua Babayemi, an environmental toxicologist at the University of Medical Sciences in Ondo, a state in southwestern Nigeria. But from this week, the tide of trash should at least contain fewer foam food containers as city authorities start enforcing a ban on single-use items that reflects nascent…
Read More
What is football’s carbon footprint?

What is football’s carbon footprint?

WITH a fan base of 3.5 billion – nearly half the global population – football is the world's most popular sport and its carbon footprint is huge. With emissions created by energy use in stadiums, travel by fans and teams, broadcasting, the multibillion-dollar market for kits and other merchandise and even matchday meals, the beautiful game takes a not-so-beautiful toll on the planet's climate. This weekend, thousands of football fans across Britain are being urged to make climate-conscious choices – from opting for plant-based meals to switching to green energy providers – as part of Green Football Weekend, a campaign to engage fans and…
Read More
Madagascar: giant tortoises have returned 600 years after they were wiped out

Madagascar: giant tortoises have returned 600 years after they were wiped out

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 this tortoise to areas degraded by cattle grazing will help restore the island’s forests, grassy woodlands and shrublands of the past. It could also help prevent devastating forest fires in future. GRANT JOSEPH, Research Scientist, FitzPatrick Institute of African…
Read More
Nigeria’s plastic ban: why it’s good and how it can work

Nigeria’s plastic ban: why it’s good and how it can work

TWO weeks into January 2024, Nigerian authorities took steps to curb environmental degradation caused by plastic pollution in the country. The Federal Ministry of Environment and the Lagos State government both announced bans on single-use plastics. TEMITOPE O. SOGBANMU, Senior Lecturer, Ecotoxicology and Conservation Unit, Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, University of Lagos The Federal Ministry of Environment was the first to issue a directive. It banned single-use plastics in its own departments and agencies. The Lagos State government followed a few days later with a ban on styrofoam containers (popularly used for food packaging) and gave businesses three…
Read More
1 in every 3 dollars invested into startups in Africa in 2023 went into climate tech

1 in every 3 dollars invested into startups in Africa in 2023 went into climate tech

CLIMATE tech startups bucked the trend in Africa's venture capital space, actively notching up an impressive $1 billion amidst a broader funding fall-off in 2023. Data tracker, Africa: The Big Deal notes that around 1 in 3 dollars invested into startups on the continent in the forecast period went to climate tech startups. The strength of the sector according to the Deal, illustrates "both the potential of ‘green’ investments in Africa and the increased focus of investors in this space." "While energy and water start-ups took the lion’s share, agtech dominates the early-stage pipeline, also pointing to the need for…
Read More
Africa’s savannah elephants: small ‘fortress’ parks aren’t the answer – they need room to roam

Africa’s savannah elephants: small ‘fortress’ parks aren’t the answer – they need room to roam

AFRICA is home to about 410,000 savannah elephants (Loxodonta africana), most of them living in southern Africa. Over 290,000 elephants (70%) are spread across 103 protected areas which vary in size, connectivity and protection. In a recent research paper, we explored how elephant populations across southern Africa performed under different conservation approaches. This work formed part of the Conservation Ecology Research Unit at the University of Pretoria, where we focus on science-based, cost-effective approaches to elephant management. CELESTÉ MARÉ, PhD candidate, Aarhus University ROBERT A.R. GULDEMOND, Researcher, Conservation Ecology Research Unit, University of Pretoria Our study was the most comprehensive…
Read More
Cash-strapped conservationists in South Africa are struggling to collect biodiversity data – how to change that

Cash-strapped conservationists in South Africa are struggling to collect biodiversity data – how to change that

SOUTH Africa’s government conservation organisations have experienced substantial budget cuts. Even after steps to cut costs, South African National Parks reported a big shortfall (R223 million or about US$11.92 million) for 2021/22. So did the provincial body KZN Ezemvelo Wildlife (R89 million; about US$4.77 million). South African conservation authorities manage millions of hectares of protected areas. However, recruitment freezes and insufficient funds have reduced their ability to conduct basic operations. One of these is biodiversity monitoring. Knowing which plants and animals are present in protected areas and where they are is vital for making conservation decisions. You need to know…
Read More
Mozambique’s cyclone flooding was devastating to animals – we studied how body size affected survival

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

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. JASON P. MARSHAL, Associate Professor of Ecology, University of the Witwatersrand FRANCESCA PARRINI, Associate Professor in Animal Ecology, University of the Witwatersrand Rainfall at Gorongosa averages about 850mm per year. When Idai passed over, more than 200mm of rain fell in less than 24 hours. Over the…
Read More
Africans discovered dinosaur fossils long before the term ‘palaeontology’ existed

Africans discovered dinosaur fossils long before the term ‘palaeontology’ existed

CREDIT for discovering the first dinosaur bones usually goes to British gentlemen for their finds between the 17th and 19th centuries in England. Robert Plot, an English natural history scholar, was the first of these to describe a dinosaur bone, in his 1676 book The Natural History of Oxfordshire. Over the next two centuries, dinosaur palaeontology would be dominated by numerous British natural scientists. JULIEN BENOIT, Senior Researcher in Vertebrate Palaeontology, University of the Witwatersrand CAMERON PENN-CLARKE, Senior Researcher, University of the Witwatersrand CHARLES HELM, Research Associate, African Centre for Coastal Palaeoscience, Nelson Mandela University However, our study shows that…
Read More
Trade rules and climate change: Africa stands to lose from proposed WTO policy tools

Trade rules and climate change: Africa stands to lose from proposed WTO policy tools

THE World Trade Organisation launched its Trade Policy Tools for Climate Action during the COP28 conference. International economic law expert Olabisi D. Akinkugbe discusses whether the new Trade Policy Tools benefit Africa. OLABISI D. AKINKUGBE, Associate Professor & Viscount Bennett Professor of Law, Dalhousie University What are the WTO’s new Trade Policy Tools? The new tools offer opportunities for countries to mitigate the climate change effect of their trade practices. The tools align with the Paris Agreement, the 2015 legally binding United Nations Treaty on Climate Change. However, the global contribution of African states to climate change remains very low:…
Read More