ENVIRONMENT - The African Mirror

May

2021

Nature funding must triple by 2030 to protect land, wildlife and climate

MICHAEL TAYLOR GLOBAL annual spending to protect and restore nature needs to triple this decade to about $350 billion by 2030 and rise to $536 billion by 2050, a U.N. report has said, urging a shift in mindset among financiers, businesses and governments. The inaugural State of Finance for Nature report looked at how to tackle the planet's climate, biodiversity and land degradation crises, estimating about $8 trillion in investment is needed by mid-century to safeguard natural systems. Report co-author Ivo Mulder, who heads the climate finance unit at the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), said financial flows should work…

May

2021

By The African Mirror

Pope launches green initiative, decrying “predatory attitude” toward planet

ENVIRONMENT

PHILIP PULLELLA POPE Francis launched an initiative on Tuesday to make Catholic institutions ranging from families to universities to businesses environmentally sustainable in seven years, saying a "predatory attitude" toward the planet must end. The Laudato Si Action Platform takes its name from the pope's landmark 2015 encyclical on the need to protect the environment, reduce wasteful lifestyles, stem global warming and protect the poor from the effects of climate change. At a news conference announcing the initiative, Cardinal Peter Turkson, head of the Vatican's development office, said the pope has been invited to attend the United Nations' Climate Change…

May

2021

By The African Mirror

Uganda to state agencies: No cash without a climate plan

ENVIRONMENT

CHRISTOPHER BENDANA INSPIRED by a similar diversity policy, Uganda's government is set to require public agencies to allocate part of their budgets to climate change measures if they want state funding, hailing the move as a big step toward meeting the nation's green goals. But while some climate experts say linking funding to climate action is essential to slowing global warming, others warn that already tight local government budgets mean the policy would do little to help. As part of the country's first National Climate Change Bill, passed by legislators in late April, all government ministries, departments, and agencies would…

May

2021

By The African Mirror

Forest rangers struggle to prevent poaching amid lockdowns

ENVIRONMENT

KANUPRIYA KAPOOR RANGER Atul Deokar's walkie-talkie crackled one October night. He heard his colleagues' panicked voices shouting for backup: They had been surrounded by 70 villagers armed with axes and sharpened sticks and demanding to hunt in India's protected Pench Tiger Reserve. The rangers fired into the air after the villagers attempted to set fire to the hut in which the patrol were holed up -- ending a 30-minute standoff that reflects the pressure that forests and wildlife have come under in Asia, Africa, and Latin America as a result of the pandemic. Forest officials on all three continents told…

May

2021

By The African Mirror

From beef to chocolate, illegal deforestation found behind many everyday foods

ENVIRONMENT

ANASTASIA MOLONEY NEARLY 70% of tropical forests cleared for cattle ranching and crops such as soybeans and palm oil were deforested illegally between 2013 and 2019, a study showed on Tuesday, warning of the impact on global efforts to fight climate change. Illegal clearance for commercial agriculture was behind the loss of 4.5 million hectares of forest – an area the size of Denmark - on average each year in Latin America, Southeast Asia and Africa, said the report by U.S.-based nonprofit Forest Trends. "If we don't urgently stop this unlawful deforestation, we don't have a chance to beat the…

May

2021

By The African Mirror

Durban’s climate goals are bold – but its poor feel left behind

ENVIRONMENT

KIM HARRISBERG AFTER heavy rains swept away Nomandla Nqanula's tin shack two years ago, she would pray every time she saw clouds gathering above her Quarry Road informal settlement in Durban. But these days, a WhatsApp group on her smartphone pings with early flood warnings for residents, and another city-designed app reminds her and 14 other residents to monitor flood risks and river pollution near her home. "When I wake up, I feel I have lots of work to do, to protect the river and also protect the people who live here," said the 33-year-old mother, standing outside her shack…

May

2021

By The African Mirror

Activists and South African gov’t lock horns over coal pollution

ENVIRONMENT

TIM COCKS SOUTH Africa's failure to tackle toxic levels of air pollution produced by burning coal is a violation of its post-Apartheid constitution, activists and a U.N. rights expert said in court on Monday. Campaigners are suing the South African government in the High Court, hoping to force tougher action against heavy polluters such as state power company Eskom and liquid fuel producer Sasol. The campaigners say tougher action is required to enforce a constitutional guarantee of the right to an environment not harmful to health. Environment Minister Barbara Creecy acknowledges that air pollution is a problem, but her submission…

May

2021

By The African Mirror

U.S. envoy wants pope to attend climate conference, sway debate

ENVIRONMENT

POPE Francis has the moral authority to sway public opinion over global warming and might attend the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Scotland, U.S. President Joe Biden's climate envoy John Kerry said on Saturday. COP26 is being held in Glasgow in November and could accelerate measures by the world's biggest polluters to tackle climate change, a challenge that activists, scientists and world leaders say could ultimately endanger the planet. "I think that his voice will be a very important voice leading up to and through the Glasgow conference, which I believe he intends to attend," Kerry told the…

May

2021

By The African Mirror

Zimbabwe re-introduces rhinos in Gonarezhou park after three decades

ENVIRONMENT

ZIMBABWE is re-introducing rhinos to its second biggest wildlife park Gonarezhou in the south of the country, the first time that the sanctuary will be home to the species in 30 years, the parks authority have announced. Gonarezhou, which means 'home of the elephant' in the Shona language, is part of the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park with South Africa's Kruger National Park and Mozambique's Limpopo National Park. Tinashe Farawo, the spokesman for the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority, said black and white rhino would be introduced in Gonarezhou soon. Zimbabwe now has about 1,000 rhinos after poaching decimated its…

Apr

2021

By The African Mirror

Protecting nature can lower risk of armed conflict

ENVIRONMENT

JACK GRAHAM PROTECTING and restoring nature can reduce the risk of armed conflict around the world, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) said on Wednesday. Over the last 30 years, countries have been more prone to conflict when natural resources like agricultural land and water become scarce or degraded, such as in areas where droughts are frequent, said a report released by the organisation, which brings together governments, green groups and scientists. It comes as a coalition of countries pushes to conserve global biodiversity by protecting at least 30% of land and oceans by 2030, ahead of a…