SUSTAINABILITY - The African Mirror

Jun

03

2026

By ZUNAIDA MOOSA WADIWALA and TRACY-LYNN FIELD

Africa’s climate crisis is a legal crisis too: what are states’ duties under human rights law?

SUSTAINABILITY

A landmark climate case is being heard by the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights. The request was brought by the Pan-African Lawyers Union and other African civil society organisations. They’ve asked the court to issue advice on what responsibilities African governments have to protect their countries against the climate crisis and move away from an economy that harms the environment. Zunaida Moosa Wadiwala and Tracy-Lynn Field of the Mandela Institute, alongside several other organisations, have asked to participate as friends of the court (amicus curiae). Their brief argues that African states have a duty to protect the climate…

May

29

2026

By The African Mirror

Africa has been managing climate volatility for decades – what the rest of the world can learn from it

SUSTAINABILITY

THE United States’ retreat from aspects of global climate and health leadership has exposed the risk Africa took in relying on external funding for these projects. When the US pulled back on aid, many African programmes and plans that relied on their funding, expertise, or political support had to abruptly end, leaving millions of people on the continent at risk of extreme poverty. Yet it also created an opening. African institutions, governments, scientists and communities can now strengthen the continent’s voice in climate and health governance. African countries did not cause climate change. It was caused by greenhouse gas emissions…

May

27

2026

By JOSHUA MATANZIMA

Lake Kariba’s rising waters bring hope to communities in Zambia and Zimbabwe

SUSTAINABILITY

BUILT in the 1950s to generate electricity, Lake Kariba in Zambia and Zimbabwe has since supported activities such as tourism, fishing, and conservation. All of these are affected by changes in water levels. The 40km wide and 223km long Lake Kariba is the largest human-created lake by volume. It typically undergoes seasonal rises and falls as a result of the rains. But since the 2010s, prolonged droughts and heatwaves have meant the water levels have seldom risen to full capacity. As a resident of Kariba and a scholar who has studied social life at Lake Kariba for over a decade,…

May

14

2026

By DENBOY KUDEJIRA; CHRISTOPHER MABEZA and LIBOSTER MWADZINGENI

Climate disasters don’t just destroy homes, they change lives forever. We spoke with cyclone survivors in Zimbabwe

SUSTAINABILITY

WHEN environmental hazards strike, the damage is usually counted in numbers: how many people died, how many homes were destroyed, how many people were displaced, and how much money it will take to rebuild. But not all losses and damage can be measured in financial terms. Some of the most profound impacts of climate-induced disasters are emotional, cultural, and social, affecting how people feel, relate to each other, and think about their world. We are scientists who research environmental hazards, climate change impacts, and development practice. We wanted to find out what recovery meant for survivors of Tropical Cyclone Idai,…

May

01

2026

By ABRAHAM NUNBOGU and KAVEH MADANI

The race to mine critical minerals for AI and clean energy is creating ‘sacrifice zones’ that harm water and health of world’s poor

SUSTAINABILITY

THERE is a troubling contradiction at the heart of the global transition to a cleaner, greener, tech-driven future: Modern technologies – everything from AI to wind turbines, as well as cellphones, electric vehicles, and defense systems – depend on critical minerals. But many of the communities where those minerals are mined end up with polluted water and poorer health because of the mining. Lithium powers batteries. Cobalt stabilizes them. Copper carries electricity. Rare earth elements make wind turbines and digital devices efficient and durable. Each of these is essential to the technologies of the fourth industrial revolution, but they are…

Apr

29

2026

By DYLAN O'DRISCOLL; FATHIMA AZMIYA BADURDEEN; JOEL BUSHER; SHEILA RONOH, and WILSON NDENYELE

Climate change is worsening violent extremism in Kenya – what can be done

SUSTAINABILITY

CLIMATE change and its associated impacts can worsen security challenges, including those associated with violent extremism. This is particularly the case in areas that are both vulnerable to the impacts of climate change and characterised by social and political instability. In north-eastern Kenya, for instance, droughts, flooding, and livelihood destruction are unfolding alongside and worsening, due to activity by al-Shabaab, a terrorist network headquartered in Somalia. The terror group has evolved from carrying out large-scale attacks in Kenya, such as the Westgate Mall attack (in 2013) and the Garissa University attack (2015), to persistent, low-intensity attacks and broader community engagement…

Apr

21

2026

By ESTELLE RAZANATSOA; LINDSEY GILLSON, and MALIKA VIRAH-SAWMY

Madagascar’s ancient baobabs store 700 years of climate secrets – what they reveal

SUSTAINABILITY

MADAGASCAR is home to seven species of baobab trees, of which six are found nowhere else on the planet. Many of the trees have been alive for well over 1,000 years. The ancient trees have become symbols of Madagascar itself. They’re also gifts to climate science. Imagine these trees as filing cabinets for climate history. Every year a tree grows, it lays down a new ring, and locked inside that ring are chemical fingerprints that reveal how much rain fell that year. These records could tell society what it needs to know about the climate history of Madagascar. But until…

Mar

27

2026

By OLUWAFEMI E. ADEYERI

Heatwaves will be worst for rural parts of Africa – new model shows tens of millions face dangerous warming by 2100

SUSTAINABILITY

ASK people where heatwaves hit hardest and most will probably say cities, which trap heat in concrete and metal and generate warmth from traffic and industry. But does this reflect reality? I am a scientist who studies climate extremes and health, and was part of a team that set out to answer that question properly. We took 10 of the most widely used global climate models, adjusted them to better reflect real-world observed conditions, and then used them to project heatwave exposure for rural and urban populations globally. We used multiple models rather than one because no single model is…

Mar

25

2026

By HOWARD STEIN and MICHAEL OLABISI

Why Africa needs a green bank to fund climate action and build its own renewable technology

SUSTAINABILITY

CLIMATE change is a profound challenge to the livelihoods of many people in African countries who have contributed so little to its cause. More frequent extreme weather events (floods, heatwaves and droughts) are making hunger, insecurity and displacement much worse. The continent holds an estimated 30% of the minerals that are essential for the future transition away from fossil fuels. However, Africa mostly exports these raw materials, leaving companies in other countries to reap the rewards of manufacturing low-carbon technologies and digital infrastructure. Sustainable development economists Michael Adetayo Olabisi and Howard Stein propose a new African “green bank” as a…

Mar

21

2026

By GEOFREY WINGI SIKAZWE

Climate change could pose a major risk to cassava in Africa: study sets out what can be done now

SUSTAINABILITY

CASSAVA is a starchy, tuberous root, introduced to sub-Saharan Africa by Portuguese traders centuries ago. It is a nutritional lifeboat for over 800 million people worldwide. Sub-Saharan Africa contributes over 63% of the world’s total cassava production. Nigeria alone grows over 20% of the world’s cassava, which is also the continent’s second most important staple food crop. It can produce a reasonable harvest even when soil quality is poor, rainfall is low, or when it has not been fertilised much. In Africa, cassava is now grown in humid and sub-humid tropical regions, including Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana,…