SUSTAINABILITY - The African Mirror

Mar

11

2025

Women and girls are on the frontline of climate change – but their stories are seldom heard

SUSTAINABILITY

WOMEN and girls are disproportionately affected by the climate crisis. They are more likely to suffer health consequences as a result of floods, droughts, heatwaves, air pollution, wildfires and other environmental disasters. At the same time, women also tend to be responsible for securing food, water and energy for the rest of their families. When extreme weather makes these resources scarce, their lives and livelihoods are at risk. Despite all of this, women are alarmingly underrepresented in climate change and environmental reporting. A global analysis by the non-profit Media Diversity Institute found that only one in four sources quoted in…

Mar

08

2025

By BONFACE ORUCHO, BIRD STORY AGENCY

Vultures: unsung heroes of Africa’s ecosystem also contribute hundreds of millions to the economy

SUSTAINABILITY

VULTURES are regularly depicted in the media as ugly and menacing, benefitting from the death of other creatures and are often reviled. However, a new report confirms that vultures are not only vital to the health of Africa's ecosystem but also of considerable benefit to the economy. The report by global conservation organization, BirdLife International, shows that vultures provide a wide range of ecosystem services, from waste disposal to disease control, and their conservation is essential to sustainability. What is more, they were found to contribute hundreds of millions of dollars annually to the economies of just three countries, Botswana,…

Mar

07

2025

By ELLEN FUNGISAI CHIPANGO

Green energy doesn’t benefit everyone: ubuntu ideas can help include more people

SUSTAINABILITY

ELLEN Fungisai Chipango is a scholar of the communal ethic of African ubuntu – the belief that we are at our best as individuals and society if we work for the good of others, alongside others. She researches ways in which ubuntu can be applied in real life situations involving energy. In this article, she discusses her latest publication about applying an ubuntu feminist approach to rolling out renewable energy. Ubuntu feminism is the idea that everyone is obliged to care for each other’s wellbeing. What are the limitations in the transition to renewable energy? One limitation is that the…

Mar

05

2025

By HANANE BENADI

Why religion is fundamental to addressing climate change

SUSTAINABILITY

“THERE is no time for imagination, religious or otherwise. We need to act now!” an irritated scientist told me during a workshop on climate change and religion in 2024. Contrary to the tone of his comment, this scientist was not dismissing religion as being marginal to tackling climate change, but his underlying assumption rang clear: religion, while undoubtedly a necessary part of the solution, is only useful if it works alongside rational science. Research by me and my colleagues suggests that framing religion and science as totally separate entities is unhelpful in advancing a global response to climate change. In…

Mar

01

2025

By GINA ZIERVOGEL and RALPH HAMANN

Adapting to climate change is limited by people’s behaviour: how social innovation can help

SUSTAINABILITY

ADAPTING to climate change is becoming more and more urgent. It is clear that climate risk cannot be managed by technical interventions alone. For example, although developing drought tolerant seeds might help farmers adapt to low rainfall, it won’t reduce agricultural risk if farmers can’t get the seeds, or if they do not want to eat or sell those crops. Reducing climate risk needs to focus more on the reasons people are vulnerable. Social innovation may offer some lessons. Social innovation has been defined as “a novel process or product that intends to generate more effective and just solutions to…

Feb

28

2025

By DAVID KING and IMRAAN VALODIA

Climate talks: global south must seize the moment and take the lead

SUSTAINABILITY

THE US decision to withdraw from the Paris Agreement has raised questions about whether progress can still be made on global policy to mitigate climate change. To explore these questions, Imraan Valodia, pro-vice-chancellor: of climate, sustainability and inequality and director of the Southern Centre for Inequality Studies at the University of the Witwatersrand, spoke to Professor Sir David King, who founded the Climate Crisis Advisory Group, a collection of influential, diverse, and interdisciplinary climate experts. Sir David was born in South Africa. His resistance to apartheid eventually forced him to leave the country, an experience that instilled in him a…

Feb

27

2025

By ENNIA BOSSHARD

Kenya’s goal to plant 15 billion trees should include farmers – study shows they are keen

SUSTAINABILITY

MANY African governments have set ambitious goals to plant trees as a way to combat climate change, restore degraded landscapes and improve livelihoods. The Kenyan government has pledged to plant 15 billion trees by 2032 to increase forest cover in the country to 30%. It has also urged every Kenyan to plant at least 50 trees in cities, degraded rural areas, and on farms. Including trees in smallholder farming systems is particularly important, given the central role of farming in Kenya’s economy and small farms’ vulnerability to climate change. One promising approach is agroforestry, a farming approach where trees, shrubs…

Feb

26

2025

By MLUNGELE M. NSIKANI

South Africa’s famous fynbos must be preserved – but burning invasive plants on site isn’t the best strategy

SUSTAINABILITY

INVASIVE plants and trees were introduced to South Africa from as early as the 17th century for a range of commercial, subsistence and ornamental uses. Today, every area of the country has been invaded by a variety of these plants. The most species are found in the Western Cape, Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal provinces, and major urban centres. Invasive plants such as Port Jackson, black wattle and gum trees threaten the country’s water security by using up too much water. They also fuel fires by adding biomass into the ecosystem, particularly those ecosystems where trees would not naturally grow. Invasive…

Feb

20

2025

By MATTHEW WEAVER, SINETEMBA XOXO and SUKHMANI MANTEL

Green skills to help nature repair itself are scarce: what we’re doing to train more experts in South Africa and Senegal

SUSTAINABILITY

AFRICA’S population is growing. This means more landscape change and development of supporting infrastructure. Ecosystems are under pressure, made worse by natural disasters induced by climate change. In response, governments, scientists and environmentalists are turning their attention to nature-based solutions. These are environmental strategies that aim to address environmental damage, including the impact of disasters, climate change, and water and food insecurity. For example, wetlands are a natural resource for humans and create a habitat for wildlife. They filter water and control floods. But they’ve been degraded all over the world, which threatens biodiversity and human livelihoods. Wetland restoration is…

Feb

18

2025

By LAUREN HART; GEORGE S BULLERJAHN; GREGORY J. DICK and KEFA M. OTISO

Lake Victoria is turning green – the deadly bacteria behind it

SUSTAINABILITY

LAKES, natural and man-made, provide water, food and habitats for wildlife, as well as supporting local economies. Around the world, though, there’s a growing threat to lakes: toxic bacteria which turn the water green. This is the same green as you see on stagnant ponds. It’s caused by tiny organisms called cyanobacteria and can be deadly. Cyanobacteria thrive in warm, sunny lakes and ponds that contain excess nitrogen and phosphorus nutrients derived from fertiliser, manure and sewage. When conditions are right, cyanobacteria multiply rapidly and form smelly green scum on the water’s surface. Known to science as cyanoHABs (cyanobacterial harmful…