SUSTAINABILITY - The African Mirror

Oct

17

2020

Why microplastics found in Nigeria’s freshwaters raise a red flag

SUSTAINABILITY

EMMANUEL O. AKINDELE, Senior Lecturer, Obafemi Awolowo University FRESHWATER ecosystems are a priority for environmental scientists because they affect the health of animals and plants on land too – as well as people. They provide food, water, transport and flood control. Freshwater ecosystems also keep nutrients moving among organisms and support diverse forms of life. Freshwater systems make a big difference to the quality of life in any human society. But they are under great pressure. Freshwater biodiversity is declining faster than terrestrial biodiversity. Among the three major types of habitats – terrestrial, freshwater and marine – freshwater accounts for…

Oct

14

2020

By The African Mirror

‘Uninhabitable hell’: Climate change and disease threaten millions, UN warns

SUSTAINABILITY

MEGAN ROWLING A jump in climate-related disasters this century, along with the global coronavirus pandemic, show political and business leaders are failing to stop the planet turning into "an uninhabitable hell" for millions, the United Nations said on Monday. The last two decades saw the number of disasters caused by extreme weather nearly double to 6,681, up from 3,656 between 1980 and 1999, according to a report issued ahead of the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction on October 13. Worsening floods and storms accounted for about four-fifths of the total from 2000-2019 but major increases were also recorded for droughts, wildfires…

Oct

13

2020

By The African Mirror

Pandemic spurs illegal gold rush in Zimbabwe mountains

SUSTAINABILITY

FARAI SHAWN MATIASHE KNOWN for their rugged ranges, grassy plains and forest waterfalls, the Chimanimani mountains in eastern Zimbabwe have long been a popular destination for tourists - and gold miners hoping to strike it rich. Travel restrictions to slow the spread of COVID-19 have kept the tourists away, although some attractions reopened last month. But illegal mining has surged as miners take advantage of the lack of visitors, leaving a trail of environmental destruction in their wake, say researchers and activists. "The waters are being polluted; the biodiversity poisoned; endemic plants dug up (and) trampled; animals and birds poached;…

Oct

12

2020

By The African Mirror

African countries need more air quality data – and sharing it unlocks its benefits

SUSTAINABILITY

REBECCA GARLAND, Principal Researcher in Climate and Air Quality Modelling Research Group, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research PAUL PLANTINGA, Research Specialist: Digital Strategies and Engagement, Human Sciences Research Council THE harm that air pollution is doing on the African continent seems to be growing. Estimates of premature mortality attributed to air pollution have increased from about 570,000 in 1990 to over 700,000 in 2013. In the same period, premature deaths from unsafe water, unsafe sanitation and childhood malnutrition have decreased across Africa. Many challenges also remain for the continent to reach the Sustainable Development Goals related to air quality.…

Oct

09

2020

By The African Mirror

Climate-menaced nations say survival depends on stronger 2020 action

SUSTAINABILITY

DEVELOPING countries at risk from wilder weather and rising seas urged all governments to meet a deadline to deliver stronger national climate action plans to the United Nations by the end of 2020, stressing that their survival depended on it. About 195 nations committed under the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change to submit updated plans this year, with a view to boosting so-far inadequate pledges to curb planet-heating emissions and adapt to the impacts of warming. But the health and economic crises caused by the COVID-19 pandemic have thrown climate diplomacy off track and forced a delay of this…

Nov

13

2020

By The African Mirror

Climate model shows Saharan heat in much of West Africa within a century

SUSTAINABILITY

NELLIE PEYTON BY the end of this century, typical daily temperatures in West Africa will be even higher than those registered on the hottest days of the year at present, according to a new study by climate scientists in Britain. The research found that on a typical day in May 80 years from now, temperatures could exceed 50 degrees Celsius (122F) in parts of northern Senegal, southern Mauritania, Mali, Niger and western Chad - seriously affecting health and livelihoods. Minimum temperatures in May could rise to 30C from about 19C today in Niger and central Mali, and to 31C from…

Nov

12

2020

By The African Mirror

Coronavirus pandemic sparks surge in firewood use in rural Kenya

SUSTAINABILITY

KAGONDU NJAGI AFTER selling another bundle of firewood to his latest customer, Augustinoa Kinyua whistled as he made his way back to the spot where he had been preparing his field for planting. Usually, Kinyua supports his family by growing and selling crops such as maize, beans and bananas on his farm in the central Kenyan village of Nkuthika. But these days, he finds there is more money in firewood, as families hit by the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic turn away from natural gas toward more affordable, readily available wood for cooking and heating their homes. "My customers…

Nov

10

2020

By The African Mirror

As African penguin population dwindles, researchers plan new colony

SUSTAINABILITY

WENDELL ROELF SOUTH African researchers plan to release scores of abandoned, hand-reared African penguin chicks at the Western Cape's De Hoop nature reserve, boosting efforts to start a new breeding colony of the seabirds at risk of extinction. The only penguin that breeds in Africa, it was once South Africa's most abundant seabird. But the population plunged to around 13,000 breeding pairs last year, from more than 1 million pairs in the 1920s, when their eggs started to be harvested for human consumption, government data shows. Researchers have since January 2019 deployed dummy penguins that emit the distinctive call of…

Oct

20

2020

By The African Mirror

In a thirsty world, information gaps dog a push to tap groundwater

SUSTAINABILITY

LAURIE GOERING AS growing populations and accelerating climate change worsen water scarcity around the world, pumping more from underground could help fill the gap in poorer nations - but only if supplies are better charted and they are used wisely, researchers said. "It's a resource with a huge amount of potential," said Jude Cobbing, who led a new study for charities WaterAid, Earthwatch and WWF on how groundwater is managed in India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Nigeria and Ghana. Little is understood about how much groundwater is available, particularly at local level, and poor organisation between government agencies can mean it does…

Oct

15

2020

By The African Mirror

Poisoned carcasses killing off Kenya’s vultures

SUSTAINABILITY

EDWIN WAITA A wildlife conservation group is trying to dissuade herders in central Kenya from poisoning cattle carcasses to target predators because vultures often end up being harmed and not lions. Poisoning is one of the chief causes of death for Kenyan vultures. Four of the East African nation's eight vulture species are critically endangered. One of those, the hooded vulture, has seen its population plunged by nearly 90% over the past 45 years, said scientist Darcy Ogada of The Peregrine Fund conservation group. Herders usually poison carcasses because they hope lions will return to the kill. Sometimes they do,…