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Trans-frontier conservation continues to grow in Southern Africa

Trans-frontier conservation continues to grow in Southern Africa

ZAMBIA and Zimbabwe recently signed a memorandum of understanding to create a trans-frontier conservation area to utilise their shared natural resources. The agreement focuses on the lower Zambezi and Mana Pools National Park areas. The two nations, who jointly share a vast area of more than 18,000 km2, pledged to improve ecological conservation in the area. Governments, local communities, and stakeholders from the two countries will all have a chance to implement sustainable development programs thanks to the collaborative approach. Trans-frontier conservation areas (TFCA) are ecologically-rich regions that border multiple countries and host diverse plant and animal species. The conservation…
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We’ve been tracking birds in a small Nigerian forest for 18 years. What we found and why it matters

We’ve been tracking birds in a small Nigerian forest for 18 years. What we found and why it matters

IF you live in Europe, you can find almost any statistic you like about the birds in the environment. How many there are of a species, where you find them, and whether their population is increasing or decreasing. In some countries like the UK, there are comprehensive surveys going back 60 years and they have mapped and counted every single bird species three times already. Author WILLIAM CRESSWELL, Chair professor, University of St Andrews These detailed statistics allow effective monitoring of the environment. This is because birds are an indicator species of how well the ecosystem is functioning to provide…
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Why a new potato variety could be a game-changer for farmers in East Africa

Why a new potato variety could be a game-changer for farmers in East Africa

IMAGINE being a potato farmer in Ethiopia, Kenya or Nigeria. On a small piece of land, which you depend on for food and income, you have spent months planting, weeding and watering. Up to twice a week, you manually spray your field, sometimes with limited equipment, or hire someone to do it, spending much of your income on fungicides to avoid crop diseases. TADESSA DABA, Director, Agricultural Biotechnology Research Directorate, Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research And yet within a week of cold and humid weather, your entire field has been destroyed by late blight, a disease that wipes out a…
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Pull investments from companies not committed to environment, pope says

Pull investments from companies not committed to environment, pope says

PHILIP PULLELLA  POPE Francis has urged people to pull investments from companies that are not committed to protecting the environment, adding his voice to calls for the economic model that emerges from the coronavirus pandemic to be a sustainable one. Francis spoke in a video message for an online event called "Countdown Global Launch, A Call to Action on Climate Change". "Science tells us, every day with more precision, that we need to act urgently ... if we are to have any hope of avoiding radical and catastrophic climate change," he said. The pope listed three action points: better education…
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17 dead dolphins wash up on Mauritius beach near oil spill site

17 dead dolphins wash up on Mauritius beach near oil spill site

GIULIA PARAVICINI  SEVENTEEN dead dolphins washed up on Mauritius's shore on Wednesday, a government official told Reuters, a month after an oil spill from a Japanese ship that ran aground caused a major ecological disaster in the area. "The dead dolphins had several wounds and blood around their jaws, no trace of oil however. The ones that survived, around ten, seemed very fatigued and could barely swim," said Jasvin Sok Appadu from the fisheries ministry. The dead dolphins have been taken to the Albion Fisheries Research Centre for an autopsy, Appadu said. Results are expected on Wednesday night. A spokeswoman…
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