Fiona Macleod

When the Great Moscow Circus rolled into Jozi town this week, it brought along its "beast wagons", leading to calls by welfare groups for a ban on using wild animals to perform in circuses. The circus moved to Johannesburg after a month in Cape Town, bringing with it two tigers and a pack of dogs.

Provincial conservation officials are issuing permits for lion-breeding centres in the face of a national moratorium placed on such facilities because they are often used for "canned" hunting. The Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism said this week that the long-awaited public input on breeding and hunting large predators such as lions will finally take place this month.

"There is a Shangaan proverb that says the elephant is ours," claims Michael Masuluke, a representative from a community living next door to the Kruger National Park. "It means that if there is a job to be done, it must be done by all of us." His words echoed the sentiments of about 200 serious-minded environmentalists gathered at the Great Elephant Indaba in the Kruger recently.

On a trip to South Africa last week, British environmentalist George Monbiot spoke to the <i>Mail & Guardian</i> about his ideas for a just and democratic world regime. Aimed at breaking the economic and political hegemony of the great powers — principally the United States — Monbiot’s proposed dispensation would rest on the four pillars of a directly elected world parliament, a democratised United Nations, a fair trade organisation and an international clearing union.

Professional hunters are capitalising on the Kruger National Park’s growing elephant population by selling "canned" elephant hunts to wealthy American clients. Police and conservation officials are investigating the "hunting" of a Kruger bull within hours of its delivery to a safari outfit in North West province.

Trying to sell nature-based tourism in game reserves to people who would rather go to the beach on holiday, if they go at all, sounds like a case of real hard sell. Isidore Bandile Mkhize, newly appointed director of the flagship Kruger National Park, wrote a doctoral thesis on the reasons behind this and is determined to turn the situation around.

Water. White gold. Without it, there can be no life. “Precious, every drop,” proclaims the SAB advertisement on the back page of this edition of <i>Earthyear</i>.

Few South Africans would deny that during the past 10 years eco-sustainability has been firmly placed on the nation’s agenda. In the first five years of democratic government, philosopher-minister Pallo Jordan prepared the ground for the rise of eco-sustainability. His successor, Minister Valli Moosa, brought a verve and sexiness to sustainable development. Among many other […]

"I believe we have found a happy medium, together with a great deal of public participation and media interest – as we have in the debate around the proposed N2 toll road." On the eve of leaving the government, the minister talks to <i>Earthyear</i> about progress in sustainable development over the past decade.

David Mabunda, the new head of South African National Parks (SANParks), brings a personal style to the job. He promises to get the public more involved in the management of their natural heritage. Mabunda talks to Fiona Macleod about his mission.

And so the slaughter of elephants begins. Six adult members of a herd were gunned down in Mpumalanga last weekend and their eight babies were kidnapped for sale to exhibition parks. This recent cull and capture operation has caused alarm among animal welfare groups.

Elephant trainers in Limpopo are planning to capture 24 young elephants from the wild and train them for elephant-back safaris, despite two near-fatal incidents involving elephant rides over the Christmas period.

About 450km south-west of London a man-made paradise blooms near the Cornish coast. Called the Eden Project, it is a futuristic microcosm of the world as humans once knew it. Start saving for a place in Eden as we head towards 2014 and eco-death, writes Fiona Macleod.

If you are feeling depressed or cynical about life, get hold of a copy of Old Mutual’s annual brochure on its Staff Community Builder Programme, writes <i>Fiona Macleod</i>. Titled <i>People with a passion … to give, to care, to share</i>, it is an uplifting glimpse into how ordinary people can make a big difference.

<b>Winner — Corporate Employee Community Involvement Programme
Old Mutual Staff Volunteer Programme</b>
The Old Mutual Staff Volunteer Programme was launched in 1993, long before employee community programmes had become vogue in South Africa. It was set up in response to the many requests for funding the company received from staff.

<b>Winner – Corporations</b>: Old Mutual Rural Economic Development Initiative
Recognising that there is rampant poverty yet huge potential in South Africa’s rural areas, the Old Mutual Rural Economic Development Initiative (REDI) set out to mobilise resources and stimulate economic development in those areas.

More than 30 companies, foundations and other corporate entities around the country entered this year’s Investing in the Future Awards. The standard of most entries was extremely high, making the judges’ task in choosing winners a difficult one. The following is a brief list of the winners, finalists and entrants.

Community leaders left Durban at the end of the World Parks Congress satisfied that most of their demands had been recognised. But hundreds of community conservationists this week called for "a truth and reconciliation commission" to deal with injustices and mistakes made in the name of conservation.

At least half of the 2 500 environmentalists attending the World Parks Congress in Durban have forked out "compensation" for the energy they are using by attending the event, contributing at least $30 each into a fund called the Johannesburg Climate Legacy (JCL).

The days of conservation islands, fences and fines are over. Instead, South African National Parks (SANParks) has embarked on a focused, multi-faceted campaign to draw people from all walks of life into conservation. The driving force behind the campaign is a new division at SANParks called the directorate of people and conservation.

If I had to choose, I would say my favourite story in this edition of <i>Earthyear</i> is the one about young children and community guides teaming up to help leatherback sea tutles nesting on the beaches of Gabon, in West Africa.

The term "triple bottom line", also known as sustainability, refers to how business makes its money. In the wake of last year’s WSSD, business is serious about adopting balanced social, environmental and economic performance as a test of corporate success.

Contact Technikon Pretoria’s Attie Botha on an average weekday and the chances are you will find him out in the bush supervising hundreds of students on a game count or classifying plants.

A cockfight over endangered birds is jeopardising an R8-million ecotourism project that offers a lifeline to an impoverished community in the Free State.

South Africa’s support at the International Whaling Commission (IWC) this week for the controversial "Berlin Initiative" helped tip the vote in favour of protecting whales, dolphins and porpoises.

Divers have found at least 18 coelacanths on KwaZulu-Natal’s north coast — indicating that these ancient fish, which have been linked to human evolution, may be permanent residents along the African mainland.

East, west, there’s nothing but wilderness as far as the eye can see. You may need to look in your rear-view mirror to find out where you are, writes Fiona Macleod

Animal welfare activists went to court this week to try to stop convicted wildlife dealer Riccardo Ghiazza from sending wild-caught elephants to zoos in Mexico.

Controversial conservationists the Varty brothers are negotiating to move their ambitious tiger rehabilitation project to India after their deal with the Chinese government unravelled.

Elephants in the Knysna forest are medicating themselves with "magic mushrooms" that could be used by people to counter the effects of HIV.