Mail & Guardian
Mail & Guardian

Mg Environment

latest news & developments
Aubrey Keirnan. (Supplied)
BIRD BRAIN STUDY

Bird brains: Why they’re bigger and smarter than we thought

What new research reveals about their mental power

  • Sheree Bega
3 min read
Environment Minister Dion George. (OJ Koloti, Gallo Images)
CLEAN ENERGY TRANSITION

Dion George slams US exit from Paris Agreement, urges continued climate action

Trump’s decision risks damaging international trust and efforts to address the global climate crisis, minister says

  • Sheree Bega
5 min read
Brian van Wilgen, one of the authors of a new book on the ecology and management of one of Africa’s most destructive weeds, visited this heavily invaded area near Moshi in Tanzania in 2019. Prosopis trees form dense thickets to increase the difficulty that herbivorous mammals experience in gaining access to grazing or water or moving between different areas. Photo: Jano Barnard.
BIODIVERSITY LOSS

Prosopis invasions: Battle against Africa’s worst weed

In densely invaded areas, the trees can consume about 50% of the annual rainfall of the region, severely depleting groundwater

  • Sheree Bega
7 min read
More than 50 000 litres of sewage spews into South Africa’s rivers every second, the result of a failure to maintain infrastructure and outdated wastewater treatment plants that are unable to handle current volumes. (Delwyn Verasamy/M&G)
CAPE TOWN SEWAGE TREATMENT

Wastewater plants dump 50 000 litres of sewage into SA rivers every second

More than 70% of the country’s neglected or aged wastewater treatment plants are not operating at optimal levels

  • Sheree Bega
9 min read
Nick and Nichole Nyalungu, winners of the Mpumalanga Green Innovation Challenge. Photo courtesy Mpumalanga Department of Economic Development and Tourism
DEPARTMENT OF FORESTRY

Mining’s mess is just energy transition’s opportunity

Rehabilitating mines presents an opportunity for environmental restoration and economic empowerment in the energy transition

  • Thabo Molelekwa
7 min read
The Richtersveld Desert Botanical Garden, a first of its kind in South Africa, opened its doors in August. It aims to be a living bank of the endangered and threatened plant species in the region. (All photos by Ashraf Hendricks)
AI AIS RICHTERSVELD TRANSFRONTIER PARK
Video

How a desert garden is saving the Northern Cape’s endangered plants

Endangered succulents in the Richtersveld have been given a lifeline from poaching, mining, overgrazing, and climate change

  • Liezl Human
3 min read
Earthshot Prize announces this year’s winners who are shaping a greener, cleaner future
AFRICA INNOVATION

Prince William champions Africa’s role at 2024 Earthshot Prize

Earthshot Prize announces this year’s winners who are shaping a greener, cleaner future

  • Sheree Bega
5 min read
A group of captive-bred southern white rhino have been successfully moved to their new home at the Dinokeng Game Reserve
AFRICAN PARKS

Southern white rhinos find new home at Gauteng’s Dinokeng Game Reserve

The rhinos previously belonged to controversial rhino breeder John Hume

  • Sheree Bega
3 min read
Urban drought: The persistent water shortages in Johannesburg, often making it necessary for residents to collect water from tankers for daily use. (Louw/Volksblad/Gallo Images/Getty Images)
AFFORDABLE WATER SOLUTIONS

Johannesburg’s thirst for clean water sparks rise in potentially substandard refill stations

The South African National Bottled Water Association has warned consumers to check that bottled and refilling water is not substandard

  • Aarti Bhana
3 min read
South Africa’s largest corporate polluters have worked persistently over the past two decades, in public and in private, to derail an effective climate policy response by the government, according to non-profit shareholder activism organisation Just Share.
CLIMATE ACTION FUNDING

Oil and gas companies must pay for climate damage, global survey finds

Making polluters pay is not only fair, but popular and effective, says Greenpeace International

  • Sheree Bega
5 min read
African penguins, endemic to Southern Africa, are one of the most threatened seabird species globally and they face the risk of extinction in the wild by 2035. Populations have shrunk by 90% in the past 70 years, dwindling to about 8 500 breeding pairs today.
AFRICAN PENGUIN

Africa’s only penguin moves closer to extinction

The seabirds were recently moved to critically endangered status, meaning drastic action has to be taken to save them from being wiped out

  • Sheree Bega
6 min read
The Pretoria high court has overturned the government’s plans to add 1 500 megawatts of new coal-fired power to the national grid. (Guillem Sartorio/AFP)
CLIMATE CHANGE ACT

Climate Change Act: Key preparations underway for implementation

However, the legislation is legally complicated, environment minister says

  • Sheree Bega
2 min read
The promise of $300 billion by 2035 is not only insufficient; it’s a betrayal of the principles of climate justice. (Guillem Sartorio/Getty Images)
MG ENVIRONMENT

Market forces assume control in the energy sector

The electricity supply crisis caused an unmanaged energy transition led by market forces, with a weakened state trying to introduce reforms

  • Roderick Crompton
  • Bruce Young
7 min read
Environment Minister Dion George. (OJ Koloti, Gallo Images)
MG ENVIRONMENT

Can COP29 bridge the climate finance gap? South Africa sets ambitious goals

Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and Environment Dion George said developed countries had failed in their commitments to developing countries

  • Sheree Bega
6 min read
CLIMATE CHANGE

Climate-induced extreme weather events contribute to mental health problems

The marginalised bear a disproportionately high burden of mental health problems

  • Tafadzwanashe Mabhaudhi
  • Rob Slotow
  • Andrew Tomita
5 min read