Staff Reporter

Mary Metcalfe, Gauteng MEC of agriculture, conservation, environment and land affairs, tells the story of a golden butterfly that solved an inherently irreconcilable tension between the environment and development.

One of the successes of the Johannesburg Summit was to persuade South Africans that they have achieved something to be proud of. But what will we do with the post-summit window of opportunity? Chris van der Merwe reports.

To celebrate 2002 as the International Year of Mountains, members of the Mountain Club of South Africa set out to measure our highest peak.
Dean van der Merwe describes what they discovered.

The problem with South Africa’s economic statistics is much broader than indicated by the Statistics SA fiasco, which involved overstated inflation figures.

Pretoria-based Professor Wouter van Hoven, who is undertaking the world’s largest elephant restocking programme in Angola, is perhaps best known as a modern-day Noah.

A community tourism project on the Wild Coast offers a very different experience from that of a five-star hotel on its doorstep. It is a role model – kind to the community, its natural resources and its visitors – and business is booming.

Abalimi Bezekhaya is greening the Cape Flats and, at the same time, helping poor residents to gain the skills and resources needed to produce their own food.

Land set aside for conservation is often deemed an economic asset gone to waste. But a new market for green services promises to eliminate this trade-off. Conservation concessions dispel the notion that habitat destruction is inevitable if ecosystems are to generate financial benefits.

Water is often referred to as Africa’s gold, but in many barren rural areas it is hope for the future. The Rainwater Harvesting Project is helping children to harvest that hope.

One word sums up the Mondi Wetlands Project and its national manager, David Lindley – enthusiasm.

Marula oil is the new ‘miracle’ in the cosmetics industry. Communities who have known about its magic properties for ages are trying to make sure they cash in on the new boom.

When a tin mine closed down in remote Namibia, thousands lost their jobs. Now a conservancy and tourism enterprises based around a special mountain are providing alternative livelihoods.

Artisans in Mozambique are turning into entrepreneurs with the world at their feet. In the process their craft is saving forests that would otherwise be turned into charcoal.

The leaves of a wild bush in Zimbabwe provide a healthy, tasty tea that is popular in overseas health shops. This natural resource is a small source of security in a country facing tough times.

In a dusty, forgotten corner of the country, an innovative goatskin business is providing an impoverished community with an alternative to mining.

The mighty baobab tree has provided food and shelter to Southern Africans for centuries. Now it is also providing a means of survival in a country ravaged by deforestation and hunger.

If you were thinking of where to erect an informal market to sell fruits and crafts to tourists passing between South Africa and Mozambique you couldn’t find a better place than the N4 highway in the Maputo Development Corridor.

From the heart of the Zambian forests to the shelves of Sainsbury’s in Europe and Body Shop outlets around the world, a special honey is applauded by connoisseurs.

Achim Steiner, director general of IUCN-The World Conservation Union, discusses the challenges of the World Summit on Sustainable Development.

Ecosystem management looks at the ‘big picture’ where people and nature meet. It is about reconciling community needs with principles of ecology, combining science with indigenous knowledge and linking local realities with global responsibilities.

Once hunted to the verge of extinction, Southern Right whales have not only staged a comeback but are now a major revenue earner for South Africa. These magnificent mammals are the emblem of The Green Trust Awards 2002.

Difficult trade-offs and choices are inherent to sustainable development. It needs wise decisions – and therefore good governance.

Every year South African sheep and goat farmers lose millions of rands’ worth of stock to small predators like jackals and caracals. One farmer in Namaqualand estimates that in a single year predators killed 400 sheep on his farm, running up a financial loss of around R120 000.

In the middle of residential chaos, a Cape Flats reserve is bringing nature and people together so that they may benefit from each other.

"The nation of Rubbishville was in the dark. They had rats and flies," goes the opening verse of the <i>Rat Song</i>. It paints a grim picture of a town that in 2027 is overrun by litter and disease.

Rio 1992 made it clear that education, public awareness and training for sustainable development are essential. How far have we come since then? The IUCN Commision on Education and Communication looks at the issues.

From ‘garden boy’ to entrepreneur: Joseph Diliza has made a business out of using reeds for paper – and he is cleaning up a choked river in the process.

Ninety percent of Cape Town’s population of three million people can see Table Mountain from their workplace or homes, yet only 2% have ever walked on it. Six years ago the Wilderness Foundation (SA) decided to change that.

The Tuli elephant saga brought home to South Africans some of the controversies around the training of elephants. In Thailand, domesticated elephants have helped build up ecotourism. Yet they lead a precarious existence. Chris van der Merwe talks to Asian elephant expert Richard Lair about domesticating wild animals.

South African devised change and innovation management software is now being used by Deckert Management Consultants of Düsseldorf, Germany.