Mail & Guardian
Mail & Guardian

Department Of Environment

latest news & developments
Eskom told the Mail & Guardian it had only received a R9 billion World Bank loan to decommission its coal-fired Komati power station. (Waldo Swiegers/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
AIR POLLUTION

R15m to rid Gauteng of dirty air

The World Bank is funding a plan to deal with air pollution in Ekurhuleni, Tshwane and Johannesburg

  • Sarah Evans
6 min read
The first round of plastic treaty negotiations saw positive outcomes but oil producing countries, at the behest of big oil and petrochemical companies, could dominate the treaty discussions. (Waldo Swiegers/Bloomberg/Getty Images)
ANBEN PILLAY

Environmental organisations demand halt to unnecessary plastic production

NGOs are calling on the department of environment to introduce stricter measures for companies manufacturing and using plastic products

  • Chris Gilili
3 min read
About 422 000 local jobs are tied to exports to economies with active or incoming carbon border adjustment mechanisms (Oupa Nkosi)
ALBIE MODISE

Carbon tax to curb big polluters

Other steps to fight climate change include improved reporting, monitoring and laws

  • Tunicia Phillips
6 min read
AMENDMENTS

Mpumalanga, Western Cape don’t comply with threatened and protected species rules

The provinces cite limited capacity and funds to implement the regulations

  • Sheree Bega
2 min read
Sixteen southern white rhinos have been moved from &Beyond Phinda Private Game Reserve in KwaZulu-Natal to Garamba National Park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. (Photo by Wolfgang Kaehler/LightRocket via Getty Images)
AND FISHERIES

Kruger loses 70% of rhinos in 10 years

The good news is that the drought has eased, poaching is down and the environment department is now not only focusing on the poachers but is going after crime syndicates

  • Sheree Bega
3 min read
ALBI MODISE

Biodiversity coalition keen for SA to join conservation push

The government says global conservation targets are yet to be agreed on

  • Sheree Bega
3 min read
Hunger in Africa persists not primarily because of a lack of science, but because the connective tissue between evidence, policy and implementation is weak.
DEFF

South Africa has surplus food, but we need to intercept it

One third of food produced for human consumption is lost or wasted. We can reduce hunger if we collaborate

  • Andy Du Plessis
6 min read
In demand: Prudence Mkonyo (centre) and other vendors are selling 50kg bags of charcoal in Mbare Musika market in Harare. (Jekesai Njikizana/AFP)
CHARCOAL

Zimbabwe’s burning issue

The country’s woodlands are being deforested to make charcoal because of electricity cuts and as land is cleared for agriculture

  • Ish Mafundikwa
3 min read
With two units at Koeberg nuclear power station likely to be out of commission at the same time, Eskom will struggle to keep the lights on, said Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa.
AIR POLLUTION

Air pollution death toll rises by 170

Eskom has said that it cannot afford to meet the legal levels and that some of its plants will need to run until the early 2030s.

  • Sipho Kings
2 min read