The provision of safe water, sanitation and hygienic conditions is essential for protecting human health during all infectious disease outbreaks including COVID-19. SANEDI (South African National Energy and Development Institute) is partnering with the Department of Defence (DoD) for a Water Treatment Works project at the SANDF Air Force Base in Hoedspruit in the Maruleng … [Read more...]
World Environment Day calls for an end to nature’s destruction
One million plant and animal species risk extinction, largely due to human activities. These are issues the world cannot lose sight of even as we tackle the coronavirus pandemic and the ongoing climate crisis. The theme for World Environment Day, 5 June 2020, is biodiversity — a call to action to combat the accelerating species loss and degradation of the natural … [Read more...]
New fund aims to grow green businesses in SA
The Green Outcomes Fund (GOF), a first of its kind structure, incentivises local South African fund managers to increase investment in green businesses. Through a partnership officially signed on 31 January 2020 between National Treasury’s Jobs Fund and GreenCape, the R488m fund provides outcomes-based matched (concessional) funding to local investment funds to support … [Read more...]
Growing in the now
When the news broke it hit me in the chest. I have a high-risk child on immune suppressant drugs. Have fought so hard for him. My own lungs are damaged from embolisms. My other 2 smoke. Brutal. Yet all of life is at any given moment perched on the tip of a pin. Life had taught me that many times. The news unfolded in waves of shock… then the conflicting stories… matched by … [Read more...]
Growing green sectional title schemes
Rising utility costs, paired with competitively priced sustainable tools to supplement municipal electricity and water use, mean that sectional title schemes are becoming a more viable marketplace for the green building sector. While each scheme has unique characteristics, their expenses are often centred around meeting similar needs, namely: electricity and water use, … [Read more...]
Driving water conservation through adjusted pricing models
South Africa remains under pressure when it comes to efficient water use and conservation, where limited supply is increasingly stressed by rising demand, aged and insufficient infrastructure and lack of consumer awareness. South Africa is rated as the 39th driest country in the world, receiving only half the average annual rainfall that the rest of the world can expect. … [Read more...]
Cape High Court rules in favour of the PHA Campaign
In a precedent-setting ruling, Judge Kate Savage on Monday declared that South African municipalities must take climate change and water scarcity into account when making planning decisions. The Western Cape High Court ruling states that the rezone permission and environmental authorisations for the development known as Oaklands City are suspended, and must be returned to … [Read more...]
Constitutional Court rules against Mpumalanga coal mining
The Constitutional Court has had the final say on the approvals for a coal mine inside an Mpumalanga Protected Area and Strategic Water Source Area. Earlier this month, the Constitutional Court refused the mining company’s final challenge of a 2018 High Court decision to set aside Ministerial approvals for the proposal coal mine. The Mabola Protected Environment near … [Read more...]
Project Manager needed for River Ambassadors Programme
The Cape Town Environmental Education Trust (CTEET) are looking for a highly motivated, enthusiastic self-starter to project manage a novel training programme linked to river corridor rehabilitation. This position requires an engaging person with the relevant field experience and desire to mentor young trainees. Job Information Location: River corridors in Cape Town. … [Read more...]
Water and wine in the spotlight at SAPICS 2019
Recognising the importance of water as a life-sustaining resource and reflecting its commitment to the critical drive for environmentally sustainable supply chains, SAPICS, The Professional Body for Supply Chain Management, has put water management in the spotlight at the upcoming SAPICS Conference. This event, which is Africa’s leading knowledge sharing and networking event … [Read more...]
Cool clean tech to tackle climate change
South African entrepreneurs are taking climate change seriously: Water filters made from macadamia nut shells, a mobile solar-powered kiosk for charging phones in off-grid areas, vegetable growing systems using recycled plastic bags, and a machine that turns any type of waste into energy (gas) or diesel. At the SEED South Africa Symposium held in Pretoria recently, … [Read more...]
Ecological restoration conference coming to Cape Town
The Society for Ecological Restoration is organizing the 8th World Conference on Ecological Restoration. It will be held in Cape Town from 24 - 28 September 2019. SER2019 connects researchers, practitioners, policymakers, industry professionals, and students with backgrounds in natural and social sciences, environmental engineering, urban and regional planning, natural … [Read more...]
Increasing water scarcity remains a deadly threat to SA’s poor
Today is World Water Day. South Africa’s water security continues to be vulnerable and has again come into focus following the findings of a UN report warning that global water scarcity is increasing. National Water Week, overlapping Human Rights Day and World Water Day, is serving to highlight findings in the United Nations World Water Development Report 2019 (WWDR) which … [Read more...]
