This year has seen its share of explosive volcanic activity, from Hawaii's Kilauea eruptions that have so far forced more than 1,700 people to evacuate their homes to Guatemala's Fuego volcano eruption in early June that killed at least 99 people. However, these volcanoes are just two of many active volcanoes around the globe. Mount Yasur, Vanuatu Mount Yasur on the Tanna … [Read more...]
Why India is the world’s deadliest country for forest rangers
On February 20, 2017, range forest officer (RFO) Daulat Ram Lader was having his ritual after-dinner tea with wife Pushpa when there was a knock at the door. Lader was posted at Lailunga, Dharamjaigarh forest division, in Chhattisgarh’s Raigarh district. Lader opened the door and stepped out to speak with the visitors. An hour later, his body, hacked to death, was found some … [Read more...]
Bring Your Own Bag campaign aims to keep the seas trash free
Every year South Africans use approximately 8 billion plastic bags, and less than 1% are recycled. Most end up in landfills or the ocean. With the support of A Rocha “Christians in Conservation,” South African Churches have launched a campaign to reduce the use of plastic shopping bags. At the launch, Rethink The Bag campaign founder Hayley MacLellan shared stories of the … [Read more...]
Chevron attacked for poisoning ancestral lands in the Amazon rainforest
A prominent Canadian Indigenous leader and lawyer, Grand Chief Wilton Littlechild, has issued a blistering critique of Chevron in a United Nations speech for poisoning ancestral lands in the Amazon rainforest and engaging in “countless violations” of Indigenous peoples’ rights related to the dumping of billions of gallons of oil waste in Ecuador. The speech by Chief … [Read more...]
Prospect of mining on Olifants River estuary alarms fishermen
Traditional fishermen in the Olifants River estuary are alarmed at a decision by the government to grant prospecting rights to controversial Australian mining company Mineral Sands Resources on the northern bank of the estuary. This is the third largest estuary on the South African coastline and one of the country’s most pristine estuarine systems. The estuary, also host to … [Read more...]
Minister Mantashe a no show at KZN mining discussions
The DMR Minister, Gwede Mantashe, has failed to honour his commitment to visit the KwaZulu-Natal province today to discuss the Mining Charter. Members of the community gathered from Newcastle area (Normandien, Kliprand Farm and Uitkomst communities) and Somkhele, where Petmin’s coal mine is being challenged by local community people. More than 70 people travelled to … [Read more...]
Wildlands praise recycling efforts in Colesberg
A group of nine hard-working residents in Colesberg (Northern Cape) signed up as Wildlands’ Waste-preneurs in 2016 with a goal of keeping their communities clean and green, while providing for their families. Continuous efforts made by this group have resulted in them forming a company known as A9. This allows them to be formally recognised as a business and draw more attention … [Read more...]
Pesticides and human health: the UK government’s ‘elephant in the room’
The UK Government currently has a consultation running until 8th May entitled ‘Health and Harmony: the future for food, farming and the environment in a Green Brexit.’ A promising title I thought! That was until I read the various consultation documents - produced by DEFRA - where it became abundantly clear that, despite the title, there is a glaring omission of anything human … [Read more...]
Meet the people building alternatives to mining in Colombia
On the 26th March 2017, citizens from the mountainous municipality of Cajamarca, Colombia, voted, with a 98% majority, to ban South African miner AngloGold Ashanti’s vast La Colosa gold mining project, in a ‘popular consultation’ led by grassroots youth activists and small-scale farmers. One year on, and Cajamarca’s victory has helped inspire a much wider movement of … [Read more...]
Xolobeni community fights for a voice in mining decisions
From Monday 23 April until Wednesday 25 April, the Amadiba Crisis Committee (ACC) will be meeting the department of mineral resources (DMR) and Australian mining conglomerate Transworld Energy and Minerals (TEM) in the Pretoria High Court regarding the Xolobeni farming community. The ACC, along with the Legal Resources Centre (LRC), will be arguing that in terms of the existing … [Read more...]
Water expert talks drought lessons at Mensa
In South Africa 98% of all potential raw water sources are already allocated for use. Increasing urbanisation and demand for safe sanitation place heavy demands on our water resources. The Department of Water & Sanitation estimates that R7-billion in potable water is lost annually. That amounts to 36% of the clean drinking water supply! Dr Jo Barnes, epidemiologist and … [Read more...]
The battle to save Groot Marico River
Egbert van Bart sits on a riempie bench on the stoep of the Groot Marico Visitors Information Centre, stroking the long grey beard flowing down his thin neck. Here, on the deserted main street of the “beautifully weird” bushveld dorp, he recites a well-used passage by South African author Herman Charles Bosman, describing the North West town. “There’s no other place I … [Read more...]
Community-run recycling initiative receives much-needed equipment
The Tembisa Self Help Association of the Disabled (T-SHAD) is a community based development programme initiated in 1990. PETCO is supporting the great work undertaken by T-SHAD through the sponsorship of much-needed protective equipment and recycling infrastructure. T-SHAD established a self-help factory with various income generating projects where people with … [Read more...]
