In South Africa, an environmental impact assessment (EIA) for oil and petroleum exploration activities is no longer mandatory because Section 39 of the Minerals and Petroleum Resources Development Act has been withdrawn. This effectively means the oil and gas industry polices and monitors itself. Petroleum Geo-Services (PGS) is applying for a reconnaissance permit for an … [Read more...]
Critical water resources gobbled up by alien invasives
As South Africa continues to battle the drought which is further impacting on already scarce water supplies, the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) is implementing measures to conserve wetlands – a primary source of fresh water – and to prevent the loss of water resources to alien invasive plants. Since long before the era of the Egyptian Pharaohs, wetlands have supported the … [Read more...]
An uncertain future for our living blue planet
A new report on the health of the ocean finds that the marine vertebrate population has declined by 49 percent between 1970 and 2012. WWF’s Living Blue Planet Report tracks 5,829 populations of 1,234 mammal, bird, reptile, and fish species through a marine living planet index. The evidence, analyzed by researchers at the Zoological Society of London, paints a troubling … [Read more...]
New study confirms Earth’s sixth mass extinction has begun
We are currently witnessing the start of a mass extinction event the likes of which have not been seen on Earth for at least 65 million years. This is the alarming finding of a new study published in the journal Science Advances. The research was designed to determine how human actions over the past 500 years have affected the extinction rates of vertebrates: mammals, fish, … [Read more...]
Overcoming exploitation and other major threats to biodiversity
Can the planet still bear the growing human population and sustain plant and animal species to the benefit of all? With only one planet and limited natural resources available for the survival of all living creatures, including seven billion people worldwide, the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) calls on all South Africans to join us in marking this International Day for … [Read more...]
