https://news.mongabay.com/list/africa/ Environmental science and conservation news Fri, 17 Nov 2023 04:37:44 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.3.2 https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2020/05/16160320/cropped-mongabay_icon-32x32.png https://news.mongabay.com/list/africa/ 32 32 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/new-study-pushes-for-protection-of-one-of-africas-least-understood-treasures/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/new-study-pushes-for-protection-of-one-of-africas-least-understood-treasures/#respond 15 Nov 2023 07:30:14 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=275312 - The Angolan Highlands Water Tower contains peatlands and freshwater lakes that supply major rivers in the region, and the wildlife-rich Okavango Delta in Botswana.
- Despite this vital hydrological role, the water tower currently has no formal protection.
- The team behind the study hopes it will help to strengthen the case for recognition of a vast portion of the water tower as a Ramsar Site of International Importance.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/new-study-pushes-for-protection-of-one-of-africas-least-understood-treasures/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/disturbing-graves-is-latest-violation-attributed-to-east-african-oil-pipeline/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/disturbing-graves-is-latest-violation-attributed-to-east-african-oil-pipeline/#respond 14 Nov 2023 17:04:00 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=275392 - Surveys in affected communities found numerous cases where residents said TotalEnergies, the French oil giant leading the project, had disturbed and disrespected the graves of their families and ancestors, despite their best efforts to alert the company to their presence.
- TotalEnergies says the process of identifying and relocating burial sites, and paying compensation to affected people, has been carried out in line with international standards.
- Since its inception in 2017, the EACOP project has been dogged by criticism over its environmental, social and climate change impacts.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/disturbing-graves-is-latest-violation-attributed-to-east-african-oil-pipeline/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/are-flame-retardants-about-to-burn-a-hole-in-biodiversity-commentary/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/are-flame-retardants-about-to-burn-a-hole-in-biodiversity-commentary/#respond 13 Nov 2023 21:28:28 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=275341 - These chemicals are added to furniture, electronics and vehicles but routinely escape such products and are found in the blood of wildlife species such as baboons, chimpanzees, and red colobus monkeys with unknown effects, but in humans these exposures are associated with lower IQs, reduced fertility, and an elevated risk of cancer.
- “Even though we lack data on flame retardants in wildlife from most tropical areas with high levels of biodiversity, the findings from Uganda strongly suggest that wildlife in other tropical ecosystems are probably affected as well,” a new op-ed states in arguing for a rapid reduction in their use.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily of Mongabay.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/are-flame-retardants-about-to-burn-a-hole-in-biodiversity-commentary/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/mongabay-discusses-the-launch-of-africa-news-bureau-with-director-david-akana/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/mongabay-discusses-the-launch-of-africa-news-bureau-with-director-david-akana/#respond 13 Nov 2023 13:11:39 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=275310 - Akana’s interest in environmental journalism was sparked when he joined a radio project in 2002 highlighting environmental challenges in the Congo Basin, leading to specialized training and a career centered on the environment.
- Akana’s vision for Mongabay Africa is to position it as a leading source of African conservation news, prioritizing high-quality journalism, visual storytelling and multilingual content distribution.
- Akana emphasizes the global significance of African environmental issues, stating that Africa’s response to climate change, biodiversity loss and governance issues directly impacts the world, making Mongabay Africa’s news relevant to a global audience.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/mongabay-discusses-the-launch-of-africa-news-bureau-with-director-david-akana/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/kenyan-government-again-evicts-ogiek-communities-from-mau-forest/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/kenyan-government-again-evicts-ogiek-communities-from-mau-forest/#respond 08 Nov 2023 19:21:22 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=275191 - The evictions are taking place despite a 2017 ruling by an African court of human rights that acknowledged the Ogiek’s claim to the forest as well as their traditional role in preserving it.
- Kenya Forest Service officials say they are acting against people who are living and farming in the forest illegally.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/kenyan-government-again-evicts-ogiek-communities-from-mau-forest/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/mongabay-launches-africa-news-bureau/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/mongabay-launches-africa-news-bureau/#respond 08 Nov 2023 08:48:58 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=275095 - The bureau will support original reporting on wildlife conservation, development pressures, natural resource industries, and climate change impacts in Africa.
- This expansion aligns with Mongabay’s efforts to provide credible independent journalism, make science accessible, elevate voices impacted by environmental change, and serve a diverse audience with free news in various languages and formats.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/mongabay-launches-africa-news-bureau/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/deforestation-continues-in-kenyas-largest-water-capturing-forest-satellites-show/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/deforestation-continues-in-kenyas-largest-water-capturing-forest-satellites-show/#respond 07 Nov 2023 22:13:07 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=275130 - More than 19% of tree cover was lost between 2001 and 2022, mostly due to agriculture.
- Unclear boundaries and limited enforcement allow illegal logging and agricultural expansion to continue, degrading protected reserves.
- Conservationists argue stronger monitoring and enforcement is urgently needed to save Mau Forest and preserve its rich biodiversity and water resources.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/deforestation-continues-in-kenyas-largest-water-capturing-forest-satellites-show/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/forest-elephants-are-the-glue-holding-congo-rainforests-together-experts-say/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/forest-elephants-are-the-glue-holding-congo-rainforests-together-experts-say/#respond 07 Nov 2023 21:17:50 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=275064 - Without them, the Congo rainforest would lose carbon stocks and biodiversity, and the composition of the forest itself would change.
- Yet the full ecological value of this charismatic species — and the ecosystem impacts if it is lost — are not fully understood, so increased funding for study and conservation is needed, experts say.
- On this final episode of the Mongabay Explores the Congo Basin podcast season, Andrew Davies, assistant professor of organismic and evolutionary biology at Harvard University, and Fiona “Boo” Maisels, a conservation scientist at the Wildlife Conservation Society, detail the unique value of forest elephants, what still remains unknown, and why urgent protection is needed.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/forest-elephants-are-the-glue-holding-congo-rainforests-together-experts-say/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/can-carbon-markets-solve-africas-climate-finance-woes/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/can-carbon-markets-solve-africas-climate-finance-woes/#respond 07 Nov 2023 13:15:04 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=275075 - The effort has gained the vocal support of Kenyan President William Ruto, along with a number of other African heads of state, who see carbon markets as a way to generate badly needed climate finance.
- But African environmental groups have sharply criticized carbon markets, saying they represent a “false solution” to the climate crisis and will mostly enrich bankers and traders based outside the continent.
- The drive to scale up carbon markets in Africa and elsewhere is set to be a major agenda item at this month’s COP28 climate summit in Dubai.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/can-carbon-markets-solve-africas-climate-finance-woes/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/a-mobile-solution-for-kenyan-pastoralists-livestock-is-a-plus-for-wildlife-too/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/a-mobile-solution-for-kenyan-pastoralists-livestock-is-a-plus-for-wildlife-too/#respond 06 Nov 2023 17:07:52 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=275012 - The bomas reduce the risk of disease and predation among livestock, while allowing for the regeneration of degraded grazing land, which in turn draws in more wild herbivores to the area.
- The increased wildlife presence has led to a rise in wildlife tourism, valued at $7.5 million annually in the 2,400-hectare (6,000-acre) Enonkishu Conservancy.
- Observers warn of potential downsides, however, including food insecurity as community members abandon farming in favor of more lucrative tourism work, and a rise in human-wildlife conflict as the area’s wildlife population grows.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/a-mobile-solution-for-kenyan-pastoralists-livestock-is-a-plus-for-wildlife-too/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/community-forest-association-helps-hold-the-line-to-protect-mount-kenya-forest/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/community-forest-association-helps-hold-the-line-to-protect-mount-kenya-forest/#respond 06 Nov 2023 15:29:38 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=275023 - Despite this, 20% of the Afromontane forests in this region have been lost to fire, illegal logging and invasive species over the past 20 years.
- The forest association’s chair says some local residents continue to encroach on forest reserves in the area — and that enforcement could be stronger.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/community-forest-association-helps-hold-the-line-to-protect-mount-kenya-forest/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/namibia-hosted-africas-1st-community-led-conservation-congress-where-will-it-lead/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/namibia-hosted-africas-1st-community-led-conservation-congress-where-will-it-lead/#respond 01 Nov 2023 21:32:28 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=274927 - Hundreds of Indigenous and local community groups, conservation organizations, governments and policymakers gathered to strategize how communities can play a bigger role in African conservation efforts, which are typically dominated by big international NGOs.
- Participants said more work will be required on the local, regional and national levels to address the challenges of turning goals for the inclusion of communities in conservation into practical actions.
- Organizers say this congress is a starting point to elevating community voices in Africa while they’ve chosen a new alliance, the Alliance for Indigenous People and Local Communities for Conservation in Africa (AICA), to be a representative voice for communities across the continent.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/namibia-hosted-africas-1st-community-led-conservation-congress-where-will-it-lead/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/10/world-heritage-site-listing-for-ethiopian-park-leads-to-eviction-of-farming-community/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/10/world-heritage-site-listing-for-ethiopian-park-leads-to-eviction-of-farming-community/#respond 30 Oct 2023 17:27:02 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=274761 - Home to a wealth of biodiversity, the park has experienced a dramatic increase in illegal human settlements, which park officials and conservationists say threatens its natural resources, forest cover, and habitat for rare and endemic species.
- Community members have mixed feelings about the planned relocation, with longtime residents mostly opposing it due to attachment to the land and fear over their livelihoods, and others open to receiving fair compensation in exchange.
- The relocation strategy is still in its initial stages and hasn’t officially been shared with communities, though UNESCO and Ethiopian officials underline the importance of consulting the locals and supporting their livelihoods.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/10/world-heritage-site-listing-for-ethiopian-park-leads-to-eviction-of-farming-community/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/10/gorilla-permit-fraud-dents-community-led-conservation-efforts-in-uganda/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/10/gorilla-permit-fraud-dents-community-led-conservation-efforts-in-uganda/#respond 27 Oct 2023 14:06:57 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=274715 - A recent audit at the UWA showed that some corrupt officials were issuing fake permits, diverting revenue away from the agency and impacting its conservation work, including project funding for communities at the frontline of gorilla conservation.
- In response, the agency suspended 14 staff members suspected of fraud, initiated a thorough probe, and rolled out a new system for issuing permits and collecting revenue.
- Communities living near the gorilla parks, many of whom have faced restrictions on traditional rights to the forests as a result of their protected status, say they’re aware of the scandal and that it’s only the latest in their litany of grievances against the UWA.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/10/gorilla-permit-fraud-dents-community-led-conservation-efforts-in-uganda/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/10/oil-firm-perenco-eyes-new-blocks-in-drc-amid-criticism-of-its-track-record/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/10/oil-firm-perenco-eyes-new-blocks-in-drc-amid-criticism-of-its-track-record/#respond 24 Oct 2023 09:27:24 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=274572 - Perenco operates the country’s only oil production facilities, at Muanda, near the mouth of the Congo River.
- Local and international critics accuse the oil company of polluting the environment, affecting fishing and farming, as well as residents’ health; the company denies this.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/10/oil-firm-perenco-eyes-new-blocks-in-drc-amid-criticism-of-its-track-record/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/10/mine-in-world-cobalt-capital-displaces-locals-and-monks-under-questionable-circumstances/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/10/mine-in-world-cobalt-capital-displaces-locals-and-monks-under-questionable-circumstances/#respond 23 Oct 2023 16:42:17 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=274509 - The relocation process is being done under questionable circumstances, including providing compensation payments under the table which don’t always meet amounts needed to buy a decent home, contradictory statements, lack of consultation, and few traces of written documentation to fact-check claims made by local government officials, the mining company and displaced people.
- The demand for cobalt, a critical mineral for the clean energy transition, is expected to increase and lead to the eviction of communities who find themselves living above their deposits, say energy experts.
- The mining company’s lawyer says the relocation process is happening fairly, payments are calculated alongside officials and civil society groups, and the land and buildings, like schools, rather belong to the company’s owners.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/10/mine-in-world-cobalt-capital-displaces-locals-and-monks-under-questionable-circumstances/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/10/african-ngos-seek-more-funds-trust-and-autonomy-in-global-partnerships/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/10/african-ngos-seek-more-funds-trust-and-autonomy-in-global-partnerships/#respond 20 Oct 2023 16:16:22 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=274426 - The biggest pain points in these often lopsided relationships Africa appear to be money, trust, and autonomy, the report says.
- More than half of the local organizations surveyed in Maliasili’s “Rooting for Change” report cited a lack of trust as a challenge in partnerships.
- “We want a supporting relationship rather than a dictatorial partner,” John Kamanga, co-founder and director of the Southern Rift Association of Landowners (SORALO) in Kenya, told the report authors, and “a willingness to co-design and build from our ideas.”
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/10/african-ngos-seek-more-funds-trust-and-autonomy-in-global-partnerships/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/10/as-companies-buy-plastic-credits-are-they-reducing-waste-or-greenwashing/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/10/as-companies-buy-plastic-credits-are-they-reducing-waste-or-greenwashing/#respond 19 Oct 2023 14:43:38 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=274414 - No worldwide standards or regulations govern the use of these plastic credits or assure their reliability, nor what gets done with the collected waste. Verra, which runs the world’s largest carbon credit verification system, but has come under fire for that system’s poor verification record, recently launched its own plastic credits verification system.
- Skeptics warn the plastic credit systems being created by various organizations, rather than recycling significant plastic waste, merely amount to greenwashing and allow companies to continue to make and use polluting materials, while running PR campaigns to make themselves look environmentally responsible.
- The credit system at best only deals with waste already manufactured and thrown out; it doesn’t address the need to ban the most toxic plastics, reduce production of others, or replace disposable single-use plastic with eco-friendly or reusable materials. Verra is urging that plastic credits become part of the U.N. global plastics treaty currently under negotiation.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/10/as-companies-buy-plastic-credits-are-they-reducing-waste-or-greenwashing/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/10/south-africas-penguins-heading-toward-extinction-will-no-fishing-zones-help/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/10/south-africas-penguins-heading-toward-extinction-will-no-fishing-zones-help/#respond 17 Oct 2023 19:05:17 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=274353 - To protect the bird’s food supply and slow its population collapse, South Africa is throwing a protective no-fishing cordon around its main breeding colonies for a period of 10 years.
- But the devil is in the details, and conservationists say the cordons are too small to ensure the penguins get enough fish.
- Negotiations over whether to adjust the cordons are continuing in advance of an early 2024 deadline.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/10/south-africas-penguins-heading-toward-extinction-will-no-fishing-zones-help/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/10/its-a-real-mess-mining-and-deforestation-threaten-unparalleled-drc-wildlife-haven/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/10/its-a-real-mess-mining-and-deforestation-threaten-unparalleled-drc-wildlife-haven/#respond 13 Oct 2023 01:41:12 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=274269 - Deforestation in the reserve is accelerating, according to data from Global Forest Watch.
- Artisanal and semi-industrial mining is a grave threat to the reserve, leading to deforestation and pollution of waterways, particularly in the south of the reserve along the Ituri River and the National Road 4.
- A disagreement over the boundaries of the reserve between park authorities and the mining cadastre complicates law enforcement and requires resolution at the ministerial level.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/10/its-a-real-mess-mining-and-deforestation-threaten-unparalleled-drc-wildlife-haven/feed/ 0