In rare good news for the endangered white rhino, the Minister of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries last week announced that SA has experienced a significant decline in rhino poaching since the lockdown commenced, writes Legalbrief. According to a report on ... Read More
Eskom's desire to avoid spending R42bn in reducing sulphur dioxide emissions at one of its largest power plants isn't legally feasible, according to the Department of Environmental Affairs. In addition to getting government approval, SA’s biggest air polluter ... Read More
The process to procure ‘emergency’ energy capacity edged closer to being realised this week, with a decision by SA’s energy regulator that it should proceed. A Business Day report notes while it was intended as an urgent measure to tackle ... Read More
Lawyers for Human Rights has taken up the case of recyclers who claim lockdown policies discriminate against them, which has resulted in them being harassed by security officials. According to a Daily Maverick report, Thandeka Chauke of Lawyers for Human ... Read More
A second ministerial directive has been issued on measures being taken to curb the spread of Covid-19 in the biodiversity sector, reports Pam Saxby for Legalbrief Policy Watch. Apparently building on the 14 May directive, it focuses on ‘specimens and ... Read More
There appears to be a mismatch between Tourism Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane’s recent pronouncements on Covid-19 lockdown level three operations in the sector for which she is responsible and the 28 May disaster management regulations, suggests Legabrief Policy Watch's Pam Saxby ... Read More
Rural South African communities are seeing their land rights diminished as mining companies seek to entrench their power. The people of Mpukunyoni in KZN are the latest in a growing list of such communities fighting to keep their homes as ... Read More
The Covid-19 pandemic has the immediate attention of policymakers, but the SA Reserve Bank (SARB) is not taking its eye off the big picture. ‘The Financial Stability Review (FSR) released last week had a section on the climate crisis,’ ... Read More
Namibia has killed 10 elephants over the past two months to prevent the freely roaming animals from trampling crops, the Environment Ministry said last week. An Eyewitness News report notes that the southern African country is home to over 24 ... Read More
The Rwandan Ministry of Environment is set to ban the use and supply of charcoal in Kigali city as it steps up efforts to protect the environment by reducing the use of wood fuel. According to a New Times report ... Read More
The Cabo Delgado provincial court in northern Mozambique has sentenced two poachers to six years' imprisonment for hunting in the Quirimbas National Park, according a report on the allAfrica site. The two men are peasants living inside this conservation area ... Read More
The US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit has ruled that most of the public officials named as defendants in the federal Flint water crisis lawsuit should remain in the case. A Jurist report notes that the opinion affirms ... Read More
The Hague Court ruled against anti-5G activists this week, allowing the Netherlands to roll out 5G nationwide. According to a Jurist report, Stop5GNL, a foundation that aims to protect and promote the health of Dutch residents in general and in ... Read More
Forests are at risk of being degraded as a result of Covid-19. A Cape Argus report notes that for millions of poor people who have lost casual work in cities and are returning to their homes in rural areas, ‘the ... Read More
Water harvested from airBeth Koigi from Kenya has co-founded an innovative way to produce water from the air in regions that are drought-stricken. Koigi, who co-founded Majik Water, has created a new source of clean drinking water by using condensation ... Read More
Fires boost rock-jumpers' survivalScientists studying the Cape rock-jumper say the bird has an unlikely ally that boosts its chances of raising chicks: wildfires. Krista Oswald, whose findings were published last month in the journal Ibis, found that rock-jumpers suffered significant ... Read More
UCT academic a WEF Young ScientistUCT scientist Dr Sarah Fawcett has been hand-picked for the prestigious Young Scientists programme. Every year, the World Economic Forum selects an elite group of researchers under the age of 40 to take part. Fawcett ... Read More
