PEOPLE • PLACES • PLANET
A recent commentary by Renato A. F. de Lima and 25 colleagues from a range of countries presents a call for recognising the massive intellectual, financial, and personal investment made by people collecting field ecological data globally. They argue that the international push to make forest plot data “FAIR” (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) has made the situation more UNFAIR, by degrading the rights and opportunities of those who invested in collecting the data.
Carbon credits trade in carbon emissions or savings and have been proposed as a way of balancing profit with combating climate change. This sounds like a win-win situation. But is it a one-size-fits all solution to global warming? The third in our Tipping Points webinar series tackled the question: “Green gold or green gremlin: Can carbon credits really work for Africa?” Speakers Professor Sally Archibald, Barney Kgope and Dorothy Naitore gave their perspectives on the matter.
Tipping Points returned this March for our second webinar in the series. The speakers, Dr Andy Cunliffe and Mthokozisi Moyo tackled the question, “How does landscape-scale research contribute to climate conversations?”
While the UK government has been considering a ban on imports of hunting trophies, the South African government recently approved an annual maximum quota of ten legal trophy hunts of endangered black rhinos for 2022. South Africa has permitted white rhino hunts, without quota limits, since 1972.
How do we steer a path towards Africanfuturism, away from colonial narratives of what is fit for Africa? Laura Pereira (with insight from her colleagues) argues that retrieving indigenous knowledge through storytelling and exploring transdisciplinary visioning in Africa allow for a more radical way of thinking about possible sustainable futures.
We live in the age of the Anthropocene – a period during which human activity is having to have a significant impact on the planet’s climate and ecosystems. In this era we have seen many flourish, but at great cost to the environment and the species we share the planet with.
The University of Pretoria has commemorated two research chairs funded by the Oppenheimer Generations Research & Conservation and the Benjamin Raymond Oppenheimer Trust (BRO Trust). The University’s partnership with Nicky, Strilli and Jonathan Oppenheimer to promote underfunded research areas has resulted in one research chair in non-invasive wildlife research and another in molecular archaeology receiving funding.
The fragility of business models for Africa’s protected areas has been exposed by continent-wide closure of the tourism sector in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. These areas have traditionally relied on three sources of funding – subsidies from national governments, tourism-related revenues such as entrance fees and leasing fees for lodges, and international aid. National funding for African protected areas has always been modest. During the lockdown, tourism revenue disappeared, and multilateral aid flows were redirected to Covid-related priorities.
Africa’s iconic wildlife forms a key part of the continent’s identity and is globally significant, both ecologically and economically. As the twenty-first century progresses, how is Africa’s economy likely to evolve and what role will this vital natural heritage play within it?