It’s easy to be laid low by all that ails our planet. But the cure lies in taking incremental steps, celebrating small wins and building on them.
People – nature relationships
The world’s foremost body for climate assessments has never been headed by a woman or anyone from Africa. South Africa’s Professor Debra Roberts aims to rectify both by throwing her hat into the ring to be elected chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
As the next generation aspires to build a brighter future, Columba Leadership South Africa is determined to play its role
20 Jun: Tipping Points Episode 14: New voices for Africa – young environmentalists share their ideas
Read some background and insights from the young panelists, joining the OGRC Tipping Points webinar on 22 June, about how their perspective as a youth informs their priorities for environmental and conservation matters in Africa. They also unpack what makes them want to get up in the morning, and want to change things for the better.
Tumi Mphahlele has, found a way to turn one of the “100 of the World’s Worst Invasive Alien Species” (water hyacinth) from a destructive pest into one with an ecological and economic purpose.
Science, even when it comes up with answers to important problems, is often viewed by the public as Quixotic, a whimsical business of tilting at windmills, says Professor Andre Ganswindt, the director of the Mammal Research Institute “MRI” at the University of Pretoria. “As scientists,” he says, “we say ‘here is the problem’. People say, ‘we hear you’, but nothing happens. Do they not understand, or do they not want to?”
South Africa is famous for wildlife conservation and is recognized as a global leader in the management of wildlife resources, considered number three in the world in terms of biodiversity conservation. This has been achieved through the hard work of active management and careful intervention.
Yves Vanderhaeghen interviews a team of UKZN researchers studying how biodiversity can curtail both extreme flooding and the potential perils of heat stress in cities.
In a first for the African continent, researchers at the University of Cape Town are using a cutting-edge technique to fast-track the diagnosis of disease, ensuring patients receive the correct treatment sooner.
Yves Vanderhaeghen reports on a social enterprise aiming to farm and harvest Honeybush tea and regenerate the Langkloof catchment area at the same time.