More than 50 people were killed in southern and eastern parts of South Africa after heavy rains caused flooding and mudslides, authorities said on Wednesday. Rescue workers were digging through collapsed homes and other buildings in coastal areas of KwaZulu-Natal province, where the death toll stood at 51, local officials said. There are also over […]

Extreme weather events, such as Cyclone Idai that has recently devastated Beira, Mozambique, and Hurricane Harvey that hit Houston, USA, in 2017 are the types of climate extremes that cities increasingly have to prepare for. Cities, particularly those with extensive informal settlements in the developing world, are being hit hard by these new climatic realities. […]

BEIRA, Mozambique – Hundreds of thousands of people are in need of food, water and shelter after Cyclone Idai battered Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi. And, as of today (Tues), at least 843 people had been reported killed by the storm, the flooding it caused and heavy rains before it hit. View the factbox at the […]

Kenyans have taken to social media to protest against what they claim is illegal sand harvesting off Diani beach, one of the country’s most popular coastal areas. The Conversation Africa’s Moina Spooner spoke to David Obura about why this is an issue. Is sand harvesting a problem on the Kenyan coast? The harvesting of sand […]

The Marula tree (Sclerocarya birrea) is a local alternative to the Jacarandas and Madagascan Flamboyants. Jacarandas and Flamboyants are some of my pet peeves when it comes to gardening and trees. Not only are they aggressive invasives throughout Southern Africa, but they are also messy and destructive trees writes Nick Bredenkamp. Jacarandas roots are very […]

Johannesburg is famous for having one of the largest urban forests in the world, but now the South African city faces losing much of that extraordinary and beautiful 10-million tree canopy as a tiny beetle threatens to cause one of South Africa’s largest ecological tragedies. ‘Garden Style’ author Melanie Walker reports on the current crisis, […]

Once upon a time… in a beautiful forest on the magical Barberton Makhonjwa Mountains… writes Sheryn Nader who took these beautiful photographs of nature’s delight in South Africa’s newest world heritage site. Barberton Makhonjwa Mountains in Mpumalanga was officially declared a World Heritage Site in July 2018, becoming South Africa’s 10th World Heritage site, and the […]

Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg will not seek the Democratic nomination for U.S. president in 2020 but will instead launch an effort aimed at combating climate change, he said this week. A billionaire who could have sunk millions of his own dollars into a campaign, Bloomberg had publicly toyed with running and has […]

In this 14 minute video account the Red Bull Air Force takes to the skies from the Drakensberg Mountain Range in South Africa flying down the Sentinel and the Eastern Buttress. On this first-time journey, they attempt to base jump and wingsuit fly various iconic locations around the country. Experience the Red Bull Air Force […]

Government is set to launch a ground-breaking initiative that seeks to mobilize all South Africans to become more environmentally conscious. Dubbed the Good Green Deeds Campaign, it hopes to galvanize individuals in the private sector, labour, NGO’s, interfaith formations and society at large to clean South Africa. The campaign, which will be led by the […]

The City of Cape Town – and southwest Africa more generally – experienced its worst drought on record between 2015 and 2018. With fresh rains as well as careful water management, the city has now emerged from this environmental and economic emergency. The final consequences of the drought might never be known for certain. This […]

Stefan Graunke aka Coastal Ghost is a man on a mission: to stop at as many beaches as he can to collect as much rubbish as possible – a trip that will take him 2780kms around the South African Coastline. And you’re invited… “The more hands the better so come and join us for some […]

AfriForum launched its Anchor Town Roadshow in Pretoria on Monday. During this launch week, AfriForum personnel will pick up garbage in streets, paint road signs and clean up and deforest areas, as well as visit an animal shelter to present donations from the public. The Anchor Town Roadshow is a campaign aimed at creating a […]

After reports were sent to cabinet, water test results have not been released for five years. A countrywide water shortage is a decade away unless urgent action is taken to rehabilitate and preserve our rivers and catchment areas, fix and maintain crumbling infrastructure, and implement water re-use. Without intervention, South Africa faces a deficit of […]

We all want beautiful gardens, but it’s possible to have a lovely garden and have little impact on the world we live in. In fact, with the pressure of rural development on nature reserves, it’s our obligation to create new safe zones in our suburbs for bugs and birds, writes Nick Bredenkamp, South African freelance game […]

Water supply in the Eastern Cape is set to improve with the launch of the Mzimvubu Water Project’s advanced infrastructure. The R113 million advanced infrastructure project in Esiqhungqwini village in Tsolo will also contribute to job creation in the rural area. This infrastructure will allow easy access to the dam site and water treatment works, […]

Technology has made a tremendous difference in the world, in areas as diverse as health and education, and pretty much everything in between. But is technology the weapon that will ultimately eradicate animal poaching and save various species from eradication? It’s not a silver bullet, but it certainly has potential. That’s why Vulcan – a […]

The Department of Environmental Affairs will from Monday embark on a week-long robust public awareness drive to urge South Africans to protect and conserve wetlands in the North West province. According to the department, the campaign forms part of South Africa’s activities in marking the World Wetlands Day celebrated on 02 February 2019. This year’s […]

South Africa’s efforts to curb rhino poaching continue to produce results, with 2018 figures revealing that incidents had dropped to 769, down from 1 028 in 2017. This, said the Department of Environmental Affairs, is the third consecutive year that South Africa has seen a decline in rhino poaching and the first time in five […]

South Africa is historically a water scarce country, and prolonged droughts coupled with infrastructural decay have led us to start considering water conservation as a priority. As recent events in the Western Cape suggest, climate change is a reality and will affect us all. The question is, what can we do about it, writes Craig […]

Staying at a hotel on the Thai island of Koh Samui in 2015, South African born Meghan Kerrigan noticed the four bottles of water she was given every day were clogging her bin with plastic. Outside her door, Chaweng beach was smothered in rubbish. It was then that she and Kohler brothers, Ryan and Matthew, […]

A nearby community is convinced it is, but test results are inconclusive. Are residents of a Cape Town neighbourhood being poisoned by one of the city’s main waste treatment plants? A Carte Blanche exposé in January said yes. Residents of Sandvlei were shown suffering with sores and tummy infections. Scientists too have warned that the plant is […]

There’s a team of kind humans in South Africa who are currently taking on a mammoth task to help save hundreds of dehydrated and starving baby Flamingo chicks. The newborns are being stranded… abandoned by their parents as the dam water in the once magnificent Kamfers Dam has all but dried up. The dam, just […]

If you’re a South African expat living in the United States, look up into the night sky on Sunday and – if it is clear – you may witness the so-called “Super Blood Wolf Moon” total lunar eclipse, which will take a star turn across the continental US during prime time for viewing. The total […]

Following a deadly tsunami in Indonesia that struck coastal towns on the Sunda Strait on Saturday, 22 December 2018, the South African Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) has urged South Africans with family members in Indonesia whom they cannot contact or locate, to contact the department’s 24-hour switchboard number at 012 351 1000. […]