Alfred Lahai Gbabai Brownell, the Liberian environmental activist and lawyer who protected half-a-million acres of tropical forest on the traditional lands of local communities from destruction for palm oil production, has won the 2019 Goldman Environmental Prize for his work.
Southern Africa has yet to recover from Cyclone Idai, which devastated Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe, leaving over 1 000 people dead. Now another tropical cyclone, dubbed “Kenneth”, is predicted to hit Mozambique and Tanzania in the coming week. Despite the tumultuous turn that the climate has taken, the vast majority of the people agitating for action are the continent’s young.
For Earth Day 2019, the theme “Protect Our Species” aims to draw attention to the rapid extinction of species on our planet today. This phenomenon is directly linked to human activities. The Earth Day Network believes that we are now losing species at 1 000 to 10 000 times the normal rate.
Rwanda, Kenya and Burundi have been pioneers as the only members of the East African Community to ban the production, importation, sale and use of all single-use plastic bags. Now Tanzania has made a formal commitment to phase out single-use non-biodegradable plastics.
African penguins, known for their irregular markings and loud call, are in sharp decline. The species has gone from a population of more than a million at the beginning of the 20th century to being endangered. South African bioscientist Patrick Mafunda is using in-vitro fertilisation to help the species survive.
Ivorian chocolate maker Dana Mroueh is making organic, eco-friendly chocolate in an industry that poses a threat to the environment because it spurs the particularly aggressive deforestation in Ivory Coast. Less than 4% of the country’s forest land remains – and what is left may be completely felled by 2030.
Getting started on a drastic new lifestyle can be daunting and often the myths associated with it can deter you entirely. Here we debunk some of the myths that surround plastic-free living to help you get started on an environmentally sensitive lifestyle.
Increasingly, African cities are being covered in litter, dumpsites and mounds and mounds of garbage, the majority of which is plastic. Given the environment’s turn for the worse, it is time for us to analyse our personal contribution to waste management.
The world’s first expedition in a boat made from plastic waste and flipflops is on a 14-day journey from Lamu, Kenya, to Stone town, Zanzibar. The Flipflopi-Clean Seas expedition aims to raise awareness of the dangers of single-use plastics.
African cities take part in Car free days with Rwanda and Ethiopia taking the lead. The monthly or bi-monthly event is promoted by local NGOs and governments to promote a healthy lifestyle and fight air pollution.
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