Environment + Energy – Views & Research

Mozambique ‘sky island’ expeditions found 4 new species of chameleon – already at risk from forest loss

Krystal Tolley, University of Johannesburg

Indigenous shrubs and grasses with a borehole drilling machine behind them

Boreholes are booming in a drying South Africa – how the government plans to tighten controls

Surina Esterhuyse, University of the Free State

A tree stump sits in a patch of burnt forest.

Our efforts to halt global forest loss aren’t working: new research

Chris Taylor, Australian National University; David Lindenmayer, Australian National University, and Maldwyn John Evans, Australian National University

Small businesses that go green could make a big impact in South Africa: study analyses what’s in their way

Obert Matarirano, Walter Sisulu University and Trust Chireka, University of Fort Hare

Five men stand around a work table in a workshop

Don’t just plant trees, plant forests to restore biodiversity for the future

John Parker, Smithsonian Institution and Justin Nowakowski, Smithsonian Institution

An aerial photo of the forests with the bay in the background.

South Africans want solar power but they worry panels will be stolen – study

Uzziah Mutumbi, Rhodes University; Gladman Thondhlana, University of Pretoria, and Sheunesu Ruwanza, Rhodes University

12 solar panels mounted on the ground surrounded by a fence

Disputes over Africa’s ocean resources: here’s what could help avoid them

Elizabeth Selig, Stanford University; Adelina Maria Mensah, University of Ghana; Mafaniso Hara, University of the Western Cape, and Moenieba Isaacs, University of the Western Cape

Small wooden boats lined up on the shore with over 100 people getting ready to go out to sea

South Africa’s farmers aren’t yet replacing chemical fertilisers with sustainable alternatives – this is why

Mokgadi Miranda Hlongwane, Tshwane University of Technology

Global trade in wild birds is poorly monitored – the risks to wildlife, ecosystems and human health

Rowan O. Martin, University of Cape Town; Astrid A. Andersson, University of Hong Kong, and Caroline Dingle, Capilano University

Hundreds of birds perched in rows inside a bare room

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Energy

A woman turning on an electric pressure cooker that is standing on a wooden chair with a bright blue wall in the background

Mini-grids can supply electricity, but what about demand? A private DRC project shows how it can work

Nik Stoop, University of Antwerp; Elie Lunanga, University of Antwerp; Marijke Verpoorten, University of Antwerp, and Sébastien Desbureaux, Université de Montpellier

Unpaved road with small houses and electricity lines

South Africa’s power utility Eskom wants to cut electricity to municipalities that haven’t paid: households may pay the price

Roula Inglesi-Lotz, University of Pretoria

South Africa will run out of industrial gas by 2028 and 70,000 jobs could be lost – why government fixes are lacking

Craig McGregor, Stellenbosch University

Connecting home solar and electric vehicle batteries to the grid could boost South Africa’s clean energy and strengthen the electricity system

David Richard Walwyn, University of Pretoria

Three workers on a roof of a house fitting a solar panel

Does South Africa have a future without power cuts? Ramaphosa intervenes, but the drama isn’t over

Rod Crompton, University of the Witwatersrand

A balding African man in a suit speaks at a podium.

Ramaphosa and a stable electricity system in South Africa: the devils are in the detail

Mark Swilling, Stellenbosch University

A power station funnel belching out smoke, a pylon in the foreground.

South Africa is moving away from coal – how mines and power stations could be used for green energy and farming

Sandeep Pai, Duke University and Jennifer Lee Broadhurst, University of Cape Town

Children play among shacks, with power station cooling towers in the background

Attacks on Nigeria’s energy systems weaken the country – research unpacks costs, risks and ways forward

Haruna Inuwa, University of Oxford; Alycia Leonard, University of Oxford, and Stephanie Hirmer, University of Oxford

Men displaying weapons while standing on a boat

Nigeria and South Africa plan to boost fossil fuel production, risking their climate change pledges

Emily Ghosh, Stockholm Environment Institute and Derik Broekhoff, Stockholm Environment Institute

A man walks on a marshy shore of a river polluted by oil spills

Natural World

Two women in green uniforms walk next to a tall fence

Should wildlife parks be fenced? We studied 60 African examples for an answer

Dirk Cilliers, North-West University; Claudine Alberts (Roos), North-West University; Francois Pieter Retief, North-West University; Jurie Moolman, North-West University; Reece C Alberts, North-West University, and Ruhan Verster

Seizure of 2,000 ants at Nairobi airport highlights the hidden scale of insect trafficking

Elliot Doornbos, Nottingham Trent University

Ancient bones show dogs have been woven into human life for nearly 16,000 years

Andrew Fairbairn, The University of Queensland; Douglas Baird, University of Liverpool, and Gokhan Mustafaoglu, Ankara Hacı Bayram Veli University

Striped mice survive harsh drought by slowing down and not getting stressed

Carsten Schradin, Université de Strasbourg; University of the Witwatersrand

Tourist visits to Madagascar help conserve some forests, but others suffer: study suggests what to do

Ranaivo Rasolofoson, University of Toronto; Camille DeSisto, Rice University, and Tristan Frappier-Brinton, Duke University

A cluster of giant baobab trees against a blue sky

Leopards adapted to South Africa’s Cape so successfully that they’re genetically unique – study

Laura Tensen, University of Greifswald

A spotted feline lies on a rock with grass behind it

Invasive mesquite plants do more than deplete water reserves – new research in South Africa shows they damage soil too

Siviwe Malongweni, Sol Plaatje University

Killer beetles in the baobabs: researcher warns of risk to African trees

Sarah Venter, University of the Witwatersrand

A few giant baobab trees stand in a dry, hilly landscape.

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Agriculture + Land

A woman tends to a pig behind an enclosure.

Women working in Uganda’s pig sector: how challenging prejudices can unlock opportunities – research

Esther Leah Achandi, International Livestock Research Institute

Violent conflicts are reshaping what Nigerian farmers grow: what this means for food security

Abeeb Babatunde Omotoso, North-West University and Abiodun Olusola Omotayo, University of Maryland Eastern Shore

A man and a boy in a field, carrying loads of plant material on their heads

Women farmers in South Africa pay the cost of broken irrigation systems – the story of one cooperative

Elizabeth Hull, SOAS, University of London

Hand holding small leafy plants with roots; field in background

Sierra Leoneans who live off the sea don’t trust farmed fish – but wild fish are in decline

Nwamaka Okeke-Ogbuafor, University of Glasgow and Salieu Kabba Sankoh, University of Sierra Leone

Cocoa farmers cut down trees for short-term gain, but keeping them is important – here’s why

Olly Owen, University of Oxford and Zoe Brown, University of Oxford

Cape Town project tests what hydroponic farming can do in urban spaces

Tinashe P. Kanosvamhira, University of Leeds; University of the Western Cape

A man in a white lab coat inspects rows of flourishing salad greens that are growing vertically on shelves, one above another

South Africa’s floods turned deadly because Limpopo wasn’t prepared – how to prevent a repeat

Ephias Mugari, University of Limpopo

Some one story buildings flooded three quarters of the way up to their roofs

Indigenous trees might be the secret to climate resilient dairy farming in Benin, says this new study

Alassan Assani Seidou, University of Pretoria

Cattle grazing on sparse grass among trees and shrubs

Small-scale farmers produce more of the rich world’s food than previously thought – new study

Oliver Taherzadeh, Leiden University

Water

Handpumps bring water to rural African communities, but many are broken – study models how best to maintain them

Chengcheng Zhai, University of Notre Dame; Alfonso J. Pedraza Martinez, University of Notre Dame; Jorge Mejia, Indiana University; Kurt M. Bretthauer, Indiana University, and Rodney Parker, Indiana University

A water solution for drought-prone South Africa: we designed systems to replenish aquifers simply and cheaply in five towns

Surina Esterhuyse, University of the Free State; Danita Hohne, University of the Free State, and Fanus Fourie, University of the Free State

Parched and cracked brown landscape with not a single plant, stretching for miles

The Lesotho Highlands Water project is 40 years old and going strong: but history weighs on its successes

John Aerni-Flessner, Michigan State University

Landscape of a large dam in a mountainous area

Water in the dams, but South Africa’s taps are dry: essential reads on a history of bad management

Caroline Southey, The Conversation

The world is in water bankruptcy, UN scientists report – here’s what that means

Kaveh Madani, United Nations University; Yale University

People of all backgrounds stand in line with jugs to fill with water.

Pollution

A magnifying glass zoomed in on a person's index and middle finger, where they hold tiny, microscopic shards of plastics.

Microplastics have been found to interact with the gut microbiome – here’s what health effects they might have

Nick Ilott, University of Oxford

The world’s waste mountain is rising at an alarming rate

Costas Velis, University of Leeds; Imperial College London and Ed Cook, Imperial College London

Lead Children: new Netflix series reminds us that lead poisoning is still a global health problem

Jane Entwistle, Northumbria University, Newcastle

A still from the Netflix series, Lead Children, in which a woman stands outside of an industrial factory which is bellowing out plumes of smoke.

Researchers develop biodegradable, plant-based packaging from natural fibers – new research

J. Carson Meredith, Georgia Institute of Technology

Crumpled up plastic wrap against a black background

How we turned plastic waste into vinegar: A sunlight-powered breakthrough

Yimin Wu, University of Waterloo

overhead view of large bins filled with plastic bottles

Environment + Energy – Views & Research – The Conversation

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