Water in the dams, but South Africa’s taps are dry: essential reads on a history of bad managementCaroline Southey, The Conversation
Cape Town’s wildflowers are a world treasure: six insights from a new checklistDian Spear, Stellenbosch University; Nicola van Wilgen-Bredenkamp, Stellenbosch University; Patricia Holmes, Stellenbosch University; Ronell R Klopper, University of Pretoria, and Tony Rebelo, South African National Biodiversity Institute
South Africans are leaving the electricity network – but are solar mini-grids a fair solution?Joanna Watterson, University of Cambridge
Activists in Ghana are forcing extractive firms to account for the harm they cause – corporate abuse studyCynthia Kwakyewah, York University, Canada
Connecting home solar and electric vehicle batteries to the grid could boost South Africa’s clean energy and strengthen the electricity systemDavid Richard Walwyn, University of Pretoria
Sierra Leoneans who live off the sea don’t trust farmed fish – but wild fish are in declineNwamaka Okeke-Ogbuafor, University of Glasgow and Salieu Kabba Sankoh, University of Sierra Leone
Grazing and digging put some herbivores at greater risk from toxic elements in soil – new researchAndrea Webster, University of Pretoria
Cape Town project tests what hydroponic farming can do in urban spacesTinashe P. Kanosvamhira, University of the Western Cape
South Africa’s floods turned deadly because Limpopo wasn’t prepared – how to prevent a repeatEphias Mugari, University of Limpopo
Indigenous trees might be the secret to climate resilient dairy farming in Benin, says this new studyAlassan Assani Seidou, University of Pretoria
What’s stopping sunny South Africa’s solar industry? Court case sheds light on the wider problemWikus Kruger, University of Cape Town
Attacks on Nigeria’s energy systems weaken the country – research unpacks costs, risks and ways forwardHaruna Inuwa, University of Oxford; Alycia Leonard, University of Oxford, and Stephanie Hirmer, University of Oxford
Nigeria and South Africa plan to boost fossil fuel production, risking their climate change pledgesEmily Ghosh, Stockholm Environment Institute and Derik Broekhoff, Stockholm Environment Institute
India and South Africa burn a lot of coal: what they can learn from each other about ending the dependencyCraig McGregor, Stellenbosch University and Varun Pratap Singh, Stellenbosch University
Zambia’s forest communities need finance for solar power – so they don’t have to cut down trees to pay for itHillary Chanda, University of Reading
Secret electricity price hikes in South Africa to be curbed in a game-changing court rulingFelix Dube, University of Venda
Donkeys are a common sight in northern Namibia – what colonial history has to do with itGiorgio Miescher, University of Basel; Luregn Lenggenhager, University of Basel; Martha Akawa, University of Namibia, and Romie Vonkie Nghitevelekwa, University of Namibia
Bats, bushbabies and aardvark edge closer to extinction in southern AfricaJoseph Ogutu, University of Hohenheim
Human-wildlife conflict in Zimbabwe is a crisis: who is in danger, where and why?Blessing Kavhu, University of California, Santa Cruz
What makes mountain birds sing at dawn – and why are they sometimes quiet? Ecologists explainMosikidi Toka, University of the Free State
Hotter weather thickens the blood of wild mammals: in a world first we traced this in African striped mice using 12 years’ worth of blood samplesLindelani Makuya, Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS); University of the Witwatersrand; Antoine Stier, Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS), and Carsten Schradin, Université de Strasbourg; University of the Witwatersrand
Small-scale farmers produce more of the rich world’s food than previously thought – new studyOliver Taherzadeh, Leiden University
Land reform in South Africa: how new landholders could prosper from wildlife and not just farmingHayley Clements, Stellenbosch University; Alta De Vos, Stellenbosch University; Matthew Child, University of Pretoria, and Siviwe Shwababa, Rhodes University
Africa’s drylands need the right kind of support – listening to the pastoralists who live thereClaire Bedelian, ODI Global and Guy Jobbins, ODI Global
Africa’s longest-running grassland research project offers up a wealth of knowledgeCraig Morris, University of KwaZulu-Natal
No space for culture: ‘matchbox housing’ leaves residents unable to honour customs in a South African townSinenhlanhla Memela, Rhodes University; Philippa Irvine, Rhodes University, and Zandile Dlongolo, Rhodes University
The world is in water bankruptcy, UN scientists report – here’s what that meansKaveh Madani, United Nations University
South Africa’s water, energy and food crisis: why fixing one means fixing them allThulani Ningi, University of Fort Hare; Alois Mugadza, The University of the West Indies, and Saul Ngarava, University of Lincoln
Ethiopia’s mega dam has taken 14 years to build: what it means for the Nile’s 11 river states and why it’s so controversialJohn Mukum Mbaku, Weber State University
The solar boom has a dirty secret. Here’s how to avoid another mountain of waste that can’t be recycledRabia Charef, Lancaster University
Amazing pineapple leaf powder that fights crime and pollution: new researchBienvenu Gael Fouda Mbanga, Nelson Mandela University
When polluters don’t pay: still no cleanup at South African oil refinery that’s caused millions in damage but was sold for 6 centsLlewellyn Leonard, University of South Africa
Ecoball: how to turn picking up litter into a game for kidsSolaja Mayowa Oludele, Olabisi Onabanjo University
Nigeria needs 200,000km of durable new roads but it’s expensive: we tested plastic to make them stronger and cheaperIfeyinwa Ijeoma Obianyo, Nile University of Nigeria
