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biodiversity losslatest news & developments
Climate scenarios and models play a major role in shaping international policy.
BIODIVERSITY LOSS

Climate models failing to reflect inequality and Global South realities, study warns

Scientists say dominant climate and biodiversity models rely too heavily on existing economic systems and overlook inequality, Global South perspectives and Indigenous knowledge,…

  • Sheree Bega
4 min read
Africa’s lithium boom won’t last forever. Photo: Dianah Chiyangwa
ALL RISE ATTORNEYS

KZN coastal communities demand withdrawal of SA Lithium mine expansion over legal, environmental concerns

A coalition of KwaZulu-Natal coastal organisations is calling for the withdrawal of SA Lithium’s Highbury Mine expansion near Umzumbe, citing alleged legal flaws, water risks,…

  • Sheree Bega
8 min read
The aardvark — long considered relatively secure — has been moved from least concern to near threatened, reflecting growing pressures on its habitat. (Anamilia)
BIODIVERSITY LOSS

Aardvarks, bats and mole-rats among mammal species sliding towards regional extinction

New data shows habitat loss and degradation are pushing mammals closer to extinction — with endemic species facing the greatest risk

  • Sheree Bega
4 min read
US President Donald Trump (Flickr)
BIODIVERSITY LOSS

Climate leaders condemn US withdrawal from UN frameworks

The US is set to exit the UN climate treaty and key global science institutions under a Trump directive, a move critics say will isolate the country and deepen climate and…

  • Sheree Bega
4 min read
Between 20% and 40% of the world’s land area is now degraded
AIR POLLUTION DEATHS

Climate, pollution, biodiversity: UN report sounds global alarm

Transforming economies, energy systems and food production could prevent millions of deaths and halt biodiversity loss, the UN’s latest report finds

  • Sheree Bega
5 min read
Africa’s forest-dwelling hornbills — vital seed-dispersers in the forests of West and Central Africa — have won long-overdue international protection after countries approved a proposal to regulate their global trade. Photo: Frans van Heerden
APPENDIX II LISTING

Africa’s forest hornbills gain global protection as Cites lists species for first time

A coalition of African nations has secured new Cites controls on the international trade of hornbills amid concerns over habitat loss and surging demand for body parts

  • Sheree Bega
4 min read
African countries often lack fine-scale biodiversity data for policy and planning, while global models frequently mischaracterise regional patterns.
BIODIVERSITY INTACTNESS INDEX

Sub-Sahara’s severe nature losses

Most of the continent’s wildlife survives outside of protected areas

  • Sheree Bega
6 min read
There are far more African forest elephants than conservationists previously thought — not because the critically endangered species is recovering, but because scientists are now able to count them more accurately.
AFRICAN CONSERVATION

DNA surveys reveal far more African forest elephants than previously known

A new IUCN report shows African forest elephants are more numerous than previously believed, not due to recovery, but thanks to groundbreaking DNA-based surveys that have…

  • Sheree Bega
4 min read
With COP30 closing this week, one truth has come sharply into focus: climate extremes are natural, but disasters are not. (Flickr)
AFRICA

COP30 launches global forest finance facility amid indigenous rights concerns

Indigenous groups and NGOs caution that the facility risks becoming another top-down market mechanism that benefits investors more than the forests themselves

  • Sheree Bega
6 min read
Researchers studied blue waxbills — small songbirds that were most affected in South Africa’s first documented heat-related mortality event involving wild birds, which occurred in late 2020. (Wikimedia Commons)
AFRICAN BIRDS

Heat and humidity is a lethal mix for SA’s small birds

Scientists have warned that humidity, not just temperature, could determine which species survive in an era of escalating heatwaves

  • Sheree Bega
5 min read
Concerns: Local residents gather to voice their opposition to the construction of the Polihali Dam in Lesotho, as part of the second phase of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project. Photo: Delwyn Verasamy
ACCOUNTABILITY COUNSEL

‘Our Land, Our Lives’: Lesotho villagers challenge Gauteng water scheme

Lesotho villagers allege unsafe conditions and no accountability in the scheme to supply Gauteng

  • Sheree Bega
8 min read
BIODIVERSITY LOSS

Don’t read this in the second bedroom

The Gambling Animal offers a sharp, unsettling look at human irrationality, risk-taking and the ecological consequences of gambling with our future

  • Rodney Ghobril
6 min read
Cape Zebra Cockroach from Table Mountain National Park in the Western Cape.
ARTICLE

Experts say insect decline is real, but evidence remains fragmented and biased

Researchers develop new model to assess insect biodiversity with limited data

  • Sheree Bega
5 min read
The resurgence of the M23 rebel group and other armed factions has led to increasing threats, forcing conservationists into a desperate fight to protect endangered wildlife while struggling with dwindling support and mounting insecurity.
AFRICA

War and wildlife: Congo park rangers risk lives to protect endangered species

Park authorities have been assisting ranger families, but the conflict and economic instability leaves them vulnerable

  • MG Reporter
3 min read
Brian van Wilgen, one of the authors of a new book on the ecology and management of one of Africa’s most destructive weeds, visited this heavily invaded area near Moshi in Tanzania in 2019. Prosopis trees form dense thickets to increase the difficulty that herbivorous mammals experience in gaining access to grazing or water or moving between different areas. Photo: Jano Barnard.
BIODIVERSITY LOSS

Prosopis invasions: Battle against Africa’s worst weed

In densely invaded areas, the trees can consume about 50% of the annual rainfall of the region, severely depleting groundwater

  • Sheree Bega
7 min read
The National Arctic Scientific Research Expedition team, organised for the fourth time this year in the Arctic Ocean, identified the decreasing sea ice due to global climate change through sampling, evaluation, observation, and unmanned aerial vehicles. In the studies, conducted using remote sensing methods, an analysis of the average sea ice distribution for June 2023 and 2024 revealed a significant decrease in sea ice. (Photo by Sebnem Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images)
BIODIVERSITY LOSS

Climate change solutions not always good for biodiversity

‘Sticking plaster fixes’ such as geoengineering could have unwanted side effects

  • Delphine Paysant
3 min read
Africa’s ecosystems now run on less than two-thirds of their historical energy, with the decline of elephants, lions, and rhinos reshaping landscapes and livelihoods
BIODIVERSITY

Wildlife populations plummet 73% in past 50 years

South Africa has ambitious plans to protect biodiversity This content is restricted to registered users and subscribers. Get Your Free Account The Mail & Guardian is committed to…

  • Sheree Bega
1 min read
File photo: A cemetery sits on melting permafrost tundra at the Yupik Eskimo village of Quinhagak on the Yukon Delta in Alaska. (MARK RALSTON/AFP via Getty Images)
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

UN report warns of synchronising of global crises

Viruses and microorganisms hidden in thawing permafrost, AI and digital transformation, armed conflict and violence are among key shifts and signals of change

  • Sheree Bega
7 min read
Energy demand: Tanzania’s transition minerals include an estimated 70-million tonnes of graphite ore (above), commonly used in electrodes for batteries and fuel cells. Photo supplied
POWERTRACKER

Clean energy minerals: Tanzania’s dark side to ‘a new dawn’

Tanzania is banking on its natural resources during the global transition to clean energy, but analysts warn there are dangers ahead

  • Oscar Nkala
11 min read
Prof Linda Godfrey, Manager of Circular Innovation South Africa (CISA).
2023 2024 NSTF SOUTH32 AWARDS

The resource radical

Prof Linda Godfrey’s quest for a circular South Africa

  • Jamaine Krige
2 min read