Over the past 21 years the WWF-Nedbank Green Trust has contributed nearly R115 million to more than 180 environmental projects in South Africa.
Antarctica’s reputation as one of the most pristine environments on earth is being threatened by foreign plants and animals that are unwittingly being brought to the icy continent in the luggage of tourists and scientists. Changing climates are making matters worse, and are making it easier for these plants to establish, to become invasive, and to ultimately disturb the naturally occurring Antarctic ecosystems.
The World Bank has partnered with the government of South Africa and others to conserve and protect South Africa's biodiversity.
What attracted me to Waterkloof wines, as a horse lover, was that they use horses in their vineyards. I reckoned it was to lower their carbon footprint, but Christiaan Loots, the farm manager, assured me that it was economically motivated.
‘Farming for the Future’ is a holistic approach based on working with nature instead of against it, which seeks to combine the best of conventional farming with the best of organic farming. Woolworths recently audited 15 of their largest fruit and vegetable growers, who supply some 37% fresh produce on a total area of about 45 000 hectares.
'Many hands make light work'. This idiom was particularly true for the Climate Train on Monday, 7 November, when the entire team came together for a collaborative AMbush (guerrilla gardening) on the corner of Market and George Street, Krugersdorp.
These days few can dispute mankind is in dire need of alternative, renewable and sustainable energy sources. Few can moreover argue the necessity for energy development that does not come at the adverse auxiliary cost to the environment.
The history of post-War economic growth has been one of unsustainable consumption: unsustainable for the planet's ecosystems, for its species diversity, and indeed, for the human race
United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) Executive Secretary Ahmed Djoghlaf has become an Honorary Councillor of the World Future Council (WFC).
The United Nations designated 2011 ' 2020 as the United Nations Decade on Biodiversity. The word is dropped into conversations daily, but we don't know how much it actually means for South Africa.
On 8 April 1933 a remarkable discovery was made in the Transvaal. A grave of unknown origin, filled with gold-work, was found on a natural rock stronghold in a wild region. This site was Mapungubwe Hill, which serves as the capital of the ancient Mapangubwe Kingdom, situated on the borders between South Africa, Zimbabwe and Botswana.
Learn about endangered turtles, ornithology careers, Africans penguins and many other fascinating members of our earth at the FREE Biodiversity Expo from 5 to 8 May at Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden.
The Proteus Initiative is privileged to host Craig Holdrege of The Nature Institute, upstate New York, to participate and teach in 'Discovering how a genuinely holistic perspective affects our thinking with respect to every aspect of environmental concern' in August 2011.
As proven by the Costa Rican Biodiversity Law, exemplary biodiversity legislation can be successfully put into practice. On 25 October, delegates, ministers, decision-makers, media and donors gathered at the Future Policy Award 2010 Ceremony in Nagoya, Japan, to witness the first prize be awarded to Costa Rica and to celebrate the Costa Rican Biodiversity Law as a milestone of excellence in meeting the goals of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity. The effects of the law are outstanding: With 26% of its total territory designated as protected areas, Costa Rica is the first developing that succeeded in halting and reversing deforestation. Moreover, the country ranked first in the Happy Planet Index 2009, and is a recognised pioneer in ecotourism.
The Future Policy Award, established by the World Future Council, annually celebrates laws with particularly positive effects on the living conditions of current and future generations. The first award to honour exemplary policies rather than exceptional people on an international level, it highlights solutions, raises public awareness and speeds up policy action towards just, sustainable and peaceful societies. This year's award gala was hosted by the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), as an official part of the tenth Conference of the Parties (COP10).
The opening statements were held by Shoichi Kondo, Senior Vice Minister of Environment of Japan, and Dr. Ahmed Djoghlaf, CBD Executive Secretary, who said: 'By honouring exemplary laws and regulations, by disseminating best practices successful in stopping biodiversity loss and irreversible destruction of our eco-systems, the Future Policy Award 2010 encourages policy action fundamental to the post-2010 biodiversity strategy.' Succeeding Dr. Djoghlaf, Jakob von Uexkull, Founder of the World Future Council and the Right Livelihood Awards, spoke up to the numerous delegates recalling 'that the right rules and legal frameworks help millions of people to do the right thing'.
Praise for Costa Rica
Prof. Marie-Claire Cordonier Segger, Director, CISDL, and Chair of the WFC Future Justice Commission, presented the ceremony's highlight when she spoke of the Costa Rican policy as 'a brilliantly comprehensive policy for the respect for all forms of life and for cultural diversity, biodiversity protection and inter- and intragenerational equity', before handing over the Future Policy Award 2010 to His Excellency Mr. Mario Fernandez Silva, Ambassador of the Republic of Costa Rica to Japan. H.E. Mr. Silva expressed deep gratitude and said, 'I am most honoured to accept this prize from the World Future Council. This law integrates biodiversity protection and the sustainable use of biodiversity and it enables us to pass the beautiful natural wealth of Costa Rica on to our future generations.'
Australia, the winner of the Future Policy Silver Award, was introduced by Prof. Motoyuki Suzuki, Chairman, Central Environmental Council of Japan, and WFC Councillor. He stated that 'the Australian Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Act jointly with the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act aims to provide the highest level of protection to the marine ecosystems and should be a worldwide standard'. Prof. Suzuki presented the award to Peter Cochrane, Director of National Parks and Head of the CBD Delegation of Australia, who proudly accepted. The Australian law has elevated the region of the Great Barrier Reef to a matter of national environmental significance, while still allowing for sustainable use by such industries as commercial fisheries, recreational fishing and tourism, pioneering the idea of a 'multiple-use' park.
The awarded biodiversity policies from Costa Rica and Australia as well as four further exemplary policies are described in a World Future Council brochure titled 'Celebrating the world's best biodiversity policies'. It is available in print at the Award Ceremony and online at http://www.worldfuturecouncil.org/publications.html.
I don't like to spread bad news ' I prefer to inspire people. But some things need to be said, else we are simply keeping our heads in the sand. The hard truth can also be liberating ' and it seems we need liberation from our own ways. Something everyone needs to know is what impact humans have had on our planet's biodiversity over the past 40 years. What happened to other species due to our consumption patterns?
A Brazilian husband-and-wife team of conservationists have won this year's prestigious National Geographic Society/Buffett Award for Leadership in Conservation. To do this, they created a 5,000-acre protected forest reserve and a Ugandan conservation manager who supervises all the protected areas and wildlife reserves in his country.
World leaders have failed to make good on their commitments to reduce the global rate of biodiversity loss by 2010, instead there is an alarming decline in biodiversity worldwide. So says a new paper published in the journal Science.
Biodiversity is not about a few endangered species ' but rather about the building blocks of life sustaining all earth's ecosystems. Over 600 scientists attending the 2nd major International Biodiversity Conference held in Cape Town recently said in their concluding statement that 'the fabric out of which the earth system is woven is unravelling at an accelerating rate.'
The imminent sale of De Beers' diamond mining operations on the Cape West Coast must be halted until full disclosure and proper consultation with all affected parties has taken place, says the community of Hondeklipbaai.
Their vision is to restore the beauty of God's creation so that all Stellenbosch communities can enjoy access to a safe and decent quality of life, through opportunities for work, housing, education, healthy living and enjoying nature.
