The Conversation – Page 6

Beatriz Garcia The Amazon, often described as the “lungs of the Earth”, is the largest rainforest in the world. Its extraordinary biodiversity and sheer scale has made it a globally significant resource in the fight against climate change. But last week the Brazilian president Michel Temer rem

Environment , Science & Technology , Sustainable Development / 08/17/2017

It’s time to start thinking about our digital carbon footprint

Pietari Kaapa Contemporary digital media is pervasive and proliferating, and raises fundamental questions over the capabilities of the industry to account for its environmental impact by focusing largely on traditional production methods. The media is at the forefront of generating awareness over en

Data & Reports , Energy / 08/06/2017

Poor households are locked out of green energy, unless governments help

Alan Pears A report released this week by the Australian Council of Social Service has pointed out that many vulnerable households cannot access rooftop solar and efficient appliances, describing the issue as a serious problem. It has provoked controversy. Some have interpreted the report as an atta

Solutions , Sustainable Development , Water / 07/16/2017

What Cape Town can learn from Windhoek on surviving droughts

Dian Spear Cape Town is experiencing the worst drought in 100 years Human population growth, urbanisation, and climate change are all changing the world. To adapt, attitudes and behaviour must change and unsustainable attitudes and behaviours must shift. In addition, the social and political will to

Biodiversity , Sustainable Development , Water / 06/30/2017

We need more than just extra water to save the Murray-Darling Basin in Australia

Max Finlayson, Lee Baumgartner and Peter Gell After a long and contentious public debate, in 2012 Australia embarked on a significant and expensive water recovery program to restore the Murray-Darling Basin’s ecosystems. Despite general agreement that a certain amount of water should be reserve

Climate , Data & Reports , Gender , Sustainable Development / 05/13/2017

Study reveals the gender gap in Tanzania, Uganda climate policies

Mariola Acosta Francés, Edidah Lubega Ampaire & Laurence Jassogne A recent study by the World Bank concluded that closing the gender gap in agriculture would increase Tanzania’s GDP by $105 million and Uganda’s by $67 million. Climate change is negatively affecting many regions of the wor

Cities , Transport / 04/11/2017

Johannesburg’s bike lanes are not well used. Here’s why

Njogu Morgan The bicycling lanes of Johannesburg alone don’t create a commuter cycling culture, and they are now a white elephant. When you think of the world’s bicycle friendly cities, Johannesburg probably doesn’t feature. That’s not for lack of trying. Over the past few years bicycle lane

Biodiversity , Sustainable Development / 03/19/2017

How a UN platform to stop biodiversity loss could up its game

Maud Borie and Aleksandar Rankovic Biodiversity keeps declining despite lots of accumulated knowledge and numerous international and national commitments to act. How could IPBES help change this? Biodiversity, the variety of plant, animal and microbial life on Earth, is still declining. For many y

Data & Reports , Environment / 02/22/2017

Australia’s 2016 environment scorecard: rains return but in some cases too late

Albert Van Dijk and David Summers The overall story is one of rainfall boom after four years of bust. The national average rainfall in 2016 was again well above average, albeit not quite as much as in the bumper years 2010-11. After several dry years, vegetation across much of Australia received m

Biodiversity , Environment , Featured , Human Rights , Sustainable Development , Videos / 02/11/2017

India’s militant rhino protectors are challenging traditional views of how conservation works

Bhaskar Vira In Kaziranga, a national park in north-eastern India, rangers shoot people to protect rhinos. The park’s aggressive policing is, of course, controversial, but the results are clear: despite rising demand for illegal rhino horn, and plummeting numbers throughout Africa and South-East A

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