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After controversy, Plant-for-the-Planet focuses on the trees
- Plant-for-the-Planet, a global forest restoration and youth empowerment initiative, oversees reforestation projects in Mexico, Spain and Ghana.
- The organization was founded by Felix Finkbeiner at just 9 years old, when his school tree-planting project happened to make the local news in Germany. Now 27, he continues to help run Plant-for-the-Planet as it juggles rapid growth with the slow, painstaking work of planting trees.
- In recent years, the organization has been plagued by controversy, with news investigations exposing exaggerated planting numbers, poor record-keeping, and plans to invest in controversial real estate development.
- Now Plant-for-the-Planet is focusing on data collection and longer-term restoration strategies, hoping to leave its mistakes in the past.
How trafficking & misconceptions threaten Nigeria’s wildlife: Q&A with Dr. Mark Ofua
- Veterinarian and wildlife conservationist Dr. Mark Ofua discusses his journey in Nigeria, highlighting efforts to protect species and combat wildlife trafficking.
- He notes societal misconceptions and lack of education as some of the major challenges in addressing wildlife conservation issues among the general public in Nigeria.
- The conservationist shares his experiences on rescue missions, including a particularly challenging encounter with sea turtle traffickers who had him fearing for his life.
- Ofua, who hosts a popular children’s TV show about animals, emphasizes the importance of educating children about wildlife conservation and the role of media in promoting awareness about local wildlife.
Hundreds die after flash floods tear through Nigerian market town
At least 200 people have been confirmed dead and 500 more remain missing after flash floods devastated a Nigerian market town, media reported. Torrential rain started early on May 29, and within just a few hours caused intense flooding in the town of Mokwa, Niger state, a major trading hub for northern farmers selling beans, […]
Peril and persistence define the path of Africa’s conservationists
- Local conservationists across Africa face threats, isolation and underfunding, as illustrated by Nigerian conservationist Itakwu Innocent, who survived an assassination attempt and has endured years of violence and ostracism for protecting wildlife and opposing poaching in his community.
- Women and young scientists in particular face systemic barriers in conservation, including gender bias and limited access to funding and recognition, despite taking leadership roles and driving grassroots initiatives in places like Kenya, Uganda and Nigeria.
- Funding disparities and broken promises by international NGOs have undermined trust in conservation efforts, making it harder for local scientists like Owan Kenneth to gain community support without financial incentives.
- Despite these challenges, recognition and success stories are emerging, with initiatives like fellowships and community-led reforms helping figures such as Adekambi Cole, Bashiru Koroma and Asuquo Nsa Ani make tangible conservation gains and inspire others.
Guinea-Bissau’s grassroots efforts offer a blueprint for global mangrove restoration (commentary)
- Guinea-Bissau’s mangroves have declined by nearly a third over the past 80 years, but the country still has the largest mangrove area as a proportion of its total area in the world.
- A grassroots revolution is underway, spearheaded by national organizations, international partners and local communities to restore the country’s mangrove landscapes.
- Called Ecological Mangrove Restoration, this method focuses on optimizing conditions for the mangroves to restore naturally, as well as collaborating with communities to ensure sustainability and resilience by fostering ownership of the project while leveraging local knowledge and resources.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay.
Urban forests in Niger’s schoolyards serve climate resilience and education
- Trees growing school yards in Niger’s two largest cities are helping to cool classrooms and illustrate the value of urban forests.
- A study of green spaces across 60 schools in Niamey and Maradi two cities found that trees in schools help mitigate extreme heat, a source of food and income, and enhance learning.
- School yards represent a form of protected area within cities, and the study’s author encourages municipal and educational authorities to integrate urban forestry into planning for school infrastructure.
Deforestation in REDD-protected Congo rainforests is ‘beyond words’
The Republic of Congo had been protecting about half of its dense rainforests via the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD+) framework. In exchange, the country is supposed to receive payments from the World Bank. But Mongabay Africa staff writer Elodie Toto’s recent investigation revealed the nation has also granted nearly 80 gold […]
In Côte d’Ivoire a changing climate hits farmers and markets alike
- Towns across Côte d’Ivoire are facing shortages of staple foods like plantain and tomatoes, due to erratic weather.
- Prolonged drought and heavy rains have affected growers in towns like Soubré, who are struggling to maintain sufficient production to supply local markets.
- An expert says adapting to the new climate reality is key, and proposes training farmers in new agricultural techniques and improving natural resource management.
Dredging and pollution threaten fishing in the Niger River
- Some fishers in Bamako, Mali’s capital, are raising concerns about dredging of the Niger River in search of gold.
- They say the combination of dredging and increasing plastic pollution is causing fish stocks to decline.
- Damage to the river’s ecosystems is taking a toll on their livelihoods, with some forced to give up fishing for the more lucrative, but environmentally destructive, activity of river sand mining.
In Cameroon’s forgotten forests, gorillas and chimps hang on
- Many forest reserves in southern Cameroon, despite being highly degraded and fragmented, harbor significant biodiversity.
- A recent study using camera traps in two such forest reserves captured the first evidence of great apes — a gorilla and several chimpanzees — foraging in and navigating the mosaic of fragmented landscapes.
- Some of the videos show apes and humans using the same parts of the forests at different times, highlighting the risk of human-ape conflicts that could impact the already threatened great apes.
- Conservationists say the presence of great apes outside protected areas indicates the need to protect these areas, and that further research is needed to understand how great apes use fragmented landscapes close to human communities.
Hybrid mapping method key to EUDR cocoa compliance, study finds
A coalition of organizations has assessed how locally produced maps stack up against global open-access data sets to evaluate deforestation in the context of cocoa production. The assessment will be useful for cocoa producers as they work toward compliance with the EU anti-deforestation regulation (EUDR), set to take effect at the end of the year, […]
Warming seas and illegal trawlers threaten West Africa’s fishing future, study warns
A new paper paints a grim picture for the future of fishing communities in the Gulf of Guinea along coastal West Africa. Faced with increasing ocean warming and declining fish stocks, fishing communities in Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire and Nigeria struggle to survive. The paper’s authors advocate for income diversification among fishing communities as a critical […]
Côte d’Ivoire cacao farmers struggle as climate havoc devastates crops
- Farmers in a cacao-producing region of southwestern Côte d’Ivoire have seen their yields decline so much that they’re abandoning their plantations and considering switching to other crops.
- They say cacao, long a mainstay of the agricultural economy of this region and the country, is no longer profitable due to changing weather patterns and an increase in plant diseases like swollen shoot.
- An agronomist says the changing weather is partly due to deforestation caused by the expansion of cacao production in recent decades, and recommends agroforestry and reforestation as a remedy.
In West Africa, hooded vultures vanish as abattoirs modernize
- For centuries, hooded vultures in West Africa have lived in close association with people in towns and cities.
- The vultures’ dependence on scraps thrown out has grown in line with the overhunting of large-bodied mammals in the wild.
- But changes in the way these scraps are disposed of at slaughterhouses in many districts appears to be impacting the vultures.
- The birds now face fierce competition from feral dogs, and from people who harvest slaughterhouse waste to feed their livestock.
Africa’s growing cities are endangering birdlife (commentary)
- In Africa, urban land cover is expected to triple by 2030, and the potential impact on birds and biodiversity is particularly alarming, a new op-ed argues.
- A recently published study used citizen science data from Kenyan and Nigerian bird-mapping projects to uncover insights into how urbanization affects birds, their diversity and ecological functions in these nations.
- “As urbanization has intensified, the variety of bird species and their roles in the ecosystem shrinks, resulting in more uniform communities with generalist species,” author Bello Adamu Danmallam writes.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.
Nigerian authorities seize nearly 4 tons of pangolin scales, arrest five suspects
Nigerian authorities have seized 3.76 metric tons of pangolin scales and arrested five people in Lagos, in a follow-up to the recent arrest of a Chinese national suspected of trafficking pangolin scales. The seizure, made in April, is estimated to have come from at least 1,900 dead pangolins, according to the Netherlands-based nonprofit Wildlife Justice […]
Nigerian officials arrest Chinese pangolin trafficking ‘kingpin’
Nigerian officials have arrested a Chinese national suspected of masterminding a transnational smuggling operation of pangolin scales, Netherlands-based nonprofit Wildlife Justice Commission (WJC) said in a press release last week. The arrest is linked to the seizure of more than 7 metric tons of pangolin scales from a warehouse in Ogun state in August 2024. […]
An oil-rich West African island offers decades of insight into the wild meat trade
- Bioko Island, a biodiversity hotspot and part of Equatorial Guinea, is home to seven primate species and others like duikers, which are sold in local markets catering to the urban rich.
- A recent study, part of the longest wild meat market study in the world, investigates the drivers of the trade on the island and tracks how it has changed over the last 30 years amid economic downturns, conservation actions and public health concerns.
- The study found that public health messaging and on-the-ground conservation interventions such as patrolling and monitoring help create a dent in the trade, but that a lack of law enforcement drives up the trade.
- Conservationists say the study’s findings can help decision-makers understand how socioeconomic factors and shifting demographics impact both demand and wild meat supply.
Mongabay investigation finds gorilla trade more widespread than previously thought
A Mongabay investigation has uncovered exclusive details about the clandestine market for gorilla and chimpanzee body parts in northeastern Nigeria, revealing that the trade works in a larger area than previously believed and kills more critically endangered gorillas than previously acknowledged. Speaking to hunters, traffickers and customers of a trade steeped in both taboo and […]
How a young beekeeper’s initiative brought hope and profit to Sierra Leone communities
- Near Sierra Leone’s Tiwai Island, Aruna Bangura, a young beekeeper, started a beekeeping initiative using modern hives after observing a decline in bees and increased deforestation in the region.
- The initiative began with less than 20 frame hives and has now expanded to 400 beekeepers from eight communities who have built more than 300 modern hives.
- The modern hives attract more bees compared to the traditional ones and generate money for locals so they can reduce their dependence on logging to sell charcoal, which, in turn, can help reduce pressure on the forests that the bees depend on.
- Bangura faced challenges in the initial phases of the project but has since won money from the Iris Project’s Stem Prize to kick off the project with plans to expand it.
USAID funding cuts jeopardize creation of Ghana’s first Marine Protected Area
- The U.S. foreign aid freeze blocks the establishment of Ghana’s first Marine Protected Area (MPA).
- The MPA was being created under the Ghana Fisheries Recovery Activity (GFRA), a USAID-funded program that aimed to restore pelagic fish stocks crucial for the country’s food security.
- Ghana’s small pelagics, consisting mostly of sardines, anchovy and mackerels, make up about 60% of local fish landings and serve as a primary source of protein for almost two-thirds of the country’s population.
- The West African nation depended heavily on U.S. foreign aid to preserve its small pelagic fisheries sector, and without other funding, there could be cascading impacts on its economy.
Gas leak from BP platform off West Africa worries fishermen, environmentalists
In January, U.K. oil giant BP announced it had started producing gas from the Greater Tortue Ahmeyim (GTA) project, a natural gas production platform it operates off the coast of Mauritania and Senegal. A month later, Mauritanian media reported that a gas leak had been detected at one of the wells. In a statement shared […]
When a chimp community lost its males, it also lost part of its love language
- A new study from Côte d’Ivoire highlights the urgent need to integrate chimpanzee cultural preservation with conservation.
- The study documents the loss of a socially learned behavior — a mating signal — among a group of chimpanzees following the poaching of all of the group’s male members.
- Once lost, behaviors that could be crucial to chimpanzee survival take years to reemerge.
- Researchers say it’s essential to preserve entire chimpanzee communities and their cultural knowledge, as well as simply protecting individuals.
Breast milk contamination exposes Africa’s ‘forever chemicals’ problem
- Researchers warn that synthetic chemicals in various products, including carpets, clothes, furniture, adhesives, food packaging, and nonstick cookware, pose a significant threat to infants in Africa.
- Over the past two decades, the chemicals, known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), or “forever chemicals,” have become a significant public health concern in Europe and North America. Emerging data from African countries point to the pervasive nature of the problem in the continent.
- PFAS exposure is linked to liver damage, thyroid diseases, cancer, and reproductive health problems, and can be especially dangerous for infants and children, experts say.
- Countries like the U.S. are beginning to pass laws to control PFAS levels in drinking water systems. Still, regulations that target PFAS are “rare across African countries,” a recent study notes.
Women in Ghana plant ‘diversion’ trees to protect shea trees and their livelihoods
- For International Women’s Day, Mongabay puts a spotlight on a community forest restoration effort to protect Ghana’s shea trees, which are economically and ecologically important species for the country.
- The majority of participants are women, as they traditionally play a central role in every part of the value chain, from harvesting shea nuts to producing shea butter.
- The people from Yazori and Mognoni have so far planted over 53,000 seedlings over about 158 hectares of land to divert attention away from indigenous shea trees, which locals increasingly cut down for charcoal and firewood.
- The other trees have many benefits over shea species, like growing faster and being more resistant to fires, but shea trees still produce more efficient charcoal and women depend on the project to pay for new seedlings.
Liberia to start industrial shrimp fishing, worrying artisanal fishers
- Liberia plans to expand industrial bottom trawling in the country by authorizing a new fishery for high-value shrimp.
- However, the government has released few details about the plan, including how much shrimp it will allow the new fishery to exploit, when the trawling would begin, or how it would be regulated.
- The country’s umbrella organization for artisanal fishers casts the move as a threat to the livelihoods, safety and food security of Liberia’s more than 57,000 artisanal fishers, as well as to the country’s marine life.
Lake Chad isn’t shrinking — but climate change is causing other problems
- Contrary to popular conception, Lake Chad is not shrinking; new research shows that the volume of water in the lake has increased since its low point in the 1980s.
- However, more intense rain in the region, coupled with the impacts of historic drought, increases the risk of flooding.
- The region is also plagued by continuing conflict and insecurity, making to harder for people to adapt to the impacts of climate change.
- A Lutheran World Federation project is working with communities in the Lake Chad Basin on sustainable agriculture and fisheries, land restoration, conflict resolution and more.
‘Some people will die’: Conversations with Nigeria’s gorilla hunters
- Mongabay traveled to rural villages and urban wildlife markets, gathering testimonies from hunters who have violated cultural taboos to kill apes, as well as the traffickers and traditional medicine practitioners who trade in ape parts.
- Hunting remains a key threat to the survival of gorillas and chimpanzees in Nigeria.
- In the traditions of many Nigerian clans, apes — especially gorillas — are imbued with a deep spiritual significance and recognized for their close relation to humans.
- In some cases, these beliefs contribute to the protection of apes and strong taboos against hunting or harming them; in other cases, they fuel a demand for ape parts for ritual and medicinal uses.
Guinea greenlights gold mine in habitat of critically endangered chimpanzees
The government of Guinea has issued an environmental compliance certificate to an Australian company to go ahead with its plan to mine gold within an area that’s home to critically endangered western chimpanzees. In January, Guinea’s Ministry of the Environment and Sustainable Development accepted the environmental and social impact assessment that Predictive Discovery had commissioned […]
Seeds of 19 African tree species added to Svalbard Global Seed Vault
- Seeds from 19 species of African trees have been added to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault in Norway.
- The trees were selected by the World Agroforestry Center for their value to communities across Africa.
- Traditional seed preservation and institutional seed banks are vulnerable to damage.
- The seeds deposited in Svalbard in February add to a vast collection intended to secure the world’s vital genetic heritage against any eventuality.
How ‘country palm’ could help pave the way toward a sustainable palm oil future in Liberia
- The oil palm tree is native to one of the largest contiguous blocks of lowland rainforest in West Africa, and provides food and habitat for many animals, including threatened species.
- Grown in agroforestry plots in concert with other plants, it’s been a subsistence crop for generations in Liberia, where it’s known as “country palm.”
- Initial field data from the Sustainable Oil Palm in West Africa (SOPWA) Project finds country palm plots have higher levels of plant species diversity compared to monoculture oil palm production systems.
- As Liberia rolls out plans to scale up its domestic palm oil production, conservationists and community leaders are calling for community-based country palm farming to be enshrined as a cornerstone of the country’s palm oil future — and not replaced by industrial, monoculture plantations.
Chimps remember, for years, the location of ant nests that provide food
- Multiple studies have indicated that wild chimpanzees rely on memory to find ripe fruit, but less has been known about what role memory plays in sourcing foods of animal origin.
- A recent study monitored ant-feeding behaviors in savanna chimpanzees in Senegal, concluding that the apes also rely on memory to locate underground ant nests, rather than simply stumbling across nests opportunistically.
- The chimpanzees were also observed using tools and multiple senses to determine whether ant nesting sites were inhabited.
No justice in sight for World Bank project-affected communities in Liberia
- With one year delay, the International Finance Corporation has submitted its response to an investigation of human rights violations at a rubber project in Liberia to the World Bank’s board.
- While the case was pending, Socfin, the parent company of Salala Rubber Corporation, sold the plantation, creating uncertainty over its commitment to taking responsibility for failures identified by the IFC’s Compliance Advisor Ombudsman.
- Affected communities and civil society in Liberia say the IFC has watered down recommendations from its ombudsman and fear the change of ownership will prevent accountability.
Nigerian president’s bid to resume oil drilling in Ogoniland a ‘betrayal,’ groups say
Nigerian President Bola Tinubu and key members of his administration met with select members of the Ogoni community from the Niger Delta on Jan. 21 to discuss restarting oil drilling in the region, after health and environmental concerns brought the activity to a halt for more than two decades. However, more than 20 civil society […]
Camera traps capture first glimpse of genetically distinct chimps in southwestern Nigeria
In a win for Nigeria’s only Indigenous grassroots conservation organization, camera traps installed in Ise Conservation Area have captured the first known video of a resident Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzee. The individual, seen swinging between tree branches and feeding on figs, is a mature male in his prime, said Rachel Ashegbofe Ikemeh, founder director of the South-West/Niger […]
Nigeria’s new coastal highway runs over communities & biodiversity hotspots
- Fifty years after it was first proposed, construction of a $12 billion highway from Nigeria’s commercial capital Lagos east across the Niger Delta to the city of Calabar has begun.
- Nigeria’s government says the project will improve transport links and stimulate economic development across a densely populated region.
- The highway passes through or near several biodiversity hotspots, including two that are known to be home to endangered Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzees and critically endangered Niger Delta red colobus.
- Worrying questions have been raised over environmental and social impact assessments for the highway as well as compensation for people who will lose land and property.
To conserve chimps, understand their genetic traits and local adaptations, says study
- Chimpanzees are adapted to live across diverse habitats in Africa, but little is known about the potential adaptation of chimps in different environments.
- A new study has found that these apes possess genetic traits that help them adapt to different habitat conditions, some of which may be protecting them against malaria.
- The scientists say that, as human activities and climate change continue to threaten chimpanzees’ existence, understanding their genetics and natural history enhances knowledge of how to ensure their long-term survival and conservation.
- Given their vital ecological roles, evolutionary significance, and precarious status, chimpanzee conservation is an urgent global priority.
Five-month-old male gorilla, victim of illegal wildlife trade, seized in Istanbul
On Dec. 22, 2024, Turkish customs officers conducting a random search of a plane’s cargo hold found a surprise stowaway inside a small wooden crate with holes: a malnourished baby gorilla dressed in a soiled T-shirt. The Turkish Airlines flight was headed from Nigeria to Thailand and was transiting via Istanbul, authorities told local media. […]
New study assesses threat to wildlife from cacao expansion in Congo Basin
- Wildlife in the heart of the Congo Basin, an area that stretches from western and southern Cameroon to northeastern and eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, are most at risk from the expansion of cacao cultivation, a recent study found.
- Cameroon, the world’s fourth-largest cacao producer, wants to double its output by 2030 — an ambition at odds with the country’s stubbornly low yields, changing climatic conditions, and the demand for “deforestation-free” cocoa from consumer nations.
- “Cameroon has little area available for agricultural expansion outside forests,” Marieke Sassen, a co-author of the new study, told Mongabay.
- Three-quarters of Cameroon’s cocoa is destined for the European Union, which passed a regulation in 2023 to ban imports of cocoa produced on recently deforested or degraded forestland.
Ogoni women restore mangroves and livelihoods in oil-rich Niger Delta
- After decades of crude oil spills and the introduction of invasive plant species, thousands of hectares of mangroves in the Niger Delta are destroyed, impacting aquatic species and women’s livelihoods.
- Ogoni women from coastal villages, supported by the Lokiaka Community Development Centre, have been at the forefront of reforestation efforts.
- The women have planted 2.6 million mangrove trees since 2018, drawing attention from a government agency that hired them to share their knowledge and plant mangroves for its oil spill rehabilitation project.
- Around 300 women from Ogoni communities have been trained in mangrove reforestation.
World’s record heat is worsening air pollution and health in Global South
- 2024 was the hottest year on record, producing intense, long-lasting heat waves. Climate change-intensified extreme events last year included the formation of vast heat domes — areas of high pressure that stalled and persisted above continental land masses in Asia, Africa, South and North America, and Europe.
- Heat domes intensify unhealthy air pollution from vehicles, industry, wildfires and dust storms. When a heat wave gripped New Delhi, India, last summer, temperatures soared, resulting in unhealthy concentrations of ground-level ozone — pollutants especially unhealthy for outdoor workers.
- When climate change-driven heat, drought and record wildfires occurred in the Brazilian Amazon last year, the fires produced massive amounts of wood smoke containing dangerous levels of toxic particulates that cause respiratory disease. Indigenous people living in remote areas had little defense against the smoke.
- Intense heat also impacted Nigeria in 2024, where major dust storms and rising temperatures created conditions that helped increased cases of meningitis — a sometimes deadly disease, especially in poor areas. Escalating climate change is expected to exacerbate pollution and worsen public health in the future.
‘Uncertainty’ amid EUDR delay poses challenges for cocoa companies, farmers
- Dutch chocolate maker Tony’s Chocolonely has long been at the forefront of pushing for more sustainability in cocoa production.
- The company has set up a blockchain-backed traceability system based on satellite imagery and polygon-mapping of the farms from which it sources its cocoa, ahead of application of the EU Regulation on Deforestation-free Products, or EUDR, which lays out requirements for importing goods into the EU.
- But more conventional chocolate sellers like Nestlé have also backed the EUDR, which aims to get rid of deforestation in the supply chains of imported commodities like cocoa.
- African governments have begun to tackle deforestation with an international initiative of their own called ARS-1000. Observers say they hope these regulations will also help provide better technical and economic support to the farmers who supply much of the world’s cocoa.
How the Sahel junta is responding to climate change amid political isolation
- Torrential rains during the Sahel’s rainy season (July to September) caused widespread flooding, displacing millions and submerging tens of thousands of hectares of cropland across Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Niger, Nigeria and Sudan.
- Meanwhile, military coups in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger have disrupted governance and climate adaptation projects. Political isolation from Western nations has further hindered access to international climate finance, leaving communities struggling to cope with extreme weather events.
- Organizations like the Sahara and Sahel Observatory (OSS) emphasize empowering local communities through initiatives like Water User Associations and agroecology. These efforts focus on sustainable land and water management, leveraging local knowledge for resilience.
- Despite the Sahel’s potential for renewable energy and sustainable agriculture, political instability, weak governance and funding gaps have slowed progress.
Rare new Guinean flower is ‘canary in a coal mine’ — but in an actual iron mine
- Scientists have described a new species of flower that appears to only grow in a small forest patch on the slopes of a mountain range in Guinea, West Africa, where extensive open-cast mining for iron ore is set to begin soon.
- There are thought to be as few as 100 of the Gymnosiphon fonensis flowers in existence in the Boyboyba Forest, which is part of the Pic de Fon classified forest reserve in the southeast of the country.
- Mining firm Rio Tinto has pledged to protect the Boyboyba Forest and the plants and animals that live in it.
- But Boyboyba makes up only a tiny fraction within a mosaic of forests and grasslands whose ecological integrity depends on linkages extending across Simandou’s 100-kilometer (60-mile) length.
‘Shifting baselines’ in Cabo Verde after 50 years of declining fish stocks
- In Cabo Verde, as in many low-income countries in Africa, the historical record of fish catch is incomplete, making it hard to know what’s been lost and what’s required to fully rebuild.
- In a new study, researchers interviewed fish workers to understand how catches have changed over the last five decades, finding evidence of a major decline in volume of catch and maximum size of key species.
- The study also shows that young fishers and fishmongers don’t fully realize the scale of the loss — a case of what scientists call “shifting baselines.”
- Fishing communities on the West African mainland tell a similar story of decline, pointing to the urgency of centering local knowledge when devising fisheries management and conservation policies.
Study looks for success factors in African projects that heal land and help people
- Land degradation across Africa impacts the lives of rural Africans, who depend heavily on natural resources.
- Reversing land degradation while improving livelihoods can be tricky, and not all initiatives succeed.
- A recent Sustainability Science study examined 17 initiatives in 13 African nations to tease out what factors contribute to success or failure.
- The study finds that tapping into social relationships, providing adequate incentives to overcome risk-adverse behaviors, and maintaining momentum over the long term emerged as key factors in an initiative’s success.
Agroecology offers blueprint for resilient farming in northern Ghana
- Erratic rainfall and rising temperatures have hit farmers in Ghana’s semiarid Upper East region hard in recent years.
- Planting rows of trees and allowing goats and sheep to graze their fields is helping retain soil moisture and fertility, while encouraging birds and bats to return, helping to control pests.
- The trees and small livestock also provide additional sources of income for farmers.
- These agroecological practices of alley cropping and mixed farming can be adapted to other drought-prone regions across Africa, proponents say.
How a holistic approach aims to heal mangroves in Guinea-Bissau
- Though small, Guinea-Bissau has sizable amounts of mangroves, which cover 9% of this West African country.
- Farmers clear patches of mangroves to grow rice, but climate change and socio-economic shifts mean that many hectares of former rice fields lie abandoned, and could be restored.
- Wetlands International is using an approach called Community-based Ecological Mangrove Restoration (CBEMR) to regenerate abandoned rice fields in and around Cacheu and Cantanhez national parks; 2,600 hectares have been restored to date.
- Community involvement is a cornerstone of the approach, and the project also supports income generation and educational activities.
A Nigerian reserve, once a stronghold for chimps, is steadily losing its forest to farming
- Oluwa Forest Reserve once protected an island of old growth forest in southwestern Nigerian.
- But satellite data show only about half of its intact forest remained at the turn of the century — and it’s only dwindled further since then.
- Poverty-driven smallholder farms and profit-driven industrial plantations are the main causes of deforestation in the reserve.
- Researchers worry that habitat loss in Oluwa is driving endangered species — such as the Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzee — to local extinction.
Biochar from banana peels breaks ground in Cameroon
YAOUNDE – In Cameroon, home to one of the largest forest massif in Africa, the production of charcoal is a growing threat to the environment. To combat this, Steve Djeutchou transforms organic waste, such as banana peels, into ecological charcoal, or biochar. Thanks to his local network of suppliers, Steve estimates that the potential biomass […]
Fresh calls for oil giants to pay $12 billion for Niger Delta pollution
The governor of Nigeria’s Bayelsa state has renewed calls for oil companies like Shell and Eni to pay $12 billion to clean up the pollution from their operations in the state over the past 50 years. The call comes more than a year after a Bayelsa state-appointed commission released its report in May 2023 detailing […]
From landfill to limelight, Ghana waste entrepreneurs win Earthshot Prize
- Green Africa Youth Organization (GAYO), a Ghanaian waste management entrepreneur, was one of the five winners at the recent Earthshot Prize awards in Cape Town.
- The Earthshot Prize recognizes and supports people and organizsations offering solutions to environmental problems. Winners and finalists receive funding and support from the Earthshot network.
- GAYO, whose work recycles waste that would otherwise be burned and advocatinges for better conditions for the people who sort waste, and, along with the other four winners, will each receive a million pounds to expand their work.
Conservationists mobilize to save Sierra Leone national park and its chimpanzees
- Sierra Leone’s Loma Mountains National Park (LMNP) encompasses the highest mountain peak in West Africa, along with valuable habitat for many threatened animals — including critically endangered western chimpanzees.
- However, satellite data show the park lost 6% of its primary forest cover between 2002 and 2023.
- Clearing in the park is being driven by farmers and ranchers who say there is not enough agricultural land in their communities and no other livelihood options; illegal marijuana cultivation is also an issue in the park.
- Conservationists, park officials, international agencies and local residents are working together to protect the park through efforts such as planting trees, training rangers, implementing educational programs in schools and promoting alternative livelihoods for surrounding communities.
Local NGO RAINS brings relief to Ghana’s semiarid north with regenerative farming
- An NGO in the semiarid north of Ghana is helping farming communities cope with a range of challenges through initiatives that center social and human rights and build on Indigenous knowledge.
- The Regional Advisory Information and Network Systems (RAINS) promotes regenerative agricultural practices to local farmers, including intercropping, the planting of cover crops, and the use of traditional seeds and compost and manure.
- It also engages typically marginalized groups such as women and youth in community land-use planning, and tackles gender inequality by improving women’s access to savings schemes and microcredit.
- Those working with the NGO say its efforts have had a material impact on improving food security and reducing incidents of fires, and express hope for its sustained support.
West Africa’s forgotten felines endangered by conflict and research gaps
- The WAP Complex of protected areas that straddles the border region of Benin, Burkina Faso and Niger is one of West Africa’s most important protected areas and a haven for many iconic endangered species.
- Servals, caracals and African wildcats are also found in the WAP Complex, but almost nothing is known about their status, distribution, ecology or threats.
- Covert surveys of medicine markets in the region have found serval and caracal skins, though it’s not known if the skins originated within the WAP Complex.
- The presence of jihadist militants in the region severely impacts conservation and research, particularly in the Niger and Burkina Faso portions of the complex.
Nigerian anti-corruption body partners with EIA to combat wildlife crime
Nigeria’s anti-corruption body is partnering with the London-based Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) to address wildlife trafficking. The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and EIA signed a memorandum of understanding Sept. 20, which will allow the two bodies to work together and develop a strategy to combat environmental crime. “The EIA will […]
The world’s chocolate cravings speed up deforestation in the Congo Basin: Study
- A recent study found that cacao farming in the Congo Basin, the world’s largest carbon sink, is linked with up to seven times more deforestation than other agricultural activities.
- Outside experts say that major global, economic and social pressures are influencing cacao farmers’ actions and call on international chocolate companies to better support farmers on the ground.
- Across cacao-producing countries in Africa, experts say that diversifying crops, rotating crops and changes in the supply chain are key to more sustainable farming practices.
- Agricultural trade drives an estimated 90% of global deforestation and more than 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
Plan for close season rings alarm bells for Liberia’s artisanal fishers
- Liberia revealed plans in May for a close season for fishing, but still hasn’t given any details of what it covers, whom it will apply to, or even when it will come into force.
- Policymakers say a pause in fishing activity is necessary to allow stocks to replenish, and is also an obligation for Liberia under a regional fisheries bloc whose other members have also planned or even implemented close seasons.
- Liberia’s small-scale fishers say the plan could be a solution to dwindling catches, but say there must be some form of livelihood support for them during the period when they can’t fish.
- They also say a close season must apply first and foremost to the industrial vessels that harvest a large amount of the country’s fish, including from nearshore waters that are supposed to be the exclusive domain of small-scale fishers.
New approach to land management in Africa aims to climate-proof ecosystems
- Pioneering projects in Nigeria and Kenya are moving away from government-led land management to a more inclusive approach to address climate, biodiversity and socioeconomic needs.
- The participatory informed landscape approach (PILA) being employed in the Niger Delta and on Mount Elgon consider not just physical details like soil type and rainfall pattern, but also where people live, how they use the land, and their economic activities.
- This helps decision-makers choose actions that match local conditions and needs, aided by a multistakeholder platform to foster collaboration between government entities, private sector players, local governments, NGOs and community groups.
- PILA proponents say the approach marks “a shift from the old ways of doing things to a more integrated, evidence-based approach that considers the needs of both people and the environment.”
Sierra Leone group helps farmers adapt to changing climate, protect forest
- In response to damage caused by deforestation and illegal mining, the Sierra Leone Environment Matters (SLEM) organization is helping Kenema district residents to plant trees and switch to growing more climate-resilient crops.
- The landscape around Kambui Hills, a commercial timber reserve, is vital to local communities for agriculture, tourism, cultural significance as well as water conservation and climate regulation; the area is also home to numerous endangered species.
- Local farmers are facing changing climatic patterns and declining harvests of their primary crop, rice; SLEM has promoted alternative, more climate-resistant options, such as sweet potato, cassava and yams as well as fruit trees like mango and papaya.
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