Planting trees in grasslands won’t save the planet – rather protect and restore forests: Tree planting is one of the nature-based solutions being used to offset greenhouse gas emissions. Trees absorb atmospheric carbon dioxide. Many of these tree planting projects target Africa’s rangelands (open grasslands or shrublands used by livestock and wild animals). They include …
Billions have been raised to restore forests, with little success. Here’s the missing ingredient: Yaroslav Astakhov/Shutterstock Protecting and restoring forests is one of the cheapest and most effective options for mitigating the carbon emissions heating Earth. Since the third UN climate change summit, held in 1997 in Kyoto, Japan, different mechanisms have been trialled to …
Big businesses say they are helping to restore ecosystems – but proof remains elusive: A coral restoration project in Indonesia. Martin Colognoli/Ocean Image Bank, CC BY-NC-SA We’re witnessing first-hand an alarming decline of the world’s ecosystems, which is having a devastating impact on the people who rely on them. In many cases, it’s no longer …
Trees discovered at record-breaking altitudes highlight why we should restore Scotland’s mountain woodland: The Scottish Highlands are celebrated for wide-open views of spectacular glens (valleys) and rugged peaks. After centuries of landscape change, particularly deforestation caused by humans, it is easy to forget how well trees can thrive there. But new discoveries of small trees …
San and Khoe skeletons: how a South African university sought to restore dignity and redress the past: A facial reconstruction of one of the Sutherland Nine, a woman named Saartje. Reconstruction by Dr Kathryn Smith/Professor Caroline Wilkinson It has been nearly 100 years since the skeletonised remains of nine people were removed from their graves …
Why there are fewer insects on UK farms than there were a century ago — and how to restore them: Farmed landscapes have become less hospitable habitats for insects. Protasov AN/Shutterstock Insect populations are declining worldwide at a rate of almost 1% per year. This decline is alarming. Insects play a crucial role in pollinating …
The animals and plants that only exist in captivity – and why time is running out to restore them to the wild: The Socorro dove (_Zenaida graysoni_) was confirmed to be extinct in the wild in 1981. Johann Alexi/Freigabe-Nachweis, CC BY-SA It was April in 1981 when a party of four camped for two days …
Light pollution has cut humanity’s ancient connection with the stars – but we can restore it: Andrey Prokhorov/Shutterstock Humans are naturally afraid of the dark. We sometimes imagine monsters under the bed and walk faster down unlit streets at night. To conquer our fears, we may leave a night light on to scare away the …
Environment plan for England asks farmers to restore nature – but changes are likely to be superficial: Julie Yates/Shutterstock The UK government’s environment improvement plan pledges to restore 500,000 hectares (1.2 million acres) of wildlife-rich habitat, create or expand 25 national parks, invest in the recovery of hedgehogs and red squirrels, tackle rising sewage pollution …
Biodiversity: one way to help countries stick to their commitments to restore nature: Cassiano Psomas/Unsplash, CC BY When a hydropower dam in Argentina threatened to wipe out the hooded grebe, a bird found nowhere else on Earth, a local fishing community turned to the law for help. The dam contravened Argentina’s commitment to halt species …
South Africa’s intelligence watchdog is failing civil society. How to restore its credibility: Shutterstock In October, South African president Cyril Ramaphosa and his cabinet committed to a range of reforms to the country’s intelligence services. He based these reforms on recommendations made by the judicial commission of inquiry into state capture. The reforms include strengthening …
South Africa in the news: Anagarika Dharmapala’s interactions with Mahatma Gandhi during his struggle to restore India’s Buddhist heritage: It seems I was born to restore the Sasana in India. When I started Buddhist work in India, a lot of lay Buddhists as well as Bhikkhus in Ceylon started working against me. They did not …
How countries alongside the Sahara can restore productive land faster: Universal Images Group via Getty Images Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari is about to take over the presidency of the Pan-African Agency of the Great Green Wall – the continent’s effort to restore degraded cropland, grazing areas and woodlands bordering the Sahara Desert. He takes over …
South Africa in the news: South Africa’s leader vows to restore order, catch plotters: South Africa’s leader went to Johannesburg’s Soweto township Sunday to view badly damaged shopping centers where people were tramp …: “South Africa” – BingNews Unrest: Govt was caught asleep on duty – Pieter Groenewald: Unrest: Government was caught asleep on duty. …
South African riots and food security: why there’s an urgent need to restore stability: Fuel storage tanks at South Africa's Durban harbour. Blocking the transport of fuel will stop the transport of food. Photo by Hoberman Collection/Universal Images Group via Getty Images When South Africa’s president, Cyril Ramaphosa, addressed the nation on July 12 amid …
Greening the planet: we can’t just plant trees, we have to restore forests: Borneo Rimbawan/Shutterstock The Queen’s Green Canopy, a campaign to celebrate Elizabeth II’s platinum jubilee next year, involves asking people in the UK to plant trees: a “treebilee” as her son, Prince Charles puts it. This is one of a number of public …
Restore an old MacBook with Linux: Last year, I wrote about how you can give new life to an old MacBook with Linux, specifically Elementary OS in that instance. Recently, I returned to that circa 2015 MacBook Air and discovered I had lost my login password. I downloaded the latest Elementary OS 5.1.7 Hera release …
How ‘hyperlocal’ journalism can restore trust in the media: Shutterstock/TeroVesalainen It is a critical time for public interest journalism. Trust in the mainstream media is a major problem as fake news spreads unabated on social networks. One of the key issues is the disappearance of local newspapers which could prove to be “catastrophic” for some …