Conservation and Nature

South Africa is renowned for having one of the world’s biggest populations of great white sharks. Substantial declines have been observed, however, in places where the sharks normally gather on the coast of the Western Cape Province

Johannesburg and its surrounds, at the centre of the industrial heartland of South Africa, have been hit by severe water cuts. Water interruptions have been happening for years, but they have been scaled up dramatically in recent weeks.

Recently, news reports revealed plans by a Canadian oil and gas company, ReconAfrica, to explore for oil and gas in some of Africa’s most sensitive protected areas. These areas include the headwaters of the Okavango delta.

The Namibian and Botswana governments may be risking their water resources for oil and gas revenue. They have licensed a Canadian firm, ReconAfrica, to prospect for oil in the Cubango Okavango River Basin, in an area covering 34,000km².

Giraffes are the world’s tallest mammals and an African icon, but they are also vulnerable to extinction. Giraffe populations have declined by 40% in the last 30 years, and there are now fewer than 70,000 left in the wild.