I keep picturing Snow White’s apple when I see Genetically Modified (GM) maize or mielies as we call them. If you see them ripening in the fields they are beautiful. They grow tall and strong and each cob is perfectly formed. Just like Snow White’s apple. […]
In our cities we have to move away from private cars towards public transport. In our freight transport we have to move from the roads back to the rails. How can this be achieved in a society where the first item people want to buy when they start earning more is a motor vehicle and [...]
South Africa has approximately 4500 export fruit growers who are coming together under one body to consolidate an industry that is based on sound, internationally benchmarked social, ethical and environmental principles. […]
Jan Oelofse was a legend. Few people deserve this accolade and he is one of them. Independent, brave and headstrong, he pioneered the mass game capture technique known as the ‘Oelofse Method’ that revolutionised game capture and the game industry in Africa. […]
‘At first the learners don’t regard rivers as important; they just see them as running water unrelated to their lives. Many also have a fear of rivers because they’ve been told frightening stories about river snakes.’ Wendy Ngcobo, an environmental education coordinator for the Duzi uMngeni Conservation Trust (DUCT), discusses the initial attitude of the [...]
In their small, brightly painted boats the fishermen head out to sea. On some days they return with a haul of fresh linefish for their families and some extra to sell. On other days they return empty-handed. […]
It’s relatively easy to measure how many tons of carbon are present in a tropical forest, using physical measurements and satellite photos. But how do you measure how much carbon is present in a wetland or in a million hectares of grassland soil? It’s not easy, says Onno Huyser, the WWF Senior Manager for Fynbos [...]
The first Protected Environment in the Karoo, Eastern Cape, has been proclaimed. Called the Compassberg Protected Environment it is a critical water catchment area spanning 42 000 hectares of livestock and game farms, and including the iconic Compassberg. […]
Too much rest damages the veld and only intense livestock hoof action can restore vegetation and reverse the effects of desertification, a major cause of climate change. Four decades since he gave his first course on holistic farming in South Africa, holistic management pioneer Allan Savory returned to Graaff-Reinet for a three-day workshop. Heather Dugmore [...]
Farmers, communities, environmental organisations, geologists and water specialists are up in arms about global energy and petrochemical company Shell’s application to explore for shale gas over 90 000km2 in the water-stressed Karoo. The proposed exploration method, called hydraulic fracturing or “fracking”, involves drilling boreholes 4-5km deep, followed by the introduction of a mixture of chemicals, [...]
