Mafikeng – The protection of biodiversity hotspots depends on the involvement of local communities, according to the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism.

Speaking at the People and Parks Conference on Monday, deputy Minister Rejoice Mabudafhasi said: “Our success in achieving sustainable protection of these hotspots, species and ecosystems will largely depend on the extent to which we involve local people whose livelihoods depend on these resources.”

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Nelspruit -The Department of Local Government in Mpumalanga has warned all people in the province to be extremely cautious and to take every precaution to prevent fires from igniting.

The warning comes as the weather in the province continues to be windy and conducive for veld fires.
“The public is urged to avoid starting fires in open veld, not to burn litter, not to throw away cigarette stubs in the veld or to leave fires unattended,” warned the department on Monday....

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JOHANNESBURG, 29 July 2008 (IRIN) - Climate change is complicated, but it doesn't have to be:

What is the difference between weather and climate?

Climate is defined as a weather average. Both weather and climate refer to atmospheric conditions, but the timeframes are different. Weather describes short-term atmospheric conditions in a specific place - whether Monday next week will be hot and sunny in Timbuktu, Mali, or if it will rain in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
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JOHANNESBURG, 31 July 2008 (IRIN) - The world can expect to become about 0.2°C warmer per decade for the next two decades, according to several scenarios prepared by the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC). Even if the concentrations of all greenhouse gases and aerosols were kept constant at the levels they were in 2000, further warming of about 0.1°C per decade would still be expected.

The rising temperature has already begun to affect human lives and will continue...

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By Shaun Benton

Cape Town – Up to two-thirds of the animal species in the Kruger National Park could become extinct if global temperatures increase at the current rate.

This warning came on Monday by the Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, Marthinus van Schalkwyk at the opening of a conference on climate change at Kirstenbosch National Botanical Gardens.

Mr van Schalkwyk was quoting from a report about the effects of climate...

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