Some 1,000 Kenyans are suing the British military, after a wildfire back on March 24 destroyed part of a wildlife conservation area and affected people in the surrounding communities. Lawyers for the Kenyans say the British Army Training Unit Kenya (BATUK) started the fire while conducting military training exercises. The…
The environmental records of oil majors with operations in Nigeria have long been placed under scrutiny, along with investigations into corruption and human rights violations. This year promises to be a watershed year for cases involving Shell entities, according to a summary from Amnesty International. The organization says at least…
Climate change and related environmental challenges are implicated in gender-based violence and discrimination, notably in sub-Saharan Africa’s fishing and timber industries, according to a new study from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Conflict over scarce resources can give rise to practices such as ‘sex-for-fish’ in parts of…
Young environmental activists in Zambia released a new video on Monday to call attention to the longstanding problem of lead poisoning in Kabwe, where more than a century of mining impacts led to environmental disaster and lasting health consequences disproportionately affecting children. “Several neighborhoods in our town, Kabwe, have some…
The weeklong United Nations Environment Assembly began in Nairobi on Monday with a moment of silence for the 157 victims aboard Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET302, which crashed near its origination at Addis Ababa on Sunday with dozens of UN staffers, global delegates and participants on board. Acting UN Environment director…
On Monday morning at 10 a.m., the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) based in Nairobi will begin the first plenary session of the UN Environment Assembly – and they’ll do so with empty seats. That’s because according to estimates, up to 50 passengers aboard Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET302, which crashed…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
The bauxite industry in Guinea may be boosting the economy, but the damage caused by mining – and the impact on land ownership for Guineans – is a threat to their future. That’s according to a report released Thursday by Human Rights Watch, which looks at two mining operations: the…
Environmental experts from 43 countries are gathered in Nairobi for the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN), with the special session for ministers set for Wednesday. The meeting focuses on key issues ahead of Africa’s participation at COP24 in December in Poland, as well as an African Biodiversity Ministerial…
The old cars dumped by high-income countries into Africa and South Asia pose a threat to the environment and public health because of the toxic pollution they cause. That’s the warning from the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) in India, with a new global study on what happens to…
Following a Dutch investigation into low-quality and highly toxic fuel blends shipped from Europe to West Africa, the United Nations Environmental Program has called on other countries to follow suit. “The shipping of dirty fuels to West Africa has been nothing short of an environmental and public health scandal. The…
Officials in Namibia say they’re cracking down on a pollution problem in the country’s Zambezi region, where it’s people who are washing their cars in the river who are causing environmental damage. The country’s Environmental Management Act establishes fines for pollution, but residents either don’t know or care when they…
Uganda’s parliament has passed legislation banning the import of cars more than 15 years old, in a compromise of an original proposal that would have seen the vehicle-year threshold as lows as eight. Government officials said the law, which will go into effect on July 1, is meant to boost…
An initiative designed to protect environmental defenders around the world from threats, intimidation, harassment and murder was launched Tuesday by the United Nations Environment Program. The UN Environmental Rights Initiative was introduced in Geneva with guests on hand including John Knox, UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and the Environment;…
A hydroelectric dam project, years in the making and planned for the Zambezi River between Zambia and Zimbabwe, remains under pressure from whitewater rafting enthusiasts and tourism businesses concerned about the environmental and economic impacts. Munyaradzi Munodawafa, chief executive with the Zambezi River Authority, told reporters this week that the…
As climate leaders prepare for COP23 in Bonn, Germany, next week, a new UN assessment shows that national pledges will deliver only a third of the carbon emissions reduction needed to meet 2030 climate targets. That means that even under the best of circumstances – for example, the United States…