We asked – the PMU has answered
New matchmaking platform for green energy funding offers solutions to coal-dependent communities at the frontline of SA’s energy transition, Thabo Molelekwa reports...
12 November, 2024
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#PowerTracker to monitor renewables across SA
Our pioneering project gears up to track the JET journey beyond the country’s energy capital. Andiswa Matikinca and Roxanne Joseph report...
25 September, 2024 -
A decade of pecking at a poaching kingpin
How we tracked the notorious Mozambican syndicate leader ‘Navara’ from 2013 until he ended up in jail in 2024. By Fiona Macleod & Estacio Valoi...
29 August, 2024 -
Confidentiality stands in the way of JET information
Amid new promises from the government to scale up renewables, Andiswa Matikinca tracks our journey to unlock data on SA’s Just Energy Transition...
21 August, 2024 -
Data-driven climate journalism led to large fines for mining company
A Zimbabwe journalist working with Oxpeckers investigated how a Chinese mining company polluted local water sources. Anders Behrmann reports...
29 July, 2024 -
Powering journalistic expertise to cover renewable energy
As the global transition to greener sources of energy continues full steam ahead, Oxpeckers takes the #PowerTracker project to journalists on the ground. Andiswa Matikinca reports...
05 March, 2024 -
What #PowerTracker journalists found in Mozambique
A six-month training and journalistic project has unravelled data and the human face of the renewals revolution, writes Estacio Valoi...
24 November, 2023 -
#PowerTracker digs deeper into Mpumalanga renewables
Next month the team will start work on the project’s second year in SA’s energy heartland, continuing to track and investigate the energy transition, reports Roxanne Joseph...
14 November, 2023 -
#PowerTracker: Renewables are powering up in Mpumalanga
After a year of research, we can authoritatively confirm that renewable energy is on the rise in South Africa’s power capital. Andiswa Matikinca reports...
12 October, 2023 -
#PowerTracker zooms in on Mozambique’s renewables
In continuing our partnership with CIJ's Open Climate Reporting Initiative, we now have the opportunity to focus on tracking and mapping Mozambique’s renewable energy initiatives...
29 June, 2023 -
Rating SA’s transparency on clean energy
#PowerTracker rates South Africa’s transparency on renewable power agreements, after spending the past five months tracking down the data. Andiswa Matikinca reports...
22 May, 2023 -
JustSA answers #PowerTracker question
Launch of catalytic renewable energy programme in Mpumalanga follows Oxpeckers data exposé. Roxanne Joseph reports...
16 March, 2023 -
Tracking renewable power in Mpumalanga
The second iteration of the Oxpeckers #PowerTracker programme zooms in on the financing of renewable energy projects in Mpumalanga – the focus area of SA’s Just Energy Transition. ...
19 January, 2023 -
Journalists liberate new #PowerTracker data to follow energy investments
Local journalists create and share a new dataset that untangles green energy investments across Southern Africa...
05 December, 2022 -
#PowerTracker journalists tell stories with data
By the time our latest in-depth training session – storytelling with data – came to a close, our #PowerTracker grantees could more confidently call themselves data journalists...
29 August, 2022 -
Meet the #PowerTracker journalists
Oxpeckers’ latest project, #PowerTracker, brings together journalists from across Southern Africa to investigate financing of renewable energy projects...
12 August, 2022 -
Green for good — or greed?
New Oxpeckers collaboration to investigate who is financing renewable energy initiatives in Southern Africa, and how the money is being spent...
15 July, 2022 -
New digital tool tracks wildlife crimes in East Africa
Journalists and investigators finally have a single place to access data on wildlife cases in East Africa that will help drive reporting and expose criminal syndicates, writes Andi...
06 July, 2022 -
Using access to information laws to uncover wildlife crime in the UK
There doesn’t seem to be a clear, singular approach to wildlife crime in the UK, which makes accessing data about it extremely challenging, writes Marthe de Ferrer...
08 June, 2022 -
Reporting on the rise of green crime
Legal expert guides journalists on using legal frameworks to access information on environmental crimes in Europe. Nompumelelo Mtsweni reports...
28 April, 2022 -
Journalists learn new skills to expose wildlife crime
Resources and learning materials from the inaugural six-month Oxpeckers training course are now available to advance data journalism and environmental reporting around the globe...
17 February, 2022 -
New #Wildeye tool tracks wildlife crime in Southern Africa
Wildlife crime in Southern Africa has become easier to track and harder to hide, after Oxpeckers launched a digital tool that follows court cases and convictions in the region...
24 November, 2021 -
Using the law to access wildlife crime data
Attorneys from the Legal Resources Centre train journalists on legal frameworks and access to information in Southern African countries. Dianne Tipping-Woods reports...
25 August, 2021 -
Grants for journalists to investigate environmental crime
The Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime, working with Henry Nxumalo Foundation, Oxpeckers and #WildEye Asia, offers grants to investigate environmental crime...
03 August, 2021 -
Enhancing wildlife crime journalism with data
New Oxpeckers professional support programme boosts wildlife crime reporting in Southern Africa with data-driven tools and journalist training...
26 July, 2021 -
How journalists use data to investigate wildlife crime in Asia
Takeaways from a #WildEye discussion among diverse journalists from across Asia about their experiences of using data to investigate wildlife crimes...
09 June, 2021 -
Struggling to find SA’s mines? You’re not alone
The government admits its online platform for accessing information on SA’s mines is not working. Thank goodness for #MineAlert, writes Andiswa Matikinca...
11 March, 2021 -
Talking about wildlife trafficking in Asia
A recent #WildEye webinar saw journalists from across Asia discussing how best to cover wildlife trafficking in the region...
26 August, 2020 -
Powering up investigative environmental journalism
What we do: Peer review by NiemanLab and the Global Investigative Journalism Network of Oxpeckers tools and investigations...
03 August, 2020 -
New tool tracks Asia’s role in illegal wildlife trade
With global attention focused on wildlife trade in Asia, Oxpeckers introduces a new data journalism tool that investigates legal interventions...
06 May, 2020 -
Nigeria steps up to help pangolins
Research, contacts and networks from our journalistic investigations in the hub of Africa's illegal pangolin trade contributed to Nigeria hosting World Pangolin Day...
05 March, 2020 -
The human face of tragic Wuhan
Oxpeckers associate Yuexuan Chen tells her story of Hubei, the Chinese province at the epicentre of the coronavirus crisis...
20 February, 2020 -
New visions at Alternative Mining Indaba
Deliberations at the 11th Alternative Mining Indaba focused on environmental damage and climate change caused by the extractives industry. Andiswa Matikinca was there...
14 February, 2020 -
Beyond parachute journalism
Instead of grabbing the story and rushing away to publish, this journalistic investigation helped remote rural community members participate in the project...
05 February, 2020 -
Talking wildlife crime in Europe
A recent #WildEye webinar raised lively discussion among journalists and other participants about Europe’s role in the global illegal wildlife trade...
22 November, 2019 -
#MineAlert shines at Vodacom Awards
A year after joining Oxpeckers, Andiswa Matikinca was crowned regional winner of the prestigious Vodacom Young Journalist of the Year Award...
11 November, 2019 -
Steps up in my journalism career
From going cross-eyed cleaning datasets to freezing on the summit of the Drakensberg – Yuexuan Chen finds her groove in investigative environmental journalism...
23 August, 2019 -
Tracking water use licences with #MineAlert
Mining your Water project empowers users to track and share water use licences approved for mining, reports Andiswa Matikinca ...
14 August, 2019 -
Europe cracks down on wildlife crime
Analysis of #WildEye data shows there has been an increase in the number of court cases and convictions taking place across Europe, writes Roxanne Joseph...
26 July, 2019 -
Oxpeckers investigation wins Asian journalism award
Transnational investigation into abalone smuggling from South Africa to China wins at Asian Environmental Journalism Awards...
22 March, 2019 -
Here’s how to heed those voices, Mr President
President Cyril Ramaphosa says SA mining wants to be more transparent and embracing. Andiswa Matikinca talks to organisations with advice...
08 February, 2019 -
Digital tool tracks Europe’s role in illegal wildlife trade
Our digital geojournalism tool #WildEye gives easy access to data on seizures, arrests, court cases and convictions related to wildlife crime in Europe...
28 January, 2019 -
#MineAlert team making waves
The Open Society Foundation for South Africa’s 25th anniversary was cause for celebration at Oxpeckers #MineAlert manager Tholakele Nene has been announced as one of 20 young South...
07 December, 2018 -
Help us to track wildlife crime
Our new #WildEye project aims to expose wildlife smuggling networks and how they work across the greater European continent...
20 November, 2018 -
How #MineAlert helped Mabola
An anonymous tip-off sparked a sustained investigative journalism trail and a precedent-setting High Court judgment, writes Julia Thomas...
16 November, 2018 -
ClimaTracker story wins international award
Story about Patricia de Lille’s struggle to access climate funding for drought-stricken Cape Town wins United Nations contest...
02 November, 2018 -
Oxpeckers portfolio wins top media award
Award-winning work demonstrates the success of transnational multimedia collaborations in environmental journalism...
24 October, 2018 -
Mantashe listening with only half an ear
Public participation in the mining sector has improved but there is still a long way to go to gain stakeholder trust, writes Tholakele Nene...
28 September, 2018 -
Forensic investigation to unearth MalaMala skeletons
SA’s Parliament decides to initiate a forensic investigation into the controversial R1.1-billion MalaMala deal, the country’s most expensive land settlement. Tholakele Nene reports...
25 July, 2018 -
Bird’s-eye views of badlands
Multimedia geojournalism collaboration uses cutting-edge technology to expose uncharted territory...
13 April, 2018 -
#MineAlert tackles threats to water resources
New Water Threats map layers provide a birds’-eye view of mining risks to SA's ground and surface water reserves...
28 March, 2018 -
Pioneering multimedia tech for climate change
Lessons we learnt from experimenting with savvy storytelling tech to tell visually strong and impactful multimedia investigations...
10 November, 2017 -
Mine closure investigations win top award
Pioneering data journalism project on financial provisions for mine closures and rehabilitation is rewarded with top environmental media award...
25 October, 2017 -
Progress through partnerships
#MineAlert's Tholakele Nene discusses the importance of building trusted partnerships when creating tools for transparency and accountability...
18 September, 2017 -
Firing up my career in data journalism
A lot of tools and skill go into creating a cutting-edge multimedia investigation, as Tricia Govindasamy discovered when covering our Fire Factories feature...
15 September, 2017 -
#MineAlert: A year of digging dirt
Want to find out how many uranium mines there are in SA, given the focus on nuclear build? This kind of information is available on our #MineAlert map...
04 April, 2017 -
ClimaTracker: Can you afford to eat?
What does climate change mean for the average household? Our new ClimaTracker Food Basket Calculator shows the costs in real terms...
01 March, 2017 -
Mozambique associate wins environment award
Estacio Valoi, an Oxpeckers Associate based in Mozambique, won the environmental journalism award at the 15th anniversary celebrations of the Worldwide Fund for Nature...
30 January, 2017 -
Oxpeckers wins CNN Multichoice African Journalist Award
'Swashbuckling tale' of poaching links from Namibia to China won Oxpeckers a prestigious CNN Multichoice African Journalist of the Year Award...
10 October, 2016 -
The double-edged sword of mining
Communities affected by mining in South Africa live under a double-edged sword. Geojournalism helps them to participate in governance and compliance monitoring...
26 August, 2016 -
Oxpeckers Associate wins Journalist of the Year award
Shi Yi, a Chinese journalist who joined Oxpeckers to expose wildlife trafficking routes from Namibia to Asia, won the coveted Journalist of the Year Award at the 2016 China Environ...
30 May, 2016 -
New tool for transparency in extractives
#MineAlert is a citizen-focused, mobile and web-based resource that provides users with real-time and location-based alerts about mining & associated applications...
25 April, 2016 -
Vietnam warning follows Oxpeckers exposé
In a move directly linked to an Oxpeckers investigation, the Vietnamese government has warned tour operators not to support illegal wildlife product processing workshops</s...
03 March, 2016 -
Murky deals, exploited communities
Nicky Rehbock, global campaigns officer for Corruption Watch and Transparency International, wrote this blog about the Mala Mala Files for Corruption Watch Connected</stron...
15 January, 2016 -
ClimaTracker: Making climate science accessible
ClimaTracker is an innovative geojournalism project that makes complex scientific data accessible, and tells Southern Africa’s climate change stories at a mouse click</stro...
25 November, 2015 -
Talking Oxpeckers and technology in Seoul
Oxpeckers both creates and applies new technologies for investigative environmental reporting. It is a new kind of journalism that creates visual narratives while empowering civic ...
23 June, 2015 -
The nitty gritty of catching poachers
Oxpeckers partnered with the Barcode of Wildlife Project, a global programme building a DNA barcode reference library of threatened species vulnerable to illegal trade...
07 November, 2014 -
Oxpeckers wins more awards
Hongqiao Liu, one of China’s youngest environmental reporters, was an Oxpeckers Fellow in 2013 and spent three months in South Africa investigating wildlife trafficking links...
03 November, 2014 -
Oxpeckers wins top media award
Judges of the prestigious SAB EnviroMedia Award describe the Oxpeckers Fellowship Project as 'South Africa's pioneering attempt to facilitate collaborative journalism on an interna...
24 October, 2014 -
Mapping rhino poaching court cases data
Oxpeckers Rhino Court Cases interactive map provides an easy, accessible way to keep track of cases involving rhino poaching...
21 August, 2014 -
Cases on the court roll
On the eve of his departure from the Police Ministry, Nathi Mthethwa released to Oxpeckers consolidated data on court cases involving alleged rhino poachers...
18 July, 2014 -
Pioneering data journalism
Oxpeckers' work on rhino poaching features in the Art and Science of Data-driven Journalism, published by the Tow Center of the School of Journalism...
03 June, 2014 -
Botswana bans canned hunts
The Botswana government banned canned hunting of large carnivores, in response to an Oxpeckers cross-border investigation. Lawrence Seretse reports...
01 April, 2014 -
Uproar over ‘canned’ lions
This photograph, taken during an undercover transnational investigation by Oxpeckers reporters in late 2013, went viral during a global campaign against canned lion hunting in Marc...
18 March, 2014 -
Chinese Environmental Journalism Project
Global wildlife trafficking syndicates employ increasingly sophisticated circumvention tools and technology to avoid detection. Oxpeckers exposes them by playing them at th...
14 February, 2014
TOOLS
#WildEye allows you to track environmental crime across the globe
#PowerTracker allows you to track renewable and coal based energy sources
#MineAlert allows you to track and share mining applications and licences
Track biodiversity threats caused by mining licences across Africa
Use ClimaTracker to track weather changes and how these will affect you
Exposing global environmental crime stories
Track developments in rhino poaching court cases across Southern Africa
Instant access to data on rhino deaths and poaching incidents since 2010
#GreenAlert helps you track & share environmental impact assessments
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