Elections take the shine off green hydrogen
Oxpeckers tracked 14 GH2 projects in Namibia, finding implementation has been slow and the only real growth has been in bureaucracy. John Grobler investigates...
11 October, 2024
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Potential impacts of gas flaring in Soyo, Angola
Journalist Neusa e Silva travelled to Soyo to discover the potential human and environmental costs of gas flaring on the ground...
30 September, 2024 -
Stuck between lithium rocks and a hard place
Zimbabwean communities living around lithium mines have to put up with noise pollution, gas emissions, dust, flying-rock hazards and ground vibrations. Oscar Nkala investigates...
20 September, 2024 -
Slow walk to deliver GH2 talk in Namibia
John Grobler takes stock of progress on Namibia’s ambitious green hydrogen programme...
10 September, 2024 -
Hwange’s coal-mining horrors
Oscar Nkala travels to Hwange in north-western Zimbabwe to expose the environmental and health hazards caused by more than a century of coal mining...
05 September, 2024 -
‘Silent predators’ in the energy transition
Companies mining commodities needed for the global energy transition accused of keeping affected communities in Madagascar in the dark about their plans. Oscar Nkala investigates...
16 August, 2024 -
‘Future-proofing’ green hydrogen investments
John Grobler takes an inside look at a green hydrogen project that has made the most visible progress of nine such projects currently under development in Namibia...
07 August, 2024 -
‘We want a say in transition mining’ – DRC communities
Communities living on and working land in the DRC say they are not informed about mining permits for energy transition minerals. Jonas Kiriko speaks to them...
02 August, 2024 -
Cobalt crush undermines future of DRC’s community forests
Historic UN deal to restore degraded forest ecosystems in southeastern DRC is being torn apart by mining companies. Jonas Kiriko investigates...
22 July, 2024 -
Dark side to ‘a new dawn’
Tanzania is banking on its natural resources during the global transition to clean energy, but analysts warn there are dangers ahead. Oscar Nkala investigates...
12 July, 2024 -
Green energy innovations in the desert
Green hydrogen features in Namibian projects aimed at producing carbon-free steel and ammonia fuel for shipping and rail transport. John Grobler reports...
05 July, 2024 -
The dark light: Zimbabwe’s energy nightmare
Power shortages across the country are fuelling deforestation through the illegal charcoal trade. Nqobile Tshili, Yolanda Moyo and Nkosana Vuma investigate how this network operate...
12 June, 2024 -
Silent extinction: Zimbabwe’s hotbed of environmental crime
Poaching and illegal coal mining threaten the future of Matabeleland’s elephant population. Nokuthaba Mathema investigates ...
04 June, 2024 -
Environmental (mis)management in Zimbabwe
The Environmental Management Agency does not have enough power to curb rampant water pollution and land degradation. Mandla Tshuma investigates the battles it faces...
24 May, 2024 -
Zimbabwe’s lithium liability
Zimbabwe is positioning itself as a global leader in mining and processing lithium. Tatenda Chitagu investigates the cost of these ambitious plans...
17 May, 2024 -
Zambia tallies the costs of mining for electric batteries
Still reeling from environmental and public health problems caused by lead mining, the country now faces growing manganese demand for electric batteries. Oscar Nkala investigates...
16 April, 2024 -
The cobalt curse of the Congo
Cobalt is a critical energy transition mineral, but its use in batteries and electric vehicles comes at a high price for the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Oscar Nkala investiga...
14 February, 2024 -
‘New energy’ rush is stripping DRC’s natural assets
Mining companies cashing in on global demand for cobalt are destroying protected nature reserves in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Jonas Kiriko investigates...
05 February, 2024 -
Where’s the water for GH2 plan in Namib Desert?
John Grobler travels to the Daures Green Hydrogen Village pilot project in Namibia to find some answers...
23 January, 2024 -
How green is this hydrogen valley?
Puros is the northern-most of three ‘hydrogen valleys’ identified in the Namibian government’s GH2 masterplan. John Grobler visited to find out why...
18 January, 2024 -
Green concerns over green hydrogen
Namibia’s ambitious GH2 project poses threats to a sensitive biodiversity hotspot and local communities, critics say. John Grobler investigates...
17 November, 2023 -
Question marks over Namibia’s green hydrogen plans
Hyphen’s ambitious GH2 venture is flawed and opaque, according to local critics. John Grobler spoke to them...
16 November, 2023 -
Solar’s not shining for all in Cabo Delgado
Mozambique's Energy for All programme has made great strides in far northern Mozambique, but not everyone is happy with it. Buanamade Assane investigates...
30 October, 2023 -
Solar powers up lives in northern Mozambique
Government authorities and communities have switched to solar panels and photovoltaic plants to power health units, schools and water supply systems, reports Nelsa Momade Pedro...
17 October, 2023 -
Nampula far from renewable energy goals
Investors are keen to support solar power in Northern Mozambique, but development on the ground is slow to take off. Amade Abubacar investigates why...
10 October, 2023 -
Why wildlife crimes are easily committed in South Sudan
South Sudan has a Wildlife Act, but lacks the capacity to enforce the law effectively. Diing Magot and Denis Morris Mimbugbe investigate for #WildEye Eastern Africa...
15 September, 2023 -
A burning issue for Burundi’s reserves
Bushfires in Burundi’s protected areas are prohibited by law, but runaway infernos are threatening the reserves and contributing to climate change. Espoir Iradukunda investigates...
17 August, 2023 -
DRC stockpiles fuel illegal wildlife trade
Ivory and other wild contraband seized by authorities is being returned to the black market in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Jonas Kiriko investigates why...
10 August, 2023 -
Rwanda adopts toolkit to prosecute wildlife crimes
New guide will assist investigators, prosecutors and other law enforcers to address the challenges of lack of evidence in prosecuting wildlife crimes. Kelly Rwamapera reports...
06 February, 2023 -
Left in the dust for a greener future
Environmentalists and coal-dependent communities say people at the frontline of SA’s energy transition are in the dark about how it will unfold. Thabo Molelekwa speaks to them...
25 January, 2023 -
South Africa’s energy transition rises in the east
Mpumalanga, the province ‘where the sun rises’, takes centre stage in SA’s Just Energy Transition Plan. Yolandi Groenewald unpicks the details...
18 November, 2022 -
Sweet and sour future for sugar power
Giant sugar companies in Eswatini diversified into biopower cogeneration to keep the lights on, but how long will the strategy last? Phathizwe Zulu investigates...
21 October, 2022 -
Zimbabwe changes gear for electric vehicles
In response to extreme climate fall-out, Zimbabwe is ramping up its transition to electric vehicles as one of its key mitigation measures. Debra Matabvu investigates...
28 September, 2022 -
South Africa (M)ainstreams wind and solar power
Independent producers are already feeding enough power into the grid to replace two coal-fired stations. Thabo Molelekwa investigates the status of SA’s renewable energy roll-out...
22 September, 2022 -
Gone with the wind: Lesotho’s $15-billion energy pipedream
A wind farm hailed as Africa’s largest renewable energy project and the solution to Lesotho’s hefty electricity costs has ground to a halt. Sechaba Mokhethi investigates why...
16 September, 2022 -
Uganda’s special court clamps down on wildlife crime
Handling of wildlife crimes in Uganda has improved since the establishment in 2017 of a special court to handle related cases, reports Cliff Abenaitwe...
08 July, 2022 -
New data provides a glimpse into SA’s illegal pangolin trade
Data shows intelligence operations have confiscated 160 live Temminck’s pangolins from the illegal trade in South Africa over the past five years, reports Calistus Bosaletswe...
23 June, 2022 -
Trafficking crackdown pays off in Tanzania
Tanzania’s elephant population has been rising amid law enforcement successes in dismantling trafficking rings that ferry ivory to Asia, a data investigation by Peter Elias shows...
21 June, 2022 -
How pangolins are smuggled from Southern Africa
Southern African countries are grappling with illegal pangolin trade. Calistus Bosaletswe analyses data sources to find out how this trade takes place...
03 June, 2022 -
Inside the DRC’s great ape trade
International trade in live baby primates is a by-product of the roaring illegal bushmeat trade in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Oscar Nkala investigates...
19 May, 2022 -
Plans to ship endangered African giraffes to Taiwanese zoo
Oscar Nkala tracks a controversial deal to export 18 reticulated giraffes from Southern Africa to a wildlife zoo and entertainment park in Taiwan...
13 December, 2021 -
Inside 25 years of GMOs in Africa: Looking to the future
Part 3: What is the future for those developing GM crops in Africa despite resistance to the technology? Andiswa Matikinca, Arnaud Ouedraogo & Benon Herbert Oluka investigate...
28 September, 2021 -
Fears of deadly consequences cloud Africa’s attempts to embrace GMOs
Part 2: Andiswa Matikinca, Arnaud Ouedraogo & Benon Herbert Oluka look into health and environmental concerns surrounding agricultural biotechnologies, better known as GMOs...
20 September, 2021 -
Inside 25 years of GMOs in Africa
Part 1: why South Africa, Burkina Faso and Uganda have had mixed fortunes. A transnational investigation by Andiswa Matikinca, Arnaud Ouedraogo and Benon Herbert Oluka...
15 September, 2021 -
Africa’s pangolins caught in ‘the perfect storm’
Recent seizures of huge amounts of scales have turned Nigeria into Africa’s key illegal pangolin exporting country. Alexis Kriel investigates what is driving the trade...
06 May, 2019 -
Millions of UN dollars fail to reach villages fighting to survive in Mozambique
Estácio Valoi exposes how the failure of UNDP funding intended to combat environmental destruction left Mozambican communities to battle cyclones, floods and drought alone...
29 March, 2019 -
Namibia starts controversial hyena cull to save its wild horses
Shooting hyenas to save wild horses raises heated debate about interventions between endemic wildlife and ‘feral’ animals. Linda Baker investigates...
26 February, 2019 -
The world’s largest ‘paper park’
Six years and €50-million since its creation, Oscar Nkala visits the Kavango Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area to find out what impact it has had on wildlife and communities...
14 December, 2018 -
A dark battle to save pangolins
South African pioneers are inventing ways to save casualties of the world’s biggest wildlife crime, reports Louise de Bruin...
04 December, 2018 -
When more plants is bad news
Ground-breaking termite study shows climate change is altering Africa’s savannahs, and how ecosystems could stop functioning as a result. Louise de Bruin reports...
07 June, 2018 -
Why rhinos shiver and shake
Understanding and dealing with tremors during veterinary treatment is essential to securing the species, reports Louise de Bruin...
27 June, 2017 -
How SA’s abalone ends up on China’s plates
Crystal Chow investigates how the race over the most sought-after delicacy in Asia embodies the developmental dilemma in post-apartheid South Africa...
09 June, 2017 -
How I helped Leila
Journalist John Grobler was on assignment in Angola when he came across a young chimpanzee in trouble. This is the story of his mission to take her to a place of safety...
23 May, 2017 -
Pirates threaten Botswana’s fishing industry
Illegal fishing in Lake Ngami in the Okavango Delta is a threat to species and local livelihoods. It could spark cross-border conflict with Zambia and the DRC, reports <em...
17 March, 2016 -
Poaching takes a toll on vulture populations
Deliberate poisoning of vultures by poachers is on the rise. If current trends continue, the Cape vulture will have declined by 98% in the next three generations, writes <e...
17 March, 2016 -
SA breeders buck the system
The sale of wildlife from South Africa to Angolan national parks sparked a row over the spread of non-indigenous species. It also raised renewed fears about Angola's critic...
16 March, 2016 -
Open letter to the Minister on Tsitsikamma MPA
After Oxpeckers published articles on the opening of the Tsitsikamma protected area to fishing, a marine scientist sent us a plea explaining why this is a bad idea...
22 January, 2016 -
Small victory for marine protected area
A settlement prevents fishing in the Tsitsikamma marine protected area for now, but does not affect draft regulations for its re-zoning, writes Louise de Bruin</st...
12 January, 2016 -
Marine ‘Kruger park’ opened for fishing
Marine scientists are concerned that opening South Africa's largest marine protected area will rapidly reduce stocks of endangered fish species. They liken the move to open...
11 December, 2015 -
Protecting elephants could encourage forest growth in Central Africa
Central Africa need elephants to increase oxygen and food productivity, and to fight climate change, writes Israel Bionyi...
19 August, 2014 -
Kenya: Oil metropolis threatens coastal paradise
The Kenyan government granted a US$484-million contract to a Chinese firm to put up the first three berths of a gigantic port project in a global heritage site. Local residents are...
15 April, 2014 -
Angola’s new resource curse
The Lobito Corridor between Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo is a game-changer in the new scramble for Africa’s mineral riches. Who’s building it, and why? John Grob...
19 February, 2014
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