By Gavin Hudson •
May 22, 2009
Editor’s note: This post was written by Emily Loose at the WILD Foundation. It follows up on Jake Richardson’s earlier post.
The future of a rare herd of desert elephants in Mali is under threat from one of the worst droughts in living memory, which has left a key water source at its lowest level in a quarter of a century.
The 350 to 450 elephants of Gourma, the northernmost herds still alive in Africa, are being forced to trek extreme distances across the fringes of the Sahara to find scarce water. Juveniles are likely the worst affected, as (unlike the bigger bulls) their trunks are not long enough to reach deep into wells - one of the only remaining water sources.
The worst drought in 26 years is threatening the survival of a rare herd of desert elephants in Mali. A number have already died and more are struggling to survive. Save the Elephants is taking donations to help the elephants before they die.
By Dave Harcourt •
May 4, 2009
Only a few years ago Jatropha was considered to be the wonder biodiesel feedstock suitable for production by small scale farmers in poor soils and arid countries. It has not lived up to the hype and it will be years before it can compete agronomically with soya and it is not scalable to the refining industry’s needs under small scale farming. Small scale rural farmers are more easily integrated into Jatropha based electrification in underdeveloped rural areas.
The Jatropha Spin
Jatropha curcas, also known as the Physic nut, is a perennial poisonous shrub. It is an uncultivated non-food wild-species that grows easily in hedges and scattered around homesteads. It was spread from Central America to Africa by Portuguese traders who introduced it as a hedge material and a source of oil for light.
