Green Options

Ngorongoro World Heritage Site Under Threat

Thirty years after being listed as a World Heritage Sites the Ngorongoro Conservation area is in danger of being ‘deleted’ from the prestigious listing. This legendary wildlife-filled crater, is a  8,300 square kilometer part of Tanzania’s Serengeti.

The United Nations Education Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has set the Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority very tight goals which must be met if Ngorongoro is to retain its World Heritage Sites listing.

Recent reports that the international demand for crocodile skin is leading to the Nile crocodile being in danger of extinction in Nigeria need some evaluation and would in any case be easily solved through the farming of crocodiles.

There have been a number of news stories (Agence France Presse, Red Orbit) about Ismail Dauda, the crocodile and python skin tanner of Kano in northern Nigeria. He is reportedly processing up to 20,000 skins (crocodile & python) a month. His comment that crocodiles are now harder to source than ten years ago and discussions with conservationists lead to the conclusion that crocodiles “might soon face extinction in Nigeria” if the authorities do start to control this mainly illegal trade.

Recently, we published famed conservationist Dr. Ian Player’s story of his 60 year long struggle to save St. Lucia Lake in South Africa. In 1970, the lake had become so salty it was killing the crocodiles. Dr. Player and his colleagues found themselves wrestling 1,000 Lb crocodiles and airlifting the animals by helicopter to a safer home. Here, with excerpts from Dr. Player’s story, are the photos of that rescue. Read Dr. Player’s full story at WILD.

“In April 1970 there was a headline that St Lucia would be dead in a few months. This led to a furious Chairman of the Parks Board, Mr. Wood, making a statement in which, inter-alia, he said that he, ‘did not accept the Lake would soon be dead.’ But the Northern section was already dead, with more crocodiles dying daily, and the stench of death was overpowering. Newspaper articles appeared almost daily about the lake and the salinity, and letters were written to the press urging more practical solutions.”

Dr. Ian Player knows Lake St. Lucia, located in South Africa’s Wetlands Park, intimately. He’s dedicated 60 years of his life to saving it. In his youth, Dr. Player fished the lake. By 1970, he would be wrestling and airlifting 50 large crocodiles to save them from salinity of the lake’s waters. Here is Dr. Player’s story, published with permission from WILD.

South Africa is a world leader both in terms of mineral resources and in the development of mining technology to extract these resources. The industry there leads the world in many areas, and has had enormous impact on the growth of Africa and on the environment.

1. The Biggest Open Cast, Hand Dug Mine in the World

The Big Hole of Kimberly was dug by hand, using picks and shovels. There is debate about whether the Big Hole is the biggest hand dug open cast mine in the world. Its surface area of 17 hectares (42 acres) and depth of around 200 metres (650 ft) required the excavation of around 25 million tons of earth and rock. This was achieved in 52 years between 1866 and 1914 by a workforce of up to 50,000 miners. What is beyond dispute though is that The Big Hole yielded 2,720 kilograms (6000 lb) of diamonds significantly more than the Jagersfontein mine, the other contender for the title of biggest. After all what better metric is there than output!

We missed this when it happened a couple of weeks ago, but a bank in South Africa has been up to some interesting advertising gimmicks. Billing itself as a “truly green bank,” Nedbank installed what is being called the world’s first billboard made from woven plastic bags in Johannesburg, South Africa.

The billboard was created using 2,000 (!) reclaimed plastic bags that were woven together to make the billboard, which measures over 120 feet in length. Nedbank employed seven crafters to create the billboard, taking them about six weeks to complete the project, making this a huge handmade project.

For the first time the South African government has put in place realistic support that will begin the investment needed to reach our goal of sourcing 2% of our energy needs from renewable energy by 2013.

What Is the Challenge

In 2003 the Government set a target of 10,000 GWh of energy to be produced from renewable energy sources by 2013. At that time the strategy expected the energies to be biomass, wind, solar and small-scale hydro.

Very little progress has been made on reaching this goal although six of the 10 years have already passed.

Recent pronouncements by the South African President that Africa needs to wake up to the threat of climate change come as a relief in a continent that is likely to suffer the worst effects. Indeed, climate change is compounding Africa’s existing risks and vulnerabilities. In light of this stark reality Africa needs to get up and act.

An indigenous plant which was declared extinct in 2007 has been rediscovered at Nelson Mandela Bay in South Africa. Unfortunately, it still needs to be protected from roadworks that are starting in preparation for the 2010 World Cup of Soccer in South Africa.

Aspalathus recurvispina is a plant of the same Genus as that from which the internationally known Rooibos (Aspalathus linearis) herbal tea is made. It is Rooibos that is pictured above as photos of the believed to be distinct plant are hard to come by.

A. recurvispina was first collected and identified on the fringe of the Humewood coastal bypass dunes near Port Elizabeth (now Nelson Mandela Bay) in the early 1960s.

The Sun City Million Dollar Pigeon Race is the richest and biggest one loft pigeon race in the world. This year 3,082 pigeons from 20 countries around the world raced for US $1,000,000 in prize money.

The Sun City Million Dollar Pigeon Race is a competition that parallels the internationally known Sun City Million Dollar Golf Tournament that was established in 1981 and offered total prize money of one million dollars. The race which is the richest One-Loft Race in the world, finishes at Sun City the entertainment complex built by Sol Kersner on who’s golf courses the golfers play.

The winner of the 2009 race and $200,000 was East of Eden, who took just over nine and a quarter hours to complete the 552 kilometer flight from Trompsberg to Sun City. Only 352 of the starters finished within 24 hours The last bird home took six and a half days. No mention is made of how many pigeons didn’t make it back to Sun City.

Readers can view breeding flamingos and then complete the petition and bring some real pressure to bear to save flamingos in the world’s latest breeding colony.

The colony is to be found on an artificial island in Kamfers Dam situated just north of Kimberly, South Africa. The abundant blue-green algae and diatoms in the dam maintain a population of 20,000 Lesser Flamingos. This number occassionally swells to 60,000 as birds move from site to site in Africa.

In the summer of 2007/8 almost two thousand pairs of Lesser Flamingo bred on the island, producing an estimated 9,000 chicks. This made it the first breeding colony in South Africa and one of only 6 in the world. This colony has the potential to reverse the recent negative population trend resulting from problems in other breeding colonies.

The dam and surrounding 380 ha wetland area is designated as a conservation zone but is threatened by pollution from a poorly maintained and operated sewage treatment plant and planned nearby property development.