The IMF’s April 2025 Regional Economic Outlook for Sub-Saharan Africa presents a clear warning: regional growth is slowing, debt pressures are mounting, and donor assistance is declining. Yet the report outlines critical opportunities particularly in domestic revenue mobilization, structural reform, and private sector activation that can shape a more resilient …
It seemed to be a rough dirt road leading to nowhere. But these are the the remains of hippo trails leading to dried-up wallowing pools in a remote part of Tanzania. Hippos wallow in freshwater pools during the day to escape the sun. At night they plow through the mud …
scientists working on the east African island of Zanzibar have observed that the red colobus monkey ( Procolobus Kirkii ) has added charcoal to its diet, apparently to help it overcome the chemical defences of the plants it eats. The monkeys can now tolerate a wider range of plants and, …
public health officials in west Africa say the hunting and consumption of bushmeat (meat from hunting wild animals) leads to the transmission of hiv related virus among local villagers. The major outbreak of Ebola virus in Gabon last summer that claimed the lives of 13 villagers has also been linked …
The United Nations Development Programme and the United Nations Department of Humanitarian Affairs Response will assist Kenya to cope up with the effects of two years of poor rains which has brought severe drought especially to the country's eastern and Rift Valley areas where about 1.4 million people live. A …
One of the case studies of this year's Stockholm Water Symposium is Lake Victoria, an important natural resource in east Africa, which is under stress. The rapidly growing populations in the three riparian states of Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania creates a heavy pressure on natural resources and environment conditions. Lake …
An ecofascist's last stand at Harare India consistently voted for trade bans in products made from endangered species the denouement was dramatic. The decision of the 10th Conference of Parties ( cop-10 ) on the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species ( cites ) to allow restricted trade in …
in 1976, when India became a signatory to cites , the Indian tiger, the Greater One-horned Rhinoceros and the Asian elephant were already listed as protected species in the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972. All three species have fared badly despite laws against domestic trade in these species and international …
India's stand on the elephant showed how insensitive it is to the problems humans face in countries with a high population of the species. India voted for each proposal to ban trade and against every proposal for restricted trade in endangered species, irrespective of its relevance to India. Voting against …
India's proposals to list Picrorhiza kurrooa (Kutki) and Nardostachys grandiflora (Jatamansi) in Appendix II of CITES provided some relief to tired delegates at Harare. And India made a laughing stock of itself. The proposals had been submitted twice before at previous CITES meets, and rejected both times for want of …
According to a report published by the TRAFFIC India Network ( Under Siege: Poaching and Protection of the One-horned Rhino in India ), 692 rhinos may have been poached between 1980 and 1993, and 209 between 1990-1993 alone. The demand is mainly for the rhino horn
The pharmaceuticals industry in India is agitated over the finalisation of a list of 56 herbs whose export is to be banned. Drawn up by the ministry of commerce in consultation with the ministry of environment and forests (MEF), the list, which includes Jatamansi, is being expanded by the MEF …
efforts to introduce a birth control pill in elephants have been suspended in South Africa after the normally orderly herds of the pachyderms were thrown into confusion. The new measures for population control in the overcrowded Kruger National Park are being tried out after the controversial culling of elephants was …
The less fortunate have had their say, and elephants must pay their way to conservation. Three southern African nations -Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia -have been given the go-ahead to trade in elephant products at the 10th Conference of Parties (COP) of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), …
The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) or the Washington Convention, as it is also known after the city where it was adopted in 1973, came into force on July 1, 1975. It is an intergovernmental treaty between 139 state parties to deal with trade in endangered species. …
THE GREENIES... CITES has been criticised for being influenced by Westeg.q NGOs such as the Humane Society of the US and International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), and ignoring the demands of local groups, particularly in Africa. "For the last few years, CITES has become a battleground between the North …
The Indian delegation to CITES strongly opposed the list- ing of the African elephant in Appendix II and reopening trade in ivory, perceived as a threat to the Asian elephant. Ashok Kumar of the Wildlife Protection Society of India, who was part of the Indian delegation, says that carvers in …
Almost 80 per cent of the elephant range in Africa lies outside protected areas. Human-elephant conflicts are high, particularly in southern and central Africa where both the populations are high (see graph: Competing for resources). The conflicts are serious but more localised in areas where there are a smaller number …
Almost the same controversies surrounded the proposal from South Africa to lift the ban in exports of the Southern White Rhinoceros, which was also rejected by the cop-10. South Africa, home to the largest population of White Rhinos, wanted a zero quota initiaAy, until a trading system with appropriate controls …
The consensus on allowing restricted trade in ivory was confirmed by a secret ballot, and angeredjhe protectionist groups, which had been trying to 4m- twist nations which were in favour of lifting the ban. The secret ballot also met with considerable opposition. But the issue had become sensitive - with …
