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 …
Vitamin deficiency affects up to 50% of the world's population, disproportionately impacting on developing countries where populations endure monotonous, cereal-rich diets. Transgenic plants offer an effective way to increase the vitamin content of staple crops, but thus far it has only been possible to enhance individual vitamins. We created elite …
Cereals production could fall by 50 percent in parts of southern Africa in the long term due to climate change, causing increased hunger and poverty, a researcher told an agriculture conference on Wednesday. South Africa is the largest carbon emitter on the continent, mainly due to its reliance on coal …
South African farmers have been offered 10 million hectares of farm land to grow maize, soya beans as well as poultry and dairy farming in the Republic of Congo, South Africa's main farmers union said on Wednesday. The deal, which covers an area more than twice the size of Switzerland, …
South Africa's ANC party, expected to win elections this month, is promising a new energy strategy to tackle power shortages and cut greenhouse gases that account for more than two-fifths of the continent's emissions. A key pillar of this plan is the likely split of the minerals and energy cabinet …
Whale sharks are a declining species for which little biological data is available. While these animals are protected in many parts of their range, they are fished legally and illegally in some countries. Baseline biological and ecological data are needed to allow the formulation of an effective conservation plan for …
The overall goal of this report is to assist water resources and environment professionals within the Bank and client countries to use Strategic Environmental Assessments (SEAs) to effectively implement the principles of IWRM. It delineates environmental issues related IWRM; identifies opportunities for SEAs to addressing these environmental issues; uses the …
South Africa is a water-stressed country and the efficient management of the demand for and frugal use of water is a topic that can no longer be avoided. Community-based natural resource management is an alternative approach to government stewardship of natural resources, and in the instance of water management it …
Greenhouse gases (GHGs) warm the surface and the atmosphere with significant implications for rainfall, retreat of glaciers and sea ice, sea level, among other factors. About 30 years ago, it was recognized that the increase in tropospheric ozone from air pollution (NOx, CO and others) is an important greenhouse forcing …
The background document explaining the methodology (GDR type approach) behind the South African proposal with respect to A1 targets for the next 2 commitment periods. This paper draws on research in the public domain, in order to provide an analytical basis for a proposal on possible quantified emission reduction commitments …
LONDON In a major breakthrough, scientists have discovered that ultraviolet lights can be used to reduce the spread of tuberculosis in hospital wards and waiting rooms. Tuberculosis infects over nine million people worldwide every year and a majority of these are in India and South Africa. Nearly two million people …
In India, the ILO report says, casual workers earn 45 per cent less than regular workers. THE World of Work Report 2008: Income Inequalities in the Age of Financial Globalization, produced by the International Labour Organisation
Biodiversity within inland water ecosystems in southern Africa is both highly diverse and of great regional importance to livelihoods and economies. However, development activities are not always compatible with the conservation of this diversity and it is poorly represented within the development planning process. One of the main reasons cited …
This document represents the collective expertise of a diverse group of individuals concerned with ecosystem degradation, and the continuing loss of the services provided by these ecosystems. Attention is given to aquatic ecosystems because of water`s fundamental role as the `blood` of ecosystem structure and functions, and an engine of …
Climate change is expected to have serious environmental, economic, and social impacts on South Africa. In particular, rural farmers, whose livelihoods depend on the use of natural resources, are likely to bear the brunt of adverse impacts. The extent to which these impacts are felt depends in large part on …
Using paraffin (kerosene) for cooking, heating or lighting is strongly associated with poverty in South Africa. In addition, many regard it to be the most dangerous form of household energy because of the high profile given to the unacceptably high number of harmful paraffin related domestic incidents that have taken …
The potential impact of the global financial crisis of 2008 on living standards in the developing world has given renewed emphasis to the importance of social safety net programs. The right policies can be a smart investment in an uncertain world. This report reviews the evidence on conditional cash transfers …
