The 50,000 delegates from nearly 200 countries set to throng the Johannesburg summit this month will have no problem finding a common language to thrash out a strategy for sustainable development. They'll be immersed in the eco-jargon that splits experts from the lay community, most of whom have no idea what the broad, vague phrase "sustainable development"
actually means.

Nearly 3,000 white farmers in Zimbabwe will have to leave their homes by midnight Thursday if they decide to obey new rules brought in by Robert Mugabe’s government.

In many developing countries governments, donors, NGOs and academics have promoted the use of fuel-efficient stoves in order to reduce health effects, environmental degradation and household expenditure on traditional fuels. In Kenya and Ethiopia such programmes have been very successful. Why have programmes elsewhere had only limited success? What are the potential poverty alleviation impacts of household biomass stove programmes? How can production and uptake be boosted?

A safe, clean, reliable water supply is the mantra of development agencies. But how reliable are water supply services for poor people in the developing world today? How has domestic water supply changed since the 1960s? This study looks at the long-term trends in access to and use of water.

This conference – taking place between 5 and 8 September in Nairobi, Kenya – will examine special problems related to mountainous regions which are important sources of freshwater. Discussion will focus on the interdisciplinary aspects of scientific and applied water resource management.

An extremely rare Longman's beaked whale, only the third complete specimen known to science, has washed up on a South African beach, a senior scientist said last Sunday.

The New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) will lead Africa's integration into the global economy through specialisation in the primary sector. The cyclical and downward trend of prices of commodities across time may force countries specialising in primary products to export increasing amounts of natural resources in order to maintain revenues, leading to environmental degradation, argues a report on NEPAD and the environment.

The Flood and Drought Network of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) has warned that there is a 90 percent chance that El Nino conditions will prevail during the remainder of 2002 and into early 2003 - raising the possibility of severe droughts, flooding and hurricanes.

Government leaders meeting at the World Summit on Sustainable Development will take decisions that shape how water is managed over the next ten years, but WWF has voiced concern that Summit preparations have so far only focused on water delivery and sanitation, while ignoring the crucial issue of water supply.

Nigeria has introduced new environmental guidelines aimed at curbing degradation and pollution in the country's oil region and bringing operations up to international standards, Rilwanu Lukman, presidential adviser on petroleum, has said.

Kenya's President Daniel arap Moi is being offered a lavish retirement package when he leaves office.

The EU has agreed to provide Burkina Faso with 16 million euro (US $15.9 million) for water management activities aimed at reducing rural poverty, and to support the private sector.

The EU has agreed to provide Burkina Faso with 16 million euro (US $15.9 million) for water management activities aimed at reducing rural poverty, and to support the private sector.

The Sudanese government on Wednesday denied claims by southern rebels that government forces had killed more than 1,000 people in a major offensive in south Sudan's main oil region.

Uganda's world famous rare mountain gorilla tourism has received a US$2 million (sh3.6billion) boost from the USA for the conservation of the endangered primates in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest and Mgahinga National Parks in southwestern Uganda.

The British-based Mines Advisory Group (MAG) has raised concern over the movement of Internally Displaced People (IDPs) in Angola and their settlement in areas that are “littered with anti-personnel landmines”.

Diplomatic efforts may help peace to finally gain a toehold in Sudan and offer relief to the country's hapless civilians. Then again, this initiative may be yet another false hope, leaving an interminable war to satisfy its insatiable appetite for victims.

Bad water supply and trash disposal in fast-growing cities in poor nations is increasing the risk of a potentially fatal mosquito-borne disease, the World Health Organization (WHO) said Monday.

The number of southern and east African countries that could seek approval to sell their ivory stocks from the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) meeting in November has risen to nine. Five nations had announced their intention to sell ivory earlier this year in advance of the CITES meeting in November.

How can farmers improve their soil fertility management strategies? Does extension work aid this process and help address problems faced by smallholders? Are alternative approaches providing effective advisory services to resource-poor farmers with a focus on inclusion and willing participation needed?