Since the Bushmen were forced off their land in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR) in 2002, the Botswana government has granted 112 mining licenses for mining companies to explore in the reserve. 16 licenses have been awarded for uranium exploration and 40 for coal. It is just over six years since the government evicted more than 600 Bushmen from the reserve, although it has always denied any connection between mining and the evictions.

On February 4, Friends of Lake Turkana, a Kenyan organization representing indigenous groups in northwestern Kenya whose livelihoods are linked to Lake Turkana, filed a formal request with the African Development Bank’s (AfDB) Compliance Review & Mediation Unit (CRMU) - the AfDB's internal accountability mechanism - to investigate and intervene in the Bank’s plans to finance the Gilgel Gibe III hydroelectric project in Ethiopia.

South Africa says it will take over any land allocated to black farmers which is not being used effectively under a land redistribution programme. The measure, which takes immediate effect, was announced by Agriculture Minister Lulu Xingwana, who warned farmers should "use it or lose it".

Soaring food prices and lack of land have forced Mauritius, a net food importing country, to launch an ambitious initiative. The island state is starting to grow its food in other African states where land is lying fallow and labour is cheap. Mauritian agro-entrepreneurs Murveen Ragobur and Gansham Boodhram are back from Mozambique where they cultivated rice on a trial basis last year, as well as potatoes and onions for the local market.

A new report from the Oakland Institute, Voices from Africa: African Farmers & Environmentalists Speak Out Against a New Green Revolution in Africa, issues a direct challenge to Western-led plans for a genetically engineered revolution in African agriculture, particularly the recent misguided philanthropic efforts of the Gates Foundation's Alliance for a New Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), and presents African resistance and solutions rooted in first-hand knowledge of what Africans need.

This UNEP Programme aims at enhancing expertise to generate carbon credits in land use, land use change and forestry (LULUCF) as well as bioenergy activities in Sub-Saharan African countries. The programme will provide a hands-on, learning by doing approach in which local developers are given the opportunity to develop and prepare Project Idea Notes (PINs), Carbon Finance Documents (CFDs), and/or Project Design Documents (PDDs) through direct technical assistance and capacity building to pilot projects.

Though once distinguished by its lack of military presence in Africa, China’s recent foray into anti-piracy control off the coast of Somalia and increased participation in international peacekeeping initiatives have led to speculation surrounding the Asian giant’s desire to adopt a more powerful and independent militaristic role. Reflecting on the correlation between China’s rising economic growth and increasing concerns for national security measures, Stephen Marks considers the potential impact of military competition on the African continent.

A team of scientists has discovered that Africa’s rainforest trees are getting bigger and storing more carbon from the atmosphere in their trunks, which has significantly reduced the rate of climate change. Trees and plants use carbon dioxide (CO2) to produce food thus ridding the earth from the harmful effects of the gas.

Soaring food prices and lack of land have forced Mauritius, a net food importing country, to launch an ambitious initiative. The island state is starting to grow its food in other African states where land is lying fallow and labour is cheap. Mauritian agro-entrepreneurs Murveen Ragobur and Gansham Boodhram are back from Mozambique where they cultivated rice on a trial basis last year, as well as potatoes and onions for the local market.

For three days (Monday 23rd – Wednesday 25th February) the appeal against the historic High Court judgement on the rights of poor communities to equitable, adequate and affordable access to, and enjoyment of, water was heard in front of the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) in Bloemfontein. On the first day of the hearing, the small court over-flowed with residents of affected communities in Gauteng and the Free State, under the banner of CAWP. Also present throughout the hearing were two of the original complainants in the case – Jennifer Makotsoane and Grace Munyai.

Soaring food prices and lack of land have forced Mauritius, a net food importing country, to launch an ambitious initiative. The island state is starting to grow its food in other African states where land is lying fallow and labour is cheap. Mauritian agro-entrepreneurs Murveen Ragobur and Gansham Boodhram are back from Mozambique where they cultivated rice on a trial basis last year, as well as potatoes and onions for the local market.

Kasahun Woldemariam’s book, , has recently been published by Africa World Press.

Environmental experts warn that climate change will lead to oceanic acidification and increase surface water temperatures, especially around the African continent. This will affect fish stocks and, as a result, threaten the livelihoods of small-scale fishing communities. "Acidity levels of our oceans predominantly affect fish larvae, which depend on calcium carbonate in the seawater to build their shells, skeletons and cell coverings," explained professor Geoff Brundritt, chairperson of the Global Ocean Observing System in Africa (GOOS Africa). "A higher acidity level hampers this process."

The National Coalition on Mining reports that the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources has declared that mining will no longer be allowed in protected forest reserves. This decision follows years of destruction to Ghanaian forests by mining interest, which have displaced thousands of citizens and contaminated water supplies.

Li Jinglin is one unique Chinese businessman. This owner of a textile company in Egypt has become one of the few Chinese businessmen to sniff out opportunities in the African nation, mainly to beat fierce competition from back home. Even as domestic enterprises start to feel the pinch from deepening credit woes caused by the global downturn, Li has been busy dealing with rising orders from the US and European markets.

Environmental Rights Action (ERA) demand that obscene oil company profits be used to clean up the environmental and social mess inflicted upon the Niger Delta population. Concerned about the government’s inability to tackle the problem of gas flaring, Bassey and the ERA propose a concerted endeavour to stop gas flaring, audit all oil spills and bring about a thorough clean-up of the region in order to detoxify the land once and for all. With a view to moving Nigeria away from its dependence on crude oil exports, Bassey and the ERA argue that offering new oil blocks should be resisted and oil kept in the soil.

Survival’s campaign targeting Graff Diamonds over its involvement in a controversial diamond mine planned on the land of Kalahari Bushmen in Botswana has stepped up a gear. Thirty protestors gathered yesterday outside Graff’s flagship London store holding placards saying ‘Boycott Graff’ and ‘Botswana diamonds: Bushmen despair’.

Eight countries - four in Africa and four in Asia - have been identified as those most economically vulnerable to the effects of climate change on fisheries in the first ever detailed study of the subject. The most badly hit countries are those where fish play a large role in diet, income and trade, and also lack the capacity to adapt to the impact of climate change such as the loss of coral reef habitats to the bleaching effect of warmer waters, and lakes parched by an increase in heat and a decrease in rainfall.

Last May, the Red Cross office for West and Central Africa decided it wasn't going to let the flood disaster of 2007 happen again. The floods had affected over 800,000 people when torrential rains pummelled the region, destroying crops and homes. Red Cross partner, the African Centre of Meteorological Applications for Development, and other forecasters issued warnings for abnormally heavy rains during the 2008 wet season.

African peoples’ high vulnerability to climate change stems partly from historical global inequities that have left them ill-equipped to cope with the climate extremes they are already experiencing and the food security, water scarcity, and climate-induced migration crises that these extremes exacerbate. This year’s negotiations toward a post-2012 climate agreement must recognise African countries’ need for technological and financial support to pursue low-carbon development that will reduce poverty and strengthen their resilience to the impacts of climate change.