September 2023 News

IN THIS EDITION

News
SA sustainable fishing fix among the global finalists for Prince William’s environmental prize
Extreme weather events are exactly the time to talk about climate change
South Africa grapples with escalating environmental crimes: Global Crime Index
Colab is in our name! Project updates from the Mycelium
Solar investments pay off for Camps Bay High School
Applications open for bursaries in environmental field
Welcome new Mycelium members

To diarise
Green Action Week
EDGE of Nature: Short Film Fund
Kirstenbosch Plant Fair
Greenpop Reforest Fest 2024

Film Festival and Competitions
Earth Stories Film Festival, UK
Frome International Climate Film Festival, UK

Interesting reads
Five golden rules for effective science communication – perspectives from a documentary maker
Cape’s missing great white shark mystery solved
The Bigger This Fungus Gets, the Worse We’re Doing
South Africa: Tackling food loss, waste and the regulatory environment

We are loving …
2023 Ocean Photographer of the Year
Ewaste NPO looking to recruit and drive awareness of our tech junk problem
Freshflow T24: A smarter, sustainable solution for fruit export
The Kenyan entrepreneur turning fish waste into fashion

Who are Mycelium?   

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WELCOME

By Lara Taylor

There was a flutter of excitement in my Cape Town neighbourhood when a lone baboon settled himself on the rooftops adjoining our house. It wasn’t long until the neighbourhood WhatsApp group crackled with comments. Having just moved suburbs, this was a new experience for me and I was slightly surprised at the intensity and tone of some of the posts. It tends to be a conversation that really polarises people but does it have to?

I understand the threat and anger one might feel as you watch a baboon waltz into your space, take what it wants and exit, sometimes leaving a trail of destruction in its wake and occasionally a tragic fight between one’s pet and baboon – the former ending off far worse. But when I stop and look at the other perspective – and ask myself why the baboons are entering our homes, it makes me wonder whether we are perhaps entering their homes, their spaces? And yes we are at the top of the animal hierarchy but we are also hopefully a more enlightened species – one that can figure a way to live in harmony?

There is no simple solution but I believe, that like the extreme weather events that are written about in this month’s newsletter, the baboon is a really good ‘disruptor’ that will hopefully create more conversation, more community cohesion and catalyse a way forward that works for all of us.

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NEWS

SA sustainable fishing fix among the global finalists for Prince William’s environmental prize

South African non-profit ABALOBI is one of the 15 finalists in the running to win Prince William’s prestigious Earthshot Prize – over 1 100 nominations were received worldwide. The Earthshot prize is in its third year and promotes solutions that repair and restore the planet. ABALOBI, which means “fisher” in isiXhosa, was founded in 2018 and is a collaboration between scientists and small-scale fishers that supports sustainable fishing.

Fishers can capture information about their catches on the ABALOBI app – including how, when and where the fish originate. Via the app, the fishers are also connected to a digital marketplace – where they can demonstrate to customers they are fishing sustainably and can also obtain a fair price for their catch.

According to a document on the different finalists issued by EarthShot Prize – initially, 60% of the fish logged on the ABALOBI app were classified as species “of concern”. Now, most or more than 90% of the fish logged are from “ecologically resilient” stocks. “ABALOBI’s solution makes it easier for fishers, buyers and other stakeholders to monitor fish populations and prevent overfishing while securing a fair livelihood, formal recognition and improved market access for fishermen and women,” the Earthshot document read.

The solution helps fishers manage their resources in a way that benefits people and the planet, ABALOBI founder and director Dr Serge Raemaekers said in a statement. “By co-designing catch data and traceability technology in partnership with communities, we enable fishers to stimulate sustainable livelihoods, develop fair and responsible market structures, and gather and leverage data to prioritise ecological resilience and advance fisheries regeneration,” Raemaekers added.

There are five categories for the award – Protect and Restore Nature; Clean Our Air; Revive Our Oceans; Build a Waste-Free World; and Fix Our Climate. Winners stand to win £1 million (R23 million) in each category. ABALOBI will battle it out against three finalists for the Revive Our Oceans category. The Earthshot Prize awards ceremony will take place on 7 November in Singapore.

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Extreme weather events are exactly the time to talk about climate change

Record-breaking heatwaves are sweeping across the northern hemisphere, affecting large parts of southern Europe, the US and China. On July 24, Sicily recorded blistering temperatures of more than 47.5℃ and wildfires are currently tearing through Greece. The heatwaves come as record numbers of fires continue to burn across Canada. A study by the World Weather Attribution group found that these heatwaves would have been “virtually impossible” without climate change. In fact, the heatwave that is affecting parts of China was made 50 times more likely by global warming. This is exactly what climate scientists have been warning us about for decades – climate change makes many types of extreme weather event more likely, more intense and longer lasting.

As a PhD researcher examining extreme weather events and climate change communication, I have spent the past four years exploring how extreme weather events may affect the way the public feels, thinks and acts on climate change. One area of interest to researchers is how extreme weather events might reduce the “psychological distance” associated with climate change. While climate change can feel abstract and vague, extreme weather is something people can experience firsthand.

But research offers contrasting results. Some studies have found that extreme weather events lead to an increased belief that human-driven climate change is occurring and greater support for climate action. Others find no effects or suggest that these effects are only temporary. However, we often underestimate how much the public already cares about climate change. In Britain, just 4% of the public say they are not at all concerned about climate change, while only 11% of Americans dismiss the issue.

Given that most people are already concerned about climate change, an important question now is how to shift these existing concerns into action. Talking about climate change is a powerful way of mobilising climate action, and extreme weather events provide helpful climate conversation starters. We can use these moments as opportunities to engage our families, friends and communities in discussions about how climate change may relate to these events and what we can do about it.

So, if you decide to engage people you know in discussions about extreme weather and climate change, here are a few thoughts and guidelines to keep in mind.

Read more at The Conversation
 
ALSO READ: Why people fleeing environmental disasters should be recognised as refugees

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South Africa grapples with escalating environmental crimes: Global Crime Index

South Africa’s struggle with environmental crimes is multifaceted, involving illegal trade and poaching of flora and fauna, and the illicit trade of non-renewable resources.

The 2023 Global Crime Index released this week has shed light on the urgent need for stringent measures, enhanced prosecution, and increased funding to combat these escalating crimes and protect the country’s rich biodiversity and precious resources. South Africa, despite being considered a low-risk area for illegal logging, is grappling with a surge in environmental crimes, the Global Crime Index has shown.

The country is not just a consumer of illegal timber and other flora products from neighbouring southern African countries, but is also a significant source country for wildlife crime, involving high-value species such as rhinos, lions, and elephants. Illegal trade of cycads is generating substantial profits, with some specimens fetching up to millions on the international market. The country has also witnessed a spike in incidents of violence between rangers and poachers, with the latter destroying wild plant specimens to inflate their value and reduce trading competition. The poaching of conophytum species has become more prevalent than illegal logging, with plant crime rarely prosecuted and minimal funding allocated to combat it.

The report says that South Africa is a hotspot for illegal wildlife trade, particularly from the Kruger National Park. The illicit trade of animal parts, mainly to Asian markets, has seen a slight uptick post the Covid-19 pandemic, reversing the declining trend in rhino poaching since 2014. However, illegal killings of elephants have been consistently declining since 2015, suggesting the absence of large-scale elephant poaching networks in the country.

Not surprisingly, the report notes, the illicit abalone economy, deeply entrenched in the Western Cape province, is controlled by Chinese criminal groups in alliance with local gangs, linking to violence, gun running, and the drug trade. Illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing, primarily targeting crayfish and sharks, is driven by demand mainly from the Chinese market, with most products ending up in Hong Kong.

First publlished in IOL
 

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Colab is in our name! Project updates from the Mycelium

We are currently working on very exciting projects that align with our values and mission. Through our work with the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation, we support Green Action Week. This is a global campaign to support sustainable consumption. It is the only global campaign that works with more than 40 organisations around the world to promote a Sharing Community. Campaign activities focus on illustrating sustainable, equitable ways of being in the world and range from building circular economies, reusing, remaking and recycling what is traditionally viewed as waste to community seedbanking and more. Follow Green Action Week on Facebook to see the exciting range of campaigns taking place on four continents this week. www.greenactionweek.org

We are also working with Project Biome – a movement to support large-scale rewilding and restoration of natural and social systems in Africa. This emergent network has an innovative approach to (re)building the connective tissue that binds us as people and with the Earth. Watch this space for more updates on Project Biome. www.projectbiome.org

Rural Action for Climate Resilience is an innovative programme that has run over the past two years looking to build rural communities’ understanding of and resilience to climate change. See more about their work here: www.ruralaction4climate.org.za. We are honoured to be working with them to capture the richness of their work in this programme.

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Solar investments pay off for Camps Bay High School

Camps Bay High School has implemented a solar energy system that not only ensures uninterrupted operation during load shedding periods but also generates surplus electricity for the broader community.

“In 2020, Camps Bay High School took its first step towards energy resilience by installing 80 solar panels, a forward-thinking move to curtail electricity costs and uphold our commitment to responsible energy consumption. However, the increasing frequency and impact of load shedding prompted the School Governing Body to take decisive further action,” explains school principal Louis Mostert.

This year, with a strategic allocation of R1.8m from its financial reserves, the school governing body (SGB) spearheaded the installation of a further 120 advanced solar panels, generating 100kW of electricity. The upgrade includes the integration of two 50kW inverters and two 40kWh batteries, securing the school’s operation during extended load shedding periods. The inverter, batteries, and solar panels in the new system come with guarantees of five, 10, and 25 years respectively, providing a secure and enduring power solution.

“With the sun now serving as our steadfast power source, we wave goodbye to the unsettling presence of load shedding. Camps Bay High School is now one of only a handful of schools in South Africa who can say that learning and school activities can carry on uninterrupted during load shedding,” said Mostert.

The infrastructure empowers Camps Bay High School to generate an average of 450kWh of electricity daily, resulting in a noteworthy monthly saving of R49,140 under the current Eskom tariff structure. Through harnessing this surplus power, the school actively contributes to the electricity grid, generating revenue from excess energy and illuminating neighbouring residences and businesses.

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Applications open for bursaries in environmental field

The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment has invited full-time students to apply for bursaries, to be awarded in the 2024 academic year, in various fields of study. The department said the minimum requirements to apply for the bursary is Grade 12, and consideration will be given to previously disadvantaged and people with disabilities, who are South African citizens.

The bursaries will be awarded to students in study fields including environmental programmes; forestry management; regulatory compliance sector monitoring; fisheries management; oceans and coasts; biodiversity and conservation; climate change and air quality management, and chemicals and waste management. Applications close on 27 October 2023. Faxed or emailed applications will not be accepted.

Successful applicants will be expected to sign a bursary contract.

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Welcome new Mycelium members
 
We are a network of changemakers, regenerators and multimedia creatives working on different aspects and at different scales but all with the same passion to bring about a better world. A critical element necessary for large-scale transformation of our social and economic systems is the ongoing co-creation and sharing of knowledge. We are delighted to have new members join the Mycelium Network!

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