Eco Minute 13:30

BULLETIN 8 October 1:30 pm

Good afternoon, here is your Eco Minute:

# SANParks says its National Parks Week was a huge success, as 105-thousand-and-51 people visited national parks between the 22nd to the 28th of September. The campaign allowed South Africans an opportunity to receive a day pass at a national park of their choice, free of charge. SANParks says Mapungubwe National Park in Limpopo saw a 52.3-percent increase in visitor numbers, followed by the Eastern Cape’s Mountain Zebra and Addo, with a 52-percent and 47.3-percent increase, respectively.

# The South African Wind Energy Association says the scaling of wind energy lies not only in technology or investment appetite, but in the capacity of the national transmission grid as the backbone of the country’s power system. Private sector investment in renewable energy projects is projected to reach 132-billion-rand in South Africa by 2030. This surge will add six-gigawatts of solar photovoltaic and 3.5 gigawatts of wind capacity to the national grid. The association says the real enabler of South Africa’s renewable future is the Transmission Development Plan.

# And finally: The Marineland Sea Life Park in Niagara Falls has threatened to euthanise 30 whales after the Canadian government denied a permit to send them to China. The park is up for sale and wants the 30 belugas to go to the Chimelong Ocean Kingdom in Guangdong province. It says China is the only viable option since it can no longer afford to pay for their feeding or care. Beluga whales live in the Arctic in the wild and are known as the canary of the sea due to their chirps, clicks, whistles and squeals.

Stay tuned for more news………….