NEWSFLASH NEWS AGENCY 18 November 10:30 am

Good morning, here is your Eco Minute:

# Traditional leaders in Limpopo have approached the provincial government to help them with three stray elephants roaming around Ha-Lambani village close to the Kruger National Park. A spokesperson for the Department of Economic Development, Environment, and Tourism, Zaid Kalla, says rangers from their department have been deployed to search for the animals. He urged community structures in the area to alert residents about the presence of the elephants and to warn them to avoid the animals at all costs.

# The City of Cape Town says the Rietvlei waterbody, located in the Table Bay Nature Reserve, is open again for recreational use. The public slipway and pier will remain closed until further notice. A spokesperson explained that the authorities closed Rietvlei on the 24th of June as a precautionary measure following water quality concerns. Over the past four months, the municipality has undertaken water quality testing at points within Rietvlei. The latest test results have now confirmed that the harmful bacterial count has sufficiently improved within the main waterbody.

# ANd, the government has granted mining prospecting rights on the West Coast to an Australian company even though it was strongly opposed. The minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Barbara Creecy, has in this process dismissed 34 appeals. A spokesperson for Protect the West Coast, Miles Masterson, says the company Mineral Sands Resources now has rights to prospect for heavy materials near the Tormin mine close to Van Rhynsdorp. He says the area falls within a critical biodiversity area, where conservation agencies are working to demarcate the river mouth as a conservation area.

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