Eco Minute 13:30

BULLETIN 20 June 1:30 pm

Good afternoon, here is your Eco Minute:

# The Southern African Faith Communities’ Environment Institute says it hopes the government of national unity will bring better energy and climate governance in the country. SAFCEI’s Francesca de Gasparis says the environment institute wants to see accessible and affordable electricity, with the lights on everyday, and available to all South Africans:

# South Africa aims to draft a plan by 2030 to lift the near 50-year ban on trading in rhino horn. The proposal, which is part of the first rhino biodiversity-management plan, is controversial due to rampant poaching. The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment is expected to submit the plan to cabinet, aiming for sustainable rhino population management. This comes as South Africa hosts 79-percent of the world’s rhinos, and critics fear legal trade could increase poaching.

# And finally: Two beluga whales are settling into their new homes in Spain after being rescued from their aquarium in war-torn Ukraine. Bombs had been dropped within a few hundred meters of the NEMO Dolphinarium in Kharkiv. An international team of specialists says it was among the most complex marine mammal rescues ever and included a dangerous 12-hour drive across Ukraine. The belugas, 15-year-old Plombir and 14-year-old Miranda, arrived safely in Valencia this week.

Stay tuned for more news………….