Eco Minute 13:30

BULLETIN 5 August 1:30 pm

Good afternoon, here is your Eco Minute:

# Communities living near Kruger National Park say they prefer wildlife-friendly ways to earn a living, rather than killing animals for profit. According to an article in The Conversation, researchers found over 80-percent of residents surveyed, backed alternatives like craft tourism, online wildlife guiding, and conservation jobs. The findings come amid growing global pressure to ban trophy hunting. Locals say ethical, sustainable jobs could reduce poverty and protect animals, offering a new path for conservation and economic growth.

# The Carbon Trust expects the initial carbon budgets to be realistic. Last week, government published carbon budget and mitigation planning regulations, with imprisonment and hefty financial fines on the cards for companies and individuals found in transgression. Under the proposed legislation, all companies that emit more than 30-thousand tons of greenhouse gases must submit annual targets, and compliance report and plans to reduce emissions. Fines are between five- and 10-million-rand. Carbon Trust’s Jarredine Morris says the carbon budgets must also be similar to current emission levels.

# And finally: Plymouth University’s professor Richard Thompson says an ambitious plastic pollution treaty will be a game-changer for the planet and future generations. Over 170 countries are meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, this week to develop an international, legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment. Globally, only nine-percent of plastic produced is recycled. Thompson says a treaty is needed to ensure only plastic that is essential to society is produced, chemicals used in plastic are reduced, and all the plastic produced in the future is sustainable.

Stay tuned for more news………….