Eco Minute 13:30

BULLETIN 1 November 1:30 pm

Good afternoon, here is your Eco Minute:

# Forestry, Fisheries and Environment minister Dion George says the City of Cape Town is facing possible prosecution by the National Prosecuting Authority, for its continued illegal discharge of sewage into coastal waters. The metro currently releases over 30-million litres of raw, untreated sewage daily into marine reserves through marine outfalls along the Atlantic seaboard. ActionSA’s, Michael Beaumont, says the metro’s justification is based on a sewage discharge practice that is over 100 years old, predating the Constitution, and relevant environmental legislation:

# The death toll from heavy rain and hailstorms that triggered flash floods in Spain has risen to 158, making it the deadliest episode of flooding in the country’s modern history. Valencia has been the worst-hit region with widespread destruction to infrastructure, sweeping away bridges, roads, and railway tracks and submerging farmland. Flooding was also reported in and around the cities of Murcia and Malaga. The Spanish Securities and Emergencies Department has issued weather warnings, as more rain is expected today and tomorrow.

# And finally: Experts warn that governments risk another decade of failure on biodiversity loss, due to the slow implementation of an international agreement to halt the destruction of Earth’s ecosystems. An agreement signed at the Biodiversity Cop15 in December 2022, included targets to protect 30-percent of the planet by the end of the decade. Campaign for Nature director, Brian O’Donnell, says political prioritisation of nature is still too low and this is reflected by progress on the targets. 

Stay tuned for more news………….