Eco Minute 13:30

BULLETIN 20 May 1:30 pm

Good afternoon, here is your Eco Minute:

# The Vaal Environmental Justice Alliance will protest outside ArcelorMittal’s headquarters in Vanderbijlpark, Gauteng, during its annual general meeting on Friday. The group has taken the steelmaker to court over its refusal to release documents related to the environmental impact of its operations. The alliance’s Mduduzi Tshabalala told eNCA that they are concerned about the company’s lack of transparency in addressing pollution:

# Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment deputy minister, Narend Singh, has urged African nations to rethink biodiversity financing strategies, as more financing is needed to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030. Africa is home to more than a quarter of the world’s intact ecosystems and iconic species. Singh has warned that the extinction threat facing over seven-thousand species across the continent could severely undermine Africa’s economic potential. He adds that biodiversity is not a luxury, but the foundation of economies, health, and survival.

# And finally: Dragon’s blood trees, found only on Yemen’s Socotra island, are under threat from climate change, invasive goats, and ongoing conflict. The umbrella-shaped trees, which are vital to the island’s ecosystem and tourism, are being decimated by increasingly severe cyclones. Without urgent action, scientists are warning that the species could vanish within centuries. Socotra, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, holds over 825 unique plant species, many of which depend on the survival of the dragon’s blood tree.

Stay tuned for more news………….