By Alanna Rebelo – Senior Researcher, Agricultural Research Council; Karen Joan Esler – Distinguished Professor of Conservation Ecology, Stellenbosch University; Patricia Holmes – Plant ecologist, Stellenbosch University; Tony Rebelo – Scientist, South African National Biodiversity Institute. First published in The Conversation on March 17, 2025 Underground seed banks in South Africa that date back over […]
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The quest for sustainability: understanding environmental degradation
by Prof Leon Hugo, former head of the Department of Geography at Pretoria University. First published in Environatics.co.za It’s a sobering reality that thousands, primarily children, succumb annually to dire environmental conditions and hunger in Africa. There looms a genuine threat of our planet’s production systems collapsing, potentially leaving us all without sufficient food. Since […]
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Making wine takes a lot of energy. How South Africa’s vintners can cut back
by Alan Brent – Professor of Engineering Management and Sustainable Systems, Stellenbosch University This article was published in The Conversation Wine production consumes large amounts of energy and generates a sizeable quantity of greenhouse gases. A looming carbon tax and greater consumer awareness about reduced energy use has led to a growing interest in the […]
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Food waste in South Africa is dumped in landfills – study weighs up healthier and more sustainable options
by Anne Fitchett, Retired Honorary Associate Professor in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of the Witwatersrand – this article was first published on 10 December 2025 in theconversation.com Every year, millions of tonnes of food end up in South Africa’s landfills. This is a wasted resource that deepens environmental damage, worsens food […]
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Amazing pineapple leaf powder that fights crime and pollution: new research
by Bienvenu Gael Fouda Mbanga, Research fellow, Nelson Mandela University – this article was first published in theconversation.com In South Africa, manufacturers of pineapple juice and other pineapple products discard thousands of tons of pineapple leaves every year, with most ending up in dumpsites. The leaves are seen as agricultural waste and usually treated as […]
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Waste, Pollution and Recycling: A Reader
by GST Staff Cactus waste could become a low-cost building material Construction sites don’t usually bring cactus plants to mind. Still, engineers think leftover material from prickly pear cactus farming could offer a cleaner, lower-cost way to make building materials. At first, the idea may sound unusual. But it points to a real problem in […]
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South African tourism faces a sustainability tipping point as eco-fatigue takes hold
PRESS RELEASE – Cape Town Travellers want to make sustainable choices, but eco-fatigue and skepticism are changing that conversation, says Dr Niel du Toit, CEO of Go Sustainable Tourism. Here he explores why trust is the new currency of tourism and what industry players must do if they want to avoid falling off the map. […]
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Luxury tourism is a risky strategy for African economies – new study of Botswana, Mauritius, Rwanda
by Pritish Behuria – Reader in Politics, Governance and Development, Global Development Institute, University of Manchester. This article was published in The Conversation on 28 October 2025 How successful is luxury tourism in Africa? What happens if it fails to produce higher tourism revenues: can it be reversed? And does it depend on what kind […]
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The secret life of baobabs: how bats and moths keep Africa’s giant trees alive
by Sarah Venter – Baobab Ecologist, University of the Witwatersrand, published in The Conversation 6 November 2025 Baobabs are sometimes called “upside-down trees”, because their branches look like roots reaching skywards. Of the eight species of baobab in the world, six are confined to Madagascar, one to northern Australia and one species, Adansonia digitata, is […]
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South African heritage tourism could uplift rural communities – the case of Sekhukhune
by Madiseng Phori, Tourism Lecturer, Tshwane University of Technology This article was first published in The Conversation Imagine visiting a remote valley surrounded by mountains, hundreds of kilometres away from the nearest city, listening to local people explaining hundreds of years of history to you. The Tšate Valley, in South Africa’s Limpopo province, is one […]
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