Floating solar panel systems on lakes and dams could generate much of Africa’s energy, decrease greehouse gas emissions, and stop freshwater evaporating, new research has found.
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New research has found that smallholder farmers in Malawi can grow bigger maize crops if they plant maize with legumes in deep beds with natural ditches to catch water alongside.
The remote Bassari community, located between Senegal and Guinea, experiences climate change as one of many changes. They are best placed to come up with solutions that work for them.
Only 5% of South Africa’s energy comes from solar power while 85% is generated from coal. Loans, more subsidies and security for rooftop solar panels need to be put in place.
As renewable energy becomes cheaper and climate change affects water availability, the contribution of hydropower will decline.
The carbon stored by forests can be bought by polluting companies to offset their emissions. This can displace communities who depend on natural forests for their livelihoods.
Kenya, Ethiopia, Djibouti, South Sudan and Uganda are investigating whether deep groundwater bores could support drought stricken communities. Could a networked approach help?
Sweet sorghum has multipurpose post-harvest uses. It can produce grains, animal feed and sugary juice, making it unique among crops.
Baby corals may hold promise for building coral reef resilience in Seychelles and beyond.
Biogas systems that generate cooking gas from plant waste can be relatively low-cost to set up. They come with environmental and health benefits for rural people who have only firewood to cook with.
Business and management graduates can become the kind of sustainability champions the world needs today.
Planting millions of trees in natural grassland is largely ineffective in the battle against global warming because it adds little or no additional carbon storage.
African governments must acknowledge the universal right to diverse and nutritious food if they are to end malnutrition. Five projects show how this can be done.
If Africa built only all the renewable power plants it has already planned, this would be enough to generate 76% of all electricity needed on the continent by 2040.
In South Africa, a group of citizen scientists who test water quality and log the results on a specialised app have helped keep the water supply for 4.3 million people clean.
Smallholder contract farmers in Ghana have benefited from loans for fertiliser, drought resistant seeds, guaranteed markets and training in how to farm differently to meet changes in the climate.
A growing number of people are opting to generate their own renewable energy and escape load shedding.
Wetlands can prevent flooding, trap carbon and support livelihoods, as long as they are protected and managed.
Just three plant species – wheat, maize and rice – account for 60% of all food eaten globally. A crop science expert argues that many of Africa’s 30,000 edible plants must be revived.
Garbage is decomposing in landfill sites across sub-Saharan Africa, releasing methane gas. If governments harnessed this as clean energy, Africa would avoid environmental damage worth US$6.7 billion.
Top contributors
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PhD candidate in Environmental Systems Analysis, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, University of Tübingen
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Doctoral student FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, University of Cape Town
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Associate Professor and Director of the African Center of Excellence in Energy for Sustainable Development, University of Rwanda
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Aquatic Ecologist, Centre for Water Resources Research, School of Agricultural, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal
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Research Associate, Centre for Water Resources Research, School of Agricultural, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal
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Professor emeritus, University of the Pacific
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Director of the Centre of Excellence in Women and Child Health and Chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (OB/GYN), Aga Khan University
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Associate professor, Cape Peninsula University of Technology
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Assistant Professor of Management, The Jack C. Massey Graduate School of Business, Belmont University
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Director of the Initiative to Eliminate Homelessness, University of Southern California
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Assistant Professor, Aga Khan University
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Associate Professor, University of Birmingham
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Research Officer, Centre for Environmental Research Innovation and Sustainability (CERIS), Atlantic Technological University
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Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Environmental Research Innovation and Sustainability (CERIS), Atlantic Technological University
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Professor for Environmental Systems Analysis, Faculty of Science, University of Tübingen
