Burning firebreaks is one of the most important tasks to be undertaken every year at Verloren Valei. Burning a firebreak on Verloren Valei, 2026 (All photographs: Marius Kruger) By law, all landowners must ensure that they take the necessary steps … Read more
By Dr Ian Little, head of Conservation The onset of a very strong El Niño event during the second half of 2026 is expected to hold similar consequences for conservation, agriculture and water security in South Africa. Climate models are … Read more
By Hennie de Beer, Tamanna Patel, Matt Pretorius, Oscar Mohale, Kish Chetty South Africa’s Wind Energy Facilities (WEF) track bird activities closely, before and after construction. Power lines get no such attention once they run beyond a facility’s own footprint. … Read more
Hennie de Beer, Tamanna Patel, Matt Pretorius, Oscar Mohale, Kish Chetty Pre-construction monitoring cannot predict everything. Once infrastructure is operating, post-construction monitoring tracks what happens and adaptive management responds. Addressing problems during operation is almost always more costly than getting … Read more
How to balance the need to conserve plants with the demand from traditional healers is crucial for reserves like Verloren Valei. By Jenny Botha, Phomelelo Malatji, and Lufuno Konanani For millions of South Africans, traditional medicine is not an alternative … Read more
The Crane Census is back! Success will depend on the input of citizen scientists, writes Lara Fuller, Drakensberg Project manager, African Crane Conservation Programme. The Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) and International Crane Foundation (ICF) partnership has been working on crane conservation … Read more
Interactions between plants and insects have evolved over the past 100 million years, resulting in the most fascinating and bizarre adaptations by both parties, writes Renier Basson, senior field officer, Drylands Strategic Conservation Landscape, Endangered Wildlife Trust. Across South Africa, … Read more
South Africa’s most common butterfly flies low and adapts well to a wide variety of conditions. African Grass Blue (male, upper side) (Photograph: Justin Bode) The blue of the African sky is something we all love—and something that those in … Read more
Jacquie van der Westhuizen, senior EWT field officer reports back on a wonderful new development. For the last couple of years, we have been getting reports of a lone Wattled Crane hanging around with some Blue Cranes in Mpumalanga. Never … Read more
Comprehensive new guide was part-authored by Dullstroom residents, Dr Marlize Muller and Dr Kyle Lloyd. Best Practice Guidelines for High-Elevation Wetland and Peatland Management in Southern Africa is published by BirdLife South Africa. Its authors are Kyle J. Lloyd, Marlize … Read more
