Demand for land for production of biomass for energy is putting increasing pressure on forests. Energy security concerns, high oil prices and climate mitigation policies aimed at replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy, have all led to a greater interest in biofuels. The transport sector is using increasing quantities of ethanol, mainly produced from sugar cane, corn and cassava, as a substitute for petrol (gasoline), and biodiese...

Recognizing that industrial society must fix this major flaw in the system, governments and many forward-looking companies started exploring solutions as early as the 1970s. The strong activism of civil society organizations and the interest of the media in cases of toxic waste dumping were central in bringing the issue on the international agenda. By the 1980s, the international community launched treaty negotiations under the auspices of the Un...

A visual timeline of historical waste manaement. From the first recorded landfill created in Knossos in 3000 B.C. to the English parliament banning waste disposal in public waterways and ditches in 1388 to the establishment of The Basel Convention in 1992.

Serious socioeconomic impacts can arise when diseases spread widely within human or animal populations (such as H5N1), or when they spill over from animal reservoirs to human hosts; farming intensification often increases these risks. Even small-scale animal disease outbreaks can have major economic impacts in pastoral communities.

Recognizing that industrial society must fix this major flaw in the system, governments and many forward-looking companies started exploring solutions as early as the 1970s. The strong activism of civil society organizations and the interest of the media in cases of toxic waste dumping were central in bringing the issue on the international agenda. By the 1980s, the international community launched treaty negotiations under the auspices of the Un...

The Working for the Environment programmes (water, fire, wetland, coast) are all supported by important national environmental legislation including the National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act, the Disaster Management Act, the National Veld and Forest Fire Act, the National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act, and the National Environment Management: Integrated Coastal Management Act.