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Posted by Enviroadmin
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Wednesday, 12 October 2011 09:43 |
 PPC SUPPORT FOR RIVONINGO PERMACULTURE FOOD GARDEN IS A LIVING TESTIMONY
World Food Day this year recognises the spiralling costs of food and the billion that are already hungry. The theme, “FOOD PRICES – FROM CRISIS TO STABILITY”, has been chosen to shed some light on this trend and what can be done to mitigate its impact on the most vulnerable. Price swings, upswings in particular, represent a major threat to food security in developing countries. Hardest-hit are the poor. According to the World Bank, in 2010-2011 rising food costs pushed nearly 70 million people into extreme poverty (www.fao.org).
On 11 October 2011, Food & Trees for Africa (FTFA), South Africa’s national greening, carbon offset and food gardening organisation, together with Pretoria Portland Cement (PPC), will celebrate World Food Day at the Rivoningo Hospice in Pretoria.
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Posted by Enviroadmin
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Wednesday, 28 September 2011 11:41 |
On the 24th of September, as part of the Moving Planet initiatives around the world, Indigo Skate Camp set out to plant 111 orange trees in and around the Zulu village of Isithumba in the Valley of 1 000 Hills, Durban.
This was an ideal follow up from a Plant-For-The-Planet visit to Indigo Skate Camp in August this year to promote growing trees to offset carbon emissions. Through a partnership with Food & Trees for Africa (FTFA), Chartered Wealth Solutions was able to provide Indigo with an abundance of trees.
Chartered Wealth Solutions assist their clients in retiring successfully by firstly, determining their life goals and dreams; a vision of the life they want to lead in retirement, and then, by designing a unique and thorough retirement plan that can fund this vision.
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Posted by Enviroadmin
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Tuesday, 27 September 2011 15:55 |
 Tourism Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk has encouraged the country’s youth to take advantage of the job creation potential presented by tourism and cultural products.
Speaking at World Tourism Day celebrations held at the Basotho Cultural Village just outside Qwaqwa in the Free State, Van Schalkwyk said government was prepared to support the youth by equipping them with business skills geared towards the tourism industry.
Free State MEC for Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs Mxolisi Dukwana told BuaNews that the provincial government was doing everything in its power to promote culture and tourism.
Echoing the same sentiments as the minister, he said young people should get involved in tourism. He said that was good reason for the youth to promote and preserve their cultures, as they were an important attraction factor for visitors to South Africa.
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Posted by Enviroadmin
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Tuesday, 27 September 2011 11:53 |
 South Africa is gradually becoming the most preferred tourist destination among international tourists.
Tourism Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk revealed that South Africa’s different cultures and products were the main attractions.
Delivering a public lecture (themed ‘Tourism Linking Cultures’) on Monday at the University of the Free State’s Qwaqwa campus ahead of World Tourism Day celebrations, the minister said 550 000 tourists arrived in the country before 1994.
According to the minister, the number has drastically increased, with eight million tourists having visited the country last year.
“That is a huge achievement ... and we did it together in our industry,” he said, expressing confidence that more could be done to further increase the number of tourists visiting the country.
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Posted by Enviroadmin
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Monday, 26 September 2011 17:55 |
 The latest scientific reports show that South Africa will become drier in the west and wetter in the east. This means the country will experience an increase in the frequency of severe weather events, such as drought, tornadoes, floods, and other natural disasters.
Environmental Affairs Minister Edna Molewa said this research formed apart of South Africa’s 2nd National Communication to the United Nations, which is now in its final stages before submission.
Speaking at the KwaZulu-Natal Pre-COP 17 Summit at Durban’s ICC, Molewa said the document does not only reflect the country’s greenhouse gas emissions profile, but the latest science on South Africa’s vulnerability to impacts of climate change.
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Posted by Enviroadmin
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Wednesday, 21 September 2011 14:28 |
Food & Trees for Africa (FTFA), the first and only South African social enterprise with a strong focus on environmental and global warming education and awareness, and Global Carbon Exchange (GCX), a leading strategic sustainability consultancy and training provider, will announced the launch of ‘Green Day, on 30 September 2011. ‘Green Day’ has been initiated to take environmental awareness issues more mainstream.
According to FTFA founder, Jeunesse Park, ‘From an environmental point of view, we find that we are often preaching to the converted. Environmental issues need to enter the public domain so more people become aware of the role they can play in ensuring a sustainable future,’ says Park. Green Day aims to raise consciousness of green issues such as climate change, water, waste and energy management, natural resource depletion and sustainability in general.
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Posted by Enviroadmin
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Tuesday, 20 September 2011 00:20 |
 Say NO to the Department of Mineral Resources issuing prospecting licenses in the Magaliesburg of South Africa.
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Posted by Enviroadmin
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Monday, 19 September 2011 22:33 |
Bidvest company, Konica Minolta South Africa, has been working with South Africa’s national greening and food gardening social enterprise, Food & Trees for Africa (FTFA), since 2008 to plant trees to offset some of their carbon emissions and improve environments. Initially 4 100 trees were planted in Orange Farm, south of Johannesburg, through FTFAs award winning trees for Homes programme and this proved so successful that, with the need to offset more carbon dioxide emissions, Konica Minolta South Africa distributed a further 4 500 trees to the disadvantaged settlements of Polokwane, Kimberley, East London, Port Elizabeth and Newcastle.
2011 is the International Year of Forests which aims to raise awareness on sustainable management, conservation and development of all types of forests and these urban forests planted by Konica Minolta South Africa are doing just that.
To top this off, Konica Minolta South Africa has now donated a further 3 000 Trees for Homes to the residents of Lotus Gardens in Pretoria, Mshlozi in Nelspruit and Thembalethu in George.
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Posted by Enviroadmin
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Wednesday, 14 September 2011 16:13 |
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 That was essentially the message sent today by landowners, residents and tourism stakeholders from the town of Magaliesburg to Mining Companies and the Department of Mineral Resources (DMR).
Magaliesburg which sits on the doorstep to the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site has for many years been known and recognised as a tourist attraction for South Africa and even more so since the World Heritage Site was declared. (Click here to sign their petition)
Mining companies however continually fail to see the immense value this region offers to the tourism sector of South Africa and have for years been attempting to set their anchors into the soils of Magaliesburg.
Not much is different right now as the community and landowners of Magaliesburg once again have to deal with 3 prospecting applications currently threatening the future of the area.
Response and support from affected landowners and stakeholders has been astounding with both directly and indirectly affected landowners standing together and lodging a multitude of objections with the DMR against a recent application on the farms of Koesterfontein by an applicant named Autumn Skies Trading 455 cc, the sole director of which is actually a director of Belton Mining in Witbank. Mr Harms also worked for Rand Gold, Rand Coal, BHPBilliton and is also still listed as a director of TransLimpopo Mineral Resources. So why are these operations being lodged using a shelf cc ??
This same applicant has lodged a second application on much of the remaining farms of Koesterfontein, Kaalfontein and a portion of Rietpoort for which public meetings and consultations have yet to be held but the response to the applicant and the DMR is going to be the same.
The Magalies Meander is a formalised tourist attraction and the Magaliesburg has long since been earmarked for tourism related activities and is an invaluable asset to South African Tourism offering unspoilt views for miles. A number of specialist studies recently conducted for the Mogale City Local Municipality (MCLM) all arrive at the same conclusions, these areas must be conserved. Magaliesburg also received international recognition and attention when it played host to Team Portugal during the 2010 Soccer World Cup.
The Acid Mine Water problem stemming out of the Krugersdorp and Carletonville mining areas has already seeped through underground acquifers into waters of the Cradle of Humankind area and damages to cave structures have already been noted in the world renowned Sterkfontein Caves. Much of the Magaliesburg underground water is still unaffected by this serious problem but should mines get their way with the Magaliesburg it would not be long before the Bloubank River Catchment, the Magalies River and underground water sources are completely and utterly ruined.
It is time for South Africa to say NO to this problem. The mining community has not learned to clean up after itself in 120 years and should not be allowed to touch another piece of ground until they have cleaned up South Africa 100%. The public will no longer tolerate this mass poisoning of our rivers, streams and underground acquifers.
To support the town of Magaliesburg in their fight please contact
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
(Click here to sign their petition)
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Posted by Enviroadmin
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Tuesday, 13 September 2011 15:56 |
 Tuffy Brands recently teamed up with the Zigzag surfing magazine to encourage beach clean-ups around South Africa. The successful campaign has resulted in over 37 beach clean-ups locally and internationally, as far afield as Thailand, Sri Lanka and Indonesia.
Tuffy inserted 15,000 bags into the Zigzag magazine, in which an ad ran inviting surfers to participate in the clean up and send in photos of themselves doing a beach clean-up or something cool with their Tuffy refuse bags. The prize for best picture was a Reef wetsuit, a most sort after commodity with surfers.
“The response to the campaign has been phenomenal and has resulted in a spin off that we never imagined,” says Rory Murray, Marketing Director of Tuffy Brands. “Including individuals sending in their entries, the initiative has resulted in the formation of two beach clean-up groups in Cape Town and KZN, who are now facilitating clean-ups on a monthly basis.”
He says that the results show just how committed to the environment the surfing community is and running it in Zigzag, SA’s well-loved surfing magazine has resulted in great exposure online and in the social media space where people have shared their personal clean up stories.
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