Environmental Crime
latest news & developments
Parrot egg smuggler ordered to pay for wildlife rescue
A Thai national caught smuggling protected parrot eggs out of South Africa has been convicted and ordered to pay R300,000 towards the care of confiscated wildlife.
UN backs negotiations on global protocol to tackle environmental crime
UN member states have approved negotiations on a new global protocol under UNTOC to target organized environmental crimes, including wildlife trafficking, illegal mining, and…
Quiet plunder of the Succulent Karoo
South Africa's Succulent Karoo, a global biodiversity hotspot, is under severe threat from a sophisticated international plant trafficking operation. What was once dismissed as…
Sasol halts answers to MPs after NPA raids Secunda operations with search warrants
A long-running criminal investigation into allegations that Sasol unlawfully polluted the Vaal River system took a dramatic new turn this week when National Prosecuting Authority…
Illegal gillnetting in South Africa: New reporting app targets growing threat to rivers and estuaries
Conservationists and law enforcement agencies in South Africa are launching a new Gillnet Reporting App to combat the rising problem of illegal gillnetting in rivers and…
Mpumalanga municipality slapped with record R650m penalty for years of raw sewage spills
In a landmark ruling, the Emalahleni local municipality was ordered to fund major repairs after pleading guilty to persistent sewage pollution that contaminated rivers feeding…
Unravelling the threads of snaring in Kruger park
Incidents of wildlife snaring have rocketed in South Africa’s flagship national park in the past four years. What’s driving the surge, and how are conservationists facing up to it?
Illegal succulent trade is the Western Cape’s most prevalent wildlife crime
CapeNature says 650 species and more than 1.2 million harvested wild plants have been seized in the past four years