Natural resources and the environment

Feature stories

Out of the ashes rise ... several new research angles The CSIR has announced a R1.8 million recovery plan for the Mapiep Breeding Archive of the CSIR's Tree Improvement Research Group after last year's devastating veld fires in the Lowveld.

Understanding the complex ecology of cholera epidemics in southern Africa A CSIR study is the first to have recorded the Vibrio cholerae 0139 serogroup - one of only two types that can cause outbreaks - in the coastal waters of Africa. The researchers also determined that the rainfall pattern was the key correlating environmental factor driving cholera outbreaks in Beira and KwaZulu-Natal.

News

Indigenous trees show benefits in terms of water and economics, finds CSIR study Plantations of indigenous trees such as the Outeniqua yellowwood may be economically more viable in terms of maintenance, wood value and water use than its commercial counterparts, a CSIR study found.

Preliminary CSIR investigations point to lower than reported mercury levels CSIR researchers are set to prove that South Africa is not the second worst mercury emitter in the world as previously reported in a publication by Pacyna et al., 2006 (Atmospheric Environment, 40).

Science and society working together for sustainable futures in the Little Karoo The sustainable future of the Little Karoo's people and ecosystems will depend on the implementation of the alternative economies of the future. Ecologists argue for a "fundamental shift" in how scientists, institutions and decision makers currently operate.

CSIR research platform to assess risks of nanotechnology The CSIR is to lead the research effort to fill an important gap in understanding the health, safety and environmental risks associated with nanotechnology in South Africa.

CSIR conducts scientific crop trials on mined dunes Two KwaZulu-Natal communities are set to benefit from a crop trial project that the CSIR is running for Richards Bay Minerals (RBM). The CSIR is investigating the technical and economic feasibility of growing different types of crops on mined dunes.

Taking the big view helps farmers CSIR researcher, Connie Musvoto and her colleagues from CSIR Natural Resources and the Environment, together with researchers from the Agricultural Research Council (ARC) Institute for Soil, Climate and Water, decided to use Moretele as the focus of a special study.

CSIR acquires latest diagnostic technology for identifying waterborne pathogens When the cholera outbreak spread from neighbouring Zimbabwe to South Africa in November last year, the CSIR did most of the routine water analysis for the provincial Departments of Water Affairs in Limpopo and Mpumalanga.