Eco Africa: The Environment Magazine

A factory in Goma, Congo, produces biodegradable bags, which its founder hopes will start replacing the plastic bags strewn about the city's streets and clogging up its sewers.

In Cameroon, cotton farmers are offered training courses that use virtual reality teaching aids to help them adjust to the effects of climate change. For example, they put on VR glasses and practice pest control on virtual fields.

Electronic waste is a big problem in Africa. Unfortunately, a lot gets sent from richer countries, often illegally, and ends up in landfills. If electronics aren't disposed of properly, the chemicals inside can poison the air, soil and water. We meet a man who saves old electronics from the junkheap.

In rural communities in Kenya, human waste is being harnessed for energy as part of a project to replace firewood and help keep waterways clean. The aim is to turn excrement into briquettes or use it to fuel waste-to-energy plants.

Countless migratory birds fall victim to hunters and trappers in Egypt each year. Now a local NGO is trying to protect the birds, and help hunters put their skills to better use by leading bird-watching vacations.

Douala, Cameroon's economic hub in the Gulf of Guinea, is losing coastal land to ever more frequent floods. NGOs are planting mangroves to prevent erosion and sequester carbon, and educating locals about the ecosystem.

As oceans grow warmer, non-native species are moving in. Lionfish are highly venomous marine creatures and in recent years they've reached the Mediterranean via the Suez Canal. In Crete they're causing all sorts of problems.

In rural Zimbabwe, only 30% of people have access to electricity. An engineering student has designed a lamp made from upcycled plastic bottles and used LED lights that provides solar-powered illumination and also tackles plastic and e-waste.

In Uganda 30,000 girls drop out of school annually, often simply because it's hard for them to reach their school. An organization helps girls to get an education by providing them with bicycles.

South Africa is home to the world's biggest breeding population of endangered southern right whales. A long term study launched in 1969 to track their behavior sheds light on how climate change is affecting their food sources and migratory patterns.

Farmers in northern Ghana are returning to traditional medicines to treat their livestock. These scientifically backed indigenous treatments are more affordable than conventional veterinary drugs, and are less susceptible to antibacterial resistance.

Metal trees with micro wind turbines and plastic solar leaves generate green electricity that can be used right then and there, even in ordinary gardens. They're not an eyesore, and are more compact and easier to install than their regular turbines.

South Africa has abundant sunshine and raw materials, but still imports lots of solar panels — at great expense. A women-run company produces them locally and at lower cost, providing jobs and better access to legal electricity — also for poor communities.

Using artificial intelligence technologies, an engineer in Morocco has developed a small robot that can detect and identify crop diseases. It is also equipped to apply the right quantity of pesticides in the needed areas. #DWenvironment #EcoAfrica

A Gambian rapper is using his popularity to try and get a million trees planted in his home country. Besides more carbon storage through reforestation, the initiative has added to habitat restoration for local communities.

Despite limits on some plastics in Uganda, the material is slowly clogging up Lake Victoria. Now a local initiative is working to clean it up by training young divers to retrieve the rubbish from the water.

After being swamped with sewage during the rainy season, a neighborhood in the Ivorian capital formed a volunteer sanitation brigade. They built a runoff canal for sewage, and they clear it regularly. They also pick up garbage.

A young Kenyan who grew up without electricity, has developed a micro hydroelectric power device that delivers cheap, clean electricity for homes and businesses. It's transforming rural, off-grid communities in his area.

Transport accounts for one-fifth of greenhouse gas emissions in Germany. Efforts to meet climate targets by speeding up a mobility transition include solar-powered delivery boats and electrifying roads to cut truck emissions.

Based in Tunis, German-Tunisian startup Bako Motors manufactures solar-powered three-wheelers for delivery services. They cut fuel expenses and reduce pollution on the city's congested streets.

Climate change, the war in Ukraine and the effects of COVID-19 are contributing to rising food prices. Growing fruit and vegetables instead of buying them could be the answer. In Johannesburg, urban agriculture projects are teaching locals how to garden.

The high price of imported animal feed is a headache for farmers all over the world. In Egypt, some are looking into locally produced alternatives, such as the fast-growing and versatile aquatic fern Azolla.

Everyday almost 200 tons of textile waste are dumped in landfills in African countries. Meet some young South Africans on a mission to defend the environment against never-ending textile waste.

Hubard Stephny, a 29-year-old petroleum engineer, has turned into a pioneer of green energy and organic fertilizer in Cameroon. He is bringing his green ideas to communities and is training them.

In a state-of-the-art laboratory on the edge of Kenya's only surviving patch of tropical rainforest, a fungal weapon is being spawned to fight against a non-indigenous, invasive plant called witchweed.

A startup in Zambia is using technology to support smallholder farmers. The digital platform allows them to form saving circles, access payment services and receive personalized advice.

Tunisia is one of the most arid countries in Africa, but a lot of water is needed in agriculture. An entrepreneur now grows vegetables hydroponically, using less water overall and almost doubling his yields.

SUNfarming combines photovoltaics and agriculture by creating structures that produce energy and provide shelter and space for plants and animals. An integrated system also ensures more efficient use of rainwater.

To reduce deforestation in Uganda, people are looking for sustainable alternatives to charcoal. Using briquettes instead of wood for cooking is one good option, because it is cheaper and also more ecological.

Some crops actually improve the soil, such as beans and chickpeas. But these protein-rich sustainable legumes aren't popular everywhere. We look at an attempt to introduce chickpeas in Germany.

Many people consider cacti a nuisance, but one young Senegalese entrepreneur is putting them to good use. He's devised a way to produce both biogas and organic fertilizer from the spiky succulents.

Sudan has the biggest share of the world largest fossil water reservoir, the Nubian Sandstone Aquifer System. The water gives life to arid regions, but it must be managed sustainably in order to last.

An Irish businessman converted a five-meter-long piece of retired aircraft and installed it in his garden to use as home office space. The social media attention was so high that he has now turned the enterprise into a business. His company Aeropod now recycles old aircrafts into chic huts.

In Nigeria, many tons of fresh market produce spoil daily due to a lack of refrigeration. But what if the same sun that rots vegetables and sours milk could be the energy source that keeps them cool and crisp?

Women on the edge of Azagny National Park in Ivory Coast used to burn mangrove wood to boil seawater down to salt. They've now learned more sustainable methods and built up climate resilience in other surprising ways.

African baobab leaves are valued for their nutritional and medicinal properties. But overharvesting threatens the trees. An initiative is raising awareness and planting new seedlings.

Giraffes may be the symbol of the African savanna, but few realize they are undergoing a silent extinction. A conservancy in Kenya is devoted to increasing the population of one particular endangered species: the Rothschild giraffe.

Biodynamic agriculture is the oldest system of organic farming. One farm in Uganda has been using its methods for half a century — with great success. Now Demeter certified, it hopes to be an inspiration to other farms in Uganda and elsewhere in Africa.

A farmer in Morocco has set up a solar array to cover his farm's electricity needs. The irrigation pumps and machinery used to treat produce or make biofertilizers now all run on green energy.

In Kenya, geothermal energy already accounts for a large portion of its energy prodution. Experts see is a lot more potential for the sector, so construction is underway at new extraction sites. It may be a good alternative to fossil fuels, but geothermal energy is not without its drawbacks.

Wildlife used to thrive in Akagera National Park in Rwanda. After years of wildlife-human conflicts, the government and community are working to restore the park's natural beauty.

The cocoa industry is a major driver of deforestation in West Africa. The German startup Planet A Foods is producing innovative chocolate products -- made from oats!