President Jacob Zuma has nominated Tourism Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk for the post of the United Nations' new climate chief.

Van Schalkwyk has been tipped as a strong contender to take over from Yvo De Boer who headed the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC). De Boer announced his resignation last month.

The overall quality of the city's inland and coastal water has reached a 10-year low, and despite the associated health threats, budget and resource constraints mean the situation is unlikely to be reversed soon, says a City of Cape Town report.

The report on the overall water quality in 2009, showed that despite slight improvements in certain areas, the overall compliance with water quality guidelines for inland water systems had dropped to 43 percent from a high of 80.5 percent in 2000.

Residents and farmers in the Cape Winelands expressed cautious delight on Thursday at the news that the controversial plan to mine in the region may not be approved by the government.

The news emerged from Parliament on Wednesday after the director-general of the Department of Mineral Resources, Sandile Nogxina, was quoted as saying that the department would not approve the application by state-owned mining company African Exploration Mining and Finance Corporation to prospect and possibly mine in the Bottelary and Durbanville areas.

The City of Cape Town is set to unveil a multi-million rand park in the next few months, with officials saying the facility would become a "great inner-city park", similar to those in cities around the world.

And while attention in recent years has been almost exclusively focused on the park's R4.5-billion neighbour, the Cape Town Stadium, the Green Point Park is bound to lure Capetonians and tourists alike far into the future.

The Cape Winemakers Guild vehemently opposes all prospecting and mining in the Cape winelands.  Not only will the proposed mining activities destroy the UNESCO registered Bottelary Renosterbos Conservancy and the vineyards that attract large numbers of tourists to South Africa every year; it will also result in the loss of employment and income for a great many families working on the wine farms in these areas.

Food & Trees For Africa is looking for a Permaculture Programme Manager to start as soon as possible.

Applicants must be able to demonstrate an understanding of the ethics and principles of Permaculture, be effective communicators with polished editing skills and must have traceable references. Two years of managerial experience and computer literacy are vital. 

In addition, the applicant must have community development experience and an ability to work with corporates, NGOs, government and communities to facilitate constructive and successful interventions.

Please send resume to Ann by email to:  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it  

Sun City - The Local Organising Committee (LOC) says plans to deploy medical response personnel on frequently used routes during the 2010 FIFA World Cup are underway.

LOC Chief Medical Officer Dr Victor Ramathesele told journalists on Tuesday that they were working with the government to ensure that incidents needing medical intervention are effectively attended to during the month-long tourney which starts in June.

At a public borehole in Zviyambe, a village in the backyard of Zimbabwe, approximately 250 kilometres away from Harare, the capital city, butterflies, goats, cattle and human beings mix and mingle in edenic fashion all in search of the precious liquid: water. Under a blazing sun, Sekai Mabika (not her real name) and her sister take turns to fill up buckets with water all the while shooing the goats away while the butterflies flutter hither and thither sipping at the water spilled to the ground and the cattle standby for their turn to drink water.

Pretoria - South Africa and Australia have signed an agreement that will frame future bilateral cooperation on climate change issues.

The letter of intent was signed on Friday by Australian Trade Minister Simon Crean and Minister for Water and Environmental Affairs Buyelwa Sonjica.

The two nations have been cooperating on climate change matters under a Climate Change Partnership since 2006.

Pretoria - The deadline for Wasteman, the second-largest waste management company in South Africa, to stop operations at its Klerksdorp facility, has been extended.

Last November, the Department of Environmental Affairs' Green Scorpions found the Klerksdorp incinerator to be in contravention of many of its permit conditions.

Cape Town - Government aims to reduce water loss by 2014 bearing in mind that South Africa is not a water rich country, says President Jacob Zuma.

"We are not a water rich country. Yet we still lose a lot of water through leaking pipes and inadequate infrastructure.

"We will be putting in place measures to reduce our water loss by half by 2014," President Zuma said in his State of the Nation Address on Thursday.

Pretoria - A landmark project that converts gas from household waste into electricity has been officially launched in Durban.

A first for Africa, the project will produce enough electricity for thousands of medium-income homes.

It will also inject tens of millions of Rands into the city coffers through the sale of electricity and certified emission reduction credits, also known as carbon credits.

But the real winner will be the environment. Millions of cubic metres of greenhouse gases that would otherwise have escaped into the atmosphere each year, contributing to global warming, will now be converted into clean electricity.