Category: Africa

Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Miengah Abrahams, Lecturer, University of Cape Town

I am a poor navigator. This is not an easy thing for a field geologist to admit. We need to be able to find our planned area of interest in good time and make our way back to our potentially hidden and distant vehicles at the end of the day. It’s especially true that I am a poor navigator when I need to use nondescript bushes, the distant hill shape, and the odd fallen boulder as reference points.

So it was no surprise when I led my MSc student Loyce Mpangala and our PhD candidate field assistant Akhil Rampersadh astray in Lesotho’s Roma Valley. We were walking back to our car after looking at a dinosaur tracksite that I’d visited before. The tracksite, which is marked on Google Maps as an attraction, was on the other side of a sparsely populated hill with numerous informal walkways, overlooking the National University of Lesotho.

Walking along the wrong (I didn’t know it then) footpath, I spotted a dinosaur footprint I hadn’t seen before. Once you’ve worked on dinosaur tracks for seven years and visited the same site a few times you get to know their shape and their personality. And this one was different. The first footprint I spotted superficially resembled others on the hill: three-toed, longer-than-wide with claw marks; but it was far away from the known site we had just visited.

After taking a few more steps, we spotted some more footprints. These had distinct shapes we had not yet seen in the Roma area: short, wide footprints with rounded, stubby toes. When we looked more closely, they were sometimes paired with star-shaped handprints. These footprints were made by herbivorous ornithischian dinosaurs and it is the first time their distinct shape has been documented in the Roma Valley, which is rich in fossil footprints. It adds to scientists’ knowledge of the extensive trace fossil diversity of the local dinosaur community during the Early Jurassic period about 200 million years ago.

I guess sometimes – and I cannot overemphasise how rarely – the wrong turn can lead you to the right place.

New, old and very old

The tracksite was new to our dino-tracking team from South Africa’s University of Cape Town. But it was not a new discovery. It is known as the Mokhosi site and was reported in 2003 by David Ambrose, a tracking enthusiast and mathematics professor at the National University of Lesotho. He noted that a number of large three-toed prints were preserved, with more likely to be beneath the recent sand covering.

Our extensive uncovering (a glamorous way for saying sweeping) of the 18 metre by 2 metre tracksite showed that more fossil evidence had indeed been captured in the rock. We documented 35 footprints; most were part of trackways, heading in all directions.

The footprints were all three-toed and fell into two main shape groupings – those that were longer-than-wide, with slender toes and sharp claw marks, and those that were wider-than-long, with robust, rounded toes. The latter were occasionally associated with smaller and shallow handprints, in front and slightly to the outer side of their corresponding footprints.

The first group of tracks (longer-than-wide) are a type commonly preserved in southern Africa and can be attributed to carnivorous theropod dinosaurs. The theropod tracks at Mokhosi reach a maximum length of about 40cm, meaning that these meat-eating travellers would have had a hip height of about 2 metres, towering over humans.

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Read more: Footprints take science a step closer to understanding southern Africa’s dinosaurs

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The second group of hand- and footprints preserve characteristics consistent with herbivorous ornithischian dinosaur trackmakers. Our excitement rose as we carefully dusted these tracks: globally, ornithischian footprints are rarer than theropods during the Early Jurassic.

This marks the first time these distinct quadrupedal ornithischian footprints have been found in the Roma Valley. It’s remarkable, given that a high number of tracksites (14) have been identified and studied in the area.

Waiting to be found again

When we walked back to our car after a long day, we took a moment to stare back at the wonderful site we’d stumbled across. We knew that the future rains and winds would once again hide the Mokhosi tracksite, leaving only small clues to the keen eye of what lies beneath the sand.

We wish the same excitement to the next passerby who unveils this little wonder.

To help you, I’d like to note that the nearby bush is “bushier than the surrounding ones”, that the hill gradient “changes ever so slightly above the track-bearing sandstone”, and that the nearby boulders are completely “nondescript”.

– Dinosaur tracksite in Lesotho: how a wrong turn led to an exciting find
– https://theconversation.com/dinosaur-tracksite-in-lesotho-how-a-wrong-turn-led-to-an-exciting-find-208963

Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Evodius Waziri Rutta, Sustainability Researcher, Queen’s University, Ontario

Human-wildlife conflicts are a challenge for authorities in African countries where people live near protected areas. Programmes for communities to participate in wildlife tourism and share its benefits have been put forward as one solution.

Those benefits are substantial in Tanzania. Wildlife tourism is a major source of foreign revenue for the country. In 2021, the tourism sector generated US$2.6 billion, or 5.7% of gross domestic product (GDP).

The country’s 2022 Wildlife Conservation Act offers financial and material compensation for any eligible person negatively affected by human-wildlife conflict incidents. Between 2012 and 2019, more than 1,000 human-wildlife mortality cases were reported nationwide, with rural residents forming the large majority of the victims.

As a sustainability scholar with a research interest in farming and the environment, I set out to understand the experiences of people who’d been victims of human-wildlife conflict in Tanzania. In my study, I spoke with people in the villages of Kiduhi and Mbamba. These two villages share borders with the Mikumi National Park, the fourth-biggest national park in Tanzania.

I asked them about what drives human-wildlife conflict, in their view, when and how they experienced it, how it affected their livelihood or well-being, and what could be done to prevent it in the future.

Incidents of human-wildlife conflict had become common in the two villages, but I found that the victims’ experiences were underreported. I also found that the conflict was driven by habitat losses that pushed wild animals from the park to seek food and water outside. Changing weather patterns also played a role in tensions between wild animals from the park and residents of Kiduhi and Mbamba. Other research has linked changing patterns like this to climate change.

Water scarcity and loss of grassland

Villagers in Kiduhi and Mbamba believed that a decrease in rainfall and long periods of drought were what drove elephants, hyenas and lions to seek food outside the park. This claim from residents was echoed by wildlife experts from Mikumi National Park.

They said the lack of rainfall led to a loss of vegetation inside Mikumi, forcing large animals like elephants to forage further afield. Potential prey for lions, such as deer and wildebeest, also moved far away in search of food and water. As a result, lions and hyenas from the park targeted cattle and goats in neighbouring villages.

In Kiduhi, a predominantly Maasai community that keeps livestock, hyena attacks and killings of goats had become frequent, endangering the lives of residents. Some reported risking their lives by patrolling at night to protect their cattle and chase away hyenas that were reported to be frequently seen in the area. One victim in Kiduhi told me:

In February 2021, a lion attacked my boma and killed 11 goats but ended up eating just one goat. Though the attack happened at midnight, the lion didn’t leave immediately; it stayed until early morning. I reported the incident to wildlife authorities, who came and freed the lion. But, to date, I have not been compensated for my loss.

Crop losses

The research also found that elephants raiding neighbouring villages’ farms was the major cause of human-elephant conflict around the park. Victims from Mbamba reported that clashes between them and elephants happened almost every day from May to August, the peak harvest season.

Since most Mbamba residents are subsistence farmers, the damage that elephants cause to their farms has a devastating impact on livelihoods. Women expressed concerns about household food shortages because most of the food they produced was damaged by elephants from the park. One woman farmer said:

For me, it happens almost every year; they raid and eat all the crops, especially maize and rice. I have now accepted that when I grow maize, I also grow for elephants because they come every season.

Poor response

In Kiduhi, most Maasai men and women interviewed in this study felt the local government and park officals had not shown concern about the livestock losses they experienced from hyena and lion attacks. Despite their quest for compensation, they had received nothing but daily promises of resolution.

In Mbamba, some villagers said they didn’t bother to report losses because no action would be taken.

What needs to be done about it

Across Africa, financial compensation for victims of human-wildlife conflicts is a popular management policy. Though some conservation experts have questioned its effectiveness, proponents of financial payments argue that ignoring victims’ economic losses could make the situation worse.

Studies in Tarangire and Serengeti national parks in Tanzania revealed that inadequate compensation schemes and limited engagement of neighbouring communities were the primary cause of retaliation killings in both parks.

So, firstly, the government needs to improve its compensation scheme.

Secondly, local climate conditions in Tanzania need attention. Longer periods of drought and water scarcity are expected in the coming years. Human-wildlife conflict cases may escalate. Despite known evidence of the devastating impact of climate change on wildlife resources, the government of Tanzania has been very slow in responding to these risks.

One practical intervention would be investing in nature-based solutions like restoring degraded land and water sources within the park and its neighbouring villages. This would reduce tensions over these resources.

Neglecting victims’ welfare, and a lack of tangible benefits of wildlife tourism to communities adjacent to protected areas, could pose a serious threat to the survival of wildlife. Concrete measures to address this complex conservation challenge are critical for Tanzania, given the significant contribution of wildlife tourism to its economy.

– Conflict between humans and wildlife in Tanzania is being poorly managed – and climate change is making things worse
– https://theconversation.com/conflict-between-humans-and-wildlife-in-tanzania-is-being-poorly-managed-and-climate-change-is-making-things-worse-210332

Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Nicole Vellios, Senior Research Officer, University of Cape Town

Throughout the world, governments impose excise taxes on products like alcohol and tobacco to reduce their demand. The South African government has implemented a tax on vaping products for the same reason. Reducing demand is necessary as there is growing evidence that vaping products are not harmless.

The new vaping tax has enraged vaping lobby groups and vaping manufacturers. The vaping industry argues that e-cigarettes are less harmful than traditional cigarettes. It also claims that the tax will spawn an illicit industry, that people will go back to smoking traditional cigarettes, and the tax will not dissuade the youth from starting vaping.

In one article the industry claims that the excise tax will increase the retail price of e-cigarettes by more than 100%. Another article claims that the retail price will increase by 217%.

Drawing from the work of the Research Unit on the Economics of Excisable Products where we are based, this article analyses the price increase claims and the effectiveness of the excise tax regime on vaping products. We do not explore the rest of the industry’s claims – government has already responded to some.

We conclude that the vaping tax is flawed because it is not well-targeted at reducing the consumption of vaping products among the youth. Young people who are starting to vape are more likely to buy disposable vapes, which attract less tax. As currently structured, the excise tax is not sufficiently targeted at reducing, or preventing, the use of vaping products among youth.

Youth and lifelong addiction

Disposable vapes, which are closed systems thrown away once the liquid is finished, have become increasingly popular among the youth. These are not teenagers switching from smoking cigarettes to e-cigarettes, but rather teenagers who are initiating a potential lifelong addiction to nicotine through vapes. The vaping industry claims it sells only to people aged 18 and older, but this isn’t true.

In 2022, nine schools (both publicly and privately funded) in three South African provinces were surveyed. Among the 5,583 learners in grades 8-12 (high school learners) who completed the survey, 15% used vaping devices. The prevalence is higher among grade 11 (17%) and grade 12 learners (27%).

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Read more: Marketers are targeting teens with cheap and addictive vapes: 9 ways to stem rising rates of youth vaping

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These high prevalence rates are not surprising given that vaping devices are marketed to the youth. Vaping devices come in many shapes, flavours and colours. One vape sold on online retailer Takealot is shaped as an ice lolly. Airspops disposable vapes, made by a UK company called Airscream, are very popular in South Africa. Retail chain Pick n Pay sells a 3ml AirsPops for R95 (US$5) (the price had not changed since at least August 2022 to 14 June 2023).

The fact that the retail price for these products has not changed suggests that the new excise tax is either absorbed by the industry or there is old stock on the market. AirsPops are also sold at retail chain Spar, by informal traders, and online (for instance, on Takealot, together with many other brands of disposable vapes).

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Read more: Vaping and behaviour in schools: what does the research tell us?

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There is growing competition in both the closed disposables vapes market and the open systems market. Open systems allow the user to refill the liquid in a vaping device. E-liquids are sold in a variety of nicotine strengths and volumes (typically from 20 ml to 100 ml). Nicotine-free e-liquids are not supposed to contain nicotine, although trace quantities are sometimes present. The increased competition in the vaping market has put downward pressure on e-liquid prices.

Since 2004, the National Treasury has targeted an excise tax burden of 40% on cigarettes. This means that the excise tax should be set such that it comprises 40% of the recommended retail price of popular-priced cigarettes. Since the excise tax on cigarettes is set as a specific tax (in 2023/24, the rate is R20.80 per pack of 20 cigarettes), higher-priced cigarettes are subject to a lower tax incidence, and lower-priced cigarettes to a higher tax incidence.

In recent years the excise tax increases have generally exceeded the retail price increases, with the result that the average excise tax incidence has increased and is currently about 45% for popular-price cigarettes. If VAT is included, the total tax incidence on popular-priced cigarettes is around 58%.

While equivalence with cigarette taxation is a controversial topic, the current tax on e-cigarettes yields tax burdens consistently below the tobacco tax burdens (except for the 100ml e-liquid). (See table 1 in the original article). The new tax will affect disposables the least, and e-liquids sold in large containers the most.

Users of 100 ml bottles of e-liquid are likely to be seasoned vapers and are more likely to vape as an alternative to smoking cigarettes. Youths who are experimenting with or starting vaping are not likely to purchase large containers of e-liquid; they would typically start with disposable vapes.

This is a problem, because the excise tax is not well-targeted at reducing the consumption of vaping products among the youth. In our submissions to the National Treasury and Parliament’s Select Committee of Finance, we argued that in order to address this anomaly the government should implement a minimum excise tax amount. We suggested a minimum tax amount of R50 per unit/container.

Such a minimum amount would have no additional tax impact for e-liquid containers with more than 17.5 ml, but would have an impact on small-volume containers, especially disposables [(See table 2 in the original article)]. The tax incidence on a 2ml Vuse disposable would increase from 6% to 37%. The tax incidence of e-liquid (sold in units of 20 ml or more) would remain the same.

Other than imposing a minimum excise tax on all vaping products, we propose that the National Treasury should, each year, increase the excise tax on e-cigarettes by the inflation rate, plus a pre-announced additional percentage. This will ensure that e-cigarettes become less affordable over time. Pre-announced tax changes are done in countries such as Australia, which increased the excise tax on cigarettes by 12.5% above the nominal increase in average wages for eight consecutive years from 2013 to 2020. Through a multi-year approach, tax increases are more predictable.

Addressing the flaws

The vaping industry’s response to the excise tax on vaping e-liquid has been predictably fierce. By focusing only on large containers, the industry has created the impression that the tax increases will have a large impact on the prices of all vaping products. However, these large containers comprise only a modest proportion of the market. Most vaping products will experience only limited price increases under the new tax. A concern for the public health community is that vaping products that are most used by youth are subject to the lowest tax burden.

South Africa does not need a new epidemic of addiction. The excise tax on vaping products will go some way to reduce the demand for these products. Unfortunately, there are flaws in the current tax system. We hope that National Treasury will address these in future Budgets.

A full version of this article, New vaping tax misses the mark, was originally published by Econ3x3.

– South Africa’s new vaping tax won’t deter young smokers
– https://theconversation.com/south-africas-new-vaping-tax-wont-deter-young-smokers-209838