The Latest Breaking News from The Conversation Africa

Africa has an enormous ocean area at its disposal. There are almost 20 million square kilometres of ocean, seas and inland water that could be developed into environmentally sustainable blue economies. The G20 group of 19 of the world’s largest economies and the African Union also view the blue economy…

Lake Iro in Chad was in the news in early August 2025 after a picture taken by a NASA astronaut was published showing it looking like a large, circular silver mirror as sunlight reflected off its surface and into space. The phenomenon is known as a sunglint and can happen…

A recent Afrobarometer study has shown declining trust in public institutions over the past decade among African citizens. Study findings call into question the credibility and legitimacy of state institutions like the presidency, parliament and security forces, including the police. The study also shows that many Africans still believe in…

As the planet gets hotter and freshwater sources dry up, cities and towns will not be able to continue the global norm of using millions of litres of clean, drinkable water to flush toilets. South Africa’s Water Research Commission recently commissioned a study into using seawater to flush toilets in…

Kente is a prestigious royal cloth of Ghana’s Asante people, part of their historical and cultural heritage. But there’s a debate about where it originated: the Bonwire community or the Adanwomase community in the Ashanti Region. The Conversation Africa spoke to African art and culture researcher Dickson Adom about the…

Indigenous people make up only 6% of the world’s population but manage over a quarter of the world’s land surface. These groups, descended from original occupants of a geographical place and identifying as culturally distinct, possess knowledge about adapting to social and environmental change. Yet their perspectives are rarely included…

Nature-based solutions use nature to solve environmental problems caused by humans, such as global climate change. But not every ecological project counts as a nature-based solution. Some projects only bring about a slight improvement to the environment, while others even cover up environmental damage. Cornelius Okello and Timothy A. Downing…

The quantity and complexity of commercial wildlife trade laws has grown globally over the past century. A new study examines wildlife trade laws in 11 countries and finds that a country’s Global Biodiversity Index does not correlate with the extent of its legislation that addresses the trade in wildlife. The…

Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu has yet to replace the ambassadors he recalled a year ago, leaving only the country’s UN permanent representative. Nigeria has 109 diplomatic missions worldwide, comprising 76 embassies, 22 high commissions and 11 consulates. The Conversation Africa asked Sheriff Folarin, an international relations expert and the author…