Kigali, Rwanda (PANA) - Meteorological experts gathered this week in Entebbe, Uganda, have predicted heavy rainfall with flood risks for the equatorial parts of the Greater Horn of Africa (GHA) between March and May 2014. Full text...

Lusaka, Zambia (PANA) - This year's UN climate change negotiations kick off in the German city of Bonn next week, marking the beginning of an intense year of conferences and summits designed to lead to a meaningful, universal agreement in Paris in late 2015. Full text...

Maseru, Lesotho (PANA) - The African Union (AU) has marked this year's Africa Environment and Wangari Maathai Day in Maseru, Lesotho, the AU Commission said. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - The UN on Monday marked the first ever World Wildlife Day, with a warning that nature is under threat, while stressing the need to protect biological diversity and halt environmental crimes. Full text...

Bamako, Mali (PANA) - The International Development Association (IDA) has granted member states of the Organisation for the Development of the Senegal River (OMVS) a loan, worth 27.2 billion francs CFA, to enable them develop the Senegal River basin, PANA learnt from official sources here. Full text...

Dakar, Senegal (PANA) - The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) has granted 17.5 billion CFA francs to the Senegalese government to enable the West African country to improve its waste management, PANA learnt here Thursday from official sources. Full text...

Port-Louis, Mauritius (PANA) – Mauritian Environment and Sustainable Development Minister, Deva Virahsawmy, Thursday launched a Climate Change Information, Education and Communication Strategy and Action Plan, which aims to enhance awareness and understanding necessary to create a climate conscious culture for achieving a sustainable future in the island. Full text...

Nouakchott, Mauritania (PANA) - A French waste management company, Pizzorno, which collects waste in the Mauritanian capital, Nouakchott, has abandoned its contract with the Nouakchott Town Hall following a court ruling in a dispute with workers. Full text...

Brazzaville, Congo (PANA) - Congolese environmentalists Tuesday urged the heads of oil companies operating in the country to further reduce gas flaring to deal with pollution-related risks facing people living in oil production areas, PANA learnt from here. Full text...

Lusaka, Zambia (PANA) - Zambia's Tourism and Arts Minister Sylvia Masebo has broken ranks with the government over the mining licence given to an Australian firm for a copper project in the lower Zambezi National Park. Full text...

Paris , France (PANA) - Several environment organizations will on Thursday participate in a summit to be hosted by British Prime Minister David Cameron to call for a permanent ban on international and domestic markets of ivory and as well as the destruction of all ivory stockpiles confiscated by governments. Full text...

Nairobi, Kenya (PANA) - The US on Wednesday announced a National Strategy for Combating Wildlife Trafficking. Full text...

Niamey, Niger (PANA) - Authorities in Niger on Wednesday launched a national environmental campaign across the country, in an attempt to ensure a clean country, PANA reported here. Full text...

Bujumbura, Burundi (PANA) - Floods caused by torrential rains which lashed the Burundian capital, Bujumbura, late on Sunday have left over 60 people dead and made 10,000 homeless according to the Red Cross. Full text...

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (PANA) - Director for Rural Economy and Agriculture at the African Union (AU) Commission Abebe Haile Gabriel has said the development of the Implementation Plan for the integrated African strategy on meteorology is 'cardinal' as it would improve the generation of climate information on the African continent. Full text...

Bujumbura, Burundi (PANA) - At least 51 persons were killed Sunday night by flash flood, triggered by heavy rains in the northern suburbs of the capital city, Bujumbura, according to the provisional death toll released Monday by the Burundian Ministry of Public Security. Full text...

Washington, DC, US (PANA) - The US has commended Togo for its ''major strides'' to combat international wildlife trafficking, including the recent arrest of three major illegal wildlife traffickers in Togo. Full text...

Paris, France (PANA) - The French Minister of Ecology, Philippe Martin, on Thursday supervised the destruction of three tons of illegal ivory France confiscated between 1987 and 2007 valued at nearly one million euros. Full text...

Port-Louis, Mauritius (PANA) – The Mauritian authorities have closed the seaport in Port-Louis and the airport in the south of the island to traffic until further notice as cyclone "Edilson" marches towards the country, a PANA correspondent has reported from here. Full text...

Lagos, Nigeria (PANA) - Nigeria's National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) has fined the Nigerian subsidiary of Royal Dutch oil firm Shell US$5 billion for the 2011 Bonga oil spill in the country's oil-producing Niger Delta region, the local media reported Wednesday. Full text...

Port-Louis, Mauritius (PANA) – The Mauritius Meteorological Service on Wednesday issued a cyclone warning, class II, following the presence of tropical cyclone "Edilson" in the northern part of the island, a PANA correspondent reported from here. Full text...

Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - Libya said Tuesday it had destroyed its entire stock of chemical weapons, including mustard gas, which was acquired by the country's former regime. Full text...

Port-Louis, Mauritius (PANA) - The Mauritius Meteorological Services Tuesday announced that a tropical cyclone is evolving to the North-west of the island of St-Brandon, about 500km to the North of Mauritius. Full text...

Clemencia, Mauritius (PANA) – Mauritius on Monday celebrated the World Wetlands Day at Clemencia, a small village in the south-eastern part of the island, where farmers cultivate watercress in wetlands, PANA reported from here. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has announced the appointment of former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg as Special Envoy for Cities and Climate Change to galvanize urban action to reduce greenhouse emissions ahead of the UN climate summit this coming September. Full text...

Lusaka, Zambia (PANA) - Police in the Zambian capital, Lusaka, Friday arrested six environmental activists who staged a peaceful protest outside the Pamodzi Hotel, where Zambian Vice President Guy Scott was having a meeting with a delegation from Australia and Ministers from the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA). Full text...

Lusaka, Zambia (PANA) – The Zambia Community Natural Resources Management Forum (ZCBNRM), representing over 100 environmental organizations in Zambia, has registered its disappointment with the decision of the Minister of Lands, Natural Resources and Environmental Protection, Harry Kalaba, to approve the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) of the Kangaluwi Mining Project by Zambezi Resources Limited, saying the project has been rejected by many stakeholders and will be a national tragedy. Full text...

Dakar, Senegal (PANA) - The next World Summit of “ecovillages”, or environment-friendly villages, will be held in Dakar, the Senegalese capital, from 10 to 15 December, 2014, organizers told PANA here Wednesday. Full text...

Cape Town, South Africa (PANA) - The Johannesburg Zoo Thursday announced the death of one of its two famous polar bears, named Geebee. Full text...

Lusaka, Zambia (PANA) - The UN top climate change official, Christiana Figueres, has urged investors to accelerate their portfolios as one crucial step towards a low-carbon economy that can better cope with the threats and seize the opportunities from climate change. Full text...

Lusaka, Zambia (PANA) - A former chair of the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) group at the UN climate change negotiations, Pa Ousman Jarju, has said diplomacy is the key to unlocking the treasure chest of ambition needed to tackle climate change. Full text...

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania (PANA) - Plans to reshape cities across Africa in the style of Dubai and Singapore threaten to deepen social inequalities and could prove costly to both investors and city authorities, according to a paper to be published in the April 2014 edition of 'Environment and Urbanization' journal. Full text...

Lagos, Nigeria (PANA) - Worried by the high level of desertification, particularly in northern part of the country, the Nigerian government has decided to seek financial grants from the African Development Bank (AfDB), the World Bank and the Jaiz Bank to tackle the problem. Full text...

Nouakchott, Mauritania (PANA) – The the Mauritanian Environment and Sustainable Development Ministry on Monday launched a campaign to confiscate all materials made of non-degradable plastic in the markets of Nouakchott. Full text...

Bujumbura, Burundi (PANA) – The Burundian government has warned that, after 10 January, 2014, all illegal houses and those built without due regards for the town planning regulations, will be demolished, a PANA correspondent reported from here. Full text...

Yaoundé, Cameroon (PANA) - Cameroonian Environment, Nature Protection and Sustainable Development Minister Hélé Pierre Saturday directed manufacturers, sellers and users of non-biodegradable plastic bags to stop using the product by 31 March 2014. Full text...

Port-Louis, Mauritius (PANA) - The Mauritius Meteorological Service has issued a cyclone warning class II for the island after the latest satellite imagery analysis showed a re-intensification of tropical cyclone Bejisa. Full text...

Port-Louis, Mauritius (PANA) - The Mauritius Meteorological Service Tuesday issued a cyclone warning class I for the country, as tropical cyclone Bejisa approaches the island. Full text...

Port-Louis, Mauritius (PANA) – A tropical cyclone, named Bejisa, has been sited at in the Indian Ocean, the Mauritian Meteorological Services announced Monday afternoon. Full text...

Lomé, Togo (PANA) - The World Environment Fund (WEF) has given, through the UNDP, 208 million FCFA (US$434,000) to 11 civil society organisations in Togo for projects to protect the country's environment, PANA reported from here Tuesday. Full text...

New York, US PANA) – UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Monday appointed former President of Ghana, John Kufour, and former Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg, as his Special Envoys on Climate Change. Full text...

Tunis, Tunisia (PANA) - Burkina Faso, benefitting from the close support of the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the World Bank, has successfully become a member of the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF). Full text...

Port-Louis, Mauritius (PANA) - The Mauritian Meteorological Services warned Friday that a 3-class cyclone will hit the island of Rodrigues, located about 350 kilometres to the north-eastern region of Mauritius. Full text...

Port-Louis, Mauritius (PANA) - The Mauritian Meteorological Services on Thursday warned that the island of Rodriguez, located about 350 kilometres to the north-eastern region of Mauritius, will soon be hit by a violent cyclone, following the presence of tropical Cyclone, Amara, in the Indian Ocean. Full text...

Port-Louis, Mauritius (PANA) – A tropical cyclone, named Amara, has been localized in the Indian Ocean, the Mauritian Meteorological Services announced here Tuesday. Full text...

Gaborone, Botswana (PANA) - The London-based NGO Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad (SPANA) Tuesday announced a project to tag donkeys in Botswana’s northern town Maun with special reflective ear-tags to avoid road traffic accidents. Full text...

Brazzaville, Congo (PANA) – The EU representative in Congo, Marcel Van Opstal, on Wednesday called for the setting up of a court dedicated to check crimes against fauna and guarantee that the law is fully applied. Full text...

Khartoum, Sudan (PANA) - Sudan, Egypt and Ethiopia said they have managed to resolve a considerable part of their differences over the erection of an Ethiopian water dam, the Renaissance Dam, which could affect water flow to the countries. Full text...

Paris, France (PANA) – French Ecology Minister Philippe Martin has told African leaders participating in a roundtable discussion on the fight against poaching of endangered species held in Paris on Saturday that the stock of about three tons of ivory seized recently in the country will be destroyed soon. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) – The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) on Tuesday said more than 15,000 people urgently need relief aid in south-east Niger after the Komadougou River, which most of the year was practically dried out, burst its banks and flooded communities. Full text...