From our editor
Dear reader ,
I would like to wish our readers a happy 2024 as this year starts getting busy .
This issue is full of recent news , from an analysis on the recent EU farmer protests , the UN ’ s report on declining numbers of migrating animals , and the Department of Forestry , Fisheries , and the Environment ’ s outcomes from COP28 . Angus Begg ’ s feature article looks at the state of Rietvlei Nature Reserve and its surrounding community where Corobrik has applied to open a coal mine . Complimenting this is an article from Masego Mafata on mining affected communities .
We have also introduced a brand new “ Young Researcher of the Month ” article , where we caught up with Kgomotso
Morake , a young conservation researcher from Stellenbosch University . We hope to make this a regular feature in our issues , where we can get to know our members a better .
Some other topics covered in this issue are the important role of medicinal plants , biodiversity data collection , and the reintroduction of giant tortoises in Madagascar .
As always , thank you to our readers ! I hope you enjoy this issue , our inbox is always open for any news , queries , contributions , and feedback ( info @ grassland . org . za ).
Till next time ,
Lisa
Editorial Committee
Editor Lisa Matthews
Sub-Editor Marnus Smit
Layout and Design J . C . Aucamp
Contact us If you have any feedback , comments , or suggestions , feel free to contact us at : info @ grassland . org . za
@ GrasslandSocietyofSouthernAfrica
@ GrasslandSocSA
Grassland Society of Southern Africa
GrasslandSociety
Despite the care and attention that we devote to the structure of this newsletter and the information it contains , the Grassroots Editorial Team cannot guarantee the completeness and accuracy of the data . The opinion expressed in each article is the opinion of its author and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial team .
Grassroots Vol 24 No 1 March 2024 02