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July 5, 2025

South Africa’s 36.1% electricity price hike for 2025: why the power utility Eskom’s request is unrealistic

Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Steven Matome Mathetsa, Senior Lecturer at the African Energy Leadership Centre, Wits Business School, University of the Witwatersrand

South Africa’s state-owned electricity company, Eskom, has applied to the National Energy Regulator of South Africa to approve a 36.1% electricity price hike from April 2025, a 11.8% price increase in 2026 and an 9.1% increase in 2027. Steven Mathetsa teaches and researches sustainable energy systems at the University of the Witwatersrand’s African Energy Leadership Centre. He explains some of the problems with the planned tariff increase.

Why such a big hike?

Eskom says the multi-year price increase is because of the need to move closer a cost-reflective tariff that reflects the actual costs of supplying electricity.

However, Eskom’s electricity tariff increases have been exorbitant for several years – an 18% increase in 2023 and a 13% increase in 2024. This is a price increase far above inflation, which is currently at 4.4%.

Some companies have installed their own generation capacity, and individuals have moved to rooftop solar systems. As a result electricity sales have fallen by about 2% , resulting in a drop in revenue.

There’s a knock on effect for municipalities, the biggest distributors of electricity, which have also been forced to hike tariffs in line with Eskom’s increases.

All these costs are passed onto the consumers.

What will the impact be on South Africans?

If the hike is approved it will certainly worsen the economic difficulties facing
South Africa. One of the most unequal countries in the world, South Africa has an extremely high unemployment rate – 33.5%at the last count.

Economic growth is also very slow, at a mere 0.6% in 2023. The cost of living is high.

Exorbitant increases in electricity costs aggravate these problems.

South Africans and businesses in the country have little choice about where they source their energy. Eskom is still the sole supplier for nearly all the country’s electricity needs. This means that ordinary citizens are likely to continue relying on electricity supplied by Eskom, irrespective of the costs.

The high costs affect businesses negatively. Large industrial and small, medium, and micro enterprises have all highlighted that costs associated with utilities, mainly electricity, are affecting their sustainability.

The Electricity Regulation Amendment Act implementation will make major changes to Eskom. The reforms establish an independent Transmission Systems Operator tasked with connecting renewable energy providers to the grid. This will allow the creation of a competitive market where renewable energy providers can sell power to the grid.

But it’s not yet clear if these changes will address the issue of exorbitant electricity price rises.

What are the problems?

The country’s energy frameworks are drafted on the basis of the World Energy Trilemma Index. The index promotes a balanced approach between energy security, affordability, and sustainability. In other words, countries must be able to provide environmentally friendly and reliable electricity that their residents can afford.

South Africa is currently unable to meet these goals because of different energy policies that do not align, a lack of investment in electricity and dependency on coal-fired power. Electricity is increasingly becoming unaffordable in the country. Although there’s been a recent reprieve from power cuts, security of supply is still uncertain.

Furthermore, over 78% of the country’s electricity is produced by burning coal. This means South Africa is also far from attaining its 2015 Paris Agreement greenhouse gas reduction goals.

Compounding this problem is that Eskom is financially unstable – it needed R78 billion from the government in debt relief in 2024. For years, there was a lack of effective maintenance on the aging infrastructure.

The country has made some inroads into improving security of supply. To date, recent interventions have resulted in over 200 days without power cuts. This should be commended. The same focus must be placed on ensuring that electricity remains affordable while giving attention to meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement.

What needs to change?

South Africa’s 1998 Energy Policy White Paper and the new Electricity Regulation Amendment Act promote access to affordable electricity. However, they’ve been implemented very slowly. Affordable electricity needs to be taken seriously.

The question is whether the country’s electricity tariff methodology is flexible enough to accommodate poor South Africans, especially during these challenging economic times.

In my view, it is not. In its current form, vulnerable communities continue to foot the bill for various challenges confronting Eskom, including financial mismanagement, operational inefficiencies, municipal non-payment, and corruption.

I believe the following steps should be taken.

Firstly, South Africa should revise its tariff application methodologies so that consumers, especially unemployed and impoverished people, are protected against exorbitant increases.

Secondly, the National Energy Regulator of South Africa should strengthen its regulations to ensure its compliance and enforcement systems are effective. For example, Eskom should be held accountable when it does not deliver efficient services or mismanages funds, and be transparent about costs associated with its processes. Municipalities should also be held accountable for non-payment and other technical issues they regularly struggle with. Both affect the revenue of the power utility.

Thirdly, the government must make sure that price increases are affordable and don’t hurt the broader economy. It can do this by adjusting its policies to make sure that increases in electricity tariffs are in line with the rate of inflation.

Fourthly, communities can play a vital role in saving electricity at a household level. This will reduce the country’s overall energy consumption. Furthermore, both small and large businesses should continue to consider alternative energy technologies while implementing energy saving technologies.

Lastly, the level of free-basic electricity is not sufficient for poor households. Subsidy policies should also be reviewed to allow users access to affordable electricity as their financial situation changes negatively.

Steven Matome Mathetsa does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. South Africa’s 36.1% electricity price hike for 2025: why the power utility Eskom’s request is unrealistic – https://theconversation.com/south-africas-36-1-electricity-price-hike-for-2025-why-the-power-utility-eskoms-request-is-unrealistic-240941

July 5, 2025

AI isn’t replacing student writing – but it is reshaping it

Source: The Conversation – USA (2) – By Jeanne Beatrix Law, Professor of English, Kennesaw State University

Studies have shown that many students are using AI to brainstorm, learn new information and revise their work. krisanapong detraphiphat/Moment via Getty Images

I’m a writing professor who sees artificial intelligence as more of an opportunity for students, rather than a threat.

That sets me apart from some of my colleagues, who fear that AI is accelerating a glut of superficial content, impeding critical thinking and hindering creative expression. They worry that students are simply using it out of sheer laziness or, worse, to cheat.

Perhaps that’s why so many students are afraid to admit that they use ChatGPT.

In The New Yorker magazine, historian D. Graham Burnett recounts asking his undergraduate and graduate students at Princeton whether they’d ever used ChatGPT. No one raised their hand.

“It’s not that they’re dishonest,” he writes. “It’s that they’re paralyzed.”

Students seem to have internalized the belief that using AI for their coursework is somehow wrong. Yet, whether my colleagues like it or not, most college students are using it.

A February 2025 report from the Higher Education Policy Institute in the U.K. found that 92% of university students are using AI in some form. As early as August 2023 – a mere nine months after ChatGPT’s public release – more than half of first-year students at Kennesaw State University, the public research institution where I teach, reported that they believed that AI is the future of writing.

It’s clear that students aren’t going to magically stop using AI. So I think it’s important to point out some ways in which AI can actually be a useful tool that enhances, rather than hampers, the writing process.

Helping with the busywork

A February 2025 OpenAI report on ChatGPT use among college-aged users found that more than one-quarter of their ChatGPT conversations were education-related.

The report also revealed that the top five uses for students were writing-centered: starting papers and projects (49%); summarizing long texts (48%); brainstorming creative projects (45%); exploring new topics (44%); and revising writing (44%).

These figures challenge the assumption that students use AI merely to cheat or write entire papers.

Instead, it suggests they are leveraging AI to free up more time to engage in deeper processes and metacognitive behaviors – deliberately organizing ideas, honing arguments and refining style.

If AI allows students to automate routine cognitive tasks – like information retrieval or ensuring that verb tenses are consistent – it doesn’t mean they’re thinking less. It means their thinking is changing.

Of course, students can misuse AI if they use the technology passively, reflexively accepting its outputs and ideas. And overreliance on ChatGPT can erode a student’s unique voice or style.

However, as long as students learn how to use AI intentionally, this shift can be seen as an opportunity, rather than a loss.

Clarifying the creative vision

It has also become clear that AI, when used responsibly, can augment human creativity.

For example, science comedy writer Sarah Rose Siskind recently gave a talk to Harvard students about her creative process. She spoke about how she uses ChatGPT to brainstorm joke setups and explore various comedic scenarios, which allows her to focus on crafting punchlines and refining her comedic timing.

Note how Siskin used AI in ways that didn’t supplant the human touch. Instead of replacing her creativity, AI amplified it by providing structured and consistent feedback, giving her more time to polish her jokes.

Another example is the Rhetorical Prompting Method, which I developed alongside fellow Kennesaw State University researchers. Designed for university students and adult learners, it’s a framework for conversing with an AI chatbot, one that emphasizes the importance of agency in guiding AI outputs.

When writers use precise language to prompt, critical thinking to reflect, and intentional revision to sculpt inputs and outputs, they direct AI to help them generate content that aligns with their vision.

There’s still a process

The Rhetorical Prompting Method mirrors best practices in process writing, which encourages writers to revisit, refine and revise their drafts.

When using ChatGPT, though, it’s all about thoughtfully revisiting and revising prompts and outputs.

For instance, say a student wants to create a compelling PSA for social media to encourage campus composting. She considers her audience. She prompts ChatGPT to draft a short, upbeat message in under 50 words that’s geared to college students.

Reading the first output, she notices it lacks urgency. So she revises the prompt to emphasize immediate impact. She also adds some additional specifics that are important to her message, such as the location of an information session. The final PSA reads:

“Every scrap counts! Join campus composting today at the Commons. Your leftovers aren’t trash – they’re tomorrow’s gardens. Help our university bloom brighter, one compost bin at a time.”

The Rhetorical Prompting Method isn’t groundbreaking; it’s riffing on a process that’s been tested in the writing studies discipline for decades. But I’ve found that it works by directing writers how to intentionally prompt.

I know this because we asked users about their experiences. In an ongoing study, my colleagues and I polled 133 people who used the Rhetorical Prompting Method for their academic and professional writing:

92% reported that it helped them evaluate writing choices before and during their process.
75% said that they were able to maintain their authentic voice while using AI assistance.
89% responded that it helped them think critically about their writing.

The data suggests that learners take their writing seriously. Their responses reveal that they are thinking carefully about their writing styles and strategies. While this data is preliminary, we continue to gather responses in different courses, disciplines and learning environments.

All of this is to say that, while there are divergent points of view over when and where it’s appropriate to use AI, students are certainly using it. And being provided with a framework can help them think more deeply about their writing.

AI, then, is not just a tool that’s useful for trivial tasks. It can be an asset for creativity. If today’s students – who are actively using AI to write, revise and explore ideas – see AI as a writing partner, I think it’s a good idea for professors to start thinking about helping them learn the best ways to work with it.

Jeanne Beatrix Law does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. AI isn’t replacing student writing – but it is reshaping it – https://theconversation.com/ai-isnt-replacing-student-writing-but-it-is-reshaping-it-254878

July 5, 2025

How proposed changes to higher education accreditation could impact campus diversity efforts

Source: The Conversation – USA (2) – By Jimmy Aguilar, PhD Candidate in Urban Education Policy, University of Southern California

An executive order seeks to remove ‘discriminatory ideology’ in universities. Critics contend it politicizes the accreditation process. Abraham Gonzalez Fernandez via Getty Images

President Donald Trump on April 23, 2025, signed an executive order that aims to change the higher education accreditation process. It asks accrediting agencies to root out “discriminatory ideology” and roll back diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives on college campuses.

The Conversation asked Jimmy Aguilar, who studies higher education at the University of Southern California, to explain what accreditation is, why it matters and how the Trump order seeks to change it.

What is accreditation and how does it work?

Accreditation is a process that evaluates whether colleges and universities meet standards of academic rigor, institutional integrity and financial stability.

In the United States, there were 88 accrediting agencies during the 2022-23 school academic year.

The agencies are formally recognized by the Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation.

Accreditation is not a one-time stamp of approval, but a continuous process.

At its core, accreditation is a guarantor of quality in higher education.

The process involves self-assessment and peer review visits.

Colleges typically undergo a full review every five to 10 years, depending on the accrediting agency.

Institutions must meet standards for curriculum, faculty, student services and outcomes, and provide documentation.

Then, federally recognized accrediting agencies review the documentation.

Teams, often comprised of peer reviewers from other colleges, conduct campus visits and evaluations before granting or reviewing accreditation.

Why do universities need to be accredited?

Accreditation assures students, employers and the public that an institution meets basic academic standards.

It also signals credibility and secures federal financial support.

Without it, colleges cannot access key funding sources such as Pell Grants and federal student loans.

The funding is essential for college budgets and students’ access to higher education.

Accreditation is also required for professional licensure in fields such as teaching, nursing, medicine and law.

It also helps ensure that students can transfer credits between institutions.

What does Trump’s executive order do?

President Donald Trump wearing a blue suit and red tie displays a signed executive order. — President Donald Trump displays a signed executive order in the Oval Office at the White House on April 23, 2025, in Washington.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

The executive order would reshape the college accreditation system, aligning it with the administration’s political priorities. Those priorities include the rollback of DEI initiatives.

The order seeks to use federal oversight to weaken institutional DEI policies and priorities. It also promotes new standards aligned with the administration’s interpretation of “merit-based” education.

The executive order also directs the Department of Education to penalize agencies that require colleges to implement DEI-related standards.

The Trump administration claims that such standards amount to “unlawful discrimination.”

Penalties may include increased oversight or loss of federal recognition. This would render the accreditation seal meaningless, according to the executive order.

The order also proposes a broad overhaul of the accreditation process, including:

Promoting “intellectual diversity” in faculty hiring. The executive order argues that promoting a broader range of viewpoints among faculty will enhance academic freedom. Critics often interpret this language as an effort to increase conservative ideological representation.
Streamlining the process for institutions to switch accreditors. During Trump’s first term, his administration removed geographic restrictions, giving colleges more flexibility to choose. The new executive order goes further. It makes it easier for schools to leave agencies whose standards they disagree with.
Expanding recognition of new accrediting agencies to increase competition.
Linking accreditation more directly to student outcomes. This would shift focus to metrics such as graduation rates and earnings, rather than commitments to diversity or equity.

View from front steps of US Supreme Court — A 2023 Supreme Court ruling that outlawed affirmative action in university admissions has been a point of contention in the debate over diversity, equity and inclusion in higher education.
Joe Daniel Price/Getty Images

The executive order singles out accreditors for law schools, such as the American Bar Association, and for medical schools, such as the Liaison Committee on Medical Education.

The order accuses them of enforcing DEI standards that conflict with a 2023 Supreme Court ruling that outlawed affirmative action in university admissions.

However, the ruling was limited to race-conscious admissions. It did not directly address faculty hiring or accreditation standards.

That raises questions about whether the order’s interpretation extends beyond the scope of the court’s decision.

The ruling has nonetheless been a point of contention in the debate over diversity, equity and inclusion.

The American Association of University Professors and the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law have denounced the executive order.

The groups argue that it threatens to politicize accreditation and suppress efforts to promote equity and inclusion.

Nevertheless, the order represents a push by the federal government to influence higher education governance.

Jimmy Aguilar does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. How proposed changes to higher education accreditation could impact campus diversity efforts – https://theconversation.com/how-proposed-changes-to-higher-education-accreditation-could-impact-campus-diversity-efforts-255309

July 5, 2025

Why the traditional college major may be holding students back in a rapidly changing job market

Source: The Conversation – USA (2) – By John Weigand, Professor Emeritus of Architecture and Interior Design, Miami University

Rethinking the college major could help colleges better understand what employers and students need. Westend61/Getty Images

Colleges and universities are struggling to stay afloat.

The reasons are numerous: declining numbers of college-age students in much of the country, rising tuition at public institutions as state funding shrinks, and a growing skepticism about the value of a college degree.

Pressure is mounting to cut costs by reducing the time it takes to earn a degree from four years to three.

Students, parents and legislators increasingly prioritize return on investment and degrees that are more likely to lead to gainful employment. This has boosted enrollment in professional programs while reducing interest in traditional liberal arts and humanities majors, creating a supply-demand imbalance.

The result has been increasing financial pressure and an unprecedented number of closures and mergers, to date mostly among smaller liberal arts colleges.

To survive, institutions are scrambling to align curriculum with market demand. And they’re defaulting to the traditional college major to do so.

The college major, developed and delivered by disciplinary experts within siloed departments, continues to be the primary benchmark for academic quality and institutional performance.

This structure likely works well for professional majors governed by accreditation or licensure, or more tightly aligned with employment. But in today’s evolving landscape, reliance on the discipline-specific major may not always serve students or institutions well.

As a professor emeritus and former college administrator and dean, I argue that the college major may no longer be able to keep up with the combinations of skills that cross multiple academic disciplines and career readiness skills demanded by employers, or the flexibility students need to best position themselves for the workplace.

Students want flexibility

A man wearing headphones checks his phone while working on a laptop. — The college curriculum may be less flexible now than ever.
MoMo Productions/Digital Vision via Getty Images

I see students arrive on campus each year with different interests, passions and talents – eager to stitch them into meaningful lives and careers.

A more flexible curriculum is linked to student success, and students now consult AI tools such as ChatGPT to figure out course combinations that best position them for their future. They want flexibility, choice and time to redirect their studies if needed.

And yet, the moment students arrive on campus – even before they apply – they’re asked to declare a major from a list of predetermined and prescribed choices. The major, coupled with general education and other college requirements, creates an academic track that is anything but flexible.

Not surprisingly, around 80% of college students switch their majors at least once, suggesting that more flexible degree requirements would allow students to explore and combine diverse areas of interest. And the number of careers, let alone jobs, that college graduates are expected to have will only increase as technological change becomes more disruptive.

As institutions face mounting pressures to attract students and balance budgets, and the college major remains the principal metric for doing so, the curriculum may be less flexible now than ever.

How schools are responding

A student wearing a blue cap and gown stands on grass looking at a building. — The college major emerged as a response to an evolving workforce that prioritized specialized knowledge.
Fuse/Corbia via Getty Images

In response to market pressures, colleges are adding new high-demand majors at a record pace. Between 2002 and 2022, the number of degree programs nationwide increased by nearly 23,000, or 40%, while enrollment grew only 8%. Some of these majors, such as cybersecurity, fashion business or entertainment design, arguably connect disciplines rather than stand out as distinct. Thus, these new majors siphon enrollment from lower-demand programs within the institution and compete with similar new majors at competitor schools.

At the same time, traditional arts and humanities majors are adding professional courses to attract students and improve employability. Yet, this adds credit hours to the degree while often duplicating content already available in other departments.

Importantly, while new programs are added, few are removed. The challenge lies in faculty tenure and governance, along with a traditional understanding that faculty set the curriculum as disciplinary experts. This makes it difficult to close or revise low-demand majors and shift resources to growth areas.

The result is a proliferation of under-enrolled programs, canceled courses and stretched resources – leading to reduced program quality and declining faculty morale.

Ironically, under the pressure of declining demand, there can be perverse incentives to grow credit hours required in a major or in general education requirements as a way of garnering more resources or adding courses aligned with faculty interests. All of which continues to expand the curriculum and stress available resources.

Universities are also wrestling with the idea of liberal education and how to package the general education requirement.

Although liberal education is increasingly under fire, employers and students still value it.

Students’ career readiness skills – their ability to think critically and creatively, to collaborate effectively and to communicate well – remain strong predictors of future success in the workplace and in life.

Reenvisioning the college major

Assuming the requirement for students to complete a major in order to earn a degree, colleges can also allow students to bundle smaller modules – such as variable-credit minors, certificates or course sequences – into a customizable, modular major.

This lets students, guided by advisers, assemble a degree that fits their interests and goals while drawing from multiple disciplines. A few project-based courses can tie everything together and provide context.

Such a model wouldn’t undermine existing majors where demand is strong. For others, where demand for the major is declining, a flexible structure would strengthen enrollment, preserve faculty expertise rather than eliminate it, attract a growing number of nontraditional students who bring to campus previously earned credentials, and address the financial bottom line by rightsizing curriculum in alignment with student demand.

One critique of such a flexible major is that it lacks depth of study, but it is precisely the combination of curricular content that gives it depth. Another criticism is that it can’t be effectively marketed to an employer. But a customized major can be clearly named and explained to employers to highlight students’ unique skill sets.

Further, as students increasingly try to fit cocurricular experiences – such as study abroad, internships, undergraduate research or organizational leadership – into their course of study, these can also be approved as modules in a flexible curriculum.

It’s worth noting that while several schools offer interdisciplinary studies majors, these are often overprescribed or don’t grant students access to in-demand courses. For a flexible-degree model to succeed, course sections would need to be available and added or deleted in response to student demand.

Several schools also now offer microcredentials– skill-based courses or course modules that increasingly include courses in the liberal arts. But these typically need to be completed in addition to requirements of the major.

We take the college major for granted.

Yet it’s worth noting that the major is a relatively recent invention.

Before the 20th century, students followed a broad liberal arts curriculum designed to create well-rounded, globally minded citizens. The major emerged as a response to an evolving workforce that prioritized specialized knowledge. But times change – and so can the model.

John Weigand does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. Why the traditional college major may be holding students back in a rapidly changing job market – https://theconversation.com/why-the-traditional-college-major-may-be-holding-students-back-in-a-rapidly-changing-job-market-258383

July 5, 2025

At Cannes, decency and dress codes clash with fashion’s red carpet revolution

Source: The Conversation – USA (2) – By Elizabeth Castaldo Lundén, Research Fellow at the School of Cinematic Arts, University of Southern California

Jennifer Lawrence and Robert Pattinson appear on the red carpet prior to the screening of ‘Die, My Love’ at the 78th annual Cannes Film Festival on May 17, 2025. Kristy Sparow/Getty Images

Ahead of the Cannes Film Festival, the spotlight moved from movie stars and directors to the festival’s fashion rules.

Cannes reminded guests to follow the standard black-tie dress code for evening events at the Grand Theatre Lumière – “long dresses and tuxedos” – while highlighting acceptable alternatives, such as cocktail dresses and pantsuits for women, and a black or navy suit with a tie for men.

The real stir, however, came from two additions to the formal guidelines: a ban on nudity “for decency reasons” and a restriction on oversize garments.

The new rules caught many stylists and stars by surprise, with some decrying the move as a regressive attempt to police clothing.

It’s hard not to wonder whether this is part of some broader conservative cultural shift around the world.

But I study the cultural and economic forces behind fashion and media, and I think a lot of the criticism of Cannes is unfounded. To me, the festival isn’t changing its identity. It’s reasserting it.

Red carpet control

Concerns about indecency on the red carpet have appeared before – most notably during the first televised Academy Awards in 1953.

In 1952, the National Association of Radio and Television Broadcasters adopted a censorship code in response to concerns about television’s influence on young audiences. Among its rules for “decency and decorum” were guidelines against revealing clothing, suggestive movements or camera angles that emphasized body parts – all to avoid causing “embarrassment” to the viewers.

Woman holds paper over her head to protect her hair as she walks across a carpet wearing high heels and a short skirt. — Actress Inger Stevens at the 39th Academy Awards in 1967, a year before she was reprimanded for her skimpy attire.
Bettmann/Getty Images

To ensure that no actress would break the decency dress code, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences hired acclaimed costume designer Edith Head as a fashion consultant for the show in 1953.

In my book “Fashion on the Red Carpet,” I explain how Head equipped backstage staff with kits to deal with any sartorial emergencies that might arise. That same year, the balcony cameras at the Pantages Theatre accidentally peeked down into the actresses’ cleavage as they walked to the stage. From then on, a supply of tulle – a type of versatile fabric that can easily cover revealing openings that expose too much skin – was kept backstage.

The 1960s posed new challenges. Youth fashion trends clashed with traditional dress codes and television censorship. In 1968, after actress Inger Stevens appeared on the red carpet wearing a mini skirt, the Academy sent a letter reminding attendees of the black-tie – preferably floor-length – dress code. When Barbra Streisand’s Scaasi outfit accidentally turned see-through under the lighting in 1969, Head again warned against “freaky, far-out, unusual fashion” ahead of the 1970 ceremony.

However, in the 1970s, the Oscars eliminated Head’s fashion consultant position. Despite maintaining its black-tie dress code, the absence of a fashion consultant opened the door to some provocative attire, ranging from Cher’s see-through, sheer outfits, to Edy Williams’ provocative, barely-there getups.

Woman wearing leopard-print bikini and leopard-print shawl. — Once the fashion consultant position was eliminated for the Oscars, many attendees – like actress Edy Williams – tried to stand out from the crowd with provocative attire.
Fotos International/Getty Images

Old rules in a new era

Racy red carpet appearances have since become a hallmark of awards shows, particularly in the digital age.

Extravagance and shock are a way for celebrities and brands to stand out amid a glut of social media content, especially as brands increasingly pay a fortune to turn celebrities into walking billboards.

And in an era when red carpet looks are carefully curated ahead of time through partnerships with fashion brands, many celebrities expressed frustration about being unable to sport the outfits they had planned to wear at Cannes.

Stylist Rose Forde lamented the restrictions, saying, “You should be able to express yourself as an artist, with your style however you feel,” while actress Chloë Sevigny described the code as “an old-fashioned archaic rule.”

But I still can’t see the Cannes rules as part of any sort of broader conservative backlash.

Whether at the Oscars or the MTV Video Music Awards, backlash over celebrities baring too much skin has gone on for decades. Cannes hasn’t been spared from controversy, either: There was Michelle Morgan’s bikini in 1946, La Cicciolina’s topless look in 1988, Madonna’s Jean Paul Gaultier lingerie in 1991, Leila Depina’s barely-there pearl outfit in 2023 and Bella Hadid’s sheer pantyhose dress in 2024, to name just a few.

Young woman with curly hair and a skimpy beaded dress poses on the red carpet in front of a crowd of photographers. — Cape Verdean model Leila Depina arrives for the screening of the film ‘Asteroid City’ during the 2023 Cannes Film Festival.
Christophe Simon/AFP via Getty Images

The festival has routinely reminded guests of its dress code, regardless of the cultural zeitgeist.

The “decency” rule, for example, is actually required by French law. Article 222-32 of the French Criminal Code classifies showing private parts in public as a sexual offense, and can lead to a year in prison and a fine. While the legal definition hinges on intent and setting, the festival, as a public event, technically has to operate within that framework.

Compared to white-tie events like the Nobel Prize ceremony or a state banquet, Cannes’ black-tie requirement is relatively flexible. It allows for cocktail-length dresses and even accommodates pants and flat sandals for women.

Meanwhile, the worry about voluminous clothes points to a practical issue: the movement of bodies in tight spaces.

Unlike the Met Gala – where the fashion spectacle is the focus, and its red carpet is a stage for photo-ops – Cannes is a film festival. The red carpet is the main path thousands of people use to enter the theater.

A dramatic gown – like the one worn at the Met Gala by Cardi B in 2024 – could block others and cause delays. While a photo-op may be the primary goal for celebrities and the brands they promote, the festival has a screening schedule to stick to, and attendees must be able to easily access the venue and their seats.

Red carpet rules are fluid. Sometimes they adapt to cultural shifts. Sometimes they resist them. And sometimes, they’re there to make sure you can fit in your seat in the movie theater.

Elizabeth Castaldo Lundén received funding from Fulbright (2023-2024)

– ref. At Cannes, decency and dress codes clash with fashion’s red carpet revolution – https://theconversation.com/at-cannes-decency-and-dress-codes-clash-with-fashions-red-carpet-revolution-256948

July 5, 2025

From the marriage contract to breaking the glass under the chuppah, many Jewish couples adapt their weddings to celebrate gender equality

Source: The Conversation – USA (3) – By Samira Mehta, Associate Professor of Women and Gender Studies & Jewish Studies, University of Colorado Boulder

The ketubah is a binding document in Jewish law that traditionally spells out a groom’s responsibilities toward his wife − but that many couples adapt to be more egalitarian. PowerSiege/iStock via Getty Images Plus

Traditional Jewish weddings share one key aspect with traditional Christian weddings. Historically, the ceremony was essentially a transfer of property: A woman went from being the responsibility of her father to being the responsibility of her husband.

That may not be the first thing Americans associate with weddings today, but it lives on in rituals and vows. Think, in a traditional Christian wedding, of a bride promising “to obey” her husband, or being “given away” by her father after he walks her down the aisle.

Feminism has changed some aspects of the Christian wedding. More egalitarian or feminist couples, for example, might have the bride be “given away” by both her parents, or have both the bride and groom escorted in by parents. Others skip the “giving” altogether. Queer couples, too, have reimagined the wedding ceremony.

Two women wearing white clothes and prayer shawls dance under a simple canopy in a park as a few people look on. — Mara Mooiweer, left, and Elisheva Dan dance during their socially distanced wedding in Brookline, Mass., during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Jessica Rinaldi/The Boston Globe via Getty Images

During research for my book “Beyond Chrismukkah,” about Christian-Jewish interfaith families, many interviewees wound up talking about their weddings and the rituals that they selected or innovated for the day to reflect their cultural background. Some of them had also designed their ceremonies to reflect feminism and marriage equality – something that the interfaith weddings had in common with many weddings where both members of the couple were Jewish.

These values have transformed many Jewish couples’ weddings, just as they have transformed the Christian wedding. Some Jewish couples make many changes, while some make none. And like every faith, Judaism has lots of internal diversity – not all traditional Jewish weddings look the same.

Contracts and covenants

Perhaps one of the most important places where feminism and marriage equality have reshaped traditions is in the “ketubah,” or Jewish marriage contract.

A traditional ketubah is a simple legal document in Hebrew or Aramaic, a related ancient language. Two witnesses sign the agreement, which states that the groom has acquired the bride. However, the ketubah is also sometimes framed as a tool to protect women. The document stipulates the husband’s responsibility to provide for his wife and confirms what he should pay her in case of divorce. Traditional ketubot – the plural of ketubah – did not discuss love, God or intentions for the marriage.

A man in a blue-gray suit signs a colorfully decorated piece of paper as another man in a white shirt watches. — A groom signs the ketubah as witnesses sit beside him in Jerusalem, Israel, in 2014.
Dan Porges/Getty Images

Contemporary ketubot in more liberal branches of Judaism, whether between opposite- or same-sex couples, are usually much more egalitarian documents that reflect the home and the marriage that the couple want to create. Sometimes the couple adapt the Aramaic text; others keep the Aramaic and pair it with a text in the language they speak every day, describing their intentions for their marriage.

Rather than being simple, printed documents, contemporary ketubot are often beautiful pieces of art, made to hang in a place of prominence in the newlyweds’ home. Sometimes the art makes references to traditional Jewish symbols, such as a pomegranate for fertility and love. Other times, the artist works with the couple to personalize their decorations with images and symbols that are meaningful to them.

Contemporary couples will often also use their ketubah to address an inherent tension in Jewish marriage. Jewish law gives men much more freedom to divorce than it gives women. Because women cannot generally initiate divorce, they can end up as “agunot,” which literally means “chained”: women whose husbands have refused to grant them a religious divorce. Even if the couple have been divorced in secular court, an “agunah” cannot, according to Jewish law, remarry in a religious ceremony.

Contemporary ketubot will sometimes make a note that, while the couple hope to remain married until death, if the marriage deteriorates, the husband agrees to grant a divorce if certain conditions are met. This prevents women from being held hostage in unhappy marriages.

Other couples eschew the ketubah altogether in favor of a new type of document called a “brit ahuvim,” or covenant of lovers. These documents are egalitarian agreements between couples. The brit ahuvim was developed by Rachel Adler, a feminist rabbi with a deep knowledge of Jewish law, and is grounded in ancient Jewish laws for business partnerships between equals. That said, many Jews, including some feminists, do not see the brit ahuvim as equal in status to a ketubah.

A colorful, framed drawing on a white wall, with two older women barely visible sitting on a couch at the back of the room. — Two female ducks are depicted on the ketubah hanging in the sunroom in Lennie Gerber and Pearl Berlin’s home in High Point, N.C.
AP Photo/Allen G. Breed

Building together

Beyond the ketubah, there are any number of other changes that couples make to symbolize their hopes for an egalitarian marriage.

Jewish ceremonies often take place under a canopy called the chuppah, which symbolizes the home that the couple create together. In a traditional Jewish wedding, the bride circles the groom three or seven times before entering the chuppah. This represents both her protection of their home and that the groom is now her priority.

Many couples today omit this custom, because they feel it makes the bride subservient to the groom. Others keep the circling but reinterpret it: In circling the groom, the bride actively creates their home, an act of empowerment. Other egalitarian couples, regardless of their genders, share the act of circling: Each spouse circles three times, and then the pair circle once together.

In traditional Jewish weddings, like in traditional Christian weddings, the groom gives his bride a ring to symbolize his commitment to her – and perhaps to mark her as a married woman. Many contemporary Jewish couples exchange two rings: both partners offering a gift to mark their marriage and presenting a symbol of their union to the world. While some see this shift as an adaptation to American culture, realistically, the dual-ring ceremony is a relatively new development in both American Christian and American Jewish marriage ceremonies.

Finally, Jewish weddings traditionally end when the groom stomps on and breaks a glass, and the entire crowd yells “Mazel tov” to congratulate them. People debate the symbolism of the broken glass. Some say that it reminds us that life contains both joy and sorrow, or that it is a reminder of a foundational crisis in Jewish history: the destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem in 70 C.E. Others say that it is a reminder that life is fragile, or that marriage, unlike the glass, is an unbreakable covenant.

A man and woman, both wearing white, smile as they raise their joined hands above their heads. — Yulia Tagil and Stas Granin celebrate their union on July 25, 2010, at a square in Tel Aviv. The couple held a public wedding to protest Israeli marriage guidelines set by the chief rabbinate.
Uriel Sinai/Getty Images

Regardless of what it means, some contemporary couples both step on glasses, or have one partner place their foot on top of the other’s so that the newlyweds can break the glass together. The couple symbolize their commitment to equality – and both get to do a fun wedding custom.

There are many other innovations in contemporary Jewish weddings that have much less to do with feminism and egalitarianism, such as personalized wedding canopies or wedding programs. But these key changes represent how the wedding ceremony itself has become more egalitarian in response to both feminism and marriage equality.

Samira Mehta receives funding from the Henry Luce Foundation for work on Jews of Color.

– ref. From the marriage contract to breaking the glass under the chuppah, many Jewish couples adapt their weddings to celebrate gender equality – https://theconversation.com/from-the-marriage-contract-to-breaking-the-glass-under-the-chuppah-many-jewish-couples-adapt-their-weddings-to-celebrate-gender-equality-229084

July 5, 2025

Industrial scale farming is flawed: what ecologically-friendly farming practices could look like in Africa

Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Rachel Wynberg, Professor and DST/NRF Bio-economy Research Chair, University of Cape Town

African Perspectives on Agroecology is a new book with 33 contributions from academics, non-governmental organisations, farmer organisations and policy makers. It is free to download, and reviewers have described it as a “must read for all who care about the future of Africa and its people”. The book outlines how agroecology, which brings ecological principles into farming practices and food systems, can solve food shortages and environmental damage caused by mass, commercial farming. We asked the book’s editor and the South African Research Chair on Environmental and Social Dimensions of the Bio-economy, Rachel Wynberg, to set out why this book is so important.

What’s wrong with the current system of food production?

The dominant model of modern agriculture in the world is based on monoculture, where one crop is grown across large areas using chemical fertilisers and pesticides. It relies on seeds that are owned by big corporations and are often subsidised by governments at a high cost.

The book outlines how this approach to growing food is flawed. Firstly, it carries major costs. According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation’s State of Food and Agriculture 2024 report, the costs of diet-related disease, hunger and malnutrition and other costs amount to about US$8 trillion a year. Countries in the global south carry much of the burden.

Secondly, the current approach is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. This happens through deforestation and land degradation, livestock and fertiliser emissions, energy use, and the globalised nature of agriculture. Food is often produced far from where it is consumed.

Huge farmlands also wipe out biodiversity and degrade one third of all soils, globally. Industrial agriculture has many negative impacts on ecosystem health, livestock and human wellbeing.

What’s the alternative?

Agroecology is a good alternative. It uses natural processes such as fixing nitrogen in the soil by planting legumes, and conserving natural habitat to encourage beneficial predators that keep pests in check. It includes planting a diversity of crops, rather than just one, to prevent pest outbreaks, and avoiding synthetic pesticides and herbicides.

Agroecology places importance on building natural, local, economically viable and socially just food systems. It aims to support farmers and rural communities.

As a result, it fosters more equal social relations and improves food and nutritional security.

Agroecology also recognises local ways of knowing and doing things, and respects the rights of Indigenous people to seeds and plants that they have planted for many generations. Transforming research and education are an important part of agroecology.

What are the advantages?

Agroecology increases the capacity of farming systems to adapt to climate change. Studies show how agroecology increases crop yields, regulates water and nutrients, increases agricultural diversity and reduces pests.

It gives farmers more choice about what to grow and eat. This enables them to produce a wider variety of healthy food.

Can agroecology grow enough food for everyone?

Agroecology can be scaled up through:

farmer-to-farmer knowledge exchanges
creating professional networks of agroecology practitioners
local seed-saving networks or groups that share different seeds that are adapted to local conditions

solidarity networks: community-based groups or movements that aim to support each other, cooperate and take collective action.
the revival and use of indigenous and under-utilised crops and livestock breeds such as pearl and finger millet, sorghum and Nguni cattle
linking producers with consumers and markets.

What needs to be done?

Urgent actions are needed, especially in the climate “hotspot” of sub-Saharan Africa. Agroecology needs supportive policies and funding. South Africa has had a draft agroecology strategy for more than 10 years but this has not yet been adopted.

Development aid for farmers often undermines agroecology. It typically promotes a “new” African Green Revolution that uses hybrid seeds, agrochemicals, new technologies, and links to markets. However, hybrid seed, especially genetically modified seed, can contaminate local seed systems that are better adapted to local conditions.

The book illustrates what can go wrong. Maize is said to have “modernised” development and promoted foreign investment in Africa. But it has displaced indigenous crops such as sorghum and millet which are more nutritious and drought-resistant.

Subsidy programmes and state support for hybrid maize also back multinational agrochemical and seed companies.

Governments, industry and those funding research, innovation and consumer marketing must actively move away from a maize culture and invest in a bigger range of crops.

For millions of smallholder African farmers, there is a deep understanding of how animals, plants, soil, people and weather patterns are connected to and affect one another. Agricultural development programmes, chemical fertilisers, pesticides, and herbicides, and genetically modified seeds disrupt these relationships. They can devalue local knowledge and skills in favour of “expert”-led innovations. This means that farmers lose their capacity to understand their environment and their ability to react appropriately.

Lastly, agriculture research and training needs to be rethought. Research and development is now mostly shaped by market-led approaches that favour crops grown by large-scale commercial farmers. A public sector research and development agenda for agroecology needs to be developed. It should be based both on scientific knowledge as well as traditional and local knowledge.

What would help?

Agricultural research should be co-created by everyone involved. Farmer-led research and innovation can support food system transformations.

New ways of seeing and doing research are evolving. Western scientific and traditional knowledges are mixing in ways that can transform farming. Our book points out that social movements are emerging as a powerful force for change.

We hope to support these efforts through a new, four year, European Union supported initiative to establish a research and training network: the Research for Agroecology Network in Southern Africa. New agroecology knowledge networks in South Africa and Zimbabwe have also been started to coordinate research and develop curricula.

Rachel Wynberg’s research is supported by a grant from the Seed and Knowledge Initiative and South Africa’s National Research Foundation. She is a Board member of the NGO Biowatch South Africa.

– ref. Industrial scale farming is flawed: what ecologically-friendly farming practices could look like in Africa – https://theconversation.com/industrial-scale-farming-is-flawed-what-ecologically-friendly-farming-practices-could-look-like-in-africa-245579

July 5, 2025

Nigeria’s plastic bottle collectors turn waste into wealth: survey sheds light on their motivation

Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Solaja Mayowa Oludele, Lecturing, Olabisi Onabanjo University

Plastic waste in Nigeria presents a dual challenge: cleaning up environmental pollution, and tapping into its economic potential.

Many countries worldwide face similar challenges. India, for one, has chosen policies that give producers of plastic the responsibility to manage their waste. Rwanda has banned single-use plastic and promoted recycling initiatives led by communities.

These approaches show it’s possible to address plastic waste issues while fostering economic opportunities.

In Nigeria, informal collectors of plastic bottle waste are central to achieving both of these goals. They turn waste into monetary value.

Previous research has highlighted the environmental and economic benefits of collecting plastic bottle waste. There’s been less attention on what shapes perceptions of waste collection as a business, particularly in Nigeria.

This article explores that gap, looking at the socio-cultural, economic and environmental influences on those perceptions.

I am a researcher in the areas of plastic waste management, environmental governance and sustainable development. My work includes studying homes made from recycled plastic bottles in sustainable community-based housing projects.

Here I’ll be drawing from an exploratory survey conducted in the Ijebu area of Ogun State, Nigeria. Using a questionnaire, we surveyed 86 participants who had at least five years of experience in the plastic waste industry.

The study identified factors like education, family size, religion, gender, age, and economic dynamics as relevant to participation in the business of plastic bottle waste collection.

Understanding these influences might help the government to target policies.

Education level and information

Our study found that participants with higher education levels better understood the economic benefits of plastic waste collection as a systematic form of business. The less educated participants viewed waste collection more as a hand-to-mouth way of earning a living.

Education programmes built into waste management campaigns could improve recognition of waste collection as a structured and profitable business opportunity and develop a business-like culture among the collectors.

Parenthood, family size and financial obligations

Family size was a factor affecting perceptions of plastic bottle waste collection as a business. People with large families saw waste collection as a feasible way to provide food, housing, education and other essentials.

However, the association of waste collection with income instability highlights the need to formalise and stabilise the sector. Waste collection must be made into a sustainable and reliable business model.

Religion and cultural norms

Religion and cultural beliefs emerged as influences from our survey. This was evident in the responses of people who followed African traditional religions and Islam.

These respondents viewed waste collection as financially feasible, aligning with religious teachings that emphasise resource management and stewardship. For example, Islamic teachings on israf (avoiding wastefulness) and zakat (charity) promote efficient resource use and economic activities that benefit communities.

Similarly, African traditional religion often emphasises communal responsibility and the sustainable use of resources. These religious principles underscore the cultural acceptance of waste collection as both a practical and a morally guided economic activity.

Other cultural norms, such as the value placed on communal responsibility and cooperation, also influenced attitudes towards waste collection. In communities with a strong tradition of collective action, where unity and mutual support are highly valued, waste collection is often viewed as a collaborative effort.

These cultural norms reinforce the idea that waste collection is not just an individual task, but a collective duty that benefits the entire community.

Gender dynamics

Gender plays a role in perception and practice in waste collection. Our survey found that male participants were more likely than female participants to perceive this activity as a business.

As constrained as they are by lack of access to resources, women are involved in separating and marketing reusable items. Measures like microfinance could increase women’s engagement and business opportunities.

This would empower women and make waste collection a more inclusive and sustainable business.

Age and desire to be an entrepreneur

Perceptions were influenced by age in our study. Younger individuals, up to 14 years old, viewed plastic bottle waste collection as a gateway to employment. Adults aged 33-38 used their experience to get better returns on the business.

This age-based distinction suggests that different stages of life bring unique motivations and approaches to waste collection.

Policy actions that support entrepreneurship at various life stages can promote long-term engagement in the industry. This will help formalise waste collection as a sustainable and profitable business.

Economic and social factors

Income opportunities affected participants’ experiences more than social factors. Oftentimes, this determined how long they stayed in the business. Those earning more were likelier to reinvest and grow, while lower earnings often led to disengagement or exit. This highlights the importance of financial incentives in shaping waste collection practices.

Social connections also play a role in fostering collaboration. It facilitates teamwork and the exchange of ideas, and creates a sense of shared purpose and collective outcomes among participants.

Strengthening these economic and social bonds can formalise plastic bottle waste collection, making it a more efficient and profitable business.

Looking ahead

The study has significant application to Nigeria’s waste management industry. Adding education programmes into waste management programmes will improve people’s business skills.

Well-coordinated intervention strategies can remove cultural and gender-specific barriers. For instance, cooperatives and microfinance may make waste collection more financially appealing.

Strategies can also draw on cultural norms to increase community acceptance of waste collection and make it more inclusive.

Samuel Oludare Awobona, a doctoral student at Osun State University, Osogbo, Nigeria, contributed to this research.

The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. Nigeria’s plastic bottle collectors turn waste into wealth: survey sheds light on their motivation – https://theconversation.com/nigerias-plastic-bottle-collectors-turn-waste-into-wealth-survey-sheds-light-on-their-motivation-247819

July 5, 2025

New discoveries: three tiny species added to South Africa’s spectacular marine life

Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Jannes Landschoff, Marine biologist at Sea Change and Research Associate at Stellenbosch University’s Department of Botany and Zoology., Stellenbosch University

South Africa’s marine realm is globally unique because of the two major ocean currents that meet here. The cold, slow-moving Benguela and the warm, fast-flowing Agulhas currents create a special environment that supports high levels of biodiversity. Over 13,000 marine species are currently known to live in these waters. About 30% of these are endemic, meaning they occur nowhere else.

Biodiversity metrics (the number or abundance of species) are dominated by invertebrates such as sponges, bivalves and crustaceans. These are usually small, which makes them adaptable and versatile. In terms of numbers, invertebrates make up a vast majority of marine life.

I have been involved in marine biodiversity research for the last 10 years and have worked with teams of researchers, biology students and citizen scientists from across the country. I have also been involved in the naming and classification of organisms.

In South Africa, where there is still much to discover, one focus of my work is identifying new species.

Looking at subtle differences and finding similarities in how tiny organisms evolved in different regions is a global effort. In my own work, carried out together with many experts, there are three finds that have been particularly exciting – a “walking sponge” (Suberites ambulodomos), a tiny clam (Brachiomya ducentiunus) and a rare and miniature isopod (Pseudionella pumulaensis).

Long-term efforts to identify new species like these guide effective conservation. They help to ensure that critical habitats are protected.

These three newly described species may seem small and insignificant individually. However, small species make up the foundation of the food chain and play vital roles in nutrient cycling and in promoting biodiversity.

The walking sponge

First, there’s Suberites ambulodomos, or the “walking sponge”. This animal forms a unique partnership with hermit crabs. It settles on the tiny shell of a very young hermit crab. As the sponge grows it overgrows the shell completely, many hundred times in size and volume.

As a result, the crab – which usually needs to search for a bigger shell as it grows – never outgrows its home. Instead, it carries the sponge with it.

This is the first symbiotic relationship of its kind recorded in South African waters. This hermit-crab associated sponge was described in a collaborative effort by South African researchers at several institutes including the universities of the Western Cape, Johannesburg and Cape Town.

The tiny clam

Next is Brachiomya ducentiunus, a small clam that lives in the spaces between the spines of a heart urchin. The heart urchin burrows into shallow gravel and spends its life largely hidden, feeding on food fragments trapped in the sand.

This tiny clam highlights the richness of life beyond what is easily visible to the human eye. It was discovered
through the 1001 Seaforest Species project, a science and storytelling initiative in Cape Town by the Sea Change Project. It was described and named, meaning scientifically proven to be new, by local researchers from the universities of Stellenbosch and Cape Town, and experts from Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History and the University of Colorado Boulder.

The rare and miniature isopod

Finally, the third new species is Pseudionella pumulaensis. This is a parasitic isopod – a tiny crustacean.

It was discovered in Pumula, KwaZulu-Natal, a region known for its high biodiversity. This isopod has a rather sinister survival strategy: it attaches to the gills of hermit crabs and feeds on their body fluids. Only two specimens have ever been found: a female measuring 2–3 millimetres and an even smaller male, so tiny it was almost missed entirely during the discovery process. I discovered it by chance during my PhD research on hermit crabs, while photographing and zooming in to the smallest details to carry out this work.

Parasites tend to be small and hidden on, or inside, their hosts. They can be overlooked. However, they are vital to understanding biological processes as they regulate populations and are main drivers of evolution.

Pseudionella pumulaensis is the first of its genus in the entire Indian Ocean, a testament to how much more marine life we have yet to uncover. With my local support the isopod was described by an international expert at Hofstra University, New York, and published through the Senckenberg Ocean Species Alliance, a collaborative global initiative to advance marine taxonomy.

Biodiversity knowlege can help save our heritage

The majority of species on Earth remain unidentified. Over 242,000 marine species have been described globally, but the actual number of living ocean species may exceed one million. Many species remain undiscovered, and a large proportion of those already identified are poorly understood. We’re now racing against extinction to learn about and from them before it’s too late.

There is a lack of funding and job opportunities in discovering new species. In fact, the field of taxonomic expertise may now be as endangered as many of the ecosystems and species it seeks to document.

There are no simple, fast-track solutions to the biodiversity crisis – the threat of species extinction combined with vast, unexplored diversity, and the lack of expertise and resources to address this at scale. However, biodiversity initiatives that work collaboratively locally and globally to share expertise offer hope.

Discoveries like these three new species from South Africa emphasise the need for continued exploration. Each species described brings us one step closer to understanding our oceans’ rich biodiversity and finding new ways to protect it.

(Tatjana Baleta, a University of Exeter Wikimedia Fellow for Climate at the Global Systems Institute, was instrumental in producing the first draft submission of this article.)

Jannes Landschoff works for the Sea Change Project, leading the science and storytelling initiative “1001 Seaforest Species” that is primarily funded by and in collaboration with the Save Our Seas Foundation

– ref. New discoveries: three tiny species added to South Africa’s spectacular marine life – https://theconversation.com/new-discoveries-three-tiny-species-added-to-south-africas-spectacular-marine-life-239315

July 5, 2025

Counting Uganda’s lions: we found that wildlife rangers do a better job than machines

Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Alexander Richard Braczkowski, Research Fellow at the Centre for Planetary Health and Resilient Conservation Group, Griffith University

Lions are a symbol of Africa’s last wild places. It’s a species central to many of the continent’s cultures and religions. But lion populations have reportedly declined over the past 50 years, especially in parts of west and east Africa.

Concern over this decline has prompted large financial commitments to shore up numbers. These investments must go hand in hand with the critical work of closely monitoring lion populations. It’s important to understand how their numbers and their distribution respond to conservation actions such as anti-poaching, managing conflicts with cattle farmers, and securing protected areas.

Many traditional methods used to count lions can produce unreliable results. And many existing estimates are based on assumptions about vast expanses which have not been surveyed.

We are researchers with over 50 years of combined experience in conservation, big cat ecology, and the complexities of people and wildlife living together. We have long suspected wildlife tourism rangers operating within our study locations in Uganda could help us find lions in hard-to-reach places and map their distribution. After all, tourism rangers are government employees whose primary role is to guide tourists in observing and photographing wildlife daily. They have a deeper understanding of animal behaviour than most others.

We therefore set out to study the efficacy of wildlife tourism rangers in collecting data necessary for estimating lion population numbers. We compared their performance to another commonly used field method to count big cats: remote infrared camera traps. We found that an approach led by wildlife rangers could be very useful in counting lions in many parts of their African range.

Counting the lions of the Nile River

As the morning sun rises on the banks of the River Nile in north-western Uganda, two wildlife rangers turn on their iPhones, preloaded with tracking software which will help them monitor where they have searched for lions. Lilian Namukose and Silva Musobozi head into the heart of Murchison Falls National Park. Here, their daily work is to locate and photograph the region’s largest predator: the African lion.

The study area is the Nile Delta region (255km²) of the park, Uganda’s largest protected area. The region flanks the upper reaches of the Nile River, Africa’s longest waterway. It is a biodiversity hotspot but faces immense human pressures, from commercial oil extraction and wire snare poaching.

For these reasons it is critical to establish robust measures of how many lions still exist there, and develop monitoring schemes which will be long lasting.

Over 76 sampling days we collaborated with Namukose and Musobozi, who drove 2,939km searching for lions. At the same time, we deployed infrared camera traps across 32 locations in the same study area. This allowed us to compare how these two methods performed head-to-head in exactly the same study area and time period. What we measured was the number of individually identifiable lions through their unique whisker spot patterns, suitable for advanced scientific analysis called spatial capture-recapture modelling.

At the end of our survey period the rangers detected 30 lions 102 times, generating an estimate of 13.91 individuals per 100km² with acceptable precision. By contrast, the infrared camera traps could not reliably identify lions. There were only two usable detections because of poor image quality.

One of the most important results of our surveys was that the ranger-led survey was 50% cheaper than running camera traps, and each detection by a camera trap was 100 times more expensive than a detection by a ranger.

What rangers could mean for lion conservation across Africa

Our survey of Murchison’s Nile Delta region showed us two key things. First, rangers’ intimate knowledge of lion behaviour (especially specific thickets, and regions of high lion activity) helped us achieve high lion detection rates. Second, using tourism rangers as lion monitors gives rangers an entry point into the conservation science field.

This approach not only empowers rangers as active conservation stakeholders, but builds the local capacity that’s needed in many of the places where lions still roam. This science capacity is key if lion populations are to be monitored accurately and regularly (ideally yearly).

This is all the more critical in key source sites of lions in Uganda which have experienced significant declines in recent years, especially Kidepo Valley and Queen Elizabeth National Park. The current lion population in Uganda is estimated at 291 individuals, far lower than many other places in east Africa (the Maasai Mara alone holds about 400 lions).

Silva Musobozi, one of the rangers who did the fieldwork of the scientific study, adds:

Rangers are arguably the closest group to wildlife on the ground and have good knowledge of animal behaviour. Through capacity building and training, rangers can be better incorporated into the scientific and management process.

Nicholas Elliot of Wildlife Counts in Nairobi, Kenya, contributed to the research on which this article is based.

Alexander Richard Braczkowski receives funding from Northern Arizona University and Griffith University.

Duan Biggs is a member of the IUCN (World Conservation Union).

Arjun M. Gopalaswamy and Peter Lindsey do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. Counting Uganda’s lions: we found that wildlife rangers do a better job than machines – https://theconversation.com/counting-ugandas-lions-we-found-that-wildlife-rangers-do-a-better-job-than-machines-244206