The end of China’s export tax rebates for solar panels and associated equipment could prompt a rush by power developers in African to secure supplies at the previous lower prices. Across Africa, a lack of reliable access to grid electricity is driving the adoption of mini-grids and off-grid solar applications, especially in rural areas. Solar currently accounts for only 3% of electricity generation on the continent, but solar capacity is expanding rapidly, and the end of the 9% value-added tax rebate on Chinese exports of photovoltaic modules, cells and inverters as of April 1 could hasten adoption across Africa. “There’s a big acceleration of people trying to buy panels at the current reduced price with the rebate, which is why you’re seeing many projects rushing to start construction so they can procure panels at a lower cost,” Gerrit Jan Cronselaar, engineering project manager at GameChange Solar, a U.S.-based solar energy company, said at a March webinar organized by the Africa Solar Industry Association (AFSIA), ahead of the end of the rebate. “Over the course of 2026, we are likely to see a wave of projects coming online as a result of this early push.” China is the world’s dominant producer and exporter of solar panels, and African countries depend heavily on the country for solar components. China is also phasing out export tax rebates for batteries, reducing them from 9% to 6% this month. They will be fully eliminated by January 2027. Storage systems including batteries ensure a more reliable supply of solar power so electricity is available even after sunset or on cloudy days. “We don’t expect there to be a massive price spike,” Cronselaar said. “We expect there to be a step-by-step increase in panel prices that is not as catastrophic as some people might think, certainly not for utility-scale projects.” Ha added that the segments most affected by the end of the rebate will be smaller commercial and industrial users, “as well as the off-grid and mini-grid sectors, where price sensitivity is much higher.” Another factor that could boost demand for solar is the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, which has throttled oil and gas exports from the Persian Gulf and driven up global energy prices. Facing an oil shock, some experts say African countries might view solar as a more attractive alternative despite the increased upfront costs. “The VAT removal will slow, but not reverse Africa’s clean energy transition,” Basil Abia, co-founder of Nigerian energy research company Truva Intelligence told the Associated Press. The increased cost of solar installations is bringing renewed scrutiny to global dependence on China for critical components and has spurred calls for other countries to increase their domestic manufacturing capacity. “Countries that use this moment to accelerate local manufacturing will emerge stronger. Those that do not will remain exposed to Beijing’s next industrial policy adjustment,” Abia said. Banner Image: A solar installation in Mali. Image ©Curt Carnemark/World Bank via Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0).

A new study of our two closest living relatives finds that, at least in zoos, bonobos may not be more peaceful than chimpanzees. Bonobos (Pan paniscus) are only found south of the Congo River in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where food is abundant and evenly distributed. Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) range across West, Central and East Africa, where food can be variable and patchy. Different environmental pressures may have contributed to divergent social behavior between the closely related species. Chimpanzee societies are male-dominant, territorial, and marked by frequent aggression toward other groups. In bonobo societies, females often equal or outrank males, and they have a reputation for more peaceful intergroup relations. Bonobo females form coalitions to suppress male aggression. However, new findings are adding nuance: One recent comparative analysis challenged bonobos’ “hippy” image; and another recent paper documents the first known death of an infant bonobo resulting from an intergroup encounter. Building on this framework, Emile Bryon of Utrecht University in the Netherlands led a group of researchers in comparing aggression between chimpanzees and bonobos in zoos, where environmental conditions are more controlled. Their findings, published in Science Advances, compared behaviors such as chasing, hitting, wrestling and biting in nine groups of chimpanzees and 13 groups of bonobos housed in 16 European zoos. They found no difference in rates of overall aggression, or more severe contact aggression, between zoo-housed chimpanzees and bonobos. However, they did find species-level differences in who used aggression. Male chimpanzees were more aggressive than females, while bonobo males and females showed similar levels of aggressive behaviors. “Overall, our research paints a picture that matches the socio-ecology of both species; chimpanzee males are aggressive against all, whereas all bonobos are aggressive, but target mainly the males,” Bryon said in an email to Mongabay. “We also found it interesting that female-to-female aggression is generally low in both species. Because female bonobos dominate, and dominant individuals compete amongst each other for resources, one could expect aggression among bonobo females. But our study says otherwise,” Bryon said. Regardless of species, some zoo-housed groups were more aggressive than others, raising the question of why. Takeshi Furuichi, who wasn't involved with this study, is an emeritus professor at Kyoto University and author of another recent paper comparing aggression within groups of wild male chimpanzees and bonobos. He told Mongabay by email that “This study provides valuable comparative data on aggression in chimpanzees and bonobos under controlled conditions.” However, Furuichi suggested the findings should be interpreted with caution. He noted that the “present study is limited to behavior within single zoo groups” and that “a key basis for the view that chimpanzees are more aggressive than bonobos lies in intergroup male aggression, which is frequently observed in chimpanzees and can sometimes be lethal.” Banner image: Aggressive behavior by bonobos. Image by Nicky Staes (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Authorities in Malawi have credited stronger monitoring and border controls with effectively ending the smuggling of invasive crayfish into the country, nearly a year after a major seizure from neighboring Zambia. Davie Khumbanyiwa, the fisheries department officer responsible for monitoring, control and surveillance, said the department has increased inspections for redclaw crayfish (Cherax quadricarinatus), a species farmed in Zambia but native to Australia and Papua New Guinea. “Our monitoring now also includes fish farms along the borders, spot checks in markets and river systems that are within the catchments with Zambia,” Khumbanyiwa told Mongabay. He said Malawi is collaborating with authorities in Zambia, Tanzania and Mozambique. “Our intention is to make sure that we don’t have those exotic species here.”  Jeremiah Kang’ombe, a fisheries expert at the Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources, said strengthening border controls is key. “Our borders being porous, this is the first line of defense when it comes to smuggling of these alien species. It will ensure some biosafety measures are applied accordingly,” Kang’ombe told Mongabay. In May 2025, Malawian authorities arrested four people from Zambia carrying a quarter-ton of live redclaw, a violation of fisheries and environmental regulations. The contraband was incinerated and the smugglers fined and released. Since then, the Malawi fisheries department says, increased monitoring has not detected any more smuggled crayfish. One of the Zambians told investigators at the time that this was his second trip; earlier in 2025, he had brought 20 kilograms (44 pounds) of redclaw to a Chinese buyer. The seized 250 kg (550 lbs), for which the Zambians were to be paid $1,700, was also reportedly for a Chinese buyer for use in a Chinese restaurant. Environmentalists and fisheries experts said the fines, between $29 and $86, were too small to be a deterrent, and noted the Zambians could have been sentenced to a year in prison. “However, as department, we are somewhat satisfied that the Court upheld our request to destroy the contraband,” Maxon Ngochera, the senior deputy director of fisheries, told local media. Research shows redclaw were introduced to Zambia from Australia in the early 2000s for aquaculture. The crayfish are aggressive and prey on native fish and their eggs. They also reproduce quickly, outcompeting native species for food and shelter, and can carry pathogens that cause disease outbreaks in other species. A Malawi fisheries department report warned that if the crayfish gained a foothold in the country’s rivers and wetlands, it would damage ecosystems, communities and the economy. In a statement after the May 2025 seizure, the fisheries department said a crayfish infestation could lower fishery yields, economically harming the country’s estimated 82,000 fishers, plus the half-million people involved in processing and selling fish. “The decline of native fish populations due to invasive species would jeopardize these livelihoods and food security,” the department said. Banner image: Crayfish seized by officials in May 2025. Image courtesy of Malawi Department of Fisheries.

On March 9, wildlife authorities in Zambia arrested 10 people in possession of 550 kilograms (1,212 pounds) of ivory, according to the U.K.-based Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA), which provided intelligence that led to the arrests. EIA said the case highlights the impact that international cooperation can have in the fight against the illegal trade of wildlife. In a Mar. 19 statement, the Zambian Department of National Parks and Wildlife (DNPW) said police raided several locations in the capital, Lusaka, leading to the arrest of members of a cross-border wildlife crime syndicate, including a foreign national, who is believed to be the buyer of the ivory. “Notably, some of the apprehended suspects are repeat offenders who have previously been convicted for wildlife-related crimes, highlighting the persistent challenge posed by illegal wildlife trafficking networks,” DNPW said in a statement.  The suspects have been charged with unlawful possession of a prescribed trophy but have not yet appeared before a court. In an email, the EIA’s executive director, Mary Rice, told Mongabay that governments are becoming more receptive to collaborating closely with nongovernmental agencies such as EIA. “There are more examples of embedded partnerships where NGOs work directly with a mandated authority to tackle illegal wildlife trade.” These growing partnerships, which in some cases include financial support, have helped disrupt trafficking networks and secure convictions, she said. She highlighted a three-year collaboration involving EIA, Interpol, China Customs, Tanzania, Mozambique and Nigeria. In May 2017, the group busted the Shuidong ivory smuggling network, one of the key players in trafficking illegal ivory between Africa and China. Rice also said a global network of NGOs and government agencies is building a global database of environmental crimes and their perpetrators. She noted that while recent data from the Monitoring the Illegal Killing of Elephants project suggest that poaching is on the decline in Southern Africa, continued seizures linked to the region suggest that criminal networks are still actively trafficking ivory in that part of the continent. She also pointed to instances in which convictions have been weakened or undermined by corruption or political interference. In Malawi, for example, wildlife trafficker Yunhua Lin was sentenced to 14 years in prison in 2021, but was granted a presidential pardon in 2025. He remains in prison, however, pending charges of attempting to bribe a judge and a prison official. Banner image: Ivory seized by Zambian authorities in March 2026. Image courtesy of Zambia Ministry of Tourism.

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) — At least 50 people have died and 125 others are missing after landslides hit three districts in southern Ethiopia following a week of heavy rains, a local official said Thursday. The landslides happened in Gamo Zone and affected the Gacho Baba District, Kamba District and Bonke District, according to Gamo Zone director of disaster response Mesfin Manuqa. Manuqa said that one person was pulled out of the mud alive during the rescue operation. The Gacho Baba District communication chief, Abebe Agena, said most of those who died were found buried in the mud. It is not yet clear how many households were affected. Tilahun Kebede, president of the South Ethiopia Regional State, expressed his sorrow over the disaster and urged residents to move to higher ground as rains continue. “Given that it is the rainy season and these types of disasters could happen again, I am calling on communities living in the highlands and flood-prone areas to take the necessary precautions,” he said. Mudslides and floods caused by heavy rainfall are common in Ethiopia, especially during the rainy season. In July 2024, a deadly mudslide caused by heavy rain claimed the lives of 229 people in southern Ethiopia. By Associated Press Banner image: Locals search for the bodies of mudslide victims in the Gacho Baba district of the Gamo Zone in southern Ethiopia on Tuesday, March 10, 2026. (Gacho Baba District Government Communication Affairs Department via AP)

The world’s largest sovereign wealth fund has decided to divest from French conglomerate Bolloré, the target of long-running allegations of human rights violations, sexual violence and labor rights abuses at plantations in Africa and Southeast Asia. The decision followed a recommendation issued in 2024 by the ethics council of Norway’s $2.2 trillion Government Pension Fund Global, which advised divesting from Bolloré-affiliated companies based on documentation of poor working conditions, gender-based violence and harassment at oil palm plantations in Cameroon. The allegations were against the Socfin Group, a Luxembourg-based holding company in which Bolloré has significant shares. The pension fund had engaged with Bolloré for two years before divesting. In its recently published 2025 responsible investment report, Norges Bank Investment Management, which manages the fund, said that “after [attempts] at engagement, the Executive Board decided in 2025 to exclude the companies based on the recommendation of the Council on Ethics from 2024.”  The Government Pension Fund Global held a 0.4% stake in Bolloré, worth about $70 million, as of June 30, 2025. Bloomberg reports that, by the end of 2025, it no longer owned any shares. “The world's biggest pension fund is basically saying that whatever Socfin is doing on their plantations, whatever the governments try doing with their due diligence laws — it is not good enough,” Silva Lieberherr from HEKS, a Swiss NGO that works on land rights, climate justice and humanitarian disasters, told Mongabay, adding that such action highlights “how problematic the plantation economy is. Bolloré has come under scrutiny for Socfin's operational practices in Africa and Southeast Asia, including allegations of land grabbing, lack of free, prior and informed consent from local communities, poor labor conditions, sexual harassment on plantations in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Cameroon, and environmental damage. Socfin controls 370,000 hectares (914,000 acres) of oil palm and rubber plantations in 10 countries across Africa and Southeast Asia. The decision by the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund to divest from Bolloré has been hailed as a success by local and international civil society organizations that have documented problems around Socfin’s operations for more than a decade. Bolloré was also previously dropped by the biggest Swiss pension fund, BVK, after a recommendation from the Swiss Association for Responsible Investments (SVVK-ASIR). The association alleged that Bolloré failed to resolve issues around land grabbing, environmental damage and complicity in human rights violations on Socfin-run oil palm and rubber plantations in 2023. Lieberherr said it’s not clear how much divestments like these hurt the companies themselves, but it does send a signal to other investors. “These investors — the Swiss SVVK, then BVK and now the Norwegians — increasingly see a risk in investing in Socfin. And this is significant.”  Bolloré didn’t respond to Mongabay’s request for comment, while the Government Pension Fund Global told Mongabay it didn’t have any comments on the divestment decision. Banner image: Oil palm kernels at Socfin’s Sierra Leonean plantation. Image courtesy of Maja Hitij.