Veterinary pathologists in Kenya have identified heavy metals as the leading cause of massive deaths of flamingos in two Rift Valley Lakes of Kenya, and warned that the scenic pink birds of Lakes Nakuru and Bogoria remain threatened unless the lakes are cleared of pollutants.

As international climate negotiations resume this week in Bonn, the Bush administration is fighting a battle on both the domestic and international fronts to win support for President George W. Bush's controversial decision to abandon the Kyoto Protocol. The administration faces growing opposition from environmental groups and Congressional Democrats over his stance on global warming.

Organic foods could be a key for developing countries, hemmed in by the protectionism of the industrialised world, to open a space in the global market, say United Nations experts. The market for organic foods and beverages - that is, produced without pesticides, herbicides or chemical fertilisers - is growing rapidly in most industrialised countries, and even in some developing countries, says Rudy Kortbech-Olesen, of the International Trade Centre (ITC), a UN agency.

The African Wildlife Foundation has launched a new regional conservation project known as the "four corners natural resource management project." The transboundary four corners project refers to the Caprivi Strip, the only place in the world where four African countries - Zambia, Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe - meet. They share the Zambezi River, one of the longest rivers in Africa.