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NEWS: Coastal wetlands are unable to adapt to the rate of sea-level rise and are constrained by infrastructure

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Wetlands, precious ecosystems that shield coastlines, safeguard drinking water from saltwater contamination, and nourish diverse wildlife, face a dire threat from the accelerating pace of sea-level rise, driven by global warming. Wetlands have historically adapted to rising sea levels by expanding upward and inland. However, predictions indicate that the waterline will soon shift far too rapidly for wetlands to keep pace. Consequently, future decades may witness the tragic loss of these vital wetland ecosystems. Wetlands along coastlines have historically played valuable roles for people and wildlife, but are now facing the threat of sea-level rise. As temperatures rise, sea levels are rising at an accelerating rate, and wetlands are unable to keep pace by building upward and migrating inland. This is due to human-induced climate change and the burning of fossil fuels, which has warmed the oceans and melted glaciers. Sea levels are now rising at about 10 millimeters per year, and are
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Did South Africa make the right decision to close construction during lockdown?

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Work on construction sites has been permitted in England and Wales since the start of the lockdown and UK ministers have repeatedly encouraged the industry to open. 

Given this information was South Africa's decision to completely close down the construction sector during lockdown correct?



Revealed: construction’s coronavirus death rate

Data from the UK's Office of National Statistics (ONS) revealed that among low-skilled construction workers the death rate was 25.9 per 100,000 males, or 22 deaths in total, placing it among the worst-hit occupations.


There were 87 deaths of workers in the ‘skilled construction and building trades’ occupation category and 90 among those classed as ‘skilled metal, electrical and electronic trades’, where the rates of fatalities were 10.4 and 11 per 100,000 respectively.

By contrast, the ONS said death rates among healthcare workers were “not found to be statistically different to rates of death involving COVID-19 in the general working population”. Across occupations including doctors, nurses and midwives, nurse assistants, paramedics, ambulance staff, and hospital porters, the rates were 10.2 deaths per 100,000 among males, or 43 deaths in total, and 4.8 deaths per 100,000 females, or 63 deaths.

The ONS data assessed only the 2,494 deaths involving COVID-19 that affected the working-age population, of people between 20 and 64 years old, registered in England and Wales up to 20 April 2020. As a result it excludes the majority of lives lost to the pandemic. 

Recent ONS data showed that 88 per cent of deaths in England and Wales up to 1 May 2020 were among people aged over 65. The ONS fatality rates by occupation do not include deaths of people over 65 even if they were still at work prior to contracting the illness.

Within the age group studied, the ONS found that men working in the lowest-skilled occupations had the highest rate of death involving COVID-19.

Those classed as ‘elementary workers’ by the ONS in professions such as construction work and cleaning had the highest mortality rate with 225 deaths. The next highest group was ‘caring, leisure and other service occupations’- which includes nursing assistants, care workers and ambulance drivers, with 72.

The ONS highlighted that its analysis does not prove conclusively that the observed rates of death involving COVID-19 are necessarily caused by differences in occupational exposure and that it had adjusted its results to account for age.

On Sunday evening, prime minister Boris Johnson called on construction firms that have not reopened since the start of lockdown to do so.

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