Until the last half-decade, the majestic lesser flamingo had four African breeding sites: a salt pan in Botswana and Namibia, a soda lake in Tanzania, and an artificial dam outside South Africa's historic diamond-mining town of Kimberley. Now it only has three.

Lesser flamingos, previously reliant on four main breeding sites across Africa, now have only three after sewage contamination at Kanfers Dam in South Africa drove the birds away. Conservationists and a recent court judgment attribute the loss to years of untreated sewage spills, which have made the water toxic and unsuitable for breeding.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature lists lesser flamingos as near-threatened, with their global population estimated at two to three million and declining. Experts note that the species will continue to miss breeding seasons at Kanfers Dam until water conditions improve, potentially reducing the annual number of chicks by thousands. Local efforts to address the sewage problem face challenges, including vandalism and theft at treatment facilities, while broader studies highlight the global impact of sewage on aquatic ecosystems.

Lesser flamingos lose one of four African breeding sites to sewage

Until about five years ago, lesser flamingos had four breeding sites in Africa, salt pans in Botswana and Namibia, a soda lake in Tanzania, and an artificial dam outside Kimberley, South Africa. Now, there are only three. Years of sewage spills at Kanfers Dam, South Africa's only large flamingo breeding site, turned the water toxic and drove the birds away. That's according to conservationists and a court judgment against the local council seen by Reuters. Lesser flamingos are listed as near-threatened by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. There are about two to three million left, most of them in Africa and the rest in South Asia. But their numbers are falling fast, and losing one of their last few breeding sites has made it worse. Breeders expert Esther van der Westhuizen-Koetser told Reuters that flamingos need the right conditions to breed. The big problem for the species is they will not be able to breed at Kanfers Dam until the levels of the water returns to normal conditions for them to breed. So we will be continuing to miss out on breeding seasons that deliver between 2,000 and 5,000 chicks in a breeding season until that can be sorted out. Footage from 2020 shows Kanfers Dam pink with flamingos, but this month Reuters found none. The water showed bubbling green sludge smelling of human waste. Brenda Booth, a local farm owner, says she feels sad about the loss of flamingos. She recently won a court order forcing the local government to fix the sewage problem. However, the municipality manager Tapolo Mitala says vandalism and theft shut down their sewage plant. Globally, water ecosystems are fast deteriorating because of sewage. A 2021 study in Biological Conservation found it harms aquatic ecosystems across a vast area of the planet.

Chinese and European Union leaders have met in Beijing for their first in-person summit since 2023, addressing a range of contentious issues amidst growing trade tensions. The talks, led by Chinese President Xi Jinping and EU officials Ursula von der Leyen and Antonio Costa, highlighted the complex nature of China-EU relations.

Beijing

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London

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Ukraine Invasion

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Boise

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Caracas

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The Syrian defense ministry said it was aware of reports of "shocking violations" by people wearing military fatigues in the country's predominantly Druze city of Sweida, and said it would launch an investigation. That came after fighting between Druze militia and government forces sent to the city to quell the unrest has led to hundreds of people killed.

As Suwayda

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The U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee changed its eligibility rules on Monday, effectively barring transgender women from competing in Olympic women's sports. CBS News correspondent Elise Preston has more.