Sudan’s wartime gold boom is driving rapid expansion of artisanal mining in River Nile and Northern states, with 2–5 million people now dependent on largely unregulated operations using mercury mixers and cyanide basins near palm groves, farms and shallow groundwater. Field investigations around El-Obeidiya and Abu Hamad report millions of tonnes of karta tailings, mercury readings in Village 3 soils up to 2,825.24 (units unspecified) and earlier surveys finding mercury and cyanide in 20% of sampled drinking water north of Atbara. Artisanal mining now provides about 80% of Sudan’s gold output and 58% of export revenues, severely constraining enforcement of bans on mercury and cyanide use outside certified facilities.

Ofwat has proposed accepting a £280,000 enforcement package from Hafren Dyfrdwy after finding the company breached legal obligations in operating its wastewater treatment works and sewer network. The action follows failures in compliance at multiple assets, signalling closer scrutiny of treatment performance, discharge consents and network operation in the company’s largely rural Welsh service area. Designers and operators of wastewater infrastructure should expect tighter monitoring of process reliability, overflow management and asset condition, with potential implications for upgrade priorities and resilience planning.

A former 30-hectare golf course at Sandilands on the Lincolnshire coast has been converted by the National Trust into a wetland nature reserve after a six-year programme of planning, consultation and earthworks. Lead consultant Influence Landscape Planning & Design regraded fairways into a mosaic of wetlands, grassland and coastal scrub, with accessible boardwalks, trails and a new visitor hub including café, expanded car parking and changing place facilities. The reserve sits within Lincolnshire Coastal Country Park on the East Coast Flyway, targeting habitat gains for thousands of migratory birds.