Photograph by: Enric Sala, National Geographic
January 13, 2020
Almost a third of the world’s oceans and land should be protected by the end of the decade to stop and reverse biodiversity decline that risks the survival of humanity, according to a draft Paris-style UN agreement on nature.
To combat what scientists have described as the sixth mass extinction event in Earth’s history, the proposal sets a 2030 deadline for the conservation and restoration of ecosystems and wildlife that perform crucial services for humans.
January 12, 2020
Today, the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity released its ‘zero draft’ text proposal for a post-2020 global biodiversity framework. Featured in the text is a target to protect at least 30% of the planet — land and sea — by 2030.
January 10, 2020
BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager with more than $6.8 trillion under its control, becomes the latest signatory to Climate Action 100+, an influential big-money pact that’s pushing — although with spotty results so far — many of the world’s largest greenhouse-gas emitters to take action on man-made climate change.
January 10, 2020
The AMA and 23 other medical organizations declared in a letter to President Donald Trump that “there is no single step that will do more for the health of all Americans than remaining in and meeting our obligations to the Paris Climate Agreement.”
The letter, which states that “climate change is a public health emergency,” was released by the Medical Society Consortium on Climate and Health.
January 10, 2020
As wildfires devastate Australia, author and activist Julia Watson considers the wisdom of low-tech land management strategies that’ve been passed down through generations.
Australia’s wildfires—which, since September, have burned 17.9 million acres of the continent—have not only turned skies vermillion and made breathing the air a health hazard, they have also claimed the lives of an estimated 27 people and 1 billion animals. This global warming-fueled crisis began thanks to a combination of lightning, arson, and an unusually hot and dry summer season.
January 9, 2020
According to a report from the Ministry of Economic Development of Russia, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has signed a decree approving a national action plan for the first stage of adaptation to climate change, for the period up to 2022.
This national plan defines economic and social measures that will be implemented by federal and regional executive bodies to reduce the vulnerability of the Russian population, the economy and natural objects to the effects of climate change, as well as the seizing of the opportunities arising from such changes.
January 9, 2020
It is well-established that biodiverse ecosystems generally function better than monocultures. Ecologists at the University of Zurich have now shown that the same is true on a larger scale: Having a mix of different land-covers including grassland, forest, urban areas and water bodies improves the functioning and stability of a landscape—irrespective of the plant species diversity, region and climate.
January 9, 2020
Rare plant species are far more likely to go extinct than common species, yet we know surprisingly little about global species abundance.
Most efforts to quantify species abundance focus on local communities, according to the authors of a study published late last year in the journal Science Advances, which limits our ability to accurately assess plant rarity.
January 9, 2020
A three-day mapathon to mark the city’s existing green cover and devise strategies to augment it will commence at St. Teresa’s College on Thursday.
The mapathon is being conducted under the Cities4Forests project, a global initiative by the World Resources Institute (WRI) which has partnered with the Kochi Corporation. The project envisages expanding green patches in cities and mitigating the impact of climate change by protecting wetlands and biodiversity.
January 9, 2020
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), currently working on its next comprehensive report, the Sixth Assessment Report (AR6), will open the draft Working Group III contribution for a first review by experts from 13 January to 8 March 2020.
January 8, 2020
Author of award-winning book, The Four Sacred Gifts: Indigenous Wisdom for Modern Times, Anita Sanchez, Ph.D., offers wisdom rooted in an understanding of the interconnection of all life. Her guidance helps us reframe our thoughts on climate change to facilitate personal and collective action.
As indigenous wisdom traditions have known for millennia and scientific research now confirms, we must expand our notion of family and community beyond our several immediate human relatives to include the community of nature for life to thrive.
January 8, 2020
As we begin the year 2020, wildfires rage from the Arctic to Australia, icecaps melt, and fierce storms and floods lash our cities. This is already “the new normal.” At the same time, in politics and media, truth struggles to prevail against lies. It’s a dangerous moment. Sean Hawkey, a photographer for ecumenical organisations including the World Council of Churches (WCC), selected photos from his archive as a reflection on a decade of work.
January 7, 2020
When the United Nations welcomed heads of state to the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, a global consensus was reached to take vital steps to save the planet. To that end, more than 170 nations gave their support to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change. But was not the only treaty at the summit. There was also a Convention on Biological Diversity. The climate change treaty is well understood internationally — even if the Trump administration and its congressional allies continue to engage in dangerous denialism and obstruction.
January 6, 2020
The Duke of Cambridge, Prince William has announced the Earthshot Prize: an ambitious set of challenges to inspire a decade of action to repair the planet. In what is set to be a “super year” for the environment, with crucial summits including the Convention on Biodiversity in China and the COP26 Climate Change Conference in the UK, Prince William will team up with global partners on a decade-long project that reaches every corner of the earth.
January 6, 2020
A new study, accepted in Environmental Research Letters, has found that diverse natural forests with a mix of tree species are more reliable and stable at absorbing and storing carbon than plantations dominated by just a few tree species, both over time and across diverse conditions. The study was co-authored by scientists from Columbia University's Earth Institute and its Department of Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology.
