Tourists from all over the world head to Borneo for orangutans, unspoiled ancient rainforests and an insight into the traditional way of life of the Dayak people. This ecotourism is based on an idyllic…
Sea levels are expected to rise between 0.5m and 1m by 2100, potentially at great cost to coastal infrastructure.
AAP
Governments and communities must take urgent action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions this decade or face enormous social and economic costs in future, according a report by the Australian government’s…
REDD gives countries a reason to hang on to trees: let’s make it work.
AAP
The world has been fiddling while the forests burn, or are otherwise lost. One proposal to keep what’s left intact is REDD – essentially, paying countries to conserve their forest carbon stocks. REDD (Reducing…
Extinction rates have been overestimated but many species still on track to share the dodo’s fate.
flickr
A paper casting doubt on a widely used method of calculating extinction rates has fuelled furious debate in scientific circles, with some arguing it ignores important evidence and others saying it has…
At least 48% of amphibians and 3% of land mammals globally remain undiscovered but could go extinct before they are found, new modelling shows. A mathematical model used by researchers from from Princeton…
A missed opportunity to resuscitate our rivers.
Flickr/wazzas world
A vision splendid of the sunlit plain extended? The federal budget acknowledges the profound impact of flood, fire and cyclones on our economy. It compensates, rebuilds and funds mental health programs…
When people want timber but animals need trees, how do we compromise?
AAP
In the developing world, there’s often a face-off between conservation needs and the needs of the community, with neither coming out all that well. Is it possible to “save more space for nature” without…
Informative labelling can put us on the road to ethical choices.
AAP
The most important factor determining whether consumers avoid purchasing a product containing palm oil is not how they feel about orangutans, the environment, or anything else for that matter. It’s whether…
The Tarkine is our largest cool temperate rainforest, but will that be enough to save it?
Flickr/leonrw
Once a place is heritage listed, it’s protected, right? Wrong. Politics and a flawed statutory regime are undermining the independence of the listing system, and threatening Australia’s national treasures…
Just how vulnerable and defenceless are whales?
Flickr/Guarda La
There are several reasons why Australians should welcome the imminent demise of Japanese whaling in the Southern Ocean. But none of them relate to the triumphal claims recently expressed by the likes of…
Revered tradition or barbaric bloodsport? The waters are muddy.
peteSwede/flickr
There are few issues as divisive in eastern Australia as duck hunting. And 2011 has been one of the most vitriolic seasons yet. The season opened in Victoria with news that a protester had been shot in…
Matthew Flinders Professor of Global Ecology and Models Theme Leader for the ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, Flinders University