Michael Obersteiner, University of Oxford; David Leclère, International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), and Piero Visconti, International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA)
Wildlife populations have plummeted by 68% since 1970. But we have a plan to turn things around.
A new plan targets areas around the world that can store carbon and protect large numbers of species. It calls for preserving these lands, working with Indigenous peoples and connecting wild areas.
Three recent studies shed new light, as understanding how the behaviour of Australia’s wildlife changes at night can help scientists better protect them.
US ideas about conservation center on walling off land from use. That approach often means expelling Indigenous and other poor people who may be its most effective caretakers.
Conservation and development scheme REDD+ has manifested as a series of models, which increases its perceived success and enables it to continue despite not delivering on its wide-reaching promises.
The moment a chick hatches from its egg, maggots burrow into its skin to drink its blood, usually killing it. But scientists have found a way to stop the blood-sucking parasites.
With a dramatic drop in bookings, volunteer tourism projects in developing countries have been hit hard, affecting local economies which depend heavily on volunteer spending and help.
From an effigy hanging from a noose to an angry opponent wielding scissors, those who’ve sought to protect the precious Australian Alps have always been up against it.
Birdwatchers have long known that to conserve nature, we need not only the intellectual expertise of science but also an emotional affinity with the living things around us.
Western science often focuses on specific parts of complex ecosystems, but Indigenous knowledge systems consider all parts as interconnected and inseparable. This achieves better conservation results.
As mountain goats face pressures from climate change and human disturbance, analyzing their genome provides useful information on their ecology and evolution.
Framing cats as responsible for declines in biodiversity is based on faulty scientific logic and fails to account for the real culprit – human activity.
Matthew Flinders Professor of Global Ecology and Models Theme Leader for the ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, Flinders University