Michael Obersteiner, University of Oxford; David Leclère, International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) e 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.
Without adequate information, we can’t prioritise efforts and funding to best protect our primate relatives.
Rapid loss of species like these Spix’s macaws, considered extinct in the wild, may represent the sixth mass extinction in Earth’s history.
PATRICK PLEUL/DPA/AFP via Getty Images
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.
With targeted conservation action, we might just save many of these species before it’s too late.
John James Audubon relied on African Americans and Native Americans to collect some specimens for his ‘Birds of America’ prints (shown: Florida cormorant), but never credited them.
National Audubon Society
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.
The European firebug was first discovered in North America in Utah in 2008 and has quickly expanded its range.
(Shutterstock)
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.
Seagrasses support a wide variety of life.
Reinhard Dirscherl/ullstein bild via Getty Image
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.
Te Nohoaka o Tukiauau (Sinclair Wetlands)
Glen Riley
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.
Are cats really to blame for the worldwide loss of biodiversity?
Dzurag/iStock via Getty Images Plus
Framing cats as responsible for declines in biodiversity is based on faulty scientific logic and fails to account for the real culprit – human activity.
A public debate recently erupted among global taxonomists. Strongly-worded ripostes were exchanged. A comparison to Stalin was floated. But eventually, they worked it out.
Matthew Flinders Professor of Global Ecology and Models Theme Leader for the ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, Flinders University