The short answer is that leeches need blood to grow and reproduce. But it’s in their interests to do it carefully, without causing too much pain, and in spots that are hard to find.
A recent spate of attacks have left local people scared for their safety in rural Madagascar, threatening vital conservation work in the nearby rainforest.
Brazil has set itself a target of restoring almost 50,000 sq km of the Amazon rainforest by 2030. But it won’t get there without changing its policies and how it engages with local people.
It’s crucial to know the relationship between biodiversity and carbon storage to assess whether carbon-focused conservation will also protect the most biodiverse forests.
Paul Oliver, Australian National University et Mike Lee, Flinders University
Tiny frogs that have spread across New Guinea’s isolated mountains could face an uncertain future if a warming climate pushes them higher up the peaks.
Combining new technologies, including Global Forest Watch, a Forest Monitoring App and Participatory 3D Modelling, brings out traditional knowledge of the elders.
Professor, Interim Director of the Peter Wall Institute for Advanced Studies at UBC and Incoming Dean of the Faculty of Education at the University of Victoria., University of British Columbia