When I told my family that the top ten list of new species had been announced, the teenager asked, “Are we on it?” Although we’re not on the list, our fingerprints are all over it. Homo sapiens remains…
Titanic-eating bacteria, a jumping cockroach, the king of the leeches and a fish that looks like a pancake. These are just a few of the diverse creatures voted into the top ten list of new species discovered…
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…
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…
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…
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 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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Matthew Flinders Professor of Global Ecology and Models Theme Leader for the ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, Flinders University