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.
The world’s remaining wilderness. Dark blue = terrestrial. Light blue = marine.
Modified with permission from Protect the last of the wild, Watson et al, Nature (2018)
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.
A drying climate caused a mass extinction among plants, but paved the way for the ancestors of modern reptiles, mammals, and birds.
“The earth is our mother. We should look after and respect her. This territory is where the peccary passed. Under the authority of Karodaybi [the first Munduruku warrior]
Mauricio Torres
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.
A tiny Choerophryne frog from the Foja Mountains in New Guinea. This one is a calling male.
Tim Laman
Paul Oliver, Australian National University and 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.
In Cameroon efforts are underway to halt rainforest loss and develop opportunities with locals.
Arend de Haas
Combining new technologies, including Global Forest Watch, a Forest Monitoring App and Participatory 3D Modelling, brings out traditional knowledge of the elders.
A Yanomami woman cultivates a medicinal tree.
William Milliken, RBG Kew
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