CI Blog Feed: "Biodiversity"

CI Blog Feed: "Biodiversity"https://www.conservation.org/RSS feed of blogs about biodiversity, from Conservation International.BiodiversityOceansCommunitiesClimate ChangeFinance and TechScience urn:uuid:1171c094-1cdd-4596-bb6b-7258519ed434https://www.conservation.org/blog/candid-cameras-catch-a-glimpse-of-rare-wildlife BiodiversityCandid cameras catch a glimpse of rare wildlifeDeep in the mountains of Palawan, Conservation International scientists are capturing what few people ever see: the secret lives of the Philippines’ rarest species.Wed, 22 Oct 2025 12:59:02 ZA blur of movement. A flash of fur. The glint of eyes in the dark.Deep in the mountains of Palawan, scientists are capturing what few people ever see: the secret lives of the Philippines’ rarest species.The mountains and islands of the Philippine archipelago harbor extraordinary numbers of species found nowhere else on Earth. Yet nearly <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/study-warns-up-to-a-quarter-of-philippine-vertebrates-risk-extinction/">a quarter</a> of the country’s vertebrates are on the brink of extinction.A recent Conservation International expedition to the rugged highlands of <a href="https://www.conservation.org/philippines/projects/mount-mantalingahan-protected-landscape#:~:text=Mount%20Mantalingahan%20is%20home%20to,be%20found%20in%20this%20range.">Mount Mantalingahan</a> offers signs of hope: the area is still pulsing with rare wildlife.“Every species we encounter here tells a story about the resilience and uniqueness of Palawan’s ecosystems,” said Erickson Tabayag of Conservation International–Philippines. “These sightings remind us why protecting Mount Mantalingahan is essential for the future of conservation in the Philippines.”Tabayag and his team, including staff from the Mount Mantalingahan Protected Area and Indigenous guides from the Mantraverse Eco-Guide Association, spent weeks trekking through steep, remote terrain to retrieve data from dozens of camera traps. Along the way, they snapped photos of the wildlife they encountered. Here are some of the rare and remarkable species they’ve found so far.Palawan eastern frog (Alcalus mariae)This river-dwelling amphibian is an “indicator species,” meaning it’s sensitive to environmental changes and signals the health of its ecosystem. Found only on Palawan, it’s rarely seen — but Tabayag’s team documented six individuals along a mountain stream, one of the few field records ever made.<img src="https://www.conservation.org/images/default-source/non-vault-images/cr_01_palawan-eastern-frog_alcalus-mariae_erickson-tabayag-copy.jpg?sfvrsn=e501bb9_1" alt="" sf-size="100" />Palawan striped babbler (Zosterornis hypogrammicus)This small, high-elevation bird lives only in Palawan’s mountain forests above 1,000 meters. “Their distinct calls and active foraging behavior made them relatively easy to detect,” Tabayag said.<img src="https://www.conservation.org/images/default-source/non-vault-images/cr_02-palawan-striped-babbler-(zosterornis-hypogrammicus)_erickson-tabayag-copy.jpg?sfvrsn=9548e827_1" alt="" sf-size="100" />Palawan soft-furred mountain rat (Palawanomys furvus) Among the least-known mammals in the Philippines, this species has never been recorded outside Palawan’s mountains. “We couldn’t believe that one literally walked right by our campsite,” Tabayag recalled. “It wandered near our kitchen area, scavenging for vegetable scraps.<img src="https://www.conservation.org/images/default-source/non-vault-images/cr_03_palawan-soft-furred-mountain-rat_palawanomys-furvus_erickson-tabayag-copy.jpg?sfvrsn=88b6e751_1" alt="" sf-size="100" />Other frogs The team also spotted the well-camouflaged Palawan horned frog (Pelobatrachus ligayae) and the Palawan shrub frog (Philautus longicrus), seen in both mossy-green and pale color forms — evidence of the island’s extraordinary amphibian diversity.<img src="https://www.conservation.org/images/default-source/non-vault-images/cr_05_palawan-horned-frog_pelobatrachus-ligayae_1_erickson-tabayag-copy.jpg?sfvrsn=8fa14cab_1" alt="" sf-size="100" /><img src="https://www.conservation.org/images/default-source/non-vault-images/cr_04_palawan-shrub-frog_philautus-longicrus_2_whitish-morph_erickson-tabayag-copy.jpg?sfvrsn=dc4bc8fb_1" alt="" sf-size="100" />Other birds Highlights included the Palawan scops owl (Otus fuliginosus), a nocturnal species with a haunting call, and the Philippine mountain warbler (Phylloscopus nigrorum), a small, active songbird that helps control insect population.<img src="https://www.conservation.org/images/default-source/non-vault-images/cr_06_palawan-scops-owl-(otus-fuliginosus)_erickson-tabayag-copy.jpg?sfvrsn=4964ed_1" alt="" sf-size="100" /><img src="https://www.conservation.org/images/default-source/non-vault-images/cr_07_philippine-mountain-warbler-(phylloscopus-nigrorum)_erickson-tabayag-copy.jpg?sfvrsn=2ad78f5c_1" alt="" sf-size="100" /> Dazzling invertebrates Among the expedition’s most eye-catching finds were a hammerhead planarian (Diversibipalium cf. catenatum), a day-flying moth (Milionia cf. fulgida) shimmering with blue and orange, a tussock moth (Lymantria sp.) and a slender stick insect (Family Lonchodidae) perfectly disguised among twigs. “These encounters remind us how invertebrates, though often overlooked, are vital to forest health,” Tabayag said.<div data-sf-ec-immutable="" contenteditable="false" style="width:560px;height:315px;"><div data-sf-disable-link-event=""><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/gYoCdRekGoA?si=DtqL2mw6iZQ2GOpk&controls=0" frameborder="0"></iframe></div></div> Spectacular flora Mount Mantalingahan’s unique soils have given rise to an astonishing variety of plants, including carnivorous species found nowhere else: the Mantalingahan pitcher plant (Nepenthes mantalingajanensis), the ultramafic sundew (Drosera ultramafica), and the delicate bladderwort (Utricularia cf. striatula), whose flowers resemble sunny-side-up eggs. The team also documented vivid orchids such as Coelogyne palawanensis, Spathoglottis palawanensis, and the helmet orchid (Corybas circinatus), named for its hood-like bloom.<div data-sf-ec-immutable="" contenteditable="false" style="width:560px;height:315px;"><div data-sf-disable-link-event=""><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ol_tnJzYnKw?si=6kQxf-ImylhBFnLk&controls=0" frameborder="0"></iframe></div></div> These discoveries highlight Mount Mantalingahan as one of Palawan’s last great strongholds for wildlife. But this is only the beginning of a broader biodiversity monitoring program. With thousands of images still awaiting review, Tabayag and his team believe there are many more discoveries to come.“Each photo offers another reason to protect this remarkable refuge,” Tabayag said. <img src="https://www.conservation.org/images/default-source/non-vault-images/cr_08_sunset-view-from-the-water-source-of-paray-paray-campsite-featuring-the-bowl-shaped-singnapan-valley_erickson-tabayag-copy.jpg?sfvrsn=c0dba8d1_1" alt="" sf-size="100" /> Will McCarry is the content director at Conservation International. Want to read more stories like this?  <a href="https://www.conservation.org/act/subscribe" target="_blank"></a><a href="https://www.conservation.org/act/subscribe" target="_blank">Sign up for email updates</a>. Also, <a href="https://www.conservation.org/act" target="_blank"></a><a href="https://www.conservation.org/act" target="_blank">please consider supporting our critical work</a>. urn:uuid:8aa0e4f5-01df-4053-9227-a1b86cb0a0a4https://www.conservation.org/blog/conservation-world-mourns-jane-goodall Biodiversity‘A profound loss’: Conservation world mourns Jane Goodall“Jane Goodall forever changed how people think about, interact with and care for the natural world,” said Daniela Raik, interim CEO of Conservation International.Wed, 01 Oct 2025 19:54:56 ZJane Goodall, a titan of wildlife conservation, died Wednesday, Oct. 1, at the age of 91, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/jane-goodall-obit-78698397851bc7634717206f7eba07b2" target="_blank">The Associated Press reported</a>.The renowned primatologist died of natural causes, according to a statement from the Jane Goodall Institute.Her discoveries “revolutionized science, and she was a tireless advocate for the protection and restoration of our natural world,” the Institute said.Her work studying chimpanzees in eastern Africa began in the early 1960s, and inspired generations of conservationists.“Jane Goodall forever changed how people think about, interact with and care for the natural world,” said Daniela Raik, interim CEO of Conservation International. “Her passing is a profound loss for our movement and our planet. Her legacy lives on, not just through memories and accolades, but in the sense of belief she inspired in many: that we can reverse climate change, halt biodiversity loss and repair the natural world.“She spent much of her life empowering that belief in young people. Now it’s on us to carry it forward.”In recent years, Goodall was an outspoken advocate for humanitarian and conservation, “known for balancing the grim realities of the climate crisis with a sincere message of hope for the future,” The Associated Press noted.She was also tireless, traveling nearly 300 days a year, even after she turned 90, to speak to packed auditoriums around the world. She recently appeared at New York Climate Week, and was in California on a U.S. speaking tour when she died, according to the AP.But it was her work studying chimps that she was still most known for.Goodall documented the animals using tools and doing other activities previously believed to be exclusive to humans, noting their distinct personalities, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/jane-goodall-obit-78698397851bc7634717206f7eba07b2" target="_blank">the AP reported</a>. Her observations “transformed how the world perceived not only humans’ closest living biological relatives but also the emotional and social complexity of all animals, while propelling her into the public consciousness.”″What the chimps have taught me over the years is they’re so like us,” she said in 1997. “They’ve blurred the line between humans and animals.”Bruno Vander Velde is the managing director of storytelling at Conservation International. Want to read more stories like this? <a href="https://www.conservation.org/act/subscribe">Sign up for email updates</a>. urn:uuid:c46c41b3-280e-4987-9182-a073499cb82ahttps://www.conservation.org/blog/off-mexico-s-coast-divers-nab-biggest-ghost-yet BiodiversityCommunitiesOff Mexico’s coast, divers nab biggest ‘ghost’ yetIn a grueling and delicate dance, a team led by Conservation International removes a massive undersea killer.Wed, 27 Aug 2025 19:51:06 Z<div>When Edgardo Ochoa woke up in the early hours of August 20, he had a good feeling.The palm trees outside his window were still, signaling a calm day ahead.For two days, Ochoa, a dive specialist at Conservation International, had worked alongside 16 other divers to remove an abandoned 90-meter-long fishing net (300 feet) — nearly the length of a soccer field — that had become a deadly trap for marine animals. The process had been more complex than expected.“I somewhat naively thought we’d be able to remove the net in a couple of dives,” said Ochoa, who led the operation. “But after years on the seafloor, the net was weighed down by sand and marine life like sea stars, seahorses, snails and sea urchins that now occupied the net and needed to be moved to a safe location.”It took more than 40 hours underwater to finally pull the nearly 2-ton net out of the Espíritu Santo Archipelago National Park, a marine protected area off the coast of Baja California Sur, Mexico.“This was one of the toughest removals I’ve been part of, but also one of the most rewarding,” Ochoa said. “When I saw the ship pull it out of the water, I felt so relieved, like a mountain of tension was leaving my body. We finally did it.”<img src="https://www.conservation.org/images/default-source/non-vault-images/redespi-ritusanto-ci-arturo-herna-ndez-12.jpg?sfvrsn=6adae76a_3" alt="" sf-size="6132455" />© Arturo Hernandez Sixteen divers helped remove the ghost net over the course of three days.The operation was far from a solo endeavor.For years, Conservation International-México has led the charge against one of the deadliest forms of marine waste — abandoned fishing gear — by training divers, including the park rangers who patrol the protected area. Building on that groundwork, this latest mission spanned about 60 dives and united divers from Conservation International-México, the National Commission of Protected Areas, the Mexican navy and the marine nonprofit COBI.Ochoa has had his eye on this net for five years, after the local community alerted him of its presence. It is what is known as a “ghost net,” abandoned fishing gear that <a href="https://www.marineconservation.org.au/the-impact-of-ghost-nets-on-ocean-wildlife/?_ga=2.15727285.2098732207.1755549209-215617131.1730130184" target="_blank">wreaks havoc</a> on marine life. According to one estimate, <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/faf.12407" target="_blank">nearly a third</a> of fishing lines are lost or discarded at sea. Experts estimate that more than <a href="https://iwc.int/management-and-conservation/entanglement" target="_blank">300,000 whales and dolphins</a> die each year after getting tangled in them.Tragically, over the three days it took to remove the net, the divers encountered three dead sea turtles caught in the net.“I wonder how many turtles, sharks and sea lions have been trapped here without anyone knowing,” Ochoa said. “Removing a ghost net this size isn’t just a dive — it’s a race against time for marine life.”<img src="https://www.conservation.org/images/default-source/non-vault-images/redespi-ritusanto-ci-arturo-herna-ndez-10.jpg?sfvrsn=2a5195e3_3" alt="" sf-size="5486847" />© Arturo HernandezMeasuring nearly the length of a soccer field and weighing nearly 2 tons, it is the largest net to be removed from the ocean floor.Ochoa, who has cleaned up thousands of pounds of abandoned fishing gear, likens the removal of ghost nets to a choreographed dance — each diver moves in unison and has a role.To clean up this net — the largest ever removed — the divers began by cutting the net in half to make it more manageable. Initially, they planned to attach the net’s edges to lift bags — a device used to lift heavy objects underwater. But the net was so weighed down by sand that the bags weren’t strong enough, and they had to call in backup: the Mexican Navy.“I was in the water when they began to pull it out,” Ochoa said. “Seeing the ship on the horizon and seeing the net slide out of the water was a great feeling — I’m not sure what we would have done if that didn’t work.”<img src="https://www.conservation.org/images/default-source/non-vault-images/redespi-ritusanto-ci-vi-ctor-marti-nez6867.jpg?sfvrsn=b4921950_3" alt="" sf-size="5133581" />© Victor Martinez Weighed down by years of sand, the net was too heavy to remove with lift bags.Thankfully, the net was only about 9 to 12 meters (30 to 40 feet) deep which allowed the divers to stay underwater for longer periods, he said.Over the past 20 years, Ochoa has trained nearly 200 divers around the world to safely remove ghost nets, including those involved in this operation. He says he doesn’t measure success by the amount of trash picked up, but rather by the number of divers who join his ranks.“It’s a pay-it-forward kind of approach,” he said. “The more people we certify, the more people that can use these skills to remove any trash they encounter — whenever and wherever they’re diving.”But this dive was personal for Ochoa — he went to university nearby and has been to the site many times on field and research trips.“This operation was an opportunity to pay back the place that has given me so much,” he said. “In a way, it felt like a graduation for me — not only because it was bigger and more complex than anything I’ve ever done, but because this place holds a special place in my heart.”<img src="https://www.conservation.org/images/default-source/non-vault-images/redespi-ritusanto-ci-vi-ctor-marti-nez-1.jpg?sfvrsn=38db4958_3" alt="" sf-size="33263616" />© Victor MartinezThe net likely drifted into the marine protected area after being abandoned by a tuna or shrimp fishing vessel.Ghost nets touch every corner of the ocean, spreading on tides and currents. The main culprit is commercial fishing. Estimates suggest ghost gear accounts for <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/nov/06/dumped-fishing-gear-is-biggest-plastic-polluter-in-ocean-finds-report" target="_blank">10 percent</a> of the waste floating in the ocean, but Ochoa said it’s almost impossible to know the true impacts, because abandoned nets and gear typically come from illegal or unregulated fishing vessels and are therefore unreported.While the net was discovered in a protected area, it likely drifted there, abandoned by a tuna or shrimp fishing vessel, said Norma Arce, a biologist at Conservation International-México.“These removal operations are critical,” she said. “But they don’t solve the root of the problem. We need to help people understand the connection between their seafood consumption and these issues.”As fish consumption has <a href="https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/chart-gallery/gallery/chart-detail/?chartId=108936#:~:text=Growth%20in%20fresh%20and%20frozen,almost%2080%20percent%20in%202021." target="_blank">skyrocketed</a> in recent decades, so too has the ghost net problem. Not only are more fishermen at sea, they use nylon fishing lines and nets that last virtually forever compared with nets of the past, made with silk or cotton.Raising consumers’ awareness of the problem is crucial, said Esther Quintero, conservation lead at Conservation International-México.“The ghost net crisis is driven by the overexploitation of fish,” she said. “Consumers have the power to make a difference by respecting seasonal fish and supporting sustainable sources.”In the meantime, Ochoa will continue to pick away at the ghost net problem. His training has already helped prepare many communities to tackle it on their own, including in the Espíritu Santo Archipelago marine protected area, where park rangers will now be able to immediately respond to reports of abandoned fishing gear.“Humans are the only living beings with the capacity to restore — no other living being has the capacity to repair nature, but we do, and we know how,” Ochoa said. “When we pulled the first section of the net, I felt like we were paying back a small part of our debt to nature. We made a little payment to help nature restore itself.”This expedition was made possible with support from SC Johnson, which partners with Conservation International-Mexico to protect marine ecosystems and coastal communities. This collaboration has resulted in specialized training programs for the safe removal of ghost gear and other underwater debris.In the past two years, with SC Johnson’s support, Conservation International has trained more than two dozen divers from local communities in safe net-removal techniques and has removed more than 3 tons of abandoned nets and debris from Mexico’s coastal waters.Mary Kate McCoy is a staff writer at Conservation International. Want to read more stories like this? <a href="https://www.conservation.org/act/subscribe">Sign up for email updates</a>. Also, <a href="https://www.conservation.org/act">please consider supporting our critical work</a>.</div>urn:uuid:4162e45d-3307-4834-846c-5b2ae30f85echttps://www.conservation.org/blog/protect-wildlife-buy-a-print BiodiversityProtect wildlife: Buy a printThey say a picture is worth a thousand words. These pictures might be worth even more. An initiative featuring the work of some of the world’s best nature photographers raises money for environmental conservation.Thu, 21 Aug 2025 15:49:36 Z<div>They say a picture is worth a thousand words. These pictures might be worth even more.“Prints for Wildlife,” an initiative featuring the work of some of the world’s best nature photographers, has raised more than US$ 2 million for environmental conservation since 2020.This year’s edition — dubbed “Edition Hope” — runs for one month starting today, featuring limited-edition prints donated by more than 200 renowned wildlife and nature photographers, including Joel Sartore, Georgina Goodwin, Suzi Eszterhas and more.The initiative is well-timed, with conservation programs around the world facing abrupt funding cuts and a possible future where nature is undervalued.“The striking images that are part of this collection so perfectly illustrate the power and beauty of nature in its many forms,” said Daniela Raik, interim CEO of Conservation International. “There is no question that everything is connected and when nature thrives, so do we. Thanks to the commitment from many celebrated photographers, this art will give people the opportunity to connect with the natural world each day in their own space, while at the same time supporting its resilience and longevity for the benefit of us all.”Prints will be available for one month only at <a href="https://www.printsforwildlife.org/" target="_blank">printsforwildlife.org</a>, starting today and closing Sept. 21.Each print is priced at US$ 125 — all net proceeds (after printing and handling) will directly benefit Conservation International.Bruno Vander Velde is the managing director of storytelling at Conservation International. Want to read more stories like this? <a href="https://www.conservation.org/act/subscribe">Sign up for email updates</a>. Also, <a href="https://www.conservation.org/act">please consider supporting our critical work</a>.</div>urn:uuid:6bd2f171-b740-4916-9f2c-57ca0b35d49chttps://www.conservation.org/blog/axolotls-are-on-the-brink-can-we-bring-them-back BiodiversityAxolotls are on the brink. Can we bring them back?A project from Conservation International and a Mexican university offers a glimmer of hope for the critically endangered axolotl.Tue, 12 Aug 2025 16:40:29 ZAn ancient wetland system of islands and canals that pre-dates the Aztecs endures quietly in Mexico City.These wetlands, cradled within North America’s most populous city, are the only place on Earth where you can find one of the most recognizable — and endangered — creatures on the planet: the axolotl.Now, a new survey has confirmed what scientists and locals have feared: The charismatic salamander is nearing extinction in the wild, driven by habitat loss, pollution and the introduction of invasive fish that prey on it.Led by the Ecological Restoration Laboratory of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), with support from Conservation International-Mexico, the survey is the most comprehensive effort of its kind, covering 115 monitoring sites across the 2,500-hectare (6,180-acre) Xochimilco Protected Area, a UNESCO World Heritage Site known for its canals and farm islands, called chinampas.For the first time, researchers used traditional fishing nets as well as environmental DNA (eDNA) to track the presence of the notoriously elusive amphibian.Although no axolotls were captured with the nets, eDNA testing, which captures traces of animals’ genetic material in water, soil or even air, revealed that axolotls are still present in the canals.<img src="https://www.conservation.org/images/default-source/default-album/ci_71384653_full.jpg?sfvrsn=c68b546e_3" alt="" sf-size="25403996" />© Susana PortilloResearchers used both traditional nets and eDNA during the survey. No axolotls were found using the nets.<hr />Further reading: <a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/what-on-earth-is-edna">What on Earth is ‘eDNA’?</a><hr />“Unlike previous surveys, this time we included environmental DNA to better understand where axolotls are surviving and how their habitat is changing,” said Luis Zambrano, director of the UNAM lab and lead researcher on the census. “Habitat degradation is pushing axolotls to the brink of extinction. Their future and the health of Xochimilco depend on sustained investment in chinampa farming, local leadership, and a new approach to urban living that embraces nature."<img sf-custom-thumbnail="true" src="https://www.conservation.org/images/default-source/default-album/ci_52163545_full.jpg?sfvrsn=20e8f6c3_3" style="display:block;margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto;" sf-size="2663262" class="-align-center" width="400" alt="" sf-constrain-proportions="true" />EDNA, extracted from water samples, revealed axolotls are still present in the canals. © Víctor MartínezWhile the results are far from a call for celebration, they may offer a glimmer of hope for the future of axolotls in Xochimilco’s wetlands — if restoration is prioritized.Once abundant, axolotl populations are a flicker of what they used to be. In 1998, there were an estimated 6,000 axolotls per square kilometer. By 2014, the last time the survey was conducted, that number had dwindled to just 36 per square kilometer — a 99 percent decrease.Axolotls are extremely sensitive to changes in water quality, temperature, salinity and food. As Xochimilco’s wetlands have been battered by the overuse of pesticides in modern farming and invasive species like carp and tilapia — which are not only axolotls’ main predators, but also compete for food, shelter and breeding areas — axolotl’s numbers have <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/05/science/mexico-axolotl-biology.html" target="_blank">followed course</a>.In response, local farmers and scientists have teamed up to reverse the trend.<img src="https://www.conservation.org/images/default-source/default-album/ci_24283008_full.jpg?sfvrsn=7d654820_3" alt="" sf-size="1466607" />© Víctor MartínezA local farmer works on his chinampa.“We can’t save axolotls without restoring their habitat,” said Esther Quintero, a biologist at Conservation International-Mexico. “That means working hand in hand with the people who live and farm in these wetlands every day. Restoring Xochimilco is not just a scientific or ecological challenge — it’s a chance to rethink how we live in cities and make space for nature to thrive alongside us.”Using a restoration model known as chinampa-refuge, developed by UNAM and local farmers, Conservation International is helping the farmers blend ancestral farming techniques like the farm islands with modern science, as well as supporting a new generation of farmers who are committed to protecting Xochimilco.<img src="https://www.conservation.org/images/default-source/default-album/ci_52636035_full.jpg?sfvrsn=b89e0562_3" alt="" sf-size="7610451" />© Isabel TaborgaAn aerial view of the chinampas of XochimilcoThese chinampa-refuges are a sanctuary for axolotls. Biofilters, made from wood, gravel and native plants, clean the water and block invasive predators from entering the designated canals. As a result of the biofilters, water quality has improved, invasive species have declined, crop yields have increased, and native fish such as the Chapultepec splitfin and the Shortfin silverside have returned.Twenty-one chinampa-refuges currently dot Xochimilco’s wetlands, with more planned in the coming year. These farm islands, if scaled up, have the potential to produce up to a quarter of the flowers and vegetables purchased in Mexico City. And the wetland’s benefits extend beyond agriculture, helping to control flooding, regulate the city’s climate and buffer against extreme weather.In September, a second, larger phase of the census will enable researchers to compare results with the 2014 census. In the meantime, Conservation International-Mexico, the researchers and farmers are focused on raising public awareness about the importance of Xochimilco — to axolotls and to Mexico City.“Finding traces of axolotls gives us hope to continue restoring their habitat — a task that must involve all of society,” Zambrano said.<img src="https://www.conservation.org/images/default-source/default-album/ci_62380355_full.jpg?sfvrsn=f8e2cf3b_3" alt="" sf-size="28137964" />© Susana PortilloTo bring axolotls back, researchers say the entire ecosystem must be restored.Mary Kate McCoy is a staff writer at Conservation International. Want to read more stories like this? <a href="https://www.conservation.org/act/subscribe">Sign up for email updates</a>. Also,<a href="https://www.conservation.org/act"> please consider supporting our critical work. </a>urn:uuid:7e3989dc-e428-4cf4-8c83-7fbe3ed077d5https://www.conservation.org/blog/where-andes-meet-amazon-a-new-lifeline-for-wildlife BiodiversityClimate ChangeWhere Andes meet Amazon, a new ‘lifeline’ for wildlifeAs global temperatures rise, wildlife around the world are on the move, a new protected corridor in one of the planet’s most biodiverse countries aims to help.Wed, 30 Jul 2025 15:05:47 Z<div>As global temperatures rise, wildlife around the world are on the move, and one of the planet’s most biodiverse countries is no exception.In central Ecuador, where the Andes meet the Amazon, lies a patchwork of protected areas and Indigenous territories. But climate change and persistent deforestation are widening the gaps between them — leaving species like jaguars, tapirs and monkeys with few safe paths to find more suitable habitat.The solution: Stitch some of these areas back together.Today, the Ecuadorian government, with support from Conservation International, World Wildlife Fund and the Global Environment Facility, announced the Palora-Pastaza corridor, which links protected forests with Indigenous territories to enable wildlife to more easily migrate to higher and more temperate elevations.Spanning 316,000 hectares (781,000 acres) — an area roughly the size of Rhode Island — the corridor is the largest of its kind in Ecuador’s Amazon.“Rising temperatures coupled with deforestation are pushing wildlife into smaller and smaller areas,” said Joy Woolfson, who leads the Amazonian Connectivity Corridors project for Conservation International-Ecuador. “Corridors that connect remaining patches of healthy habitat are a lifeline."<img src="https://www.conservation.org/images/default-source/default-album/ci_18405502_full.jpg?sfvrsn=8e020a9e_1" alt="" sf-size="2498677" />© Esteban BarreraA jaguar in the Palora-Pastaza conservation corridor.But where will wildlife migrate in the future? To answer this, Conservation International and EcoCiencia-Kolibria analyzed factors including the distance between primary forest and ease of travel, considering roads and landscapes.Protected areas are <a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/what-drives-deforestation-and-how-can-we-stop-it">one of conservation’s most effective tools</a>, but by design, they can create isolated islands of healthy habitat for wildlife, Woolfson said. Corridors help bridge these gaps, linking fragmented ecosystems and providing safe routes for wildlife in search of food, mates or space.Though protected areas typically limit human activity, protected corridors are different: They're designed to support wildlife and people, allowing sustainable land use while allowing animals room to roam.<img src="https://www.conservation.org/images/default-source/default-album/ci_58212197_full.jpg?sfvrsn=19d1db7_1" alt="" sf-size="2635833" />© Esteban BarreraA South American tapir in the Palora-Pastaza conservation corridor.With Sangay National Park in the Andes to the west and Indigenous territories in the Amazon to the east, establishing the protected corridor required buy-in from local and Indigenous communities whose ancestral lands it connects to, Woolfson said.Eighty-four percent of the land in the Palora-Pastaza corridor belongs to three Indigenous communities — the Shuar, Achuar and Kichwa — who along with two provincial and six municipal governments elected to include their territories in the protected corridor. Since 2023, Conservation International has worked with representatives from each group to plan and manage the corridor and ensure its long-term protection.“The forest is important to us. Our father always told us to share with other communities — show others the importance of protecting the forest,” said José Vargas, president of the Arutam Forest, a Shuar core area located within the corridor. “It makes me happy to see other nationalities participating, because unity will help us conserve nature.”Without support from these communities, establishing the corridor would have been impossible, Woolfson said. As research has <a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/what-drives-deforestation-and-how-can-we-stop-it">repeatedly shown</a>, Indigenous peoples are some of the most effective stewards of the environment, and deforestation on Indigenous-managed lands is consistently lower than average.The corridor, its backers say, will directly benefit more than 2,000 people who live in the area by providing them with funding or technical assistance to shift to sustainable farming practices and livelihoods.Woolfson says that the effort is part of a larger strategy in Ecuador, where there is little remaining land in the country — about the size of the U.S. state of Nevada — to designate as protected.“Ecuador is a small country,” she said. “Even in the protected areas that we have now, a good portion is occupied by people. By targeting protected corridors, we’re maximizing protected areas’ potential, while also protecting wildlife and the livelihoods of people living there."<img src="https://www.conservation.org/images/default-source/default-album/ci_21833635_full.jpg?sfvrsn=8422caf4_1" alt="" sf-size="3677764" />©Esteban BarreraThe vast majority of the new conservation corridor belongs to three Indigenous communities. Deforestation on Indigenous-managed lands is consistently lower than average.Mary Kate McCoy is a staff writer at Conservation International. Want to read more stories like this? <a href="https://www.conservation.org/act/subscribe">Sign up for email updates</a>. Also, <a href="https://www.conservation.org/act">please consider supporting our critical work</a>.</div>urn:uuid:a39b2f29-01f5-4f5d-910b-3affdc5325bfhttps://www.conservation.org/blog/an-uprooted-people-a-legacy-of-conservation BiodiversityCommunitiesAn uprooted people, a legacy of conservationA new Conservation International study is shedding light on an unsung group and their relationship with nature.Tue, 22 Jul 2025 13:06:27 ZTheir forebears were strangers in a strange land.Yet over hundreds of years, in the shadows of their ancestors, they migrated and mixed into societies across South America, quietly reshaping the natural landscape.They are the descendants of African enslaved people — and the significance of their impacts on lands throughout South America is coming into the light, thanks to new research.Afro-descendant communities in four Amazonian countries show remarkable achievements in protecting and managing the natural environments they live in, according to research from Conservation International.The researchers examined community lands in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador and Suriname, finding significantly lower rates of deforestation and larger quantities of biodiversity and of carbon (which would be emitted into the atmosphere and warm the climate were those forests to be degraded or destroyed).<a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s43247-025-02339-5#:~:text=Over%20130%20million%20people%20in,conservation%20and%20climate%20decision%2Dmaking." target="_blank">The study</a>, published today in the journal Nature Communications Earth and Environment, found that deforestation rates for Afro-descendant lands were up to 55 percent lower compared with similar areas. Additionally, the study calculated that more than half of Afro-descendant lands are among the top 5 percent globally in biodiversity, including 99 percent of all Afro-descendant lands in Ecuador.This research is the first study to examine statistical, spatial and historical data together to quantify the critical role of Afro-descendants in protecting nature.“Afro-descendant communities across the Americas have long served as environmental stewards without recognition or reward — most of their territories are not even formally recognized,” said Conservation International’s Martha Cecilia Rosero Peña, a co-author of the study. “The evidence, however, is indisputable; the world has much to learn from their land management practices."<img src="https://d2iwpl8k086uu2.cloudfront.net/images/default-source/vault-images-s3/ci_38138550_full.jpg?sfvrsn=5589ae47_1" alt="" sf-size="4503776" />© Conservation InternationalAn Afro-descendant community in Ecuador. Research shows Afro-descendant communities have significantly lower rates of deforestation.Though Indigenous Peoples have been increasingly recognized in recent years as conservation champions, such recognition for Afro-descendant peoples has been minimal. This is changing, though: At the UN Biodiversity Summit in 2024, Afro-descendants were recognized as important to biodiversity conservation in the convention text.“Though evidence on Afro-descendant peoples’ environmental stewardship is emerging, it is still limited,” said Sushma Shrestha, the study’s lead author and the director of Indigenous science at Conservation International.“So we did this research to help fill that gap.”<h2>Food — and a place to hide</h2>Afro-descendant peoples trace their practices to the ingenuity and experience of their ancestors, forcibly taken from Africa through the transatlantic slave trade. Some escaped before being enslaved, while others fled slavery and established their own settlements in remote regions throughout the Americas. In dense forests, marshlands and mangroves, they found refuge and, over generations, developed "escape agriculture,” which sustained their communities while remaining hidden from colonial forces.<img src="https://d2iwpl8k086uu2.cloudfront.net/images/default-source/vault-images-s3/ci_49321836_full.jpg?sfvrsn=329362cb_1" alt="" sf-size="2664281" />© Conservation InternationalMembers of an Afro-descendant community in Colombia harvest clams among the mangrove roots. <hr />Further reading: <a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/saving-the-mangroves-to-save-the-clams-and-a-way-of-life">Saving the mangroves to save the clams — and a way of life</a><hr />Many of these practices blended traditional African knowledge to new environments. For example: Over thousands of years, Africa’s tropical forests had undergone a transformation into “food forests,” a form of agroforestry that both provides food for people and mimics the natural function of a forest ecosystem. The researchers write:These time-tested African practices subsequently crossed the Atlantic Ocean with enslaved individuals, ultimately being adapted for the plants, animals and humans of the Americas. Upon their arrival, enslaved individuals … implemented management practices that replicated food forests, creating forest canopy structures that constituted functional reservoirs for dietary, medicinal, ritual and festive purposes.The forests served another purpose: concealment.In Suriname, descendants of African enslaved people are known as Maroons and are associated with the forest — not least because forests were a place where their fugitive ancestors could hide from slaveowners. These forests housed communities that, Rosero says, implemented methods of agriculture that preserved the forest as a means of protection from being caught. “It means they didn't burn the forest,” she said. “They had to use the canopy to hide. This is something that we can still see in many places in Latin America.<img src="https://d2iwpl8k086uu2.cloudfront.net/images/default-source/vault-images-s3/ci_85011203_full.jpg?sfvrsn=b6ac18fb_1" alt="" sf-size="4641365" />© Conservation InternationalAn Afro-descendant community in Ecuador displays foods derived from their forests.<h2>‘Disconcerting’</h2>In Latin America, 133 million people identify themselves as Afro-descendant peoples, occupying some 2 million square kilometers (791,000 square miles) of land.Yet, the researchers say, they are largely missing from policy discussions that affect them.“It is disconcerting that one in three people in Latin America identify as Afro-descended peoples, but they are not really part of the environmental decision-making that impacts, of course, them and their livelihoods and their lands,” Shrestha said. “But that also means that we are missing the opportunity to really partner with allies that would support combating climate change and biodiversity loss."<img src="https://d2iwpl8k086uu2.cloudfront.net/images/default-source/vault-images-s3/ci_91773467_full.jpg?sfvrsn=694aefa5_1" alt="" sf-size="1084453" />© Conservation InternationalAn Afro-descendant community in Cispatá, Colombia, along the Caribbean coast.The authors call for greater recognition of Afro-descendant stewardship in environmental policymaking and increased legal protections for their lands. With international goals aiming for the protection of 30 percent of the world's land by 2030, integrating Afro-descendant knowledge and leadership into global strategies may well be the key to meeting the target.The research is already being lauded by some Afro-descendant peoples as a confirmation of what they’ve long known.“This study is very important to us Saamaka people, as it highlights for the first time how, through our deep cultural and spiritual connection to the land, we have sustained vital forest areas,” said Hugo Jabini, a human rights and environmental leader from Suriname’s Saamaka Afro-descendant community. “We hope this raises awareness, so that [political leaders] no longer see us as mere claimants of land.”Further reading: <ul><li><a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/saving-the-mangroves-to-save-the-clams-and-a-way-of-life">Saving the mangroves to save the clams — and a way of life</a></li><li><a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/in-colombia-a-new-way-to-protect-mangroves-takes-root">In Colombia, a new way to protect mangroves takes root</a></li></ul>Bruno Vander Velde is the managing director of storytelling at Conservation International. Want to read more stories like this? <a href="https://www.conservation.org/act/subscribe">Sign up for email updates</a>. Also, <a href="https://www.conservation.org/act">please consider supporting our critical work</a>. urn:uuid:45b21e20-2228-45e4-85a6-cf378a9c7ab1https://www.conservation.org/blog/a-climate-ally-needs-support-but-at-what-cost Climate ChangeBiodiversityA climate ally needs support — but at what cost?A Conservation International study finds key detail on restoring the world’s mangroves: a price tag.Thu, 03 Jul 2025 15:00:22 Z<div>For many years, mangroves were an underappreciated climate ally.Not anymore.For countries looking to meet their promised climate goals, mangroves have become an attractive investment. In just a single square mile, these coastal forests can hold as much <a href="https://www.conservation.org/stories/mangroves-facts">climate-warming carbon</a> as the annual emissions of 90,000 cars. <a href="https://www.pew.org/en/research-and-analysis/articles/2022/07/06/climate-benefits-of-coastal-wetlands-and-coral-reefs-show-why-they-merit-protection-now" target="_blank">One report</a> found that every dollar spent protecting them could yield upwards of five dollars’ worth of additional benefits, such as food security and coastal protection from extreme storms.And there’s a lot of room for growth: Since 1980, <a href="https://www.conservation.org/priorities/mangroves">35 percent</a> of the world’s mangroves have been lost to coastal development, unsustainable aquaculture and sea-level rise.But the swelling interest in mangrove restoration has raised a critical question: How much does restoring mangroves cost?That question matters because there are limited resources to go around, said Jonah Busch, a former Conservation International fellow. And without a clear answer, targeting where to get the most bang for your buck is next to impossible.In a <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S259033222500168X" target="_blank">new study</a>, Busch and Dane Klinger, Conservation International mangrove and aquaculture expert, unpack this question — and how to accelerate and improve restoration projects across the globe.Conservation News: Why did you do this research?Jonah Busch: Mangroves have emerged in recent years as an unsung hero of the climate and biodiversity crises. They’re extremely rich in carbon, act as nurseries for fisheries and protect coasts from storms and tsunamis.People have really woken up to their value — and as a result, there’s been a wave of restoration initiatives around the globe. This is fantastic, but now we’re entering the hard and practical work of getting this done. And one critical piece of information has been missing: How much does it cost to restore a mangrove forest?Individual projects have estimated costs in various places around the globe, but that information hadn’t been pulled together and synthesized to give a clear picture of the costs. So that’s what we did — we created a map that estimates the cost of mangrove restoration anywhere in the world based on what it’s cost others in comparable conditions. We combined this with a map of the amount of carbon mangroves in any given location will capture.Coastlines are extremely competitive places for land — think about all the pressure from the tourism and aquaculture industries, for example. With these maps, we can offer a clear picture of where a restoration project will get the best bang for its buck.What did the research find?JB: We found three key numbers: the area of mangroves that could be restored, how much carbon mangrove restoration would remove from the atmosphere, and, based on information from over 250 restoration projects, how much it would cost to do so.The amount of mangroves that the world has lost since 1996 equals about 1 million hectares — an area about the size of Jamaica. Restoring all those mangroves would pull roughly 1 billion tons of carbon dioxide — equivalent to 212 million cars driven for one year — out of the atmosphere. And the cost to accomplish that is roughly US$ 11 billion.Keep in mind that this cost is what we call implementation cost — essentially, everything associated with getting the trees in the ground and keeping them alive. It doesn’t include the costs of acquiring the land, which if needed, could up to triple the overall costs.Indonesia, Brazil and Mexico have the greatest potential for restoration at a decent price point — meaning, where the costs are lowest and the carbon capture potential is highest. Several factors determine whether the costs go up or down in a location. For example, the larger the area for restoration is, the lower the per-area costs, and the richer the country — in terms of national GDP per capita — the higher the costs. What the site was used for prior also affects the cost. If it was an aquaculture pond, for example, it’s cheaper to restore than if it was eroded land.What does this mean for mangrove restoration going forward?Dane Klinger: Put into context, this study shows that mangrove restoration is not prohibitively expensive. On average, it costs less than US$ 10,000 per hectare, that’s US$ 11 per ton of carbon kept out of the atmosphere. When you measure that against the benefits of healthy mangroves, it’s worth it.And while this study solely focuses on the carbon value of mangrove restoration, the monetary value of the biodiversity, storm protection and local livelihoods that mangroves support is enormous. One study estimated that mangroves provide <a href="https://www.oneearth.org/mangroves-and-the-cost-of-flooding/" target="_blank">US$ 65 billion annually</a> in flood protection alone.Yet globally, the resources available for mangrove restoration are currently much smaller than the need. With this research, our hope is to maximize the scarce resources for mangrove restoration by prioritizing restoration in locations where there are the greatest benefits at the least cost.Further reading: <ul><li><a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/to-save-a-dying-forest-this-town-dug-in">To save a dying forest, this town dug in</a></li><li><a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/can-shrimp-farming-restore-mangroves-this-scientist-is-making-it-happen">Can shrimp farming restore mangroves? This scientist is making it happen</a></li><li><a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/in-ecuador-a-milestone-effort-to-protect-mangroves-and-people">In Ecuador, a ‘milestone’ effort to protect mangroves — and people</a></li></ul>Mary Kate McCoy is a staff writer at Conservation International. Want to read more stories like this? <a href="https://www.conservation.org/act/subscribe">Sign up for email updates.</a> Also, <a href="https://www.conservation.org/act">please consider supporting our critical work</a>.</div>urn:uuid:9a561111-d2c6-42de-84da-0a1c79358bdchttps://www.conservation.org/blog/new-protected-area-win-for-Amazonian-wildlife-people BiodiversityClimate ChangeNew protected area a win for Amazonian wildlife, peopleAfter more than a decade of work led by Indigenous communities, one of the most unique corners of Amazonia has been officially protected by the Peruvian government.Mon, 16 Jun 2025 14:42:03 Z<div>Editor’s note: Just days after announcing this protected area, Peru announced the establishment of another one, the Velo de la Novia regional conservation area, in the eastern state of Ucayali. Conservation International was closely involved in supporting the protected area, which conserves almost 15,000 hectares of Amazon rainforest. More details about the Velo de la Novia protected area can be found <a href="https://www.conservation.org/press-releases/2025/06/20/new-protected-area-in-peru-safeguards-wildlife-and-promotes-eco-tourism">here</a>.In Peru’s far north, rivers converge and shape parallel worlds.Here, along the Colombian border, a rush from the Andes merges with the Algodón, a meandering trickle the color of well-steeped tea. These waters feed floodplains, swamps and forests that support species found nowhere else on Earth.But for years, illegal logging and mining have threatened both the region’s unique biodiversity — including endangered species like giant otters, pink dolphins and woolly monkeys — and the lives of the Indigenous people who steward it.Now, after more than a decade of work led by Indigenous communities, this remarkable corner of Amazonia has been officially protected by the Peruvian government.With support from Conservation International, on June 6 the government established the Medio Putumayo-Algodón Regional Conservation Area, protecting 283,000 hectares (700,000 acres) — roughly four times the size of New York City.“Every hectare protected here means more space for jaguars to roam, more clean water for river otters, and more security for the Indigenous communities who depend on this forest,” said Luis Espinel, who leads Conservation International-Peru. “This would not have been possible without collaboration.”As part of the process, 16 Indigenous communities received formal legal recognition — strengthening their territorial rights and ensuring they can continue fishing the rivers, harvesting fruits and gathering medicinal plants as they have for generations. For the nearly 5,000 Indigenous people living within the new protected area, the protections not only preserve their way of life, but also open the door for future opportunities, like ecotourism.“We hope that this protected area will bring benefits to our communities,” said Gervinson Perdomo Chavez, former chief of the Indigenous Puerto Franco community. “We are going to watch over our forest so that foreign people do not enter our territory, and so we prevent the illegal extraction of wood and gold that harms us a lot.”The Medio Putumayo is the newest piece in a vast conservation mosaic that connects three existing protected areas and stretches 18,000 square kilometers (7,000 square miles) — an area roughly twice the size of Puerto Rico. These interconnected protected areas enable wildlife to travel freely — and could act as a bulwark against extinction for threatened species.But the benefits go beyond biodiversity. The new protected area contains one of the largest carbon stocks in Peru — storing the equivalent carbon emissions of 14 million cars driven for one year. Protecting the world’s carbon stocks is critical for staving off the <a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/ipcc-report-countries-miss-the-mark-on-climate-action-but-nature-could-help-get-us-back-on-track">worst consequences</a> of climate change: In a recent study, Conservation International scientists found that protected forests keep an additional <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-38073-9" target="_blank">10 billion metric tons of carbon</a> out of the atmosphere. That’s equivalent to one year of global fossil fuel emissions.Peru has committed to protecting 30 percent of its natural ecosystems by 2030 in line with the global <a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/countries-agreed-to-protect-30-of-the-planet-now-what">“30 by 30”</a> pledge. Protecting the Medio Putumayo-Algodón is expected to prevent more than 46,000 hectares of deforestation over the next 20 years — helping the country move closer toward that goal, while keeping vast stores of carbon in the ground.“This protection gives Indigenous communities what they’ve long called for — the ability to keep this forest standing,” said Yadira Díaz, a scientist with Conservation International. “It secures one of the most unique corners of Amazonia — for the benefit of us all.”The initiative was carried out by the regional government of Loreto, Peru, the Environmental Protection Agency of Peru and local Indigenous communities, and supported by Andes Amazon Fund, Art into Acres through Re:wild, Bezos Earth Fund, Conservation International, Conservation International-Peru, the Instituto del Bien Común and the Peruvian Society of Environmental Law.Mary Kate McCoy is a staff writer and Will McCarry is the content director at Conservation International. Want to read more stories like this? <a href="https://www.conservation.org/act/subscribe">Sign up for email updates</a>. Also, <a href="https://www.conservation.org/act">please consider supporting our critical work</a>.</div>urn:uuid:be678da6-68a6-4197-91be-c8d1551a0209https://www.conservation.org/blog/to-save-a-dying-forest-this-town-dug-in BiodiversityTo save a dying forest, this town dug inYears ago, construction of a road cut off the flow of water to a mangrove forest in Mexico, depriving these coast-hugging trees of what they need to thrive and proving deadly for wildlife. But look closely today, and signs of life are beginning to reappear.Thu, 12 Jun 2025 13:18:16 Z<div>Off Mexico's Yucatán coast, a road connects a small fishing community's slender islet to the mainland. On one side of the road sits a healthy mangrove forest teeming with wildlife.On the other side of the road: bare dirt, pocked with patchy stands of mangrove trees.In the 1990s, construction of the road to Isla Arena cut off the flow of water from underground rivers to one side of the mangrove forest, depriving these coast-hugging trees of the unique conditions they need to thrive and proving deadly for the wildlife and fish they supported.<img src="https://d2iwpl8k086uu2.cloudfront.net/images/default-source/vault-images-s3/foto-16---asis-alcocer.jpg?sfvrsn=d7906020_1" alt="" sf-size="9942659" />© Asis AlcocerThe road leading to Isla Arena separates the mangrove forest, depriving one side of the flow of water.But look closely today, and signs of life are beginning to reappear.With support from Conservation International, flamingos have been spotted feeding in the degraded mangrove forest after a years-long absence, indicating the return of key species like fish and crustaceans.<img src="https://d2iwpl8k086uu2.cloudfront.net/images/default-source/non-vault-images-s3/foto-21---asis-alcocer.jpg?sfvrsn=3da0c624_1" alt="" sf-size="3047743" />© Asis AlcocerFlamingos feeding on fish and crustaceans are a sign the mangrove forest is beginning to recover.To bring them back, the community is digging channels — by hand — to restore the flow of water and restore a thriving mangrove ecosystem.It’s back-breaking work, but their efforts are paying off: So far, locals have opened roughly 9 kilometers (6 miles) of tidal channels, sometimes digging up to their necks in water.“When we started the ditches, we thought we wouldn't be able to handle the work because it looked tough,” said Idelfonso Rivera, a community member who works on the restoration project. “But the more we opened up the river, the more life appeared. Before you couldn't cross it, and now we have the joy of … a clean river, when before it was a dump.”<img src="https://d2iwpl8k086uu2.cloudfront.net/images/default-source/non-vault-images-s3/foto-22--asis-alcocer.jpg?sfvrsn=99260081_3" alt="" sf-size="30224386" />© Asis AlcocerCommunity members have dug roughly 9 kilometers (6 miles) of channels, so far.Isla Arena, a fishing community of less 1,000 people, is no stranger to the challenges that afflict many similar communities that depend on nature for their lives and livelihoods. But the road — essential to connecting the islanders to the mainland — came at a steep price to the environment that nurtures the fish that islanders depend on.In the Yucatán Peninsula, <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/05/yucatan-peninsulas-hidden-underground-life-tracks-changes-at-the-surface/" target="_blank">rivers are underground</a>. Construction of the road transformed that ecosystem: Salinity levels, water temperature and chemical concentrations of sulfates, which can cause acidification of the water and is deadly for fish and mangroves, skyrocketed from the lack of flowing water.“The area became inhospitable to wildlife,” said Asis Alcocer, ocean expert at Conservation International-México. “With the ecosystem so out of balance, our only hope was to restore the flow of water by digging the channels.”By restoring this balance, the project is aiming for natural regeneration of mangroves, with more than 30,000 red mangroves being planted to jump-start the process, Alcocer said. The project’s success hinges on the re-establishment of the mangrove forest and restoration of the water flow.“Mangroves act as nurseries for all kinds of wildlife, including fish and crabs — their decline is absolutely connected to the decline in these species’ populations,” he said. “In addition, mangroves act as a buffer against extreme storms, which in a place prone to hurricanes like the Yucatán is critical."<img src="https://d2iwpl8k086uu2.cloudfront.net/images/default-source/non-vault-images-s3/5r2a3979.jpg?sfvrsn=2cfbc55e_1" alt="" sf-size="994512" />© Víctor MartínezThe community has planted roughly 30,000 mangrove seedlings along the channels.As the conditions show signs of improvement, the community is witnessing the direct link between a healthy mangrove ecosystem and their well-being and economic opportunities, said Norma Arce, a biologist at Conservation International-México and the project lead.“The decline in fish has affected the community’s livelihood in a profound way,” she said. “At the start of the project, the community was understandably skeptical, but by directly engaging them in the process, we’ve built a level of trust that is helping the project flourish, while also supporting their needs.”Last year, Conservation International-México and the National Commission of Natural Protected Areas began hosting workshops to train locals on mangrove restoration. In addition to digging the channels, locals are involved in all the technical work on the project, including monitoring wildlife, soil and water quality. Restoring the mangroves also opens the door to ecotourism opportunities, such as birdwatching, as the area is a migratory bird hotspot.“Before, we knew nothing about the mangroves and how they benefited us," said Zugey Cruz, a community member who works on the project. “When we entered the site, it was a dry place; this work has helped us a lot. Now we see that it has the fluidity of water, as the conditions of the mangrove should be."<img src="https://d2iwpl8k086uu2.cloudfront.net/images/default-source/non-vault-images-s3/foto-12---atec.jpeg?sfvrsn=e32e064_1" alt="" sf-size="189996" />© ATEC – Asesoría Técnica y Estudios CosterosAs the mangrove forest conditions improve, community members say they see a direct link between its health and their well-being.Women have been especially engaged in the project, Arce said.“In the past, women weren’t invited to participate in projects like this because they weren’t considered strong enough,” she said. “They’re proving that mentality wrong. The work is giving them confidence and showing that they are stronger than they thought they were.”Over the next couple of years, the project plans to more than double the restoration area from 217 hectares (536 acres) to more than 500 hectares (1,235 acres). Given the community’s fishing identity, the next phase also plans to help promote sustainable fisheries and sustainable activities like mangrove honey and ecotourism.The effects of climate change compound the challenge facing the community, disrupting fish catches while increasing risks from extreme flooding and hurricanes, Arce said. Just last year, a <a href="https://www.wuwf.org/2024-07-03/photos-see-the-path-of-destruction-from-hurricane-beryl" target="_blank">powerful hurrican</a>e swept through the area, but the mangroves and the channels held on, buffering the community from the storm’s worst impacts.“Mangroves will become even more important as climate change accelerates,” she said. “In just a few short years since the project began, we’ve seen significant improvements. While full restoration will take many years, this gives us hope."<img src="https://d2iwpl8k086uu2.cloudfront.net/images/default-source/non-vault-images-s3/foto-20---asis-alcocer.jpg?sfvrsn=1412c663_1" alt="" sf-size="24403970" />© Asis AlcocerIsla Arena on Mexico's Yucatán coast.Mary Kate McCoy is a staff writer at Conservation International. Want to read more stories like this? <a href="https://www.conservation.org/act/subscribe">Sign up for email updates</a>. Also, <a href="https://www.conservation.org/act">please consider supporting our critical work</a>.</div>urn:uuid:72c44b1b-0912-423a-97b1-edc014969257https://www.conservation.org/blog/hawai-i-passes-landmark-green-fee-to-fight-climate-change BiodiversityClimate ChangeHawai‘i passes landmark tourist fee to fight climate changeHawai‘i lawmakers passed a groundbreaking bill that will impose a small tax on visitors in an effort to protect the islands from the growing risks of a warming planet.Tue, 27 May 2025 23:00:05 Z<div>A small fee stands to make a big impact in Hawai‘i.Hawai‘i lawmakers passed a groundbreaking bill that will impose a small tax on visitors in an effort to protect the islands from the growing risks of a warming planet.Funds generated by this “green fee,” as it is being called, will be used to invest in projects to fight climate change and stem biodiversity loss — including restoring native ecosystems such as coral reefs and native forests, and removing invasive grasses like those that fueled the deadly <a href="https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/updates-lahaina-wildfire-documentary/" target="_blank">Lahaina wildfire</a> in 2023.“When we started the journey, it really was a moonshot idea,” said Jack Kittinger, who leads regenerative economies at Conservation International. Kittinger lives in Hawai‘i and has worked to support the initiative since its inception in 2018.“As we worked on this over many years, it became more and more clear that this was necessary for our survival,” he said.With 1.4 million residents and 10 million visitors every year, Hawai‘i’s communities and infrastructure are stressed by both tourism and the growing climate emergency.“Like many island communities, Hawai‘i is at the forefront of the climate crisis,” Kittinger said. “The tragedy of the Lahaina wildfire made that apparent in the most painful way.This bill gives us an opportunity to reduce our climate risk and reshape our tourism sector.”The bill adds an additional 0.75 percent to the existing hotel tax and applies to travelers who stay in hotels and short-term rental stays. The legislation also, for the first time, applies this tax to visitors who arrive in Hawai‘i on cruise ships.The administration of Gov. Josh Green, who campaigned on the issue, estimates that the legislation will bring in <a href="https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2025/Testimony/SB1396_HD2_TESTIMONY_FIN_04-02-25_.PDF" target="_blank">US$ 100 million</a> annually to support biodiversity on the islands and strengthen climate resilience.Hawai‘i, known as the <a href="https://www.vox.com/down-to-earth/2023/12/14/23990382/extinction-capital-hawaii-endangered-species-act" target="_blank">endangered species</a> and <a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/invasive-fish-Hawaii-shoe-leather">invasive species</a> capital of the world, has long struggled to fund its environmental and conservation needs — which are amplified by the number of tourists who visit the island.Kittinger says that the idea of tourists chipping in has gained support since the idea was first introduced — including support from tourists themselves.“We polled visitors, and the vast, vast majority of people who visit Hawai‘i want to be able to give back with support of a green fee,” he said. “Islands carry unique vulnerabilities, and in Hawai‘i, where tourism is the major industry, if you do not take care of the environment, that creates a long-term vulnerability for the industry and communities alike.”Hawaiʻi’s natural wonders contribute more than <a href="https://careforainanow.org/" target="_blank">US$ 6 billion</a> to the state’s economy each year, yet only 1 percent of the state’s annual budget goes to the environment.Conservation International helped spark the initiative more than six years ago, authoring an <a href="https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.frontiersin.org%2Fjournals%2Fecology-and-evolution%2Farticles%2F10.3389%2Ffevo.2022.1036132%2Ffull&data=05%7C02%7Cmmccoy%40conservation.org%7C3b1e8e4fdc9a4c661c6708dd931acf70%7Cc4de61a999b44c6a962ebd856602e8be%7C0%7C0%7C638828465565377957%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=sGHrbXCJszWaFig10tK9aPNbgAhWT3TElShYjICEChk%3D&reserved=0" target="_blank">analysis</a> of a green fee, based on successes in other places. A <a href="https://careforainanow.org/" target="_blank">recent study</a> from Care for ʻĀina Now, a coalition of nonprofits and local businesses that has worked to pass the bill, estimates that Hawai‘i has an annual conservation funding gap of at least US$ 560 million — but could be as high as US$ 1.7 billion.“We're not going to fill a US$ 560 million a year gap with one new law,” Kittinger, a co-author of the study, said. “But if we can generate US$ 100 million, that's a consequential amount that we can amplify through other conservation finance approaches such as a green bond. We're on the doorstep of achieving that.”From COVID delays to the deadly Lahaina wildfires, the effort faced many challenges along the way, he said. Yet each of these events deepened the drive to create a resilient, regenerative economy.“We have to do things that are commensurate to the scale of the challenges we face,” Kittinger said. “This is going to give us a fighting chance.”Mary Kate McCoy is a staff writer at Conservation International. Want to read more stories like this? <a href="https://www.conservation.org/act/subscribe">Sign up for email updates</a>. Also, <a href="https://www.conservation.org/act">please consider supporting our critical work</a>.</div>urn:uuid:f4140fba-9591-4982-82ba-bc569a403173https://www.conservation.org/blog/news-spotlight-can-atolls-survive-sea-level-rise BiodiversityOceansNews spotlight: Can atolls survive sea-level rise?Across the Indian and Pacific oceans, tiny atolls are facing an existential crisis. But not all islands are equally vulnerable — it comes down to ecosystem health.Wed, 21 May 2025 13:18:12 Z<div>Across the Indian and Pacific oceans, tiny atolls — islands formed atop ancient coral reefs — are facing an existential crisis.<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/may/20/sea-level-rise-migration" target="_blank">Unchecked sea-level rise</a> could all but wipe them out in the coming century.Rising seas have already made their mark on these islands, having forced the relocation of some South Pacific villages, and even claiming two small islands in Kiribati.But not all islands are equally vulnerable, reports Lisa S. Gardiner for <a href="https://e360.yale.edu/features/atolls-restoration-sea-level-rise" target="_blank">Yale Environment 360</a> — in fact, scientists are finding that the ability of islands to persist depends on ecosystem health: “To protect islands most at risk of disappearing,” Gardiner writes, “some researchers now propose using nature-based solutions — like restoring and protecting coral reefs and native forests — to boost their odds of survival.”Critical to the effort to save these islands is, well, bird poop. Seabirds’ droppings help boost coral growth and can create sediment that over time adds to the islands’ soil. The problem, though, is that most atolls now have little habitat for nesting seabirds, as many of the islands’ native broadleaf forests have been lost, swept aside for a lucrative invader: coconut trees.Coconuts were introduced to the islands in the 1800s as a cash crop. Humans love coconuts, but birds don’t, finding it difficult to nest in their single-trunk trees, Gardiner writes. Another island invader — rats — is the bane of seabird nests, and any effort to help the islands has to focus on them, too.In some places, scientists are doing just that. Gardiner reports:Conservationists working to restore ecosystems and enhance resilience at Tetiaroa Atoll, in French Polynesia, are also aiming to bring back seabirds, says Frank Murphy, director of programs at the Tetiaroa Society. So far, rats have been eradicated on all but one small island, and there are plans to eliminate 80 to 90 percent of the coconut palms.With the rats gone, island wildlife is starting to change. “We’re getting birds nesting in places where they hadn’t nested before,” says Murphy. Coconut crabs are now abundant, and there has been a huge increase in the number of young sea turtles, which had in the past risked being eaten by rats as they emerged from nests.Time will tell if even healthy atolls can withstand the sea-level rise to come. Researchers, at the least, are determined to give them a fighting chance.Read the full story <a href="https://e360.yale.edu/features/atolls-restoration-sea-level-rise" target="_blank">here</a>.Bruno Vander Velde is the managing director of storytelling at Conservation International. Want to read more stories like this? Sign up for email updates. Also, please consider supporting our critical work.</div>urn:uuid:1ae2c77d-6e12-4344-9c03-686611a3ca44https://www.conservation.org/blog/news-spotlight-study-offers-hope-for-endangered-axolotl BiodiversityNews spotlight: Study buoys hope for rare axolotlsAxolotls — the cute and charismatic creatures made famous by the video game “Minecraft” — are in a free fall. But a new study is offering a glimmer of hope.Thu, 01 May 2025 17:53:31 Z<div>Axolotls — the cute and charismatic creatures made famous by the video game “Minecraft” — are in a free fall.Pollution, modern farming and the introduction of invasive fish that prey on the critically endangered species have reduced their habitat to the channels of a single lake in Mexico.But a new study is offering a glimmer of hope: Captive-bred axolotls can survive in the wild, Justine McDaniel reported for <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-solutions/2025/04/30/axolotls-endangered-amphibian-mexico-city/" target="_blank">The Washington Post</a>.“This is a huge step, because in conservation programs when you have animals in captivity and you take them back to the wild … there’s a lot of mortality,” Alejandra Ramos, the study’s lead author and a science faculty member at the Autonomous University of Baja California in Mexico, told the Post.Axolotls have long been bred in labs — and are a popular aquarium pet — but boosting their numbers in the wild has proven to be a much greater challenge.<a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0314257&utm_source=pr&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=plos006" target="_blank">The study</a> tagged 18 axolotls with radio transmitters that would allow them to be tracked, then released eight into Mexico City’s Lake Xochimilco and 10 into a man-made wetland. At least twice a day for 40 days, researchers visited the sites to collect data.Notably, the researchers found that the axolotls introduced to a man-made pond also survived — a promising finding for the potential of artificial wetlands to aid axolotl conservation, the study authors said.That finding matters in the event that their habitat doesn’t recover or climate change worsens, Esther Quintero, a Conservation International-Mexico biologist, told The Washington Post.“It’s kind of like having a Plan B,” she said. “One can at least be sure that we have two different places in which we can restart the population.”Conservation International is supporting a project in Lake Xochimilco to restore the axolotl’s natural habitat by returning to ancestral farming practices. By supporting farmers’ transition to pesticide-free farming and helping install biofilters to clean the water, the project aims to restore these waters so axolotls can thrive into the future.“Saving the axolotl goes beyond liking this creature that is really adorable,” Quintero told the Post. “There is no future for any species without its habitat.”Read the full story from The Washington Post <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-solutions/2025/04/30/axolotls-endangered-amphibian-mexico-city/" target="_blank">here</a>.Mary Kate McCoy is a staff writer at Conservation International. Want to read more stories like this? <a href="https://www.conservation.org/act/subscribe">Sign up for email updates</a>. Also, <a href="https://www.conservation.org/act">please consider supporting our critical work</a>.</div>urn:uuid:5faa5cea-6dca-486d-bdb8-e2e00b99fb81https://www.conservation.org/blog/what-on-earth-is-edna BiodiversityFinance and TechWhat on Earth is ‘eDNA’?From “blue carbon” to “ecosystem services,” environmental jargon is everywhere. In an explainer series, we try to make sense of it.Wed, 23 Apr 2025 13:22:46 ZEditor’s note: From “blue carbon” to “ecosystem services,” environmental jargon is everywhere. Conservation International looks to make sense of it in an occasional explainer series we’re calling “<a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/what-on-earth">What on Earth?</a>"In this installment, we explore eDNA, a wildlife monitoring tool that is changing the way we study the natural world.I keep seeing this thing called "eDNA" in science articles. What is it?Ok, so, eDNA is basically “CSI: Nature Edition.”Just as humans shed hair, skin cells and sweat, animals are constantly leaving tiny traces of themselves in their environment — in the water, snow, soil or even the air. These microscopic breadcrumbs contain bits of genetic material: DNA.Scientists call this “environmental DNA,” or eDNA for short. By collecting samples from a pond, a river or possibly even a <a href="https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/news/2022/january/dna-floating-in-air-can-be-used-identify-nearby-animals.html" target="_blank">cloud of dust</a>, researchers can analyze the DNA fragments left behind to figure out what species have been there — even if they never saw them.<img src="https://d2iwpl8k086uu2.cloudfront.net/images/default-source/vault-images-s3/ci_28810164.jpg?sfvrsn=abca61ee_4" alt="ci_28810164" sf-size="4750672" />© Trond LarsenA stream in the Alto Mayo Protected Forest where scientists took samples to test for eDNA, which helps them rapidly detect species that are difficult to observe directly.So, scientists don’t need to spot an animal to know that it’s there?That’s what makes eDNA so cool. A scientist can scoop up a bit of pond water, analyze it in the lab, and figure out which critters have been hanging out there.“eDNA is great for finding species that are rare, secretive or live in places people can’t easily reach,” said Ali Swanson, who leads nature technology at Conservation International. “The technique works especially well in water, where DNA easily mixes and moves around — a single sample can give us a surprisingly rich snapshot of the broader watershed, including areas that would be tough to survey in person.”What kinds of animals can you find with eDNA?All kinds! Fish, amphibians, mammals, birds, insects — even <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-80602-9" target="_blank">microbes</a>. A single sample can reveal hundreds of species. Scientists have even used eDNA to find endangered <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/conservation-science/articles/10.3389/fcosc.2023.1250996/full" target="_blank">snow leopards</a>, survey animals on the top of <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2022/10/on-the-roof-of-the-world-water-is-life-or-a-sign-of-it-thanks-to-edna/" target="_blank">Mount Everest</a> and detect deep-sea creatures no one’s ever seen in person.<img src="https://d2iwpl8k086uu2.cloudfront.net/images/default-source/vault-images-s3/ci_63283102_full.jpg?sfvrsn=39256e12_1" alt="" sf-size="798393" />© PixabaySnow leopards, a notoriously difficult species to spot in the wild, have been detected with eDNA.How about dinosaurs?Sadly, there is no T. rex DNA in your backyard garden. eDNA breaks down pretty quickly in the environment — usually within days — so it’s great for detecting recent or current presence, not ancient history.Ok, fine, no Jurassic Park — but it does sound like it can really help protect wildlife. Absolutely. eDNA can provide solid scientific evidence that can help attract funding for conservation or inspire new protections for threatened ecosystems.Take a real-world example from northern Peru: Researchers with Conservation International ventured into a part of the <a href="https://www.conservation.org/stories/new-discoveries-in-a-changing-landscape-uncovering-alto-mayos-hidden-biodiversity">Alto Mayo</a> forest that hardly any ecologists had studied before. Instead of trying to spot every animal in person, they collected water samples from rivers and streams and let eDNA do the detective work. It paid off — they <a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/i-almost-couldnt-believe-it-amazon-expedition-stuns-researchers">detected DNA</a> from 261 vertebrate species, many of them rare or hard to spot.That discovery is now helping to shape a new ecological corridor that will connect Alto Mayo to other protected areas across the region — giving wildlife more room to roam.So does this mean eDNA can replace other methods, like camera traps or field visits?Not quite. eDNA is a powerful tool, but it works best alongside other methods. It’s great at telling you what species are present — but it’s still hard to say how many individuals there are, or exactly when they passed through. That’s where tools like camera traps, acoustic sensors and good old-fashioned fieldwork still play an important role.“Every wildlife sensor, like species themselves, has a unique niche,” Swanson said. “Acoustic monitoring is great for finding birds or insects, camera traps are often ideal for larger mammals. eDNA, which excels at uncovering shy or rare critters, is part of a mosaic of tools that together reveal a more complete picture of an ecosystem.”Any good examples?Well, actually, that’s exactly what the team did in Alto Mayo. In addition to using eDNA, they also relied on traditional field surveys — like actually spotting animals or collecting specimens — to confirm their findings. And in doing so, they discovered species like a mouse that swims and a totally weird <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/20/science/peru-alto-mayo-species-discovered.html" target="_blank">blob-headed fish</a> that are entirely new to science — something eDNA can hint at but can’t confirm on its own.<img src="https://d2iwpl8k086uu2.cloudfront.net/images/default-source/vault-images-s3/ci_36652938_full.jpg?sfvrsn=16012de3_1" alt="" sf-size="6945589" />© Robinson OliveraA type of bristlemouth armored catfish, this "blob-headed" fish was discovered on a recent research expedition in the Alto Mayo Protected Forest.I’m sold. When can I investigate my own back yard using eDNA?It may be a while. Right now, most eDNA tools are still lab-based and require some serious gear and know-how. But scientists are working on making the process faster, cheaper and more portable.Some early projects are already involving <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/06/crowdsourcing-edna-for-biodiversity-monitoring-interview-with-kristy-deiner/" target="_blank">citizen scientists</a> to help collect samples. And if you’ve ever used the <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/pages/seek_app" target="_blank">Seek app</a> to identify an interesting mushroom or submitted a photo to <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/" target="_blank">iNaturalist</a>, you’re already part of a movement that’s crowdsourcing science.Who knows, someday eDNA could be the next evolution — keeping tabs on biodiversity by simply filling a sample bottle on your next hike. Will McCarry is a staff writer at Conservation International. Want to read more stories like this? <a href="https://www.conservation.org/act/subscribe">Sign up for email updates</a>. Also, <a href="https://www.conservation.org/act">please consider supporting our critical work</a>. urn:uuid:cd3cc0ab-4c05-4a89-9fd3-6b5e2d133214https://www.conservation.org/blog/ahead-of-pandemic-negotiations-epidemiologist-advocates-for-nature BiodiversityAhead of pandemic talks, this doctor has nature on his mindHuman health, animal health and environmental health are interconnected. A new article published in the Lancet argues for an approach to pandemic threats that embraces this idea.Fri, 04 Apr 2025 16:43:11 ZDr. Neil Vora has spent much of his career chasing and treating infectious disease outbreaks, from the Ebola epidemic in West Africa to COVID-19 in New York City.His prescription for stopping the next one: Protect nature.Vora, an epidemiologist at Conservation International, believes that public health institutions often privilege treatment over prevention. This is a mistake, he says, because nearly <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8182890/" target="_blank" style="font-family:inherit;font-size:inherit;text-align:inherit;text-transform:inherit;word-spacing:normal;white-space:inherit;">two-thirds</a> of emerging infectious diseases are caused by pathogens that originate in animals that have jumped into people — often as a result of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFRzeYCk8MI" target="_blank" style="font-family:inherit;font-size:inherit;text-align:inherit;text-transform:inherit;word-spacing:normal;white-space:inherit;">environmental changes</a>, such as deforestation.In other words: Human health, animal health and environmental health are interconnected.In an article published today in <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(25)00632-4/fulltext" target="_blank" style="font-family:inherit;font-size:inherit;text-align:inherit;text-transform:inherit;word-spacing:normal;white-space:inherit;">the Lancet</a>, Vora and his colleagues argue for an approach to pandemic threats that embraces “One Health.” He hopes this idea will be foundational to next week’s World Health Organization negotiations, aimed at forging a global agreement to prepare for — and prevent — the next pandemic.Vora spoke with Conservation News to talk about this approach, his article in the Lancet, and his personal experiences facing down some of the world’s most virulent diseases.Question: To start with, what is this “One Health” movement?Neil Vora: One Health is the idea that human health is inextricably linked to the health of other animals and the environment. The term has really taken off in recent years, including in the highest levels of global policy making, such as the World Health Organization and the Convention on Biological Diversity.But this is a concept that many Indigenous cultures and traditional cultures around the world have understood implicitly for hundreds, if not thousands, of years: The well-being of communities is linked to the well-being of their surroundings. It’s finally gaining traction in modern scientific circles, because we are seeing the fallout of our planet in distress — in the form of more pandemics, chronic disease flare-ups and worsening mental health.Q: Have you already seen changes in your patients?Vora: My personal experience mirrors much of what the science shows: an increasing prevalence of new infectious diseases and the stubborn persistence of historically devastating infectious diseases.On the former, any of us who have read the news are familiar with diseases like Ebola, Zika, COVID, mpox and avian flu. But I think the latter goes underdiscussed. I have the honor of being a doctor in a public tuberculosis clinic in New York City. People might not know that tuberculosis is the biggest infectious disease killer in the world; it kills more than a million people every year. Every single one of these deaths is preventable, which makes each one an even greater tragedy.As the world faces a growing number of climate disasters each year, the medical community is finding its ability to deliver care to patients is being impacted. For example, in the United States we’re seeing how wildfires are exacerbating asthma, which slams emergency rooms with patients. We have to recognize that all of these threats are interconnected, and investment in conservation can prevent some of the downstream health consequences.Q: Let’s look ahead to the WHO meeting. How do you implement a One Health framework into pandemic prevention?Vora: We know that most new infectious diseases are caused by pathogens that originate in animals and then jump into people; we call that process spillover. And spillovers are on the rise because of human activities, particularly in the form of deforestation, the commercial wildlife trade and unsafe practices when raising farm animals. Climate change is in the backdrop of all of this. When we address these activities head on, we can then reduce the risk of pathogen emergence in the first place.In the upcoming WHO pandemic negotiation, there are two articles that are focused on pandemic prevention and One Health. If this agreement is adopted, it would represent the first binding international agreement on One Health. And this will open the door to so much more collaboration around the world to make people, animals and nature healthier.Q: What will success look like?Vora: We live in an interconnected world. It's sometimes convenient to think that we can isolate ourselves from what's happening all around us. But in today’s world, a health threat anywhere is a health threat everywhere. Within hours, a person with a new infectious disease can travel to the other side of the planet carrying that infectious disease with them.That's the importance of this pandemic agreement: trying to correct global governance around public health threats. Some of these gaps were identified very clearly during the COVID pandemic, and we still have not fully overcome them. But the world is rapidly shifting right now. We are facing threats to multilateralism and global cooperation. If this agreement is adopted, it will also be a sign that multilateralism still can persist. And it'll be a testament to a global community of people that are working together to create a better world.Max Marcovitch is a senior writer at Conservation International. Want to read more stories like this? <a href="https://www.conservation.org/act/subscribe">Sign up for email updates</a>. Also, <a href="https://www.conservation.org/act">please consider supporting our critical work</a>. urn:uuid:6c8064bd-1aec-4687-b16e-a7600b01c73ahttps://www.conservation.org/blog/amid-a-vanishing-savanna-new-corridor-a-big-win-for-wildlife BiodiversityAmid a vanishing savanna, new corridor a ‘big win’ for wildlifeConservation International is helping recover a savanna habitat nearly twice the size of Manhattan.Tue, 12 Nov 2024 15:00:17 ZEditor’s note: In April 2025, after this story was published, the project described in this story won Environmental Finance’s 2025 award for Sustainability-Linked Loan of the Year, in recognition of the project’s innovative financing model and its environmental outcomes. Conservation International was one of three implementing organizations honored. More details about the award can be found <a href="https://www.morningstar.com/news/business-wire/20250413867436/btg-pactual-tig-conservation-international-and-international-finance-corporation-win-environmental-finances-2025-sustainability-linked-loan-of-the-year" target="_blank">here</a>.Brazil is home to a vast, but overlooked, tropical savanna called the Cerrado.This sprawling patchwork of open grassland and scattered woodlands covers almost a quarter of the country — an area about the size of Greenland — <a href="https://www.gov.br/icmbio/pt-br/assuntos/biodiversidade/unidade-de-conservacao/unidades-de-biomas/cerrado" target="_blank">providing habitat</a> for 1,200 mammals, birds and reptiles and about <a href="https://floradobrasil.jbrj.gov.br/reflora/listaBrasil/PrincipalUC/PrincipalUC.do;jsessionid=F52033F1F884D640DEEE2F717A3C40A2#CondicaoTaxonCP" target="_blank">12,000 plant species</a>. Among its remarkable wildlife are giant anteaters, maned wolves, armadillos and brilliantly colored macaws.But today, more than <a href="https://plataforma.brasil.mapbiomas.org/cobertura?activeBaseMap=9&layersOpacity=100&activeModule=coverage&activeModuleContent=coverage%3Acoverage_main&activeYear=2023&mapPosition=-13.752725%2C-50.866699%2C5&timelineLimitsRange=1985%2C2023&baseParams%5bterritoryType%5d=2&baseParams%5bterritories%5d=40003%3BCerrado%3B2%3BBioma%3B0%3B0%3B0%3B0&baseParams%5bactiveClassTreeOptionValue%5d=default&baseParams%5bactiveClassTreeNodeIds%5d=1%2C7%2C8%2C9%2C10%2C11%2C2%2C12%2C13%2C14%2C15%2C16%2C3%2C18%2C19%2C28%2C30%2C31%2C32%2C33%2C34%2C29%2C35%2C36%2C37%2C38%2C20%2C21%2C4%2C22%2C23%2C24%2C25%2C5%2C26%2C27%2C6&baseParams%5bactiveSubmodule%5d=coverage_main&baseParams%5byearRange%5d=1985-2023" target="_blank">half of the original Cerrado</a> has been cleared for cattle ranching and soy farming, making it one of the fastest disappearing ecosystems on Earth. And only a fraction of the remaining Cerrado is protected by the Brazilian government — <a href="https://cnuc.mma.gov.br/powerbi" target="_blank">around 8 percent</a>.In one corner of southwestern Brazil, a project designed by a sustainable timber operator, <a href="https://timberlandinvestmentgroup.com/" target="_blank">BTG Pactual Timberland Investment Group (TIG)</a>, and supported by Conservation International, is breathing new life into the savanna.What was once a vast stretch of degraded pastureland just a year ago is being rapidly transformed into tree farms and 2,500 hectares (6,000 acres) of newly restored natural forest. While the project’s primary purpose is to store climate-warming carbon, it is also designed to protect biodiversity.As the natural woodland has returned, so has the wildlife.<img src="https://www.conservation.org/images/default-source/non-vault-images/cr4202-3.jpg?sfvrsn=785715b9_1" alt="" sf-size="100" />© BTG Pactual Timberland Investment Group (TIG)A giant anteater strolls along the forest edge.“Our goal was always to have the restoration area follow the watershed,” said Mark Wishnie, chief sustainability officer at TIG. “We envisioned it as a wildlife corridor connecting existing patches of protected Cerrado forest.”But even Wishnie, who had high hopes for the corridor, was astonished by the wide array of species returning to the property in droves. Through careful monitoring and camera traps, TIG has documented a total of 319 animal species and 65 plant species on the property — 17 of those species are listed as endangered, threatened or near-threatened by the <a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/" target="_blank">IUCN Red List</a>.“When we first started this partnership, many of the species we’re seeing lived in a small patch of remaining forest on the property,” said Miguel Calmon, a scientist at Conservation International. “Now they’re starting to move into the restored areas, too. That’s a big win.”<div data-sf-ec-immutable="" contenteditable="false" style="width:620px;height:350px;display:block;margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto;" class="-align-center"><div data-sf-disable-link-event=""><iframe width="620" height="350" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/83AWZXZLchU?si=Qa9qhVoaiiZ89WFy" frameborder="0"></iframe></div></div>Giant anteaters can be seen shuffling along between the rows of towering eucalyptus, and rheas — giant ostrich-like birds — often graze on the fringes of the forest.But more elusive species dwell in the underbrush, where native plants are slowly reclaiming the land. Tapirs, with their long, trunk-like snouts, carve trails through the dense vegetation as they forage for fruit and leaves. By the water, capybaras, the world’s largest rodents, gather in herds, their watchful eyes scanning the surroundings as they wade through streams or rest on riverbanks. Closer to the ground, armadillos scurry through leaf litter, digging for insects.And from treetops to understory, birds of all shapes and sizes are flocking back to the property. TIG has documented 188 bird species, from colorful parrots and darting hummingbirds to powerful hawks, falcons, and the flightless, spindle-legged seriema.<img src="https://d2iwpl8k086uu2.cloudfront.net/images/default-source/non-vault-images-s3/cerrado-birds-updated.png?sfvrsn=35dd23b5_2" alt="Cerrado-birds-updated" sf-size="5468066" />© BTG Pactual Timberland Investment Group (TIG) Birds of all shapes and sizes are finding habitat in the newly restored forest.<h2>Protection and production</h2>The presence of so many species stems from an unlikely partnership between conservationists and timber operators.TIG came up with an innovative approach — using their business model not just for timber, but to restore the land and fund conservation. Half the project area is dedicated to conserving and restoring native species, while the other half is planted with <a href="https://fsc.org/en/about-us" target="_blank">Forest Stewardship Council</a>-certified eucalyptus trees for sustainable timber production.This innovative approach has attracted <a href="https://timberlandinvestmentgroup.com/btg-pactual-timberland-investment-group-and-meta-announce-long-term-contract-for-delivery-of-1-3-million-nature-based-carbon-removal-credits-with-options-for-delivery-of-additional-2-6-million-credit/" target="_blank">significant investors</a> to the project, allowing TIG to move quickly and on a grand scale. So far, Conservation International and TIG have protected and begun restoring an area nearly twice the size of Manhattan, putting it on track to be the largest Cerrado restoration ever.But Calmon stressed that restoration is an ongoing process — one that will require operating across an entire landscape and over decades: establishing native plants in the right place, working with local communities, carefully monitoring conditions and removing aggressive invasive grasses that have overrun and degraded the land.“The good news is that as more wildlife returns, they can help accelerate restoration,” he said.<img src="https://www.conservation.org/images/default-source/non-vault-images/ro-2024-3-9---anta-(tapirus-terrestris)-(2).jpg?sfvrsn=994a3220_1" alt="" sf-size="100" />© BTG Pactual Timberland Investment Group (TIG) Species like tapirs are using the newly restored wildlife corridor.Birds and herbivores like tapirs spread seeds, encouraging plant growth and diversity, while animals such as armadillos and wild pigs disturb the soil as they forage, creating microhabitats for plants to take root. This natural turnover helps diversify plant life, building a more resilient ecosystem.With prey plentiful, predators are making a comeback as well. Ocelots — sleek, spotted wildcats about double the size of a house cat — now prowl silently through the trees, hunting small mammals. In a thrilling development, one of the project’s camera traps captured a rare image of a lone jaguar stalking through the forest, signaling a new chapter for the restoration team."Spotting jaguars and other big predators like pumas in the area is a powerful indicator that the ecosystem is on the mend. Their presence means the food chain is recovering, and the landscape is becoming balanced enough to support these apex predators once again,” said Calmon.The wildlife is also helping to enhance the forest’s ability to absorb and store climate-warming carbon — a critical part of TIG’s goals for the property. In June 2024, TIG announced a milestone for the project: they will provide Microsoft with 8 million nature-based carbon credits — <a href="https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/microsoft-buy-8-million-carbon-credits-btg-pactual-largest-ever-sale-2024-06-18/" target="_blank">the largest carbon dioxide removal deal of all time</a>. In September, Meta announced that they will purchase 1.3 million credits from the project.“Living things make carbon storage possible,” Calmon said. “Of course, plants do the heavy lifting — soaking up carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and locking it away in their roots so that it can’t contribute to climate change. But for plants to keep doing their job effectively, they need a healthy ecosystem.”This project is just the beginning of TIG’s ambition. Over the next five years, they plan to set aside half of their restoration strategy’s investments in Brazil, Uruguay and Chile for conservation — protecting and restoring 135,000 hectares (300,000 acres) of degraded pastureland back into natural vegetation.Along with other Cerrado<a href="https://mombak.com/" target="_blank"> restoration efforts </a>supported by Conservation International, TIG is making a dent in restoring large swaths of savanna that have become overgrazed, barren and overrun with invasive grasses.“This is only the beginning,” Wishnie said. “Our goal is not just to restore the land, but to set a new standard for what’s possible in sustainable forestry — proving that nature and economic production can thrive together, for the benefit of people, climate and wildlife.”<img src="https://www.conservation.org/images/default-source/non-vault-images/au2-2022-11-22---capivara-(hydrochoerus-hydrochaeris).jpg?sfvrsn=8accf7bc_1" alt="" sf-size="100" />© BTG Pactual Timberland Investment Group (TIG) Capybaras are known as "ecosystem engineers," shaping habitats by grazing and clearing channels along riverbanks.<hr />Further reading:<ul><li><a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/can-tree-farms-save-a-forest-brazil-about-to-find-out">Can tree farms save a forest? Brazil is about to find out</a> </li></ul><hr />Will McCarry is the content director at Conservation International. Want to read more stories like this? <a href="https://www.conservation.org/act/subscribe">Sign up for email updates</a>. Also, <a href="https://www.conservation.org/act">please consider supporting our critical work</a>.urn:uuid:f960772d-b1ed-4ef5-95cd-61205923ed98https://www.conservation.org/blog/with-new-discovery-island-nation-turns-page-on-a-painful-legacy BiodiversityWith new discovery, island nation turns page on a painful legacyScientists recently discovered a new species of gecko. As remarkable as that discovery was, it signified something more: a fresh approach to conservation in a nation historically marked by foreign intrusion and exploitation.Mon, 04 Dec 2023 18:27:02 Z<div>Nathan Conaboy’s day had taken an unexpected turn, and he now found himself in a distant cavern, searching for geckos.He and a band of scientists had set out one morning in August to survey wildlife. When monsoon rains washed out the road they were traveling on, the team decided to make the most of it — and stay dry — by poking around a nearby cave they had initially not planned to visit. Conaboy, a conservation biologist with Conservation International, had joined the expedition to <a href="https://www.conservation.org/timor-leste/home">Timor-Leste</a> — a small island nation nestled between Australia and Indonesia that is home to some of the least studied ecosystems on Earth. The journey was the first of its kind in many years — and turned up a fortuitous find. At the cave’s entrance, Conaboy — alongside scientists from Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum and Timorese officials — passed through a low arch, adorned with patterns painted by prehistoric artists from a millennia ago. He had stepped into a secluded offshoot of an extensive cave system known as <a href="https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/rock-art-at-nino-konis-santana-national-park" target="_blank">Lene Hara</a>, renowned for its archeological significance. As he ventured further, human faces carved into the stone peered at him from across the ages.<h6 style="text-align:center;"><img sf-custom-thumbnail="true" src="https://www.conservation.org/images/default-source/temp/cave.png?sfvrsn=4b5a1b54_5" style="display:block;margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto;margin-bottom:4px;" sf-constrain-proportions="true" class="-align-center" width="400" alt="" sf-size="360368" />Prehistoric artists etched human faces into the walls of the Lene Hara cave system a millennia ago. © Nathan Conaboy</h6>“The passage gradually expands into this bulbous chamber,” Conaboy said. “It was easy to imagine people once living there in the ancient past.”But Conaboy was not there for a glimpse into the lives of ancient people, instead fixating on the bats swirling above and spiders crawling around his boots on the cave floor. <a href="https://chankinonn.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Chan Kin Onn</a>, a herpetologist from the museum, saw something else: a gecko skittering across the limestone. Onn wedged himself between the rocks and lunged. It was a near miss. But Onn had a hunch that the gecko might be a species new to science. The team decided to go back to the cave later that night, when geckos are most active. Led by flashlight, they traversed the cave, eyes locked on the ground. Within an hour, they saw unmistakable, darting shapes — 10 individuals of a previously unknown species of bent-toed gecko. The team named it <a href="https://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Cyrtodactylus&species=santana&search_param=%28%28taxon%3D%27Gekkonidae%27%29%29" target="_blank">Cyrtodactylus santana</a> in tribute to Nino Konis Santana National Park, where the encounter took place.<h6 style="text-align:right;"><img src="https://www.conservation.org/images/default-source/temp/oo_794108.jpg?sfvrsn=488f7a0d_5" alt="" sf-size="1407418" />The new species of bent-toed gecko was found in the Lene Hara cave system. © Tan Heok Hui</h6>The gecko's new name held added significance as one of the expedition’s Timorese team members was the nephew of the park's namesake — Nino Konis Santana, a revered war hero in the nation's long struggle for independence. As remarkable as the gecko's discovery was, it signified something more: a fresh approach to conservation in a nation historically marked by foreign intrusion and exploitation.An evolving history Nestled between Australia and Indonesia, Timor-Leste is one of the world’s youngest countries. Its name, derived from the Indonesian, Malay and Portuguese words for "east," reflects a history marked by diverse cultures and colonization.But even as the nation’s modern era has been defined by outside influence, its biodiversity was formed through isolation. Deep-water straits have separated Timor-Leste from the continental shelves of Asia and Australia for millions of years, giving rise to numerous species found nowhere else on the planet. Timor-Leste is on the southern edge of Southeast Asia's <a href="https://theconversation.com/wallacea-a-living-laboratory-of-evolution-85602" target="_blank">Wallacea</a> region — a cluster of ecologically unique islands named in honor of the Victorian-era naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace, who independently conceived the theory of evolution through natural selection. <h6 style="text-align:right;"><img src="https://www.conservation.org/images/default-source/temp/oo_794102.jpg?sfvrsn=7212f576_5" alt="" sf-size="685144" />Timor-Leste is part of Wallacea, a region known as a living laboratory of evolution. © Chan, Grismer, Santana, Pinto, Loke, Conaboy</h6>Like his contemporary Charles Darwin’s famous voyage to the Galapagos, Wallace's explorations across Timor and neighboring islands ignited his pathbreaking work.“To this day, Wallace represents our baseline scientific understanding of this part of the world. He spent so much time here and discovered so many species,” said former Conservation International expert Frances Loke, who also joined the expedition.But much about Timor-Leste has changed since. After 500 years of Portuguese colonial rule, the country fell under Indonesian control from 1975 to 1999 before eventually gaining its independence and becoming a democracy. Still, its past left a legacy.“Timor-Leste has experienced a long history of colonialism that not only affected the kind of nature that we see there, but also the kinds of structures in place to study and protect nature,” Loke said. “For years the country has been plagued by what we call ‘helicopter science’ — international scientists going in and paying off local guides, extracting specimens without any proper authority or due credit for local communities.”Perhaps the most controversial example of this unfolded in 2011, when a team from the Australian National University in Canberra chanced upon two fragmented shell fishhooks within a limestone cave in the island's northern region. The hooks traced their origins to the period between 21,000 and 16,000 BCE and then represented the <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/nature.2011.9461" target="_blank">earliest known fishhooks in existence</a>.“These artifacts were taken from Timor-Leste with very limited or no approvals,” Conaboy said. "And the Timorese people are unable to access them because they are stored away in an Australian museum."<h6 style="text-align:right;"><img src="https://www.conservation.org/images/default-source/default-album/ci_47612899_full.jpg?sfvrsn=e981b0f3_1" alt="" sf-size="2781623" />Clouds drift and shadow the rocky shores of Timor-Leste. © Conservation International/photo by Yasushi Hibi</h6>By 2020, the Timorese government put a full stop on scientific research involving the removal of artifacts and specimens from the country. Conservation International spent years working to find a way for new research to continue through proper channels. “From the very start, we wanted to stress the importance of Timor-Leste asserting its ownership and guardianship over its biodiversity,” Conaboy said. “At the same time, there’s a widely recognized acknowledgment that Timor-Leste lacks the necessary facilities to store what are known as <a href="https://www.amnh.org/explore/news-blogs/from-the-collections-posts/just-our-types-a-short-guide-to-type-specimens" target="_blank">holotypes</a> — specimens that scientists carefully choose to represent the primary example of a newly discovered species.”In August 2020, the Timorese government and Singapore’s <a href="https://lkcnhm.nus.edu.sg/" target="_blank">Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum</a> struck a research partnership — with the museum now serving as a regional hub for housing and preserving specimens from Timor-Leste."The scoping expedition really marked the inaugural journey under the agreement,” Conaboy said. “It represents the beginning of a genuine and mutually advantageous partnership — one that respects Timor-Leste's history and can contribute to shaping its future." Now that the gecko’s holotype has made its way into the collection at Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum, the team is planning to return to Timor-Leste for a larger, more comprehensive expedition. “We have to make the case for conservation now,” Loke said. “Otherwise, these ecosystems could be destroyed before we even know what species are there.”Will McCarry is a staff writer at Conservation International. Want to read more stories like this? <a href="https://www.conservation.org/act/subscribe">Sign up for email updates</a>. Also, <a href="https://www.conservation.org/act">please consider supporting our critical work</a>.</div>urn:uuid:674ebca0-ca3c-4f10-8628-dc9d66c4d43bhttps://www.conservation.org/blog/can-tree-farms-save-a-forest-brazil-about-to-find-out BiodiversityClimate ChangeCan tree farms save a forest? Brazil is about to find outIn Brazil's s Mato Grosso do Sul, native species are reclaiming thousands of acres once heavily grazed by cattle. A bold initiative aims to protect and restore nature to an area twice the size of Manhattan — and find new ways to pay for it.Mon, 20 Nov 2023 14:50:42 ZEditor’s note: In April 2025, after this story was published, the project described in this story won Environmental Finance’s 2025 award for Sustainability-Linked Loan of the Year, in recognition of the project’s innovative financing model and its environmental outcomes. Conservation International was one of three implementing organizations honored. More details about the award can be found <a href="https://www.morningstar.com/news/business-wire/20250413867436/btg-pactual-tig-conservation-international-and-international-finance-corporation-win-environmental-finances-2025-sustainability-linked-loan-of-the-year" target="_blank">here</a>.<a href="https://www.conservation.org/pt/blog/as-fazendas-de-silvicultura-podem-salvar-uma-floresta-o-brasil-est%C3%A1-prestes-a-descobrir">Read this story in Portuguese here</a>.MATO GROSSO DO SUL, Brazil — On a blistering day in late August, Will Turner gazed across a dusty road, red as Mars, into the fringe of a dense forest — its canopy alive with the hum of insects and chattering birds. This forest in southern Brazil is an oasis — a remnant of a nearly forgotten ecosystem in a region now dominated by degraded cattle pastures.Behind him, on the opposite side of the road, lay something entirely different — a sea of eucalyptus, recently planted and already four feet tall. These trees, remarkable in their uniformity, are clones. Decades of tinkering have resulted in an intensively managed crop that supplies the world with an essential and sustainable source of wood.But nature has made its choice perfectly clear: Among the eucalyptus there are no insect chirps or bird songs — only silence. Yet the fate of these two distinct landscapes, the forest and the tree farm, are intertwined. What was an enormous tract of degraded pastureland just a few months ago is being rapidly transformed into tree farms and more than 2,000 hectares of newly restored natural forest.<img src="https://www.conservation.org/images/default-source/default-album/ci_96492827.jpg?sfvrsn=f8a8e436_5" alt="" />© Flavio FornerIn a landscape dominated by degraded cattle pasture, nature clings for survival in small, fragmented groves.This is “Project Alpha.” Located in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso do Sul, it aims to protect and restore nature to an area roughly twice the size of Manhattan — and find new ways to pay for it. Designed by <a href="https://timberlandinvestmentgroup.com/" target="_blank">BTG Pactual Timberland Investment Group (TIG)</a> with help from Conservation International, the project has brought together two groups often seen as natural adversaries: conservationists and timber operators.“It’s easy to form a snap judgment about planting non-native plantations anywhere outside their range, like eucalyptus from Australia,” said Turner, a scientist at Conservation International. “But snap judgment isn’t how we’re going to solve climate change and save biodiversity. We need to test what really works. This is a very serious commitment to improve the way we manage nature within private properties.”And this property is just the beginning. Over the next five years, TIG plans to secure US$ 1 billion from investors to plant, conserve and restore nearly 275,000 hectares (741,000 acres) of degraded land in Brazil, Uruguay and Chile. In doing so, they plan to capture some 32 million metric tons of climate-warming carbon over a 15-year period, the equivalent of taking 470,000 cars off the road.Half of the land acquired by TIG will be protected or restored back to its natural state and set aside for conservation, while the other half will be planted with commercial species, like eucalyptus. Not merely a trade-off, where commercial activities fund conservation, the plan represents a unified system where restoring nature provides added value to investors through the sale of carbon credits, while <a href="https://fsc.org/en" target="_blank">sustainably certified timber</a> revenue helps fund ongoing monitoring and protection of the native forest.“We’re standing on the line balancing economic production and environmental protection,” Turner said, gesturing down the middle of the road. “It’s a balancing act that could lead to positive outcomes for people and nature in this region — if we can get it right.”<h2>The cost of restoration</h2>The road to Project Alpha from Campo Grande winds northward through hundreds of miles of degraded cattle pasture. Erosion furrows the land, carving deep channels through red earth, the pasture’s vitality withered under the weight of overuse.It didn’t always look this way.Half a century ago, southwestern Brazil was a mosaic of closed-canopy forests, open savanna-like woodlands, vast grasslands and wetlands. This region, known as the Cerrado, boasts remarkable biodiversity, harboring <a href="https://www.worldwildlife.org/places/cerrado" target="_blank">5 percent of the world’s species</a>, including over 1,600 mammals, birds and reptiles, along with over 10,000 plant species — nearly half of which are unique to this region.“Many assume the Amazon rainforest is Brazil’s most threatened ecosystem, but in reality the Cerrado is even more threatened,” said Rachel Biderman, who leads Conservation International’s work in the Americas. “While <a href="https://www.maaproject.org/2022/amazon-tipping-point/" target="_blank">the Amazon has lost roughly 13 percent</a> of its area, the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0378112720316443" target="_blank">Cerrado’s total size has been halved</a>.”<img src="https://www.conservation.org/images/default-source/temp/img_2337.jpg?sfvrsn=b787337d_5" alt="" />© Will TurnerA giant anteater lopes along the forest’s edge, passing through a field of withered Brachiaria grass.Substantial portions of the Cerrado have been replaced with Brachiaria, an exotic African grass introduced for cattle grazing. And while Brachiaria has helped Brazil become the world’s leading beef producer, years of overgrazing have degraded the country’s land at a scale that’s difficult to comprehend: By some estimates, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/brachiaria" target="_blank">60 million hectares of Brazil’s Brachiaria pastures are suffering</a> from some degree of degradation — an area nearly half the size of neighboring Peru.“Very few crops will grow in this soil,” Biderman said. “And because of that, almost no one is willing to making investments to return this area to cropland — it’s just too expensive.”But restoring this degraded land back to the Cerrado is even pricier.In recent years, an avalanche of <a href="https://www.greenbiz.com/article/tree-planting-101-what-corporations-need-know" target="_blank">well-intentioned marketing campaigns</a> has popularized the idea that forest restoration can be achieved for as little as <a href="https://www.earthday.org/campaign/the-canopy-project/" target="_blank">US$ 1 per tree</a>, sometimes less.Restoration <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0006320719301934" target="_blank">requires</a> operating across an entire landscape and over decades: planting the right trees in the right place, working with local communities, monitoring conditions to ensure saplings survive. And then there’s the matter of conserving restored forests. The actual costs can amount to <a href="https://trilliontrees.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Trillion-Trees_Defining-the-real-cost-of-restoring-forests.pdf" target="_blank">thousands of dollars per hectare</a>.<img src="https://www.conservation.org/images/default-source/temp/59edaf46-aeaa-4dc2-80f0-42091cc75d41.jpg?sfvrsn=7b431f01_5" alt="" />© Tatiana SouzaWill Turner listens as TIG’s Márcio Conceição and Mark Wishnie explain the eucalyptus planting process.The high cost of restoration reflects a broader challenge: There is nowhere near enough money available from traditional sources — governments, multilaterals and philanthropy — to <a href="https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/net-zero-coalition#:~:text=To%20keep%20global%20warming%20to,reach%20net%20zero%20by%202050." target="_blank">restore nature at the speed and scale needed</a> to make a dent in climate change.Climate scientists have demonstrated that <a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/what-are-natural-climate-solutions" target="_blank">at least 30 percent of humanity’s climate targets can be met</a> by protecting and restoring nature — but meeting the target means restoring 200 million hectares (500 million acres) within the next seven years. That’s a monumental scale — roughly the area of all the timberland in the United States.But a surprising solution is on the horizon — one that could inject US$ 1 billion toward this goal.<h2>Speed and scale</h2>A year after the Timberland Investment Group — owned by the <a href="https://www.btgpactual.com/us/" target="_blank">biggest investment bank in Latin America</a> — acquired the land for Project Alpha, this severely degraded expanse of cattle pasture is now poised to include the largest Cerrado restoration project in history.The restoration area extends from an existing patch of Cerrado forest and follows the swale of the watershed. Here, the woodland is naturally regenerating, its canopy closing in as native species gradually reclaim the land. The vegetation is tenacious, with blooming layers peeking through yellowing Brachiaria grass, which still dominates the broader landscape.According to Brazilian law, private landowners in the Cerrado must set aside 20 percent of their property as a natural ecosystem. TIG, however, has committed to restoring and protecting 50 percent of the project area, thus opening up an additional revenue stream to fund the project and deliver greater impact, at scale: the sale of carbon credits.Carbon credits result from initiatives that remove or prevent greenhouse gas emissions and can be purchased by companies to strengthen their climate impact and balance out emissions in other areas. Polluters in developed countries can buy and trade credits, the idea goes, with the revenue being paid to landowners in developing countries as an incentive to regrow their forests and leave them standing.In June 2024, TIG announced a milestone for the project: they will provide Microsoft with 8 million nature-based carbon credits — <a href="https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/microsoft-buy-8-million-carbon-credits-btg-pactual-largest-ever-sale-2024-06-18/" target="_blank">the largest carbon dioxide removal deal of all time</a>.TIG aims to generate carbon credits from both the tree farm and the restoration effort.“The tree farm is able to help pay for the restoration because it’s really a reciprocal relationship,” said <a href="https://timberlandinvestmentgroup.com/about/mark-wishnie/" target="_blank">Mark Wishnie</a>, chief sustainability officer and head of impact investment at TIG. “An offset from a tree farm — which is eventually harvested and replanted — has a lower monetary value compared to one from restoration. Therefore, the inclusion of Cerrado restoration boosts the quality and quantity of carbon capture and storage in the project, making the carbon credits more valuable.”“Over the years, we’ve successfully executed hundreds of thousands of acres of reforestation projects,” Wishnie said. “That means that our operations are well understood and, therefore, investable by large institutional investors. We can get much more finance to restoration by combining it with timber production than we would on its own.”<img src="https://www.conservation.org/images/default-source/temp/1cb99977-2be8-44e7-86c0-37ae68e2cbbd.jpg?sfvrsn=c8d26f00_7" alt="" />© Will TurnerEucalyptus saplings can reach up to 70 feet in height in as little as seven years.Under legal agreements with those investors, TIG has a limited period in which to invest this money — meaning they are motivated to operate at a speed and scale that wouldn’t be possible with a restoration-only project.And now, they are putting their money where their mouth is. In degraded soil where so little else will grow, the eucalyptus is thriving — growing faster and taller here than in its native <a href="https://www.agriculture.gov.au/abares/forestsaustralia/australias-forests/profiles/eucalypt-2019" target="_blank">Australia</a>. This is the result of decades of purposeful cultivation, involving the careful selection of trees to ensure uniformity, rapid growth and outstanding wood quality.In just four months, TIG has put 1.9 million eucalyptus seedlings in the ground.The process is an assembly line of precision, with workers spread across the landscape, depositing identical saplings at exact intervals. By month two, the trees reach the height of a toddler; by six, a full-grown adult. In seven years, they’ll be ready to cut and then replanted — though TIG operates on a <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0961953422002690" target="_blank">long-rotation growing cycle</a>, waiting up to 15 years to harvest them. Those extra years add up to a larger tree, which is not only a more versatile product, but one that stores more carbon — both while it’s alive and after it has been cut.“The extended growth period leads to larger logs suitable for solid wood products like furniture, which continue to store carbon for much longer than if we cut the trees earlier and used them for paper products,” Wishnie said.“This is bigger than generating carbon credits for us — we consider the entire production process part of the climate solution.”<h2>The return of the Cerrado</h2>Under a waning afternoon sun, Miguel Moraes watched the ongoing work at Project Alpha through the window of a truck.As a Conservation International plant ecologist, he has worked for the last 10 years to design restoration projects in Brazil — and is ensuring TIG’s work follows <a target="_blank" href="https://www.conservation.org/docs/default-source/publication-pdfs/policy_brief_natural_regeneration.pdf?sfvrsn=a15e9ca6_2">conservation science</a>.“We’re playing it extra safe to make sure we protect the upper areas of the watershed,” Moraes said, pointing toward a corridor of rapidly regenerating Cerrado. “By law, this river must have a 30-meter buffer of natural vegetation on either side, to prevent run-off. Instead, we’re putting in 200-meter buffers on each side, 400 meters from end to end — four football fields.”<img src="https://www.conservation.org/images/default-source/default-album/ci_75050909.jpg?sfvrsn=f0ba74fa_5" alt="" />© Flavio FornerThe restoration area is designed to keep the river free of contaminants and create a safe corridor for wildlife.This protected passage not only controls the sediment flow — keeping the river clear of contaminants — but creates a wildlife corridor between the forest and a state-protected reserve. And the wildlife is making a swift return to the area, with sightings of maned wolves, javelinas, giant anteaters, rheas, seriemas, and at least one elusive puma patrolling the forest.Consensus on how to restore, and where, has emerged through debate and discussion among Moraes, Wishnie — who started his career as a forest restoration scientist at the Smithsonian Institution — and other project leads. All acknowledge that Project Alpha is an experiment — one that will evolve over the 15 years it is expected to require to bring back this overlooked ecosystem.“You know, I would typically hesitate to advocate for natural regeneration as the primary method for Cerrado restoration,” Moraes said, leaning back in the car’s front seat to address Wishnie. “But this is really compelling — the rapid resurgence of vegetation is remarkable.”“Yeah, it can certainly be a part of it, right?” Wishnie replied. “When I first visited this property, I was thrilled because this isn’t a sight you come across everywhere. Nature is undeniably reclaiming this land.”“But we still have to deal with the Brachiaria,” Moraes added.<img src="https://www.conservation.org/images/default-source/temp/img_2336.jpg?sfvrsn=195bad04_7" alt="" />© Will TurnerProject Alpha has become a haven for wildlife like Seriemas, a striking bird native to the Cerrado.Many of Moraes and Wishnie’s discussions center on this challenge. They have spent hours excitedly discussing a range of options to outsmart the grass — from cattle grazing to herbicides. Eliminating the Brachiaria infestation is crucial not only because it’s a non-native species but because it exerts an <a href="https://gardeningsolutions.ifas.ufl.edu/care/weeds-and-invasive-plants/allelopathy.html" target="_blank">allelopathic</a> effect, inhibiting the germination of other species. It’s possible that seeds from native plants may be dormant in the ground, unable to bloom until the grass is eliminated.In addition to battling the Brachiaria, TIG has initiated a range of monitoring programs to closely track the property’s conditions. These include biannual wildlife camera traps during the dry and wet seasons, water quality measurements, soil sampling for a carbon assessment and ongoing efforts to launch bioacoustic monitoring — placing microphones to listen for wildlife.“Sometimes people will initiate a project and discuss monitoring as if it’s a future task,” Conservation International’s Will Turner said. “But here they’ve got monitoring programs already running and built into the budget before commencing the project.”TIG is also working to understand the living conditions for local people in the region — assessing their access to public transportation, health care, education and even cellphone service. Matto Grosso do Sul is a massive state — around the size of Germany — but has a relatively small population of 2.7 million people, with approximately 1 million residing in the capital, Campo Grande. Beyond the urban centers, communities primarily rely on cattle herding to make a living. Understanding the communities and their relationship with the land is critical to ensure that both the tree farm and restoration efforts benefit the people in the surrounding region.While only a few families live near the property, Moraes said he doesn’t rule out the possibility of other communities using the forest. The neighboring forest is home to the Quilombola, an Afro-descendant community of former slaves who resisted the centuries-long slavery regime in Brazil.“These communities might be using the area for seed collecting and other uses,” Moraes said. He points to the potential for developing a conservation agreement with Indigenous or local communities using the forest — enabling them to share in the benefits of the project, while preserving their traditional way of life.<h2>The future of forestry</h2>As dusk settles in, the truck follows the road to leave the property, flanked on one side by the regenerating Cerrado and on the other by the eucalyptus tree farm.“It’s natural that people should be skeptical and ask why — why do we need to plant eucalyptus trees on this old pasture?” Wishnie said, motioning toward the tree farm. “Why can’t we just restore forests?”“When most people see a field of corn or soy or wheat, they intuitively recognize the necessity of converting land into exotic monocultures to feed the population. However, a tree farm often evokes a more emotional response because the demand for these materials appears less immediate and less intertwined with our daily lives.”<img src="https://www.conservation.org/images/default-source/temp/img_2339.jpg?sfvrsn=4260d2e4_5" alt="" />© Will TurnerA rhea, a flightless bird known as the South American ostrich, moves through the stands of eucalyptus.But the world is using more wood than ever before. In the past 30 years, the <a href="https://www.agriculture.gov.au/abares/research-topics/forests/forest-economics/forest-economic-research/global-outlook-for-wood-markets" target="_blank">global trade of wood products increased 143 percent</a>, with no signs of slowing down. Meeting this demand will require new sources of sustainably grown wood.“Eucalyptus presents a viable alternative,” said Conservation International’s Biderman. “In Brazil, the alternative is wood illegally sourced from the Amazon rainforest. Today, we can no longer afford the luxury of prolonged debate. Eucalyptus does indeed have a role to play, when it’s grown responsibly.”To that end, the collaboration between Conservation International and TIG may offer a blueprint for how sustainable businesses can become integral to the conservation of nature.“We don’t claim this to be a universal solution,” Wishnie said. “But our commitment lies in making it succeed here. And we’ll never know what’s possible unless we take that step and give it a try.”Will McCarry is a staff writer at Conservation International. Want to read more stories like this? <a href="https://www.conservation.org/act/subscribe">Sign up for email updates</a>. Also, <a href="https://www.conservation.org/act">please consider supporting our critical work</a>.urn:uuid:1d8f352e-83b0-454a-a586-e6d79b9534fdhttps://www.conservation.org/blog/thomas-lovejoy-godfather-of-biodiversity-dies-at-80 BiodiversityThomas Lovejoy, ‘godfather of biodiversity,’ dies at 80The conservation movement has lost one of its giants. Renowned ecologist Thomas Lovejoy died Dec. 25 at the age of 80, National Geographic reported.Sun, 26 Dec 2021 18:07:03 Z<div>The conservation movement has lost one of its giants. </div><div><div>Renowned ecologist Dr. Thomas Lovejoy died Dec. 25 at the age of 80, <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/thomas-lovejoy-obituary" target="_blank">National Geographic reported</a>. </div><div>Lovejoy, who coined the term “biological diversity” — and was widely considered “<a href="https://environment.yale.edu/news/article/thomas-lovejoy-on-biodiversity-habitat-fragmentation-and-50-years-in-the-amazon" target="_blank">the godfather of biodiversity</a>” — was a member of Conservation International’s Leadership Council. Having held numerous posts in a career that spanned more than a half-century, he was most recently a fellow at the UN Foundation and a professor of environmental science at George Mason University in Virginia.  </div><div>His loss reverberated throughout the conservation world. </div><div>“I am terribly saddened to hear about the passing of Tom Lovejoy,” said Conservation International CEO M. Sanjayan. “He was a giant in conservation, a champion for the Amazon, and above all a kind and generous scientist. Tom was a mentor and a friend to many. We will miss him greatly.” </div><div>Lovejoy made numerous and profound contributions to environmental science and policy. </div><div>In 1984, Lovejoy proposed the “debt-for-nature swap,” in which a portion of a developing country’s foreign debt is forgiven in exchange for commitments to environmental protection and policy measures. Since the first <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1987/07/14/a-debt-swap-of-a-different-nature-for-bolivia/66073e32-0b77-4b8f-b150-d7cb7cee3478/" target="_blank">debt-for-nature swap </a>between Conservation International and Bolivia in 1987, the idea has become a mainstay of conservation, with billions of dollars in funding being made available for environmental protection. (These swaps took on <a href="https://www.wri.org/insights/time-covid-19-china-could-be-pivotal-swapping-debt-climate-and-health-action" target="_blank">added significance</a> during the COVID-19 pandemic, as many debt-vulnerable countries weathered economic troubles while shifting their funding priorities away from environmental protection.)  </div><div>But Lovejoy’s legacy went well beyond game-changing conservation tools — most significantly, he is credited with helping to focus the world’s attention on perhaps its most important biome and on the links between climate change and the loss of biodiversity. </div><div>"It's time for biodiversity to come out of the shadows of the big environmental problems," <a href="https://newseu.cgtn.com/news/2020-12-08/-How-debt-for-nature-swaps-help-protect-biodiversity-VXm8z8KAco/index.html" target="_blank">Lovejoy said last year</a>. "It needs to come into its own for a period of remarkable achievement." </div><div>His prolific research and writings reflected this view. A<a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/a-new-report-depicts-a-failing-planet-a-new-book-has-solutions"> 2019 book</a> that he co-edited with Conservation International scientist Lee Hannah, “Biodiversity and Climate Change: Transforming the Biosphere” — a sequel to a seminal work released in 2005 by the same authors — is being used as a teaching text in universities, providing an invaluable foundation for the next generation of scientists and decision-makers. </div><div>The next generation that will carry on his legacy remembered Lovejoy not only for his immense scientific contributions but for his good-natured generosity.  </div><div>“Tom was a giant, in all of the best ways,” said Rachel Golden Kroner, an environmental governance fellow at Conservation International who earned a Ph.D. at George Mason University while studying under Lovejoy. “Not only was he a pioneer of conservation science, but was also a generous connector and keen diplomat. His work will continue to inspire all of us working for our planet.”  </div><div>Lovejoy’s optimism — and his view of the Earth as a living entity unto itself — suffused his work. </div><div>“We still have time to act on the recognition that our planet is an intricately linked biological and physical system that holds yet-to-be-understood capacity to heal and clean itself,” he wrote with Hannah in 2018. “We still have tools and opportunities to effectively manage the living planet and its biodiversity for the benefit of humanity and all life on Earth.”</div><div>One of his last writings, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/02/opinion/climate-change-glasgow-deforestation.html" target="_blank">published just last month in The New York Times</a>, provided a poignant summation of the guiding philosophy of his life’s work.  </div><div>“Finding our way through the climate crisis also requires that we remember how our home planet works — as a linked biological and physical system with a beating, photosynthesizing, rainmaking heart of wild woods.” </div><div> </div>Bruno Vander Velde is the senior communications director at Conservation International. Want to read more stories like this? <a href="https://www.conservation.org/act/subscribe">Sign up for email updates.</a> <a href="https://www.conservation.org/donate">Donate to Conservation International.</a>Cover image: Thomas Lovejoy speaking on a panel. (Flickr/Creative Commons)</div><div></div>urn:uuid:ae77065f-441f-44bb-a56a-00c039fa6954https://www.conservation.org/blog/expert-to-prevent-pandemics-like-COVID-19-take-care-of-nature ScienceBiodiversityExpert: To prevent pandemics like COVID-19, ‘take care of nature’Conservation News spoke to renowned ecologist and Conservation International scientist Lee Hannah about how giving nature space could help curb future disease outbreaks.Fri, 27 Mar 2020 16:05:34 ZThis post was updated on May 13, 2020.Likely sourced to a live animal and fish market in China, COVID-19 has spread around the world at lightning speed, <a href="https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/" target="_blank">infecting more than 4.2 million people and killing nearly 300,000 people</a> to date.Many countries are taking severe measures to stem the virus’s spread, from locking down cities to temporarily shuttering local businesses.But how will countries prevent future outbreaks?The first step: Protect nature, says Lee Hannah, Conservation International senior climate change scientist and a world-renowned expert in ecology, the study of how humans interact with nature.Conservation News spoke to Hannah about how giving nature space could help curb future disease outbreaks.Question: What does nature have to do with the spread of disease?Answer: <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/domestication/" target="_blank">Humans have traded diseases with wildlife for as long as people have domesticated animals from nature</a> (which is a very long time). In fact, many of humanity’s existing diseases originated from animals: <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/bird-flu/virus-transmission/" target="_blank">the flu comes from pigs and birds</a>, <a href="https://www.oie.int/fileadmin/Home/eng/Media_Center/docs/pdf/Disease_cards/BOVINE-TB-EN.pdf" target="_blank">tuberculosis originated in cattle</a>, and <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/ebola/about/" target="_blank">Ebola comes from chimpanzees or bats</a>.Ecosystems in nature function similarly to the human body: When they are robust and healthy — which means they have diverse species and space for healthy animal populations — they are more resistant to disease. Thriving ecosystems also provide a variety of benefits to surrounding humanity, from fresh water to food to fertile soil. However, when human activities such as logging and mining disrupt and degrade these ecosystems, animals are forced closer together and are <a href="https://www.axios.com/2020/03/27/coronavirus-pandemics-climate-change-wildlife" target="_blank">more likely to be stressed or sick</a>, as well as more likely to come into contact with people. In these conditions, diseases bounce back and forth between wildlife populations and humans.Disturbingly, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18288193" target="_blank">research projects that animal-borne illnesses are going to become more frequent</a> due to the rapid destruction of nature.Q: How does humanity’s relationship with nature impact pandemics?A: The most wide-reaching and straightforward issue is the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/29/science/coronavirus-disrupts-illegal-wildlife-trafficking-for-now.html" target="_blank">global wildlife trade</a>. This trade puts species in contact with other species — and other diseases — that they likely would have never encountered naturally in the wild.For example, <a href="https://www.vox.com/videos/2020/3/6/21168006/coronavirus-covid19-china-pandemic" target="_blank">the COVID-19 strain likely passed from a bat or a pangolin</a> and may have jumped to another species before it was able to infect a human, which is why wild animal markets that sell an array of exotic species in one place are the perfect breeding ground for rare zoonotic diseases. Tropical diseases tend to have animal reservoirs more often than temperate diseases, so taking tropical species and putting them in close contact with people at wild animal markets is flirting with disaster. This exchange of wildlife and wildlife parts is also <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-04-08/want-to-stop-the-next-pandemic-start-protecting-wildlife-habitats?srnd=green" target="_blank">devastating to nature</a> because it decimates species populations such as elephants and rhinos, which are critical to the health of their respective ecosystems.On top of this, deforestation rates have soared across the globe, driven largely by agriculture and logging. Not only does this put stress on wildlife habitats, it could accelerate climate change — which could also impact the spread of disease.Q: What kind of impact?A: From <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/millions-of-birds-are-migrating-earlier-because-of-warming/" target="_blank">shifting bird migrations</a> to your morning cup of coffee, climate change complicates just about everything. From a public health perspective, the climate crisis is increasing the spread of certain diseases and complicating efforts to combat others. Seasonality and weather are two of the major factors that control the rate at which viruses such as the flu infect humans. Although scientists are <a href="https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/c-change/news/coronavirus-climate-change-and-the-environment/" target="_blank">currently uncertain how climate breakdown will impact the spread of COVID-19</a>, research predicts that <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/what-could-warming-mean-for-pathogens-like-coronavirus/" target="_blank">rising global temperatures will alter the timing, distribution and severity of disease outbreaks</a>.For example, my research shows that <a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/study-protecting-tropics-could-save-half-of-species-on-brink">animal species are moving toward the north and south poles and up mountains to escape the heat</a> as the climate warms. Just as we don’t want people going into natural habitats and becoming exposed to animal viruses, we don’t want animal habitats moving into closer contact with humans and development projects. To prevent this, we must work to stop climate breakdown and give nature the space it needs to adapt naturally to the impacts that we can no longer prevent.Q: So countries can help curb future disease outbreaks by protecting nature?A: That’s right. Later in 2020, world leaders will convene at the <a href="https://www.cbd.int/cop/" target="_blank">UN Conference of Parties (COP) to the Convention on Biological Diversity</a> to develop a roadmap that will guide nature conservation efforts for the next 10 years — the period in which we must slow global warming, protect our ecosystems and save species under threat. Under current conditions, more than <a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/a-new-report-depicts-a-failing-planet-a-new-book-has-solutions">1 million species are at risk of extinction</a> due to human activities, so ambitious but fair targets to conserve the planet’s wildlife by protecting nature are critical to preventing a mass extinction.Q: What are some of these targets?A: Our research shows that <a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/study-protecting-tropics-could-save-half-of-species-on-brink">protecting 30 percent of tropical lands could help cut species extinction risk in half</a>, while slowing climate breakdown. There is a whole suite of possible conservation tools that governments can implement to protect biodiversity while benefiting from the land, including protected areas, national parks, community conservancies and indigenous-managed conservation areas. We must take care of nature to take care of ourselvesHowever, establishing these areas is just the beginning, keeping them intact and supporting them is crucial to conserving nature and preventing human-wildlife contact. Another measure that countries must take to protect nature and stem zoonotic disease outbreaks is permanently ending the global wildlife trade. Due to its <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2020/01/china-bans-wildlife-trade-after-coronavirus-outbreak/" target="_blank">cultural implications</a> in parts of the world, this will not be easy — but it is absolutely necessary.Fundamentally, we need to reimagine our relationship with nature. For a long time, nature was robust and resilient, so humans often assumed we could do anything we wanted to it and it would bounce back. Due to population growth and overexploitation, we’ve reached a point where what we do to nature can permanently impact it. Nature does a lot to support us and one of the things we must do in exchange for the benefits it provides is to make sure we protect it.<hr /><h2>Further reading:</h2><ul><li><a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/study-protecting-tropics-could-save-half-of-species-on-brink">Study: Protecting tropics could save half of species on brink</a></li><li><a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/what-does-covid-19-have-to-do-with-nature-these-5-articles-explain">What does COVID-19 have to do with nature? These 5 articles explain</a></li></ul><hr />Lee Hannah is a senior climate change scientist at Conservation International. Kiley Price is a staff writer at Conservation International. Want to read more stories like this? <a href="https://www.conservation.org/act/subscribe">Sign up for email updates</a>. Also, <a href="https://www.conservation.org/act">please consider supporting our critical work</a>.urn:uuid:5ab7fd04-724c-4bdf-8306-1329a6b5c9ebhttps://www.conservation.org/blog/new-tech-could-transform-science-of-wildlife-selfies ScienceFinance and TechBiodiversityNew tech could transform science of wildlife ‘selfies’A new research database called "Wildlife Insights" will help researchers share data and guide wildlife conservation.Thu, 19 Sep 2019 16:42:11 ZA groundbreaking new effort could greatly expand our knowledge of where the wild things are. <div>Placed by researchers in forests and natural areas around the world, motion-detector cameras — known as “camera traps” — snap thousands of photos a day of animals rarely seen by human eyes. These unwitting selfies have provided scientists an unequaled view into the homes (and habits) of wildlife. <img src="https://www.conservation.org/images/default-source/default-album/ci_85865095.jpg?sfvrsn=c2f7be25_5" sf-size="100" /><h6>A researcher setting up a camera trap in Udzungwa National Park. ( © Benjamin Drummond)</h6>This data is critical to crafting smart policies for wildlife conservation, according to Jorge Ahumada, a scientist at Conservation International. But there’s a downside to having all this data, he says: It’s not being shared.“Technology has made it very easy to collect this data, but we don’t have access to it,” Ahumada said. “There are camera traps everywhere and millions of camera-trap images out there. But most of those images are sitting in people’s computers and databases. It’s a major lost opportunity for conservation.” That is all about to change, thanks to <a href="https://www.wildlifeinsights.org" target="_blank">Wildlife Insights</a>, a cloud-based platform operated in partnership by Conservation International, the Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, Wildlife Conservation Society, The North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, World Wide Fund for Nature, the Zoological Society of London, Map of Life and Google and implemented by Vizzuality. The new platform will enable researchers — and literally anyone else — to view, share and analyze camera-trap data and images. <h3>Close encounters </h3>Camera traps have already revolutionized conservation, says Ahumada, who knows a thing or two about tracking species from his early days as a field biologist studying spider monkeys in Colombia.“Everyone who has studied monkeys in tropical areas knows that this involves long hours of walking, encountering every possible imaginable creature except the monkeys you are studying,” he said. One day out in the forest, he saw something he’d never seen before. “There were two of them — they looked like small dogs, with short ears, short tails and a flattened snout,” he said. “They ran off as soon as they smelled me.” He returned to camp excitedly, telling colleagues what he had seen.“Nobody believed me,” he said, laughing.Thirty years later, Ahumada was reviewing camera trap data from a site in the Peruvian Amazon when an image caught his eye. “Guess what I see? These two dogs,” he said. <img src="https://www.conservation.org/images/default-source/default-album/ci_78792901.jpg?sfvrsn=26d2c2c2_3" sf-size="100" /><h6>Two rarely-seen bush dogs are captured on camera for the first time in Yanachaga-Chemillén National Park, Peru, by TEAM camera traps. (© Courtesy of TEAM Network and Missouri Botanical Garden) </h6>What Ahumada had seen three decades earlier was extremely rare.These small animals are called bush dogs (Speothos venaticus). About the size of a medium dog, they are known to hunt in small packs, and although their geographic range is very large (Panama to southern Brazil), they are rarely seen — of 700,000 camera-trap images taken within bush dogs’ range, only 260 of them are of this species, Ahumada says.Even these relatively few documented sightings — equal to 3 in every 10,000 identified images — provide just enough data to study these animals. “Data is critical,” Ahumada said. “Otherwise we are relying on anecdotes.”<h3>More data, more problems </h3>Knowing whether a particular species is at a particular place at a particular time — and not going back later to see if it is still there — doesn’t tell you anything about what’s happening to the species, Ahumada says. By tirelessly monitoring patches of forest, he says, camera traps help to solve this problem. But their ability to create data is only as useful as humans’ ability to sift through it.  “This is one of the main reasons people don’t share data — it’s very difficult to process it,” Ahumada said. “You end up with thousands of images, and you have to look through each one, manually. It’s very tedious.”  Furthermore, while many camera-trap projects are designed to study one or a few specific species, camera traps don’t discriminate, mindlessly snapping candid shots of any critter that comes into view. Much of the data on this “by-catch” are never shared, depriving other scientists of the opportunity to see or analyze it.Wildlife Insights offers a crucial incentive for persuading scientists to share their photos: unrivaled processing power. Working with Google, the platform has developed machine learning algorithms to automatically identify and tag species — even repeat images of the same animal, in some cases — far faster than any researcher can. “Analysis that used to take months now takes minutes,” Ahumada said.The new platform’s culture of sharing extends beyond just data: any tools and other add-ons will be shared, Ahumada says, as well as the camera-trap photos themselves, under Creative Commons licenses. There are some notable exceptions, however. Users will be able to place their data under embargo for a limited time if that data is being used for yet-to-be-published research. Additionally, the exact locations of commercially hunted and endangered species will be obscured to prevent digitally savvy poachers from using the data for illegal purposes, which is discussed in <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/environmental-conservation/article/wildlife-insights-a-platform-to-maximize-the-potential-of-camera-trap-and-other-passive-sensor-wildlife-data-for-the-planet/98295387F86A977F2ECD96CCC5705CCC" target="_blank">Ahumada's recently published research</a>.<h3>The next generation </h3>Wildlife Insights can be useful for just about anyone, Ahumada says.Indigenous communities that depend directly on wildlife — and the “ecosystem services” that those wildlife provide, such as pest control and pollination — can monitor animals in a new way. Managers of protected areas or anti-poaching programs can gauge the health of specific species. Governments can use wildlife data to inform regulations or legislation. Businesses can use the data to assure that they are responsibly managing the impacts of their activities on local environments. <img src="https://www.conservation.org/images/default-source/default-album/ci_92267314.jpg?sfvrsn=880ec9a5_5" alt="ci_92267314" sf-size="265470" /><h6>One of TEAM's camera traps in the Republic of Congo caught a photo of a chimpanzee. (Courtesy of the TEAM Network)</h6>But for Ahumada, the fact that the public can use Wildlife Insights is especially important. “We want citizen scientists, teachers and children to use this platform,” he said. “These are the future generations who will benefit from wildlife conservation.” <h3>A ‘TEAM’ effort </h3>The platform is the next evolutionary phase of the <a href="https://www.conservation.org/projects/team-network">Tropical Ecology Assessment and Monitoring (TEAM) Network</a>, a partnership formerly led by Conservation International that placed camera traps throughout tropical forests. TEAM will continue to generate data, Ahumada says, that will now live on the Wildlife Insights platform.“TEAM used to be the largest public camera-trap database in the world,” he said. “Now it’s a small part of something much bigger.”The goal is the same, he says, but the ambitions — and opportunities — are larger. “The ultimate goal of this effort is to help stabilize and recover global wildlife populations,” Ahumada said. “Once we have it, we can use it for conservation and on a scale that is relevant — not just at the scale of a protected area, but at the scale of a country or a region.” To coincide with the launch of Wildlife Insights, Google released a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPF43giT5Y8&feature=youtu.be" target="_blank"></a><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsiTx5qjn7c" target="_blank">short documentary film</a> that tells the story of a camera trapper at Colombia’s Alexander von Humboldt Biological Resources Research Institute who is using Wildlife Insights to document and preserve the biological diversity in Caño Cristales, the country’s remote upper Amazon region. Watch the film <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPF43giT5Y8&feature=youtu.be" target="_blank"></a><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsiTx5qjn7c" target="_blank">here</a>. <iframe frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="1" width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/zsiTx5qjn7c?v=zsiTx5qjn7c&enablejsapi=1&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservation.org&widgetid=1">&amp;amp;amp;amp;nbsp;</iframe>Google has also released a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKgRbkCkRFY&feature=youtu.be" target="_blank">background video</a> on how Wildlife Insights was developed. Watch the video <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKgRbkCkRFY&feature=youtu.be" target="_blank">here</a>.<iframe frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="1" width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/qKgRbkCkRFY?v=qKgRbkCkRFY&feature=youtu.be&enablejsapi=1&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservation.org&widgetid=2">&amp;amp;amp;amp;nbsp;</iframe>Jorge Ahumada is a senior wildlife conservation scientist and the executive director of Wildlife Insights at Conservation International. Bruno Vander Velde is senior communications director at Conservation International.Cover Image: A jaguar (Panthera onca), photographed deep inside the Nouragues Natural Reserve, French Guiana. (©Emmanuel Rondeau / WWF France) <hr />Further Reading:<ul><li><a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/protected-areas-do-save-wildlife-just-ask-these-5-species">Protected areas DO save wildlife: Just ask these 5 species</a></li></ul></div><div><hr /></div><div> </div><div> </div>urn:uuid:e22e9254-cd3c-4e8e-b9f2-5103fa392fd9https://www.conservation.org/blog/5-things-you-didnt-know-sharks-do-for-you BiodiversityOceans5 things you didn’t know sharks do for youSharks have long been cast as villains in popular culture — ruthless predators terrorizing beachgoers. In truth, the real danger isn’t to us, but to them.Fri, 26 Jul 2019 13:45:03 ZSharks have long been cast as villains in popular culture — ruthless predators terrorizing beachgoers. In truth, the real danger isn’t to us, but to them.Sharks rarely <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/07/26/well/shark-season-attacks-survival-tips.html" target="_blank">attack people</a>, yet humans kill an estimated <a href="https://dlnr.hawaii.gov/sharks/about-sharks/threats-to-sharks/" target="_blank">100 million</a> of them every year. Over the last half century, shark and ray populations have <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-03173-9" target="_blank">dropped 71 percent</a>, largely due to increased fishing pressure. This isn’t just bad news for sharks — it threatens the balance of entire ocean ecosystems.Without sharks, the ocean would look entirely different — with far-reaching effects, including for people. Here’s why:<h2>1. Sharks keep the food web in check.</h2>Many shark species, such as the great white and bull shark, sit atop the food chain. By targeting fish that are weak, sick and aging, they help keep schools resilient and strong — and, in turn, support ocean health.When sharks are wiped out from a habitat, the prey-predator balance can crumble: <a href="https://www.aims.gov.au/information-centre/news-and-stories/sharks-increase-reef-resilience#:~:text=Healthy%20shark%20populations%20may%20aid,of%20Marine%20Science%20(AIMS)." target="_blank">One study found</a> that in coral reefs, fewer sharks led to greater numbers of mid-level predators that feed on algae-eating fish. Algae soon overtook the reef system, suffocating the coral and diminishing its ability to recover from bleaching and other threats. In Indonesia, <a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/how-an-extraordinary-new-effort-is-giving-sharks-a-fighting-chance">a project</a> from Conservation International is aiming to correct this imbalance by doing something that’s never been done before: releasing captive-bred sharks into the wild.Further reading: <a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/how-an-extraordinary-new-effort-is-giving-sharks-a-fighting-chance">How an extraordinary new effort is giving sharks a fighting chance</a><img src="https://www.conservation.org/images/default-source/default-album/ci_360048696aa4db3d-4d4e-4268-83fa-d1fff3e2e01b.jpg?sfvrsn=b54cb089_3" alt="" sf-size="14602638" />© Rodolphe Holler Sharks are slow breeders and the target of intense overfishing — a recipe for extinction.<h2>2. Sharks may be key to fighting cancer.</h2>Sharks have been around for a long time — the earliest evidence goes back <a href="https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/shark-evolution-a-450-million-year-timeline.html" target="_blank">450 million years</a>, making them older than trees. Over that vast span of time, their cells have evolved ways to repair DNA damage more efficiently, keeping their genomes stable and helping them recover from injuries. This may help them resist some age-related diseases, including certain cancers.Scientists are currently studying the genetic makeup of both <a href="https://www.med.wisc.edu/news/uw-expert-launches-cancer-research-using-sharks/" target="_blank">nurse sharks</a> and <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-47291697" target="_blank">great whites</a> to see if they can mimic this effect in humans to help treat cancer.<h2>3. Sharks help capture carbon.</h2>Carbon is the foundation of life on Earth, but human activities like deforestation and fossil-fuel use are pumping extra carbon into the atmosphere, fueling climate change. Sharks play an important role in keeping more carbon stored deep within the ocean and out of the atmosphere.For example, by <a href="https://animatingcarbon.earth/sharks-apex-predators-boost-marine-carbon-storage" target="_blank">preying on species</a> that graze on <a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/an-overlooked-climate-ally-is-in-deep-trouble">seagrass meadows</a> and <a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/news-spotlight-could-seaweed-be-our-new-big-climate-ally">kelp forests</a>, tiger sharks help keep these habitats healthy and productive. In turn, these ecosystems continue to capture and store large amounts of carbon.Further reading: <a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/an-overlooked-climate-ally-is-in-deep-trouble">An overlooked climate ally is in deep trouble</a>Research also shows that sharks, like other large marine animals, hold a considerable amount of carbon in their bodies — roughly <a href="https://www.ifaw.org/journal/sharks-keep-oceans-healthy" target="_blank">10 to 15 percent</a> of their body mass. When they die, their bodies sink to the bottom of the ocean, where that carbon can be locked away for centuries instead of re-entering the atmosphere.<h2>4. Sharks boost local economies.</h2>In recent decades, shark tourism has grown into an economic powerhouse, generating more than <a href="https://www.conservation.org/act/shark-facts">US$ 300 million</a> every year and supporting thousands of jobs in coastal towns — from the Bahamas to South Africa to the Galápagos Islands. If sharks disappear, so would many communities’ income streams.On the flip side, sharks' undeserved reputation as cold-blooded killers can sometimes scare tourists away. And methods that attempt to prevent sharks from entering beaches, like shark nets, are both highly ineffective and <a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/nsw-shark-nets-under-fire-after-data-reveals-shocking-death/3ef382f0-76a2-4266-b8ea-9fd14f274cfb" target="_blank">catastrophic for marine life</a>. <a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/meet-the-startup-using-magnets-keep-sharks-at-bay">SharkSafe Barriers</a>, an investee of <a href="https://www.conservation.org/projects/conservation-international-ventures-llc">CI Ventures</a> (Conservation International's investment arm), is working to ease those fears with an innovative approach. Using barriers that mimic thick kelp forests, which sharks naturally tend to avoid, and magnets, which overwhelm sharks’ senses, they’re able to protect beachgoers' peace of mind, while ensuring sharks can swim safely offshore.Further reading: <a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/meet-the-startup-using-magnets-keep-sharks-at-bay">Meet the startup using magnets to keep sharks at bay</a><img src="https://www.conservation.org/images/default-source/temp/copy-of-daniel-bothelo---2.jpg?sfvrsn=346d6d82_1" alt="" sf-size="7930187" />© Daniel BotheloSharkSafe Barriers mimics a kelp forest and uses powerful magnets to deter sharks.<h2>5. Sharks inspire smart design.</h2>One of sharks' most notable attributes is their speed — the world’s fastest shark, the shortfin mako, can reach speeds up to 74 kilometers per hour (46 miles per hour), owing to small scales on their skin called denticles that decrease drag and turbulence. Scientists have borrowed this “technology” in a <a href="https://illumin.usc.edu/from-shark-skin-to-speed/" target="_blank">variety of ways</a> — from designing sleeker swimsuits for competitive swimmers to developing a paint for airplanes that researchers say could save up to 4.5 million tons of fuel per year. Want to support work that protects sharks? <a href="https://www.conservation.org/act">Here’s one way</a>.Further reading: <ul><li><a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/meet-the-startup-using-magnets-keep-sharks-at-bay">Meet the startup using magnets to keep sharks at bay </a></li><li><a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/how-an-extraordinary-new-effort-is-giving-sharks-a-fighting-chance">How an extraordinary new effort is giving sharks ‘a fighting chance’ </a></li><li><a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/climate-change-charts-a-dangerous-course-for-the-worlds-largest-fish">Climate change charts a dangerous course for the world's largest fish</a> </li><li><a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/indonesia-protects-walking-sharks-are-other-sharks-next">Indonesia protects ‘walking sharks.’ Are other sharks next?</a></li></ul>Editor's note: This post originally published in June, 2016.Mary Kate McCoy is a staff writer at Conservation International. Want to read more stories like this? <a href="https://www.conservation.org/act/subscribe">Sign up for email updates</a>. Also, <a href="https://www.conservation.org/act">please consider supporting our critical work</a>. urn:uuid:3c8428d5-898d-476c-83b2-a09bec2e53e4https://www.conservation.org/blog/voices-of-the-alto-mayo-the-forest-gives-me-everything BiodiversityVoices of the Alto Mayo: ‘The forest gives me everything’Abdías Vásquez describes his life in the Alto Mayo and how it has changed since he signed a conservation agreement.Tue, 23 Jul 2019 15:58:40 ZEditor’s note: Despite its protected status, Peru’s <a href="https://www.conservation.org/stories/protecting-forests-and-climate-in-alto-mayo" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Alto Mayo Protected Forest</a> — a swath of Amazonian rainforest twice the size of New York City — has seen some of the country’s highest rates of deforestation. Since 2012, Conservation International has sought to halt the loss of forests by brokering “<a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog">conservation agreements</a>” with local communities, who agree to stop clearing forests in exchange for technical and financial advice.To date, nearly 1,000 agreements have been signed, reducing deforestation and helping create a culture of sustainable development.Here, Abdías Vásquez describes his life in the Alto Mayo and how it has changed since he signed a conservation agreement. <a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Read about other conservation agreements here.</a>I have lived in El Afluente within the Alto Mayo Protected Forest for 14 years. Before that, I lived in Cajamarca, in the mountains, where it rained very little and was very hard to find water and firewood. My mother had to walk for miles to fetch it. It was a huge sacrifice, so I decided to move to the jungle. With a lot of work, I managed to buy a patch of land and bring my family to join me. I grew coffee and harvested it a year later, but then a plague destroyed it completely. I had planted it using mountain techniques and didn’t realize that in the jungle it would have to be planted differently.Around 2004, the authorities from the government protected-area agency [known as SERNANP, its acronym in Spanish], visited us and led training workshops about the forest and protected areas. We were prohibited from extracting wood, but we were offered nothing in exchange. People disagreed the conservation discourse.  We thought that they really intended to take our lands.We first approached SERNANP and told them that we understood that logging was prohibited, but that we needed support or some kind of technical assistance for our farms in return.I made them understand that if we had come from so far in search of water and resources, we had to make sure to protect them. It was around that time that we began hearing about the conservation agreements. Wow, I thought, this is what we had been asking for.The first benefit package was the delivery of fertilizers, which I found were effective. SERNANP gave us training on how to plant and how to look after our crops. It’s been three years since I signed, and I’ve been able to acquire a coffee dryer, an ecological toilet in my farm, and a tank-tub where I select my coffee. I’ve also installed plumbing that comes from a ravine in the little forest.But some friends began to pressure me. Many people still didn’t sympathize with SERNANP’s vision and didn’t understand why it was important to stop using the trees in the forest. They were still very suspicious of the authorities, and even though I’ve received some threats to quit the conservation agreements, I know that I’m not doing anything wrong, but quite the opposite.I noticed a change in my feeling toward nature. My relationship with nature is good. I feel very happy and calm here. I am very grateful because the engineers work hand in hand with us. I’ve learned which plants attract hummingbirds, and when I sit down to rest here, I see my birds and I stay to watch them, feeling happy. I’m becoming used to being here rather than in the village, but as my children have to go to school they stay there with my wife. I live here away from everything, and when they come to see me, I share with them what I have learned. They also bring their friends: “My dad lives in a paradise on the riverbank, planting his flowers, surrounded by his butterflies,” they say.Currently, I’m growing vanilla as part of the agreements, in addition to the coffee. It sells for a good price. Vanilla is a plant that we’ve always mistreated because we didn’t know about its uses, just like the <a href="https://www.thespruce.com/dragon-fruit-overview-nutritional-information-3217090">pitahaya</a> [dragon fruit], which besides selling at a good price, has healing properties. For lack of knowledge we didn’t eat the fruit; we considered it a weed. Some even burned it.Now, I dedicate my life to natural resources. Nobody has convinced me or forced me. I’m in this because I endured shortages when I was in the mountains, and I know very well what it’s like to lose them because we’re not taking care of them. Today, to build my house or my coffee dryer, I look for fallen wood, instead of cutting down a tree.I want this place to become a tourist attraction. I’ve created a path that is now covered with trees and clear to walk through. I’m also building a staircase to the river where there is a pretty beach. We already have a sanitary landfill and ecological toilet, although we still need to sort things out a little. I’ve talked with the park authorities and Conservation International, and told them that after four years in a conservation agreement, I hope to have this place ready for ecotourism.That is the dream that started years ago, when I was invited to participate in an internship in tourism at the <a href="http://www.chaparri.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ecological Reserve of Chaparrí</a>, a model for ecotourism where the local population benefits from the conservation of its natural resources, in the dry forests of Lambayeque. That beautiful place stayed with me, and I told myself that one day I would have an appropriate area for ecotourism. That dream is close to becoming a reality.<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/BetURtUgn6k" width="600" height="337.5" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen">&nbsp;</iframe>Abdías Vásquez is a conservation agreement subscriber in the Alto Mayo Protected Forest. This post was translated to English by Daniela Amico, communications manager at Conservation International-Peru.<hr />Further reading<ul><li><a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog" target="_blank">What on Earth is a ‘conservation agreement’?</a><a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/in-perus-amazon-voices-from-the-community-prove-conservation-is-reaping-rewards" target="_blank"> </a></li><li><a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/illegal-logger-turned-forest-champion-with-help-from-hummingbirds" target="_blank">Illegal logger turned forest champion — with help from hummingbirds</a></li></ul><hr />urn:uuid:58ff92f4-1f9e-4e30-b09c-03b42aeaee99https://www.conservation.org/blog/3-reasons-elephants-make-the-best-mothers Biodiversity3 reasons elephants make the best mothersOn this Mother’s Day, here are three reasons why elephants make some of the best mothers.Fri, 19 Jul 2019 02:37:00 ZThis post was updated on August 18, 2021.Elephant mothers carry their babies for <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/mammals-have-extremely-diverse-pregnancies-heres-why" target="_blank">nearly two years</a> before giving birth. Then they ensure their babies get the best food, teach their children the most useful skills and show their children how to lead the herd during hard times.Elephants recognize that their mothers know best — the herds are matriarchal. The oldest female elephant plays a key role in controlling the social network of the group and in ensuring the survival of the family.Not all elephant families are so fortunate: When their mothers are lost to poaching or to human-wildlife conflict, young orphaned elephants stand little chance in the wild. Now, organizations like Reteti Elephant Sanctuary — the first community-owned elephant orphanage in Africa, and the subject of the new Conservation International film “<a href="https://www.conservation.org/stories/virtual-reality/my-africa" rel="noopener" target="_blank">My Africa</a>” — are filling the gap. By raising orphaned elephants for release back into the wild, the sanctuary offers a glimmer of hope that this threatened species can continue to thrive.Far better, of course, to stop poaching and conflict in the first place — and allow young elephants to learn from some of the busiest mothers on the planet. On this Mother’s Day, here are three reasons why elephants make some of the best mothers.<h2>1. Elephant mothers produce the best meals</h2>A baby elephant adds about <a href="https://www.livescience.com/27320-elephants.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">two pounds of bodyweight</a> each day after birth. An elephant mother’s milk changes four times during the weaning process to meet the baby’s needs.At Kenya’s Reteti Elephant Sanctuary, keepers have to make sure that orphaned elephants get the nutrients they need, using a precise feeding program specialized for each elephant. Each bottle is different for each elephant, and keepers must feed the elephants eight times a day to keep them healthy. The best substitute for a mother elephant’s milk? Human baby formula, which is fortified with protein, fat and vitamins.During the painful teething process, an elephant mother’s milk adapts to soothe the baby: Mother elephants will change their diets to include plants with anti-inflammatory properties to help the baby cope with incoming teeth. At the sanctuary, keepers use their knowledge of local plants to administer natural medicines to mimic the same types of nutrition.<h2>2. Elephant mothers are the best teachers</h2>Elephants learn how to pick the best plants for eating, how to defend against predators and how to navigate steep embankments — all <a href="https://www.elephantvoices.org/elephant-sense-a-sociality-4/elephants-learn-from-others.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">from their mothers</a>.At Reteti, keepers focus on introducing the young elephants to their natural surroundings in hopes of eventually returning them to the wild. Some of this information can’t be taught by the human keepers alone.This is where Shaba comes in.The oldest female elephant at the sanctuary, <a href="https://www.retetielephants.org/shaba/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Shaba</a> arrived when she was 15 months old, after her parents were killed by poachers. Now at almost age three, she has taken on the role of matriarch for the Reteti herd, leading the herd every day on its walk about the bush and greeting every new orphaned elephant when they arrive. This way, even the orphaned elephants have a female role model to lead the way.<h2>3. Elephant matriarchs are the best leaders</h2>During times of drought, when animals’ usual water sources dry up, the oldest female elephants can lead their herd hundreds of miles to water they visited years before — because they remember the locations. Elephant herds with older, larger matriarchs <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/what-elephants-can-teach-us-about-the-importance-of-female-leadership/2014/01/27/32db3f5e-7eeb-11e3-95c6-0a7aa80874bc_story.html?utm_term=.6861e687c814" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tend to fare better</a> during times of crisis, because they have longer memories.Sometimes the water source no longer exists, or human development gets in the way. By collaring elephants and tracking their movements, conservationists are learning more about elephant migrations to protect the animals’ water sources and minimize human conflict.Organizations use <a href="http://www.savetheelephants.org/project/tracking-real-time-monitoring/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">GPS tracking equipment</a> to learn about elephants’ behaviors and movements in real-time. Aside from gathering more data about elephants’ needs, this technology can save an elephant’s life: When the researchers notice that a particular elephant becomes unusually immobile, this could mean that an elephant is being attacked by poachers. The researchers then send text messages to nearby rangers who can investigate — and potentially stop — poachers from harming the elephant.Feeding, teaching, leading: It’s all in a day’s work for elephant moms.<hr /><h2>Further reading</h2><ul><li><a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/4-things-you-didnt-know-elephants-do-for-you">4 things you didn’t know elephants do for you</a></li></ul><hr />Morgan Lynch is a staff writer for Conservation International. Want to read more stories like this? <a href="https://www.conservation.org/act/subscribe">Sign up for email updates</a>. Also, <a href="https://www.conservation.org/act">please consider supporting our critical work</a>.urn:uuid:8a06153b-3cd7-4cbc-af14-ded538b5eb2ahttps://www.conservation.org/blog/what-on-earth-is-a-conservation-agreement BiodiversityCommunitiesWhat on Earth is a ‘conservation agreement’?Here, we break down “conservation agreements,” an approach that helps conserve biodiversity while improving the quality of life for local communities.Fri, 19 Jul 2019 02:09:44 ZEditor’s note: From “climate adaptation” to “blue carbon,” from “landscape approach” to “ecosystem services,” environmental jargon is everywhere these days. Conservation International’s blog looks to make sense of it in an occasional explainer series we’re calling “What on Earth?”In this installment, we break down “conservation agreements,” an approach that helps conserve biodiversity while improving the quality of life for local communities.So: What is a ‘conservation agreement’?It’s a deal between a community and a group or person funding a conservation project (that could be a government, a non-profit, a foundation, a business or even an individual).How does it work?In exchange for making specific conservation commitments to protect their lands — such as keeping forests standing by not logging them — communities receive benefits from the funder, such as organic fertilizer and pruning tools to improve their coffee farms or training and wages for patrolling forests to stop illegal logging.Why would you work directly with communities to do this?Let’s bring in an expert to explain.“Most of what remains of nature around the world — tropical forests, coastal mangroves, grasslands — is in the hands of indigenous peoples and collective landholders,” says Margarita Mora, managing director of the <a href="https://www.conservation.org/about/conservation-stewards-program" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Conservation Stewards Program at Conservation International</a> (CI). “These are the areas with the highest diversity of plants and animals in the world, as well as the areas with the highest cultural value to humanity. People living in these areas are effective stewards, but sometimes there is no economic alternative to using their natural resources in unsustainable ways. At the end of the day, they want better economic opportunities for their families. Our job is to make that happen while protecting nature – make protecting the environment a viable economic choice.”How do you ensure that these deals are fair to the communities?The terms of the conservation agreements are designed directly with the local communities, and it’s all voluntary. Communities and partner organizations first identify the pressures placed on the community’s natural resources – such as potential encroachment by a mining company or outsiders illegally cutting down mangroves – and together they define the actions to be carried out by the communities. The agreements lay out the actions and benefits, as well as how it will all be monitored and the consequences for all parties involved if they do not comply with the terms.“We know that negotiation takes time,” says Zachary Wells, technical director of CI’s Conservation Stewards Program, which oversees conservation agreements. “Communities sometimes don’t believe partner organizations will provide benefits in recognition of their conservation efforts. Trust between partner organizations and communities needs to be built over time.”The negotiation process is explained in <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vVh6tnyknE" target="_blank" rel="noopener">this video</a>.<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/OPt-7IQOefE" width="600" height="337.5" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen">&nbsp;</iframe>What happens if the community does not follow through on its commitments? The agreements are canceled, simple as that.Has this ever happened?Yes. For example, in the Alto Mayo region of northwestern Peru, coffee growers committed to not cutting down trees to expand their farms, and in return, they asked for technical support to improve their coffee production and for better access to markets. Socio-economic and forest cover monitoring indicated who was and was not complying with the commitments. For the few coffee growers who continued to clear the forest, the agreements were canceled — a sign to everyone involved that the agreements are serious and binding. Now, deforestation has been reduced in the area, and coffee growers who sign agreements are getting better prices for their product.“We have seen that usually during the first year of the agreements there will be community members that won’t comply with the agreement,” Mora explains. “By applying penalties defined in the agreement, community members realize that this is a serious relationship.”What kinds of support do the communities receive?Benefits typically include investments in social services like health and education as well as investments in livelihoods, often in the agricultural or fisheries sectors. Benefits can also include direct payments and wages.For example, in Bolivia, indigenous communities have agreed to not cut down trees in exchange for help building an ecotourism business. In China, CI’s partner Shan Shui Conservation Center trained a community in bee- and poultry-keeping to replace activities that threaten the forest. And in one agreement in <a href="https://www.conservation.org/projects/improving-grazing-practices-in-namaqualand-south-africa" rel="noopener" target="_blank">South Africa</a>, farmers commit to sustainable approaches to grazing, water management, stock numbers and predator control. In return, they get higher prices for their stock, trainings on restoration techniques and business management, and better access to breeding and veterinary support.Where did this idea come from?In 2002, Conservation International negotiated an agreement in which the government of Guyana gave CI a 30-year concession for the protection of 80,000 hectares (197,684 acres) that were going to be logged. The idea was replicated in Peru, Indonesia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, as it was an attractive deal to the governments — who were compensated for the opportunity cost of developing the land — and a cost-effective way to conserve nature.Once these deals with national governments were shown to work, CI turned its sights to working directly with communities.“The CI team at the time thought that if this type of negotiated agreements were of interest to governments, CI could also negotiate agreements with people to conserve community lands,” Wells explains.What have these conservation agreements achieved overall?There are 4,000 agreements in place in 19 countries around the world, benefiting 30,000 people and protecting 1.8 million hectares (4.4 million acres), an area a bit smaller than the state of New Jersey. Of these agreements, 70 percent are funded and managed directly by government programs, and 30 percent are implemented by CI and partner organizations.From the more than 1,200 agreements implemented by CI and partners, 90 percent are focused on the protection of forest. An evaluation of deforestation of areas where conservation agreements have been implemented for more than five years show that there is three times less deforestation than in sites without conservation agreements.What is the end goal of these agreements?The common goal is for communities to benefit from the protection of 13 million hectares (32 million acres), or an area the size of England, by 2020.“We have cracked the code,” Mora says. “These models work. When communities have alternatives, they choose nature.”Cassandra Kane is the communications manager for CI’s Conservation Finance Division.Want to read more stories like this? <a href="https://www.conservation.org/act/subscribe">Sign up for email updates.</a> <a href="https://www.conservation.org/donate">Donate to Conservation International.</a><hr />Further reading<ul><li><a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/illegal-logger-turned-forest-champion-with-help-from-hummingbirds" target="_blank">Illegal logger turned forest champion — with help from hummingbirds</a></li></ul><hr />