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	<channel>
		<title>Conservation news</title>
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		<link>https://news.mongabay.com/list/united-kingdom/</link>
		<description>Environmental science and conservation news</description>
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	<title>United Kingdom environmental news</title>
	<link>https://news.mongabay.com/list/united-kingdom/</link>
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				<item>
					<title>Can a new methodology save the carbon market?</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/can-a-new-methodology-save-the-carbon-market/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/can-a-new-methodology-save-the-carbon-market/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>16 Jun 2026 10:22:03 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Abhishyant Kidangoor]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Abhishyantkidangoor]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/06/18093229/Banner-Image-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=321423</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Europe and United Kingdom]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Carbon Credits, Carbon Market, Climate, climate finance, Conservation, Deforestation, Ecosystems, Environment, Finance, Forests, Funding, Greenwashing, Human Rights, and Poverty]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[How can the beleaguered carbon market be saved? Carbon market pioneer Daniel Morrell’s solution is straightforward: Go back to the market&#8217;s roots by focusing less on carbon and more on biodiversity generation and community welfare. It might be easier said than done; nonetheless, he is giving it a shot. Morrell recently launched Balance, a new [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[How can the beleaguered carbon market be saved? Carbon market pioneer Daniel Morrell’s solution is straightforward: Go back to the market&#8217;s roots by focusing less on carbon and more on biodiversity generation and community welfare. It might be easier said than done; nonetheless, he is giving it a shot. Morrell recently launched Balance, a new avatar of the carbon credit that puts the focus primarily on biodiversity protection and generating new sources of income for local communities. With a three-pillared methodology, he plans to address biodiversity loss, poverty and climate breakdown with the aim of keeping forests intact long after projects have wrapped up. “Tackling any one of these in isolation is ineffective as they are structurally linked,” Morrell, CEO of Balance and climate advisor to the U.K. Prime Minister&#8217;s Office, 10 Downing Street, told Mongabay in an email interview. He said he wants Balance units to address these issues simultaneously rather than allowing people and companies to purchase “a ‘get out of jail free’ card to excuse emissions.” Dan Morrell launched Balance credits with the aim of saving the beleaguered carbon market by putting the spotlight on biodiversity protection and community welfare. Image courtesy of John Nguyen. For years, carbon offset projects have allowed people and companies to invest in forest restoration projects to cancel out, or offset, emissions they produce. However, the voluntary carbon market has faced widespread scrutiny for lacking transparency on how it measures the success of projects, leading to allegations of greenwashing. Many projects have&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/can-a-new-methodology-save-the-carbon-market/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/can-a-new-methodology-save-the-carbon-market/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-321423</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Uncertainty about weakening Atlantic currents isn’t a reason to wait but to act (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/uncertainty-about-weakening-atlantic-currents-isnt-a-reason-to-wait-but-to-act-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/uncertainty-about-weakening-atlantic-currents-isnt-a-reason-to-wait-but-to-act-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>02 Jun 2026 10:18:27 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Helen Findlay]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/06/02100930/Puffin_UjvalPasupuleti_09-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=320448</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Atlantic Ocean, England, Europe, European Union, and United Kingdom]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Climate, Climate Change, Commentary, Ecosystems, Fisheries, Marine, Marine Conservation, Oceans, and Research]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[When a scientist says, “We don’t know yet,” it can sound like a shrug. In reality, it often means the opposite: We are worried enough to be careful. The public can reasonably ask why some climate risks, especially tipping points, don’t arrive with alarm and immediate action. George Monbiot recently voiced a frustration many people [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[When a scientist says, “We don’t know yet,” it can sound like a shrug. In reality, it often means the opposite: We are worried enough to be careful. The public can reasonably ask why some climate risks, especially tipping points, don’t arrive with alarm and immediate action. George Monbiot recently voiced a frustration many people feel: Why has the possibility of an Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) shift not prompted a bigger political and media response? Climate scientists are trained to avoid overclaiming and, instead, to communicate what the evidence shows, what it suggests, and what remains unresolved. That approach underpins my team’s recent research on ocean acidification, supported by the Frontiers Planet Prize. In that work, published in Global Change Biology, we found that large parts of the global ocean have already crossed into a “zone of risk” for ecosystem change. That caution can serve to downplay the threat, but the latest research on the AMOC should be understood as a warning sign: The potential outcomes could be even more severe than projected, and the uncertainty around timing and thresholds is not a reason to delay, but an argument for action now. Ocean life depends on AMOC The AMOC is often described as a giant conveyor belt of Atlantic currents. Warm, salty surface waters flow north from the tropics to the subpolar North Atlantic. On its way, the water releases heat to the atmosphere, so that by the time it reaches the subpolar region, it has cooled and become&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/uncertainty-about-weakening-atlantic-currents-isnt-a-reason-to-wait-but-to-act-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/uncertainty-about-weakening-atlantic-currents-isnt-a-reason-to-wait-but-to-act-commentary/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-320448</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>The European wildcat hovers between recovery and local extinction</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/the-european-wildcat-hovers-between-recovery-and-local-extinction/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/the-european-wildcat-hovers-between-recovery-and-local-extinction/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>11 May 2026 13:12:52 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sean Mowbray]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Sharon Guynup]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/05/07014556/Image_1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=318902</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Czech Republic, Europe, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Scotland, Spain, and Turkey]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Cats, Climate, Climate Change, Conservation, Critically Endangered Species, Diseases, Endangered Species, Environment, Extinction, Forests, Funding, Genetics, Habitat Loss, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Human-wildlife Conflict, Hunting, Mammals, Parasites, Population, Reintroductions, Saving Species From Extinction, Small Cats, Solutions, Species recovery, Wildlife, and Zoos]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A quiet comeback story is unfolding for the European wildcat in the Czech Republic’s Lusatian Mountains. Conservationists tracking this elusive species there have spotted a male and female, named Jonáš and Tonka, the first to be found in the region in nearly a century. This small cat species lives in forests across Europe. It’s doing [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A quiet comeback story is unfolding for the European wildcat in the Czech Republic’s Lusatian Mountains. Conservationists tracking this elusive species there have spotted a male and female, named Jonáš and Tonka, the first to be found in the region in nearly a century. This small cat species lives in forests across Europe. It’s doing relatively well in some places and is imperiled in others, like the Czech Republic, where it’s critically endangered. The European wildcat (Felis silvestris), which is around the size of a large housecat, was wiped out because of disappearing habitat — and persecution. They were considered vermin and killed because they preyed on poultry and they were hunted for sport. More recently, they’re sometimes hybridizing, breeding with domestic cats. Numbers are spotty across parts of their range, so overall population numbers and trends, whether they’re rebounding or declining, is currently unknown. That’s a challenge shared by many of the world’s 30-plus small wildcat species that are often overlooked by research and funding. But they are hanging on in the Czech Republic. Earlier this year, Tonka gave birth to at least three kittens, offering hope that a slow wildcat recovery may be underway. Conservationists set up “hair traps,” wooden posts smeared with a lure that attracts the wildcats, then analyzed DNA from fur they left behind when they rubbed on them to mark their territory, as cats do. Genetically confirmed records of wildcat births are “exceedingly rare” in the country, said Kristýna Chroboková, field coordinator with the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/the-european-wildcat-hovers-between-recovery-and-local-extinction/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/the-european-wildcat-hovers-between-recovery-and-local-extinction/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-318902</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Unwrapping deforestation: Your chocolate Easter bunny may harm the environment</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/unwrapping-deforestation-your-chocolate-easter-bunny-may-harm-the-environment/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/unwrapping-deforestation-your-chocolate-easter-bunny-may-harm-the-environment/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>03 Apr 2026 11:45:39 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Elisângela Mendonça]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Andy Lehren]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Food systems]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[global forests]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/04/01093153/a.-makabera-easter-bunny-7037615-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=316699</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[United Kingdom and West Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Cacao, Climate Change, Conservation, Deforestation, Environment, Environmental Policy, Food, Forest Destruction, Governance, Industrial Agriculture, International Trade, Politics, Rainforest Destruction, Regulations, Supply Chain, and Tropical Deforestation]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[As Easter eggs and chocolate bunnies fill British families’ baskets this holiday season, a new report reveals that West Africa continues to be deforested to meet the United Kingdom’s growing demand for cocoa. In 2025 alone, cocoa imported into the U.K. contributed to more than 2,000 hectares (about 4,940 acres) of deforestation, according to an [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[As Easter eggs and chocolate bunnies fill British families’ baskets this holiday season, a new report reveals that West Africa continues to be deforested to meet the United Kingdom’s growing demand for cocoa. In 2025 alone, cocoa imported into the U.K. contributed to more than 2,000 hectares (about 4,940 acres) of deforestation, according to an exclusive analysis by climate NGO Global Witness shared with Mongabay. The findings come more than four years after the U.K. passed its Environment Act, which promised to strip illegal deforestation from the nation’s supply chains. But additional regulations for implementing the law have not been put in place, and the government declines to say when they might be enacted. While the government has failed to set rules, consumers remain at risk of buying chocolate and other goods that contribute to the climate crisis, even as they reach for foods stamped as sustainable, experts say. Last week, a coalition of chocolate manufacturers, British supermarkets and NGOs hosted an All-Party Parliamentary Group event on global deforestation at the House of Commons in London. The group gathered to urge the government to finally regulate commodities at risk for links to deforestation and provide more clarity to the industry. The U.K. Cocoa Coalition is formed of major firms, such as Ferrero Rocher and Hershey; retailers Sainsbury’s, Waitrose and Marks &amp; Spencer; and several nonprofit organizations, including the World Wildlife Fund. The U.K. Cocoa Coalition met in an event in Parliament last week. Image courtesy of the NGO Forest Coalition.&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/unwrapping-deforestation-your-chocolate-easter-bunny-may-harm-the-environment/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/unwrapping-deforestation-your-chocolate-easter-bunny-may-harm-the-environment/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-316699</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Tipping points and ecosystem collapse are the real geopolitical risk (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/tipping-points-and-ecosystem-collapse-are-the-real-geopolitical-risk-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/tipping-points-and-ecosystem-collapse-are-the-real-geopolitical-risk-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Feb 2026 00:25:23 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Robert Muggah]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/02/08165418/AP26022466329076-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=313920</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Europe, Global, and United Kingdom]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate Change, Commentary, Environment, food security, Green, and Tipping points]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The focus of experts in global security tends to orbit familiar threats. War in Europe and the Middle East. Trade disruption and financial volatility. Technology shocks and threats to information integrity. But the most consequential driver of instability is unfolding under our feet and over our heads. The world&#8217;s climate system is edging toward tipping points and nature is [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The focus of experts in global security tends to orbit familiar threats. War in Europe and the Middle East. Trade disruption and financial volatility. Technology shocks and threats to information integrity. But the most consequential driver of instability is unfolding under our feet and over our heads. The world&#8217;s climate system is edging toward tipping points and nature is being degraded at scale. Together they present an existential threat to air, food, water, health, and the legitimacy of states in ways that do not respect borders. Nature on the security agenda A newly released UK government assessment, published in January 2026 after a freedom of information process, offers a rare view of how security professionals think about biodiversity loss.  It is a sanitized overview rather than a full exposure of the underlying analysis. Even so, the central finding is hard to ignore. Global ecosystem degradation and collapse threaten national security and prosperity, and without major intervention the trend is highly likely to continue to 2050 and beyond. Biodiversity Intactness Index (BII). Courtesy of the Natural History Museum What stands out is that this is a government security assessment, and that it also spells out the mechanics of collapse with unusual clarity. When ecosystems degrade, the services they provide start to fail. Water regulation weakens. Soil fertility declines. Pollination drops. Disease control erodes. These are not abstract ecological concepts. They are the quiet foundations of modern economies. As they weaken, practical consequences follow. Crops fail more often. Fisheries decline. Food prices rise. Supply chains become brittle.&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/tipping-points-and-ecosystem-collapse-are-the-real-geopolitical-risk-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/tipping-points-and-ecosystem-collapse-are-the-real-geopolitical-risk-commentary/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-313920</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>When nature becomes a security risk</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/when-nature-becomes-a-security-risk/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/when-nature-becomes-a-security-risk/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>02 Feb 2026 14:58:27 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rhett Ayers Butler]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2022/12/12231629/GP1T2OKD-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=313602</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Founder's briefs]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Britain, Europe, and United Kingdom]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Climate Change, Conflict, Environment, Food, food security, Forests, Green, Human Migration, Pandemics, Water, and Water Scarcity]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Britain’s national security thinking has traditionally been shaped by familiar concerns: hostile states, terrorism, energy supply, and, more recently, cyber threats. A new assessment from the U.K. government adds a different category to that list. Global biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse, it argues, now pose a direct and growing risk to national security, with implications [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Britain’s national security thinking has traditionally been shaped by familiar concerns: hostile states, terrorism, energy supply, and, more recently, cyber threats. A new assessment from the U.K. government adds a different category to that list. Global biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse, it argues, now pose a direct and growing risk to national security, with implications that extend well beyond conservation policy and into food supply, economic stability, migration, and conflict. The assessment is explicit about its framing. This is not a scientific review, nor an environmental strategy. It is an intelligence-style analysis, designed to support national security planning under conditions of uncertainty. It draws on scientific literature, expert judgment, and probabilistic reasoning, applying the same tools used to assess geopolitical or military risk. Its core judgment is delivered with high confidence: global ecosystem degradation already threatens U.K. prosperity and security, and without major intervention, those risks are likely to intensify through mid-century and beyond. Deforestation for palm oil production in Malaysian Borneo. At the heart of the argument is the idea of cascading risk. Ecosystems underpin food production, water availability, climate regulation, and disease control. When they degrade, the effects rarely remain local. Crop failures in one region can ripple through global markets. Water scarcity can destabilize fragile states. Disease outbreaks can spread rapidly through interconnected societies. The assessment emphasizes that biodiversity loss should be understood not as an isolated environmental problem, but as a multiplier of existing social, economic, and political stresses. The report identifies several pathways through which&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/when-nature-becomes-a-security-risk/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/when-nature-becomes-a-security-risk/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-313602</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Photos: Kew Gardens&#8217; top 10 newly named plants and fungi for 2025</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/01/photos-kew-gardens-top-10-newly-named-plants-and-fungi-for-2025/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/01/photos-kew-gardens-top-10-newly-named-plants-and-fungi-for-2025/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>12 Jan 2026 23:24:04 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/01/12223115/02.-Telipogon-cruentilabrum-CREDIT-L.Baquero-03-768x512.png" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=312879</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Botswana, Brazil, Ecuador, England, Namibia, Peru, and South Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Botany, Conservation, Deforestation, Endangered Species, Environment, Forest Destruction, Forests, Fungi, Green, Happy-upbeat Environmental, New Discovery, Plants, Rainforests, Species Discovery, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Over the past year, scientists at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, in the U.K., officially named 125 plants and 65 fungi. The new-to-science species include a parasitic fungus that turns Brazilian spiders into “zombies,” a critically endangered orchid with blood-red markings from Ecuador&#8217;s cloud forests, and a shrub named after the fire demon from the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Over the past year, scientists at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, in the U.K., officially named 125 plants and 65 fungi. The new-to-science species include a parasitic fungus that turns Brazilian spiders into “zombies,” a critically endangered orchid with blood-red markings from Ecuador&#8217;s cloud forests, and a shrub named after the fire demon from the 2004 Hayao Miyazaki film Howl&#8217;s Moving Castle. Each year, Kew releases a list of its “top 10” new plant and fungal species to showcase nature&#8217;s vast diversity, as well as its fragility, as many newly described species are already in danger. According to Kew’s “State of the World&#8217;s Plants and Fungi 2023” report, three out of four undescribed plants are threatened with extinction. One species described in 2025, Cryptacanthus ebo, a bromeliad from the Ebo Forest in Cameroon, may have already gone extinct. Each year, researchers worldwide officially name about 2,500 new plants and even more fungi. An estimated 100,000 plant species and between 2 million and 3 million fungal species remain to be described and named by science. Many of these unnamed fungi are endophytes that live entirely within plant tissues, making up the plants’ microbiomes. &#8220;Describing new plant and fungal species is essential at a time when the impacts of biodiversity loss and climate change accelerate before our eyes,&#8221; Martin Cheek, a senior research leader in Kew&#8217;s Africa team, said in a press release. &#8220;It is difficult to protect what we do not know, understand and have a scientific name for.&#8221; Although a species may be&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/01/photos-kew-gardens-top-10-newly-named-plants-and-fungi-for-2025/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/01/photos-kew-gardens-top-10-newly-named-plants-and-fungi-for-2025/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-312879</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Stuart Brooks, peat protector, has died</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/stuart-brooks-conservationist-of-unfashionable-landscapes/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/stuart-brooks-conservationist-of-unfashionable-landscapes/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>26 Dec 2025 08:02:17 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rhett Ayers Butler]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/12/21223629/stuart-brooks-header-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=311832</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Europe, Scotland, and United Kingdom]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conservation, Obituary, Peatlands, and Wetlands]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Founder&#8217;s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. For much of the late 20th and early 21st centuries, peatlands sat awkwardly at the edge of public consciousness. Neither conventionally scenic nor easily commodified, they were drained, burned, planted over, or dismissed as wasteland. Only gradually did [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Founder&#8217;s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. For much of the late 20th and early 21st centuries, peatlands sat awkwardly at the edge of public consciousness. Neither conventionally scenic nor easily commodified, they were drained, burned, planted over, or dismissed as wasteland. Only gradually did they come to be understood as systems of consequence: for biodiversity, for water, and, increasingly, for climate. That shift owed less to sudden revelation than to sustained, patient work by a small number of specialists who understood both the science and the politics of land. Among them was Stuart Brooks, who died on December 11, aged 56. He spent much of his career explaining why peat mattered and persuading institutions to act accordingly. He was not the first to do so, but he was unusually effective at translating technical knowledge into policy, and policy into practice. His professional life unfolded largely in Scotland, though he was not born there. Trained as a geographer, he encountered peatlands as a student and stayed with them as they moved from obscurity to prominence. In the 1990s he worked on raised bog restoration and helped assemble what was then a scattered body of practical knowledge. That effort culminated in Conserving Bogs: The Management Handbook, published in 1997, which became a standard reference for practitioners. He later rose through the Scottish Wildlife Trust, eventually serving as its director of conservation. From there he moved to the John Muir Trust, first&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/stuart-brooks-conservationist-of-unfashionable-landscapes/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/stuart-brooks-conservationist-of-unfashionable-landscapes/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-311832</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>&#8216;Myopic&#8217; fisheries managers toy with a new ‘tragedy of the commons’ (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/myopic-fisheries-managers-toy-with-a-new-tragedy-of-the-commons-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/myopic-fisheries-managers-toy-with-a-new-tragedy-of-the-commons-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Dec 2025 18:15:49 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Charles Clover]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/12/09175811/meritt-thomas-I9y_6J-HhY8-unsplash_optimized_950_7577-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=310924</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Atlantic Ocean, England, Europe, European Union, Global, and United Kingdom]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Business, Commentary, Ecosystems, Environment, Ethics, Fish, Fisheries, Fishing, Governance, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Protected Areas, Oceans, Overfishing, and Sustainability]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The way the oceans are managed is meant to be like a successful medieval commons. Most medieval commons weren’t open-access, but commoners had distinct rights in law and committees organized the grazing. Commons were saved from overexploitation by the practice of “stinting”: commoners decided how many cows the pastures could stand and limited themselves accordingly. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The way the oceans are managed is meant to be like a successful medieval commons. Most medieval commons weren’t open-access, but commoners had distinct rights in law and committees organized the grazing. Commons were saved from overexploitation by the practice of “stinting”: commoners decided how many cows the pastures could stand and limited themselves accordingly. That way, commoners prevented the tragedy that befell those commons where access was open, where selfishness and lack of governance meant overgrazing prevailed, and the cows died. The ruin of commons that went unmanaged was a phenomenon first described in the 19th century by a fellow of the Royal Society, William Forster Lloyd. His observations were exhumed in the 1960s by a Californian ecologist, Garrett Hardin, who gave them a compelling headline, “The Tragedy of the Commons.” Hardin conceded that there were some well-managed commons, but also, crucially, that a well-managed common could evolve into a tragic one. When commoners perceive that other commoners are cheating, it becomes “every commoner for themselves.” “With an unmanaged common,” he wrote, “ruin is inevitable.” A Dutch super trawler. Image courtesy of Pierre Gleizes/Greenpeace. There are many analogies for a ruined terrestrial common, whether in the atmosphere as a result of carbon dioxide pollution, or in the oceans because of marine plastics. But arguably the largest in the world is caused by overfishing, where the absence of credible regulation endangers whole oceans and the billions of people who depend upon them. It is hard not to recognize several trending tragedies of&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/myopic-fisheries-managers-toy-with-a-new-tragedy-of-the-commons-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-310924</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Small grants are key to a successful next generation of conservationists (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/small-grants-are-key-to-a-successful-next-generation-of-conservationists-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/small-grants-are-key-to-a-successful-next-generation-of-conservationists-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>14 Nov 2025 02:00:47 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Paul Barnes]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/11/13221742/EDGE-CTC-c-Dr-Paul-Barnes-768x512.png" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=309537</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[England, Global, and United Kingdom]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Commentary, Conservation, Conservation Finance, Conservation leadership, Conservation Solutions, Environment, Finance, Funding, philanthropy, and Solutions]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In a meeting room in a head office in London, a handful of early-career conservationists from around the world sat in a circle on the floor to share their challenges of working in conservation. The conversation was sobering. From affording everyday bills, juggling multiple unsecured jobs and dealing with burnout to harassment in the field, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In a meeting room in a head office in London, a handful of early-career conservationists from around the world sat in a circle on the floor to share their challenges of working in conservation. The conversation was sobering. From affording everyday bills, juggling multiple unsecured jobs and dealing with burnout to harassment in the field, threats by extractive industries and abduction by narcotic gangs, the breadth of burdens on these young emerging leaders was astonishing. After three more similar workshops hosted by the project I lead — the Zoological Society of London’s (ZSL) EDGE of Existence program — and fast-forward a year, my inbox holds 1,700 applications for our annual fellowship call, a bewildering demand for perhaps 10 places and all for roles that encounter the burdens described in the workshops. This kind of demand is not unusual; I’ve heard similar ratios for other fellowships and small grant schemes. In the same month, numerous blows to funding pipelines for organizations, both large and small, worldwide, have surfaced. Now, like many others, we find ourselves facing a sharp juxtaposition: an overwhelming demand from talented, dedicated teams working on urgent conservation projects that are ready for implementation, contrasted with decreasing, fragile and unpredictable upstream funding. Many young conservationists like Lucero Vaca, shown here conducting a jaguar study, have struggled to make a career in the sector, yet as she told Mongabay in 2017, &#8220;If we stop underestimating people based on their age and [help] young conservationists [carry] out their innovative ideas, we&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/small-grants-are-key-to-a-successful-next-generation-of-conservationists-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/small-grants-are-key-to-a-successful-next-generation-of-conservationists-commentary/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-309537</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>‘Clean energy is just one driver of mining’: Cleodie Rickard on critical minerals</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/when-critical-minerals-arent-interview-with-cleodie-rickard/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/when-critical-minerals-arent-interview-with-cleodie-rickard/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>13 Nov 2025 08:13:42 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Aimee Gabay]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Latoya Abulu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2023/03/23232540/2_ACASCIO_LiberoCopper_Stone-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=309308</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Indigenous Peoples and Conservation]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global and United Kingdom]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Clean Energy, Climate Change, Climate Justice, cobalt, Copper, Critical Minerals, Deep Sea Mining, Energy, Fossil Fuels, Human Rights, Indigenous Peoples, Land Rights, Lithium, Mining, and Renewable Energy]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[For Cleodie Rickard, the policy and campaigns manager at Global Justice Now, the term “critical” minerals, commonly used to describe the metals vital for the green energy transition, can be misleading. A new Global Justice Now report, authored by Rickard, reveals that nearly one in five minerals labeled “critical” by the U.K. aren’t essential for [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[For Cleodie Rickard, the policy and campaigns manager at Global Justice Now, the term “critical” minerals, commonly used to describe the metals vital for the green energy transition, can be misleading. A new Global Justice Now report, authored by Rickard, reveals that nearly one in five minerals labeled “critical” by the U.K. aren’t essential for the green energy transition. In fact, more than half of the 33 minerals have little to no role in the transition, with five prioritized for aerospace and weapons instead. What makes a mineral “critical,” Rickard says, depends largely on each country’s strategic and geopolitical objectives, not just its role in clean energy. She says multinational mining companies and governments can often use the green energy transition as a pretext to ramp up mining projects, even though a lot of the minerals are intended for other purposes, such as the military sector and AI infrastructure. Countries also have differing definitions of which minerals are considered “critical” or “strategic.” “The term ‘critical minerals’ is often used to secure political and economic support for resource exploration,” Filipe Gabriel Mura, a Mura Indigenous leader from Brazil, tells Mongabay via WhatsApp. “But the problem is that [the term] groups together different minerals with very different purposes. Not all of them are essential to the energy transition, and many serve the defense or agribusiness industries.” Gabriel says this is the case in the Mura Lago dos Soares community in the Amazonas state, where a potassium project, a mineral classified as essential&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/when-critical-minerals-arent-interview-with-cleodie-rickard/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-309308</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Sustainable biomass certification scheme is flawed, degrades forests, report finds</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/08/sustainable-biomass-certification-scheme-is-flawed-degrades-forests-report-finds/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/08/sustainable-biomass-certification-scheme-is-flawed-degrades-forests-report-finds/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>21 Aug 2025 15:58:05 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Annelise Giseburt]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Glenn Scherer]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/10/29131303/Drax-is-the-largest-consumer-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=304702</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Bioenergy and Planetary Boundaries]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Canada, Europe, Global, Indonesia, Japan, North America, South Korea, Southeast Asia, United Kingdom, United States, and Vietnam]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Bioenergy, Biofuels, carbon, Certification, Climate, Climate Change, Conservation, Environment, forest degradation, Forest Destruction, Forests, Governance, Politics, Renewable Energy, Sustainability, and Sustainable Forest Management]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The Sustainable Biomass Program (SBP) is a leading global biomass certification scheme offering assurances to end users (especially nations in the EU and Asia) that biomass (especially wood pellets for energy) is “sourced both legally and sustainably.” But a recent report by a group of environmental NGOs alleges SBP is approving biomass fuel projects linked [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The Sustainable Biomass Program (SBP) is a leading global biomass certification scheme offering assurances to end users (especially nations in the EU and Asia) that biomass (especially wood pellets for energy) is “sourced both legally and sustainably.” But a recent report by a group of environmental NGOs alleges SBP is approving biomass fuel projects linked to forest destruction. While SBP-certified biomass meets minimum legal requirements, it often falls short of genuine sustainability, according to the July 2025 report written by Canada-based forest certification and governance expert Richard Robertson. The analysis was commissioned by five nonprofits: Solutions for Our Climate (SFOC), the Global Environmental Forum (GEF), Mighty Earth, Biofuelwatch, and the Environmental Paper Network (EPN). The booming biomass-for-energy industry touts wood pellets and chips as a winning climate solution. But the report notes that this assertion is based on a faulty carbon accounting loophole that counts significant smokestack emissions from biomass as zero. Numerous studies have shown that biomass burning is more carbon-intensive than coal per unit of energy produced. Billions of dollars in green energy subsidies have been paid out by European and Asian nations to the biomass industry, spurring demand for woody biomass and putting pressure on carbon-rich forests in the United States, Canada, Vietnam, South Korea, Europe, Indonesia and elsewhere. Many end-user nations have put their trust in SBP for sustainability certification. But years of criticism from forest advocates and climate experts have led major importers, such as the U.K. and Japan, to tighten sustainability requirements for subsidized&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/08/sustainable-biomass-certification-scheme-is-flawed-degrades-forests-report-finds/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/08/sustainable-biomass-certification-scheme-is-flawed-degrades-forests-report-finds/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-304702</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Assisted colonization could be our ally in adapting to climate change, study suggests</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/assisted-colonization-could-be-our-ally-in-adapting-to-climate-change-study-suggests/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/assisted-colonization-could-be-our-ally-in-adapting-to-climate-change-study-suggests/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>02 Jul 2025 13:21:17 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Spoorthy Raman]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Jeremy Hance]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/07/02104815/butterfly-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=301786</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Britain, Europe, and United Kingdom]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Adaptation, Adaptation To Climate Change, Animals, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Colonization, Conservation, Ecosystem Services, Ecosystems, Environment, Forests, Impact Of Climate Change, Politics, Research, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[From Shakespeare’s plays to William Wordsworth’s poetry to J.R.R Tolkien&#8217;s fantasy realms, Britain’s lush green forests are described as a paradise of trees. Thousands of species have called these oak, hazel, beech and pine woodlands home for millennia. But as human-caused emissions warm up the planet, many of Britain’s iconic species are at risk: a [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[From Shakespeare’s plays to William Wordsworth’s poetry to J.R.R Tolkien&#8217;s fantasy realms, Britain’s lush green forests are described as a paradise of trees. Thousands of species have called these oak, hazel, beech and pine woodlands home for millennia. But as human-caused emissions warm up the planet, many of Britain’s iconic species are at risk: a 2023 State of Nature report finds that one in six of the 10,000 species assessed are at risk of being lost from the U.K. due to the climate crisis. As climate change forces species to shift their ranges and find new refuges, others may take their place so that key ecosystem services, such as pollination, soil nutrient cycling and carbon storage, can keep going. However, in islands like Great Britain, where most species can’t naturally disperse due to the sea barrier, the loss of vital species may mean ecosystems can no longer function. This begs the question: Could some humans help disperse species? That’s a thought conservation ecologist James Bullock, at the UK Centre for Ecology &amp; Hydrology, and his colleague Charlie Gardner pondered over. In a recent perspective published in the Journal of Applied Ecology, the duo suggest that assisted colonization — or introducing species that can better adapt to a future climate — could benefit some geographies to adapt to rapid climate change. They use the hypothetical future forest ecosystems of Great Britain to argue that proactive approaches, such as mass-scale assisted colonization, could be better for conservation in a warming climate than reactive&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/assisted-colonization-could-be-our-ally-in-adapting-to-climate-change-study-suggests/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-301786</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Protecting coastal waters may be the best investment you&#8217;ve never heard of, says Kristin Rechberger</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/04/protecting-coastal-waters-may-be-the-best-investment-youve-never-heard-of-says-kristin-rechberger/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/04/protecting-coastal-waters-may-be-the-best-investment-youve-never-heard-of-says-kristin-rechberger/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>29 Apr 2025 22:32:58 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rhett Ayers Butler]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/04/29033926/Revive-our-ocean-07_NGSPS2016REV_EnricSala_San-Benedicto-UW-729-768x512-1.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=298307</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Nature conservation Influencers]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Britain, Global, Greece, Indonesia, Mexico, Philippines, Portugal, and Turkey]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[30x30 conservation target, blue economy, Coastal Ecosystems, Conservation, Conservation Solutions, Economics, Environment, Fishing, Interviews, Marine Protected Areas, Oceans, Overfishing, Protected Areas, and Solutions]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The ocean has long been treated as the world’s forgotten frontier—out of sight, out of mind, and dangerously overused. Yet efforts to reverse decades of neglect are gathering speed. Last week saw the launch of Revive Our Ocean, a new initiative aimed at helping coastal communities create marine protected areas (MPAs) to restore both marine [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The ocean has long been treated as the world’s forgotten frontier—out of sight, out of mind, and dangerously overused. Yet efforts to reverse decades of neglect are gathering speed. Last week saw the launch of Revive Our Ocean, a new initiative aimed at helping coastal communities create marine protected areas (MPAs) to restore both marine life and local economies. The effort, led by Dynamic Planet with support from National Geographic’s Pristine Seas initiative, comes at a pivotal time. In 2023, countries agreed to a historic treaty to safeguard ocean biodiversity. But of the 100-plus nations that signed, only 21 have ratified the deal, with crucial backers such as the United States notably absent. With a 2030 deadline looming to protect 30% of the oceans, Revive Our Ocean’s founders argue that waiting for governments alone will not be enough. &#8220;We&#8217;ve seen that marine protection works,&#8221; says Kristin Rechberger, founder of Dynamic Planet and the force behind the new initiative. &#8220;But the creation of MPAs has been far too slow. To meet 30&#215;30, the world would need to establish over 190,000 new protected areas. That’s why we’re focusing on communities—those who know their waters best.&#8221; Kelp bed in the waters of Arran, Scotland. Credit: Henley Spiers Rechberger&#8217;s optimism is grounded in experience. Over the past decade, Dynamic Planet and Pristine Seas have supported the creation of 29 of the world’s largest marine reserves, covering nearly seven million square kilometers, mostly in remote national waters. Now, attention is shifting closer to shore, where&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/04/protecting-coastal-waters-may-be-the-best-investment-youve-never-heard-of-says-kristin-rechberger/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/04/protecting-coastal-waters-may-be-the-best-investment-youve-never-heard-of-says-kristin-rechberger/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-298307</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>AI uncovers how birds remix their songs over time</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/04/ai-uncovers-how-birds-remix-their-songs-over-time/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/04/ai-uncovers-how-birds-remix-their-songs-over-time/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>17 Apr 2025 11:05:27 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Abhishyant Kidangoor]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Abhishyantkidangoor]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/04/17063106/bird-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=297747</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Europe and United Kingdom]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animal Behavior, Artificial Intelligence, Bioacoustics, Birds, Conservation, Conservation Technology, Research, Technology, Wildlife, and Wildtech]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[If you thought only humans had unique musical tastes that differed drastically across geographies and generations, think again. Researchers have long suspected that migration and population dynamics shape the musical repertoire of songbirds. Now, they have empirical evidence to back up this hypothesis. A new study published in the journal Current Biology provides insights into [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[If you thought only humans had unique musical tastes that differed drastically across geographies and generations, think again. Researchers have long suspected that migration and population dynamics shape the musical repertoire of songbirds. Now, they have empirical evidence to back up this hypothesis. A new study published in the journal Current Biology provides insights into how age, population dynamics and migration are key factors that determine how birdsong evolves over time. With the help of artificial intelligence models, the team behind the research found that “demographic variation affects vocal cultures” for great tits (Parus major) in Oxfordshire in the U.K. “The process of song acquisition relies on who they&#8217;re exposed to, the movement of individuals and the age of those individuals within populations,” study lead author Nilo Merino Recalde, a postdoctoral biology researcher at the University of Oxford, told Mongabay in a video interview. “This leads to all sorts of really cool dynamics that are quite similar to what happens with human languages and music.” Listening in on birdsongs and figuring out how they’re evolving could potentially help researchers understand how bird populations are faring. For instance, scientists might be able to correlate song patterns to a reduction or fragmentation of populations. The song types could also help them get a sense of how much the birds are moving around. “This is still speculative in a practical sense but all of the different processes that we care about when it comes to conservation are reflected in the songs,” Recalde said.&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/04/ai-uncovers-how-birds-remix-their-songs-over-time/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/04/ai-uncovers-how-birds-remix-their-songs-over-time/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-297747</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>UK delays to environment law have led to massive deforestation, report says</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/03/uk-delays-to-environment-law-have-led-to-massive-deforestation-report-says/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/03/uk-delays-to-environment-law-have-led-to-massive-deforestation-report-says/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>31 Mar 2025 21:24:28 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Maxwell Radwin]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Alexandra Popescu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/03/31211532/Feature-18-768x500.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=296803</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Europe and United Kingdom]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Climate Change, Commodity agriculture, Conservation, Deforestation, Environment, Environmental Law, Forest Destruction, Forests, International Trade, Politics, Rainforests, Supply Chain, Threats To Rainforests, Tropical Deforestation, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In 2021, the U.K. appeared to be making serious strides against illegal deforestation when lawmakers introduced “forest risk” regulations on imported commodities like beef, soy, palm oil, cocoa, coffee and rubber. But critics have said the rules are surprisingly weak, requiring another round of legislation to be effective. Lawmakers have spent the last four years [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In 2021, the U.K. appeared to be making serious strides against illegal deforestation when lawmakers introduced “forest risk” regulations on imported commodities like beef, soy, palm oil, cocoa, coffee and rubber. But critics have said the rules are surprisingly weak, requiring another round of legislation to be effective. Lawmakers have spent the last four years delaying the implementation of the forest risk regulations, which are part of a larger law called the Environment Act. In that time, the country has imported commodities that have destroyed huge amounts of forest across the globe, according to a recent report from Global Witness. “The UK government has described the Environment Act as ‘world leading,’ but we beg to differ,” the U.K.-based NGO said in the report. High-risk commodities imported to the U.K. contributed to 13,500 hectares (nearly 33,400 acres) of global deforestation in 2024, according to the report. Since the Environment Act was passed in 2021, the country’s imports have resulted in more than 39,300 hectares (97,100 acres) of deforestation. Agribusiness continues to be the worst aggressor, the NGO said. Between November 2021 and December 2024, Brazil cattle products alone caused almost a third of the U.K.’s total deforestation footprint, amounting to 12,856 hectares (31,768 acres). Palm oil was responsible for more than 11,644 hectares (28,773 acres) of deforestation, most notably affecting rainforests in Papua New Guinea and Indonesia. These two countries together lost 10,975 hectares (27,120 acres) as a result of business with the U.K. The Javari river in the Peruvian Amazon.&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/03/uk-delays-to-environment-law-have-led-to-massive-deforestation-report-says/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/03/uk-delays-to-environment-law-have-led-to-massive-deforestation-report-says/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-296803</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Political appointments in Indonesian climate program spark outcry over accountability</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/03/political-appointments-in-indonesian-climate-program-spark-outcry-over-accountability/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/03/political-appointments-in-indonesian-climate-program-spark-outcry-over-accountability/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>18 Mar 2025 08:59:44 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Hans Nicholas Jong]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2023/09/28154349/fire-in-indonesia-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=295969</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, Norway, Southeast Asia, and United Kingdom]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Avoided Deforestation, Carbon Emissions, Climate, Climate Change, climate finance, Conservation, Deforestation, Drivers Of Deforestation, Emission Reduction, Environment, Forest Carbon, Forests, Funding, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Peatlands, Politics, Rainforest Destruction, Rainforests, Threats To Rainforests, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — The Norwegian government is monitoring growing concerns over Indonesia’s decision to appoint political figures with little climate expertise to oversee a climate forestry program largely financed by Norway. Indonesian Forestry Minister Raja Juli Antoni has come under scrutiny recently for naming several fellow members from his political party, the Indonesian Solidarity Party (PSI), [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[JAKARTA — The Norwegian government is monitoring growing concerns over Indonesia’s decision to appoint political figures with little climate expertise to oversee a climate forestry program largely financed by Norway. Indonesian Forestry Minister Raja Juli Antoni has come under scrutiny recently for naming several fellow members from his political party, the Indonesian Solidarity Party (PSI), to key positions within the office responsible for the FOLU Net Sink 2030 initiative. This aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from Indonesia’s forestry and other land use (FOLU) sector by curbing deforestation, preventing forest fires, and increasing reforestation efforts. The ultimate goal is for Indonesia’s forests to absorb more carbon than they release by 2030, a part of the country’s climate commitments under the Paris Agreement. To coordinate, monitor and evaluate the program, the government established an operation management office (OMO). However, in a Jan. 31 decree, Forestry Minister Raja restructured the OMO by appointing PSI cadres to the office, raising concerns over political favoritism. Raja is one of the founders of the PSI and currently serves as its secretary-general, the party’s No. 2. The appointments have also drawn criticism due to the OMO’s relatively high monthly salaries, ranging from 8 million rupiah at the lowest level to 50 million rupiah for leadership positions ($500-$3,000). Critics say these salaries are excessive for a government-backed environmental initiative, particularly at a time when the government is cutting the budget for several agencies, including those related to the environment. Raja has defended the appointments, saying the OMO&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/03/political-appointments-in-indonesian-climate-program-spark-outcry-over-accountability/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/03/political-appointments-in-indonesian-climate-program-spark-outcry-over-accountability/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-295969</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Getting rewilding right with the reintroduction of small wildcats</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/02/getting-rewilding-right-with-the-reintroduction-of-small-wildcats/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/02/getting-rewilding-right-with-the-reintroduction-of-small-wildcats/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>18 Feb 2025 17:05:21 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sean Mowbray]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Glenn Scherer]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/02/18095213/11-An-ocelot-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=294574</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Argentina, Brazil, Global, Portugal, Scotland, Spain, and Taiwan]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Carnivores, Cats, Conservation, Ecosystems, Environment, Extinction, Habitat, Mammals, Predators, Reintroductions, Restoration, Rewilding, Small Cats, Top Predators, Wildlife, and Zoonotic Diseases]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[For the briefest moment earlier this year, the Eurasian lynx — extinct in the U.K. for thousands of years — returned to the wild in Scotland. But this release wasn’t scientifically planned. Rather, it was an illegal act that drew condemnation from authorities and conservationists alike. Though the four lynx were swiftly captured; one died [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[For the briefest moment earlier this year, the Eurasian lynx — extinct in the U.K. for thousands of years — returned to the wild in Scotland. But this release wasn’t scientifically planned. Rather, it was an illegal act that drew condemnation from authorities and conservationists alike. Though the four lynx were swiftly captured; one died shortly after. Following the illegal release, Scottish First Minister John Swinney ruled out a legal reintroduction of lynx (Lynx lynx), or other large carnivores, under his government. “Acting illegally and without consultation is extremely damaging to the cause of conservation and well-planned releases,” says Helen Senn, head of conservation and science programs at the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland. “I think [the illegal release] will really undermine the trust of stakeholders like farmers and landowners [involved] in the process that conservationists go through … to get releases approved.” Senn is part of a legal rewilding project that aims to restore the Scottish wildcat (Felis silvestris), also affectionately dubbed the “Highland tiger” by the Scottish people, even though it’s not much bigger than a house cat. This project is supported and funded by the Scottish government so will be unaffected by Swinney’s recent statement barring large carnivore reintroductions. The Scottish wildcat — a subpopulation of the European wildcat that arrived on what is today the island of Britain at the end of the last ice age 9,000 years ago, and which has remained isolated from mainland populations — was declared “functionally extinct” in 2018 largely due&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/02/getting-rewilding-right-with-the-reintroduction-of-small-wildcats/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-294574</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Mass salmon deaths hit Scottish farms as government investigates</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/02/mass-salmon-deaths-hit-scottish-farms-as-government-investigates/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/02/mass-salmon-deaths-hit-scottish-farms-as-government-investigates/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>12 Feb 2025 16:35:21 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Francesco De Augustinis]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rebecca Kessler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/02/12113637/Smolt_salmo_salar_29119938758-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=294269</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Europe, Scotland, and United Kingdom]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Aquaculture, Conservation, Consumption, Diseases, Environment, Environmental Policy, Fish, Fisheries, Food, Food Industry, food security, Global Environmental Crisis, Industry, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, Oceans, Parasites, Politics, Resource Conflict, and Saltwater Fish]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Hundreds of thousands of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) died on fish farms in Scotland in the final months of 2024. The mass mortality events took place as a parliamentary committee concluded an inquiry into the industry, saying it was “disappointed” by the lack of progress on environmental pollution and animal welfare issues. Among the most [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Hundreds of thousands of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) died on fish farms in Scotland in the final months of 2024. The mass mortality events took place as a parliamentary committee concluded an inquiry into the industry, saying it was “disappointed” by the lack of progress on environmental pollution and animal welfare issues. Among the most striking incidents recorded by the Scottish Fish Health Inspectorate, 59,000 adult salmon died between September and October 2024 at a farm in Loch Torridon owned by Norwegian multinational Mowi that Mongabay visited in September. The main causes of death were gill disease and mechanical treatments to remove parasitic sea lice (Lepeophtheirus salmonis). Due to this and previous incidents, in the 18-month production cycle ending in October, the farm, which can hold at least 2,500 metric tons of salmon at a time, declared a 30% loss of production. Even more salmon died on other farms. Between September and November, 323,000 dead salmon were reported at the Invertote farm on the Isle of Skye, owned by local company Organic Sea Harvest. Many of these deaths, the company reported, were due to string of pearls jellyfish (Apolemia uvaria), whose poisonous tentacles can wound salmon’s skin, eyes and gills. This jellyfish is also responsible for several episodes at the Mowi farm on the Isle of Muck, where 272,000 salmon died between October and November, either as a direct result of injuries or due to the emergency transfer of fish to other sites. “In the last couple of years, my&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/02/mass-salmon-deaths-hit-scottish-farms-as-government-investigates/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-294269</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>AI can already identify species in photos. Can it extract even more data?</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/02/ai-can-already-identify-species-in-photos-can-it-extract-even-more-data/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/02/ai-can-already-identify-species-in-photos-can-it-extract-even-more-data/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>05 Feb 2025 13:37:40 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Abhishyant Kidangoor]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Abhishyantkidangoor]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/02/05123718/Hermit-Crab_Photo-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=293931</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Scotland and United Kingdom]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Artificial Intelligence, Research, Species, Technology, Wildlife, and Wildtech]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[How do you identify an animal in a photo? These days, a host of AI-driven apps are available that make this an easy task. But what if you have more questions? Is the animal looking healthy? Are its surroundings polluted? Does it look stressed because of the heat? Getting these answers would be key to [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[How do you identify an animal in a photo? These days, a host of AI-driven apps are available that make this an easy task. But what if you have more questions? Is the animal looking healthy? Are its surroundings polluted? Does it look stressed because of the heat? Getting these answers would be key to understanding how habitat degradation, pollution and global warming are adversely affecting biodiversity around the world. Artificial intelligence might not be able to answer such intricate questions from an image just yet. However, the potential is there. Researchers have developed a new data set and evaluation tool to gauge how AI models perform when asked for extra information from images captured and shared by citizen scientists. The INQUIRE tool was developed by teams at the University of Edinburgh, University College London, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, UMass Amherst and iNaturalist, a citizen science platform where people can share photos of plants and animals. On applying the data set to various AI models and algorithms, researchers found that artificial intelligence performed well with simple prompts, but failed when more complicated ones were introduced. Nevertheless, the team said further work will enable AI models to help scientists gather more intricate and nuanced data from images taken by citizen scientists around the world. Team member Oisin Mac Aodha, associate professor in machine learning at the University of Edinburgh, told Mongabay that identifying species from photos is only the “tip of the iceberg.” He emphasized the need to capitalize on the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/02/ai-can-already-identify-species-in-photos-can-it-extract-even-more-data/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/02/ai-can-already-identify-species-in-photos-can-it-extract-even-more-data/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-293931</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Scottish salmon farms seek growth despite mounting fish deaths and environmental concerns</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/11/scottish-salmon-farms-seek-growth-despite-mounting-fish-deaths-and-environmental-concerns/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/11/scottish-salmon-farms-seek-growth-despite-mounting-fish-deaths-and-environmental-concerns/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>20 Nov 2024 08:00:36 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Francesco De Augustinis]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rebecca Kessler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/11/19114342/salmon-farms-scotland-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=290298</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Europe, Scotland, and United Kingdom]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Aquaculture, Conservation, Consumption, Environment, Environmental Policy, Fish, Fisheries, Food, Food Industry, food security, Global Environmental Crisis, Industry, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, Oceans, Overconsumption, Politics, Resource Conflict, and Saltwater Fish]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[ULLAPOOL, U.K. — The fish float on the surface by the dozen, their bellies pointing toward the still-dark sky of the early morning. We are peering into a cage of an intensive Atlantic salmon farm, owned by the Norwegian multinational Mowi, in Upper Loch Torridon along Scotland’s west coast. It’s September 2024. It&#8217;s difficult to [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[ULLAPOOL, U.K. — The fish float on the surface by the dozen, their bellies pointing toward the still-dark sky of the early morning. We are peering into a cage of an intensive Atlantic salmon farm, owned by the Norwegian multinational Mowi, in Upper Loch Torridon along Scotland’s west coast. It’s September 2024. It&#8217;s difficult to tell why these salmon died. On one carcass, a salmon louse (Lepeophtheirus salmonis) can be seen moving, but most of the fish in the pens, alive or dead, have abrasions and wounds, perhaps from treatments to eliminate lice and other parasites. Jamie Moyes, a local activist who has been investigating salmon farms for years and accompanied Mongabay to the farm in a small dinghy, inspects the fish carcasses while collecting footage to post on his social media channels. Behind him, the lights turn on in a boat, signaling that the company workers who are sleeping there have been alerted to our presence. “We filmed that farm a year and a half ago, and it was absolutely terrible,” Moyes said later, back on dry land, recalling a massive infestation of lice. “The most shocking thing today was the amount of death floating on the surface,” he said. “It could easily be up to 50 dead salmon in one cage, floating on the top. There’s something wrong there.” Activist Jamie Moyes on Upper Loch Torridon, with salmon cages in the background. Image by Francesco De Augustinis for Mongabay. A few weeks later, we find out the reason&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/11/scottish-salmon-farms-seek-growth-despite-mounting-fish-deaths-and-environmental-concerns/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/11/scottish-salmon-farms-seek-growth-despite-mounting-fish-deaths-and-environmental-concerns/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-290298</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Trial begins in U.K. for victims of Minas Gerais dam disaster</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/10/trial-begins-in-u-k-for-victims-of-minas-gerais-dam-disaster/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/10/trial-begins-in-u-k-for-victims-of-minas-gerais-dam-disaster/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>28 Oct 2024 18:49:32 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Maxwell Radwin]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Alexandra Popescu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/10/28170728/Feature-attempt-1-768x450.png" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=289298</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Brazil, England, Europe, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conservation, Environment, Environmental Law, extractives, Human Rights, Law, Mining, Politics, Pollution, Research, and Threats To Rainforests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A civil trial began October 21 to determine whether several mining companies are liable for the collapse of a dam that released toxic sludge into communities in rural Brazil, resulting in one of the worst environmental disasters in the country’s history. The class action lawsuit, filed in the U.K., will decide whether the Fundão tailings [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A civil trial began October 21 to determine whether several mining companies are liable for the collapse of a dam that released toxic sludge into communities in rural Brazil, resulting in one of the worst environmental disasters in the country’s history. The class action lawsuit, filed in the U.K., will decide whether the Fundão tailings dam collapse was the fault of mining companies Broken Hill Proprietary (BHP) and Miners Vale, which may have to pay billions of dollars in compensation to affected individuals. “Our legal case will publicly hold BHP to account and set a precedent; making it more difficult for multinational corporations more broadly to neglect their responsibility to the communities in which they operate,” said Tom Goodhead, CEO of Pogust Goodhead, the firm that filed the lawsuit. The Fundão tailings dam stored the toxic byproduct from iron ore drilling in the southeastern state of Minas Gerais. When the dam broke on November 5, 2015, it released approximately 50 million cubic meters (1.7 billion cubic feet) of arsenic-laced mud down the Doce river, killing 19 people and destroying the towns of Bento Rodrigues and Paracatu de Baixo. The accident created an economic and public health crisis for millions of people, whose crops and drinking water were poisoned, according to the lawsuit. Many businesses were forced to close. Around 620,000 claimants in the lawsuit could receive around $46 billion in compensation if the court rules in their favor, according to Pogust Goodhead. A recent study found that 15 metals, including iron, nickel,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/10/trial-begins-in-u-k-for-victims-of-minas-gerais-dam-disaster/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/10/trial-begins-in-u-k-for-victims-of-minas-gerais-dam-disaster/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-289298</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>As tidal power rides a wave of clean energy optimism, pitfalls persist</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/10/as-tidal-power-rides-a-wave-of-clean-energy-optimism-pitfalls-persist/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/10/as-tidal-power-rides-a-wave-of-clean-energy-optimism-pitfalls-persist/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>14 Oct 2024 20:07:34 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sean Mowbray]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Glenn Scherer]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/10/14180553/Image_1-scaled-e1764628379529-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=288653</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Circular economy]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global, Scotland, and United Kingdom]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Alternative Energy, carbon, Clean Energy, Conservation, Energy, Energy Efficiency, Environment, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Oceans, and Renewable Energy]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In the Pentland Firth off of Scotland’s coast, an array of underwater turbines churn 24/7, spun by powerful ocean tides. Operational since 2018, this tidal stream project reached a milestone last year, generating 51 gigawatt hours of power — a first anywhere in the world for tidal stream technology. Though limited to only four turbines, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In the Pentland Firth off of Scotland’s coast, an array of underwater turbines churn 24/7, spun by powerful ocean tides. Operational since 2018, this tidal stream project reached a milestone last year, generating 51 gigawatt hours of power — a first anywhere in the world for tidal stream technology. Though limited to only four turbines, this long-running demonstration (known as the MeyGen project, and operated by the SAE Renewables company) is one of several tidal stream trials that experts say offers proof of concept and shows off the possibilities of harnessing the world’s tides as an alternative energy source. Its annual output is enough to power roughly 6,000 homes. The Pentland Firth array could eventually scale up to 269 turbines and produce up to 398 megawatts of clean power — enough to power around 175,000 homes. “MeyGen has demonstrated now beyond doubt that three-bladed, horizontal axis, seabed-mounted tidal turbines work,” says Fraser Johnson, the project’s operations and maintenance manager. But to become an alternative energy player in the coming years, he adds, the nascent tidal stream industry needs to get more turbines in the water and demonstrate ongoing proof of capabilities, while driving down costs. For now, the United Kingdom stands at the forefront of tidal stream development, with MeyGen and around half a dozen other U.K. projects currently generating enough electricity to power thousands of homes. If planned developments go ahead, around 130 megawatts of capacity will be operational in the country’s surrounding waters by 2029, though this figure&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/10/as-tidal-power-rides-a-wave-of-clean-energy-optimism-pitfalls-persist/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-288653</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>The promise of ecocide law, from boardroom to courtroom (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/08/the-promise-of-ecocide-law-from-boardroom-to-courtroom-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/08/the-promise-of-ecocide-law-from-boardroom-to-courtroom-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>19 Aug 2024 17:52:53 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Judith SchwartzMonica Lennon]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2021/04/05182948/GP0STT0QY_Medium_res_with_credit_line-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=286259</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global and Scotland]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Business, Climate Change, Commentary, Conservation, Corporate Social Responsibility, Deforestation, Environment, Environmental Law, Ethics, Forest Destruction, Habitat Loss, and Law]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Every day, decisions are made worldwide that generate substantial profits but cause severe environmental harm. This degradation affects everyone, including the decision-makers themselves. Business is not immune to externalities: climate change and ecosystem collapse are disrupting operations and driving up costs, pushing economies to the brink. It is a conundrum: whilst the majority of people [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Every day, decisions are made worldwide that generate substantial profits but cause severe environmental harm. This degradation affects everyone, including the decision-makers themselves. Business is not immune to externalities: climate change and ecosystem collapse are disrupting operations and driving up costs, pushing economies to the brink. It is a conundrum: whilst the majority of people and organizations do not set out to destroy nature, existing regulatory frameworks provide few mechanisms for meaningful protection. Indeed, our market-based economies evolved under the assumption that natural resources were infinite. The exploitation of the natural world continues because we lack both the means and the incentive to stop it. Consider a paper company aiming to reduce costs by sourcing wood from untouched tropical forest in Indonesia. Despite the Environmental, Social, and Governance Department’s objections on grounds including potential social and environmental impacts of habitat loss, depletion of local food sources and air pollution from machinery and vehicle dust, the project goes ahead. Mangrove forests and other nearshore ecosystems like seagrass meadows and coral reefs support myriad species and human communities, but often become degraded by activities like aquaculture and mining. Image by Rhett A. Butler / Mongabay. Similarly, picture a company supplying cobalt and lithium for electric vehicle batteries. To bolster supplies amid limited global stocks of these minerals, the firm seeks licenses for deep sea exploration in the western Pacific, disregarding potentially irreversible and widespread damage to the marine environment. In each case the balance sheet took precedence. So how can we engineer&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/08/the-promise-of-ecocide-law-from-boardroom-to-courtroom-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/08/the-promise-of-ecocide-law-from-boardroom-to-courtroom-commentary/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-286259</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Bottom trawling in U.K.’s marine reserves, legally, is apparently a thing</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/05/bottom-trawling-in-u-k-s-marine-reserves-legally-is-apparently-a-thing/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/05/bottom-trawling-in-u-k-s-marine-reserves-legally-is-apparently-a-thing/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>31 May 2024 11:12:26 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Logan Rance]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Elizabethalberts]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/05/31100209/trawler-in-scotland-768x512-1.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=282804</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Europe and United Kingdom]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conservation, Consumption, Ecosystems, Environment, Environmental Law, Fish, Fisheries, Fishing, Global Environmental Crisis, Habitat Loss, Law, Marine, Marine Conservation, Marine Protected Areas, Oceans, and Overfishing]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In 2023, commercial fishing vessels equipped with dredges and bottom-trawling gear spent more than 33,000 hours operating in the U.K.’s offshore marine protected areas, according to ocean advocacy group Oceana U.K. The organization used satellite data to monitor commercial fishing activity across 63 offshore benthic MPAs in U.K. waters, which are intended to protect marine [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In 2023, commercial fishing vessels equipped with dredges and bottom-trawling gear spent more than 33,000 hours operating in the U.K.’s offshore marine protected areas, according to ocean advocacy group Oceana U.K. The organization used satellite data to monitor commercial fishing activity across 63 offshore benthic MPAs in U.K. waters, which are intended to protect marine biodiversity. This fishing activity took place over the course of the year. The analysis revealed that despite their protected status, MPAs in the U.K. are hotbeds of fishing activity, raising concerns about the fishing industry’s impact on sensitive marine ecosystems, especially for life on the seafloor. It also revealed that just 10 vessels were responsible for a quarter of this bottom-trawling activity. These findings beg the question: what is the point of these MPAs if they cannot perform their function of protecting marine biodiversity? How do MPAs work in the U.K.? MPAs are areas of the ocean where certain activities are restricted or prohibited to protect marine ecosystems or to promote sustainable fisheries. There are many different types of MPAs, each imposing different rules in terms of extractive activities and access. For instance, “no-take” MPAs forbid any type of extraction  and offer the highest level of protection for marine life. Locally managed marine areas may allow community members to fish within some parts but enforce closed seasons or limits that promote population recovery. The U.K. has a network of 374 MPAs and other protected areas covering 38% of its waters. These include highly protected marine&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/05/bottom-trawling-in-u-k-s-marine-reserves-legally-is-apparently-a-thing/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-282804</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Traceability is no silver bullet for reducing deforestation (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/04/traceability-is-no-silver-bullet-for-reducing-deforestation-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/04/traceability-is-no-silver-bullet-for-reducing-deforestation-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>12 Apr 2024 15:54:27 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Erasmus zu Ermgassen]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2021/09/22010210/GP1SVZWU-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=280903</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Europe, European Union, Global, United Kingdom, and United States]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[agribusiness, Biodiversity, Business, Climate, Climate Change, Commentary, Conservation, Corporate Social Responsibility, Corporations, Deforestation, Drivers Of Deforestation, Environmental Law, Forests, Governance, International Trade, Law, Rainforests, Regulations, Supply Chain, Threats To Rainforests, Trade, Tropical Deforestation, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The food we eat causes one third of all greenhouse gas emissions, as forests are cleared at an ever-growing rate to make way for new cattle pastures, soy fields, cocoa farms and oil palm plantations. Driven by new legislation to protect forests and calls to cut emissions, companies are racing to trace where their food [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The food we eat causes one third of all greenhouse gas emissions, as forests are cleared at an ever-growing rate to make way for new cattle pastures, soy fields, cocoa farms and oil palm plantations. Driven by new legislation to protect forests and calls to cut emissions, companies are racing to trace where their food products come from. New research from our group at Université Catholique de Louvain (UCLouvain) warns, however, that we should not treat traceability as a silver bullet – companies must think bigger to tackle deforestation. Businesses and governments are ramping up efforts to address emissions and deforestation in their supply chains. The World Business Council for Sustainable Development is, for example, developing a protocol to help companies calculate their carbon footprint. The European Union, UK and USA have passed, or are in the process of passing, due-diligence legislation which places a duty on companies to prove that imported products do not come from recently deforested land. The EU legislation comes into effect at the end of 2024, prompting a rush to trace the origin of goods such as beef, soy or palm oil imported into the world’s third-largest market. Symptom of a wider problem Unfortunately, the scale at which these initiatives are being implemented limits their effectiveness in tackling deforestation. Both the emissions protocol and due-diligence legislation prioritize monitoring at the ‘plot’ or ‘land-management unit.’ These efforts therefore limit their attention to the smoking gun: the agricultural product which is directly expanding into forest. But deforestation&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/04/traceability-is-no-silver-bullet-for-reducing-deforestation-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/04/traceability-is-no-silver-bullet-for-reducing-deforestation-commentary/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-280903</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Biden&#8217;s new sanctions on Russia should include timber exports (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/02/bidens-new-sanctions-on-russia-should-include-timber-exports-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/02/bidens-new-sanctions-on-russia-should-include-timber-exports-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>26 Feb 2024 16:35:51 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Etelle HigonnetTara Ganesh]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/02/26183424/boreal-forest-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=279202</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Belarus, Europe, European Union, Russia, Ukraine, United Kingdom, and United States]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[boreal forests, Business, Commentary, Conflict, Deforestation, Environment, Forests, Governance, Temperate Forests, Timber, timber trade, and Trade]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Russia&#8217;s dictator Vladimir Putin has seemingly just had jailed opposition leader Aleksei Navalny assassinated. Navalny incarnated the best chance for democracy and human rights in Russia. He was a beacon of hope; a bright light in the darkness of corruption and violence that characterizes Putin&#8217;s Russia. His death is a tragedy that demands robust responses [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Russia&#8217;s dictator Vladimir Putin has seemingly just had jailed opposition leader Aleksei Navalny assassinated. Navalny incarnated the best chance for democracy and human rights in Russia. He was a beacon of hope; a bright light in the darkness of corruption and violence that characterizes Putin&#8217;s Russia. His death is a tragedy that demands robust responses from world leaders – especially from the E.U. and from U.S. President Joe Biden, who had long warned that Putin would face devastating consequences if Navalny were to die in prison. The new U.S. sanctions announced Friday, targeting hundreds of entities and individuals, are a sign that his administration will live up to its word – but they could go further in key areas. We propose a response that would simultaneously teach Putin a clear and painful lesson, and help save the planet from climate change. The U.S. should immediately bar Russian timber, pulp &amp; paper imports, as the E.U. and U.K. have already done. Amur tigers are among the creatures found in Russia&#8217;s taiga forest habitat. Image courtesy of WCS Russia &amp; Sikhote-Alin Reserve. Why is this crucial? Because timber represents more than half of all remaining U.S. imports of Russian goods, in terms of number of shipments. All of Russia’s forests are state-owned, with dues from logging flowing to it. Some forests are even under control of Russia’s military, which is also allowed to log and sell timber in its forests. Since the war began, U.S. Customs data show the nation has imported close to&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/02/bidens-new-sanctions-on-russia-should-include-timber-exports-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/02/bidens-new-sanctions-on-russia-should-include-timber-exports-commentary/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-279202</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>U.S. and U.K. lawmakers must wake up to the coffee problem (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/12/u-s-and-u-k-lawmakers-must-wake-up-to-the-coffee-problem-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/12/u-s-and-u-k-lawmakers-must-wake-up-to-the-coffee-problem-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>21 Dec 2023 01:19:13 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Etelle Higonnet]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2016/11/09112559/coffeecup2-683x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=276892</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Britain, Europe, European Union, Global, United Kingdom, and United States]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Business, Coffee, Commentary, Commodity Roundtables, Conservation, Deforestation, Food, Food Industry, Forest Products, Forests, Green, Human Rights, International Trade, Slavery, Trade, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Coffee. Nectar of the gods. Lifesaving energy booster that helps many of us start our days. Ubiquitously consumed around the world by people like me – without my beloved morning brew I am something of a discombobulatedgrumpyhedgehog. And yet, this top, globally traded agri-commodity is also a major driver of deforestation, mass extinction, child labor, slavery, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Coffee. Nectar of the gods. Lifesaving energy booster that helps many of us start our days. Ubiquitously consumed around the world by people like me – without my beloved morning brew I am something of a discombobulatedgrumpyhedgehog. And yet, this top, globally traded agri-commodity is also a major driver of deforestation, mass extinction, child labor, slavery, and other abuses. Few consumers realize that only 10% to 1% of coffee&#8217;s retail price ends up in the coffee farmers’ hands, most of whom do not earn a living wage, and are subsisting in grinding poverty. (Sorry for this downer, please don&#8217;t read any further till you&#8217;ve had a good strong cup to brace for the rest!) Coffee is thought to be one of the top seven commodities driving deforestation worldwide – not as bad as cattle, but right up there with cocoa, rubber, and wood fiber; sometimes even nipping at the heels of the notorious palm oil industry. Coffee replaced about 1.9 million hectares of forest from 2001 to 2015. Coffee doesn&#8217;t just kill forests though. Pesticide-soaked monoculture coffee is a significant contributor to the mass extinction we are in, especially the insect apocalypse. Forest area replaced by commodity crops. Table via World Resources Institute. Bizarrely, almost no NGOs work to document abuses in the coffee industry, but thanks to some fearless journalists, we know quite a bit about abuses in coffee supply chains from Mexico to Vietnam, Guatemala to Ethiopia, Brazil to Cote d&#8217;Ivoire, Honduras to Indonesia. Despite valiant efforts by some pioneering investigators though, not much is said however about horrific conditions in the coffee industry, compared to&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2023/12/u-s-and-u-k-lawmakers-must-wake-up-to-the-coffee-problem-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-276892</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Chemical recycling of plastic not so fantastic, report finds</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/chemical-recycling-of-plastic-not-so-fantastic-report-finds/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/chemical-recycling-of-plastic-not-so-fantastic-report-finds/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>24 Nov 2023 10:38:59 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Elizabeth Claire Alberts]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Glenn Scherer]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2022/09/28152032/plastic-recycling-2-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=275853</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Planetary Boundaries]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Europe, United Kingdom, and United States]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Chemicals, Fossil Fuels, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Greenwashing, Industry, Natural Gas, Oil, Plastic, Pollution, Recycling, and Waste]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In today’s industrialized world, avoiding plastic is virtually impossible. Every trip to the grocery store likely means coming home with food and household items packaged in plastic bottles, tubs and packaging. Order something online, and your product may arrive shrink-wrapped in plastic. Not only that, but plastic is often part or all of the product [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In today’s industrialized world, avoiding plastic is virtually impossible. Every trip to the grocery store likely means coming home with food and household items packaged in plastic bottles, tubs and packaging. Order something online, and your product may arrive shrink-wrapped in plastic. Not only that, but plastic is often part or all of the product itself, be it kids’ toys, holiday decorations or one of our ubiquitous electronic devices. So, how does one responsibly dispose of all this plastic? The answer to that simple question is frustratingly complex. Many plastic products are marked with seemingly helpful recycling symbols, leading consumers to believe that most, if not all, plastic can be recycled. But that’s not the case.  Traditional recycling — the process of breaking down, melting and remolding plastic to form new products — is expensive, time-consuming and limited to certain plastic types. In the U.S., for example, only types 1 and 2 are easily recyclable, while 3 through 7 aren’t. Recycling rates are also historically low; in the U.S., it’s estimated that only 5-6% of plastic is recycled. There’s another way to deal with plastic waste, according to the world’s big petrochemical companies: It’s called “chemical recycling,” or “advanced recycling,” an industrial process that the industry claims could recycle more types of plastics and help humanity transition to a circular economy. However, according to a recent report released by Swedish nonprofit International Pollutants Elimination Network (IPEN) and U.S.-based NGO Beyond Plastics, most chemical recycling claims have yet to be proven, while existing&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/chemical-recycling-of-plastic-not-so-fantastic-report-finds/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/chemical-recycling-of-plastic-not-so-fantastic-report-finds/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-275853</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>How to ‘flip’ a paper park: Success in the North Sea carries lessons</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/07/how-to-flip-a-paper-park-success-in-the-north-sea-carries-lessons/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/07/how-to-flip-a-paper-park-success-in-the-north-sea-carries-lessons/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>11 Jul 2023 19:13:34 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Edward Carver]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rebecca Kessler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2023/07/11182712/Puffin_Cropped-768x451.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=270787</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Europe and United Kingdom]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conservation, Conservation leadership, Environment, Environmental Law, Fish, Fisheries, Fishing, Governance, Marine, Marine Conservation, Marine Protected Areas, Oceans, Overfishing, Protected Areas, and Research]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Dogger Bank, a sandbank in the North Sea the size of Washington state, was designated a marine protected area more than decade ago to conserve its sensitive seabed habitat. Yet for most of that time, industrial fishing vessels legally dragged damaging gear across the seabed, prompting NGOs to cite it as one of Europe’s emblematic [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
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							<![CDATA[Dogger Bank, a sandbank in the North Sea the size of Washington state, was designated a marine protected area more than decade ago to conserve its sensitive seabed habitat. Yet for most of that time, industrial fishing vessels legally dragged damaging gear across the seabed, prompting NGOs to cite it as one of Europe’s emblematic “paper parks,” where the designation of MPA had not led to substantive change. Last year, it finally got some real protection: The U.K. government banned bottom-towed fishing, including bottom trawling, a destructive fishing practice, in its section of Dogger Bank, which accounts for two-thirds of the MPA. “We saw that you could flip from being protected only on paper to being protected in reality,” Thomas Rammelt told Mongabay by phone. Last year Rammelt co-founded the Doggerland Foundation, a Dutch NGO that works on North Sea conservation and has spearheaded discussions on “flipping” parks. It’s a crucial time for figuring how to make MPAs more effective. At the COP15 U.N. biodiversity summit in December, nearly 200 countries signed a landmark agreement to conserve 30% of Earth’s land and sea by 2030 (“30&#215;30”). If they follow through, this will more than triple MPA coverage within seven years, as current global coverage is less than 10%. But the hard part is making sure MPAs offer actual ecological protection and socioeconomic benefits. There are already plenty of paper parks around the world that do neither; in many cases, there’s not even a management plan in place or staff ensuring&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2023/07/how-to-flip-a-paper-park-success-in-the-north-sea-carries-lessons/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-270787</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>What can the U.K. do to fight its dependence on soy?</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/06/what-can-the-u-k-do-to-fight-its-dependence-on-soy/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/06/what-can-the-u-k-do-to-fight-its-dependence-on-soy/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>29 Jun 2023 18:18:17 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Maxwell Radwin]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Alexandra Popescu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2023/06/29170906/bolivia_drone_190374-768x450.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=270359</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Amazon, Brazil, Europe, and United Kingdom]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Animals, Climate Change, Conservation, Deforestation, Environment, Environmental Law, Forests, Green, Industrial Agriculture, Plantations, Politics, Rainforest Destruction, Rainforests, Research, and Soy]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The soybean industry is one of the largest drivers of deforestation today, with over 75.5 million hectares (186.5 million acres) cultivated across the globe, according to the FAO. An overwhelming majority of it isn’t produced for human consumption but rather for livestock feed — as much as 80%. The U.K. alone imports an average of [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The soybean industry is one of the largest drivers of deforestation today, with over 75.5 million hectares (186.5 million acres) cultivated across the globe, according to the FAO. An overwhelming majority of it isn’t produced for human consumption but rather for livestock feed — as much as 80%. The U.K. alone imports an average of 3 million tons of soy annually for animal feed, most of it from South American countries with fragile forest ecosystems, such as Brazil. And with soybean cultivation on the continent continuing to grow — it more than doubled between 2000 and 2019 — there’s increasing pressure on importers in the U.K. to reconsider soy consumption for the sake of the environment. A new report from the Landworkers’ Alliance, Pasture for Life, Sustain and Hodmedod analyzes the different changes that could be made to the pig and poultry sectors in order to reduce soy consumption and thereby lower the U.K.’s overseas land-use footprint. “Considering over three quarters of global soy demand comes from the animal feed industry, there is an urgent need in the U.K., and indeed the rest of the world, to explore alternative ways of feeding livestock that don’t cause deforestation and land-use change overseas,” said Karen Luyckx, a researcher for the report, at a press conference announcing the report findings. The intensive poultry industry is the largest consumer of soy in the U.K. followed closely by the pig industry. Their largest suppliers have been some of the most egregious offenders of deforestation in&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2023/06/what-can-the-u-k-do-to-fight-its-dependence-on-soy/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-270359</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>What does the decline of natural history museums mean for biodiversity conservation? (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/06/what-does-the-decline-of-natural-history-museums-mean-for-biodiversity-conservation-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/06/what-does-the-decline-of-natural-history-museums-mean-for-biodiversity-conservation-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>28 Jun 2023 22:20:38 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rajith Dissanayake]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2023/06/28194157/giraffe-puzzle-copy-e1687990363682-768x411.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=270263</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Britain, England, Europe, Global, and United Kingdom]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Commentary, Conservation, Global Environmental Crisis, History, Research, Science, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[With the disappearance of European empires, many associated internationally important natural history museums (NHMs) are struggling to continue. They are being underfunded, short-staffed; collections split up and hived off. Many are, in short, dying, despite much window dressing with specimens being digitally archived away with even less access for naturalists who may need them. Fred [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[With the disappearance of European empires, many associated internationally important natural history museums (NHMs) are struggling to continue. They are being underfunded, short-staffed; collections split up and hived off. Many are, in short, dying, despite much window dressing with specimens being digitally archived away with even less access for naturalists who may need them. Fred Naggs, previously of London’s NHM, recently provided a review of such trends in the science journal Megataxa in a wide-ranging, 27 page article addressing global biodiversity problems, with several suggested solutions. Given that firsthand observations about museum culture are rarely articulated, such observations should interest all those interested in institutions that are often publicly funded to support biodiversity research and conservation including zoos, societies and botanic gardens. Although Naggs’s article concentrates on the Natural History Museum in London, its remit is much wider (uncredited quotations below are taken from it). Despite declines, many museums and institutes still seem to thrive – these include NHMs in Copenhagen, Sydney and at Harvard, and also the British Museum and Kew Gardens – perhaps the best-known botanical institute in the world. I’ve been fortunate to visit at least a dozen important NHMs around the world, including a tiny one in Riga, Latvia, and expanding modern ones such as in Singapore. A natural history museum in Latvia with a diorama of taxidermies of Asian wildlife. Image courtesy of the author. Several museums and their collections have been severely damaged or destroyed by fires such as the Lisbon NHM in 1978,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2023/06/what-does-the-decline-of-natural-history-museums-mean-for-biodiversity-conservation-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-270263</doi>				</item>
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