Biodiversity Loss in Switzerland in Six Graphs
Biodiversity loss in the Alpine nation is above the world average, and over a third of animal and plant species are endangered. Can the trend be reversed?
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Scientists Identify Safe Havens We Must Preserve to Prevent 'the Sixth Great Extinction of Life on Earth'
Scientists Identify Safe Havens We Must Preserve to Prevent 'the Sixth Great Extinction of Life on Earth'
If we act now, scientists say, we can prevent human-caused extinctions wiping out our planet’s wildlife.
Seize the Moment: Researchers Have a Rare Opportunity to Make Progress in Protecting Global Biodiversity
Seize the Moment: Researchers Have a Rare Opportunity to Make Progress in Protecting Global Biodiversity
A quiet revolution is taking place to incorporate the costs of biodiversity loss into economic planning. It needs researchers to be engaged.
Preserving Citizens' Economic Well-being: Evaluating Risks and Policy Solutions for Climate Change, Digitalisation, and Biodiversity Loss Financial-related Threats
Preserving Citizens' Economic Well-being: Evaluating Risks and Policy Solutions for Climate Change, Digitalisation, and Biodiversity Loss Financial-related Threats
By researching and anticipating financial risks, a team of few scientists assesses the financial challenges posed by climate change, digitalization and biodiversity loss. Today, we spoke with them to learn more about their research.
New Research Explores How 'green Infrastructure' Policy is Applied in Sweden
New Research Explores How 'green Infrastructure' Policy is Applied in Sweden
Researchers have explored the creation and implications of Sweden's 'green infrastructure' policy, an approach identified by the European Commission as a potential strategy to protect biodiversity and create healthy, resilient ecosystems.
Weaving Indigenous and Western Ways of Knowing Can Help Canada Achieve Its Biodiversity Goals
Weaving Indigenous and Western Ways of Knowing Can Help Canada Achieve Its Biodiversity Goals
Canada's commitment to halt biodiversity loss can only be realized by weaving together Indigenous and non-Indigenous knowledge.
Planting the Seeds of Discovery: Scientists Identify 100 Important Questions Facing Plant Science
Planting the Seeds of Discovery: Scientists Identify 100 Important Questions Facing Plant Science
An international panel of scientists has identified 100 of the most important questions facing plant science.
Bird Declines Boost Case for Transformative Biodiversity Agreement in Montreal
The world is losing species alarmingly fast. The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), an independent science and policy group, says a million species face extinction. Few animals bring these unsettling losses into sharper focus than birds: Populations of 49% of avian species are decreasing, according to a September 2022 report by […]
COP15 Biodiversity Plan Risks Being Alarmingly Diluted
Scientists raced to gather the strongest ever biodiversity evidence base. Time is running out to use it.
Australia's Catastrophic Rabbit Invasion Sparked by a Few Dozen British Bunnies
Australia's Catastrophic Rabbit Invasion Sparked by a Few Dozen British Bunnies
Genome analysis shows that most Australian rabbits are descendants of wild rabbits shipped to near Melbourne in 1859.
The Guardian View on De-extinction: Jurassic Park May Be Becoming Reality | Editorial
The Guardian View on De-extinction: Jurassic Park May Be Becoming Reality | Editorial
Editorial: We should be keeping endangered species alive rather than bringing animals back from extinction.
Humans Are Overzealous Whale Morticians
We hastily dispose of dead whales, ignoring the ecological significance of their carcasses.
Scientists Find 30 Potential New Species at Bottom of Ocean
Natural History Museum scientists seek to unlock mysteries of deep sea but some fear activity will disturb diversity of the depths
Swimming in Noise
For sea life, the ocean is becoming an intolerable racket.
UN Report: Value of Nature Must Not Be Overridden by Pursuit of Short-term Profit
UN Report: Value of Nature Must Not Be Overridden by Pursuit of Short-term Profit
The values that we ascribe to nature are vital parts of our cultures, identities, economies, and ways of life, all of which should be reflected in policy decisions surrounding our natural world, according to a new UN-backed report released on Monday.
Do We Need a New Theory of Evolution?
A new wave of scientists argues that mainstream evolutionary theory needs an urgent overhaul. Their opponents have dismissed them as misguided careerists - and the conflict may determine the future of biology
Life Will Find a Way: Could Scientists Make Jurassic Park a Reality?
Just a few years from now, herds of woolly 'mammoths' could be roaming the Siberian tundra. Are dodos and dinosaurs next for de-extinction?
Global Biodiversity is in Crisis, but How Bad is It? It's Complicated
While the planetary boundary framework provides one way of understanding biodiversity or biosphere integrity loss, there are many other measures of biodiversity loss — and all point toward the fact that we are continuing to dangerously destabilize life on Earth.
Do Octopuses Have Emotions?
They look so "alien," but octopuses feel and remember pain like we do. We can track their emotional reactions. But their deeper feelings are a mystery.
Africa: Sequence 100,000 Species to Safeguard Biodiversity
Build a major genomics resource on the continent to help breeders and conservationists.
What Could a Citizens' Assembly on Biodiversity in Ireland Do?
The right to a healthy environment and a safe climate for all should be on the agenda for the proposed Citizens' Assembly.
Deluge of Dog Pee and Poo Harming Nature Reserves, Study Suggests
Urine and faeces creating nitrogen and phosphorus levels that would be illegal on farms, scientists calculate
Ethical, Legal, and Social Issues in the Earth BioGenome Project
Ethical, Legal, and Social Issues in the Earth BioGenome Project
The Earth BioGenome Project (EBP) is an audacious endeavor to obtain whole-genome sequences of representatives from all eukaryotic species on Earth. In addition to the project's technical and organizational challenges, it also faces complicated ethical, legal, and social issues. This paper, from members of the EBP's Ethical, Legal, and Social Issues (ELSI) Committee, catalogs these ELSI concerns arising from EBP. These include legal issues, such as sample collection and permitting; the applicability of international treaties, such as the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Nagoya Protocol; intellectual property; sample accessioning; and biosecurity and ethical issues, such as sampling from the territories of Indigenous peoples and local communities, the protection of endangered species, and cross-border collections, among several others. We also comment on the intersection of digital sequence information and data rights. More broadly, this list of ethical, legal, and social issues for large-scale genomic sequencing projects may be useful in the consideration of ethical frameworks for future projects. While we do not-and cannot-provide simple, overarching solutions for all the issues raised here, we conclude our perspective by beginning to chart a path forward for EBP's work. There are no data underlying this work.
Bird Population Declines and Species Turnover Are Changing the Acoustic Properties of Spring Soundscapes
Bird Population Declines and Species Turnover Are Changing the Acoustic Properties of Spring Soundscapes
Birdsong has long connected humans to nature. Historical reconstructions using bird monitoring and song recordings collected by citizen scientists reveal that the soundscape of birdsong in North America and Europe is both quieter and less varied, mirroring declines in bird diversity and abundance.
Citizen Scientists Help Assure Quality of Coastal Biodiversity Monitoring
Citizen Scientists Help Assure Quality of Coastal Biodiversity Monitoring
Study shows collaboration between civil society and academia achieving progress toward the goals of the UN Ocean Decade
'Green Growth' Doesn't Exist - Less of Everything is the Only Way to Avert Catastrophe
'Green Growth' Doesn't Exist - Less of Everything is the Only Way to Avert Catastrophe
It is simply not possible to carry on at the current level of economic activity without destroying the environment, says Guardian columnist George Monbiot
Tackling Biodiversity Loss to Achieve Green, Resilient, and Inclusive Development
Mari Pangestu represented the World Bank at the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) World Conservation Congress in September 2021, speaking at a high-level dialogue on Unlocking a Nature-Smart Recovery from the pandemic and also an event recognizing the progress.
The World's Scientific Panel on Biodiversity Needs a Bigger Role
IPBES, the international panel of leading biodiversity researchers, should be consulted on how best to measure species loss.
Female Hummingbirds Look Like Males to Avoid Attacks
Some females found to have evolved to have bright plumage, which seems to protect against male aggression, study suggests.
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