Knowledge Base

New business and biodiversity newsletter just released.

EU-funded index to gauge biodiversity in food

An EU-funded index measuring biodiversity in food production is expected to be launched next year, giving investors a benchmark for assessing how companies and governments are making food systems more resilient to climate change.

More species than expected found in Cobaw State Forest

COBAW State Forest is home to a wider array of species than previously thought. That’s the conclusion of Macedon Ranges Council’s environmental officer William Terry after winding up a six-month project involving motion sensor cameras, trapping and spotlight activities.

Solving food challenges with more research

The world’s population is booming. According to estimates, the global population is likely to exceed 9 billion by 2050, with 5 billion people in Asia alone.

Sponges, urban forests and air corridors: How nature can cool cities

As China battles the twin challenges of rapid city growth and extreme weather, it is adopting a new tactic: Turning its cities into giant sponges. Thirty pilot cities in the country are trying to trap and hold more water to deal with problems from flooding and drought to extreme heat and pollution.

A very hungry caterpillar is killing trees in New England

Walking through the woods near her home in Marlborough, Connecticut, Matylda Biskupski couldn’t help but notice that the forest seemed bare. “There’s very little shade. It’s very weird,” said Biskupski, a freshman at Rham High School.

‘I don’t want to imagine a world without giant snakes in it’

Here’s a fact that illuminates many of the realities of global conservation: we know more about Burmese pythons in Florida – where they are a destructive invader – than about their lives in their natural range in Southeast Asia, where their numbers are plummeting and their very long-term surviva ...

There's 5 Trillion Pieces Of Plastic In Our Oceans, & It's Now Started Polluting The North Pole

A few months ago, researchers discovered a patch of garbage floating in the Arctic Ocean just north of Norway.Now, another team has spotted a more problematic garbage heap; large chunks of polystyrene on ice floes in the middle of the Arctic Ocean.

As communities rebuild after hurricanes, study shows wetlands can significantly reduce property damage

A 12-year "hurricane drought" during which no major hurricanes formed in the Atlantic ended dramatically in 2017. The devastating impacts of Harvey, Irma, Jose and Maria across the United States and the Caribbean provide tragic reminders of the catastrophic risks we face on our coasts.

Sponges, urban forests and air corridors: how nature can cool cities

As China battles the twin challenges of rapid city growth and extreme weather, it is adopting a new tactic: Turning its cities into giant sponges.

Costa Rica: Welcome to the jungle

Costa Rica has transformed itself into a premiere eco-destination by setting aside almost one-quarter of its land as nature reserve, allowing visitors to enjoy animals in their natural setting. And to make sure that these areas are available for future generations, Costa Rica has pioneered susta ...

Ethiopia Launches 15 Year National Adaptation Plan to Address Climate Change

Ethiopia has launched a fifteen-year National Adaptation Plan (NAP-ETH) that will cost about USD 6 billion annually to address climate change.

Iceberg FOUR TIMES the size of Manhattan breaks away from Antarctic glacier

The Pine Island Glacier – one of the largest in West Antarctica – has produced a new mass of ice over 100 kilometres in size.The loss is the second time in two years that a huge chunk of ice has been separated from the main body.

15 New Smiley-Faced Spider Species Named After Leonardo DiCaprio, Bernie Sanders, Others

Long thought to be one species that was found across a large swath of territory — “from northern North America down to northern Brazil” — the “smiley-faced” spiders of the genus Spintharus actually have a lot more diversity than hitherto known. Researchers from the University of Vermont have ide ...

World’s biggest butterfly given lifeline by new captive breeding initiative

The world’s largest, most spectacular but severely endangered butterfly, Queen Alexandra’s Birdwing (Ornithoptera alexandrae), has been given a lifeline with a pioneering project led by the Sime Darby Foundation (SDF) and the recently created Swallowtail and Birdwing Butterfly Trust (SBBT).

Pocket-sized turtle is now endangered!

Found only in Mexico and U.S., the Sonoyta mud turtle is down to just 100 in numbers It may not be surprising that an “aquatic desert” turtle faces long odds in life, but environmentalists and biologists still welcomed this week’s endangered species designation for the Sonoyta mud turtle.

Botanic gardens are world's "best hope" for saving threatened plants

"If we do not conserve our plant diversity, humanity will struggle to solve the global challenges of food and fuel security, environmental degradation, and climate change"

Pigeons better at multitasking than humans: study

Pigeons are capable of switching between two tasks as quickly as humans – and even more quickly in certain situations. These are the findings of biopsychologists who had performed the same behavioural experiments to test birds and humans. The authors hypothesize that the cause of the slight mult ...

Sustainable Ocean Initiative (SOI) Training of Trainers Workshop

25 - 29 September 2017, Seocheon, Republic of Korea

Scientists call for more research on how human activities affect the seabed

A group of UK scientists, co-ordinated by the University of Southampton, has published extensive research into how industry and environmental change are affecting our seafloors, but say more work is needed to help safeguard these complex ecosystems and the benefits they provide to people for the ...

Why India's farmers want to conserve indigenous heirloom rice

India is rice country: the cereal provides daily sustenance for more than 60% of the population. Half a century ago, it was home to more than 100,000 rice varieties, encompassing a stunning diversity in taste, nutrition, pest-resistance and, crucially in this age of climate change and natural di ...

David Attenborough: On climate change, optimism and Blue Planet II

Sir David Attenborough may be 91, but he is a busy 91. As we set up in his Richmond home, he is upstairs studying footage of orcas and humpback whales on a herring hunt. He has just come back from Edinburgh. And last night he was up late writing the latest programme for his new series: Blue Plan ...

Geophysical investigation aims revealing how vegetation responds to climate change

In early August 2017, a team of scientists from the University of São Paulo (USP), the University of Campinas (UNICAMP) in Brazil and France's Development Research Institute (IRD) began drilling boreholes and analyzing sediment removed from the Colônia Crater, a depression located in southern sk ...

Hurricanes, climate change, and the facts

Global warming is undeniably happening…or is it? What do we, as a country, truly know and understand about an issue we have all heard so much about? First, let’s discuss some recent events that have been affecting our nation.

World's smallest squirrel discovered in Indonesia

Indonesian scientists have found the world's smallest squirrel in the country's Borneo rain forest, authorities revealed on Monday.