Nature Beat #13
Updates, stories, resources and opportunities
Welcome to the latest edition of Global Nature Beat. If you are new here, read my About page to find out what this newsletter is, who I am and why I am doing this. Or just dive in. You’ll find news, reporting resources, job postings, links to some great stories and a look ahead to what’s coming up in the world of biodiversity and nature policy.
Taking The Pulse
Climate change: The 60th session of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) ended on 19 January with agreement on a new work programme. This will include production of the 7th IPCC Assessment — with reports from the three IPCC working groups and a synthesis report, which will be ready by late 2029. The IPCC will also produce a special report on cities in 2027. The meeting failed to agree on a timetable for the key working group reports — some governments wanted these to be ready in time for the next Global Stocktake under the Paris Agreement in 2028. Others disagreed, so the IPCC will discuss this again at its next session. The Earth Negotiations Bulletin has a detailed summary of the meeting and its other decisions.
Task Force for Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD): The TNFD announced last week that more than 300 pension funds, consumer conglomerates and other businesses in 46 countries have committed to disclosing their nature-related risks and impacts, in line with recommendations the TNFD released in September 2023. The TNFD’s first adopters include Bank of America, BBC, GSK, IKEA, Kering, PwC, Sony and Veolia. Together, they represent US$4 trillion in market capitalization and US$14 trillion in assets under management. Days later, a major UK business group urged the UK government to make it mandatory for companies to align with the TNFD recommendations and to support companies to do this.
UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD): Parties to the CBD have been invited to join the Action Initiative for the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. China co-launched the initiative with Cambodia, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Germany and Maldives last year at the COP28 climate change conference. The aim is to strengthen political will to implement the Global Biodiversity Framework, and boost cooperation including support to developing countries. On 18 January, China published its new National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan. All Parties to the CBD must do this by October, to show how they are aligning with the Global Biodiversity Framework. But so far, only five other countries and the EU have done so. China’s document is summarized here by Stian Reklev.
Bern III Conference: The UN Environment Programme is hosting this conference on cooperation among biodiversity-related UN conventions in Bern, Switzerland on 23-25 January. The aim is to support implementation of the Global Biodiversity Framework by increasing alignment among treaties such as the CBD, the Convention on Trade in Endangered Species, the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands and the Convention on Migratory Species. Sergio Colombo wrote a great preview here.
High Seas Treaty: On 22 January, Palau became the first country to ratify the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Treaty and inform the UN. Chile has also ratified the treaty and proposed hosting the Treaty Secretariat in its port city of Valparaíso, but it has not yet informed the UN of its ratification. Another 58 countries must ratify the treaty for it to enter into force. You can track progress here.
In The Spotlight
The architects of Brexit promised that leaving the EU would strengthen environmental protections in the UK but, as Helena Horton’s investigation shows, the opposite happened.
Nosmot Gbadamosi reported on how corruption and lax law enforcement mean that illegally logged rosewood continues to be trafficked from Ghana to China.
BBC Radio 4’s Costing the Earth show has ended after 30 years. Fortunately, presenter Tom Heap has teamed up with Helen Czerski to make a new podcast called Rare Earth. Episode 1 is on rewilding.
Tristan Taylor, Ingrid Gercama and Nathalie Bertrams reported how high demand for octopus — particularly in Spain and Japan — is causing overfishing and ecological damage in Mauritania. Read an English summary or read the full story in Spanish in El País, or in German in Süddeutsche Zeitung.
Tips And Resources
The Global Investigative Journalism Network has a webinar on 6 February about the investigative agenda for climate change journalism.
Billionaires and philanthropists are making big conservation pledges, but are they working? Mongabay has a webinar on how to cover this topic on 8 February.
The International Institute for Environment and Development is holding a hybrid event on 30 January, on prospects for climate and nature in 2024 — register here.
Jessica Aldred wrote about what COP28 achieved for the ocean and what makes a good ocean-climate story — with a video recording of the Pulitzer Center’s side event on this topic.
From The Journals
In case you missed it, my latest round-up of new research included papers on: Rising shark killing. Climate-driven extinctions. Conservation-climate-development synergies and trade-offs. Antarctic ocean acidification. Factors affecting US pollinators. Prognosis for Atlantic Forest trees. Read the summaries here.
In Focus: Drying Lakes
The Great Salt Lake in the US state of Utah is drying up. As Anna Skinner reported for Newsweek on 18 January, conservation organizations are critical of a new strategic plan for restoring the lake. This new feature by Chris Dorsey explains more about why the lake is drying and why that matters. He reports on efforts by the state government and partners to educate citizens nationwide about the importance of saving the lake, through a new IMAX film, television series and outreach to schools. Another famous lake — the Aral Sea shared by Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan — has suffered even greater shrinkage in recent decades. This week, Sam Matey published his interview with Kevin Adkin from the US Agency for International Development about a major effort to restore the ecosystem.
What Caught My Eye
African swine fever is decimating Borneo’s bearded pigs, whose numbers have plummeted by more than 90 percent, with huge implications for rainforest ecology and human food security.
‘Too big to ignore’ — fishing vessels trawling the ocean floor are releasing huge amounts of carbon into the atmosphere, reports Karen McVeigh.
The World Economic Forum’s trillion trees platform announced that 100 companies have now pledged to conserve, restore and grow a total of 12 billion trees by 2030.
Up to 20,000 birds may have been smuggled through a fictitious breeding facility in Poland so they could be eaten or used by hunters as decoys.
A vast database with information on more than 300 million gene groups from ocean bacteria, fungi and viruses is now freely available online, reports Carissa Wong.
Ivory from government-controlled stockpiles in Cameroon is reaching the illicit market according to a new report from TRAFFIC that identifies solutions — see the press release.
France has temporarily banned nearly all fishing in the Bay of Biscay to protect dolphins.
Defining ‘areas of importance for biodiversity’ is crucial if the Global Biodiversity Framework is to succeed, says Andrew Plumptre.
Aisling Irwin wrote about scientists using DNA from museum specimens to establish baselines of genetic diversity for species in decline.
Investment bank UBS stated that 60 percent of global GDP is moderately or highly dependent on nature in a new report on unlocking finance to reduce biodiversity loss.
The H5N1 bird flu virus has killed around 17,000 elephant seal pups — or 96 percent of the total — at three sites in Argentina.
Olivia Rosane reports that while deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon nearly halved last year it rose by nearly 43 percent in the Cerrado grassland region. Andre Cabette Fabio explains what the Cerrado is and why the world should care.
The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil’s grievance mechanism is failing indigenous communities, reports Caroline Bulolo.
How To Support Global Nature Beat
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Jobs And Opportunities
Carbon Pulse is hiring a feature writer/sub-editor in North America to cover carbon and other environmental markets.
The Earth Journalism Network is hiring a Project Officer in Nepal — deadline 31 January 2024.
The Solutions Journalism Network invites US-based journalists to apply to join its second annual Climate Solutions Cohort, a virtual fellowship running from March 2024 to November 2024 — deadline 5 February.
The Centre for Climate Reporting is hiring a junior investigations reporter — deadline 14 February
The Global Landscapes Forum is hiring a consultant multimedia reporter — deadline 31 January and an editorial assistant — deadline 15 February.
US journalists can apply for the Thomas L. Stokes Award for Best Energy and Environment Reporting — deadline 8 March.
Bonus content: There are 25 jobs, grants, fellowships and other opportunities listed here for The Nature Beat’s paying supporters. Paid subscriptions are less than £1 per week. A free seven-day trial is available.
On The Horizon
2 February 2024: World Wetlands Day.
5-9 February 2024: The 66th meeting of the Global Environment Facility’s Council takes place in Washington DC.
6 February 2024: The European Commission plans to present the EU’s 2040 climate target.
9 February 2024: The 1st meeting of the Global Biodiversity Framework Fund’s Council takes place in Washington DC.
12-17 February 2024: The 14th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS COP14), will take place in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.
Bonus content: The full calendar for The Nature Beat’s supporters includes 47 nature-related intergovernmental negotiations, scientific conferences, report launches, and other events up until 2026. Paid subscriptions are less than £1 per week. A free seven-day trial is available.
Why The Name Change?
In last week’s newsletter, I forgot to explain the change from The Nature Beat to Global Nature Beat. When I registered with Substack, the subdomain “thenaturebeat” was free so I took it. A few weeks later, I learned that journalist Gabe Popkin already had a newsletter called The Nature Beat. As Gabe is writing about similar topics, I’ve renamed my newsletter to avoid any confusion.
Whose Eye Was It?
The eye belongs to a Bali starling. Photo credit: Anthony Cranney / Flickr — Creative Commons
Thanks for reading. For past editions, see the Archive. If you found it interesting or useful, please share and subscribe. If you want to get in contact, you can reach me at: thenaturebeat@substack.com.
Mike, I'm bowing to you for covering the drying lakes, especially Great Salt Lake.
Thank you.