Nature Beat #22
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
EU Nature Restoration Law: The European Union’s Nature Restoration Law was due to be adopted on 25 March, having passed all prior stages of the legislative process. The final stage should have been a formality, as the law had already been approved by the European Parliament. But at the last minute, the governments of Austria, Belgium, Finland, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Poland withdrew support for the law, saying it would harm agriculture.
This leaves the law in limbo. EU commissioner for Environment Virginijus Sinkevicius said the law’s withdrawal would damage the EU’s international credibility and send a “disastrous signal” ahead of the COP16 UN Biodiversity Conference later this year, reports Emanuela Barbiroglio. Wetlands International said “it leaves the EU’s ambitions as a global leader in tatters by rendering it unable to meet its commitments and obligations under the Global Biodiversity Framework.”
The Nature Restoration Law was perhaps the world’s most ambitious nature-related legislation, even after its text was weakened on its ways through the legislative process. It formed part of the European Green Deal and aligned would have contributed to EU goals on climate change. “We are fooling ourselves if we pretend that we can win our fight against climate change without nature,” said Sinkevicius.
South Africa’s Bioeconomy: South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa and Environment Minister Barbara Creecy have been defending the country’s recently-published draft National Biodiversity Economy Strategy this week, reports Julia Evans. The plan includes meat-harvesting from antelopes and other wild animals, more production and marketing of products from indigenous plants, and increased leisure hunting and tourism. As Evans reports, the strategy aims to make sustainable use of biodiversity fundamental to conservation.
Seabed mining: The intergovernmental International Seabed Authority (ISA) is meeting this week to develop rules for commercial seabed mining of metals, which is currently not permitted. An editorial in the journal Nature warns against a rush to set rules, amid concerns about biodiversity and a recent weakening of environmental protections in the draft text. The journal has urged the ISA to explain which countries proposed these changes. During this week’s talks, ISA member states also discussed the right to protest at sea, following industry lobbying against actions like those undertaken by Greenpeace recently. For details of the debate on protest, see the Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) summary for 22 March. The meeting ends on 29 March. The Earth Negotiations Bulletin has daily summaries.
Trophy hunting: Journalist Ed Stoddard highlighted inattention to — and outright denial of — scientific evidence in public and parliamentary debates about the UK government’s plan to ban imports of hunted wildlife trophies. Nuance is also needed in the United States, where two members of Congress have re-introduced legislation that would make it illegal to bring any endangered or threatened species into the country as a trophy. The press release appears to equate legal, regulated hunting with illegal wildlife trafficking.
In The Spotlight
Madeline Bodin wrote about veterinarians and others trying to help sloths and other wildlife that are increasingly being electrocuted on power lines.
Kavitha Yarlagadda wrote about how climate change and habitat loss are creating tensions between farmers and peacocks in India. I love this story’s banner image.
Substack is sorely lacking a Nature category. To fill the gap, Rebecca Wisent is collating a growing list of nature writers, photographers and artists with newsletters on the platform.
Seema Mundoli wrote about the origins, legacy and lessons of the Chipko environmental movement born 50 years ago this week in India. See also Jayashree Nandi’s series of articles for which she spoke to several Chipko leaders.
In Focus: Biodiversity Credits
Biodiversity credits are a new tool with potential to incentivise conservation and support sustainable development — if they can avoid some of the problems that have troubled carbon markets. Three recent articles cover the topic well from various angles:
Assunção Cristas, João Almeida Filipe and Carolina Vaza from the law firm Vieira de Almeida provide a useful overview of the context in which biodiversity credits are emerging, the difference between offsets and credits, and how biodiversity and carbon credits could work together.
Writing for Mongabay recently, journalist Shreya Dasgupta took a long look at the promise and pitfalls surrounding biodiversity credits.
And, to understand the mechanics of how a market for biodiversity credits could work in practice, I recommend the latest newsletter by Simas Gradeckas, who covered “rapid market innovation, ballooning supply and questionable demand”. One key point stood out for me: “Indigenous Peoples own the supply. They are systematically underrepresented and are not leading (or even co-designing) the biodiversity market development at the moment.”
Tips And Resources
The Scientists' Coalition for an Effective Plastics Treaty published a factsheet on links between plastics and climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution — and how a new plastics treaty could align with existing treaties to address these three issues.
The Scientists’ Coalition also published its response to the revised ‘zero’ draft text of the international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution.
Miriam Forero Ariza wrote a tipsheet on using ocean data in journalistic investigations.
The Global Investigative Journalism Network updated its database of resources on environmental data.
IUCN and partners have redesigned their PANORAMA initiative’s website, showcasing nearly 1,500 projects using nature to solve problems around the world (see map).
See past editions for more tips and resources.
What Caught My Eye
Four activists in Indonesia face up to 10 months in jail after complaining online about illegal shrimp farms inside a marine park., reports Basten Gokken.
On 27 March, the Māori King and other Indigenous leaders in the Pacific signed a treaty recognizing whales as legal persons — Mere Takoko explains why.
Isabella Kaminski reported on calls for the International Criminal Court to end impunity for environmental crimes — meanwhile, the European Council has formally adopted a new directive that includes provision to criminalize cases ‘comparable to ecocide’.
Giada Ferraglioni wrote about new research based on data from 34 countries showing that marine protected areas can generate large economic benefits to the fishing and tourism sectors.
The Environmental Investigation Agency reports that authorities in Mozambique have seized a shipment of 651 pieces of elephant ivory, adding to concerns that poaching is on the rise.
On 27 March, the Presidents of Brazil and France announced a US$1.1 billion investment plan to address deforestation in the Amazon, reports Sergio Colombo.
Researchers have mapped the regions where tree planting is a bad idea.
The area of wetlands in the United States (excluding Alaska and Hawaii) has fallen by half since the 1780s.
Sigrid Deters, a biodiversity campaigner at Greenpeace Netherlands, wrote about the billions of euros that European banks are investing in corporations that are destroying rainforests and other ecosystems.
Researchers in Germany identified ‘ten must knows’ for preserving biodiversity.
Camila Azevedo wrote about new research on threats invasive species pose in the Brazilian Amazon.
‘Outdoor days’ is a new metric for climate change, reports Sarah DeWeerdt.
Conservation organizations in South Africa are taking the government to court to protect endangered penguins, reports Dominic Naidoo.
Products with a biological origin accounted for 17 percent of global exports in 2021, but in lower-income countries that figure can rise to 40 percent, according to this article that UNCTAD published to coincide with the 7th BioTrade Congress in Geneva.
The UK government may have broken the law by approving a bee-killing pesticide, says ClientEarth.
More than 100 nongovernmental organizations are urging the US special envoy on climate change to oppose carbon markets and offsets under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement.
Future Earth announced that the Earth Commission has launched its second scientific assessment with a new cohort of experts.
The Global Biodiversity Framework Fund approved its first grants to enable Brazil, Gabon and Mexico to prepare projects for which the fund has set aside US$ 40 million.
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Jobs And Opportunities
Journalists in Brazil can apply for grants from the Conexão Oceano de Comunicação Ambiental program for stories about the ocean — deadline 14 April.
The Narwhal is offering a photojournalism fellowship for First Nations, Inuit and Métis photographers — deadline 15 April.
The Pulitzer Center has grants for 'Innovative Reporting: Mapping Transparency and Governance on Rainforest Issues' — deadline 18 April.
The Columbia Journalism School is accepting entries for the John B. Oakes Award for Distinguished Environmental Journalism — deadline 22 April.
US-based journalists can apply for grants of up to US$25,000 to report on environmental justice — deadline 24 April.
The Washington Post is looking for a Climate and Environment Photo Assignment Editor — no deadline listed.
Bonus content: There are 38 jobs, grants, fellowships and other opportunities listed here for Global Nature Beat’s paying supporters. Paid subscriptions are less than £1 per week. A free seven-day trial is available.
On The Horizon
3-7 April 2024: The Society of Environmental Journalists holds its annual conference in Philadelphia, United States.
10-12 April 2024: The UN Ocean Decade Conference takes place in Barcelona, Spain.
15-17 April 2024: The 9th Our Ocean Conference takes place in Athens, Greece.
15-19 April 2024: The Secretariat of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity is holding a dialogue on National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans, and a workshop on Target 3 of the Global Biodiversity Framework, for Caribbean countries. Both take place in Georgetown, Guyana.
15-26 April 2024: The 23rd Session of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues takes place in New York City, United States.
Bonus content: The full calendar for The Nature Beat’s supporters includes 57 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.
Whose Eye Was It?
The eye belongs to a shoebill. Photo credit: Takuya Goro / Flickr — Creative Commons
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