Nature Beat #25

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.

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Taking The Pulse

Coral crisis: A global coral bleaching event is underway, with potentially severe impacts on ecosystems and coastal communities, according to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and International Coral Reef Initiative. It is the fourth such event and the second in the past ten years, affecting coral in the waters of at least 53 countries (see the press release and images or join a webinar on 14 May). Elizabeth Claire Alberts covers the news in depth here. See also the press release by WWF.

Wildlife trafficking in Europe: A new report by TRAFFIC shows that the European Union is a major source, destination and transit route for illegal wildlife trade. The report covers more than 3,600 seizures of trafficked animals, plants and derivative products in 2022, of which 70 percent were made by authorities in Germany, the Netherlands, France, Spain and Italy. The seizures included large amounts of plant-derived medicinal products, illegal timber and nearly 2,000 live animals apparently destined for the pet trade. See the press release.

Conservation finance: The US Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted to advance the bipartisan US Foundation for International Conservation Act, which would establish a foundation to fund effective management of protected areas by local communities around the world. WWF welcomed the news.

EU policy: A leaked draft of the European Union’s forthcoming five-year strategic agenda shows that nature, climate and the environment will be dropped from the list of priority issues, reports Caroline O’Doherty. EU heads of state are meeting this week to discuss the agenda, which will be finalized in June. Meanwhile, more than 170 nongovernmental organizations have urged European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to resist efforts to delay implementation of the EU Deforestation Regulation, which aims to ensure EU consumption of commodities does not drive forest loss.

Ocean action: The main outcome of last week’s Ocean Decade Conference was the Barcelona Statement outlining priorities for ocean science and related action. As the Earth Negotiations Bulletin reports in its conference summary, participants drafted ten papers corresponding to the UN Ocean Decade’s ten challenges. These papers will be finalized and synthesized in an outcome document in May.

This week, the 9th Our Ocean Conference took place in Athens, Greece. The EU announced it would spend 3.5 billion euros on various actions aimed at protecting ocean life. Greece announced new marine protected areas and a ban on bottom trawling in marine parks, report Karen McVeigh and Helena Smith, who also covered France’s outrage about the UK’s ban on bottom trawling in parts of its territorial waters.

Whose eye is this? Answer below…

In Focus: Plastic Treaty Talks

The fourth session of intergovernmental negotiations to develop a legally binding treaty on plastic pollution takes place on 23-29 April 2024 in Ottawa, Canada. The Earth Negotiations Bulletin has a preview and will publish daily summaries here. The Environmental Investigation Agency’s latest podcast provides a good overview of the state of negotiations, and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature sets out its priorities here.

According to WWF, recent surveys of more than 24,000 people in 32 countries show strong support for the treaty to limit plastic production and to ban single-use plastics, harmful chemicals in plastics and plastics that cannot be recycled. The Center for International Environmental Law has experts available for comment, and ClientEarth has a webinar on 25 April on using the law to address plastic pollution.

In The Spotlight

• Jo Chandler reports from the Solomon Islands on what even a staunch critic of forest carbon projects calls “a significant example of best practice” in which indigenous people own the carbon rights, protect their biodiverse forest and receive life-changing levels of income.

• Journalists from across the Caribbean collaborated with the Centre for Investigative Journalism in Puerto Rico to produce a seven-part series on the environmental, social and economic impacts of huge amounts of Sargassum seaweed washing ashore.

• The Guardian launched a new series on the planet’s shifting soundscapes with Phoebe Weston’s trio of powerfully poignant stories (here, here and here) and a podcast episode.

• Cambodian filmmaker Nehru Pry’s ten-minute documentary highlights the importance of the seasonally flooded forest surrounding the largest freshwater lake in Asia.

Tips And Resources

• The Pan-Amazonian Social Forum has a webinar on 18 April on debt, climate change and extractive industries in the Amazon — register here.

• This session at the International Journalism Festival looks good. Four journalists — Anton L. Delgado, Gustavo Faleiros, Josiane Kouagheu and Andres Bermudez Lievano — will discuss reporting on illegal logging, land conflict and wildlife trafficking in Brazil, Cambodia, Cameroon and Colombia. The event will be livestreamed on 19 April and later available on demand.

• Mongabay Africa is holding a webinar on 19 April so journalists can learn how to pitch to the outlet — find out more and register here.

See past editions for more tips and resources.

What Caught My Eye

• Scientists have found an astonishing variety of species living in Cambodian mangroves, reports Robin McKie.

• Europe removed a record number of artificial barriers — nearly 500 of them — from its rivers in 2023, reports Ajit Niranjan.

• Cambodia lost 121,000 hectares of forest cover last year — mostly in protected areas, reports Gerald Flynn.

• Yemeni journalist Abdulmalik Alnemri wrote about efforts to save the iconic dragon’s blood trees on the island of Socotra.

• Papua New Guinea only established its legal framework for establishing protected areas in February 2024 — Spoorthy Raman reports on the hopes and concerns of conservationists.

• Dale Miquelle of the Wildlife Conservation Society explains what’s next for tiger conservation.

• Rémi Parmentier — channelling Leonard Cohen — wrote about the prospects of ending harmful subsidies that sustain overfishing.

• Warren Cornwall wrote about research showing how roads and fences affect the genetic health of wildebeests in Africa.

• The Bezos Earth Fund announced US$100 million for artificial intelligence solutions to tackle climate change and nature loss.

• Denmark allocated DKK 2 billion (US$285 million) to boost biodiversity through tree-planting and actions improving aquatic ecosystems, reports Sergio Colombo.

• Member states of the Southern African Development Community have validated a regional biodiversity strategy and action plan.

From The Journals

In case you missed it, my latest round-up of new research included papers on: Logging and mammals. Fears for flamingos. Concrete controls. Ghost roads. And much more... Read the summaries here.

Can You Help?

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Jobs And Opportunities

• Our World In Data is hiring a writer — deadline 12 May.

• The Council for the Advancement of Science Writing seeks a new executive director — rolling deadline.

• US-based journalists can apply for a grants of up to US$25,000 to report on environmental justice — deadline 24 April.

• Journalismfund Europe has grants for  cross-border teams to do investigations into environmental affairs related to Europe (all the countries, not only the EU) — deadline 25 April.

• The Earth Journalism Network has story grants for journalists covering biodiversity and conservation — deadline 5 May.

Bonus content: There are 39 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

15-26 April 2024: The 23rd Session of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues takes place in New York City, United States.

22-23 April 2024: The Sustainable Finance for Tiger Landscapes Conference takes place in Bhutan.

6-9 May 2024: The 18th International Conference on Community-Based Adaptation to Climate Change takes place in Arusha, Tanzania.

13-18 May 2024: The UN Convention on Biological Diversity’s Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice will meet in Nairobi, Kenya to, among other things, finalize the approach for monitoring implementation of the Global Biodiversity Framework — meeting documents are here.

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 brown pelican. Photo credit: Kaptain Karrot / Flickr — Creative Commons

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