Nature Beat #57

Updates, stories, resources and opportunities

Mar 18, 2025

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

COP30: “Change is inevitable – either by choice or by catastrophe” — the incoming president of the UN climate change conference (COP30), André Aranha Corrêa do Lago, has written to all parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change to outline Brazil’s priorities for the conference, which it will host in Belem in November. Corrêa do Lago calls for increased ambition and a renewed focus on implementation of what parties have already agreed to do. His letter describes some of the approaches the Brazilian COP Presidency will take to encourage progress in Belem. These include an ‘ethical global stock-take’, a ‘circle of indigenous leadership’ and a ’circle of presidencies’ that brings together the leaders of previous climate change COPs as well as their current counterparts in the biodiversity and desertification COPs.

US birds: The 2025 US State of the Birds report shows that one in three bird species in the United States are now of high or moderate conservation concern — including 112 species whose populations have halved in the past 50 years, and 42 with ‘perilously low’ populations — see the press release or media kit, which has the report, photos and sound files.

Deep-sea mining: Part 1 of the 30th Session of the International Seabed Authority (ISA) Assembly and Council is underway in Kingston, Jamaica — see the preview and daily summaries from the Earth Negotiations Bulletin. One of the core current tasks of the ISA is to develop rules governing deep-sea mining, even though many ISA member nations want a moratorium or precautionary pause. Other countries are keen to proceed, to meet growing demand for metals needed for the transition to clean energy.

Supporting calls for a moratorium, WWF published a report on 17 March showing how deep seabed mining would undermine global commitments on biodiversity and sustainable development — see the press release or the full report. Earlier in March, ocean scientists and others published a paper that called for a pause on deep-sea mining while its likely impacts on ecosystems can be assessed. They said that this should be combined with efforts to improve mining practices on land to create a ‘double win’ for biodiversity.

In The Spotlight

Helen Davidson wrote about the decades-long effort to transform China’s Loess Plateau from a vast dustbowl into a green and productive landscape — and the new challenges that success and climate change bring.
A sharp increase in the number of dugongs washing ashore dead in Thailand is linked to the rapid decline of seagrass meadows off the country’s coasts, reports Siripannee Supratya.
Alice Martins Morais reported from the Amazonian beach where nesting sea turtles compete for space with thousands of cars.
Sarah Deweerdt wrote about how whales are moving tons of nutrients thousands of miles in what researchers are calling the ‘great whale conveyor belt’.

Tips And Resources

On 19 March, Project Drawdown and the Solutions Journalism Network have a webinar on how visual storytelling can bring climate solutions to life — register here.
InfoAmazonia is offering journalists a free online course (in Spanish and Portuguese) on the forthcoming COP30 climate change conference — register here by 27 March.
Also on 27 March, the Global Landscapes Forum is holding an online event focused on artificial intelligence for conservation and restoration.
On 11 April, Mongabay has a webinar for journalists on how to cover wildlife corridors — register here.
The UN Environment Programme’s Freshwater Ecosystems Explorer shows the health of millions of lakes, rivers and wetlands around the world.

See past editions for more tips and resources.

What Caught My Eye

Indonesia’s largest environmental group, Walhi, has formally accused 47 mining, palm oil and forestry companies of causing environmental destruction costing the state US$26.5 billion, reports Hans Nicholas Jong.
Denmark’s reliance on biomass energy is driving deforestation, biodiversity loss and increased carbon emissions in Estonia and Latvia, according to a new report.
A previously unknown type of guitar shark is among 866 newly discovered ocean species.
In 2021, China launched the Kunming Biodiversity Fund with a pledge of more than US$200 million, but so far it is only funding US$1.2 million of projects, reports Jiang Mengnan.
Shinjinee Majumder and Pratik Sinha reported that Indian media outlets received threatening emails or financial offers after covering concerns about the legality of wildlife imports to a mega-zoo that Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated last month.
The Kenya Wildlife Service is moving more than 400 zebras, buffaloes, giraffes, antelopes and rhinos to restore ecological balance to a national reserve.
The Environmental Investigations Agency’s latest podcast episode covered the murky world of tiger farming and its links to illegal trade.
Sangam Prasain wrote about the rising threats revealed by the first national-scale study on links between forest fires, carbon emissions and biodiversity loss in Nepal.
Plastic pollution leaves seabird chicks with brain damage similar to Alzheimer’s, reports Patrick Greenfield.
Since 2020, industrial supertrawlers have spent more than 36,000 hours fishing in the United Kingdom’s marine protected areas, says Greenpeace — see press release.
A river in Zambia ‘died’ overnight after acidic waste spilled from a mine, report Richard Kille and Jacob Zimba.
Riham Alkousaa wrote about a Peruvian farmer suing German energy giant RWE for contributing to climate change impacts in his home city.
Maurice Oniang'o interviewed Rachael Bale about Wildlife Investigative Reporters & Editors — the non-profit she recently co-founded — and the challenges of reporting on wildlife trafficking.

There are ‘very high’ concentrations of human trash 5,000 metres down at the deepest part of the Mediterranean Sea — read the press release or the full paper.
Agroforestry tends to reduce deforestation and associated greenhouse gas emissions in Southeast Asia — read the full paper.
Indigenous lands inhibit mining-induced deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon — read the full paper.
Common misconceptions of the alternatives to protected areas called ‘other effective area-based conservation measures’ — read the full paper.
Watching nature videos can relieve pain — read the press release or the full paper.
Environmental effects of Russia’s destruction of Ukraine’s Kakhovka Dam — read the full paper.

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Jobs And Opportunities

The John B. Oakes Award for Distinguished Environmental Journalism is open for entries — deadline 22 April.
The FRONTIERS Science Journalism Residency Programme is open for applicants — deadline 6 May 2025.
Journalismfund.eu has grants for organizations supporting investigative environmental journalism related to Europe — deadline 22 May.
Journalismfund.eu has grants for journalists who want to investigate environmental affairs related to Europe — deadline 3 April.
Common Dreams is hiring a staff writer and reporter — no deadline listed.

Bonus content: There are 20 jobs, grants, fellowships and other opportunities listed here for Global Nature Beat’s paying supporters. Paid subscriptions are less than £1 per week.

On The Horizon

17-28 March: The 30th Session of the International Seabed Authority Assembly and Council (Part I) takes place in Kingston, Jamaica.

23-26 April 2025: The annual meeting of the Society of Environmental Journalists takes place at Arizona State University.

24–25 April: GLF Forests 2025: Defining the Next Decade of Action takes place online and in-person in Bonn, Germany.

28 April – 9 May: The 2025 Meetings of the Conference of the Parties to the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions take place in Geneva, Switzerland.

Bonus content: The full calendar for Global Nature Beat’s supporters includes nature-related intergovernmental negotiations, scientific conferences, report launches, and other events up until 2026.

Whose Eye Was It?

The eye belongs to a Sclater's lemur. Photo credit: Tambako the Jaguar / Flickr — Creative Commons

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