Nature Beat #63

Updates, stories, resources and opportunities

May 07, 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.

In this edition you will find: Wildlife trafficking — Forests — Critical minerals — Ocean initiatives — War on birds — Tigers — Whales — Indigenous rights — Journalism tips — Jobs and opportunities — New research papers — And much more.

Taking The Pulse

Wildlife trafficking: The Wildlife Justice Commission (WJC) is feeling cautiously optimistic that the illegal trade in pangolin scales and elephant ivory has been significantly reduced. In a new report, the WJC says that the COVID-19 pandemic, together with targeted law enforcement operations, have suppressed the illegal trade of these products from Africa to Asia. Seizures of smuggled pangolin scales, ivory and rhino horn all peaked in 2019 and are now at much lower levels. But, as the WJC acknowledges, it remains to be seen whether this is truly due to a decline in trafficking — it might just be that smugglers are using new routes and avoiding detection. See the WJC’s news story for more details.

Forests: The 20th session of the UN Forum on Forests is underway from 5-9 May in New York City. Government representatives will discuss implementation of the UN Strategic Plan for Forests 2017–2030 and its six Global Forest Goals. The meeting has three priority themes: reversing forest loss, increasing the area of protected forest and improving forest governance. The Earth Negotiations Bulletin has daily coverage. Meanwhile, Global Canopy’s annual assessment of the top 500 companies involved in the trade of forest-risk commodities found that only 16 are taking adequate action to prevent deforestation in their supply chains — see Liz Kimbrough’s story or the full report.

Minerals: With the 2025 OECD Forum on Responsible Mineral Supply Chains underway in Paris (5-7 May), nongovernmental organizations have today published two reports highlighting emerging risks linked to mining for minerals needed for the transition to renewable energy. The report from the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) highlights threats such mining poses to key biodiversity areas and suggests ways to minimize them. Fern’s report analyzes the projected impact of demand for electric vehicles in the European Union on forests and Indigenous Peoples. It says that, without changes to policies, this demand could lead to the loss of 18 football fields of forest every day for the next twenty-five years. To avoid this, Fern calls for adoption of alternative battery technologies and measures that reduce dependence on cars.

Ocean: The 10th Our Ocean Conference took place last week in Busan, South Korea, where governments and organizations pledged more than US$9 billion for ocean sustainability initiatives. In its new role as the conference’s secretariat, the World Resources Institute (WRI) published a report on the more than 2,600 pledges made at the previous nine conferences. So far, 43 percent of these initiatives have been completed, 38 percent are underway and 18 percent have yet to start. Together the commitments are worth US$160 billion. See WRI’s assessment of what needs to happen next. For more details of what happened at the conference in Busan, see this coverage by Elizabeth Claire Alberts.

In The Spotlight

Fabiano Maisonnave wrote about researchers rescuing and releasing orphaned manatees in the Amazon.
Nakisanze Segawa reported on the link between tobacco farming and the risk of diseases spilling over from apes to humans in Uganda.
Phoebe Weston wrote about how the proliferation of border walls and fences — from six in 1989 to 74 today — is harming wildlife in diverse ways.
Paul Hormick also covered this topic, noting how the US border patrol’s use of high-intensity lighting interferes with bats, birds, bobcats and butterflies.
Emily Hart provides an acoustic tour of Colombia’s wildlife and ecosystems, and interviews scientists using sound to monitor and conserve nature.

Tips And Resources

Fabian Federl wrote about he and colleagues investigated how illegally mined gold ends up in ‘responsibly sourced’ supply chains.
Following the Trump administrations moves to expedite deep-sea mining, the International Seabed Authority has published information for journalists, clarifying its role in regulating use of resources in the deep seabed of international waters.
The Open Notebook published guidance for journalists on pre-reporting stories, and on covering huge scientific reports.
Renjani Sari wrote about how journalists can use open-source tools to investigate air pollution.
The Food and Farming Journalism Network has a webinar on 22 May on industrial agriculture and climate change — register here.

See past editions for more tips and resources.

In Focus: The War on Birds

Two new stories from Southeast Asia highlight different threats to the region’s birds. Low Choon Chyuan reported on a surge in trapping of wild birds in Malaysia for increasingly popular songbird competitions there, and for trafficking to Indonesia, where they are also in high demand. In Cambodia, Yann Bigant and Vutha Srey wrote about how poverty and weak law enforcement are driving people to hunt a wide variety of bird species for human consumption.

Bird populations are also suffering in North America, according to new research that tracked sightings of nearly 500 species between 2007 and 2021. As Patrick Greenfield reports, three-quarters of these species are in decline, with numbers falling fastest their former strongholds. The causes are not yet clear, but climate change and habitat loss are likely to be key factors.

What Caught My Eye

How journalism saved a rainforest — a case study in persistent reporting.
Orla Dwyer covered research showing that forests worldwide are struggling to recover from wildfires.
Beavers are getting a high profile as conservation comeback kids but are still only at 2.5% of their historical numbers in North America.
Pamela McElwee wrote about the lingering environmental impacts of war in Vietnam and what this means for the future of Ukraine and Gaza.
In India, members of a tribe evicted from their forest home when the government established a tiger reserve have returned to reclaim their land.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo’s plans to become a leading palm oil producer spark fears of land conflicts, report Francesco De Augustinis and Jonas Kambale Kiriko.
Google teamed up with conservation organizations and botanical gardens to create the World Wide Wood, an multimedia repository of more than 400 stories about trees and a botanical atlas featuring 30,000 species — see the press release or explore the content.
In Brazil, a Supreme Court justice has ordered the government to seize private properties whose owners are found responsible for illegal deforestation or wildfires.
Eight environmental and human rights organizations urge the UK government to protect tropical forests from cuts to the foreign aid budget.
Meet the winners of the ‘Green Oscars’ for conservation.

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In Focus: COP30 Outcomes

Two likely outcomes of the forthcoming COP30 climate change conference shifted into focus last week at the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues in New York City.

The Brazilian Minister of Indigenous Peoples, Sonia Guajajara, announced that Brazil, Norway and Peru are urging other countries to sign up to a joint commitment to recognize the lands and territories of Indigenous Peoples and local communities. This reflects evidence showing that these groups play crucial roles in managing land and forests in ways that help to help to limit climate change and biodiversity loss. The goal for this Intergovernmental Land Tenure Commitment will be announced at COP30.

Guajajara also announced a formal partnership with Indigenous Peoples and local communities in the design of the Tropical Forest Forever Facility — a new funding mechanism that Brazil will launch at COP30 to reward countries that prevent deforestation. See the article co-authored by Guajajara and Juan Carlos Jintiach, executive secretary of the Global Alliance of Territorial Communities.

From The Journals

More tigers means more forest carbon — read the press release or the full paper.
Ancient poems reveal how much a rare river porpoise’s range has shrunk — read the press release or the full paper.
Media coverage of biodiversity research in the Netherlands — read the full paper (preprint)
The post-whaling recovery of Australian southern right whales has stalled — read the full paper.
The impacts on biodiversity of either expanding or intensifying agriculture depend on crops and contexts — read the press release or the full paper.

Jobs And Opportunities

Carbon Brief has a three-week paid journalism internship — deadline 2 June.
The Online Journalism Awards now include an ‘excellence in science reporting’ category — apply by 15 May.
KPBS Public Media in San Diego is hiring an environment reporter — deadline 15 May.
The Institute for Climate and Society, Nature4Climate, The Nature Conservancy and the UN Environment Programme, invite journalists to join The Belém Desk Initiative on nature and climate reporting during the COP30 climate change conference in November. The program includes editorial support, briefings, access to experts and field visits to Amazon-based projects (limited availability) — apply by 23 May.
The National Press Foundation and the National Press Club Journalism Institute have grants for journalism on environmental justice and environmental racism in the United States — deadline 27 May.
The Association of British Science Writers has full-cost diversity scholarships for its Science & Technology Journalism Summer School — deadline 30 May.

Bonus content: There are 24 jobs, grants, fellowships and other opportunities listed here for Global Nature Beat’s paying supporters. Paid subscriptions are less than £1 per week.

Introducing Planet Ficus

I’ve started another newsletter called Planet Ficus. It is devoted to stories about what I think are the world’s most fascinating plants — the strangler figs and their kin, which have shaped our world and our species in profound ways. If that sounds interesting, please subscribe — or check out the introductory post for a quick tour of what makes fig trees so important and what kinds of stories I will be sharing.

On The Horizon

27-29 May 2025: The conference of the Public Communication of Science and Technology Network takes place in Aberdeen, Scotland.

27-29 May 2025: The 5th Global Conference of the Sustainable Food Systems (SFS) Programme will take place in Brasilia, Brazil.

9-13 June 2025: The third UN Ocean Conference takes place in Nice, France.

15-20 June 2025: The International Congress for Conservation Biology (ICCB 2025) will take place in Brisbane/Meanjin, Australia.

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 savannah monitor. Photo credit: Tambako the Jaguar / 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.