Nature Beat #65

Updates, stories, resources and opportunities

May 22, 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: Ocean opportunities — AI in conservation — Primate-watching — Action on bird-hunting — A pandemic treaty — Invasive species — Challenging bears — Forest loss — Journalism tips — Jobs and opportunities — New research papers — And much more.

Taking The Pulse

Forest loss: We lost a record-breaking amount of tropical forest last year — nearly double what we lost in 2023 — largely because of a significant increase in wildfires, particularly in Brazil and Bolivia. The findings come in an annual assessment by the World Resources Institute and the University of Maryland’s GLAD lab. Beyond the tropics, wildfires also claimed vast areas of forest in countries such as Canada and Russia. On 28 May, WRI has a webinar on this new data and what it means for the 2025 UN climate change conference (COP30) later this year in Brazil.

Pandemic risk: On 20 May, member states of the World Health Organization’s body adopted the Pandemic Agreement to boost international collaboration on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response. Once the agreement has entered into force, it will commit member states to promote a ‘One Health’ approach that reflects the connections between human, animal and environmental health. This means taking steps to prevent diseases emerging from populations of wildlife or livestock to infect humans. This could entail actions to minimize risky human-animal contact such as ecosystem protection and restoration, and greater controls on wildlife trade and consumption.

Ecocide: On 14 May, the Council of Europe adopted the Convention on the Protection of the Environment through Criminal Law. It establishes legal standards for defining and prosecuting offences such as unlawful pollution, illegal waste trafficking, habitat destruction and severe environmental harm. The treaty will enter into force once ratified by at least ten states, including eight of the Council of Europe’s 46 member states. See Stop Ecocide International’s summary and statement for more details.

Illegal bird hunting: A new report by BirdLife International and EuroNatur shows that only 8 of the 46 countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea are on track to meet their pledge of halving illegal bird hunting by 2030. The press release states that: “In many of the worst-affected countries, responsible for around 90 percent of illegal killings, little to no progress has been made – and in some cases, the situation has worsened.” The Secretariat of the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) also published a scorecard showing how countries in the region are faring in their efforts. And, on 20 May, the CMS launched a new task force to curb illegal hunting of birds in ten nations in South-West Asia.

Forest peoples: From 26-30 May, representatives of indigenous peoples and other local communities who depend on forests will meet in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo for a global congress. Among other things, the meeting aims to strengthen coordination among groups in Africa, Asia and Latin America ahead of this year’s UN climate change conference in Brazil. Nature4Climate has a summary of expected results. Last week, Indigenous leaders from Brazil, Indonesia and Malaysia visited the United Kingdom to urge the government to maintain its commitment to tropical forests and people who depend on them, after it announced a steep cut to its international development budget.

In The Spotlight

Jim Robbins reported on the growing use of artificial intelligence in biodiversity conservation — and the downsides of depending on it.
The Guardian published an extract of the book that journalist Dom Phillips was writing before he and his colleague Bruno Pereira were murdered while investigating deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon.
Brian Obara wrote a lovely story about the positive impacts on coastal communities of a marine conservation initiative in Mozambique.
Richard Conniff says that getting people hooked on making lists of the primate species they have seen would generate revenue and social support to save rare wildlife — just like bird-watchers do.
Diego Menjíbar Reynés wrote about efforts to control an invasive tree species that was introduced to Kenya with good intentions but has had terrible impacts.

Tips And Resources

In June and July, the Asia Society has a four-part webinar series on climate change and wildlife conservation in South Asia — find more information and register here.
On 29 May, the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication has a webinar on understanding and countering climate change misinformation and disinformation.
On 4 June, the Commission for Environmental Cooperation has a webinar on the impacts of pollution and biodiversity loss on women across North America.
Resilience has a live online event on 24 June on what microplastics are doing to the ocean and human health — register here.

See past editions for more tips and resources.

Gerald Flynn and Nehru Pry report that police in Cambodia have arrested a journalist called Ouk Mao who has been exposing illegal land grabs by politically connected companies in protected areas — see last week’s Global Nature Beat.
Australian billionaires Cameron Adams and Lisa Miller plan to give away at least half of their fortune to address environmental issues. Joining the Giving Pledge, they said: “We must not only halt nature’s decline but also begin its restoration” — read their pledge letter.
Lucelle Bonzo and colleagues exposed failings of the national reforestation program of the Philippines.
Nature loss and climate change in commodity-producing countries threaten food security in Europe, according to new research from Foresight Transitions — see the press release or the full report.
An investigation by Damian Carrington, Giorgio Michalopoulos and Stefano Valentino revealed that European “green” funds have more than US$33bn of investments in major oil and gas companies driving climate change.
Lin Zi interviewed Ma Tianjie, author of In Search of Green China, about how the country is tackling environmental issues during its rapid industrialisation.
Ruben Khachatryan shared six insights into conservation issues in Armenia, the host of next year's UN biodiversity conference (COP17).
Bill Hare and Claudio Forna explain why governments should not hide behind forests to meet their greenhouse gas emissions goals.
Six reporters from Mongabay wrote about the impacts of US funding cuts on initiatives fighting wildlife crime in Africa and Asia.
The UN Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime needs a subsidiary protocol dedicated to environmental crime, writes Robert Muggah.
An editorial in the scientific journal Nature urges governments to seize the opportunity of next month’s UN Ocean Conference to to make progress on ocean conservation.
The International Institute for Environment and Development says that not enough nature funding from the Global Environment Facility is reaching communities on the frontlines of the biodiversity crisis — read the briefing paper, the press release or a commentary by two of the paper’s authors.
Shaz Syed made a video report about how authorities and communities are handling human-bear conflict in Kashmir.
The removal of river-blocking barriers in Europe is gathering pace, reports Ajit Niranjan.

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From The Journals

Scientific knowledge on species conservation tends to be overlooked when not published in English — read the press release or the full paper.
A global dataset on the positive, negative and neutral impacts of more than 3,300 invasive alien species on nature, nature’s contributions to people, and good quality of life — read the full paper.
A global analysis of multinational corporations’ role in environmental conflicts — read the press release or the full paper.
Analysis of data on more than 70,000 animal species identifies those at risk from climate change — read the press release or the full paper.
How to improve shark conservation — read the full paper.

Jobs And Opportunities

Bonus content: There are 23 jobs, grants, fellowships and other opportunities listed here for Global Nature Beat’s paying supporters. Paid subscriptions are less than £1 per week.

CalMatters is hiring an environment and health editor — no deadline listed.
The 2025 Africa Science Journalism Awards are open for entries — deadline 4 July.
Journalists can apply for grants of up to US$10,000 to report on water issues in the Colorado River Basin — deadline 16 June.
The Developing Asia Journalism Awards 2025 are open to entries that cover one of four topics including ‘climate adaptation and the conservation of the environment and natural resources for resilience’ — deadline 6 June.

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 scops owl. Photo credit: Malivoja — Wikimedia 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.