Topic description and stories

Life on Earth is at risk from an unprecedented rate of environmental change that threatens the natural resources on which we depend.

Borneo rainforest

Pollution on the move – human activity in East Asia negatively affects air quality in remote tropical forests

31 Mar 2015

New analysis shows that pollution from human activity in East Asia is having a negative effect on air quality in tropical rainforests thousands of...

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Corn plantation nearby remaining forest in the Amazon region

Amazon deforestation ‘threshold’ causes species loss to accelerate

04 Mar 2015

One of the largest area studies of forest loss impacting biodiversity shows that a third of the Amazon is headed toward or has just past a threshold...

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Visitors in Namib-Naukluft National Park, Namibia

World’s protected natural areas receive eight billion visits a year

24 Feb 2015

Researchers say that the first study to attempt to gauge global visitation figures for protected areas reveals nature-based tourism has an economic...

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A Spirobid worm feeding

̽»¨Ö±²¥winners and losers of ocean acidification

28 Jan 2015

̽»¨Ö±²¥population balance of some marine ‘pests’ could be drastically changed as the world’s oceans become increasingly acidic.

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Mountain forest mist

Does it help conservation to put a price on nature?

30 Oct 2014

Assigning an economic value to the benefits which nature provides might not always promote the conservation of biodiversity, and in some cases may...

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Storm on a rising tide, Orplands, Essex

Salt marsh plants key to reducing coastal erosion and flooding

02 Oct 2014

Study finds that natural flood defences such as salt marshes can reduce the height of damaging waves in storm surge conditions by close to 20%.

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Bee

Online resource to support the work of biodiversity conservation organisations

01 Oct 2014

A free online resource, launched today (1 October), will help conservation organisations share expertise and tools, aiding them in addressing some of...

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West Summerland Key Mangrove Ecosystem, Florida Keys

Putting a value on what nature does for us

11 Sep 2014

Interactive online tool allows the value of an ecosystem to be calculated, and allows users to determine how altering a habitat can affect its...

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Himalayan Shaman

Economic success drives language extinction

03 Sep 2014

Thriving economies are the biggest factor in the disappearance of minority languages and conservation should focus on the most developed countries...

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Fajitas. Banner image: ...eat meat! by James Vaughn

Changing global diets is vital to reducing climate change

01 Sep 2014

Healthier diets and reducing food waste are part of a combination of solutions needed to ensure food security and avoid dangerous climate change, say...

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Marchantia - a primitive plant form used as the 'chassis' for designing new plants

From foundry to factory: building synthetic plants

20 Jun 2014

A movement is under way that will fast-forward the design of new plant traits. It takes inspiration from engineering and the software industry, and...

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Lets Play a Game:)!

New EU reforms fail European wildlife

05 Jun 2014

Despite political proclamation of increased environmental focus, experts argue that the European Union’s recent agricultural reforms are far too weak...

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