Big pharma accused of ‘free-riding on nature’ as global fund attracts just $7,000 The Cali Fund, set up to raise $1bn a year for biodiversity from drug companies, remains near empty The Guardian - UK · 16h ago
What Cities Must Keep for Leopards, Civets and Jackals to Move Through Every night, across the edges of Pune, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Delhi, animals that most city residents have never seen are attempting to cross the city. A leopard slips under a highway overpass. A small Indian civet threads through a storm drain. A golden jackal trots along a dry nullah bed… Times Life · 20h ago
Ford Foundation funded 324 groups with $158.5 million for land rights and forests The Ford Foundation directed $158.5 million to 324 organisations over five years, exceeding its original $100 million pledge to support Indigenous peoples and local communities defending their land rights. The funding backed forest stewardship, territorial rights and direct access to climate finance, with a further $72 million committed for 2026–2030. The Times of India · Oct 21
The Bezos Earth Fund has given away $2.4 billion. Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez Bezos' latest $100M bet is saving species on the edge of extinction The couple’s climate fund is one of nine founding members of a new alliance that has committed more than $500 million over five years as governments fall short of their own nature funding goals. Fortune · Oct 21
What Dead Animals on Indian Highways Tell Scientists About the Wild The Carcass as a Data PointA mongoose on NH-48. A star tortoise on the Mysuru-Bengaluru expressway. A wolf spider the size of a palm on a rural district road in Vidarbha. None of these deaths made news. Each one, if recorded with GPS coordinates, a timestamp, and a species ID,… Times Life · Oct 21
Over 30,000 species face critical danger: Amazon's Jeff Bezos backs $500 million wildlife plan, but one key detail is missing Launched at the UN Biodiversity Conference, the New Species Recovery Alliance has garnered a substantial pledge of $500 million. This collaborative initiative, involving nine organizations including the Bezos Earth Fund, is set to combat species extinctions and facilitate the recovery of endangered species globally. With over 31,000 species facing extinction,… The Economic Times · Oct 20
Who should have a say in which species are saved? The California condor offers lessons for a global biodiversity treaty In 1987, biologists captured the last free-flying condor to transfer it to captivity, and the largest flying North American bird species was officially declared extinct in the wild. Today, after decades of coordinated efforts and millions of dollars spent on captive breeding and reintroduction efforts, more than 300 condors have… The Conversation · Oct 20
Copenhagen's ByBi grows from a rooftop project to 100 hives, producing six tonnes of honey yearly Located in the heart of Copenhagen, ByBi serves as a remarkable social enterprise focused on training marginalized individuals in beekeeping and honey production. With a capacity of 80 to 100 bee colonies, the enterprise yields four to six tonnes of honey annually. Established in 2010, ByBi promotes social inclusion while… The Times of India · Oct 19
‘Crucial opportunity to act’ as study finds most of Europe’s wild bee species in decline As Cop17 kicks off, records since 1921 show more bee species declining than increasing in all parts of Europe except the Alps The Guardian - UK · Oct 19
Phoebe Giannisi’s eco-poetry challenges the idea that humans are separate from nature For decades, data has told the story of our ecological crisis. Scientists track carbon emissions, map deforestation and log biodiversity loss. Yet data alone cannot make humanity feel the reality of a changing planet. True impact hinges on a shift in language – a vocabulary that dissolves the border between… The Conversation · Oct 19
Jeff Bezos' Earth Fund joins eight groups in $500 million wildlife pledge Nine philanthropic organisations, including the Bezos Earth Fund, have committed over $500 million for wildlife recovery. The Species Recovery Alliance aims to prevent species extinctions and restore ecosystems through targeted actions. More than 31,000 species face extinction risks globally, prompting urgent conservation needs. The alliance will coordinate funding and resources… The Times of India · Oct 19
From woodland conservation to luxury design: The British creatives rethinking our relationship with nature FASHION’S NEW LANDSCAPE: Britain's growing deer population is threatening woodland regeneration and biodiversity, but could the solution also offer a new approach to sustainable design? Caroline Garland meets the makers transforming a conservation challenge into beautiful, long-lasting designs. The Independent UK · Oct 19
Four years ago countries made a historic deal to save nature. Is it dead in the water? So far not a single target of the plan has been met. As negotiators convene for Cop17, the pressure is on to find a way to honour the commitments made at previous summits The Guardian - UK · Oct 19
Cop17 biodiversity summit to confront funding gap for wildlife conservation Almost 200 countries will be in attendance at the United Nations Biodiversity Cop17, opening in Armenia on Monday, to take stock of faltering progress towards the UN’s 2030 nature targets. Wildlife populations are shrinking and protected areas are under threat from drilling and mining, while more money still goes into… Radio France Internationale · Oct 19
The Guardian - UK · Oct 19 Cop17 at a glance: everything you need to know about the UN’s nature summit This month’s biodiversity summit in Yerevan, Armenia, aims to push governments to meet the 23 targets agreed at Cop15 in 2022
Radio France Internationale · Oct 18 Poison and remedy: secrets of the botanic garden at Paris's Pharmacy Faculty A stone's throw from the Jardin du Luxembourg on Paris's Left Bank, the Faculty of Pharmacy is home to a botanical garden which serves as an educational resource for students and a space for research – as well as a place where visitors can find biodiversity in the heart of…
Times Life · Oct 18 How the Red-Eared Slider Became India's Most Damaging Invasive Turtle A Pet Shop Animal With a Predator's AppetiteThe red-eared slider, Trachemys scripta elegans, is native to the Mississippi River basin in the United States. It gets its name from the vivid red stripe behind each eye. In a tank, it is docile, long-lived, and cheap. In the wild, it is…
The Times of India · Oct 17 Retirement Fuels Bushland Restoration: Ken and Jill revive 970ha bush; older Australians follow In their eighties, Ken and Jill Hooper have become dedicated stewards of bushland in Australia, showcasing an inspiring commitment to conservation post-retirement. Over the last twenty years, after acquiring properties in Victoria and New South Wales, they focus on enhancing biodiversity and curbing invasive species to safeguard native wildlife. Their…
Latin Times · Oct 17 From Sacred Wood to Global Fragrance: Ecuadorian Villages Powering a Brazilian Beauty Giant Brazil's Natura doubled its Ecuador essential oil buys, paying ~$70K per 25-kilo batch. A 2027 jungle expedition targets 3 new Amazonian ingredients.
The Independent UK · Oct 16 Fundraising to protect oceans, forests and other key nature sites falling short ahead of UN summit Promises by nations to spend hundreds of billions of dollars to finance nature and increase protections for oceans around the globe are falling short ahead of a key U.N. biodiversity conference
Euronews · Oct 16 ‘Subsidising suicide’: UN chief urges governments to stop propping up polluting fossil fuels Fossil fuels are 'boiling our planet', says Guterres. Yet COP31 hosts Türkiye and Australia are expanding them, a new report shows.
The Guardian - UK · Oct 16 Sod’s law: what can two turf swaps 40 years apart tell us about Britain’s biodiversity crisis? In 1983, David Nash dug up a section of Kensington Gardens and swapped it with Welsh grassland. Four decades later, Mike Perry’s reverse swap revealed a striking reversal in the fortunes of urban and rural nature
The Guardian - UK · Oct 16 Four years after the promises of Cop15, our biodiversity targets are slipping away The world pledged to halt biodiversity loss by 2030, but as Cop17 delegates meet in Armenia next week the outlook is bleak and optimism has faded
Times Life · Oct 16 India's Legless Amphibians Live Entirely Underground and Go Unnoticed What a Caecilian Actually IsCaecilians are the third order of amphibians, sitting alongside frogs and salamanders in the class Amphibia. They have no limbs, no visible ears, and eyes so reduced that in many species they sit beneath a thin layer of skin, functional enough to detect light but useless…
The Times of India · Oct 15 Italian farmer gave up a third of her rice fields for wildlife Alice Cerutti has converted part of her rice farm into natural habitats that support biodiversity. She grows historic rice varieties that are more resilient to climate change and drought. The wetlands on her farm have become a rare nesting site for the black-tailed godwit. Cerutti's approach prioritizes environmental restoration alongside…