The 9th issue of the EU Copernicus Ocean State Report is now available online, published alongside an interactive summary detailing key aspects of the report for policymakers, members of the Blue Economy, and the public. This year’s report emphasises the deeply interconnected nature of the impacts of ocean change with changes in marine ecosystems, human society, culture, and the economy, highlighting 2023 and 2024 records and extreme events.
IBAT has released a new Species report designed to enhance biodiversity reporting and conservation planning. The new report represents a major step forward in providing users with sharper data, broader species coverage, and deeper analytical insights, all aligned with the targets and goals of Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity
This guidebook is based on an understanding that social equity refers to fairness and justice with respect to the ways that people are recognised, treated, or impacted by conservation initiatives. It is also grounded on a common framework for assessing equity that includes six dimensions: recognitional, procedural, management, environmental, distributional, and contextual and structural equity.
Papua New Guinea (PNG) is a major exporter of tropical logs worldwide. This report investigates the role of Malaysian companies and individuals in large-scale forest clearance in PNG through the misuse of Forest Clearing Authorities (FCAs). Despite a 2023 moratorium on new FCA licences, widespread deforestation and human rights abuses persist.
Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) is a globally established tool to support integrated ocean management. As Small Island Developing States (SIDS) embrace MSP, this study focuses on Fiji as it begins its MSP process alongside the implementation of newly established ocean-related policies and legislation. The study investigates whether MSP has the potential to address the challenges identified by various actors and, if so, to explore how this can be achieved.
UNESCO’s new publication "Indigenous knowledge, ancestral places: navigating change in UNESCO designated sites" offers honest accounts of resilience from many different perspectives told by Indigenous Peoples whose territories intersect with UNESCO designated sites across the world.
As the climate warms, coral reefs face more frequent and severe impacts from thermal stress while a greater proportion of tropical cyclones are expected to reach the strongest categories. Understanding the impacts of extreme cyclone waves and reef recovery dynamics is essential to support projections of reef communities under future climate scenarios.
The report High-risk forests, high-value returns: A co-benefits assessment for decision-makers examines the global significance of conserving “high-risk forests” or tropical forests with high deforestation risk, covering about 391 million hectares.
Our planet is facing an unprecedented and accelerating biodiversity crisis, driven by human activity and compounded by climate change, which is bringing ever more severe weather to a world already strained by poverty and inequality. Species are disappearing at accelerating rates, entire ecosystems are collapsing at alarming speeds, and millions of people struggle to secure the most basic needs of water, food, energy, and safety.
At World Trade Organization (WTO), the key characteristic according to which support to agricultural producers is classified is their ability to distort international trade rather than their incidence and impacts on social or environmental dimensions. There is a lack of studies and analytical framework to guide policy decisions, such as understanding how specific support, in general, and in different agricultural sub-sectors, are linked to biodiversity, economic, social, and trade outcomes. In this context, our work contributes to filling this gap.
