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We must integrate effective protection with scalable restoration to ensure resilient coastal ecosystems. We identify five challenges, including unequal ecosystem coverage, spatial protections that are weak or centered offshore, compartmentalized restoration efforts, and policies that are not fit for purpose, and propose actionable solutions for scaling effective marine conservation. Emphasizing underserved habitats like kelp forests and seagrasses, we call for integrated, equitable, and community-supported strategies that align with global agendas and promote future coastal ecosystems.

Ecosystem restoration is recognised as a key strategy for confronting the dual crises of climate change and biodiversity loss. The United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021-2030)1 sets an ambitious agenda to restore degraded ecosystems worldwide (FAO et al., 2021). However, while the ecological dimensions of restoration are widely documented, the socio-cultural aspects – especially gender – remain critically neglected. This exclusion undermines the effectiveness and equity of restoration efforts and contributes to entrenched inequalities (Oxfam, 2021).

Marine megafauna species are affected by a wide range of anthropogenic threats. To evaluate the risk of such threats, species’ vulnerability to each threat must first be determined. We build on the existing threats classification scheme and ranking system of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species by assessing the vulnerability of 256 marine megafauna species to 23 at-sea threats.

FAO completed its first assessment of the world’s forest resources in 1948. Since then, the Global Forest Resources Assessment (FRA) has evolved into a comprehensive evaluation of forest resources and their condition, management and uses, covering all the thematic elements of sustainable forest management. This, the latest of these assessments, examines the status of, and trends in, forest resources over the period 1990–2025, drawing on the efforts of hundreds of experts worldwide.

lastic ingestion is a known cause of mortality across taxa, yet the quantitative risk plastic ingestion poses is still poorly understood. Based on data from more than 10,000 necropsies, we estimate the likelihood of mortality due to the gastrointestinal load of various plastic materials—hard, soft, rubber, and fishing debris—for seabirds, marine mammals, and sea turtles. We find that 6 to 405 pieces of ingested macroplastic (or a volume between 0.044 and 39.89 cm3/cm body length) lead to a 90% chance of mortality in these marine species.

To celebrate its fifth anniversary, the Kiwa Initiative is launching a bilingual (French/English) awareness campaign aimed at strengthening understanding of Nature-based Solutions (NbS) among Pacific communities and practitioners.

Led by SPREP and the Pacific Community (SPC), this three-month campaign highlights the growing use of NbS across the region and presents practical tools to protect, manage, and restore ecosystems facing climate-related challenges such as coastal erosion, food and water insecurity, and biodiversity loss.

Surf ecosystems support biodiversity, cultural heritage, and local economies. With over 5,000 mapped surf breaks globally, many are in ecologically rich areas that store carbon and sustain marine life. Surfing generates an estimated US $50 billion annually, providing

In recognition of the need for National Parks and protected areas in the South Pacific, the New Zealand Government hosted the First South Pacific Conference on National Parks and Reserves in 1975, in association with the South Pacific

The Gender-responsive Nature-based Solutions (NbS) Toolkit provides a comprehensive framework and practical guidance for integrating gender-responsive strategies into the planning, implementation, and management of NbS. Developed by Arup and Social

Heading into COP30, where tropical forests are set to be a central theme, it seemed worth looking today’s trajectories a little further forward and imagine where they might lead. Part 1 looked at possible fates of tropical forests. The first act of the forest crisis was destruction. The second, if there is to be one, must be design—deliberate, structural, and sustained. The world already knows what is burning; what it hasn’t decided is whether it truly wants to stop it.