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International trade is a major driver of shark overexploitation. In 2013, five threatened shark species were listed on Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species to regulate global trade and promote recovery. Once listed, any uncertified, unreported export of these species became illegal. Minimal trade was reported from 2015 to 2021, yet fins from four of these species were common in the world’s largest shark fin hub (Hong Kong) throughout this period, indicating substantial and sustained illegal trade.

Nearly a third of seabird species are at risk of extinction, rendering them among the most threatened bird taxa globally. The decline in seabird populations has major ramifications for their associated ecosystems. An expansive literature covers seabird impacts on their breeding islands, and growing research expands understanding of the circular seabird economy — cross-ecosystem connections of seabirds from oceans to islands, and back to nearshore marine ecosystems, mainly driven by nutrient transfer.

Despite playing an essential role in safeguarding food security, livelihoods, and human well-being, biodiversity is in precipitous decline globally with devastating social, environmental, and economic impacts (Pörtner et al. 2023). Thus, incorporating biodiversity into integrated landscape management strategies is crucial for reconciling conservation and livelihoods in multifunctional landscapes.

AI for Nature examines the transformative role of artificial intelligence in understanding and protecting the natural world. The paper outlines how AI can be applied to environmental monitoring, biodiversity mapping, and land-use planning, while also identifying the social, ethical, and governance challenges that accompany these technologies. It calls for collaboration across science, technology, and policy to ensure AI benefits both nature and people.

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.

Over the past twenty years, coral reef restoration has seen unprecedented growth worldwide. From Indonesia to the Caribbean, thousands of projects have been launched with the goal of “saving” coral reefs - often by planting coral fragments or building artificial reef structures.

Deforestation and degradation rates remained stubbornly high in 2024, pushing the world even further off track from the shared goal of halting and reversing forest loss by 2030. While some countries are demonstrating that progress is possible, the global trend remains one of stagnation, not transformation.

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The project contributes to the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP)’s component of the Management and Conservation of Blue Carbon Ecosystems (or MACBLUE) project, aiming to “contribute to human and technical capacity to the mapping, management and rehabilitation of coastal ecosystems.” The MACBLUE project is a joint effort between the Deutsche Gesellschaft fur International Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), the Pacific Community (SPC) and SPREP.

The project contributes to the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP)’s component of the
Management and Conservation of Blue Carbon Ecosystems (or MACBLUE) project, aiming to “contribute to human and
technical capacity to the mapping, management and rehabilitation of coastal ecosystems.” The MACBLUE project is a
joint effort between the Deutsche Gesellschaft fur International Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), The Pacific Community (SPC) and
SPREP. Its aim is to “strengthen coastal biodiversity conservation and management through protection and rehabilitation