CONSERVATION NEWS
News, views and features from the front lines of conservation
© Conservation International/Erickson Tabayag
In an undisturbed cave, expedition finds ‘microbats’ once thought lost
By Will McCarry
October 30, 2023
Pacific sheath-tailed bats are vanishing across Oceania. But recently, an expedition on one of Fiji’s least visited islands made a remarkable discovery: A cave containing thousands of Pacific sheath-tailed bats.
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© Jonathan Irish. Rufescent tiger heron in Madidi National Park
How one South American country became a lab for conservation
By Mary Kate McCoy
October 26, 2023
In 1987, Conservation International had a radical idea to reduce Bolivia's debt in exchange for nature conservation. Since then, the country has become a laboratory for the protection of nature, field-testing ideas that would spread around the world.
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© Benjamin Drummond
U.S., Peru trade debt for nature
By Mary Kate McCoy
September 7, 2023
The government of Peru signed a deal to redirect more than US$ 20 million it owes to the United States into the conservation of some of the most biodiverse areas on Earth.
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© Cristina Mittermeier
More than monuments: Study shows World Heritage sites are biodiversity havens
By Max Marcovitch
August 31, 2023
For more than 50 years, UNESCO has protected cultural and natural wonders as World Heritage sites due to their “outstanding universal value.” Turns out, there's another big reason these marvels are irreplaceable: their biodiversity.
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© Joshua Bousel/Flickr Creative Commons. Yasuní National Park in Ecuador
Ecuadorean voters reject oil drilling in Amazon
By Mary Kate McCoy
August 23, 2023
Following a decade-long fight led by Indigenous activists and environment leaders, Ecuadorians voted decisively to end oil drilling in one of the most biodiverse ecosystems on Earth — a move heralded by supporters as “historic.”
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