CONSERVATION NEWS

Eight Amazonian nations have agreed to create an alliance to protect the world’s largest rainforest, following decades of rising deforestation and warnings of a “tipping point” that could alter the ecosystem — and Earth’s climate.

More than six months ago, nearly every country signed on to the most ambitious plan ever to protect nature — a sweeping framework that aims to conserve 30 percent of the planet's land and waters by 2030. It’s an unprecedented agreement. So, what’s next?

The European Parliament agreed on legally binding targets to protect and restore nature in the European Union — a significant step but short of the “30 by 30” goal that most conservationists and scientists have called for to stem the tide of species extinctions and climate change.

Roughly two-thirds of the world’s oceans lie beyond national boundaries in an area known as the “high seas” — yet only about 1 percent of that largely unexplored expanse has been protected. Now, nearly 200 countries have agreed on the first-ever United Nations treaty to protect the high seas.

In a powerful commitment to nature, nearly 200 countries have signed a sweeping agreement to protect a third of Earth’s land and oceans by 2030.