Topic description and stories

Life on Earth is at risk from an unprecedented rate of environmental change that threatens the natural resources on which we depend.

Cost to protect globally important forests falls disproportionately on those living closest

17 Aug 2023

Local communities are not incentivised to protect tropical forests that are hugely valuable for global climate regulation, a new study has found...

Read more
Woodland

Current conservation policies risk damaging global biodiversity, warn researchers

21 Jun 2023

Rewilding, organic farming and the so-called ‘nature friendly farming’ measures included in some government conservation policies may accelerate...

Read more
Digger making tracks in forest

At least 80% of the world’s most important sites for biodiversity on land currently contain human developments

23 Mar 2023

At least 80% of sites identified as being internationally important for biodiversity on land currently contain infrastructure − of which more than 75...

Read more

COP15: UN and Cambridge sign agreement to bolster conservation

09 Dec 2022

The UN Convention on Biological Diversity secretariat and the University of Cambridge signed a Memorandum of Understanding on day two of COP15, which...

Read more

Conservation: it’s time to look at the evidence

29 Jun 2022

Professor Bill Sutherland is leading a conservation revolution to reverse the dramatic loss of global biodiversity

Read more

Protected areas saw dramatic spikes in fires during COVID lockdowns, study finds

05 May 2022

Scientists suggest that some staffing of protected areas should be considered “essential services” in future crises.

Read more

Frog

Lack of transparency over cost of conservation projects hampers ability to prioritise funds for nature protection

23 Mar 2022

A new study has found that costs of conservation projects are rarely reported, making it difficult for others to make decisions on the most cost-...

Read more
A butterfly behind glass

Butterflies through time: a new exhibition

22 Mar 2022

Butterflies through time at Cambridge’s Museum of Zoology illuminates the beautiful, turbulent history of butterflies across the UK.

Read more
Planting a young tree

Forest restoration: trade-offs between environmental and wood production goals

17 Mar 2022

Forest restoration schemes should prioritise restoring native forests for greatest climate and environmental benefits, but these benefits incur a...

Read more

Birds of prey populations suppressed by lead poisoning from gun ammo

16 Mar 2022

New study uses data on lead levels in the livers of thousands of dead raptors to calculate the impact of lead poisoning on population size.

Read more
Puffins

Climate change threat to seabirds must be properly considered for their conservation to be effective

09 Mar 2022

A new study shows how knowledge of climate change threats could be better connected with conservation efforts to help protect seabirds and other at-...

Read more
A wild horse on Wicken Fen, UK

Cambridge researchers to tackle major threats to 'UK’s vegetable garden'

15 Feb 2022

Cambridge researchers will tackle environmental threats that could affect a third of England’s home-grown vegetables and more than a quarter of the...

Read more

Pages