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.

Cambridge University Botanic Garden (CUBG)

World's botanic gardens contain a third of all known plant species, and help protect the most threatened

25 Sep 2017

The most in-depth species survey to date finds an “astonishing array” of plant diversity in the global botanic garden network, including 41% of all...

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In Peruvian Amazon Rainforest

‘Keep it local’ approach to protecting the rainforest can be more effective than government schemes

12 Sep 2017

Conservation initiatives led by local and indigenous groups can be just as effective as schemes led by government, according to new research. In some...

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Hopetoun Falls, Beech Forest, near Otway National Park, Victoria, Australia.

Opinion: Are universities ready for a new kind of science?

06 Jun 2017

Is the knowledge and scholarship that universities produce relevant to the problems the world faces? In a new essay co-authored with an international...

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Golden Lion Tamarin, an endangered species that has grown from 200 to more than 3,200 individuals in three decades.

#EarthOptimism: Recovering species must be celebrated or we risk reversing progress

20 Apr 2017

Cambridge conservationists will unite with colleagues across the globe on Earth Day this Saturday to lionise environmental victories and show there...

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Freedom #2

Opinion: Measures of poverty and well-being still ignore the environment – this must change

16 Mar 2017

Are our measures of poverty and well-being too narrow? Judith Schleicher and Bhaskar Vira from Cambridge's Conservation Research Initiative think so...

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One of the captive chimpanzees in the research trial receiving the oral Ebola vaccination

Final biomedical trial on captive chimpanzees is first oral Ebola vaccine for saving wild apes

09 Mar 2017

Oral vaccine offers hope for ape species ravaged by Ebola and other diseases, as it can be widely dispersed to save more wild animals. However...

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A highway cuts across the Yunnan Province of Southwest China, part of the Greater Mekong.

Road planning 'trade off' could boost food production while helping protect tropical forests

15 Dec 2016

Scientists hope a new approach to planning road infrastructure that could increase crop yield in the Greater Mekong region while limiting...

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Pokemon outside King's College Cambridge

What can Pokémon Go teach the world of conservation?

16 Nov 2016

The augmented reality game, designed for mobile devices, allows users to capture, battle and train virtual creatures called Pokémon that appear on...

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Opinion: How the UK and India can lead the development of ecologically smart cities

08 Nov 2016

Bhaskar Vira and Eszter Kovacs (Department of Geography and University of Cambridge Conservation Research Institute) discuss how lessons learned...

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Gabon

Earth, wind and flyer: the moves of Disco Tony and friends

26 Jul 2016

Disco Tony has travelled over 5,000 miles. He is grey with a yellow ring around his eyes. He is a cuckoo, but not just any cuckoo. He is one of a...

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Biodiversity should be focus of businesses’ efforts to mitigate their environmental impact, says new report

14 Jul 2016

Biodiversity, the variety of plant and animal life in the world, is a fundamental component of ‘natural capital’ that businesses are dependent upon...

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Minecraft tree “probably” the tallest tree in the Tropics

08 Jun 2016

A tree the height of 20 London double-decker buses has been discovered in Malaysia by conservation scientists monitoring the impact of human activity...

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