Land Management News

June 15, 2024

Top Headlines

Cocaine Trafficking Threatens Critical Bird Habitats

June 12, 2024 — In addition to its human consequences, cocaine trafficking harms the environment and threatens habitats important to dozens of species of migratory birds, according to a new ...

Humans Are the Elephant in the Room Where Conservation Is Debated

June 12, 2024 — Studies working to map conservation historically have left humans out of the equation. This study proposes ways to build in the outsized footprint created by people in wild ...

Upstream and Downstream: River Study Highlights Cross-Country Inequities

June 10, 2024 — New research highlights inequities between downstream and upstream countries that share the same watershed. The study outlines how international agreements can better address shared resource problems and call for greater collaboration and ...

A Novel Approach to Tracking Conservation Reveals More Areas May Be Conserved Than Currently Accounted for

June 4, 2024 — An international team of conservation researchers and practitioners has developed an inclusive inventory approach for tracking global conservation areas, with an emphasis on local data and expertise. ...

Latest Headlines

updated 11:11pm EDT

Outdoor Recreation Noise Affects Wildlife Behavior and Habitat Use, Study Finds

June 13, 2024 — We may go to the woods seeking peace and quiet, but are we taking our noise with us? A recent study indicates that the answer is yes -- and that this ...

Slugs and Snails Love the City, Unlike Other Animals

May 29, 2024 — Most native species avoid more urbanized areas of Los Angeles, but slugs and snails may actually prefer these environments, according to a new ...

Innovative Demand Strategies for Clean Energy

June 4, 2024 — A perspective piece describes innovative strategies that significantly reduce both resource consumption and fossil fuel ...

Rapid Urbanization in Africa Transforms Local Food Systems and Threatens Biodiversity

May 30, 2024 — Urbanization in Africa is accelerating quickly, showing no signs of slowing down. An international team of researchers addresses critical gaps in our ...

Marine Protected Areas Don't Line Up With Core Habitats of Rare Migratory Fish, Finds New Research

May 29, 2024 — 62% of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) designated to protect rare migratory fish species are outside of their core habitats, according to a new ...

Conservation of Nature's Strongholds Needed to Halt Biodiversity Loss

May 21, 2024 — To achieve global biodiversity targets, conservationists and governments must prioritize the establishment and effective management of large, interconnected protected areas with high ecological ...

Penalties for Dropping out of Ecosystem Services Incentive Programs Should Equal Lost Environmental Benefits

May 15, 2024 — PES programs are currently structured in ways that could limit their participation or create incentives to drop out before the full environmental ...

Acceptance of Animals in Urban Environments

May 8, 2024 — How do city residents feel about animals in their immediate surroundings? A recent study shows how different the acceptance of various wild animals in urban areas is. Important factors are the places ...

To Bend the Curve of Biodiversity Loss, Nature Recovery Must Be Integrated Across All Sectors

May 2, 2024 — The alarming rates of biodiversity loss worldwide have made clear that the classical way of governing biodiversity recovery based on protected areas ...

Climate Change Could Become the Main Driver of Biodiversity Decline by Mid-Century

Apr. 25, 2024 — Global biodiversity has declined between 2% and 11% during the 20th century due to land-use change alone, according to a large multi-model study. ...

Wild Megalopolis: Study Shows Unexpected Pockets of Biodiversity Pepper Los Angeles

May 29, 2024 — Researchers, in partnership with the city of Los Angeles, have developed the urban association index to help identify how well or poorly individual wildlife species are doing in the city. The ...

More Sustainability in Global Agricultural Trade

Apr. 18, 2024 — The EU wants to ensure greater sustainability in agricultural trade with the Global South -- with the aim of minimizing the environmental and climate-damaging effects of importing crops such as soya, ...

Florida Wildlife Corridor Eases Worst Impacts of Climate Change

Apr. 16, 2024 — Florida is projected to lose 3.5 million acres of land to development by 2070. A new study highlights how Florida can buffer itself against both climate change and population pressures by conserving ...

Climate Change Policies Lose Popularity When Combined With Pausing Regulations or Social Justice

Mar. 27, 2024 — Legislators love bundling things together. It lets them accomplish more with less hassle and attempt to make legislation more appealing to a broader group. But a new study suggests that this can ...

All Countries' Agri-Environmental Policies at a Glance

Mar. 22, 2024 — There can be no analysis without data. In this spirit, researchers have published a database containing over 6,000 agri-environmental policies, thus enabling their peers as well as policymakers and ...

Global Wildlife Study During COVID-19 Shows Rural Animals Are More Sensitive to Human Activity

Mar. 18, 2024 — One of the largest studies on wildlife activity reveals that wild animals react differently to humans depending on where the animals live and what they eat. Bigger herbivores -- plant-eating animals ...

How Climate Change Risks Increase at a National Scale as the Level of Global Warming Increases

Feb. 29, 2024 — Researchers have quantified how climate change risks to human and natural systems increase at a national scale as the level of global warming increases. A collection of eight studies -- all focusing ...

What Will It Take for China to Reach Carbon Neutrality by 2060?

Feb. 26, 2024 — To become carbon neutral by 2060, China will have to build eight to 10 times more wind and solar power installations than existed in 2022, according to a new study. Reaching carbon neutrality will ...

How Is Deforested Land in Africa Used?

Feb. 15, 2024 — Africa's forested areas -- an estimated 14 % of the global forest area -- are continuing to decline at an increasing rate -- mostly because of human activities to convert forest land for ...

Replacing Animal-Based Foods With Alternative Proteins Would Unlock Land for Carbon Removal

Feb. 7, 2024 — Researchers report that replacing 50% of animal products with alternative proteins by 2050 could free up enough agricultural land to generate renewable energy equivalent in volume to today's ...

Achieving Sustainable Urban Growth on a Global Scale

Jan. 26, 2024 — An international group of leading scientists call for an urgent change in the governance of urban expansion as the world's cities continue to grow at unprecedented ...

Scientists, Farmers and Managers Work Together to Avoid the Decline of the Little Bustard, an Endangered Steppe Bird

Jan. 18, 2024 — The collaboration between scientists, farmers and managers is crucial to improve the protection of the little bustard, an endangered steppe-land bird in Spain due to human activity. The reduction of ...

Only 18% of the Global Land Area That Is Needed for Human Well-Being and Biodiversity Is Currently Protected

Jan. 10, 2024 — An international group of researchers finds that conserving about half of global land area could maintain nearly all of nature's contributions to people and still meet biodiversity targets for ...

How National Policies Affect Forests in Border Regions

Dec. 21, 2023 — How do national policies impact deforestation? Researchers have looked into this question at the global scale and have found that, contrary to common assumptions, national strategies have a ...

How Can Europe Restore Its Nature?

Dec. 15, 2023 — Early 2024, the European Parliament will take a final vote on the 'Nature Restoration Law' (NRL), a globally unique but hotly debated regulation that aims to halt and reverse biodiversity ...

National Policy Aimed at Reducing U.S. Greenhouse Gases Also Would Improve Water Quality

Dec. 12, 2023 — A climate policy that raises the price of carbon-intensive products across the entire U.S. economy would yield a side benefit of reducing nitrate groundwater contamination throughout the Mississippi ...

Mind the Gap: Caution Needed When Assessing Land Emissions in the COP28 Global Stocktake

Nov. 22, 2023 — The land use, land use change, and forestry sector plays a strong role in achieving global climate targets, but a gap exists between how scientists and countries account for its emissions. A new ...

New Study Reveals Huge Potential for Future Waves of Invasive Species

Nov. 16, 2023 — Human trade and transport have led to the intentional and accidental introductions of non-native species outside of their natural range globally. These biological invasions can cause extinctions, ...

Diverse Forests Hold Huge Carbon Potential, as Long as We Cut Emissions

Nov. 13, 2023 — New study estimates that natural forest recovery could capture approximately 226 Gigatonnes (Gt) of carbon, but only if we also reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Achieving these results requires ...

Southern Alaska's National Forests Key to Meeting Climate, Conservation Goals

Nov. 8, 2023 — Analyses of U.S. national forests shows that increased protections for two Alaskan forests is a key to meeting climate and biodiversity ...