Former US Vice President Dick Cheney dead at 84
He was one of the most influential and most polarizing figures ever to hold the office.
Conservation
Rare white Iberian lynx captured on film in Spain by amateur photographer
Researchers to investigate whether environmental factors may have affected female animalโs pigmentationAn amateur photographer in southern Spain has captured unprecedented images of a white Iberian lynx, prompting researchers to investigate whether env…
Antarctic krill: how did a paperclip-sized crustacean cause a diplomatic row โ and why are they so important?
Russiaโs arrest of a Ukrainian scientist this week over his support for curbs on krill fishing have thrown the vital role of the tiny marine species into the spotlightAntarctic krill are small, shrimp-like marine crustaceans (Euphausia superba). They f…
Russia arrests Ukrainian biologist for backing curbs on Antarctic krill fishing
โTrumped-upโ charges spark diplomatic row as scientists express fears for health of 70-year-old Leonid PshenichnovAntarctic krill: how did a paperclip-sized crustacean cause a diplomatic row โ and why are they so important?A diplomatic row has erupted …
A new island erupted from the sea โ can it show us how nature works without human interference?
The volcanic island of Surtsey emerged in the 1960s, and scientists say studying its development offers hope for damaged ecosystems worldwideThe crew of the รsleifur II had just finished casting their nets off the coast of southern Iceland when they re…
Open letter to Commissioner Costas Kadis
We urge you to commit to phasing out the destructive practice of bottom trawling in Europeโs protected marine areas. Itโs time to follow the science and demonstrate leadership.
Open letter to Commissioner Costas Kadis
We urge you to commit to phasing out the destructive practice of bottom trawling in Europeโs protected marine areas. Itโs time to follow the science and demonstrate leadership.
Number of wild bee species at risk of extinction in Europe doubles in 10 years
Number of endangered butterfly species also surging amid habitat destruction and global heating, finds studyThe number of wild bee species in Europe at risk of extinction has more than doubled over the past decade, while the number of endangered butter…
Century-old papers saved from the bin reveal changes in Europeโs plant life
Plant inventories dating back to 1884 and nearly thrown away enable unique time-lapse study of biodiversity in Swiss meadowsFor two years, a team of Swiss researchers crossed the country by train, car and foot, carrying with them a red frame measuring …
UK fifth-worst country in Europe for loss of green space to development
Exclusive: 1,680 football pitches of protected natural land in England, Wales and Northern Ireland lost in five yearsโDesecration of landscapeโ: the fight over development in areas of outstanding natural beautyRevealed: Europe losing 600 football pitch…
Danish Presidency pushes for tougher rules on rare seed varieties
The compromise would ban conservation varieties from being cultivated outside their regions of origin
King Charles will warn Trump about the fate of the planet.ย Trump probably wonโt listen.
King Charles III is a lifelong environmentalist. Donald Trump is unraveling global efforts to combat climate change. Insiders expect the King to have a second go at swaying the president when the two meet this week.
โLike walking through timeโ: as glaciers retreat, new worlds are being created in their wake
As Swiss glaciers melt at an ever-faster rate, new species move in and flourish, but entire ecosystems and an alpine culture can be lostโข Photographs by Nicholas JR WhiteFrom the slopes behind the village of Ernen, it is possible to see the gouge where…
Shortage of sand: Europeโs impact on Cape Verdeโs turtle crisis
Plastic pollution, mass tourism, climate change and poaching all put pressure on a fragile ecosystem, revealing how local challenges often stem from global problems.
Bogging down Putin: NATOโs frontline states mull reviving tank-trapping peatlandsย
Restoring the EUโs drained bogs would stop both Russian tanks and planet-warming pollution.
Bayeux Tapestry not too fragile to loan to UK, French official says, quashing โheritage crimeโ claim
A petition to block France from transporting the medieval Bayeux Tapestry to the UK garnered more than 52,000 signatures by Friday amid conservation fears. But a French official overseeing the loan said a study did not conclude that the 11th century a…
Bundesbank faces enormous cost overruns on refurbishment of its iconic HQ
The Fedโs not the only central bank having trouble with its builders.
Anchorage abuzz ahead of Trump-Putin summit โ but โplease donโt sell us backโ
Residents torn between excitement over high-profile visit and trepidation over what US-Russian leaders might agreeIt is set to be one of the last good summer weekends in Anchorage, Alaska โ the peak of the salmon run and the middle of berry season โ an…
Thousands of tons of invasive seaweed โoverwhelmingโ Spanish beaches
Alga from south-east Asia is major threat to biodiversity, say experts as they warn of environmental catastropheThousands of tonnes of an aggressive invasive seaweed from south-east Asia are piling up on the beaches of the strait of Gibraltar and Spain…
In Ukraineโs bombed out reservoir a huge forest has grown โ is it a return to life or a toxic timebomb?
Two years after the Nova Kakhovka dam was destroyed in Ukraine, nature has returned in abundance to the drained land in a โbig natural experimentโ โ but it could be lost as quickly as it appearedAt the southern tip of Europeโs largest river island, the…
โIt was filthy and it stank terriblyโ: how Europeโs dirtiest river was brought back to life
A โฌ5.5bn project has transformed the Emscher from โthe sewer of the Ruhrโ to a place where nature is starting to flourishStrolling beside the Emscher, the Tyczkowskis say it is the stench that they remember most about the riverโs darker days.โThe whole…
Rescue boat captain who battled Salvini steps down as EU lawmaker
Carola Rackete will exit the European Parliament a year after being elected as an MEP.
Too much manure, too little action: Dutch farming tests EU green goals
Dutch farms emit too much nitrogen. As targets slip, ecosystems suffer, and EU green goals hang in the balance. Can food production and nature conservation coexist in Europe?
Macron plans law to kill more French wolves
It comes after the EU downgraded wolf protections to make it easier for farmers to kill animals that threaten their herds.
UK government fumes at โludicrousโ ยฃ125M โbat tunnelโ
The ‘bat mitigation tunnel’ is designed to protect wildlife from Britain’s High Speed Rail 2 project โ but it’s enraging ministers as cost projections climb.
Lithuanian hunters refuse to kill bear that ambled around capital for two days
Government issued permit to shoot young female who entered Vilnius, despite only small number left in Baltic countryEurope live โ latest updatesA young female bear caused a stir after wandering out of the forest and into the leafy suburbs of the Lithua…
Turkey draws line of marine influence right down the Aegean Sea
Greek officials complained Turkey’s plan split the Aegean Sea in half, claiming maritime zones of numerous Greek islands.
‘Protecting our oceans: Behavioural change comes from laws and changing of the system’
The international treaty on the high seas, which focuses on conservation and sustainable use of maritime areas beyond national jurisdictions, has received sufficient support to take effect early in 2026, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday…
5 choses ร savoir sur le sommet mondial sur lโocรฉan ร Nice
Les ocรฉans sont malades. Les dirigeants mondiaux se retrouvent cette semaine sur la Cรดte dโAzur pour tenter de se mettre dโaccord sur un remรจde.
โCโest donc gagnรฉโ : Emmanuel Macron se fรฉlicite pour la sauvegarde de la haute mer, mais il reste du pain sur la planche
Le prรฉsident franรงais salue le nouveau traitรฉ sur la haute mer, qu’il considรจre comme un outil important pour la protection de la planรจte.
Macron claims win in fight to save oceans โ but thereโs work to do
French president celebrates the incoming High Seas Treaty as important tool to help protect the planet.
โItโs goodbye to French fishermenโ: Macron under pressure as crucial UN ocean summit opens
As delegates prepare for the global gathering, the president is caught between opposing sides in a row over bottom trawling in Franceโs marine protected areasOn his trawler in Saint-Malo, one of Franceโs most important ports for scallops and crabs, Lau…
EU outlines new roadmap on marine conservation ahead of UN ocean summit
The European Union on Thursday presented a plan aimed at better protect oceans ahead of a United Nations summit on the subject. The EU wants to take a leadership role in marine conservation, and the plan includes ways to tackle some of the main challe…
From fishing to Erasmus: what the UKโs deal with the EU will mean
Keir Starmer has billed the agreement as a hat-trick after his India and US deals โ hereโs how things are likely to pan outUK politics live โ latest updatesMondayโs deal between the UK and the EU has been almost a year in the making but it is long on h…
Record number of river-blocking barriers removed in Europe, report says
Hundreds of dams, weirs, culverts and sluices dismantled in 2024 to help waterways resume natural courseEurope dismantled 542 river-blocking dams, weirs, culverts and sluices in 2024, a report has found, helping a record number of waterways resume thei…
Pfizergate : verra-t-on un jour les SMS entre Ursula von der Leyen et le patron de Pfizer ?
Aprรจs la dรฉcision du Tribunal de lโUnion europรฉenne, la Commission va devoir rรฉexaminer la demande dโaccรจs aux messages et fournir un nouvel argumentaire si elle refuse, une fois encore, de les divulguer.
EU Parliament approves law to let farmers shoot more wolves
The downgrading of wolves’ protection status is a win for the European People’s Party but was condemned by green groups.
Bouncing back: Spain’s Iberian lynx saved from extinction
It’s a rare case of a species being saved from near-extinction. Twenty years ago, the Iberian lynx was the most threatened feline in the world due to poaching and the animals’ natural habitat being turned into farmland. Today, the species is practical…
UK sand eel fishing ban remains in place despite EU legal challenge
Creatures make up the bulk of seabirdsโ diet but they are fished for commercial pig foodEurope live โ latest updatesA ban on fishing for sand eels in UK waters will remain in place despite a legal challenge from the EU.The small, silvery eels make up t…
Sand groomers v turtles: how wildlife is falling foul of the demand for Insta-perfect beaches
From the turtle-nesting beaches of Italy to Greek island bird havens, across the Mediterranean campaigners are fighting to protect habitats from tourists seeking a picture-perfect holidayIn the summer months in Puglia, southern Italy, the battle for th…
The missing lynx: how the rise of border walls has split up wildlife populations
In an age of growing hostility to migrants, there are 10 times more barriers on borders than when the Berlin Wall fell. But as well as the human cost, animals are unintended victimsThe lynxes of the Biaลowieลผa forest once freely prowled through 1,420 s…
Netherlands delays nitrogen emissions target, defying its own judges and the EU
Dutch government buys time for farmers but tests the limits of domestic courts and EU environmental law.
Romania promises laws to deal with brown bears as population estimate doubles
Country may be home to as many as 13,000 bears, the highest total by far in Europe outside RussiaRomania may be home to as many as 13,000 brown bears, almost twice as many as previously thought, the countryโs forestry research institute has said, as of…
Council agrees to weaken conservation rules for wolves
The Commission’s proposal is now in the hands of the European Parliament, which will vote on it in plenary as early as May.
Mackerel stocks near breaking point because of overfishing, say experts
North-east Atlantic mackerel in decline and Good Fish Guide says shoppers should look for other optionsMackerel stocks are nearing a โbreaking pointโ, experts have said as the fish is downgraded as a sustainable option.People should be eating herring i…
โWe made everything bear-proofโ: the Italian village that learned to love its bears
By learning to live with its ursine neighbours, mountainous Pettorano sul Gizio has drawn tourists and new residents, bucking a trend of rural declinePettorano sul Gizio is a medieval mountain town full of alleys, watchful cats and wooden doors locked …
Space probe to map carbon content of worldโs remotest tropical forests
Revolutionary scanner to be fired into Earth orbit this month to measure effects of deforestationScientists are about to take part in a revolutionary mission aimed at creating detailed 3D maps of the worldโs remotest, densest and darkest tropical fores…
Big, biodiverse and beautiful: can Romaniaโs centuries-old giant haystacks survive modern farming?
Traditional methods benefit hundreds of species but as new agricultural techniques take over, the distinctive haystacks mark a vanishing way of lifeGolden haystacks shaped like teardrops have been a symbol of rural life in Romania for hundreds of years…
Germanyโs Greens forced to return to their activist roots
Once the great hope of the European climate movement, Germany’s Greens are now confronting their relative powerlessness.
Export of endangered eels to Russia ends after UK government ban
British eel trader says move will destroy traditional elvering but campaigners welcome decisionEndangered eels caught in British estuaries will no longer be exported to Russia after the government banned the trade.In a decision that Britainโs last rema…
Forest culture is boosting conservation and a rich bioeconomy, say studies [Advocacy Lab Content]
Europeโs forest bioeconomy is about more than truffles and trekking. Studies show that expanding forest culture and utility may reduce deforestation. Should EU forest policy branch out?
In the hills of Italy, wolves returned from the brink. Then the poisonings began
Strict laws saved the countryโs wolves from extinction. Now conservationists believe their relaxation could embolden vigilantesHigh on a mountain pass near the town of Cocullo in central Italy lay six black sacks. Inside were nine wolves, including a p…
French hunter, 81, on trial for killing endangered bear that attacked him
Brown bear charged at Andrรฉ Rives in the Pyrenees and dragged him several metres before he shot and killed itAn 81-year-old French hunter has gone on trial accused of killing an endangered bear that attacked him in the Pyrenees.The brown bear is a prot…
Europeโs forests at a crossroads. Can economic growth and conservation coexist?
European forests are under threat. Even though it is one of the most forested regions in the world, Europeโs forests face major challenges and remain at continuous risk. This Special Report takes a closer look.
Farmers closer to shooting more wolves under proposed EU law
Law championed by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen would lower the protection status of Europe’s wolves.
โThe entire coastline will be cemented overโ: the tiny Italian town set to become a dock for giant cruise ships
Only 20 miles from Italyโs capital, Isola Sacra was ignored for years but now Royal Caribbean has plans to turn it into a major new portOn a cloudy day in January, Isola Sacra, a hamlet in Fiumicino, 20 miles from Rome, does not look like a place that…
Green diplomacy survives as UN strikes deal on biodiversity finance
COP16 talks in Rome yielded agreement on funding nature restoration in poorer countries โ but some details remain vague.
Green diplomacy faces first big test since Trumpโs return at Rome nature summit
Rich and poor countries are battling over who will fund nature conservation in the shadow of a radically anti-green U.S. administration.
Europeโs big carnivores are on the rise โ but can we live with bears next door?
Numbers of animals once hunted as vermin are rising across the continent. But scientists worry about how we are going to get along with these predatorsEuropeโs carnivores have had a remarkable change in fortune. After tens of thousands of years of pers…
Groups take legal action to protect wolves from looser hunting rules
The Court of Justice of the EU will now look at the case and rule in a few months.
New Geo-Political Challenges and the Past and Future of EU-Greenland Relations
Ulla Neergaard, Professor of EU Law, University of Copenhagen
Photo credit: Gordon Leggett, via Wikimedia Commons
*This contribution draws upon Ulla
Neergaardโs forthcoming work, โโEurarcticโ: Colonialism and EU-Greenland…
Norway to open protected rivers to hydropower plants
Green politicians describe plan as โa historic attack on Norwegian natureโThe Norwegian parliament has voted to open up protected rivers to hydropower plants, prompting fury from conservation groups who fear for the fate of fish and other wildlife.The …
The Trump war no one is talking about
If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it’s probably being shot by Donald Trump Jr.
Germanyโs old-school conservatism is well and truly over
Even if Merz stumbles across the finish line and secures a coalition government, the death knell for Christian democracy may well have been sounded.
Fact-checking : la Commission europรฉenne a-t-elle vraiment payรฉ des ONG pour faire du lobbying pro-Pacte vert ?
Les contrats confidentiels consultรฉs par POLITICO ne tendent pas ร confirmer les accusations adressรฉes ร lโexรฉcutif bruxellois par des eurodรฉputรฉs.
Donald Trump Jr. slammed by Italian lawmakers over alleged illegal duck hunt
Green lawmakers claim the U.S. president’s son shot a rare duck in an EU conservation zone.
Norway rules out fish farm ban despite โexistential threatโ to wild salmon
Open-net farms to continue despite numbers of wild fish halving as minister looks for โacceptableโ pollution levels Norwayโs environment minister has ruled out a ban on open-net fish farming at sea despite acknowledging that the wild North Atlantic sal…
Amazing graze: the herd of White Park cattle revitalising a Welsh estate
When Arne Maynard and William Collinson acquired some of Britainโs most ancient breed, the novice farmers saw conservation grazing coax their pasture back to life
Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum faces conservation challenges
Hundreds of thousands of objects and dozens of buildings preserved by the museum dedicated to the former Nazi extermination camp are being readied to perpetuate the duty of remembrance.
Dolphin conservation and fishermen’s livelihoods in the Bay of Biscay: A difficult balance
Dolphin conservation and fishermen’s livelihoods in the Bay of Biscay: A difficult balance
โWe ask to be recognisedโ: small fishers claim โฌ12bn EU fund favours big players
Artisanal shellfish farmers face ruinous losses but money meant to help is going to the powerful fishing industry, say criticsEarly on a warm September morning in southern Italy, Giovanni Nicandro sets out from the port of Taranto in his small boat. Su…
Sweden begins wolf hunt as it aims to halve endangered animalโs population
Five entire families can be killed, totalling 30 wolves, in move campaigners say is illegal under EU lawSwedenโs wolf hunt starts on Thursday, with the country aiming to halve the population of the endangered predator.The Swedish government has given t…
Tributes pour in for Jimmy Carter
Joe Biden has long expressed an admiration for Carter, a sentiment that was palpable in the presidentโs statement Sunday evening.
Former President Jimmy Carter dead at 100
The nationโs 39th president left a long meaningful legacy after a difficult four years in the White House.
Ghosts of the landscape: how folklore and songs are key to rewilding Finlandโs reindeer
For ecologists restoring the vast bogs of remote Karelia, wild reindeer are not just part of the environment but entwined with the ancient culture of the boreal forestsThe Finnish folk musician Liisa Matveinen lives in a mustard-coloured house in Iloma…
Denmark refuses to extradite whaling activist Paul Watson to Japan, says lawyer
US-Canadian founder of Sea Shepherd was arrested in Greenland after Japan issued international warrantDenmark has rejected a Japanese request to extradite anti-whaling activist Paul Watson over criminal charges dating back more than a decade, a Danish …
โLike a giant bird boxโ: the volunteers building huge snowdrifts for Finlandโs pregnant seals
As warmer winters melt the snow drifts that endangered Saimaa ringed seals use to raise their young, humans are giving them a helping handWords by Phoebe Weston. Photographs by Samuel BlochEight hours shovelling snow in -20C might not sound like the id…
Ending harmful subsidies will benefit small-scale fishers
WTO members are negotiating new rules that would limit damaging fisheries subsidies. Finalizing these is essential for protecting the health of the fish stocks on which many coastal communities rely.
Simona Kossak review โ smartly sharp biopic of pioneering Polish ecologist
A charismatic performance from Sandra Drzymalska and pacy direction from Adrian Panek makes for an unexpectedly appealing portrait of an unlikely heroโYou lack both beauty and talent. Your intellect is annoying. The only thing you have is your name.โ T…
Wolves to lose protection, as EU lowers bar for shooting wildlife
Downgrading speciesโ protection status for political gain puts decades of conservation efforts at risk, says WWFEuropeโs wolves will lose their โstrict protectionโ status, alarming conservationists who fear for the survival of an animal brought back fr…
European countries give farmers more freedom to shoot wolves
The decision by Bern Convention members is a major win for the EU and Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Barbados completes world first debt swap for climate resilience
Debt swaps have become increasingly popular ways for countries to free up cash to invest in nature conservation projects.
โItโs nonstopโ: how noise pollution threatens the return of Norwayโs whales
Cruises, fishing boats and even whale-watchers are adding to the din underwater, which biologist Heike Vester says not only masks cetaceansโ communication but can also stop them feeding From the moment that the biologist Dr Heike Vester presses play…
NGOs, experts make last push to uphold wolf protection status
While NGOs claim that the decision to lower the protection of wolves is unlawful and led the EU Ombudsman to open an investigation, experts have been called to oppose the proposal by 30 November.
Trump picks Lee Zeldin to lead EPA
If confirmed, Zeldin would lead the Republican effort to roll back Bidenโs key climate change regulations โ including rules tightening the pollution from power plants and tailpipes.
Why exporting endangered eels to Russia makes sense | Letter
The plan to transport millions of River Severn elvers to the pristine Vistula and Curonian lagoons is a viable way to conserve the species, says Peter WoodMillions of critically endangered eels have indeed been exported from Britain to Russia this year…
What are farmers in the EU required to do to protect the environment?
Greenhouse gases and pollutants from farms urgently need reducing but green policies have triggered furious protestsClimate crisis leaves European farmers vulnerable to far right, say campaignersThe EU urgently needs to staunch the greenhouse gases and…
Public funding for nature conservation stalls at COP16
At the COP16 negotiations in Cali, Colombia, countries failed to figure out how they would mobilize $200 billion annually in conservation funding by 2030, including $30 billion that would come directly from rich nations.
UN COP16 nature talks gridlocked as conservation funding trickles in
Advocacy groups said the pledges – which brings the total raised by the fund to about $400 million – fell far short of the billions of dollars envisioned for the fund.
Hedgehogs โnear threatenedโ on red list after 30% decline over past decade
The mammals were once common across Europe but urban development has pushed them towards extinctionHedgehogs are now listed as โnear threatenedโ on the International Union for Conservation of Natureโs red list after a decline in numbers of at least 30%…
Charge tourists to access Notre-Dame in Paris, French minister proposes
Non-EU visitors could also have to pay extra to enter the Louvre Museum, under proposals made by Rachida Dati.
Keir Starmerโs biggest enemy: The great-crested newt
Keir Starmerโs environment secretary wants to turn DEFRA into a growth department. That means a fight with the green lobby.
Europe was a leader on saving nature. Now, its backsliding could threaten global progress
Once a champion of initiatives to protect nature, the EU is now giving in to pressure from farmers and the far rightWhen diplomats struck a deal to save nature in 2022, pledging to halt biodiversity loss by the end of the decade, Europe was seen as a c…
Europeโs exhausted oyster reefs โonce covered area size of Northern Irelandโ
Study uncovers vivid and poignant accounts of reefs as high as houses off countries including UK, France and IrelandOnly a handful of natural oyster reefs measuring at most a few square metres cling on precariously along European coasts after being wip…
Former EU environment chief hits out at plans to delay anti-deforestation law
Credibility โdamagedโ by proposed 12-month delay, which followed lobbying from governments and firms around the worldA former top environment official has said the EUโs credibility on its climate commitments has been damaged by plans for a one-year del…
Days of the jackal: Canis aureus makes sudden tracks into western Europe
The golden jackal has expanded its range as far as Norway and Spain, seemingly driven by climate breakdownThe golden jackal, Canis aureus, may seem an exotic creature from a far-off country but the species has suddenly expanded its range into western E…
โWe look to the past to move forwardโ: the ancient method boosting cuttlefish numbers in the Mediterranean
A project on Spainโs Costa Brava is reviving dwindling populations of the prized seafood โ and keeping small-scale fishers in businessClinging to almost vertical cliffs on the Costa Brava in north-east Spain, the resort of lโEstartit has a dramatic loc…
Costas Kadis: A bookish technocrat to handle oceans and fisheries
A conservation biologist by training, Kadis has held several ministerial posts over the past 25 years.
UK energy policy: 20 people to lobby at Conservative conference
LONDON โ The Conservative Party โgot trounced in the polls,โ ex-Energy Secretary Claire Coutinho admitted earlier this month. After 14 years controlling Westminsterโs levers of power, voters dumped the Tories unceremoniously from office overnight in July. And yet โ the party is already regrouping, jumping on energy bills and cost-of-living as one basis for a [โฆ]
Germany clears the way for Europe to shoot more wolves
The German vote was key to secure the adoption of a proposal to make it easier to kill threatening wolves in Europe.