Healthy reefs aren’t just about colorful fish — they also shield shorelines from intense tropical storms. If Florida’s reefs keep degrading, flooding during tropical storms could get much worse, increasing…
Families awaiting land reform in the Amazon now face a surge in mining that can destroy their chance at a decent life.
PORT ORFORD, Oregon, U.S. — Aaron Longton reached down into the rinsing sink in his garage-turned-fish-processing facility on the Oregon coast and hoisted a redbanded rockfish by its fat bottom…
Brazil bet big on a mega river dam using old data, but climate change is leaving its massive turbines high and dry.
International shipping is on the rise in the Arctic region now that climate change regularly opens up transpolar sea routes in summer. That surge in traffic is leading to higher…
Rainfall is often treated as a gift of geography — a function of latitude, oceans, and atmospheric circulation. A growing body of research suggests that in the tropics, it is…
For decades, a dominant argument for protecting forests has focused on carbon. Trees absorb carbon dioxide, store it in wood and soils, and slow the accumulation of greenhouse gases. A…
This is the second of two stories about the potential impact of Cambodia’s planned Funan Techo Canal. Read part one, about consequences for coastal communities and wildlife, here. TAKEO, Cambodia…
All around her, scientists had their eyes set on studying flora and fauna that lived aboveground. But Toby Kiers’s interest always lay in the oft-overlooked biodiversity that existed beneath it.…
In California’s interior, a long, straight aqueduct carries snowmelt south to a city that grew as if water were a birthright. Along the way it passes a valley that was…
This January, U.S. President Donald Trump offered to act as a mediator between Egypt and Ethiopia over Nile River waters, signaling renewed interest in the dispute. Ethiopia’s flagship project, the…
Britain’s national security thinking has traditionally been shaped by familiar concerns: hostile states, terrorism, energy supply, and, more recently, cyber threats. A new assessment from the U.K. government adds a…
Sea-level rise has accelerated across Africa in recent decades, thanks to global warming and, in particular, to the melting of ice sheets and glaciers, according to a recent study. The…
Invisible in their trillions, microbes dwell in our bodies, grow in soils, live on trees and are integral to planetary health. Yet the huge oversized roles these teeming biodiverse microbial…
Glaciers are often treated as scenic features or scientific curiosities. In fact, they are critical infrastructure. Though they cover roughly a tenth of the Earth’s land surface, meltwater from glaciers…
SEKADAU, Indonesia — Children’s laughter skimmed over water the color of mud as mothers wrung laundry over banks where the Sekadau joins the Kapuas, the longest river in Indonesia. Local…
High in the Andes, Polylepis trees, with their stunted gnarled trunks and twisted limbs, cling to steep mountain slopes, boulder fields and sheltered ravines. Growing at altitudes of up to…
Abijata-Shalla National Park, ETHIOPIA — Under the scorching midday sun in the upper catchment of Ethiopia’s Abijata-Shalla National Park, a local youth group toils along the edges of a deep…
Across many parts of Africa’s Atlantic coastline, the sea is advancing several metres inland each year, destroying homes, infrastructure, farmland and heritage sites. Many coastal communities have already been erased…
“I live in Accra, Ghana,” says Isaac Dinwe, who works for Closing the Loop, a Dutch company that works with the electronics industry to increase global recycling. “The e-waste problem…
A new study suggests that the Zambezi River, Africa’s fourth-longest, is 11% longer than previously thought, with its most distant source lying in Angola, not Zambia. While the finding leaves…
KATHMANDU — Birds prefer to live in a mix of forests, fields and wetlands, but human activities such as logging, hunting and sand and gravel mining are taking a toll…
Communities in Lesotho have filed a complaint with the African Development Bank over a controversial initiative that transfers water from the country to neighboring South Africa, one of the biggest…
In Peripa, an Indigenous Tsáchila village in Ecuador, there are still traditional healers, but medicinal plants are disappearing. Rivers no longer heal — instead, they make people sick. In the…
MAKASSAR, Indonesia — For years, Rahma paid a monthly rate for water that never flowed to her home in eastern Indonesia’s largest urban area, here where the Tallo River meets…
The Norwegian government has granted permission for the construction and operation of the Nussir copper mine in Hammerfest, a municipality on the northwestern coast of the island of Kvaløya, in…
In 2024, the state of Querétaro in north-central Mexico suffered its worst drought in a century, impacting crops and communities. Seventeen of the state’s 18 municipalities were affected, putting drinking…
GASPÉSIE, Canada — In Quebec's Gaspésie region, Indigenous river guardians say they are in a race against climate change to protect the Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar). The Mi'gmaq Wolastoqey Indigenous…
In a world deluged by dire environmental news and seemingly short on scalable solutions, a recent report spotlights 10 breakthrough technological innovations that could accelerate global efforts to tackle climate…
Once a major river city, Belém turned its back on the water, leaving 40% of its urban area vulnerable to floods.
This series, Voices from the Land, brings together opinion pieces led and written by Indigenous peoples from around the world. Through these commentaries, we share our lived realities and reflections…
As the world grapples with the challenges of meeting rising electricity demand, particularly in developing countries, solar energy has emerged as a beacon of hope. In sub-Saharan Africa, where energy…
