edge, Author at Africa Biodiversity Collaborative Group (ABCG)

News spotlight: A climate hero emerges — beavers

Editor’s note: News about conservation and the environment is made every day, but some of it can fly under the radar. In a recurring feature, Conservation News shares a recent news story that you should know about.Over the last half century, droughts and urban expansion have contributed to the destruction and degradation of <a href="https://www.ramsar.org/" target="_blank">35 percent</a> of the world’s wetlands. In fact, these ecosystems — which help regulate Earth’s climate and protect our biodiversity — are disappearing <a href="https://unfccc.int/news/wetlands-disappearing-three-times-faster-than-forests" target="_blank">three times faster</a> than forests. How might we stymie this decline? Introducing beavers back into their natural habitats is a good start, <a href="https://twitter.com/NavinSinghKhadk" target="_blank">Navin Singh Khadka reports for the BBC</a>.Once hunted to near extinction for their fur, beavers have been reintroduced to parts of North America and northern Europe in more than 100 successful programs — giving scientists a view into their role as <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7883483/" target="_blank">ecosystem engineers</a>. "Basically, beavers excel at creating complex wetland habitats that we’d never match,” Nigel Willby, professor of freshwater science at University of Stirling, told the BBC. "Anyone can make a pond, but beavers make amazingly good ponds for biodiversity, partly because they are shallow, littered with dead wood and generally messed about with by beavers feeding on plants, digging canals, repairing dams, building lodges, etc.,” he added.The shallow ponds created by Beaver dams can contain nearly twice as many mammal species as other ponds, according to a <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10530-019-01919-9" target="_blank">2018</a> study. Beavers can even help protect wetlands.Emily Fairfax, an ecohydrologist at California State University, studied 10 different wildfires in the United States between 2000 and 2021. In each case, she found beavers and their ecosystem engineering created and preserved wetlands — even through megafires and serious drought — by slowing the flow of water and holding it in the landscape longer."This transforms simple streams into thriving wetland ecosystems," Fairfax told the BBC.And thriving wetlands stash away climate-heating carbon. For example, peatlands, a type of wetland ecosystem made up of decaying waterlogged plants, store massive amounts of “<a href="https://www.conservation.org/projects/irrecoverable-carbon">irrecoverable carbon</a>” — that is, carbon that, if emitted into the atmosphere, could not be restored by 2050. A Conservation International <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-021-00803-6" target="_blank">study</a> mapped the world’s irrecoverable carbon and found that around the world peatlands have locked away more than 39 billion metric tons of irrecoverable carbon. As evidence of wetlands’ underappreciated role in storing carbon mounts, finding new ways to restore these ecosystems is fundamental. The beaver might just help.Read the full story <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-64502365" target="_blank">here</a>.Further reading:<ul><li><a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/5-things-you-should-know-about-wetlands">5 things you should know about wetlands</a></li><li><a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/these-ecosystems-could-determine-our-climate-future-study">These ecosystems could determine our climate future: study</a></li><li><a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/in-china-engineered-wetlands-remove-waste-from-fresh-water">In China, engineered wetlands remove waste from fresh water</a></li></ul><div>Max Marcovich is a staff writer at Conservation International. Want to read more stories like this? <a href="https://www.conservation.org/act/subscribe">Sign up for email updates</a>. Also, <a href="https://www.conservation.org/act">please consider supporting our critical work</a>.</div>

5 life lessons from women in science

<div>The gender gap in science is no secret — <a href="http://uis.unesco.org/en/topic/women-science" target="_blank">fewer than 30 percent</a> of the world’s researchers are women. And while the number of women pursuing careers in science is steadily rising, the lack of representation can be a tough hurdle to overcome. Yet the research is clear — <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1700616114" target="_blank">gender diversity</a> improves the scientific process. In conservation, women’s direct participation and <a href="https://www.unwomen.org/en/news-stories/explainer/2022/03/explainer-why-women-need-to-be-at-the-heart-of-climate-action" target="_blank">decision-making</a> results in stronger and more equitable outcomes.</div><div>In celebration of International Day of Women and Girls in Science, five Conservation International scientists reflect on their early careers and share advice they would give to their younger selves.</div><img src="https://www.conservation.org/images/default-source/temp/idow-stem-23_1.jpg?sfvrsn=ba17536b_1" style="background-color:initial;font-family:inherit;font-size:inherit;text-align:inherit;text-transform:inherit;white-space:inherit;word-spacing:normal;caret-color:auto;" alt="" sf-size="100" /> <img src="https://www.conservation.org/images/default-source/temp/idow-stem-23_5.jpg?sfvrsn=c95b23a8_1" alt="" sf-size="100" /><img src="https://www.conservation.org/images/default-source/temp/idow-stem-23_4.jpg?sfvrsn=5a151016_1" alt="" sf-size="100" /><img src="https://www.conservation.org/images/default-source/temp/idow-stem-23_3.jpg?sfvrsn=c81f0006_1" alt="" sf-size="100" /><img src="https://www.conservation.org/images/default-source/temp/idow-stem-23_2.jpg?sfvrsn=96a179cc_1" style="background-color:initial;font-family:inherit;font-size:inherit;text-align:inherit;text-transform:inherit;white-space:inherit;word-spacing:normal;caret-color:auto;" alt="" sf-size="100" />Mary Kate McCoy is a staff writer at Conservation International. Want to read more stories like this? <a href="https://www.conservation.org/act/subscribe">Sign up for email updates</a>. Also, <a href="https://www.conservation.org/act">please consider supporting our critical work</a>.

3 reasons for hope for the Amazon

<div>When U.S. President Joseph Biden meets with Brazil’s newly elected president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, in Washington this week, climate change and the fate of the Amazon will be one of the many items of discussion, <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/3838298-biden-to-host-lula-at-white-house-with-brazilian-democracy-on-agenda/" target="_blank">according to news reports</a>. There’s much to talk about: The world’s largest rainforest, 60 percent of which lies inside Brazil’s borders, <a href="https://www.vox.com/down-to-earth/2022/9/29/23373427/amazon-rainforest-brazil-jair-bolsonaro-lula-deforestation" target="_blank">saw an uptick in deforestation</a> in recent years — pushing the Amazon biome ever closer to the dreaded “<a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.aat2340" target="_blank">tipping point</a>” at which the entire ecosystem would shift irrevocably to dry savannah. But there’s good news — in the form of three efforts under way that are aimed at halting the destruction of the most important stretch of forests on Earth. 1. Regrowing the forest: A bold initiative to regrow 73 million trees in the Brazilian Amazon has made progress despite unexpected setbacks, according to an upcoming report. The initiative, launched in 2017 to much fanfare, has delivered almost 20 percent of its forest restoration target, according to Conservation International in Brazil, one of several partners involved in implementation. The initiative was to have completed this year — but was thwarted by political winds and the coronavirus pandemic. The good news: The areas that have been restored are seeing tree yields three times higher than initial estimates. “Rather than 3 million trees growing in 1,200 hectares (3,000 acres), as we would have expected, we’re estimating 9.6 million trees in the same area,” based on monitoring reports, said Miguel Moraes of Conservation International’s Brazil office. “This is a very good result, and it offers hope of overcoming the challenge of reducing restoration costs to enable restoration at a large scale.” Read more <a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/audacious-reforestation-effort-grows-in-brazil">here</a>. 2. Helping people to help the Amazon: At least a quarter of the Amazon rainforest is under the control or management of Indigenous peoples and local communities. Supporting the Amazon means supporting them. To that end, the “<a href="https://www.conservation.org/projects/our-future-forests-amazonia-verde">Our Future Forests–Amazonia Verde</a>” program is helping them access the funding they need to conserve forests and support their livelihoods.Launched in 2020 by Conservation International and with funding from the government of France, the project aims to contribute to the protection of 12 percent of the Amazon Basin by providing Indigenous peoples and local communities across seven countries with the tools, training and funding needed to build sustainable businesses and social enterprises that do not contribute to deforestation in the Amazon.But how to bring together people and knowledge over such vast distances and with limited infrastructure? One solution: Go remote. One of the most innovative — and ambitious — aspects of the project is setting up a distance learning and global knowledge sharing platform for Indigenous people. Informed by lessons from COVID lockdowns, this platform would enable training activities from afar, taking advantage of existing 3G, Internet and even radio coverage that many of the target communities already have. By building upon this infrastructure, the platform aims to create a strong network of information between the project and Indigenous peoples, and between Indigenous peoples themselves.Read more <a href="https://www.conservation.org/projects/our-future-forests-amazonia-verde">here.</a>3. Millions for reforestation: The government of Germany last month pledged US$ 215 million to help Brazil protect and restore the Amazon rainforest, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/germany-pledges-funds-help-brazil-defend-amazon-rainforest-2023-01-30/" target="_blank">Reuters reported</a>.The package includes US$ 38 million for the Amazon Fund to strengthen a billion-dollar initiative funded by Norway and Germany to combat deforestation.According to Reuters, the Amazon Fund was <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/norway-says-fund-reduce-amazon-deforestation-brazil-back-business-2023-01-04/" target="_blank">re-activated</a> by Brazil’s Environment Minister Marina Silva the day she took office, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/01/19/brazil-environment-minister-climate-bolsonaro-legacy/" target="_blank">vowing to halt deforestation</a> in the world’s largest tropical rainforest. The fund had been frozen since 2019, when former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro abolished its governing board and action plans. The aid package also includes funding for renewable energy and energy efficiency initiatives and reforestation programs. Read more <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/germany-pledges-funds-help-brazil-defend-amazon-rainforest-2023-01-30/" target="_blank">here</a>.Bruno Vander Velde is the managing director of content at Conservation International. Want to read more stories like this? <a href="https://www.conservation.org/act/subscribe">Sign up for email updates</a>. Also, <a href="https://www.conservation.org/act">please consider supporting our critical work</a>.</div>