Nations

Morning fog over the brazilian rainforest in Brazil

Brazil upgrades park to protect South America’s tallest tree

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South America’s tallest tree, a 400-year-old red angelim in the northern tip of the Brazilian Amazon, is the star of a newly created conservation area called the Giant Trees of the Amazon State Park. The area was officially sectioned off from the larger Paru State Forest for stronger protection. Now, the 1.38-million-acre Giant Trees of the Amazon State Park has been upgraded to the “full protection” category. This means that activities like logging, permitted under the “sustainable use” category when it was previously part of Paru State Park, can no longer be proposed in its bounds.

Good news for wildlife conservation

Republic of Congo to catalyze investment in high-integrity forests

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Conservation authorities in the Republic of Congo have launched a plan to invest in the protection of “high-integrity forests” in Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park, treating these ecosystems as an asset class. The new initiative aims to fill a funding gap to protect the ROC’s forests by selling high-integrity forest (HIFOR) units, defined as representing “one hectare of healthy, high integrity tropical forest actively conserved within a large landscape for decades.”

Indian flag

India eliminates trachoma as a public health problem

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The World Health Organization has validated the world’s most populous country as having eliminated trachoma as a public health problem. India joins Nepal and Myanmar in the WHO South-East Asia Region and 19 other countries globally that have previously achieved this feat. Though trachoma is preventable, blindness from trachoma is extremely difficult to reverse. Trachoma continues to be a public health problem in 39 countries and is responsible for the blindness of about 1.9 million people.

Metal pipes

U.S. announces 10-year deadline to remove all lead pipes nationwide

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President Biden has announced $2.6 billion in funding to replace all lead pipes in the United States as part of a new EPA rule that will require lead pipes to be identified and replaced within 10 years using the new funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act. The EPA estimates that nine million homes in the U.S. still have lead pipes. “Studies show … communities of color have been the hardest hit,” Mr. Biden said. “One study showed Black children were at least two times more likely to have elevated levels of lead in their blood than children of other racial groups. We have an obligation to make things right.”

Good news for marine protection

Australia to protect 52% of its oceans, more than any other country

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The country’s environment minister, Tanya Plibersek, has declared Australia will soon protect more ocean than any other country after the government finalizes a more than 300,000 square kilometer expansion of a sub-Antarctic marine park. Speaking ahead of what was billed as a global nature-positive summit in Sydney, Plibersek confirmed the Heard Island and McDonald Islands Marine Reserve about 4,000 km south-west of Perth would quadruple in size.

Person happily holding a trans pride flag

European court rules member states must recognize trans people’s names and genders

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The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ruled that member states must recognize legal documents from other countries that reflect a person’s changed name and gender identity, regardless of the member state’s own laws on changing one’s name and identity. Marie-Hélène Ludwig, senior strategic litigator with the LGBTQ+ rights organization ILGA-Europe, said in a statement, “This judgement will have an immensely positive impact, increasing legal protection for all trans people in the E.U…”

Landfill. A lot of plastic garbage. Environmental problems.

Bangladesh implements strong measures to eliminate single-use plastic

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Data shows Bangladesh generates around 87,000 tons of single-use plastics annually, of which 96% are directly discarded as garbage. Lack of awareness has led to the collection of plastic waste all over the cities, especially near rivers or lakes, where they mix with water and soil, affecting ecosystems and food chains. The new country’s new government has now decided to implement an existing, but unenforced 2001 law by banning all single-use plastics.

Good news

Claudia Sheinbaum is sworn in as Mexico’s first female president

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After a smiling Sheinbaum took the oath of office on the floor of Congress, legislators shouted “Presidenta! Presidenta!” using the feminine form of president in Spanish for the first time in over 200 years of Mexico’s history as an independent country. In her inauguration speech, Sheinbaum said that she came to power accompanied by all of the women who have struggled in anonymity to make their way in Mexico, including “those who dreamed of the possibility that one day no matter if we were born as women or men we would achieve our dreams and desires without our sex determining our destiny.”

Charging an EV

EV and plugin car sales are booming in China

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August saw plugin vehicles hit a record 54% market share in China. Full electrics (BEVs) alone accounted for 31% of the country’s auto sales. This pulled the 2024 share to 46%, and with the market with plenty of room for growth, the year should end at around 50%. At this pace, the Chinese market is projected to be fully electrified around 2030.

Good news for LGBTQ rights

Thailand becomes first Southeast Asian country to legalize marriage equality

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The bill legalizing same-sex marriage was passed by Parliament earlier this year, and King Maha Vajiralongkorn has now made it law by providing Royal Assent. It will take effect in 120 days, with the first weddings being expected to take place in January. The move means that marriage laws will no longer use terms like “husband” and “wife” and such terms have been replaced with inclusive, gender-neutral language such as “partner.” Same-sex couples now have the same legal rights as their heterosexual counterparts, such as adoption and inheritance rights.