This archive brings together 265 stories about wildlife recovery, protected lands, habitat restoration, and the communities driving conservation forward. From endangered species rebounds to new national parks and Indigenous-led stewardship, these articles document real, verifiable progress happening around the world. If you want evidence that protecting nature is working, this is where to look.
For the first time, Ecuador has recognized an Indigenous population’s right to “possess a territory that has been declared a protected area.” Indigenous advocates hope this ruling can serve as a precedent for other Indigenous communities that are trying to regain control of their land.
The scimitar horned oryx was once widespread across North Africa, but in the 1980’s the population began to plummet – largely due to the antelopes being hunted. In 2000, the species was declared Extinct in the Wild by the IUCN Red List. Now, thanks to a conservation partnership coordinated by the Environment Agency of Abu Dhabi, its fate has been reversed.
Minera Panamá will have to close the Cobre Panamá mine after the country’s highest court unanimously ruled that the terms of its contract were unconstitutional. The decision comes amid nationwide protests that blocked roads and shipping routes as Panamanians fought back against expansion of the mining sector due to its damaging environmental impacts.
According to HSI, the African elephant population has declined by 96% over the last century, and poachers in Africa kill as many as 25,000 elephants and 1,300 rhinos every year. Poaching is the most significant threat to these species, experts say.
In order to meet these goals, member nations must restore a minimum of 30% of the types of habitat covered by the Nature Restoration Law that are in “poor condition” to a “good condition” by the end of the decade, with an increase to 60% by the end of the following decade and 90% by 2050.
British Columbia’s new $1 billion nature agreement aims to more than double the share of the province protected from industrial activity, building on roughly 15 percent today. Signed by Canada’s federal government, the province, and First Nations leaders, it’s the first three-way conservation deal of its kind in the country — with Indigenous nations recognized as co-architects rather than consultees. The funding will go toward safeguarding old-growth forests, restoring degraded ecosystems, and supporting the salmon-bearing watersheds that communities have relied on for generations. As nearly 200 countries work toward the global goal of protecting 30 percent of lands and waters by 2030, this framework offers a hopeful template for how conservation and Indigenous leadership can move forward together.
Hundreds of Indigenous and local community groups, conservation organizations, governments and policymakers gathered to strategize how communities can play a bigger role in African conservation efforts, which are typically dominated by big international NGOs.
The seed collector networks are the base of the ecological restoration chain and will play an essential role in enabling Brazil to reach its goal of restoring 12.5 million hectares (30.9 million acres) of native vegetation by 2030 — vital in the fight to avoid climate breakdown.
More than a century ago, two dams were placed on the Elwha, blocking almost 90 miles of the river and its tributaries in Washington State. The dams were removed in August of 2014. Now, for the first time in more than a hundred years, members of the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe are fishing for coho salmon on the free-flowing river.
It’s one of many remote islands around the world’s seas that, with a helping hand, have rid themselves of invasive animals and plants and returned to supporting the land, water, and air around them.
