So, when I first saw this headline, I thought it was about the #UnitedStates making #EPA staffing cuts. Nope! It's the #UK! And this has been going on for a while now!

Thousands of #RiverPollution tests cancelled because of staff shortages

by Jonah Fisher, July 24, 2025

Excerpt: "Staffing problems are nothing new at the EA. In 2023 its chairman Alan Lovell told parliament that it had 'struggled with recruitment and retention of staff'.

"Internal emails obtained by campaign groups #Greenpeace and #Desmog through freedom of information requests were shared with the BBC. They show EA officials discussing the impact of staff departures on testing and saying that others planned to leave.

"One senior official, writing an email to her colleagues, said it was 'not good news I'm afraid' adding 'this isn't where we want to be (again)'.

"Helen Nightingale, who worked at the #EnvironmentAgency as a catchment planner, analysing data from its water quality programme until 2022, says that while she was there she saw a shift of focus away from serious investigation to trying to find 'successes'.

"She also said that morale was low: "The pay is not great – we didn't have pay rises for years due to #austerity.

" 'But a lot people are in it [the EA] because they want to make a difference – and when you're not even getting that - well, what's the point?'

"Documents seen by the BBC show that the work affected by the cuts to testing this year included investigations into the water industry in various parts of the country, and monitoring of #ProtectedAreas including the #RiverWye, which is currently facing a #pollution crisis linked to intensive #ChickenFarming."

Read more:
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx24xy8zgp4o

Archived version:
https://archive.ph/o15LD

Man and the Biosphere Programme (Biomes )

Man and the Biosphere Programme is an intergovernmental scientific program, launched in 1971 by UNESCO, that aims to establish a scientific basis for the 'improvement of relationships' between people and their environments. MAB engages with the international development agenda, es...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man_and_the_Biosphere_Programme

Sri Lanka has declared the Nilgala wilderness, a unique landscape harboring the island’s largest savanna ecosystem interwoven with a mosaic of unique habitats, as a national forest reserve.

Despite being home to numerous endemic and range-restricted species found nowhere else on the island, Nilgala had long been an overlooked conservation priority, facing continuous environmental threats.

By Malaka Rodrigo
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/06/an-overlooked-biocultural-landscape-in-sri-lanka-receives-overdue-protection/

What Does the Removal of the ‘#ProtectedAreas’ #Policy Mean for #Hospitals?

https://goodmenproject.com/featured-content/what-does-the-removal-of-the-protected-areas-policy-mean-for-hospitals/

"Juniper argues the nature restoration fund will enable #NaturalEngland “to take a large-scale view of the #landscape, not just the nature that’s affected where the #houses have been built, but to look at the effects on the #widerenvironment, including #protectedareas that might be quite far away”.

Natural England chair rejects ministers’ claim that #nature blocks development | Natural England | The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/jun/05/natural-england-chair-rejects-ministers-claim-that-nature-blocks-development

‘Half the tree of life’: ecologists’ horror as nature reserves are emptied of #insects

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/jun/03/climate-species-collapse-ecology-insects-nature-reserves-aoe #science #biodiversity #ecology #extinction #conservation #protectedAreas

Mongabay staff reporter Ashoka Mukpo traveled to several nations to assess the current state of conservation in key protected areas. He joined Mongabay’s podcast to describe what he’s seen in his reporting.

https://news.mongabay.com/podcast/2025/02/as-africa-eyes-protected-areas-expansion-of-1-million-square-miles-concerns-over-brutal-enforcement-persist/

Mongabay’s new series, Beyond the Safari, examines conservation’s colonial origins in East Africa—and how rural communities are building a new future: https://news.mongabay.com/specials/2025/04/beyond-the-safari/

The “fortress conservation” model is under pressure. Mongabay’s new series, Beyond the Safari, explores history, human rights, and biodiversity in East Africa.

Read the first article on protected areas and wildlife by Ashoka Mukpo
here: https://news.mongabay.com/2024/12/like-you-i-fear-the-demise-of-the-elephants/

A new report has found that protected areas and Indigenous territories in the Amazon store more aboveground carbon than the rest of the rainforest.

Protected areas and Indigenous territories were also found to serve as significant carbon sinks between 2013 and 2022, absorbing 257 million metric tons of carbon dioxide.

By Abhishyant Kidangoor
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/04/new-report-reinforces-critical-role-of-amazonian-protected-areas-in-climate-fight/

Geopark (Geology )

A geopark is a protected area with internationally significant geology within which sustainable development is sought and which includes tourism, conservation, education and research concerning not just geology but other relevant sciences. In 2005, a European Geopark was defined as being: "a territory with a particular geological heritage and with a sust...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geopark

What If the Best Way to Save Nature Is to Let It Change?…

A new article challenges long-standing #conservation approaches. The authors argue that #protectedareas, such as #nationalparks and designated wilderness zones, should focus on maintaining natural landscape dynamics instead of trying to preserve fixed conditions or static features...

https://formuchdeliberation.wordpress.com/2025/03/25/what-if-the-best-way-to-save-nature-is-to-let-it-change/

Indigenous iTaukei people across Fiji have historically protected their freshwater and marine areas in memory of chiefs and community members who have passed away. These are called aquatic funerary protected areas (FPAs).

By Sonam Lama
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/02/funerary-practices-in-fiji-protect-marine-areas-while-honoring-the-deceased/

Not sure that the notion of nature stewardship credits is realistic given the debacle that #carbon offsets is. But its nice to see connections between #Indigenous-led #conservation efforts in #Australia and northern #Canada. https://cabinradio.ca/221692/news/economy/can-the-nwt-sell-the-rest-of-the-world-credits-for-conservation/

[PODCAST] As Africa eyes protected areas expansion of 1 million square miles, concerns over ‘brutal’ enforcement persist

Mongabay staff reporter Ashoka Mukpo traveled to several nations to assess the current state of conservation in key protected areas. He joins Mongabay’s podcast to describe what he’s seen in his reporting so far, and what he’s publishing next in the series.

https://news.mongabay.com/podcast/2025/02/as-africa-eyes-protected-areas-expansion-of-1-million-square-miles-concerns-over-brutal-enforcement-persist/

In Honduras communities race to establish protected area as La Mosquitia forest disappears https://news.mongabay.com/2025/01/in-honduras-communities-race-to-establish-reserve-as-la-mosquitia-forest-disappears/ #Forests #ProtectedAreas #Honduras

South Africa-based conservation NGO African Parks signed a long-term deal in December 2024 to manage Gambella National Park in Ethiopia.

The agreement brings the number of protected areas under management by African Parks to 23 in 13 countries.

By Ashoka Mukpo
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/01/african-parks-closes-deal-to-manage-ethiopias-gambella-national-park/

Environmentalists reach landmark agreement with Point Reyes National Seashore, ranchers https://localnewsmatters.org/2025/01/10/environmentalists-reach-landmark-agreement-with-point-reyes-national-seashore-ranchers/ #ProtectedAreas #LandUse #PointReyes

There are nearly 9,000 inland protected areas across the African continent, covering 4.37 million square kilometers.

These protected areas are at the center of conservation policymaking by African countries hoping to safeguard nature and threatened wildlife.

https://news.mongabay.com/2024/12/like-you-i-fear-the-demise-of-the-elephants/

The Mongabay Data Studio helps journalists visualize data and use it in their reporting. Check it out at studio.mongabay.com

New indigenous protected area proposed for Yukon https://thenarwhal.ca/ross-river-dena-yukon-indigenous-protected-area/ #ProtectedAreas #Indigenous #Yukon

Indigenous protected area proposed to block pipeline https://www.burnslakelakesdistrictnews.com/local-news/gitanyow-propose-indigenous-protected-area-to-block-pipeline-projects-7673983 #Indigenous #ProtectedAreas #Pipelines