Protected areas, as a research topic, encompass geographically defined spaces that are formally designated and managed to achieve specific conservation objectives, typically the long-term maintenance of biodiversity, ecosystem functions, and associated ecosystem services. Scientific inquiry focuses on their design (e.g., size, shape, connectivity), governance regimes, management effectiveness, and socio-ecological outcomes, including impacts on species persistence, genetic diversity, habitat integrity, and local communities. Research also examines zoning, threat mitigation, monitoring frameworks, and the integration of protected areas into broader landscape and seascape planning, as well as their role in meeting international conservation targets and informing evidence-based environmental policy.
Biosphere reserves help curb deforestation in the Western Amazon and, taken together, have prevented the loss of more than 7,400 square kilometers (2,900 square miles) of forest over the last two decades compared with similar ...
Environment
Jul 30, 2026
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The Canadian government is proposing sweeping changes to accelerate industrial development and reduce environmental oversight. These proposed legislative, regulatory and policy reforms could significantly diminish the government's ...
Ecology
Jul 29, 2026
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For nearly two centuries, the Galapagos Islands have inspired scientific discovery. While some might think only of Charles Darwin and his journeys on the HMS Beagle, there is much more to discover. Today, María Antonia Izurieta ...
Plants & Animals
Jul 28, 2026
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The United Nations has fast-tracked a vast antelope migration path in South Sudan onto its list of World Heritage in Danger, in the young nation's first such listing.
Ecology
Jul 27, 2026
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A major new digital mapping project could help safeguard some of the world's most important and well-known heritage sites from rising seas, flooding and coastal erosion. Researchers led by scientists from the University of ...
Environment
Jul 24, 2026
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A new collaborative research project between Murdoch University and Walailak University (WU) aims to restore seagrass meadows in Thailand using 3D-printed pods made from bioplastics.
Ecology
Jul 23, 2026
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The critically endangered sand tiger shark (Carcharias taurus) appears to have found a refuge off the northern coast of the state of São Paulo, Brazil, for mating and reproduction. This was revealed in a study conducted by ...
Plants & Animals
Jul 21, 2026
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Scientists at Murdoch University have read the full genetic code of bacteria from the salt lakes of Wadjemup (Rottnest Island), giving them their clearest picture yet of how these tiny organisms could be used to make biodegradable ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jul 20, 2026
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Wildlife protection frameworks in both the EU and the UK need stronger and more consistent implementation—and must recognize animals as "individuals capable of experiencing suffering," rather than mere ecological assets.
Plants & Animals
Jul 16, 2026
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Agriculture and biodiversity restoration do not have to be at odds. A new study by the WILD research group at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) and UCLouvain, published in the journal Biological Conservation, demonstrates ...
Ecology
Jul 14, 2026
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