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.
Greater protections for endangered emperor penguins and how to manage growing tourism will top the agenda at talks on Antarctica opening in Japan on Tuesday.
Ecology
May 12, 2026
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9
For better or worse, a huge number of people will be affected by efforts to achieve "30x30"—the internationally-agreed conservation goal to protect and conserve at least 30% of the world's land and seas by 2030. How many ...
Environment
May 12, 2026
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16
The Canary Islands are best known for their sandy beaches and vibrant nightlife. Yet while the islands' remarkable natural diversity is often overlooked, it remains a significant draw for tourists, as a social media analysis ...
Environment
May 6, 2026
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7
A new study led by UBC researchers has found that lands managed by Indigenous Peoples consistently protect forests, biodiversity and carbon stores at levels equal to or greater than government-designated protected areas—yet ...
Environment
May 6, 2026
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16
In addition to habitat loss and illegal hunting, the jaguar (Panthera onca) faces another threat that increases its risk of extinction in the South American Atlantic Forest: food scarcity. A study by Brazilian researchers ...
Plants & Animals
Apr 28, 2026
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149
In February, mining company Alcoa was hit with a $55 million penalty for illegally clearing about 2,000 hectares of WA's Northern Jarrah Forest. About $40 million was earmarked for so-called "permanent ecological offsets," ...
Environment
Apr 24, 2026
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183
April 26 marks the 40th anniversary of the explosion at Reactor 4 of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine. The accident caused the largest ever release of radioactive material into the environment, and at the time ...
Ecology
Apr 24, 2026
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31
Tropical rainforests are known for their unique biodiversity, with species found nowhere else on Earth. But nearly 30% of tropical rainforest has been destroyed or has become seriously degraded since 1990. Many of these forests ...
Plants & Animals
Apr 23, 2026
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8
Climate change is making Canada's seasons more erratic, its weather more extreme and its ecosystems less predictable—and UBC Okanagan scientists have now produced the first national map of exactly where that unpredictability ...
Environment
Apr 22, 2026
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20
Prescribed burning, when combined with tree retention, can effectively support natural regeneration in managed boreal forests, new research shows. The study demonstrates that post-fire seedling establishment remains strong ...
Ecology
Apr 15, 2026
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27
