News

At the beginning of this decade, millions of people around the world made new year’s resolutions, with the hope of bettering themselves. 

Whether you pledged to exercise more, to save money, or to take up a hobby, the reality is that many pledges are likely to have been broken.

Every year, billions of people go on holiday to escape from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. Eight out of ten tourists travel to coastal areas, hoping to relax under blue skies, clear waters and white sandy beaches.

Sitting at a bus stop one day when she was 16, When Miranda Wang saw someone throw a plastic bottle into a trash bin, even though the recycling bin was right next to it.

On 5 January 2020, the Chinese coastal city of Xiamen held the first IAAFWorld Athletics Gold Label road race of the year. After 42 grueling kilometres, 35,071 runners from 41 countries and regions successfully finished the race.

However, the marathon’s race towards sustainability is only just beginning.

They call them ‘blue forests’—and they are among the most productive and valuable habitats on Earth.

Since winning the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) Young Champions of the Earth prize 12 months ago, Better Blue founder Miao Wang has taken China’s diving community by storm.

Gator Halpern is in no doubt at all that climate change is wreaking havoc.

The founder of Coral Vita, 2018’s Young Champion of the Earth for Latin America and the Caribbean has been on the frontline of climate disaster.

Philip Beale, Yuri Sanada and a crew of about 10 people have embarked on an expedition to prove the possibility of the Phoenicians as the first ancient sailors to have reached the Americas over 2,000 years before Christopher Columbus.

Go into any beauty store and you will see shelves full of products that promise to fix every problem with your appearance that you didn’t realize you had. Is your hair too oily or too dry? There’s a shampoo for that. Got flaky skin? Take this exfoliator. Is your skin discoloured? Use this colour-correcting foundation or check out this blusher.

This week in Los Angeles, 15,000 people will be attending one of the biggest creativity conferences in the world, Adobe MAX. It’s not the kind of event that is normally associated with conservation, but this year is different. The creative community is getting involved in coral reef conservation and it might just help save an entire ecosystem.

The Interamerican Scout Region and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) team up to reward young people who drastically reduce their plastic footprint. Scouts in the region will undertake the Clean Seas Badge Challenge to reduce single-use plastics. Young leaders will inspire their families, schools and communities to change their consumption habits.

Panama City, 01 November 2019 -

One of the most threatened yet overlooked ecosystems on Earth, seagrass could have a promising future thanks to its ability to absorb carbon.

The tiny island of Sylt, a United Nations Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) world heritage site, has been hosting the world windsurfing championship since 1984 along its 40 km, low-lying coast that makes for ideal windsurfing conditions.

Interview with Chloe Harvey, Director of The Reef-World Foundation, about how the charity’s implementation of the Green Fins initiative in Egypt—in partnership with the UN Environment Programme—is helping protect coral reefs in the Red Sea.

Whales are known for being the largest and most intelligent creatures in the ocean. Now, marine biologists have discovered that they also capture tonnes of carbon from the atmosphere, a service with an economic value of US$1 trillion for all the great whales, according to a study published by the International Monetary Fund.

The polar oceans are among the most rapidly changing oceans in the world. The yearly cycle of the build-up and melting of Arctic sea ice is one of the earth’s vital signs and a key climate variable monitored by scientists.

Insurance payments for restoring a coral reef after it has been smashed by a hurricane may seem a bit far-fetched. Nevertheless, this is one of a raft of measures being proposed for the world’s second largest reef.

Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, a World Heritage site, is one of the most iconic coral reefs. But it’s in serious trouble due to bleaching: a new Australian Government report has officially downgraded the reef’s outlook from poor to very poor.

On a sunny morning, 1,200 school children, aged between 8 and 14, headed to the beach to undertake the biggest climate action event ever seen in the historic Belgian coastal city of Ostend.

18 September 2019, Memphis, Tennessee -- As the largest navigable river system in the world, cities and towns along the Mississippi River have come together to tackle plastic marine debris as part of the UN Clean Seas campaign through the Mississippi River Cities and Towns Initiative (MRCTI).

Samba Lahy recalls the time when, as a young man, he used to go fishing with his parents off the coast of Tampolove, one of the fishing villages dotting the southwestern coast of Madagascar. Every time his family returned from the sea, their long and narrow canoe would be filled to the brim with fish. But things have changed.

Nairobi/London, 7 September 2019 - More young people around the world will be able to join the fight against plastic pollution after the UK Government announced an extension of a global Scout and Girl Guides badge to create the next generation of international leaders to protect our ocean. 

A corporate titan with an unconventional agenda; the food specialists who looked outside the (takeaway) box; the ocean explorer whose name has become synonymous with conservation: these are just some of the environmental heroes who have dedicated their lives to bringing their audacious visions of a better world to life.

The small Scottish seaside town of St Andrews is replete with a rich history which includes a castle and Scotland’s oldest university, founded in 1413.

Mangroves are an amazing #ClimateAction Super Solution, they are effective carbon sinks, storing four times more CO2 than rainforests. And when it comes to storm protection and sea level rise, mangroves are 1000 times cheaper per kilometre than building sea walls. Check out the video!