According to reports, plans will be abandoned in light of backlash from southern voters and MPsThe government is reportedly backpedalling on its commitment to overhaul planning laws in order to accelerate infrastructure projects with a target of buildi…
An actor, two big bees and a lot of experts: a week spent tackling the planet’s problems
World’s largest conservation summit since Covid-19 brought 4,000 people to Marseille to showcase issues and solutions from coral reefs to land protection At times in Marseille’s early autumn sun, pre-pandemic life felt tantalisingly close at the world’…
Marseille biodiversity summit adopts motion to ban deep-sea mining
Move sends strong message of global opposition to mining of seabed for valuable metals, say conservationistsA motion calling for a ban on deep-sea mining has been adopted in Marseille at the world’s biggest biodiversity summit since the pandemic, after…
France threatened with legal action over use of pesticides
Widespread use of chemicals that can harm wildlife means French state has failed to protect the country’s flora and fauna, say NGOSThe French government is being threatened with court action by two NGOs who accuse it of failing to meet its obligations …
Eight men convicted in French court for trafficking rhino horn and ivory
Four men – three Irish and one English – said to be members of the Rathkeale Rovers gang were given prison termsA French court has convicted eight men including members of an Irish crime gang for trafficking rhino horn and ivory between Europe and east…
‘I was sliding towards the drop and couldn’t stop’ – the writer who fell from a mountain
It is every climber’s worst nightmare. In this extract from his thrilling book about the glorious – and treacherous – Cuillin Ridge on Skye, Simon Ingram recalls the day its wild peaks almost took his lifeI had been out of signal for most of the day, s…
Licence to krill: the destructive demand for a ‘better’ fish oil
Industrial fishing of the tiny crustacea in a dietary supplements gold rush is threatening the very base of the food chain• This article was produced with the Environmental Reporting Collective, whose full report is part of the Oceans Inc collaborative…
River of life: zoo’s yearly count finds seals thriving on Thames
Hundreds of dozing seals show how much cleaner the river is since it was declared dead in the 1950s“This is a sushi conveyor belt,” says the boat’s skipper, Stuart Barnes, as we watch the customers, dozens of harbour seals slumbering on sandbanks at th…
The Guardian view on saving forests: when trees are at risk, so are we | Editorial
Plantations are no replacement for biodiverse forests that have evolved over thousands of yearsPeople need trees. A world without ilex, cinnamon and rosewood trees, a world devoid of magnolias, hornbeams and maples would be much the poorer. We rely on …
The millionaire rewilding the countryside, one farm at a time
Julia Davies, lawyer turned activist, is helping wildlife groups to buy up land – and fight back against Britain’s biodiversity crisisJulia Davies had one only goal in mind when she sold her share of the outdoor equipment company Osprey Europe a few ye…