Environmental news for Aotearoa and beyond
For DOC rangers, conservation practitioners, and environmental scientists.
Latest from DOC & Forest & Bird
Winter is the perfect time to pull on a warm jacket, step outside and reconnect with nature. So, we've asked our rangers to share some of their favourite winter walks.
Warm and welcoming – that’s the new feel at Whakapapa Holiday Park lodge following a major refresh signalling a new era of investment in Whakapapa Village and Tongariro National Park.
DOC will explore alternatives to the removal of the Hahei Short Walk as part of ongoing discussions with a local community group.
ClimateThe Earth keeps getting hotter and experts fear this year's El Niño, nicknamed 'Godzilla' because of its predicted intensity, could raise global temperatures by up to 3.6C. Environment correspondent Damien Gayle spoke to climate scientists to understand how the weather…
ConservationAfrica s smallest wildcat uses abandoned springhare burrows to raise its kittens, according to new research. There are fewer than 10,000 black-footed cats (Felis nigripes) left in the wild and studies on these nocturnal animals are rare. To learn more about them, a team of…
There is clear evidence of drill and fill holes around the base of the trees, the Department of Conservation says.
Robbert Slooten Australia s energy transition is gathering pace. Renewable energy now supplies more than 40% of electricity across Australia s major grids, with the Federal Government targeting 82% renewable electricity by 2030 as part of its broader emissions reduction agenda.…
In protest over the Conservation Amendment Bill, climbers hung a giant banner from a giant rimu tree in an ancient West Coast forest. The post Greenpeace recreates iconic tree protest as battle over conservation land reignites appeared first on Greenpeace Aotearoa .
ClimateFrom Afghanistan to Taiwan, unprecedented deluge highlights devastating impact of climate breakdown “It rained for 10 days and 10 nights, non-stop – I’d never seen anything like it,” says Anar Gul, a construction worker who lives in the remote district of Dur Baba in eastern…
ConservationThe termites had built their towers long before roads crossed the Kimberley or companies proposed industrial projects along its rivers and coasts. Their colonies worked beneath the red earth, altering the soil and supporting other forms of life. Pat Lowe studied them closely.…
The ban included setting an accidental capture limit of four northern hoiho per year.
Feral pigs Credit: Craig ONeal The Invasive Species Council has welcomed the NSW government s decision to issue a General Biosecurity Direction for pig control, requiring public and private landholders in the Walgett region to participate in a coordinated feral pig eradication…
ClimateThe signs are there See more of Fiona Katauskas’s cartoons here Continue reading...
ConservationAuthorities in Mexico’s Jalisco state seized a parcel containing 105 queen harvester ants concealed in toys on July 9. The shipment, sent from El Salto in Jalisco and destined for Laos, was falsely labeled “collectible figures,” authorities said in a press release. The parcel…
The Water Services Authority's first national picture of water networks revealed the country averaged 31 wastewater overflows a day.
The global battery energy storage system (BESS) capacity is expected to continue to rise to manage growing demand from electrification, industry, and AI/data centers. Moreover, higher proportion of wind and solar increases intra-day variability, imbalance, and curtailment that…
ClimateAt a time when the quickening pace of global heating has never been clearer, climate policies are being deprioritised A new and ominous word has entered the vocabulary of firefighters struggling to cope with the vast wildfire sweeping through south-west France. A…
ConservationCarbon markets were designed around the compelling premise that private finance could flow where forests are most at risk, rewarding the communities and landowners who protect them while helping companies take responsibility for their emissions. For anyone working in climate or…
"We don't want something that is taking massive resources out of our community without putting anything back in ... where everybody finds out after the paperwork's signed and sealed, it's just not good enough," local says.
Grants span Conservation, Sustainability and Innovation categories, backing initiatives from habitat restoration to community energy resilience Plico has announced the recipients of the first 2026 round of its Plico Future Fund of more than $60,000, with seven community…
Climate
ConservationSitting in a small, restored forest while listening to birdsong lowered people s stress and lifted their mood in the moment, according to a recent study published in the journal Environmental Conservation. Researchers asked 106 students at North Carolina State University in the…
Nightvision Ecology Director Stephen Mahony launches his drone at Awaba Thermal-imaging drones are revealing new koala hotspots across Lake Macquarie as Council harnesses technology to better understand local populations of the iconic marsupial. Lake Macquarie City Council has…
ClimateFrom BBC drama The Rapture on the climate crisis to Apple’s Criminal Record on the rise of the far right, culture often sees what politics fails to In the BBC’s new apocalypse drama, The Rapture , the UK is engulfed in a terrifying heatwave. I watched a preview of the programme…
ConservationThis is Part Two in a Mongabay series about trends in the offshore wind industry. Part One, published in April, described the sector’s untapped potential and gaps between installed energy generation capacity and climate goals. The last year has highlighted both the vast…
ClimateExperts who helped Burnham draw up Manchester carbon neutral pledge say backtracking would send wrong message amid wildfires and heatwaves Europe wildfires – latest updates Leading climate scientists who created Greater Manchester’s carbon neutral by 2038 commitment are urging…
ConservationHabitat loss, climate change, hunting and the pet trade are well-known drivers of bird declines. A new study suggests the colors of the birds themselves may also influence their extinction risk: Birds with colorful plumage seem to be more threatened than those with dull colors.…
ConservationPARIS (AP) — A wildfire in southwest France grew so powerful that its towering smoke column became a thunderstorm, generating lightning that struck the ground and ignited new fires beyond the original blaze, French officials said. The so-called pyrocumulonimbus — which France’s…
ConservationThe first members had no office, no money, and little authority. They were schoolchildren in Patna, a crowded city on the Ganges, worried about the trees being cut around them. They met after class, visited other schools, planted saplings, and spoke to anyone willing to listen.…
ConservationOn the rocky shores of Tasmania, seals and seabirds can’t shelter indoors during a storm or turn on the AC during a hot spell. When extreme weather strikes, they’re exposed to the elements, especially when they’re tied to a clumsy pup or a nest of newly hatched chicks. The…
ConservationCheetahs are back in Zambia’s Greater Luangwa Ecosystem, nearly 30 years after the big cats’ last recorded presence in the massive landscape. Six cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus), three males and three females, were earlier in July moved by Zambia’s Department of National Parks and…
ConservationDHAKA — Ships sail oceans all over the world, yet as they reach the end of their lives, they mostly go to die on the beaches of Bangladesh, India and Pakistan. Around 85% of the world’s end-of-life ships are dismantled and recycled in these three South Asian countries, an…
ConservationJAKARTA — The number of Sumatran orangutans has declined by nearly 20% in the past decade and the critically endangered Tapanuli orangutan remains perilously close to extinction despite years of conservation efforts, according to a new study. The study, published in Global…
