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Two prominent research organizations confirmed a few weeks ago what scientists had long thought: the world’s warm water coral reefs are bleaching en masse for the fourth time in 25 years.  

Land sustains life on Earth. Natural spaces such as forests, farmlands, savannahs, peatlands and mountains, provide humanity with the food, water and raw materials it needs to survive. 

The abandoned shrimp farms and salt pans that litter Sri Lanka’s coastline are a testament to the pitfalls of unsustainable development.  

Industry and infrastructure have erased swaths of the biodiversity-rich mangrove forests that used to sustain fishing communities and protect them from extreme weather. 

Every morning, after sending her grandchildren to school, Mariam Ngare goes to the beach in Msambweni, a small fishing town on the coast of Kenya.      There, she buys fresh-caught rabbitfish or parrotfish, cuts them into small pieces and fries them. Carrying the fare on a tin plate on her head, Ngare walks to the town’s main street, where she sells each piece for 50 Kenyan shillings (US$.35) to passersby looking for a quick bite.  

Drive down the dusty roads of Jamaica’s rural Mount Airy district and one will see dozens of black water tanks, many connected with drainpipes to the rooftops of neighbouring houses.

The tanks measure two metres tall. They collect rainwater and through a drip irrigation system, channel it to nearby fields brimming with tomatoes, peppers and sweet potatoes.

Record-setting endurance swimmer Lewis Pugh is this week's guest on the Awake At Night podcast hosted by UN communications chief Melissa Flemming.  

King Charles III visited 50 Scouts and Girl Guides on Nyali Beach in southeastern Kenya, during last week’s royal visit, highlighting the work of the Tide Turners, a global United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)-led youth movement to combat plastic pollution.

The splash was so loud that environmental advocate Lewis Pugh thought someone had jumped off the bridge he was swimming under. But then Pugh, in the midst of a month-long swim down the United States’ Hudson River, saw what had joined him in the water: a bald eagle.

“This majestic creature spread its wings and lifted up right in front of us. I will never forget the sight of it,” says Pugh.

The rhythmic sound of voices singing in harmony floats across Mozambique’s Limpopo River as several women stand ankle deep in the sticky mud along its banks.

In a well-rehearsed routine, one woman scoops up sediment with a hoe while another buries a fragile mangrove sapling in the void.

The joyous songs of the women obscure the difficulty of their job.

It has been another season of extreme weather, with everything from record temperatures to devastating floods hammering countries around the world.

Beneath the picturesque turquoise waters of Trinidad and Tobago, plastic pollution is wreaking havoc on marine ecosystems.

In October 2022, endurance swimmer and United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Patron of the Oceans Lewis Pugh became the first person ever to swim across the Red Sea, a staggering 123 km journey that took 16 days.

The United Nations yesterday formally adopted a historic treaty designed to protect life in the high seas, which is increasingly under threat from pollution, climate change and over fishing.

Beneath the ocean’s surface is nature’s living art exhibition. Coral reefs are a testament to the beauty and diversity of life below water. As sunlight pierces the surface, it illuminates the coral colonies revealing an explosion of colours, each housing its own fascinating ecosystem.

From the remote Galápagos Islands to the humid depths of the Amazon, governments are cutting back on plastic, citizens are cleaning beaches, and innovators are seeking alternative products as part of a region-wide movement to turn the tide on plastic pollution.

Travellers from all corners of the world are attracted to the wonders of coral reefs and their colourful biodiversity. With tourists reaching even the most remote reef locations, they can be a valuable means of collecting data and information on coral reef ecosystems for the ongoing United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021–2030).

When the Sustainable Development Goals, humanity’s blueprint for a better future, were launched in 2015, there was already growing alarm at the state of the planet’s freshwater resources.

International tourism is headed back to pre-pandemic levels, with double the number of people travelling so far in 2023 than in the same period last year.

The taxi boat shoots past Lamu Town, a UNESCO World Heritage site famous for being the oldest and best preserved Swahili settlement dating back to 1370.

It is a hot and sunny afternoon, and the 20-minute ride on clear turquoise water that shimmers under the blazing sun comes to a stop and docks on the beach next to a nondescript boatyard.

At last, the Flipflopi dhow boat that made global headlines in 2019 comes into full view.

The world is drowning under the weight of plastic pollution, with more than 430 million tonnes of plastic produced annually. Two-thirds are short-lived products that soon become waste, filling the ocean and, often, working their way into the human food chain.

In recent years, fishing communities in Madagascar have seen their catches dwindle, a byproduct of chronic overfishing, especially in sensitive coastal habitats like seagrass meadows.

But in some communities, fish stocks have started to rebound, thanks in part to the work of the marine conservation group Blue Ventures.

Leaders will gather this week in New York City for a landmark United Nations conference on fresh water, an event expected to focus on the rising toll of the climate crisis and the effort to provide clean drinking water to a global population of over 8 billion.

Day was dawning over the Comoros when two self-described eco-guards found the great bulk of a sea turtle motionless on the beach. The animal had laid its eggs in the sand and was gathering the strength to bury them before hauling itself back to the sea.

Seagrasses are one of the most widespread marine ecosystems on Earth, covering around 300,000 km2 of seabed in 159 countries. 

Monochromatic seagrass meadows may not be as colourful as coral reefs or as mysterious as mangrove forests. But they are havens for fish, protect coasts from storms and are key stores of carbon, making them some of the world’s most valuable natural spaces.

On World Wetlands Day, we look at how communities in Indonesia are turning to mangroves to buffer themselves against rising seas and more intense storms.