By Shanna Hanbury In December 2022, nearly 200 nations committed to protecting 30% of Earth’s lands and waters by 2030. As of 2025, about 9.6% of the world’s oceans are now covered by marine protected ...

Sacred sites are almost certainly the oldest forms of “protected areas” and there are still thought to be hundreds of thousands of them around the world contributing to global efforts to conserve ...

It benefits people, too. Researchers make stunning discovery inside restricted ocean area: 'Encouraging signs' first appeared ...

Climate change is threatening the effectiveness of protected areas (PAs) in safeguarding wildlife, ecosystem services and livelihoods, with scientists now calling for the incorporation of ...

In the field of marine conservation, a marine protected area (MPA) is an expanse of sea, ocean, estuaries, coastal waters, and, in the United States, the U.S. Great Lakes, where fishing, mining, ...

Jennifer Raynor receives funding from National Geographic Pristine Seas. She is a trustee at Global Fishing Watch, one of the primary data providers for this study. Marine protected areas cover more ...

Local communities and indigenous peoples are, and have been for centuries, the custodians of many World Heritage sites. Thus, they should be recognized as key actors in the process of identification, ...

David Williams does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond ...

The conservation of biodiversity matters because of its intrinsic worth, and because ecosystem services, which depend upon biodiversity, underpin human wellbeing, and support economic activity in a ...

The five Mekong countries lost nearly 1 million hectares (2.5 million acres) of tree cover in 2024, with nearly a quarter of which was primary forest, and more than 30% of losses occurring inside ...