Conservation News ~ 12 December 2025

• Scientists Have Discovered Dozens Of New Species At The Bottom Of The Ocean
• New weasel species discovered in SW China nature reserve
• Endangered bandicoots given new home free of feral predators in regional NSW
• Iran begins cloud seeding to induce rain during worst drought in decades
• 'World's largest spider web' with 110,000 arachnids discovered in cave
• New species with six eyes discovered on a rotten log in a Japanese forest
• Plastic beads spreading on Sussex coast after 'catastrophic' spill
• Judge finds BHP Group liable in dam collapse that led to Brazil's worst environmental disaster
• Newly identified species of Tanzanian tree toad leapfrog the tadpole stage and give birth to toadlets
• Uniting for nature, climate, and people at COP30: A call to action from Abu Dhabi to Belém
• Global leaders visit Gunnar Vingren Park to spotlight urban Nature-based Solutions in Belém during COP30
• Nature’s power in action: Linking ground realities with global adaptation and resilience goals
• IUCN and Chery mark one-year of partnership driving Nature-Based Solutions in Asia and beyond
• New STAR guidance supports governments and civil society in accelerating Nature-Positive action
• ENACT Partnership Stories from the Ground: Transforming Nature-Based Solutions for Climate Change
• Investing in nature for long-term community resilience
• Powering the future: Ministers call for a nature-positive energy transition at IUCN Congress – GINGR
• IUCN and IRENA join forces to advance renewable energy solutions that work for nature and people
• Trump administration seeks to roll back protections for imperiled species and habitat
• 'Exceptionally rare' pink grasshopper spotted in New Zealand
• Endangered Freshwater Species Shows Signs of Population Increases
• New California Wolf Pack Confirmed
• New snake species named in honor of Steve Irwin
• Endangered species among animal deaths at Dublin Zoo as mortality climbs by 64 per cent
• Trump proposes to narrow where Clean Water Act applies
• Scientists now recognize close to 6,800 mammal species
• New weasel species discovered in SW China nature reserve
• World's new wolf snake species discovered on Great Nicobar Island
• A guerrilla gardener installs a pop-up wetland in the LA River
• Sheep Make The Case For Solar Power In Deep Red Coal State
• Feds Halt Nationwide Gray Wolf Recovery Plan
• The world’s new US$125 billion rainforest trust fund revives a 1990s idea – and shows its limits
• 10,000 acres north of Lake Tahoe to be returned to California tribe in historic land deal
• Brazil delivers a climate COP like no other
• 5.5 Billion Gallons of Water Captured During Recent Storms, Enough to Serve Almost 68,000 L.A. Households Annually
• COP30: petrostates block climate deal once again, but some countries are taking their own decisive steps to phase out fossil fuels
• Gramma, a Galápagos Tortoise Older Than the San Diego Zoo, Dies at About 141
• CRISPR wheat that makes its own fertilizer
• Air quality improving, but just over 180000 deaths still attributable to air pollution in EU
• Greeks Challenge EU-Backed Fish Farms Amid Environmental Concerns
• Newly Identified Coral Species Survives On Mineral Nodules Of The Deep Pacific
• Eel populations are falling, and new protections were defeated. Japan and the US opposed them
• Oceanic whitetip sharks granted international protections
• Tribe Releases Native Elk Back onto 17,000 Sacred Sierra Nevada Acres
• 9 tigers seized every month as global trafficking crisis decimates big cat populations
• Conservation group files lawsuit to try to save owls in Los Padres National Forest from extinction
• Scientists Discover Unusual New Snake Species on Remote Island
• Researchers Just Found a New Species of Glowing Shark
• New deep-sea squid species discovered
• Cambodia releases rare captive-bred storks in conservation breakthrough
• In Washington, Birds Are Giving ‘Yelp Reviews’ of Forest Restoration Work
• COP30 climate talks evacuated after fire breaks out
• The L.A. Zoo Welcomes Its First Baby Orangutan In Nearly 15 Years — The Species Shares 97% Of Its DNA With Humans
• Germany pledges €1 billion to Brazil's rainforest fund
• SE Asia forest carbon projects sidelining social, biodiversity benefits
• Endangered species convention proposes new rules for growing exotic pet trade
• Hole in Antarctic ozone layer shrinks to smallest since 2019
• DNA methods help uncover further African Forest Elephants – but species remains critically endangered
• New Living Legacy series from BBC StoryWorks showcases the Union’s solutions for people and nature
• ENACT Partnership gathers global coalitions at COP30 to scale action on biodiversity adaptation and resilience, driving a nature-positive, water-resilient climate transition
• Measuring what matters: Advancing ocean metrics for a nature- and people-positive energy transition at COP30
• Nature’s power in action: Linking ground realities with global adaptation and resilience goals at COP30
• Mongolia joins the ENACT Partnership, ENACT launches landmark NbS Accelerator Pathways Report at COP30
• Nature at the nexus: COP30 FEBA event champions Ecosystem-based Adaptation as a pathway to resilience
• Bay Area Teen Uses Drones to Map the Wetlands He Grew Up Loving
• A guerrilla gardener installed a pop-up wetland in the LA River. Here's how — and why
• Native American tribe reclaims 900 acres of Yosemite National Park in California
• The storyteller: Bay Area archaeologist finds the hidden narratives in state parks
• Monarch butterflies return to Santa Cruz
• 10,000 acres north of Lake Tahoe to be returned to California tribe in historic land deal
• California's reservoirs surge after back-to-back storms
• Galapagos iguanas given strongest protection possible
• Missouri releases 15,000 endangered scaleshell mussels into Osage River
• Experts Confirm Wild Birth of Critically Endangered Black Rhino
• 62,000 African Penguins Starving to Death Highlights Humanity-Driven Extinction Crisis
• Deep sea mining test uncovered multiple new species
• Bear attacks rise worldwide as climate change shrinks natural habitats
• The first giant panda cub born in Indonesia squeals and squirms in park video
• New deep-sea squid species discovered in tropical waters
• Jaguar spotted at watering hole in Arizona, 5th endangered cat seen in area over last 15 years
• A mysterious black snake hidden for centuries is now named for Steve Irwin
• Southern Sierra Miwuk Nation Gets 900 Acres of Land Back
• Victory as hundreds of species given new protections at UN summit
• Ecosia invites Nobel Committee to establish inaugural Climate and Planetary Health Prize
• Maryland Zoo Announces Birth of 8 Critically Endangered African Penguin Chicks
• To save jaguars from extinction, scientists in Brazil are trying IVF and cloning
• EU strikes deal on climate target to cut emissions by 90% by 2040
• Trump admin denies endangered species protections to chinook salmon
• California wildlife officials quietly shift on killing a high-profile predator
• Environmental groups demand a nationwide freeze on data center construction
• 30,000 live animals seized in global operation against wildlife and forestry crime – Interpol
• CITES Marks 50th Anniversary, Grants Protection to 77 New Species
• Iain Douglas-Hamilton, Elephant Expert and Protector, Dies
• Southern California mountain lions recommended for threatened status
• Reforestation and wild pig decline spark surge in miniature deer in Singapore