The planetary crisis that came with the extraction and burning of fossil fuels has demanded a radical shift; a transition towards renewable forms of energy production. The energy transition, one of the most promoted solutions to today’s climate and energy challenges, has sparked demand for transition minerals, such as lithium. The “Lithium Triangle” is in south America, within the Argentinia... More information
Supported by the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF), IUCN NL and partners in Madagascar, Comoros, Mauritius and the Seychelles are guiding ecosystem-based adaptation and conservation projects in this biodiversity hotspot – a group of islands with incredible species diversity and extremely high rates of endemism. In a series of articles we are highlighting some of these powerful projects.... More information
From June 9 to 13, 2025, some 15.000 representatives from governments, civil society, Indigenous leaders, scientists, and financial institutions gathered in Nice for the third United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC3) under the theme “Accelerating action and mobilising all actors to conserve and sustainably use the ocean”. Headerphoto: A hydromedusa, seen at just over 3900 m and just above... More information
A groundbreaking trial takes place in a fictional future, where ecocide has been incorporated into criminal law. On trial: the Dutch multinational Smit Refineries N.V. and its CEO. They are being sued for the large-scale destruction of an Indonesian ecosystem where nickel and other earth metals are mined. These raw materials are essential for the energy transition – but mining is at the expe... More information
The need for renewable energy sources has strongly pushed the demand for critical materials such as lithium, and nickel. Even though there is no doubt that we need to transition from fossil to renewable energy, this surge has led to increased mining activities around the globe, for example in Indonesia and Ghana. Fewer people are aware that mining for the energy transition also takes place within... More information
...tries.'[1]https://mongabay.co.id/2025/04/19/sasaran-limbah-impor-indonesia-tong-sampah-dunia/ This great power imbalance can be labelled as ‘waste colonialism'[2]https://globalinitiative.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/GITOC-Plastic-for-Profit.pdf . Although Environment Minister Hanif Faisol stated that Indonesia will officially stop importing plastic waste, the industry can still import... Index… More information
...thin environmental policy? And to what extent should military considerations influence conservation priorities? Ethically speaking, the idea of instrumentalising nature solely for defence purposes is contentious. Valuing wetlands primarily for their strategic utility risks reducing them to mere tools of protection, overshadowing their ecological, cultural, and intrinsic significance. This framing... More information
The island of St. Eustatius has experienced severe vegetation loss over the past four decades. On the island, Klarvin Cijntje, of Cijntje’s Organic Farm on Curacao, and his colleagues now work to introduce syntropic agroforestry. This form of agriculture works closely with nature to restore the land and improve biodiversity, while at the same time yielding a high variety of crops. ‘You need to... More information
...y from importing countries whose demand drives deforestation through commodities such as soy and beef, as well as companies involved in the trade of forest risk commodities[1]https://forest500.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Forest500_Report_2025.pdf. Latin America According to WRI, Latin America was hit particularly hard in 2024, with six out of the top 10 countries for tropical primary forest... More information
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