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June 30, 2026
 

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BIODIVERSITY

Financial markets are underestimating the economic risks of biodiversity loss, according to a new study.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Jun 6, 2026
Study warns biodiversity loss could trigger wave of debt crises
The study presented what they described as the world’s first biodiversity-adjusted sovereign credit ratings model.
Park Gyeong-je, 65, a migratory beekeeper, stands among beehives at an acquaintance's family gravesite where he received permission from the family to keep hives as a second location for migratory beekeeping in Okcheon, South Korea, on May 13.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Jun 4, 2026
A South Korean beekeeper counts the cost of climate change
Rising temperatures are disrupting South Korea’s beekeeping industry, as earlier blooms, harsher weather and disease cut honey production and put pressure on migratory farmers.
The Blue River, a tributary to the Colorado River, earlier this month
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
May 24, 2026
Climate change threatens global plant species as habitats shrink
Some of the plants ⁠that make familiar landscapes recognizable may not survive by century’s end.
Crown Prince Akishino (left) and Prince Hisahito (second from left) attend a presentation event of a national competition for biotopes held at the Tokyo National Museum in Tokyo on Sunday.
JAPAN
Feb 9, 2026
Prince Hisahito attends biotope competition event
The competition showcases schools and others that develop biotopes, or gardens where various organisms live.
A diver checks on sea urchins at revived moba seaweed beds in Shakotan, Hokkaido.
JAPAN
Dec 22, 2025
Local governments working with fishers to save seaweed forests
The town of Shakotan in Hokkaido launched efforts to revive the rich ocean greenery after marine forests in its coastal areas were destroyed 15 years ago.
At least 172 out of 1,928 assessed species of wild bees face extinction in Europe, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
ENVIRONMENT / Wildlife
Oct 13, 2025
Europe’s bees and butterflies at risk, conservation body says
At least 172 out of 1,928 assessed species of wild bees face extinction in Europe compared to 77 in 2014, the IUCN has said.
A tourist enjoys the Ras Hankorab beach in the Red Sea Wadi Al-Gemal protectorate in southern Egypt. The local environment is under threat amid development projects.
ENVIRONMENT
Aug 21, 2025
Tourism deal puts one of Egypt’s last wild shores at risk
The shadowy contract, which allows for the construction of a resort on one of the country’s last undisturbed Red Sea beaches, was halted but not permanently canceled.
The highly venomous lionfish with its long spotted fins can measure up to around 26 centimeters.
ENVIRONMENT / Wildlife
Aug 15, 2025
With waters at 32 C, Mediterranean tropicalization shifts into high gear
Encouraged by increasingly warm waters, hundreds of species native to the Red Sea have moved into the eastern Mediterranean, disrupting ecosystems.
An Emerald Toucanet. Nearly half of all bird species are found in biodiversity-rich tropical regions.
ENVIRONMENT / Wildlife
Aug 12, 2025
Climate heat extremes driving tropical bird decline: study
Intensifying temperatures caused a 25% to 38% reduction in tropical bird populations between 1950 and 2020, compared to a scenario without global warming.
While a trained beekeeper can quickly look at frames in a hive assess their health, AI can do it even faster.
ENVIRONMENT / Wildlife
Jun 24, 2025
How robotic hives and AI are lowering the risk of bee colony collapse
Beewise’s units help cut down on losses by providing a near-constant stream of information on colony health in real time and give beekeepers the ability to respond.
Keen to end its reliance on rice imports, Indonesia wants to plant vast tracts of the crop, along with sugar cane for biofuel, in the restive eastern region of Papua. But environmentalists warn it could become the world's largest deforestation project, threatening endangered species and Jakarta's climate commitments.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Apr 22, 2025
Indonesia food plan risks ‘world’s largest’ deforestation
Deforestation linked to the plan is already underway.
The Environment Ministry has removed more than 200 species from its red list of endangered plants and fungi, with the removal largely reflecting a recovery of populations. For instance, the Cypripedium macranthos var. rebunense, which grows on Rebun Island in Hokkaido, has been moved to the "near threatened" category.
ENVIRONMENT / Wildlife
Mar 18, 2025
Japan removes 207 species from red list of endangered plants and fungi
The decrease largely reflects the recovery of populations, though 57 species were recognized as extinct.
Instead of spending billions to resurrect woolly mammoths, we could focus on preserving endangered species, saving ecosystems, and securing biodiversity for the future.
COMMENTARY
Mar 17, 2025
Got $10 billion? Don’t blow it cloning a woolly mammoth.
Colossal Biosciences, a Dallas-based biotechnology and genetic engineering startup valued at $10 billion, has raised $435 million to “de-extinct” the woolly mammoth.
Bleached and dead coral around Lizard Island on the Great Barrier Reef, located 270 kilometers north of the city of Cairns, Australia, on April 5, 2024
ENVIRONMENT / Earth science
Mar 17, 2025
From oil spills to new species: How tech reveals the ocean
New technologies are helping to reveal hidden oil spills, speed up the discovery of new species and uncover the impact of light pollution.
A Red Knot (left) and a Ruddy Turnstone gather with other shorebirds to feed on Atlantic horseshoe eggs along a beach in Little Creek, Delaware.
ENVIRONMENT / Wildlife
Mar 14, 2025
Many U.S. bird species seen as reaching population ‘tipping point’
A report found that avian populations are decreasing in almost every habitat, including grasslands and arid regions.
A monarch butterfly is seen at an enclosure at Boone Hall Plantation and Gardens in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, in August 2019.
ENVIRONMENT / Wildlife
Mar 7, 2025
Butterfly populations plummet by 22% in U.S. since turn of century
Studies in some other countries have documented declines at roughly the same rate as in the U.S. data.
A government-hired hunter holds up a captured iguana in Pingtung County, Taiwan, on Feb. 10. Taiwan's iguana population has exploded since the spikey-backed giant lizards were introduced more than 20 years ago as exotic pets. Many escaped or were dumped by their owners and have bred rapidly in the warm climate of southern Taiwan, invading neighborhoods and ravaging farmers' crops.
ASIA PACIFIC
Feb 17, 2025
Taiwan bounty hunters kill invading iguanas as numbers soar
Taiwan began culling iguanas nearly 10 years ago and this year’s target has been set at more than 100,000.
Sea turtles in Amami Oshima, Kagoshima Prefecture. Their nesting activity has continued to decline in recent years.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jan 30, 2025
Amami Oshima sea turtle nesting declines to second-lowest level
Scientists believe declining populations may be a key factor and have warned that a long-term analysis is needed to assess the situation.
African tiger fish swim in the Okavango river in Botswana.
ENVIRONMENT / Wildlife
Jan 13, 2025
Study documents extinction threats to world’s freshwater species
Threats to such species include pollution, dams and water extraction, agriculture and invasive species.
Colombian Environment Minister and COP16 President, Susana Muhamad, attends the last plenary session of the COP16 Summit in Cali, Colombia, on Saturday.
ENVIRONMENT / Wildlife
Nov 4, 2024
U.N. nature summit ends in limbo as countries spar over funding
Notwithstanding the last-minute drama, the summit did achieve some of its goals.
Uruguay federation reportedly cancels charter flight after World Cup exit
Uruguay's Jose Maria Gimenez reacts after the team's loss against Spain at the 2026 FIFA World Cup on Friday.
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.
India’s gig workers pay the price for exposure to New Delhi’s hazardous air
Rohit Kushwaha waits for a customer as he delivers his last parcel of the day, in New Delhi in January. His work as a delivery driver has helped pay the family’s bills, but has had a significant impact on his health.
Chinese and Russian bombers and fighter jets stage joint patrol near Japan
A Chinese Air Force H-6 bomber is seen during a joint patrol with Russian military aircraft on Saturday.
U.S. missile moves in Japan send China clear message: A new era has arrived
Soldiers conduct the first Typhon midrange capability live-fire exercise outside of the continental United States, firing an SM-6 missile in July last year in Australia's Northern Territory during Exercise Talisman Sabre.
Japan’s fertility system offers few safe paths for same-sex couples
A Tokyo Pride parade participant holds a sign that says "we want to be a married couple, not a couple."
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.
A French ship with close ties to Japan combines arts and sciences on the high seas
Romain Troublé, the executive director of Tara Ocean Foundation, speaks to visitors aboard the Tara during a rare port call in Tokyo in April.
In Kyushu’s far south, Senti.U sparks a culinary destination
Chef Yasuhiko Uchida was born in Saga Prefecture but has made his home in Kanoya, Kagoshima Prefecture, since 2012.
‘The colors speak for themselves’: How Japan’s chroma bible went global
“A Dictionary of Color Combinations” is meant to function as a quick-reference guide for artists, designers and anyone with a passing interest in aesthetics as a quantifiable pursuit.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

The Terasaka Rice Terraces are seen with Mount Buko in the background.
What Yokoze can teach Japan about rural revival
By Alex K.T. Martin

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