Breaking Waves: Ocean News

Environment minister due to decide on controversial plan by end of the month in one of his first major challenges in new portfolio The environment minister, Murray Watt, has knocked back two last-minute objections to Woodside’s North West Shelf extension, clearing the way for a final decision on the controversial development. Greenpeace and the Conservation Council of Western Australia were among groups opposing the expansion who were denied reconsideration related to the project, communicated to them via Watt’s department of climate change, energy, the environment and water on Thursday. Continue reading...

Introduced from South America, mathenge was intended to halt desertification, but now three-quarters of the country is at risk of invasion by the invasive tree For his entire life, John Lmakato has lived in Lerata, a village nestled at the foot of Mount Ololokwe in northern Kenya’s Samburu county. “This used to be a treeless land. Grass covered every inch of the rangelands, and livestock roamed freely,” he says. Lmakato’s livestock used to roam freely in search of pasture, but three years ago he lost 193 cattle after they wandered into a conservation area in Laikipia – known for the fight over land access between Indigenous pastoralists and commercial ranchers. Continue reading...

Australia should also make moves to address the climate impact of its fossil fuel production and exports Watching from the western Pacific, we saw many describe Australia’s recent election as a decisive moment for climate and energy policy. If that was the case, the people of Australia have spoken loud and clear. Like many of us in the Pacific had hoped, most Australians wanted to throw off the shackles of the last decade’s “climate wars” and usher in a new era of responsible climate and energy policy, one that harnesses the limitless potential of Australia’s renewable energy superpowers and helps lead the Pacific region and the world to a safer and more prosperous climate future. Continue reading...

Twenty-eight-year-old bear, who had been at Highland Wildlife Park since 2015, is euthanised on vets’ advice The UK’s oldest polar bear, and the first in the country to give birth to a cub in 25 years, has been put down because of age-related health problems. Victoria was 28 and had been kept in Highland Wildlife Park near Aviemore in the Scottish Highlands since 2015. Vets at the park took the decision to euthanise her on Tuesday morning after an assessment about her quality of life and wellbeing. Since December she had been receiving geriatric care after showing signs of arthritis. Continue reading...