In the United Nations biodiversity agreement, freshwater ecosystems were finally included as ‘inland waters’ in the commitment to safeguard and restore at least 30 per cent of the world’s lands, inland waters, coastal areas and oceans by 2030. So, what is the freshwater biodiversity crisis, and why should we be concerned for people and [...]
With the UN Convention on Biological Diversity’s new agreement dominating conservation headlines, it can be easy to lose sight of the people working every day to protect our planet’s biodiversity on the ground. However, throughout 2022, our partners restored ecosystems, protected endangered species, and collaborated with Indigenous Peoples and local communities to build a [...]
What role do rivers play in your life? For billions of people around the world, they are – literally – their source of life and survival. Although rivers cover less than one percent of the Earth’s surface, they are the most biodiverse and productive ecosystems in the world. In this post, Félix Feider looks [...]
2021 has presented many challenges for conservation, with COVID-19 continuing to prevent safe engagement with communities, causing delays or cancellations to in-person events, and affecting marginalised communities the hardest. However, our team at Synchronicity Earth continue to be inspired by the resilience and resourcefulness of our partners, who continue to do extraordinary work to [...]
As our partner Shoal announce an exciting quest to find the world’s ten ‘most wanted’ lost species of freshwater fish, Nina Seale explores the importance of finding lost species and advancing conservation knowledge to address the biodiversity crisis. Humongous ‘fossil fish’ resurfaced after at least a century in West Indian [...]
Rivers are the planet’s arteries of life and are intrinsically linked to human well-being, history, culture, spirituality and politics. Yet, our legal system has largely proven to be ill-equipped to protect the world’s rivers and their inhabitants. A growing global movement sets out to change this by legally recognising and implementing the inherent rights [...]
The state of biodiversity has been in the news again these past few weeks, with high-profile reports like the Global Biodiversity Outlook 5 (by the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity) and Living Planet Report 2020 (by the Zoological Society of London and World Wildlife Fund) generating depressing headlines. Among Earth’s fragile natural systems, [...]
Freshwater habitats are not just rivers, and conserving freshwater species can be done hand-in-hand with local fisheries, says Merlin Veron, Research Analyst at Synchronicity Earth and its Freshwater partner Shoal. As you carefully step across the forest floor, it erupts with life, thousands of insects crashing between the dry leaves [...]
Jeremy Wade is a TV presenter, angler and author, best known for the series River Monsters and, more recently, Mighty Rivers. With a background as a biologist, Jeremy has visited many of the world’s most iconic rivers and lakes, seen and fished for some of their most extraordinary species and witnessed the changes happening [...]
An Interview with Mike Baltzer (Executive Director of Shoal) Mike Baltzer joined Shoal as its Executive Director (hosted by Synchronicity Earth) on October 1. Prior to starting this role, he was with the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) for 18 years. For the last nine years, he was the head of their global tiger programme [...]